My friends, we are challenged once again this week to see beyond the “black and white” story as presented in Luke’s gospel today about the poor, sick man, Lazarus, at the gates of the rich man, hoping only for the scraps falling from an abundant table. The story might be seen simply as one selfish man refusing to share with an unfortunate neighbor. 

   But actually, as is always the case with our brother Jesus, he is asking us to see more.  The actual “sin” here is not the selfishness of one human to another, but the sin of being “complacent” which the prophet Amos is railing about to his Israelite neighbors in the 1^st reading today.  He says, “Woe to [you who are] complacent!” 

   When we become complacent, we don’t recognize evil when it is right in front of us, or we can’t be bothered, and eventually this attitude blocks us from being our best selves, which is really what following Jesus is all about. 

   Again, looking deeper at the gospel story, you may have noticed that the poor man is named while the rich man is not.  We are told that this lack of naming the rich man is a way to downplay his actions while uplifting, through naming, the plight of Lazarus. 

   By uplifting the poor man Lazarus, Jesus calls our attention to him, the good he embodies, and the need to recognize him, and others like him – or in other words, not be complacent.  As we spoke of last week, we may not be able to totally fix every problem that we encounter in our world, but we must have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that engage with those in need, doing what we can. 

   I recently, through one of you, was introduced to a really wonderful book, entitled,  Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan.  In the first chapters, I was a bit concerned as he seemed to be down-playing so many of the events and places connected to Jesus as historically not possible – events that we remember in our yearly liturgical calendar, such as Jesus being born in Bethlehem and his parents traveling to Egypt to escape King Herod. 

   Now, Aslan isn’t the first to write in this fashion about the historical Jesus of Nazareth who did live, teach and preach, and die as a result of how he had lived, and he won’t be the last, no doubt, but his book in its entirety has led me to believe even more so than before in all that Jesus did and has meant to our world.  Let me tell you why. 

   As with everything that we read in the Bible, we must go to the heart of the message.  Our God did send our brother Jesus to be one of us, encouraging each of us through his own life to live, as we heard today in Paul’s letter to Timothy, “as one dedicated to God, [striving] to be a person of integrity, [one who can reverence all of creation] filled with faith  and love, [one who is] patient and gentle. 

   Aslan, in his book, relates the message of Jesus of Nazareth as those first followers knew him and believed him to be the Messiah, alongside Saul of Tarsus, who later would become Paul, who gave the world Jesus, the Christ.

   We must remember two things here – Jesus’ 1^st followers didn’t necessarily think of him as both human and God, whereas Paul, who never knew Jesus in the flesh, proclaimed him, in his belief, as the Christ, a God big enough for all believers – not just Jews.  Writers like Franciscans, Sister Ilia Delio and Father Richard Rohr speak of Jesus as the “Cosmic Christ” in this regard – again, a God big enough for all of us. 

   Aslan, in Zealot, lays out the real struggles between the church in Jerusalem headed by James the Just, most likely Jesus’ brother, and not his “cousin,” as we Catholics were told through the years,  and the church of Paul who took Jesus’ message to the Gentiles. 

   Over time, the two belief systems would be melded, and in Aslan’s words, [the person, Jesus of Nazareth] “would be almost lost to history.”  Personally, I always wondered why I very seldom, if at all heard the message, the words and actions of Jesus lifted up in my brother priests’ homilies.  Aslan helped me see perhaps a bit of the answer. 

   Believing in mysteries such as God coming among us in human form, [however that may have happened] living a time, dying, rising, and ascending into heaven – actions that we humans are really not capable of, make the belief in such a God/human in some ways more palatable then believing in a human/God who journeyed through life as we do – trying and succeeding at doing his best – encouraging us to do the same – in fact, expecting us to!  Aslan says that “this is a shame, because the one thing any comprehensive study of the historical Jesus should reveal is that Jesus of Nazareth – Jesus the man, is every bit as compelling, charismatic, and praiseworthy as Jesus, the Christ. He is in short, someone worth believing in.”  And I would add, modeling in our own lives. 

   So, my friends, what is the author of Zealot  saying here?  That Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus, the Christ are two different beings?  No.  What I think he is saying is that the two are one, but that we must take the whole package and especially, “not be complacent” in following our brother Jesus who spoke truth-to-power when needed, even if those who needed to be challenged were so-called leaders in Church or State.  To be a Christian, not to be confused with those who today tie this title to “nationalism,” means that we will “have to be bothered,” we can’t look away, we must respond as Jesus did, because “not responding” seems to be the true sin spoken of in today’s gospel.  Let’s not be guilty of that sin – complacency.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, the message of today’s Scriptures really couldn’t be clearer – live attentively – see the world through open eyes, listen with ears connected to your heart – seek balance in your lives. The message is clear that is, for those who are looking for more than a literal meaning. 

   Let’s take a closer look:

• The prophet Amos addresses the Israelites – “Listen, you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor…”  these actions will never be forgotten – not “a single thing you have done.”
• The psalmist in number 34 clearly states, “our God hears the cry of the poor…”
• Paul instructs Timothy to “live [a] godly and reverent life,” [praying] “for everyone, especially for rulers and those with authority.”
• And finally, Luke shares our brother Jesus’ words to basically look for balance in our lives.  “You cannot worship both God and money.” 

   With that much of a beginning, let’s look closer so as to really tie these Scriptures into our daily lives.  The 1^st reading from the prophet Amos clearly states that our God will not look kindly on us if we “trample on the needy and suppress the poor.”  So what does that actually mean  for our daily lives, up close and personal?

   In a general way, as citizens of our United States, at least, but around our world too, we should be looking and hearing with eyes wide open and ears fully tuned in to those who live with less than the basics of life – we should try and understand why that is –what part do I play in this fact?

   In my reading, my people who live with less than the basics, don’t want to live that way – and do want, in reality, to take care of themselves, and sometimes just need a hand up when misfortune happens.  There are many stories out there of people who were, as we say, “on the top of their game,” and very quickly, it seemed, lost everything.  There but for the grace of God, any of us could find ourselves. 

   The multitude of reasons that people can find themselves “in need,” isn’t a “black and white” thing, easily or simply understood; but the least that any of us can do is to listen, to show compassion, and to help if we can.  The only thing we can’t do is ignore the stated problem if in fact we claim to be human, and for us, Christian too. 

   Today’s gospel from Luke is a bit confusing if we simply look at the meaning literally.  We may wonder if Jesus is praising the steward for being dishonest and simply thinking of himself.  Exegetes tell us, “No,” that what Jesus is uplifting is the steward’s “creativity” in finding “a way” to solve his problem. 

   Taking this lesson forward, the message is clear for us too – looking at our world, our Church, we must find ways toward needed solutions, even, like in the example of the steward in today’s gospel, the answer may not be perfect, but the needs of all are addressed in some way.  Jesus speaks to the complexity we find at times in doing our best, “If you can trust others in little things, you can trust them in greater.” 

   Sometimes, we just need to move in faith because the “balance” we seek in doing the most good is found there. For myself personally, and other women priests – we had to move ahead following our God-given calls to pastor God’s people without the approval of the powers that be – not a perfect solution, but one that has brought much good to many.  As the psalmist says of it, and we sang beautifully, “Our God hears the cry of the poor,” and helps us if we are willing, to find a way. 

   We get a clearer instruction from Paul to Timothy in how to do our best, even if seemingly, not always enough… “live a godly and reverent life.”  This tells me that we have to first decide what we value in life – for ourselves and others, and then do all we can, and again, even if not enough, to make life better where it is not.  And the piece that “seals the deal, “ so to speak, is that we “pray for everyone, especially for rulers and those in authority.”  To me, it seems, in both Church and State, those prayers are more than needed. 

   Looking one more time at Jesus’ words today that we cannot “worship both God and money,” I would like to suggest that “money,” is a catchall word for anything that gets in the way of our hearing the message of our God – it may be in fact, money, or power, our need to control, other riches, passions, and it is good to know what it is that distracts us, takes us away from doing the good we might do in our world, except for this distraction. 

   In conclusion then my friends, the world in which we live can seem sad and hopeless at times, but I want you to know that I see, as does our God, the good that you all are about in your lives, and I am here to encourage you to keep on – it all matters – it does! Our God hears the laments we sigh from day to day, and stands by supporting us and loving us as we work toward the betterment of all in our country, Church, and world.

Amen? Amen!

My friends, being that I needed to prepare for two services this week, with Wayne Purtzer’s Celebration of Life yesterday, I opted to use parts of a homily for this Sunday from three years ago.  With the gospel for today then, I used the longer version to include the story of the Prodigals – a son and a father, and what the Spirit and I put together then seems still, most appropriate, and worth a second “listen,” unless you weren’t here three years ago, and then it will be brand new! 

   All the readings today address the virtue of mercy – responding to what life brings us through people and experiences, giving folks a break when bad things happen and trusting and expecting better going forward. 

   The first reading from Exodus today is a curious one in that we see Moses acting more like God than God!  Moses has to plead with God to spare the Israelite people who seem to forget the goodness they have been shown by God who brought them out of Egypt and then, so easily “run after” other gods. 

   In order to understand the actions of this seemingly merciless God, we must remember that the people in the Old Testament saw God as a reflection of themselves – therefore in  their lack of faith, trust, mercy and so on, God must be the same way, was their thinking. 

   This reminds me of a conversation I had this past week with someone who thought she couldn’t ask God to help with a problem that was causing her a lot of stress, “because God probably had too much already to take care of.”  I encouraged her to ask anyway because, as I lifted up, we may be too busy, but God never is, and wants to help us in every way possible.  This was depicted well in today’s gospel of the prodigal parent. 

   This notion of living “mercifully,” is carried through in our 2^nd reading where Paul is writing to Timothy who is his disciple, that he, Paul was shown mercy for his many sins and is instructing his student that when mercy is shown, mercy, going forward must be shown as well. 

   Then we move into the beautiful gospel from Luke who shows us three wonderful images of our merciful God: First we hear about the Good Shepherd who will always search out the lost one, the woman who turned her house upside down looking for a lost coin—which by the way, is the same story as the Good Shepherd, only giving a feminine face to our loving God. (show picture)  The final face of God given us to consider from Luke is probably, in my mind, the most beautiful depiction Jesus gave us of who our God truly is—the story of the “Prodigal Son,” but more so, the “Prodigal Parent.”  The son shows us, “over-the-top” selfishness, and disregard for the mores of his family and community, and the parent shows, “over-the-top” love, and acceptance, regardless of mores, for the errant child, and thus, we, today, get a clear view of how God will look upon us as well. 

   In order for us to truly get a view of what Jesus is saying here about God in using the story of the Prodigal, it is important for us to look at how the people in Jesus’ time and culture would have heard and understood it. An inheritance was given to an offspring at the death of the parent.  In this story, the son asks for it early —  the first custom broken, which shows disrespect for the parent, which the parent dismisses, and gives the inheritance anyway. 

   Now it would have been one thing had the son gone out and used the inheritance wisely, but as the story reveals, this was not the case.  When the son, who eventually becomes penniless and is basically starving, having squandered his father’s gift, comes to his senses and returns, expecting to no longer be treated as a “son,” but as a “servant,” he discovers instead, the over-the-top love of his father. 

   It is good to look further into the cultural mores of this time, to get a better, complete view of the parent’s action.  The story tells us that the father “runs” to meet his son.  This is important because the custom would have been for the “errant one” to be met at the city gates by a representative of the community, who would have broken a clay pot at the person’s feet, signifying that the relationship with the community had been broken, and going forward, “the sin” would always be remembered.  The Prodigal Dad, wanting to spare his son that humiliation, runs ahead, meets him, and lovingly takes him home.  In our time, we would say, this dad “had his son’s back!” 

   So, my friends, because “mercy” is so dominant the theme today, I used some literary license in changing the psalm response to the prayer of the 23^rd psalm, “Shepherd Me O’ God,” and we will use it likewise for the Prayers of the Faithful, because it is the on-going prayer of one who wants God to always show them the way.

   In conclusion then, the heartfelt words of Paul to Timothy, “that he did not know what he was doing in his unbelief,” seem perhaps, a response to much that is wrong in our Church and world today.  We must all pray that the God who loves us so much will show us—shepherd us, into the best ways of being for ourselves and for others.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, I would like to begin today with a little story that I heard recently to set the tone for looking at this week’s chosen readings.  We have all heard, witnessed, and participated in young people setting up lemonade stands during the hot days of summer to earn a bit of personal spending money.  Recently the news on CBS carried a story on the segment,  On the Road, with Steve Hartman telling of a young boy with a little twist to the familiar lemonade stand.  Rather than offering a cold drink on a hot day for a price, a 9-year-old boy set up a stand in his neighborhood offering “compliments” for free.

   At first, he didn’t get too many takers, but over time, more and more people stopped and even came from a distance to receive a compliment.  When Hartman asked the boy why he was doing this, and especially for free, he simply said that he thought people needed to hear good things and that he wanted to be the one to do that.  In speaking with his parents, Steve found out that their son just came up with this idea on his own. 

   And because good stories are the easiest way I believe to connect us to “hard sayings” in the Scriptures, I will share another story from this past week.  This one from PBS introduced viewers to, The Tiny Chef – a little green person who speaks as through he/she may have been born deaf, and had to learn to speak without hearing.  The Tiny Chef  was seen for several years on Nickelodeon until recently canceled.

    The creators of  The Tiny Chef, two women, thought it important to show “someone” not necessarily perfect offering easy recipes for people to follow, along with good advice – wisdom really, and even common emotions that are part of life, basically, as this little green person said, “Feel the feels” – when the show was canceled, supporting the fact that life isn’t always easy, he had a “good cry” before moving on to what might come next.

   Our Scriptures for today flow right into these stories:  The Wisdom writer tells us, “The perishable body presses down on the soul,” and “clay houses weigh down the restless mind” – poetical ways to say that our human bodies often get in the way of “doing our best,” when it comes to daily life and our encounters with others.

   I have mentioned before that I am reading, Freeing Jesus, by Diane Butler Bass, and in a section, I was reading this past week where she was recounting her own, personal faith-walk, she made a statement that I thought, was really compelling!  She said, [those who go to the seminary are taught] “to ignore the promptings of your own heart, and that your experience does not matter.  Theology is a matter of submission to ideas shaped by men smarter than you.”

   Now Butler Bass and your pastor would have to disagree with this type of teaching, because if, “the promptings of our own hearts, and our experiences in this life don’t matter,”  in the ways we live our lives of faith, then what does that say about the psalmist’s words in number 104 that, “the Spirit is continually renewing the face of the earth?”

   The Wisdom writer today continues, letting us know that “wisdom” or the Spirit, shows us the way, and that through other sources, we have come to know, that this wisdom, the Spirit, comes through our hearts. I always give credit for my homilies to the Spirit, and have said to some of you, “it is what she (the Spirit) and I do together each week. 

   The less known letter to Philemon today places its writer, Paul, in prison, and he is trying to let Philemon, a slaveholder, know that by the baptism he shares with his unnamed slave, Onesimus, the two, slave, and slaveholder, become equal.  In other words, Paul says, even though it was common practice at this time to hold slaves, you can’t say that you believe in Jesus and are his follower and do so – that is just wrong.  Knowing this piece, that it was common to hold slaves, Paul’s earlier words about our “perishable bodies” and “clay houses” getting in the way of doing the good we could and should do, makes more sense, and Paul seems to be saying if his convert Philemon, would lay this issue, “on his heart,” the solution would be more clear.

   And finally, the gospel message today from Luke seems rather harsh at face value and if we come at it through our hearts taking a broader view, than through our minds alone, its true meaning is more understandable. 

   Exegetes often explain away Jesus’ apparent harshness in this reading suggesting his belief that his time on earth was short and that he wanted his hearers to know the importance of once accepting belief in his message, there should be no turning back – it was and is that important! 

   Now, does that literally mean leaving family and loved ones behind? No, especially if we keep in mind, and heart all of Jesus’ words of how important each person is to God. 

   Following Jesus’ “way, truth and life” certainly meant caring for all people, family included.  Where the “rubber meets the road,” so to speak, is when the challenge to be true to Jesus’ call is pitted against our family’s wishes to live in an alternate way.  I always give my own personal call to ordination as an example of this, as many of my family of origin did not support that decision and felt they couldn’t attend this event – but regardless, I knew God’s call had to take precedence.

   So, my friends, there you have it – following Jesus isn’t always easy, and sometimes when we do the “hard thing” we may have support, and sometimes not, but the fruits will tell us if this is of God, or not.  If peace, love and joy, for the most part are present, then, it is of God.  If we can answer the question, “Is love being served,” by what I am about to do, then again, we know we are doing the right thing. 

   The boy with the “compliment stand” somehow sensing that he was fulfilling an “unmet need,” and the two women who created The Tiny Chef,  serving up not only good food, but wisdom for living a wholesome life, “feeling the feels,” as the little green person said, could honestly say, “Love is being served here.” 

   And what about us – life is short, and as Sister Joan Chittister says, reflecting Jesus’ words to do our part, “If not us – now – who will answer – and when?”  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, this Sunday brings us to the reality that we live in a country where little kids can be shot while going to church.  There really aren’t words to express the sadness and grief that we feel when such a reality is the truth, and this is probably why I haven’t addressed this latest, senseless taking of life with you.  I realized my inaction when I read Pastor Danielle’s bulletin this past week where she said basically the same, “that there aren’t words!”  So, my friends, I wanted to begin here today with my omission and my commission to once again say that we as a country must follow other countries and put into law that arming our population with weapons of war is wrong, and simply must stop! 

  The mayor of Minneapolis said as much in addressing the vice-president of our United States’ comments uplifting, “thoughts and prayers.”  And again, this issue is bigger than politics—it is about humanity, about our deep spirituality, our values, Christianity among them.  It is bad enough that there are individuals out there who are so wounded, that they are filled with hatred for seemingly, “everyone;” but worse that we as a country give them “the right” to purchase and use weapons of mass destruction to express their woundedness, basically, no questions asked. 

   Let us turn then to today’s Scriptures to find some direction, some hope going forward.  The prophetic words of Sirach today are a guide to follow: he instructs us to “be gentle,” to “behave humbly,” and to “listen to our teachers.”  The writer to the Hebrews seems to be saying to turn toward God with our troubles that at times can seem insurmountable – we do have a God who is “touchable.”  And finally,  in the Gospel from Luke our brother Jesus encourages us to come to know who we are and who we are not – “those who exult themselves will be humbled, and so on.”

   So now, let’s look deeper…I believe Sirach in encouraging gentleness in our lived actions, humility in considering who we are and who we are not, knowing our place in all of creation, and listening to those more learned than us, speaks to the preparation that we must take before we act. 

   Sirach continues along this vein – “our hearts [are called] to discern the parables.” In other words, listening to others to find our way, must necessarily go through “our hearts.”  As someone said, “the heart is wiser…”  As we ponder the issue of  the “gun epidemic” in our country, it seems it will take, “all of our hearts,” united, to find a solution that we can literally, live with.  To that point, one of the parents, a dad who has children at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis, who weren’t injured, spoke to a reporter, and was in tears over the grief he felt for the families of the dead and injured children, expressing the confusion he was experiencing in never expecting someone to target children in a church. 

   My friends, I think “the hope” that we each look for at such a time of bewilderment has to come from a bigger place, from forces stronger than us, whether we call that “God” or some other, and from each other to keep choosing what is best in all of us.

   Our brother Jesus has shown us the way in his own personal, human life, speaking truth to power, even when he knew it might bring his physical downfall.  We can look  to our nation’s capital in the past few days to see examples of folks doing just that – speaking their truth to bring change. For those of you who have written Congress people about your disgust over detention centers for innocent victims whose only crime seems to be that they have the wrong color of skin, one such center, jokingly named after flesh-eating animals, appears to be closing soon due to your advocacy and that of many others across our country. 

   Again, the words of Sirach come to mind, and hopefully, to heart also – know who you are and who you are not – “the greater you are, the more you should behave humbly.”  Being “humble” seems to me to have a sense that, “I am not in control” – I, like others, have a part to play, but all is not in my hands.  In other words, this is not about “dictators” but about “being servants,” for all.  Keeping our eyes on Jesus and following his way seems the best “way” to go. 

   Looking back once more to the letter to the Hebrews, we read that the people needed to be reminded that their God wasn’t “untouchable, nor gloomy,” but in fact, just the opposite.  We may wonder why the people had this negative view of God, that the writer of this letter, one of Paul’s disciples, would have surely shared, was one they could confidently turn to for help. 

   The truth is no doubt a situation that many believers, us included, find ourselves in from time to time.  The Hebrews had made their bountiful God in their own image, perhaps not very “approachable,” even “gloomy” at times.  If their God is “less than approachable,” that gives them permission to be “less” too in their actions with others.  But if indeed, our God loves us in an over-the-top way as described by Jesus in parables such as The Prodigal and the Good Shepherd, then we are called to much more as well. 

   My friends, in the times in which we live, the words of the psalmist today in number 68, are especially compelling, letting us know that “our God has a special interest in the poor and downtrodden.”  Our brother Jesus reflected this interest of his Abba God to care for the “poor and downtrodden” and we as Jesus’ followers must do the same with love, mercy and justice.  The Scriptures can’t just be “nice stories,” but as our call for truth, when we hear lies, our call for humility in those who are in positions to lead, and our call to expect moral behavior, whether in Church or State. 

   In conclusion, friends, we humans, I believe, for the most part, strive to be our best, but sometimes the sheer immensity of problems we face, can be overwhelming.  So, just for today, I want to share some wise advice that our grandson Elliot and his class heard from their third-grade teacher, Mrs. Ratz a few years back – that seems good advice for today, for all of us as well.

   When you think, “I can’t do this, I don’t want to do this—or in groups, we can’t, they won’t—any of these negative, defeatist words, invite in the word, “yet” to help bring growth.  So, when you feel like, “I can’t make a difference in all that is wrong in our world, think, “yet!”   We are always called to more my friends, and together, with God’s help, we can do it!  Amen? Amen!