Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'C'

Sunday February 14, 2010

If it works for me, it will work for you. Yeah, right!

When I was a pastor, I used to say to the staff in a somewhat jocular fashion, “If the system works for me, it will work for you!” There was some truth to that statement but only if the system was well thought out and developed within a collaborative matrix in which all those working within the system enjoy a certain equality and have input into its development. If it was just a cute euphemism for “my way or the highway,” chances are it would work for no one including me.

This is one of those weekends when the preacher is challenged to “tell it like it is!” But what is the ‘IT’ we are talking about?

I think ‘IT’ refers not to a system but the energy that drives our lives and an attitude of mind and heart as individual believers, as a parish faith community and as a worldwide Church, in fact the energy that drives our world. Is the ‘IT’ narcissism or greed or is IT the thirst for wellness, justice, integrity and peace? Is ‘IT’ the demand for economic and political justice within a matrix of human rights or a ‘catch 22’ web in which the financially elite manipulate the system and take home the spoils In order to feed ourselves, we need to feed the economy — national and global—and the word ‘economy’ of course applies to more than dollars and cents. But it does require a great deal of common sense and bi-partisan collaboration unimpeded by ideological bias.

‘Feeding’ the economy demands creativity and requires hard work. After all, creativity and hard work are expected by the God who, we are told in the book of Genesis, drove our ancestors from the garden to labor and work by the sweat of their brow for their bread.

Does this mean, therefore, that anything and everything is justified as long as it works for me? Well, not quite. We are social beings by nature intended by God not just to care for ourselves but also to care for others with the help of one another next store, around the corner and across the globe.

The strong words of Jeremiah introduce Luke’s version of the Beatitudes addressed to Jesus’ disciples, ‘on the plain, to his peers, his early followers and to those who were already committed to his teachings in the early Church when Luke wrote this gospel. Matthew, on the other hand, places the Beatitudes within the context of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount because he was addressing himself to Jews for whom the great law came from Mount Sinai. For Matthew, the Beatitudes are the the constitutional document for the new age.

“Are you poor? Good for you! You are blessed! Don’t worry, in my dominion, your needs will be satisfied.” Are you hungry? Good for you! You are blessed because in my dominion you will be nourished and sustained.” Blessed are they who trust in God. Woe to those who trust only in their own resources.

Luke’s gospel is often called the “Gospel of the poor” because Jesus blesses those who are literally poor. However, Luke’s Jesus does not romanticize poverty as if indigence were an ideal to be pursued. Rather, he is challenging the wealthy members of the early Christian community not to depend on prosperity as if it was a reward for virtuous living. Jesus is confronting avarice and greed in all its forms, material and otherwise but he was not into politics. He was neither a capitalist nor a socialist; neither a Democrat nor Republican; neither a liberal nor a conservative. I would say he was pretty independent, but not a member of a tea party.

He was into justice and human rights, which do not depend on one’s political or social status but on one’s status before God. Humans left to their own ingenuity can easily become self-centered and selfish, piling up wealth in the face of the poor. He challenged the rich to be mindful that their possessions were not entitlements but the fruit of the earth [cf. Psalm 24] as well as the work of human hands and therefore ‘on loan’ as it were from God. The more a person possesses, the greater is the obligation to make sure that the poor do not go hungry and that the homeless have a place to lay their heads.

Justice is more demanding than charity. It’s not something one gives to another out of largesse. It is the acknowledgement of something to which others have a right before God—an entitlement. It is an empowerment in which the giver partners with the poor in the process of building a just society. Justice demands that we respect and promote the rights of the poor and enable them to cultivate and exercise their own creativity. Justice demands that we change systems that oppress or exploit anyone, especially the poor. It’s a justice issue when a small minority controls most the world’s wealth and resources leaving the poor with no control over the land and its fruits as has often occurred in Latin America with the help of the richest nations.

It’s a justice issue when the working poor and increasing numbers of the middle class need two and even three jobs to make ends meet while some of their employers are able to spend as much time away as they do on the job or receive a nice parachute package when the going gets rough. It is a justice issue when we demand the lowest retail prices forcing competitors to turn to cheap labor which in turn results in job losses for the middle class.

We may be tempted to write off the strong message of Jeremiah and the woes articulated by Luke’s Jesus as an outdated hermeneutic on the Word of God. However, we do so at the risk of watering down the power of the Word. Luke’s uncompromising message challenges the Church today as much as it challenged Jesus’ disciples.

The Beatitudes are the great equalizer for those who want to take the Gospel seriously, the force that drives faithful Christians to do the right thing and not to count the cost.

Are you with Jesus? Good for you! Blessed are you! You shall live in the dominion of God forever.

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