Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Sunday January 30, 2005

It’s All About ‘Soul Work’

The world is desperately in need of healing. Can it be said any more dramatically or put more simply than that? The phrase ‘broken humanity’ is by now a cliché that has become almost trite in the light of war and terrorism to say nothing of earthquakes, tidal waves, floods and avalanches. Indeed, the war on terrorism seems to be evoking even graver threats on the free world.

These threats notwithstanding, we continue to turn to the Scriptures for wisdom and guidance and although we do not expect the texts to supply us with clear-cut answers and a blueprint for action, we do search for words that provide solace and some direction for our response not only to world events but also to the many personal and family issues which challenge us every day.

It would appear from the readings that God favors the poor and the disenfranchised in every age. Is it possible that the Scriptures are holding up the poor as role models not only for the Jews but also for Christians, indeed, believers of every race and nation?

Zephaniah is not one of the more renowned prophets of the Old Testament. He is quoted only once in the New Testament and that by Matthew. A contemporary of Jeremiah during the reforms of King Josiah, the eyes of Zephaniah were definitely on the poor and disenfranchised of Judah in the face of an impending Babylonian invasion. Judah was a vassal state of Assyria in a state of political, economic and religious disarray.

Zephaniah was not glorifying poverty as a way of life but highlighting the notion of total dependence on God. He connected the poor with the anawim, i.e., the lowly people—those without privilege or power. This is an interesting association that prepares us for the teaching of Jesus in the Beatitudes. In essence, he was urging the people to turn to God for help by recognizing their poverty without God, joining the notion of poverty with lowliness or humility. When we know who God is, then we know who we are. Our true identity may be found not in power, money, status or even intellectual acumen but in our reliance on God. For us, Jesus is the epitome of reliance on God. “I have come not to do my will but the will of the one who sent me.”

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul addressed a community which was a mixed bag at best—rich and poor, educated and uneducated—but he seems to be pursing the same line of thinking as Zephaniah. At first reading, his message seems to be a putdown of the rich and well educated. However, he is challenging only those who considered themselves self-sufficient, relying more on their status than on the teaching of Jesus and dependence on God. It is still true that we usually get down on our knees very quickly when adversity strikes but when it passes, we become quite self-reliant. Two weeks ago, I was hit with the stomach virus that had been making the rounds. I was so sick, I thought I was going to die and then I was afraid I wouldn’t die! During the long and lonely night hours I bargained with God. “O God, if you make me better, I’ll give all my money away and become a Trappist monk!”

Matthew locates Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes on the mountain instead of on the plain as in Luke’s gospel because he wants to identify Jesus as the ‘new Moses,’ promulgator of a new law. Connecting poverty and lowliness with trust in God, Matthew intended this teaching not only as a description of the way Jesus lived but what life is like in the dominion of God. He encapsulates the prophecy of Zephaniah in the first beatitude which sets the tone for the rest of the beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” in other words, blessed are they who know who they are in the sight of God and who recognize their dependence on God. They are the ones who know the source of their inner strength; they are the ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven. They are the one who defer their thinking to God’s thinking. They are the meek and the merciful; they are the peacemakers and though they be lonely and even persecuted for their pursuit of justice, they will give their loneliness to God and it will not go unrewarded in the life to come.

The point of all this is that our identity is not found in what we own but in who we are before God. If we are in God, then our relationship with other creatures—men and women, indeed, with all of creation, cannot be neutral and therefore we cannot divide the world simplistically between those who are inherently good and those who are inherently evil but between the pursuit of good and the elimination of evil within ourselves as well as in the “enemy.” As someone put it quite aptly, evil is a snake that lurks in the heart of all humanity. This is what our ancient doctrine of Original Sin attempted to explain even if somewhat inadequately.

These texts challenge us during this time of warfare. Preachers may be tempted to adjust the texts in order to soften the demands of the Gospel or accommodate them in such a way as to diminish their relevance for our times.

Is war the answer to terrorism? Our president is enjoying an historical percentage approval from the American people. Faced with the greatest threat to human life and the most dangerous violation to human freedom, he is reacting in the interests of our nation and presumably in the interests of the known free world.

At the same time, Christians need to be reminded that they cannot delegate responsibility to one man or to government agencies without accountability. We would be irresponsible not to monitor our military interventions and pursuits, to be certain that the moral norms of justice are honored on all sides lest we ourselves succumb to the very evil we attempt to conquer. In the words of the contemporary spiritual writers, Thomas Moore and Richard Rohr, OFM, we need to do our’ soul work’ during this time of trial. Soul work does not mean business as usual as individuals, as a church and as a nation. It means delving into the depths of our being, acknowledging our sins and our wounds and our total dependence on God. In so doing, we will come to the realization that not only are we are treasured by God but that all humanity is treasured by God and that none of us is innocent of the divisions with which we wrestle. We can only conquer evil as we conquer it in our hearts.

On this historic day on which Iraqi residents and Iraqi citizens in the US are voting for representation in the new government, we can only join in solidarity with citizens over the world who yearn to be free of oppression of any kind. Let it be our resolve that despite the threat of terror and violence, we will also pursue a path to peace that includes the voice of Christ on the mount.

Whatever our position on terrorism and the appropriate response, we need to be sure that we don’t arrive at point at which we think for God rather than with God. Christ remains our paradigm and our hope for healing.

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