Mt. Tabor: "His Clothes Became Dazzling White"

Mt. Tabor
“His Clothes Became Dazzling White.”

February 28, 2010, 2nd Sunday of Lent
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 II Philippians 3:17—4:1 Luke 9:28-36

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

About a week later, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While He was praying His face began to shine and His clothing became dazzling white. Suddenly two men could be seen talking with Him. They were Moses and Elijah who appeared in heavenly glory. They were talking with Jesus about how He would soon fulfill God’s purpose by dying in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions who were sound asleep awoke and saw Jesus aglow with glory and the two men who were standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were about to leave Jesus, Peter exclaimed, “Oh Master, how good it is for us to be here! Let us build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He really didn’t know what he was saying.) While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened as they entered the cloud. Then there came a voice from the cloud that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this, and told no one at that time about what they had seen.

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

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Introduction
Second Sunday of Lent: Mt Tabor

In the opening Sunday of Lent, the Devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and tempts Him. (Lk 4:6-7) In this second Sunday of Lent, Jesus is again on a mountain, called Tabor in Christian tradition. What happened there is recorded in all three synoptic gospels (Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2- 8; Lk 9:28-36), and it is testified to by three earthly witnesses (Peter, James and John) and by three heavenly witnesses (Moses, Elijah and a voice from heaven). Thus an Old Testament law requiring three witnesses to attest to the truth of any fact is superabundantly satisfied here by six witnesses. (Dt 19:15)

Peter, one of the three earthly witnesses, writes in his second epistle,

I tell you my own eyes have seen His splendor and His glory. I was there on the holy mountain when He shone forth with the glory given Him by God His Father. I heard a glorious and majestic voice calling down from heaven and saying, “This is my much beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” (II Peter 1:16-18)

A Religious Experience

Something spectacular took place on Mt. Tabor. Tradition calls it `a transfiguration,’ in which Jesus’ worn and weary figure becomes glowing and glorious. Catholics assign a special feast-day for it: August 6, Feast of the Lord’s Transfiguration. Psychologists have their own way to characterize the event. Believers call Tabor a religious experience. That’s an experience which originates from heaven, and which makes us see things and hear voices. On lofty Tabor Peter, James and John see Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white, and they hear a voice declaring, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”

A religious experience on the road to Damascus

A religious experience can happen not only on a breezy mountain-top but also down in the sweaty valley of human existence. Saul of Tarsus had a religious experience as he was “breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there. (Acts 9:1) Suddenly he saw a light from the sky flash around him, and he heard a voice crying out, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”Who are you, Lord?” he asked. “I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” (Acts 9:4-5) That experience turned Saul of Tarsus into St. Paul -- the great Apostle to the Gentiles.

A religious experience in a garden

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) (a `rounder’ who fathered a son out of wedlock) had a religious experience when one day in the garden of his villa he suddenly heard a voice saying, “Take and read! Take and read!” He picked up the Scriptures which lay near at hand, and they fell open to Romans 13:13 where Paul exhorts Christians to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and forget about satisfying your bodily appetites.” (Augustine’s Confessions Bk. VIII, Ch. 12) That experience turned the rounder into the great Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, who by his voluminous theological writings ruled the Church from the early four hundreds to the thirteenth century.

A religious experience in a dilapidated chapel

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) had a religious experience when praying one day before an ancient crucifix in a dilapidated chapel of San Damiano. Beseeching the Lord to let him know what He wanted from him, Francis heard a voice saying, “Repair my church!” Being a literal man, he thought it was the Lord calling him to repair the rickety old chapel of San Damiano. It was, in fact, the Lord calling him to repair the Universal Church fallen into ruin because of Medieval excesses. Because of that experience, Francis fathered a huge family of brothers and sisters, who down through the centuries repaired the Church far more lovingly and effectively than any angry 16th century reformer.

The deadly expectation of nothing

Religion is rooted in religious experience with its coin of ecstasy. There is ecstasy up there on lofty Mt. Tabor: Peter is beside himself and is emoting, "Oh how good it is for us to be here!" It’s so good that he wants to dig in and stay up there forever: “Lord, let’s build three shelters up here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Lk 9:33) Not only is Mt. Tabor high, Peter, James and John are also high.

Where, if not in church on a Sunday morning, should we expect to have a religious experience making us cry out ecstatically, “Oh how good it is for us to be here”? To expect a Tabor experience at every Sunday Mass is perhaps a bit glutinous and unrealistic. But to never expect a Tabor experience in the Sunday assembly is worse yet; it’s deadly!

Unfortunately, the expectation of nothing at Sunday Mass settles in on some (and perhaps many) congregants. Some of them simply recede to a center down deep within themselves and pray quietly to God as Mass is going on around them. Others, many young ones, simply grit their teeth and put up with Sunday Mass, until they can get out on their own and say `good bye’ to church-attendance. Sometimes young people’s expectation of nothing is their fault; that’s the case when they lack all yen for the spiritual. Sometimes, however, it is the church’s fault; that’s the case when in the Sunday liturgy the Word and the Bread are routinely broken poorly.

Jung in high expectation of a Mt. Tabor

Karl Jung, the father of modern psychology and the son of a minister, relates how he was in high expectation of a Mt. Tabor experience on the day of his First Holy Communion, and how the Bread was so poorly broken as to prove deadly. He writes,

I awaited the day with eager anticipation, and the day finally dawned. There behind the altar stood my father in his familiar robes. He read prayers from the liturgy. On the white cloth covering the altar lay large trays filled with small pieces of bread which came from the local baker whose goods were nothing to brag about. I watched my father eat a piece of the bread and then sip the wine which came from the local tavern. He then passed the cup to one of the old men. All were stiff, solemn, and it seemed to me, uninterested. I looked on in suspense, but could not see nor guess whether anything unusual was going on inside the old men. I saw no sadness nor joy in them. Then came my turn to eat the bread which tasted flat, and to sip the wine which tasted sour.

After the final prayer, all peeled out of the church with faces that were neither depressed nor illumined with joy—just faces which seemed to say, “Well, that's that!” In a minute or two the whole church was emptied! Only gradually in the course of the following days did it dawn on me that nothing had happened. (Karl Yung Memories,
Dreams, Reflections)

That, indeed, is a sad description of congregants who expect nothing and receive nothing from their church-attendance, and are not disappointed at all! After the final prayer, they don’t linger on in a glow of ecstasy. They don’t cry out, "Oh, how good it is for us to be here! Let’s stay here forever.” Instead, they peel out of church as fast they can, happy to get back into the real world.

When the sun set on the long anticipated day of his first Communion, Jung found himself exclaiming, “Oh, how bad it was for me to be there! And he promised himself, “I must never go back there again!” He kept his promise: the day of his first Communion turned out to be the day of his very last Communion.

A lady who stumbled upon Mt. Tabor

Jung was in high expectation of a Mt. Tabor experience on the day of his first Communion, and to his great disappointment he didn’t experience one. Listen to a lady who wasn’t expecting a Mt. Tabor experience, and to her great surprise she wonderfully stumbled upon one. She writes,

My husband and I were in Milwaukee for a weekend- getaway from Indianapolis. We spent our first trip together in that city five years ago and returned for a much needed vacation. We have a three year old, but we suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks in July. We needed some time to get away and celebrate each other and heal from our loss. It was a very therapeutic trip for us which ended in a fabulous experience in a very beautiful church. We had walked the streets of Milwaukee and passed by a gorgeous church and decided to celebrate Mass there on Sunday. I insisted with my husband that we attend Mass at that church instead of going to evening Mass when we arrived home. I truly feel it was God’s will that we celebrated there.

I so enjoyed the service. The priest was absolutely fabulous, his sermon was out of this world, the choir was phenomenal, the lector was dynamic and the beauty of the church was just so stunning. It was a pivotal moment for us, especially me. I lighted a candle after Mass for our lost baby, and I am looking forward with hope to our family’s future. I know that God has a bigger plan for us than we even realize, and I know we are blessed.

One can hear her crying out like Peter, “Oh how good it was that we were there.” One can see her lingering on with her family in a glow of ecstasy.

If our church never has us crying out ecstatically “Oh how good it is for us to be here,” we shouldn’t just grin and bear it. We should do what we can, and then if nothing happens, we should move on and shop for another church. We take great pain to shop for a good house or a good car; we should also take as much pain (and even more) to shop for a `good church ‘ -- one that can take us up to Tabor and make us exclaim, “Oh how good it is for us to be here!”

Conclusion

Tabor: not forever and not for itself

The Tabor high was not forever; Jesus and the Apostles eventually had to get off that lofty height and descend into the ho-hum valley of human existence. (Lk 9:37) The Sunday high too is not forever; we have to leave Mass and descend into the sweaty valley of our weekday lives. What’s more, the Tabor high was not for itself; it was for the great low that awaited the apostles in the imminent death of Jesus. The Sunday high too is not for itself; it’s for all the small and great lows which await us in the week ahead. The Sunday high is for reminding us in the midst of life’s miscarriages “that God has a bigger plan for us.”

The New Lent

The third temptation:
“Throw yourself down from this height…” (Lk 4:9)

The New Lent

February 21, 2010

1st Sunday of Lent 2010
Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Romans 10:8-13 Luke 4:1-13

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

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over He was hungry. The devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” (Deut 8:3)

Then the devil took Him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said to Him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it’s been all given to me, and I can give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.” (Deut 6:16)

Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and made Him stand on the highest point of the Temple, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from this height, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Deut 6:13) When the devil had exhausted every kind of temptation, he departed to wait for a more opportune time.

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

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Introduction
Lent: the yearly invitation to a `desert experience’

On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, we liturgically left Ordinary Time and entered the Extraordinary Time of Lent. Green, the color for Ordinary Time, is now exchanged for purple -- the centuries-old liturgical color for repentance and penance. In honor of the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting, the Council of Laodicea in 360 prescribed a penitential season of forty days in preparation for Easter. This year Easter is April 4; counting back forty fast-days from April 4 (Sundays not counted because they’re never a fast day) makes Wednesday, February 17, the first day of Lent this year of 2010.

Something remarkable always happens on Ash Wednesday: though it’s not a Sunday or holyday of obligation, the churches are packed! Ash Wednesday mysteriously fascinates us! We go flocking to church to have our clean faces smudged with ashes and to be reminded (what we always try in subtle ways to forget) that “we are dust and unto dust we shall return. “
More positively, Lent, which commemorates the forty days which Jesus spent in the desert, is the yearly invitation for us to undergo what spiritual writers refer to as the `desert experience,’ to take stock of our spiritual lives.

Scripture’s three temptations of Jesus

Jesus’ forty-day ordeal of fasting and being tempted in the desert is always recounted on the first Sunday of Lent in all three liturgical cycles. (Mt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13) Mark's account is typically very brief; it simply states that Jesus was tempted for forty days in the desert -- no mention of Him fasting and getting hungry, or of being tempted three times. Matthew and Luke’s accounts, on the other hand, were written later, and are filled in with the accretions that normally build up around an event, as it is told and retold before it’s written down. Both evangelists mention three specific temptations, and each temptation is rejected by Jesus quoting Scripture

The first temptation

The first temptation is simple enough to understand. Jesus has been fasting for 40 days, and Satan offers Him a presto way to feed his hunger: turn the bread-shaped stones scattered on the desert floor into loaves of bread. (Lk 4: 3-4) The other alternative is a long hike 20 miles to the nearest town for food. (There is no fast-fix for bread; there is only the long haul: wheat ground into flour, flour kneaded into dough, and dough baked into bread.) Is the first temptation of Jesus a yen for the fast-fix?

The second temptation

When that first temptation of Jesus fails, the Devil takes Him to a high mountain, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and promises to give it all to Jesus, if He would only fall down and worship him. (Lk 4:5-8) Is the second temptation of Jesus a yen for authority and power?

The third temptation

When the second temptation of Jesus fails, the Devil takes Him to a very high peak of the Temple and challenges Him to prove He’s the Son of God by bungee-jumping from a Temple height and counting on God’s angels to snatch Him up before hitting rock bottom. (Lk 4: 9-13; Ps. 91, vs11-12) Is the third temptation a yen for the spectacular?

In Dostoyevsky’s novel Brothers Karamazov, the Grand Inquisitor asks Jesus, “Dost thou think that all the combined wisdom of the world could have invented anything in depth and force equal to the three temptations put thee by the wise and mighty Spirit in the desert?” (Ch V, Bk V) Scripture’s account of the three temptations is, indeed, mystical, and there are as many interpretations of them as there are mystics and preachers.

Nikos’ fourth temptation of Jesus

To Scripture’s three temptations of Jesus Nikos Kazantzakis adds a fourth and last temptation in his novel The Last Temptation. In the novel Jesus is subject to every form of temptation that humans face, including fear, doubt, depression and, yes, even lust – the fourth and last of Jesus’ temptations. Kazantzakis’ book and the film depict Jesus being tempted by imagining Himself engaged in sexual activities. Struggling to do God’s will, Jesus does not give in to any of the temptations.

The very thought that Jesus could have sexual temptations caused a great outcry among Christians. The Church put the novel on the list of forbidden books, and staunch faithful picketed the movie. If the novel had depicted Jesus as a man tempted to scam investors of $50 billion (as Wall Street icon Bernard Madoff did), the reaction would not have been so intense. That strong reaction simply squares up with a populist mentality and morality which believes that “the sin of sins is sex!” That mentality (prurient in its roots) makes juicy headline news out of the sexual escapes of world- famous golfer Tiger Woods, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and South Carolina governor Mark Sandford. Perhaps it was that mentality which made Kazantzakis feel the need to `round off’ Scripture’s three temptations of Jesus with a sexual temptation.

At the end of the day, The Last Temptation, resonates well with Letter to the Hebrews, which proclaims the Good News that in Jesus, “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have One who has been tempted in all things as we are tempted, but did not sin.” (Heb 4:15)

The mind of Jesus

The mentality that “the sin of sins is sex” is utterly foreign to the mind of Jesus. One day some dirty old men catch a woman in the act of adultery, and drag her before Jesus in the temple. Zealous that every iota of the Law of Moses be observed, they feel it’s their religious duty to stone her to death[1]. Jesus doesn’t buy into their sexual moralism. It even bores Him; He bends down and writes with his finger in the dust on the temple floor. (One guess is that He wrote Ho-hum. Another guess is that He wrote the names of all the men who had her.) Then Jesus rises and challenges the one without sin among them to cast the first stone.[2] (Jn 8:1-11)

On another occasion, Jesus deals a blow to sexual moralism, when He tells the chief priests and Jewish elders, “Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you people. For John the Baptist came to show you the right path to take and you would not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes believed him.” (Mt 21:31-32)

Jesus straightens out our moral priority. For Him the “sin of sins” is not sex; rather, it is not loving our neighbor. Just as the “virtue of virtues” for Jesus is not chastity; rather, it is charity.[3] When a Sadducee asks Jesus what is the most important commandment in the Law, He answers him by quoting Scripture: “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, soul and mind.” (Dt 6:5) Then quoting Scripture again, Jesus tells the man what is the second most important commandment: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lv. 19:18) “The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets,” Jesus says, “depend on these two commandments.” (Mt. 22:34-40)

A new God for Lent

In the post-Vatican II era, the God of Lent is spelled out in a new way. The God of the old Lent was one who had gone into a deep pout because of our sins, and He needed to be appeased with forty days of glum and gloom. Such a God is not much better than the angry gods of ancient Greece and Rome. He is not much better than the angry God of televangelist Pat Robinson who declared the Haiti earthquake was God's retribution worked upon sinful Haitians for their “voodoo pact with the devil." The God of the new Lent is the God of the prophet Joel who in the first reading at Mass on Ash Wednesday is described as one “who is rich in mercy, swift with forgiveness and slow with retribution.” (Joel 2:13)

A new fast for Lent

In this new day, the fast of Lent is also spelled out in a new way. Before Vatican II the fast of Lent concentrated on food: only one full meal a day was allowed, and all Fridays were days of strict abstinence from meat. Vatican II greatly toned down this concentration on food as Lenten penance. Now there are only two obligatory days of fast(Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), and only the Fridays of Lent are strict days of abstinence. The new Lent doesn’t concentrate on a food fast imposed on us by the church but on a fast imposed on us by life itself. That’s the spirit of the first reading at Mass on the Friday after Ash Wednesday.

This is the kind of fasting I, the Lord, want from you: release those bound unjustly, untie the yoke of injustice and set free the oppressed. Share your food with the hungry, open your home to the homeless, clothe the naked, [aid the Haitian victims] and do not turn your back on your own. (Is 58: 6-7)

A new preface for Lent

A new preface for Lent prays in a new way:

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give You thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Each year You give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with mind and heart renewed.
You give us a spirit of loving reverence for You, our Father, and of willing service to our neighbor As we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, You bring the image of your Son to perfection within us.

Now with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of Your praise. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Conclusion
The New Lent

The new Lent is not a glum and gloomy journey of forty days; rather it is a “joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery with our minds and hearts renewed. “The new Lent is not for changing an angry God; rather it is for changing us “by bringing the image of Your Son to perfection within us.”The new Lent does not ask us to give up things; rather it asks us to take on ”willing service to our neighbor.”

[1] Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22ff
[2] That gospel is read on the 5th Sunday of Lent, cycle c.
[3] These words can be misunderstood by those who choose to misunderstand them, and they can be rightly understood by those who so choose.

Haiti & the 'Problem of God'

Caravaggio's Entombment

Haiti and the 'Problem of God'

February 14, 2010, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 17:5-8 I Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Luke 6:17, 20-26

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

Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

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

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Introduction
The power to murder God

In his small volume Night Elie Weisel, perhaps the most famous Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, writes of his first night in the concentration camp of Buchenwald when he saw the bodies of little children going up in smoke from the crematories.

That was the night which murdered my God and my soul, and turned my dreams into dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

Like the Holocaust, the horrific event of the Haiti earthquake has the power to murder our God. For people who think, Haiti, like the Holocaust, is a problem.

9/11 and `the problem of God’

On September 11, 2001, two 747’s as weapons of mass destruction smashed into the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan bringing down not only megatons of mortar and bricks but almost 3,000 innocent human beings. On July 15, 2002, the workers and families of victims of 9/11 gathered at a Staten Island landfill to mark the end of a grueling and emotional ten-month operation. That gargantuan undertaking had hauled away 2,000,000 tons of debris. It identified only 1600 bodies out of the 2800 people killed, and it had uncovered 20,000 body-parts. Those vital statistics bespeaks the enormity of 9/11 when the tectonic plates under our feet shifted, the earth quaked and everything in our lives suddenly changed irreversibly.

After 9/11, a two-hour documentary entitled Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero was aired on PBS’s Frontline. It examined the spiritual aftershocks of September 11. It showed how that apocalyptic event confronted us not only with the problem of human evil[1] but also with `the problem of God.’ That’s the problem which all (especially believers) have in the back of their minds whenever some great disaster like the Holocaust or 9/11 or the Haiti earthquake happens. `The problem of God’ – that’s the problem which professed non-believers are quick to talk about, but which most believers are `too pious’ to bring out into the open.

In the documentary, Tim Lynston, a security guard, who lost more than thirty friends wrestled with `the problem of God.’ He said, “The whole thing was so barbaric the ways their lives were taken, that I now look on God as a barbarian, and I probably always will. I think I am a good Christian, but I have a different image of Him now, and I can’t replace it with the old one.”

Out of the rubble and ruin of 9/11 rose `the problem of God’ also for Marina Fontana. Her husband was one of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on that infamous day. In the documentary she says, “I can’t bring myself to speak to God anymore because I feel so abandoned. I guess deep down inside I know that He still exists and that I have to forgive Him and move on. But I’m not ready to do that yet.”

There was, however, no `God-problem’ in 9/11 for Bernie Heeran. He was a retired firefighter whose son Charlie worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center and was killed on that fatal day. In the documentary he says, “At this stage, I have not questioned God. He had nothing to do with 9/11. God was fighting evil that day, like He does every day. And He was inviting us to help Him in the fight.”

As Americans were still reeling under 9/11, televangelist Jerry Falwell declared that that horrific event was God’s retribution on “pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the A.C.L.U. and People for the American Way.” As Haitians were still burying their loved ones without proper rituals and in mass graves, another televangelist, Pat Robinson, declared that Haiti's earthquake was God's retribution on Haitians’ for their “voodoo pact with the devil.[2]" In the darkness of such bad news preached by so-called ministers of the Gospel (the word means `Good News’) shines the good news preached by Bernie Heeran: “God had nothing to do with 9/11. God was fighting evil that day, like He does every day, and He was inviting us to help Him in the fight.”

Haiti and `the problem of God’

We have `the problem of God’ on our hands again! On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, killing 150,000, injuring 250,000, leaving 2,000,000 homeless and sending 200,000 fleeing the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Among the dead was Haitians’ beloved Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Joseph Serge Miot.

On TV we daily watched Haiti’s tragedy endlessly unfold: the loud screaming because of pain and fright; the frantic digging for life; the hope-against-hope searching for loved ones buried in the rubble; the desperate scrounging for water and food; the obscene bulldozing of 75,000 bodies of loved ones into mass burial dumps; the communal jubilation whenever someone was pulled out of the rubble alive (even though 150,000 weren’t that fortunate).

For those who dare to think, there rises out of the indescribable tragedies of 9/11 or the Haitian earthquake `the problem of God.’ That’s the problem of a so-called `almighty God’ who could have, should have, but didn’t prevent the tragedies in Lower Manhattan USA or in Port-au-Prince.

Etty Hillesum forgives her God.

Esther "Etty" Hillesum was born in Middelburg, Netherlands, in 1914, and died in the Auschwitz concentration camp on 30 November 1943. Etty's father and mother either died during transport to Auschwitz or were gassed immediately upon arrival. Etty was a Jewish thinker and writer. Between 1941 and 1943 she wrote letters and diaries which describe life in Amsterdam during the German occupation. She was especially a mystic who solved her problem of an `almighty God.’ In one of her diaries she writes,

Dear God, these are anxious times. Tonight I lay in the dark with burning eyes as one scene of human suffering after another passes before me. Dear God, I shall try to help You stop my strength from ebbing away from me. One thing is becoming increasingly clear to me: that we must help You. [A so-called `almighty God’ needs no help from anyone!] In the face of man’s inhumanity to man, You cannot help us [You have no power to help us!]; we must help You. And dear God, for that I do not hold you responsible, and I forgive you. (Elizabeth O'Connor, in her book Search for Silence)

Fr. Biaocchi’s God cries.

For Fr. Francis Biaocchi there is no such `creature’ as an “almighty God.” He writes,

The tragedy in Haiti is a case in point, and it confuses me: tens of thousands of extremely poor people killed in a horrible natural disaster, and more tens of thousands lying wounded and helpless. What kind of God allows this? If God is almighty and all-powerful, then why does this happen? My personal conclusion is that God is not almighty and all-powerful [italics mine]. I believe that people in the past needed to think God was almighty, so they attached that quality to God. The phrase “almighty God” still appears in many of our church prayers.[3] This “almighty God” tag is, in my opinion a human creation that does not stand up well under careful scrutiny and the test of time. God is in Haiti not as the all-powerful one, but as One who suffers and cries with the Haitian people. [4]

Like Fr. Biaocchi’s God who weeps, Fr. Pierre Teilhard’s God also weeps. Teilhard, mystic and theologian whose voice echoed through the deliberation chambers of Vatican II, writes,

It is thoroughly in accord with the Gospel to regard God across the ages as weeping over the world in ceaseless effort to spare the world its bitter sufferings and to bind up its wounds. It is impossible to conceive God in any other way, and still more impossible to love Him. (Divine Milieu)

For Fr. Biaocchi God is not almighty; rather He is “One who suffers and cries with the Haitian people.” Neither is God almighty for retired NYC firefighter Bernie Heeran; rather God is One “who fights evil every day and invites us to help Him in His fight.” (An almighty God needs no help from anyone!)

Kiki rises from the tomb.

A team of 20 American rescuers from New York and Virginia accepted God’s invitation to help Him in Haiti’s earthquake. With the expertise of Chris Dunic (a veteran New York fireman whose tunneling skills were forged in the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center on 9/11) the rescuers managed to extricate a little Haitian boy named Kiki from a mountain of crushed masonry, after spending eight days beneath the rubble. That brought a moment of ecstatic joy for everyone amid death and despair. Of that moment John Humphry writes for his newspaper,

“No Hollywood director could have improved on the scene that was splashed across the pages of this and just about every other newspaper 24 hours ago. No reader could have turned the page without pausing, smiling, perhaps even shedding a tear. That one photograph sums up the horror of what has befallen Haiti, but it also sums up hope.

“The crushed masonry that formed the backdrop illustrated the power that created this tragedy. The determination of the rescuers who labored so mightily for so long was there too. At the centre of the picture is a little boy called Kiki. He is seven years old and he is beaming, his crooked tooth exposed in a smile as wide as his outstretched arms.

“His huge brown eyes sunk deep into his face tell of the suffering he must have endured since his world came crashing down on him eight days earlier, but the smile overshadows everything. It is directed at a stick thin woman reaching out to him -- his mother. A resurrection scene that could have been painted by Caravaggio.

“We cannot see her face, but we can see the faces of Kiki's rescuers - well-fed Americans who have left their comfortable homes in the world's richest country to dig for survivors of an earthquake in one of the world’s poorest. Mostly they find only bodies. But not this time. This is a picture of joy. It is almost biblical. Almost a resurrection scene or the raising of Lazarus that might have been painted by Caravaggio or Rembrandt. If there is one image that stays in our minds when the world's attention has moved on from Haiti it will surely be this one.

“Why should we focus so much attention on Kiki at the risk of distorting in our memories the real picture? I think it's because it answers a deep need in every one of us to believe in the nobility of humanity. The whole scene touches the core of our spirituality - even those of us who have no religion. Perhaps especially those of us who have no religion. The belief that it is possible to roll the boulder away from the tomb and overcome the cross, has endured for 2,000 years. And that is the essence of the photograph of Kiki's rescue.”

Conclusion
A Father nevertheless

Mystic Etty prayed: “Dear God, You can’t save us, and for that I do not hold you responsible, and I forgive you.” With Etty we pray: “Dear God, You always forgive us our trespasses against You. Now we dare to forgive Your trespasses against us! We forgive you for not being an almighty God – for not preventing 9/11, the Haiti earthquake and all our personal 9/11s and earthquakes.

We forgive You for being only “Our Father who art in heaven.” Yes, `only’ our Father, but a Father nevertheless, who together with all the first-responders and fire-fighters (353 of whom died in the conflagration), fought the evil of 9/11. A Father nevertheless, who together with the 20 American rescuers from New York and Virginia, was fighting the evil of an earthquake, as they raised up Kiki from his tomb of rubble. A Father nevertheless, who together with help from us, fights all our personal 9/11s and earthquakes.

[1] Islamic terrorism
[2] Voodoo is a religion originating in the Caribbean country of Haiti. It merges the beliefs and practices of West African peoples (brought as slaves to Haiti in 16th century) with Roman Catholicism. Though they converted to Catholicism, the people often held on to many traditional African beliefs.
[3] The church down through the centuries and still today opens its prayers with “Omnipotens et aeterne Deus….” – “Almighty and eternal God….”
[4] Homily of Rev. Francis Biaocchi for 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 17, 2010.

JESUS' COMMAND:

FISH ON THE 'RIGHT SIDE.

February 7, 2010, Fifth Sunday of the Year
Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5: 1-11
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,[1] great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the Word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them there, and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats - the one belonging to Simon - He asked him to push out a short distance from the shore. Then He sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,” Push the boat out further into deep water, and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”
They let the nets down and caught such a large number of fish that their nets were about to break. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” He was awestruck by the great catch of fish. And so were his partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be fishers of men.” They beached their boats, left everything and followed Him.

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

----------------
Introduction
Poor fishing on the Sea of Galilee

Twice the gospels report poor fishing on the Sea of Galilee. In Luke’s gospel today Simon complains to Jesus that he and the others were fishing all night but didn’t catch a thing. Jesus commands the Apostles to lower their nets. They obey and make such a marvelous catch of fish that it makes Simon Peter fall to his knees and protest his sinfulness. Jesus responds by making the Apostles “fishers of men.” (Lk 5:1-11)

After Jesus’ crucifixion, the apostles went back to fishing on the Sea of Galilee. One day the fishing was poor again for the Apostles. The risen Lord appears and commands them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They obey, and again they make a marvelous catch of fish. In fact, John, the mystical evangelist, tells us the exact number of fish they caught: 153 [2]! (John 21:1-11)

Our critical shortage of fishers of men

Twice the gospel says that the heart of Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowds who were “like sheep without a shepherd.” In Mark, just before feeding five thousand hungry people with five loaves and two fish, Jesus teaches the crowds many things. He is moved with compassion for them, for they are “like sheep without a shepherd.”(Mk 6: 34) In Matthew Jesus travels through towns and villages, teaching in synagogues and healing all kinds of illness and disability. He is moved with compassion, for the crowds are” like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9: 36) With what compassion would Jesus look upon the Catholic faithful today who daily are becoming more and more “like sheep without a shepherd.” The church has a crisis on its hands; it is a critical shortage of fishers of men—a critical shortage of priests.

One winter I was celebrating Mass in a little country parish deep in the heart of Texas. I was taking the place of the pastor whom I had never met. I was told that he was sickly and actually said Sunday Mass sitting on a high chair in front of the altar. And here I was -- a spring chicken of 80 years -- limping in to help the poor man. The next winter I called the Vicar General of the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese to ask whether I could be of some help in a parish. I can still hear the surprise and delight in his voice. “Oh, you’re an answer to our prayers!” he exclaimed.”One of our priests just suddenly died and isn’t even buried yet, and we do, indeed, need help.” Here I was again -- a spring chicken of 80 plus years -- limping in to help.

The crisis is not only in Texas but everywhere. In Milwaukee, for example, the scarcity of priests has forced parishes to cluster together under a strange name like the Church of the Three Holy Women. [3]. And some poor pastor, like a circuit judge of early frontier days, has to pony-back from one parish to another to click off Sunday Masses.

Importing an octogenarian doesn’t fix our crisis. Importing priests from other countries (whose homilies the faithful can’t understand because of their poor English) again doesn’t fix our crisis. Neither does clustering parishes fix our crisis. These are all band-aids, and not much more. We, the church, have a crisis on our hands -- a critical shortage of fishers of men -- a critical shortage of priests. And no band-aid will fix it.

An archbishop trying to fix the crisis

Former Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rembert Weakland, aimed at something more innovative and courageous than a band-aid in trying to fix the priest-shortage crisis. In a pastoral letter to his archdiocese he wrote,

If it became evident that no resident priest would be available for a parish, and that there was no prospect of getting one in the near future, I would be willing to help the community surface a qualified candidate for ordain priesthood – even if a married man - and without raising false expectations or unfounded hope for him or the community, present such a candidate to the Pastor of the Universal Church [the Pope] for light and guidance. (Catholic Herald, January 10, 1991)

Rome’s response to the Archbishop was unambiguous. In his book A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church Weakland writes that when he went to Rome in 1993 for his ad limina [4] visit to the Pope, a letter was hand-delivered to him from Cardinal Bernadine Gantin, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. The letter made it clear to Weakland that,

Among the requirements of Catholic unity there is the need [for you Archbishop Weakland] to accept the tradition of the Church. According to ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops, it is not [italics ours] possible to present married men for ordination to the priesthood.

The letter also made it clear to Weakland that concerning,

The question of the ordination of women, your position is perceived to be in opposition to the teaching of the Church. Moreover, the charge of ‘intransigency’ – a word used by your Excellency – on the part of the Church in this matter, can seriously damage Church authority and Church government.

As a closing shot to the whole affair, the Archbishop writes in his book,

When historians, decades from now, talk about the lack of vocations to the priesthood in the Catholic Church at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century, or when they try to analyze the reasons for the falling off of active church participation, I hope they do not forget to include as a contributing factor this silent group that left the Church – or at least stood by the sidelines – not because of the sexual abuse by 4 percent of its priests, but because of closing the discussion on the inclusion of women at all levels. From generation to generation, women have always been the most significant bearers of the Church’s life and tradition; to lose them was
tantamount to losing the future. (P. 340 in A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church)

Presbyterians fixing the crisis

Margaret Butter was a pioneer CEO, philanthropist and patron of the arts, especially of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. When she died, her daughter-in-law, the Rev. Sarah Sarchet Butter (an ordained Presbyterian minister) and I (a Catholic priest) officiated at Margaret’s funeral which took place in a cemetery chapel. Rev. Sarah did the first reading from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 31, which sings the praises of a woman who is a good mother, wife, and manager of her household. Rev. Sarah read with wonderful expression and feeling. At the final commendation she invited the crowd in the cemetery to draw near to the casket kissed by a setting sun on a day filled with the fine feel of fall. She pulled everyone into a heartfelt final good-bye.

As I observed her and the crowd totally captivated by her heart-felt words and expressions, I found myself quietly exclaiming, “See how innovative and courageous these Presbyterians are! See how they resist the temptation to have recourse to an “ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops” or to “a long unbroken tradition” of ordaining only men! See how they have fixed their critical shortage of fishers of men! Not only do they ordain married men they even ordain women!

The solution: obedience to Jesus

The solution to the shortage of fishers of men is obedience to Jesus who commands us to launch off into the deep and cast our net on the `right’ side of the boat, for we are fishing on the wrong side. When looking for vocations to the priesthood, we are fishing on the wrong side of the boat when we spend our energy looking for a male who is a celibate and even a saint. We are fishing on the wrong side of the boat when we look for someone who has great managerial skills. We are fishing on the `right ‘side of the boat when we spend our energy looking for someone who is better at poetry than at prose, who is better at `left-hand’ rather than ‘right-hand’ thinking, and who tells stories rather than speaks with fleshless and abstract words. We are fishing on the `right’ of the boat especially when we look for someone who is good at mystery – at the more-than-meets-the-eye.

Conclusion
Fishing on the `right’ side of the boat

There’s an old oriental wisdom which looks upon crises positively as blessed moments of opportunity. In her priest-shortage crisis we often hear our church pray “for young men who will be generous enough to devote their lives to the priesthood.” Instead of such praying, it would be more profitable for us to lay hold of the opportunity wrapped up in the blessed crisis before us. Instead of such praying, it would be more profitable for us to launch off into the deep and fish on the `right’ side of boat, as the Lord has commanded.

[1] Called also the sea of Tiberius or Galilee
[2] St. Jerome of the fourth century writes that ancient zoologists calculated the number of different kinds of fish in the sea to be 153. The number is symbolic for a mighty large catch.
[3] The parishes of St. Rita, St. Hedwig and Holy Rosary
[4] Limen is a Latin word meaning `threshold.’ Every five years the bishops of the world must go to Rome, to the threshold of St. Peter’s, and have a conference with the pope.

A shining City on a Mountaintop

Mont St. Michel France

A Shining City on a Mountaintop

(Mt 5:14)

February 6, 2011, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 58:7-10 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Matthew 5:13-16

First reading from Isaiah: “Your light shall break forth.”

Thus says the LORD: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

The Word of God
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord

“You are a shining city on a mountaintop.”

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. You are a shining city on a mountaintop, glowing in the night for all to see. No one lights a lamp to put it under a bowl; instead he puts it on a lamp-stand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see your goodness and give praise to your Father in heaven.”

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

----------------
Introduction
A much-liked imagery

The boot of Italy is dotted with thousands of little towns and cities perched upon the lofty hills and mountaintops. At night, they’re all aglow with lights. It’s a beautiful sight to behold. That’s the imagery Jesus has in mind when He says, “You are like a city built upon a mountaintop, and glowing in the night for all to see.”

It’s a much-liked image. Puritan John Winthrop, standing on the tiny deck of the Arabella in 1630 off the Massachusetts coast, wrote a sermon entitled A Model of Christian Charity. In it he admonished the future Massachusetts Bay colonists to be a “shining city upon a hill, watched by the whole world.” President Reagan also used the image in a speech: “Why this country is a shining city built upon a hill!” In response to Reagan, former Governor of New York, Italian Mario Cuomo, took up the image in his famous keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, July 16, 1984. “Mr. President,” he said, “you ought to know that this nation is more a Tale of Two Cities than it is a shining city upon a hill.” Cuomo wove the image throughout his speech.[1] In 2008 running mate Sarah Palin announced that she shares a worldview with John McCain “that says that America is a shining city upon a hill, as President Regan so beautifully said.”

Pope John and Fr. Judge -- shining cities upon a mountaintop

The gospel says that we are like those little Italian towns perched upon mountaintops and sparkling like gems in the setting sun. People seeing our goodness give glory to the Father in heaven. Good Pope John XXIII sitting on the lofty throne of Peter was truly a shining city on a mountaintop, during his very short pontificate (1958-63). As he lay dying on June 3, 1963, the whole world was kneeling at his bedside. (We who were tuned in to the news that day know that’s not an exaggeration.)The Catholic and non-Catholic world had experienced Pope John’s goodness, and both gave glory to the Father in heaven for it.

Franciscan Father Mychal Judge was a compassionate champion of the forlorn and forgotten of New York City and a beloved chaplain of the N.Y. City Fire Department,. He died in the holocaust of 9/11, as he ministered the last rites to a dying firefighter. He too was a shining city on a mountaintop. Multitudes of churched and unchurched people saw Fr. Judge’s goodness, and gave glory to the Father in heaven for it. When a memorial service was held for Fr. Judge, an endless flow of priests, nuns, lawyers, cops, firefighters, homeless people, rock-and-rollers, recovering alcoholics, local politicians and middle aged couples from the suburbs streamed into Good Shepherd Chapel on Ninth Ave., an Anglican church, to memorialize a Roman Catholic.

A Jewish CEO --- a shining city upon a mountaintop

Aaron Feuerstein, a devout Jew, is CEO and owner of Malden Mills, a fabric factory in Methuen, Massachusetts. On the night of December 11, 1995 when a surprise party was held for his seventieth birthday, a boiler exploded and a devastating fire demolished a good part of his factory. He didn’t grab the insurance money and run. Instead he assembled all his 2400 employees in the Catholic school and assured them that with God's help they would all get through the tragedy together. Then he gave them their pay checks plus a $275 Christmas bonus and a $20 food coupon. He also promised that for 30 days all his employees would be paid their full salaries, and that for 90 days their health insurance would be paid. Above all, he promised that within 90 days he would try to have his factory 100 percent operational, and his people back to work. There was a moment of stunned disbelief, and then the workers rose to their feet cheering and hugging each other and also weeping. Aaron Feuerstein is the salt of the earth. He is light for this world. He is a shining city on a mountaintop, for everyone to see. His 2400 employees saw his goodness, and gave glory to the Father in heaven for it.

A quarterback -- a shining city upon a mountaintop

Today February 6, 2011 Super Bowl XLV will pit the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers to decide the NFL champion for the 2010 season. The game will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff time is approximately 5:25pm. Quarterback for the Packers is Aaron Rogers and Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers. The occasion calls to mind another quarterback - Kurtis Warner – of the St. Louis Rams, who led his team to victory against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, Jan. 30, 2000.

An e-mail I received reads:

When they met, Kurtis Warner was a university student and Brenda was a divorced single mom living on food stamps. In his autobiography Keep Your Head Up Kurt describes his and Brenda's first encounter, when a teammate at the University of Northern Iowa talked him into going to a country-music club in Cedar Falls, Iowa. There was an instant connection, but Brenda didn't know whether it would last. Not only was she a single mom, but one of her two children - her son Zachary - had significant medical problems. He was blinded and brain-injured when accidentally dropped to the floor by her first husband. Kurt was not turned aside by the children or Zachary's condition, and he and Brenda forged a relationship that resulted in their marrying four years later.

After trying out with the Green Bay Packers, Kurt received a pink-slip and returned to Cedar Falls in 1994. There he worked nights stocking shelves for $5.50 an hour. To keep a long story short, he eventually became quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, and rose to fame by throwing an amazing 41 touchdowns passes in one season for the Rams, bringing them to a 13-3 record and to memorable victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

He is known for his commitment to his family, his clean-kid lifestyle, and his Christian faith. He and Brenda now live in St. Louis with their four children Zachary, Kade, Jesse, and Jada Jo. Kurt is the founder of First Things First -- a foundation dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put First Things First.

That e-mail was sent as a gentle rebuttal to a homily I preached, which took pot shots at sport heroes “as overrated, overpaid and very spoiled brats.” Among them, I included the infamous quarterback Michael Vick, who has more money than he needs, and yet ran a lucrative but utterly cruel dog-fighting operation. The e-mail was written by one who saw quarterback Kurt as a shining city upon a mountaintop (especially in the world of sports), and he titled his e-mail: “Sometimes sport heroes are heroes.”

Conclusion
A motley tribe

John XXIII was born poor in a little Italian village named Bergamo Sotto il Monte (Bergamo at the Foot of the Mountain), and he made it to the top as the Church’s 261st pope. Fr. Mychal Judge was a recovering alcoholic and parish priest for all of New York City’s forlorn and forgotten. CEO Aaron Feuerstein showed remarkable goodness toward his burnt-out employees, and he dismisses any praise of him, saying he was simply following the prophet Micah asks him "to act justly, to be filled with loving kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God." (Micah 6:8) Super Bowl hero quarterback Kurtis Warner proves that “sometimes sport heroes are heroes,” as they try to put First Things First in their lives.

John, Mychal, Aaron, Kurtis are indeed a motley tribe. But at the end of the day, they’re all shining cities on a mountaintop, and we, seeing their goodness, give glory to the Father in heaven.

[1] In the same speech Cuomo also remarked, “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.”