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Daily Scripture

+ 20th Week in Ordinary Time

I’ll do it myself.

Readings: Ezekiel 34:1-11 Psalm 23:1-6 Matthew 20:1-16

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep, I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths. [Ezekiel 34:10]

There is much talk about a vocation shortage—fewer young men entering the seminary and fewer still persevering to ordination. Not withstanding some notable exceptions this has resulted in the lowering of standards for ordination. Moreover, priests and candidates for the priesthood are being ‘imported’ from other countries whose needs are as urgent as ours.

The prevailing accent seems to be on the need to have a sufficient number of priests to ‘say Mass’ and provide for the sacramental needs of the faithful. But surely in the light of the Second Vatican Council, priests need to be more than presiders at Mass and providers of the sacraments, as important as are these roles.

The earliest experience of the Church can be instructive in this regard. The notion of presbyter provided the early church with presiders for worship and leaders for base communities. Celibacy was not an issue and there was no clerical caste. The gifts of the faithful were recognized in such a manner that men and women, married and single fulfilled the spiritual needs of the community including the sacramental needs.

Notwithstanding the inadequacy of the notion of shepherding people (sheeple?) the need remains for qualified men and women to minister to the needs of the community.

Ezekiel warned the priests and assured the people of Israel that God would find away to pasture his people.

Ezekiel’s words need to be taken to heart again and in fact we already see that God is indeed providing a way through the action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women, married and single, who are tending to the needs of the faithful.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Orindary Time 'C'

Sunday October 14, 2007

It’s All About Healing, Conversion, Gratitude and Hope

I think it was Karl Barth who said that we need to read the Bible with a copy of the daily newspaper at our side and Martin Buber who said that the preacher must have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. I feel certain that they were not the first to coin these phrases but never was the notion so poignant as now. The only thing I would add is that we need to read both the newspaper and the Bible thoughtfully and intelligently. Faith does not eliminate the need for brains and we surely do not check our intelligence or our common sense at the door of the church on entering. The age of the Enlightenment with John Locke in the lead may have raised doubts in the minds of sincere believers but the excesses of biblical and theological fundamentalism so evident in both the religious and political spheres today are reaping another kind of damage that threatens the life of the Holy Spirit in the assembly of thoughtful adherents to religion in general and to Catholicism in particular.

Faith and reason are not incompatible. Faithful people believe in miracles and miracles are not beyond the scope of reason when connected with faith.

Naaman was an intelligent man of pagan privilege, a mighty warrior who was not exempt from human frailty and the curse of leprosy. But he was not too proud to acquiesce to the pleas of a Jewish servant girl taken in captivity. He took the appropriate steps to seek healing in a land foreign to him and despite his doubts about the ritual of the ordinary — washing in what he considered a ‘dirty river’ compared to rivers in his homeland — an extraordinary thing happened. He was cured. It must be said that his faith and his trust in the ‘foreign’ God of Israel was not only his cure but also his salvation. His faith led to hope, his hope to cure and his cure to gratitude.

There is no indication that the ten lepers in Luke’s gospel were of privilege except that we know that nine were Israelites and one was a Samaritan. Nevertheless, all had lost their privileges. Despite the enmity that existed between the Israelites and the Samaritans, their common misfortune had broken down racial and national barriers. Luke was less interested in their geographical differences than in their theological similarities. Instead of calling out to warn passersby of their contamination as required by Jewish law, they shouted out to Jesus for mercy. Their loss of privilege became the doorway to their healing but one of the lepers went even further. He saw something more in Jesus, “and this man was a Samaritan!” His faith gave him the hope of a cure and his cure led to profound gratitude.

I don’t believe that there is one person here this morning who has not suffered estrangement of one kind or another and current world events surely continue to contribute to disaffection and even alienation.

If anything, the threat of terrorism has made us very conscious of our vulnerability and has moved many people to look beyond racial and national differences toward the qualities that join us in the face of a common threat. And despite the ongoing quagmire on foreign soil we know that we cannot abandon hope in the God whose love knows no boundaries. In fact, the Gospel cautions us today not to characterize people of another race or religion as enemies despite racial differences, cultural boundaries and global tensions. Extreme positions of every kind right or left can and often do deteriorate into intentional but irrational thinking that inevitably lead to destructive behavior of the kind that we have witnessed in recent months and years. Recently, Bill Moyers reported on the politically powerful group Christians United for Israel, whose leader, Pastor John Hagee, advocates for a preemptive strike against Iran. This is not the kind of coalition that contributes to the healing of the leprosy of hate that is so pervasive in our world.

We admire the tenacity those who listen before they speak and we continue pray for wisdom to world leaders that their pursuit of democracy not deteriorate into a vengeance that can never yield justice or preserve freedom and lead only to a new fascism.

People of faith can be healed by that faith and in the process become heroes to the hope that goodness will ultimately prevail. People of faith know their vulnerability and renounce their sense of privilege in deference to the call of justice and freedom for people of every race and nation. People of faith find reason to be grateful for the mercy and compassion of God who wants nothing more than for all wounds to be healed and for all people to be one in gratitude.

“Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God…. Naaman said: please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord.” [2 Kings 5:14, 17]

At the edge of Green Mountain National Forest in Weston, Vermont, Weston Priory, a small community of Benedictine monks provides sacred space for thousands of visitors of every faith tradition and many of no religious affiliation at all. Members of the Benedictine community come from the United States, Canada and Latin America. “Each has a unique background and personality expressed through a variety of creative gifts, but they all come to center their hopes and dreams in the gospel and spirit of Jesus.” [ The Monks of Weston Priory, Sharing Life in Word and Song, a catalogue of music and materials published by Weston Priory, 2007]

Although the brothers live apart from the world, they have invested their lives for the cause of justice and peace throughout the world. They have opened not only the doors of their priory but also the doors of their hearts to all who are searching for healing and hope.

There is a small piece of property in Chester, New Jersey, called “Bethlehem.” It is a ‘lara’ of hermits. Founded by Father Gene Romano almost thirty years ago, it is a place of refuge for many who seek solace and solitude in the ‘desert’ amid the pines of Chester. A brief visit to the ‘Hermitage’ leaves one with the impression that this too is sacred space and holy ground. The ground on which the Lord stands is indeed holy and a dwelling place built on holy ground is sacred. Though God’s presence cannot be restricted to a particular territory, we need holy places in the midst of world conflict and global tensions. We need to stand on holy ground to get our bearings so that we do not resort to unholy means to achieve justice and peace in our world. From time to time, we need to go to the desert to be alone with God—in solitude so that we can hear God’s unique voice speaking to our hearts calling us to do what is right and just despite the temptation to succumb to anger and fear.

We in the Christian tradition need to recognize and expose our ‘leprosy’ or whatever it is that prevents us from being our best selves even in the face of evil. Be it anger, hurt, depression, confusion, we cry out, Lord, have compassion and lead us not to the killing fields but to green pastures and beside restful waters where our souls may be refreshed. May we choose wisely and walk courageously forward in the sight of our foes despite our desire to seek revenge. In you, O Lord, justice and mercy meet. May we pursue that justice with integrity and never forget that your rod and your staff will be our strength.

Weston Priory and Bethlehem are rich symbols of what this parish, indeed the whole Church should be for everyone in a troubled world.