Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Sunday June 8, 2008

“It is love that I desire, not sacrifice.”

It was an expression used by priests and seminarians ‘back in the old days’ when life in the Church and in Church ministry was a bit more simple than today. There was no talk of shortages of priests and what we learned in the seminary was expected to guide both you and me through a lifelong textbook religious experience to heaven. Ah for the simple days when everything was black and white. But I suppose we should confess that it sometimes lacked the joy of living color.

At any rate, when seminarians and priests would gather for simple celebrations on feasts or festivals, the regular ‘order’ of the day was suspended. The strict code and the rigid schedule that ruled our lives were put aside. As we sat down to enjoy a good meal topped off with pie alamode, someone would inevitably comment ‘tongue-in-cheek’ of course, “It’s a life of sacrifice!”

The expression was more hyperbole than a statement of truth—at least for the moment. The ‘luxury’ of putting aside our seminary diet and daily routine was a far cry from licentious living. The feast was still alcohol-free and the only women in sight were the elderly sisters, well covered in the religious habits of those days, who tended to the housekeeping responsibilities of the seminary – a feminist’s nightmare for sure!

Sacrifice is a relative term but it has always been an important word in our Catholic vocabulary, not to be taken lightly. Even when spoken in a jocular context, the word conjures up thoughts of ‘giving up’ rather than ‘giving to’ in the expression of love. But sacrifice is indeed an exercise in the discipline of love. It’s really more than abstaining from my favorite dessert or giving up the fleeting pleasure of golf or a good movie. It’s an act of giving something precious to another, but it’s the giving not the ‘giving up’ that is important.

It has as its objective, someone other than oneself. A sacrifice is not meant to enhance oneself but to enrich the other. Even those who sacrifice time, effort, and money to achieve an academic reward or athletic award act justifiably with an eye to developing the personal skills that may contribute to the well-being of society or humanity. Of course it is also true that the underlying motivation may be to earn a living and live a more comfortable life. The truth is that life is a mix of both. In fact, there are more ‘both / ands’ in this life than ‘either / ors.’

The readings this weekend address the issue of sacrifice in the life of believers. Hosea, speaking for the Lord, challenged the Israelites in these words: “…my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” So already in the Old Testament, the notion of sacrifice was broadened beyond physical deprivation or empty ritual.

This poetic prophecy spoken just prior to the Babylonian exile was addressed to the Israelites but also recorded for us to address the ‘disconnect’ between ritual sacrifice and daily routine. Worship must be more than an exercise of ritual and rubric. It must come from the heart and be reflected in the sacrificial works of justice, charity, indeed, of generous love of many kinds and in many forms. In essence, the service of liturgy in this assembly becomes the liturgy of service in the world assembly.

This was not the way it was in Hosea’s time and it remains a challenge in our own time. In fact, Hosea speaking for God refers to Israel as his harlot wife who has abandoned her lover (God) to seek her own pleasure in illicit relationships with foreign nations hoping that in these alliances they would find the pot of gold and political prestige. But the Lord has this to say: “I do not want your empty ritual sacrifices and your bribes; I want your heart!”

Citing Abraham and Sarah as examples and Jesus as the perfect exemplar,
Saint Paul emphasizes in his long letter to the Romans that faith is at the heart of true sacrifice. Because of the connection between his faith and his willingness to act in accordance with that faith, he was deemed by God to be justified, i.e., right with God.

The Gospel of Matthew brings the challenge of sacrificial love to a head. Jesus himself breaks through the barriers of empty rituals and demonstrates that faithfulness means crossing the boundaries between rich and poor, saint and sinner, powerful and powerless. Jesus did not seek to die but to live faithfully. This was his living sacrifice.

Levi, the tax collector and sinner, becomes Matthew the believer. Jesus dines with sinners and they are transformed into heralds of good news. “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

So there, you have it. We are called to a “life of sacrifice” but not a life of torture. The biblical challenge is not a call to masochism and is surely not dissuading us from worship but challenging us to connect worship with life, to give meaning to the daily sacrifice of taking our discipleship with Jesus seriously and of living his Gospel faithfully and therefore more fruitfully.

There is both a vertical and a horizontal dimension in authentic Catholic worship. We can’t have one without the other. The cross is the symbol. The vertical symbolizes our connection with God. We come here to worship and praise God and to be absorbed into the rhythm of God’s life over time. The Word of God forms us and we become the bread that we break and eat at this table.

The horizontal bar connects us each one to another in the Church. We are bonded in Christ and are unable to remain connected with God and true disciples without staying connected to one another. I can’t remain faithful without your help.

There is no time like the present to take this message to heart as the prophets of our own time challenge our Church to purify itself by divesting itself of the trappings of earthly power and excessive materialism as we seek to act in the name and person of Jesus.

“God is more glorified by a man who uses the good things of this life in simplicity and with gratitude than by the nervous asceticism of someone who is agitated about every detail of his self-denial. The former uses good things and thinks of God. The latter is afraid of good things, and consequently cannot use them properly. He is terrified of the pleasure God has put in things, and in his terror thinks only of himself. He imagines God has placed all the good things of the world before him like bait in a trap. He worries at all times about his own ‘perfection.’ His struggle for perfection becomes a kind of battle of wits with the Creator Who made all things good.” [No Man Is An Island, Thomas Merton]

As individual members of the Church are challenged to think through our way of life as we attempt to break down barriers of discord and division in our Church and in our world. We are challenged to live joyfully, to love generously, and to know that God is never far from us.

This is sacrificial love at its best. In the word of that old song, it’s “the love that makes the world go round!’

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