Christ Our Kin!

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 25: 31-46.

Often times, when a family chooses to uses Matthew 25 as the Funeral Gospel reading for their beloved mother or father, I point out to them that their parent has lived out this Gospel. As soon as we're born good parents welcome us strange and new creatures into their lives. Good parents feed and clothe us whether we appreciate it or not. When we're ill or in trouble they are beside us and still care for us when we're broken. It makes sense to me that good parents will hear the voice of the King Jesus say to them, "come and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you". They lived this Gospel well.

I've heard from others wiser than me that the Kingdom of Heaven is about "kinship" not "kingship". Jesus turns what we think, and what modern "kings" think as important on its ear. Rather than getting on top by accumulating wealth, possessions, power, or control of people, Jesus sets before us a different way to get to the top of the heap. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called these people "the least, the last, and the lost". It is only by noticing and caring for the hungry, poor, ill, unwelcomed, and outcast that we are able to know, love and serve Him in this world. The Gospel tells us that He IS the least of the world. So, in the end we will be judged by how we treat all people, great and least, as our kin. Rather than to try to rule over, control, amass more than, or be better than those we find ourselves sharing the world with, we are to see and treat all others as our family. Jesus and they are our kin.

It is convenient to sidestep and ignore our hungry and alienated sisters and brothers. We'd rather not bother many times. They distract us from what we "should" be or "rather" be doing. Yet they are our best, and perhaps only, chance to see and care for Christ in the here and now. They are not a sideshow on the stage of our life's plans. As Christ sees us and them, they are the purpose for our lives. Making sure that all of our sisters and brothers on God's Earth are fed, clothed, welcomed and well is the purpose of all of our lives in Christ's estimation.

Let us take little steps, or big ones if possible, to treat all as our kin to show that Christ is our King.

peace,
Fr. Chuck

You bet your life!

Hello friends!

I just got in from Italy and am currently in Cincinnati preparing for Sarah Godfrey's and Paul Pelgen's wedding on Saturday. What a fun and inspiring whrilwind!

I also just read an English synopsis of the the address Pope Francis made at the Papal Audience I got to attend on Wednesday. The more he talks and acts, the more I love our Pope. He speaks faithfully and with charisma a message that resonates in my soul. In fact in his message on Wednesday the Pope's message was directed to bishops, priests and deacons. So, he was really talking to me then. He was reflecting on the Letter to Timothy, where St. Paul is giving instructions to Timothy and other bishops, priests and deacons on how to be faithful in their calling from God. He reminded us that our vocations are a gift from God and to use them and develop them, not for personal gain, but to be "humble and understanding toward others". At the beginning of his address he said that the essential qualities that ministers need are "hospitality, temperence, patience, gentleness, reliability, and goodness of heart". Pope Francis called these the "alphabet, the grammar at the base of every ministry."

As I now look forward to this Sunday's reading from the Gospel of Matthew I can see  a connection. The Gospel parable for the weekend is about the landowner who gave three of his stewards three different gifts. Then the master went off on a long journey. When he returned he found that those to whom he gave larger gifts, they returned to him double of what he had entrusted them. The one to whom he had given the smallest amount of responsibility had taken his "gift" and buried it to protect it. The land owner commends the two who brought him back double of what he had entrusted with them. Yet, he punishes the one who had done the safe thing. While the two who doubled what the master had given them did well in their investing, they had also done a very dangerous thing by investing or gambling the master's wealth. (Btw. There were no federally insured investments or banks in those days, so their risk was even greater.)

Jesus is not being a Spiritual financial adviser. This parable is about how to be a disciple in the reign of God. While the Pope's address on Wednesday was to ministers, Jesus is telling all of us to take the risk and invest our entire gift of life, faith and love into whomever we find ourselves with and in the place in the world that God has placed us. Rather than burying and hiding we are encouraged today to gamble and totally invest the gift that God has given to us. Unselfish and unbridled living, loving and giving is what Jesus is requiring.

Our lives and all that we have in it is a gift from the One, Holy and Generous God. You and I are encouraged not to let fear or selfishness hide our gift. Instead, be a gambler! Give it all away for the sake of God and His beloved ones.

Peace,
Fr. Chuck