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Reflections on the Readings

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 29, 2010
(Sir 35: 12-14. 16­18; 2 Tim 4: 6-8. 16-18; Lk 18: 9-18)
Jesus was a keen observer of the people he met, as today’s gospel shows. He was invited to a meal, but the event was much more than a chance for everyone to stoke their furnaces. It was a social event, which people attended in order to see and be seen. Jesus took the opportunity to point out the shallowness of trying to better oneself socially by rubbing elbows with the right people. It is easy to make fun of such social climbing, but today we might pause to consider if we are sometimes guilty of something similar. Suppose for a moment that you were giving a dinner party and whomever you invited was sure to attend. Whom would you invite? To keep the meditation focused, let's make it an intimate affair, say no more than five guests. Would you go for a Nobel laureate, or perhaps an Oscar winner? For most of us, the homeless people in the area would probably be pretty low on the list of possible attendees, but let’s set that ethical issue aside for a moment and just consider what kind of people we would enjoy spending an evening with. To answer this question we need to ask: “Whom do I admire?” and “Whom would I like to be more like, if I could be?” Those may not be questions that we spend much time worrying about. That in itself might be a problem, because it may mean that we have sort of slid into those choices, without letting our gospel values have a part to play. For example, we might admire the drive and hard-nosed attitude of one of our work associates, without really connecting those qualities to the mess they have made of other parts of his or her life. We might admire the rapier-like wit of one of our neighbors, without really noticing how mean-spirited our conversation becomes when that person is holding forth. We might admire certain popular entertainers, for the lifestyle they enjoy, without acknowledging that much of their apparent joy is chemically enhanced. If we were to let our gospel values choose the guest list, we might include a person or two who create lasting beauty in other people’s lives. We might want people who have a little more of the peace of Christ in them than we have ourselves. We might want people who are selfless in their service. Such people might be found among the world’s glitterati, but on the other hand, we might have just as good luck finding them on an inner-city street.
(People who find these meditations interesting might consider joining one of our Bible study groups.)
(Your comments on these reflections are welcome at jkupin@stpaulsofprinceton.org.)

 

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 5, 2010
(Wis 9: 13-18; Phlm 9: 10, 12-17; Lk 14: 25-33)
St. Paul sometimes talks about the relation between body and spirit in terms of conflict: “The flesh has desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want” (Gal 5: 17). In this verse, St. Paul certainly has put his finger on a tension that is felt occasionally by anyone who tries to be serious in living up to the gospel message. Today’s reading from the book of Sirach gives us a less confrontational way of viewing the mismatch that exists between where we want to be spiritually and where we can easily get to. For Sirach, the body holds us back from understanding and responding to God. In his view, we pay too much attention to the heavy but fragile clay pot that is our body to have much attention left for God. Sirach says that having bodies makes us slow and timid. This idea puts the source of the problem in a different place. With St. Paul, we stand at life’s buffet table and we want all the rich and spicy items, but God allows us only carrots and celery. God always seems to be saying “no” to us. With Sirach, God is inviting us to go hang-gliding or deep-sea diving, but we usually make some excuse. We are called to soar to new heights of understanding, or to dive down to the depths of God’s love. But a person could get lost in that big a sky; a person could drown in that big an ocean. Better to just sit home. We are unsure of what we are capable of as Christians, and more than a little bit afraid to find out. Certainly, there have been people who have overcome that fear. Think of Bruce Ritter (who founded Covenant House in New York City) or Jean Vanier (founder of the L’Arche communities, which center around people with disabilities) or Millard Fuller (founder of Habitat for Humanity). Imperfect, just as we are, they have profoundly affected the lives of countless people with God’s help. It all began to happen when they said “yes” to God. If we are listening, we will find that every day we are being sent invitations by God, some little, some big, but all saying “Please come. Love, God.” It is hard to know what wonderful things might happen if we were to respond. It sounds scary, and there will undoubtedly be some cost to saying yes, but how sad it is to always be saying no. Listen to Jesus’ challenges today. Forget that old clay pot and fly!
(People who find these meditations interesting might consider joining one of our Bible study groups.)
(Your comments on these reflections are welcome at jkupin@stpaulsofprinceton.org.)