It was pointed out to me recently that people who think that they have all of the right answers, cannot handle being wrong; and therefore may never be able to learn anything new. That applies equally to Catholics and Evangelicals; to Republicans and Democrats; to U. S. Americans and the "enemies" of our country.
St. Peter began his life of discipleship as one of these "can't ever be wrong" people. In last week's Gospel story he had the correct answer. "You are the Christ!" he declared to Jesus and his fellow disciples. While the other disciples were guessing that Jesus was a dead prophet, revisited, Peter let them and Jesus know that the long awaited Messiah had arrived in the person of Jesus. In fact, Jesus calls Peter and his witness to the truth "The Rock" upon which the Church will be built. He gives St. Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is a very nice honor and reward for just answering Jesus' quiz correctly.
Yet this weekend's Gospel shows St. Peter getting in trouble with Jesus because he is sure that he is correct and Jesus is wrong. Jesus tells His followers how He is going to be the Messiah or Christ. His way of saving the human race involved being totally humiliated and subjected to disgrace, denial, untruthful testimony, trial, bloody and painful punishment, and eventually the most gruesome and agonizing form of capital punishment ever devised by a human mind.
That was not St. Peter's idea for the long awaited Savior. What he and other people of his time were looking for was someone to come into their country to free them from Roman subjugation. They wanted a savior who could restore Israel to being the leading nation of the world. They wanted a King; a REAL King; not some puppet of an occupying government "king". Or they wanted a religious Messiah. That meant that the savior that of Israel was going to be someone who would forcefully make sure that the Jewish religion and the God of the Jews was the preeminent god above all other gods AND that their religion and their temples would be the only avenue to the Divine. Either the Messiah as the King and war chief or the Messiah as the powerful priest, teacher and prophet could only be achieved by the mightily taking control of the government or forcefully taking control of the Jewish religion. Peter, and almost all others of his time, thought they had the only answer of what the Messiah should do to save humanity. AND their ideas starkly contrasted to the Messiah that Jesus was and is.
So, when Jesus tells His "Rock" and keeper of the Keys to the Kingdom that he was Satan, Peter was completely knocked on his humiliated bum. We know the rest of the story though. Peter recovers here and again at the end of the story when he denies the Christ three times while Jesus was saving us in the only Way that would really work.
Peter eventually found out what all great learners find out. Unless one is open to the possibility that they may be wrong, then a person can never really learn anything.
Jesus tells us and His followers of His day that all is a loss unless we are willing to deny all that we are and all that we know for God's sake. It was so difficult a lesson that even St. Peter almost couldn't grasp it in the First century. Is is tough for us to hear and commit to in 2014. Denying our lives, denying what we think we know, denying what we would rather love for the sake of God and His will is the way of Jesus the Christ; and the only Way to eternal life.
Are you and I willing to be that open to God?
Blessings!
Fr. Chuck
Friday, August 29, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Rocky Johnson's Church
This weekend we hear the Gospel about Jesus asking the disciples who they think He is. Peter had the right answer (this time). He told Jesus, "You're the Christ!" Because of his correct answer, Jesus moved him to the game show bonus round. "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah (John). Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter (Rock), and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." Fr. Don Springman, a retired priest for our Archdiocese of Louisville argues that when Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter, then the Church became founded on a guy nicknamed Rocky Johnson. I like Fr. Don's interpretation. Everyone can feel at home in a Church led by a "Rocky Johnson".
That is the intrigue of the Church formed by Jesus, and built upon the "solid" rock of Peter and the other first disciples. While Jesus was the Son of God, but totally human in all ways except for sin, the Apostles and first men and women to follow Christ were very human. This same "Rock" also had "foot in mouth" disease. Just seconds later Simon Peter gets reprimanded by Christ for telling Him that He can't be the long awaited Savior of all humanity by suffering and dying on the cross. In fact Jesus calls Peter "Satan" because he couldn't grasp the way that Jesus had to save us. We also know well the story of Peter denying Jesus three times while He was going through His suffering and death. The other disciples were like Peter in their faults. Mary, Jesus' closest female disciple and friend, was perhaps a prostitute. Matthew was a hated tax collector. We know very little about most of the other named Apostles except for the unverified legends that surround them after the Resurrection, Pentecost and Ascension. Yet, Jesus found our Church on their "Rocky" faith.
We are God's Rocky Johnson(s) now. As feeble and flawed as we know we are, God's Son and Spirit are telling us "upon you, I will build my Church." Even though we may think our faith is as stable as quick sand, or as dangerous as molten lava, or even non existent, God has "wisely" put His faith in us to reach a broken, flawed, unstable, and tumultuous world of people just like us.
In order to fulfill the Divine Mission that God has set in place it is not important to constantly think about who we think we are. Like Peter we are called to focus our attention on who Jesus is and who Jesus knows we are. In His eyes and mind we are "the Rock", not rocky; we are God's children, not the spawn of Satan; we are holy and beloved, not worthless and mistake prone; we are Christ's helping hands, feet, mind, heart, eyes, ears, BODY. The world needs Christ! The world needs us to be as Christ!
I'll end with a story I found this week that I found inspirational to me.
peace,
Fr. Chuck
WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
IN THE EARLY DAYS of civil rights legislation taking hold in the American South, an African American woman, Norah Jones, boarded a crowded bus, paid her fare, and found that the only free seat was next to a well-dressed white woman about her own age. That woman stiffened a bit with an insincere smile as she sat down but showed no other reaction.
Norah began to ask herself: “Who do you think you are sitting up here? I’m nothing but an old black woman. No money to speak of. Not much education. Norah, who do you think you are?” She closed her eyes and, as she often did, sank into prayer. She began to hear words from the Bible, like “you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.” She sat a little straighter in her seat. “You are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” She’d heard that the previous Sunday and sat a bit taller still.
Finally the voice inside said, “What we will later be we do not know, but we are God’s children now.” Positively bursting, she looked at her startled companion and with a joyful and loving smile and said, “You probably don’t know who you’re sitting next to, do you?”
–Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M.
That is the intrigue of the Church formed by Jesus, and built upon the "solid" rock of Peter and the other first disciples. While Jesus was the Son of God, but totally human in all ways except for sin, the Apostles and first men and women to follow Christ were very human. This same "Rock" also had "foot in mouth" disease. Just seconds later Simon Peter gets reprimanded by Christ for telling Him that He can't be the long awaited Savior of all humanity by suffering and dying on the cross. In fact Jesus calls Peter "Satan" because he couldn't grasp the way that Jesus had to save us. We also know well the story of Peter denying Jesus three times while He was going through His suffering and death. The other disciples were like Peter in their faults. Mary, Jesus' closest female disciple and friend, was perhaps a prostitute. Matthew was a hated tax collector. We know very little about most of the other named Apostles except for the unverified legends that surround them after the Resurrection, Pentecost and Ascension. Yet, Jesus found our Church on their "Rocky" faith.
We are God's Rocky Johnson(s) now. As feeble and flawed as we know we are, God's Son and Spirit are telling us "upon you, I will build my Church." Even though we may think our faith is as stable as quick sand, or as dangerous as molten lava, or even non existent, God has "wisely" put His faith in us to reach a broken, flawed, unstable, and tumultuous world of people just like us.
In order to fulfill the Divine Mission that God has set in place it is not important to constantly think about who we think we are. Like Peter we are called to focus our attention on who Jesus is and who Jesus knows we are. In His eyes and mind we are "the Rock", not rocky; we are God's children, not the spawn of Satan; we are holy and beloved, not worthless and mistake prone; we are Christ's helping hands, feet, mind, heart, eyes, ears, BODY. The world needs Christ! The world needs us to be as Christ!
I'll end with a story I found this week that I found inspirational to me.
peace,
Fr. Chuck
WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
IN THE EARLY DAYS of civil rights legislation taking hold in the American South, an African American woman, Norah Jones, boarded a crowded bus, paid her fare, and found that the only free seat was next to a well-dressed white woman about her own age. That woman stiffened a bit with an insincere smile as she sat down but showed no other reaction.
Norah began to ask herself: “Who do you think you are sitting up here? I’m nothing but an old black woman. No money to speak of. Not much education. Norah, who do you think you are?” She closed her eyes and, as she often did, sank into prayer. She began to hear words from the Bible, like “you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.” She sat a little straighter in her seat. “You are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” She’d heard that the previous Sunday and sat a bit taller still.
Finally the voice inside said, “What we will later be we do not know, but we are God’s children now.” Positively bursting, she looked at her startled companion and with a joyful and loving smile and said, “You probably don’t know who you’re sitting next to, do you?”
–Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Praying for Brothers and Sisters We Didn't Know We Had
The readings this weekend are "right on" for what is going on in our world and Church these days.
Jesus heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman. At this point in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus had only ministered to the folks of his homeland. He calls fishermen and others who were also from Galilee. He heals and exorcizes demons from other Jews. He feeds thousands of fellow Palestinians. He delivers His Sermon on the Mount to men and women who looked and talked like Him. Yes, Jesus' message and ministry in St. Matthew's Gospel embrace the lost and disenfranchised. But to this point in this Gospel the emphasis and compassion of Christ has been directed toward His own kind.
Today's reading shows us a woman from Canaan approaching Jesus asking Him to heal her daughter. AND it seems like Jesus was reluctant to the point that the foreign lady had to talk Him into helping her daughter out. This is a mysterious Jesus to us. Why wouldn't He want to help this lady and her daughter out? No matter where He was from or they were from, wouldn't Jesus want to care for them?
Most modern scripture gurus see this as an example of Jesus learning His full mission as He lived His life. He wasn't playing on the woman's emotions or toying with her over something so serious as her daughter's life. This would be a form of lying. And Jesus would not sin, even in a perhaps playful way. In the Gospel of Luke, after He was found in the Temple talking to the scholars, the writer says that Jesus went home with Mary and Joseph and grew in wisdom, age and grace. So, like us, Jesus learned in time what His purpose on this earth was, perhaps even after He had begun His ministry.
The shock to the Jewish audience who were the intended readers of St. Matthew's Gospel was that Jesus would even talk to a woman, especially a foreign woman. Adult males would jeopardize their status in the synagogue and in the social structure by associating with foreigners or married women. Jesus does both here. After He "was talked into it" by the woman's faith he crossed a huge boundry to help a person in need.
Our Pope and our bishops, led by our own Archbishop Kurtz, are asking us to pray for Iraqi Christians. Why? Most of us are unaware that Christians have lived in the land that is now Iraq since the Apostles Thomas and Thaddeus (Jude) went there after the Pentecost to preach the Gospel to all nations. As few as five years ago there were 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq. But they began running for their safety because of the religious persecutions going on there. This latest persecution by the group called ISIS has driven the last Christians out of the area near Mosul. All of the Christian Churches have been destroyed, the personal property of Christians taken from them, the ultimatum given "leave or be slaughtered". Some have been beheaded because they choose not to convert or leave their homes or Churches. Some have fled to the mountains and held hostage there without water or food. All are in a crisis.
Our Pope and the bishops are asking us to do several things to help these foreign Christians. First they ask us to pray for an end to their persecution and torture. They also ask us to pray for those who are terrorizing these Christians. Finally our faith leaders want us to plead with our own legislators for us as a nation to intervene in order to protect those who are being slain and forced from their homes.
We may think that the plight of someone living completely on the other side of the globe should not be our concern. The fate of Christians (or people of any faith) who may worship differently from us may seem far removed from our list of priorities. We may not want to get involved because of many, many reasons. Yet Jesus was able to learn that His mission was far beyond what He thought His world encompassed. He heard and he healed. Our intervention and our prayer is needed for folks who are in many way very different from us. Yet, we are being called now to imitate our Savior in broadening our minds and hearts for more folks who need heading and God's love.
Peace,
Fr. Chuck
Saturday, August 9, 2014
A Hole in One and THE HOLY ONE!
This week I'm spending my time on vacation watching golf at Valhalla Golf Course. 156 of the worlds millions of golfers qualified to play in the PGA Championship Tournament. On Friday evening that number was cut to 76 golfers. Only one will hoist the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday evening (if the rain doesn't suspend play), and thus be declared the 2014 PGA Champion of the year.
I have been impressed by the skills of these pros. Their drives go further than eye can see. They are deadly accurate with their pitches and chips. They are able to negotiate the undulating and deadly fast greens with their putters with a skill way beyond my imagining. The way they got so good at golf is the same way that we achieve anything in life. Yes they have skills that they may have been be born with. There are golfers out here who were spectacular golfers when they were in primary school. Campbellsville native, J. B. Holmes, was on the Taylor County High School varsity golf team as a third grader. But practice and focus is what makes them as sharp as they are. Most of these golfers spend two or three hours on the practice range and putting green before they go out and tee it up. A lot of them go back to the green and or driving range for some practice after they are done playing. Watching their practice rounds they will take various shots from multiple locations on the golf course to get used to how the course plays from all the different angles and situations that they may face during the tournament. When they get to the green they will putt, pitch and chip from every direction toward every possible hole placement in order to get those scenarios stashed in their skill sets. Their practice is all about helping them get their game focused. Practice helps them hone their skills. Practice creates a strategy to be the one who is named champion. In practice they focus on what they need to do and how they need to play to succeed.
In the Gospel this weekend St. Peter is invited by Jesus to join Him on a stroll on top of the Sea of Galilee. He sank because he focused on his fear and himself instead of His Lord. In this story from the Gospel of Matthew Peter was enthusiastic and successful at walking on the water at first because his focus was on getting to his Friend, Master and Lord. Whenever he realized what he was doing and started to fear he sank like a stone. Without Jesus' life saving grasp Peter would have been another Sea of Galilee drowning victim.
This Sunday's Gospel and the PGA Championship make me think about the focus of my life, our lives. A lot of us may remember the first couple of catechism questions we had to learn: Q: Who made you? A: God made me. Q: Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world and live with Him in the next. THAT is still our FOCUS! No matter what life throws at us those who are able to focus on God in all things will be crowned Champion by God in the next life with God forever with Him. This FOCUS will also endure the struggles and tragedies of this life with a Grace that makes the crap of life more bearable. The ways to have that focus and keep that focus is the same as for successful golfers, and temporarily for St. Peter; practice and keeping our eyes on the Goal.
In faith and life practice and focus include intimate and regular prayer. Having a prayerful relationship with the One Who made you and Who also loves you more intimately than you can imagine is the centerpiece of a faithful, successful, and eventually eternal life. Good scripture and faith studies or reading are also essential. Worship with a community and having faithful friends or mentors keeps you honest and supported in your quest. And service for others and with others helps you round out your practice to be like Our Master in the ways of compassion. Prayer, study, worship and service help us focus our gaze on the Lord.
Knowing God, loving God, and serving God in this life are still the ways to be a true success here on earth and eventually a winner of the Eternal Championship.
Peace,
Fr. Chuck Walker
I have been impressed by the skills of these pros. Their drives go further than eye can see. They are deadly accurate with their pitches and chips. They are able to negotiate the undulating and deadly fast greens with their putters with a skill way beyond my imagining. The way they got so good at golf is the same way that we achieve anything in life. Yes they have skills that they may have been be born with. There are golfers out here who were spectacular golfers when they were in primary school. Campbellsville native, J. B. Holmes, was on the Taylor County High School varsity golf team as a third grader. But practice and focus is what makes them as sharp as they are. Most of these golfers spend two or three hours on the practice range and putting green before they go out and tee it up. A lot of them go back to the green and or driving range for some practice after they are done playing. Watching their practice rounds they will take various shots from multiple locations on the golf course to get used to how the course plays from all the different angles and situations that they may face during the tournament. When they get to the green they will putt, pitch and chip from every direction toward every possible hole placement in order to get those scenarios stashed in their skill sets. Their practice is all about helping them get their game focused. Practice helps them hone their skills. Practice creates a strategy to be the one who is named champion. In practice they focus on what they need to do and how they need to play to succeed.
In the Gospel this weekend St. Peter is invited by Jesus to join Him on a stroll on top of the Sea of Galilee. He sank because he focused on his fear and himself instead of His Lord. In this story from the Gospel of Matthew Peter was enthusiastic and successful at walking on the water at first because his focus was on getting to his Friend, Master and Lord. Whenever he realized what he was doing and started to fear he sank like a stone. Without Jesus' life saving grasp Peter would have been another Sea of Galilee drowning victim.
This Sunday's Gospel and the PGA Championship make me think about the focus of my life, our lives. A lot of us may remember the first couple of catechism questions we had to learn: Q: Who made you? A: God made me. Q: Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world and live with Him in the next. THAT is still our FOCUS! No matter what life throws at us those who are able to focus on God in all things will be crowned Champion by God in the next life with God forever with Him. This FOCUS will also endure the struggles and tragedies of this life with a Grace that makes the crap of life more bearable. The ways to have that focus and keep that focus is the same as for successful golfers, and temporarily for St. Peter; practice and keeping our eyes on the Goal.
In faith and life practice and focus include intimate and regular prayer. Having a prayerful relationship with the One Who made you and Who also loves you more intimately than you can imagine is the centerpiece of a faithful, successful, and eventually eternal life. Good scripture and faith studies or reading are also essential. Worship with a community and having faithful friends or mentors keeps you honest and supported in your quest. And service for others and with others helps you round out your practice to be like Our Master in the ways of compassion. Prayer, study, worship and service help us focus our gaze on the Lord.
Knowing God, loving God, and serving God in this life are still the ways to be a true success here on earth and eventually a winner of the Eternal Championship.
Peace,
Fr. Chuck Walker
Friday, August 1, 2014
Overwhelmed? So what! (Matthew 14: 13-21.)
My guess is you've heard the story about the man who went walking on the beach in the morning after a strong storm had pelted the beach. As soon as he stepped near the surf he saw thousands upon thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore lying in the morning sun. There were so many of them he had a hard time walking without stepping on one of them. They would surely die by the time the next tide came in. Yet about a hundred yards ahead of him was a small girl picking them up one by one and tossing the hapless starfish back into the ocean. When he got close to the child he told her that she was wasting her time. He said, "Young lady, why are you throwing those starfish back in the water? Don't you see that there may be millions of them? They are as far as we can see and the beach goes on for miles and miles. What difference do you think you're going to make?" She never hesitated in her task of throwing each individual starfish back into the surf for a new chance for life. While she was bending over to pick up her next one, she said, "Sir, to this one I'm making a huge difference." And she threw it into the sea.
A Methodist preacher friend of mine told me that story more than thirty years ago. I remember the story about the little girl making a difference, one starfish at a time, every time I hear the story of Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves and a couple of fish. This was a huge miracle for Jesus. And, he may have done this more than once in his ministry. It is recounted at least once in all four of the Gospels. For the evangelists who were trying to write the important things for new Christians to know about who Jesus was and what he did in His short time ministering, this story of the multiplication of loaves and fish is the only miracle that is worthy of all of them repeating. That's significant.
Here are a few things to ponder as we prepare to hear this story again this weekend. First, Jesus doesn't just talk about God and His love. He does it. People were hungry and He fed them. They had a need. He recognized it. And He did something about it. It doesn't matter to me what side of the political fence you sit on regarding abortion, or human trafficking, or world hunger, or the environment, or immigration reform. Do something about it. Dive in and make a splash. Whether it is sincere prayer, or figuring which candidate to vote for, or volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul or Habitat for Humanity, or any way of sacrificing something of yourself to help someone else; we are called to care for the needs of those who are hurting and hungry. Yes, Jesus talked about loving, caring, feeding and forgiving. But He also cared, fed, forgave and loved. We are called to let others see our Creed in our actions as well.
Secondly, there were more than 5000 hungry people in the world when Jesus fed that group. Sometimes we offer the excuse that my little effort is not going to fix a global problem. So, why get involved? Or, my one vote is not going to fix the country. So, why vote? Even though we may get overwhelmed by the facts that there are fifteen people who will starve to death this minute and there are eighty-eight babies who will die by abortion this hour we are called to save the ones we can. Jesus chose imperfect people to be His first Apostles and disciples. Because of them and their faith people continue to be fed daily. Lives are saved medically by the Red Cross and faith based hospitals and organizations more numerous than any of us can imagine. Sometimes organized religion gets a bad rap, but we're doing some darned good stuff too. In fact in a lot of areas in the world we Christians are the only folks feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting and caring for the sick and the dying. And almost all of these institutions and organizations care for one life at a time. Remember that the Grand Canyon was started by a trickle of water. Each of us can "feed" someone.
Finally, Jesus first invited the disciples to give the crowd something to eat. He was confident that they could feed the multitude. When they offered excuses of how little they had, Jesus took their little and made it enormous. In the hands of God we can do miraculous things. The tough part is that we have to place what we think is paltry (our lives) into the hands of Him who is the Lord of all Creation. Trust is a difficult thing. Jesus knew very well that His chosen ones were feeble and faulty. Yet He used these frozen few to build the Kingdom of God. We're still imperfect and He's still building. Offer your little to the Lord and see what happens!
peace,
Fr. Chuck Walker
A Methodist preacher friend of mine told me that story more than thirty years ago. I remember the story about the little girl making a difference, one starfish at a time, every time I hear the story of Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves and a couple of fish. This was a huge miracle for Jesus. And, he may have done this more than once in his ministry. It is recounted at least once in all four of the Gospels. For the evangelists who were trying to write the important things for new Christians to know about who Jesus was and what he did in His short time ministering, this story of the multiplication of loaves and fish is the only miracle that is worthy of all of them repeating. That's significant.
Here are a few things to ponder as we prepare to hear this story again this weekend. First, Jesus doesn't just talk about God and His love. He does it. People were hungry and He fed them. They had a need. He recognized it. And He did something about it. It doesn't matter to me what side of the political fence you sit on regarding abortion, or human trafficking, or world hunger, or the environment, or immigration reform. Do something about it. Dive in and make a splash. Whether it is sincere prayer, or figuring which candidate to vote for, or volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul or Habitat for Humanity, or any way of sacrificing something of yourself to help someone else; we are called to care for the needs of those who are hurting and hungry. Yes, Jesus talked about loving, caring, feeding and forgiving. But He also cared, fed, forgave and loved. We are called to let others see our Creed in our actions as well.
Secondly, there were more than 5000 hungry people in the world when Jesus fed that group. Sometimes we offer the excuse that my little effort is not going to fix a global problem. So, why get involved? Or, my one vote is not going to fix the country. So, why vote? Even though we may get overwhelmed by the facts that there are fifteen people who will starve to death this minute and there are eighty-eight babies who will die by abortion this hour we are called to save the ones we can. Jesus chose imperfect people to be His first Apostles and disciples. Because of them and their faith people continue to be fed daily. Lives are saved medically by the Red Cross and faith based hospitals and organizations more numerous than any of us can imagine. Sometimes organized religion gets a bad rap, but we're doing some darned good stuff too. In fact in a lot of areas in the world we Christians are the only folks feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting and caring for the sick and the dying. And almost all of these institutions and organizations care for one life at a time. Remember that the Grand Canyon was started by a trickle of water. Each of us can "feed" someone.
Finally, Jesus first invited the disciples to give the crowd something to eat. He was confident that they could feed the multitude. When they offered excuses of how little they had, Jesus took their little and made it enormous. In the hands of God we can do miraculous things. The tough part is that we have to place what we think is paltry (our lives) into the hands of Him who is the Lord of all Creation. Trust is a difficult thing. Jesus knew very well that His chosen ones were feeble and faulty. Yet He used these frozen few to build the Kingdom of God. We're still imperfect and He's still building. Offer your little to the Lord and see what happens!
peace,
Fr. Chuck Walker
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