Journeying Into Mystery

Today is the feast of my family’s first dog, FloydRMoose (a play on Fliedermaus). He was such a tiny little thing when we got him from the breeder but quickly grew into the 170 pound Great Pyrenees. Great Pyrs, like many large breeds, do not live very long. Pyrs are especially prone to cancer. We discovered a large lump on his back right leg. It ended up being bone cancer. Though smaller dogs can have a leg amputated and get around on three legs, it doesn’t work that way for the large breeds. The Vet said that the cancer would eat through the bone of his leg and the leg would shatter. It was on this day, when I brought him to the Vet to be put down. Ruthie came from work to the Vet’s just before the Vet gave him the lethal injection. I was holding this great big beautiful dog when he closed his eyes and died. Crushed emotionally by his death, I called in to the parish at which I worked and took the day off. Ironically, that same night as I was driving up to pick Luke up from school, a teenager crossed the medium strip on the highway and hit me headon. The collision sent my car into a frozen corn field. I had to be cut out of the car. As I was pulled from the car the one thing I was worried about was cussing (everybody on the ambulance crew knew I was a deacon). It really hurt like hell when I was pulled out of the car, but I didn’t cuss. I found out later by the surgeon who worked on me that the folks at North Memorial Hospital were fearful that the shock of that break would kill me. I lost 40% of the use of my right hand in that accident.

The events of that day on March 7th have had a ripple effect on my life. I still mourn the death of that beloved Moose of a dog. The injuries of that day eventually led to multiple surgeries on that leg, and on my right leg.

I decided to create a morning and evening prayer honoring the feast days of the animals we love. Here is the morning prayer I put together. I borrowed from multiple sources for intercessions, and the concluding prayer. The psalms are taken from the Inclusive Bible translation. The Lord’s Prayer reflects the changes that Pope Francis has recommended.

HYMN

Canticle of the Sun (or Praise of the Creatures)

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,
for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,
and serve him with great humility.

Saint Francis of Assisi (1182–1226)

Antiphon 1: From the lips of infants and children

you bring forth words of power and praise, O God.

PSALM 8

Yahweh, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your Name in all the earth!
You have placed your glory above the heavens!
From the lips of infants and children
you bring forth words of power and praise,
to answer your adversaries
and to silence the hostile and vengeful.

When I behold your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place
what is humanity that you should be mindful of us?
Who are we that you should care for us?
You have made us barely less than God,
and crowned us with glory and honor.

You have made us responsible
for the works of your hands,
putting all things at our feet
all sheep and oxen,
yes, even the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, the fish of the seaand whatever swims the paths of the seas.

Yahweh, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your Name in all the earth!

Glory to …

Antiphon 1: From the lips of infants and children
you bring forth words of power and praise, O God.

Silent prayer

Antiphon 2: Ourland will be filled with knowledge of God.

CANTICLE ISAIAH 11:1-8

Then a shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse;
from Jesse’s roots, a branch will blossom:
The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on you
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and strength,
a spirit of knowledge and reverence for Yahweh.

You will delight in obeying Yahweh,
and you won’t judge by appearances,
or make decisions by hearsay.
You will treat poor people with fairness
and will uphold the rights of the land’s
  downtrodden.
With a single word you will strike down tyrants;
with your decrees you will execute evil people.

Justice will be the belt around this your waist
faithfulness will gird you up.
Then the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
the calf and the lion cub will graze together,
and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear;
their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like the ox.
The baby will play next to the den of the cobra,
and the toddler will dance over the viper’s nest.
There will be no harm, no destruction
anywhere in my holy mountain;
for as water fills the sea,
so the land will be filled with knowledge of Yahweh.

Glory to …

Antiphon 2: Ourland will be filled with knowledge of God.

Silent Prayer

Antiphon 3: We praise you, O God on high.

PSALM 148

Alleluia!

Praise Yahweh from the heavens;
praise God in the heights!
Praise God, all you angels;
praise God, all you hosts!
Praise God, sun and moon;
praise God, all you shining stars!

Praise God, you highest heavens;
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the Name of Yahweh,
by whose command they were created.
God established them forever and ever
and gave a decree which won’t pass away.

Praise Yahweh from the earth,
you sea creatures and ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and mist,
and storm winds that fulfill God’s word,
mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and cedars,
wild animals and cattle,
small animals and flying birds,
rulers of the earth,
leaders of all nations,
all the judges in the world,

young men and young women,
old people and children
let them all praise the name of Yahweh
whose name alone is exalted,
whose majesty transcends heaven and earth,
and who has raised up a Horn for God’s people
to the praise of the faithful, the children of Israel,
the people dear to God! Alleluia!

Glory to …

Antiphon 3: We praise you, O God on high.

READING – ISAIAH 65:22B-25
For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen ones will enjoy the fruit of their labors. They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to die; for they and their descendants are a people blessed by God. Even before they call upon me, I will answer; and while they speak, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed side by side;
the lion will eat straw like an ox. Serpents will be content to crawl on the ground; they will not injure or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says Yahweh.

RESPONSORY

Everything in all creation cries aloud.
Everything in all creation cries aloud.

To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb
All creation cries aloud.

Glory to God the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Everything in all creation cries aloud.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Antiphon: Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth’s animals!”

Blessed are You, Yahweh, the God of Israel,
for You have visited Your people,
You have set them free,
And You have established for us a saving power
in the House of Your servant David,

Just as You proclaimed,
by the mouth of Your holy prophets from ancient times,
that You would save us from our enemies
and from the hands of all those who hate us,
and show faithful love to our ancestors,
and so keep in mind Your holy covenant.

This was the oath You swore
to our father Abraham,
that You would grant us, free from fear,
to be delivered from the hands of our enemies,
to serve You in holiness and uprightness
in Your presence, all our days.

And you, little child,
you shall be called Prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Savior
to prepare a way for him,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the faithful love of our God
in which the rising Sun has come from on high to visit us,
to give light to those who live
in darkness and the shadow dark as death,
and to guide our feet
into the way of peace.

Glory to …

Antiphon: Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth’s animals!”

INTERCESSIONS (composed by Dr Stacy Smith)

God of the sun and the moon, of the mountains, deserts and plains; all Creation gives you praise.

God of the mighty oceans, of rivers, lakes and streams; all Creation gives you praise.

God of all creatures that live in the seas and fly in the air; all Creation gives you praise.

God of every living thing that grows and moves on this sacred Earth all Creation gives you praise.

O God, you have entrusted humanity with caring for this Earth which you have created,  help us to bring the world into your marvelous light.

O God, you call us to love and respect the world and to repair what we have damaged, help us to bring the world into your marvelous light.

O God, you care for what you have made good and holy, help us to bring the world into your marvelous light.

Give us the wisdom and the passion,  help us to bring the world into your marvelous light.

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

Our Father, who are in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not let us fall into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory
are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God, every animal, in every forest, field, and home, belongs to you, and is under your loving care. May your blessing be upon our pets and in your steadfast kindness. Keep them safe from all harm. Show forth your eternal love and mercy to N. whose companionship and friendship he/she provided to us. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. ( prayer from Saintland.com)

DISMISSAL

May God bless us, protect us from all evil
and bring us into everlasting life. Amen.

Over the past month or so, I have been taking a course called the Franciscan Way, An Alternative Orthodoxy, taught online by Fr Richard Rohr. I still have several weeks to go. However, it has been incredibly transformative and healing for me. What has emerged within me is the desire to compose music again. I have posted a “reimagination” of a song composed years for voice and guitar, for piano.

The original song was called “As A Mother To Her Child” based on this letter from Francis of Assisi to his beloved, friend, confessor, counselor, and travel companion, Brother Leo. Here is the letter he wrote Brother Leo.

Brother Leo, peace and good health from your Brother Francis-Sco! I am speaking to you, now, as a mother would, because all of the words we passed between us on the road together I am summarizing in this message and bit of advice. If you ever feel the need for my counsel, I suggest that you turn to this letter. My advice is this: In whatever way you feel called to serve the Lord, and to make him happy, to follow his footprint and his poverty, do that, and do that with my blessing and with the blessing of the Lord God. And if you ever want to come and see me, Leo, for the sake of your soul or for any other reason, come, by all means, come back to me.

Sweeney, Jon. Francis of Assisi – in His Own Words: The Essential Writings . Paraclete Press. Kindle Edition.

Here is the song as I originally composed it.

Here is the song reimagined for just piano.

We have heard the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert every year we have been born. So, as we do every Lent, we hear these stories one more time. And, I believe every year, we may find that we hear the same old “yadda, yadda” about the major temptations that all human beings encounter in their lives. So after all the homilies, sermons, and major dissertations on the subject of Adam and Eve and Jesus’ desert temptations, what are we to glean from them this year?

As human beings, are we not always seeking the ultimate? We define what we mean by “ultimate” in many different ways. It might be the ultimate technology. It might be the ultimate meal. It might be the ultimate sport event. It might be the ultimate entertainment, sensual delight, power, prestige, wealth. We are always looking for the ultimate, and, never finding satisfaction or fulfillment.

On this first Sunday of Lent, we are reminded of this predilection of needing the ultimate and it always falling short in the allegorical story of Adam and Eve. What was the ultimate for which they sought? It was this innate desire to become gods, to be independent from the One who created them, that led them both to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. It is ironic that in their tasting of that fruit, the wisdom they gained was not that which they had hoped. More than discovering nakedness, in their eating from the tree of knowledge, their true selves were laid bare for them to see.

The temptations about which we hear every year is all about those myths we create. Like Adam and Eve we would so like to become gods and are willing to use every means to become gods. All the things laid out for Jesus to see in the desert are the means by which human beings attempt to create paths to their own divinity. Any student of history knows, many of those who devoted their whole live in pursuit of a human created divinity always fell short, their lives an utter and complete failure. Jesus succinctly sums this up in one sentence in Mark’s Gospel, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36, NAB)

We don’t need to live austere lives in a barren, dry, hostile environment like a desert in order to find “the ultimate” our hearts desire. However, that environment has a way of stripping away all the pretense, all the falsehoods and myths we like to construct for ourselves for others to see. That is the reason for the fasting, the almsgiving, and the prayer aesthetic of Lent. These practices are aids to strip away the myths we have created and end up believing about ourselves. We need the “desert” experience to get down to who we truly are, to quit believing our own inflated press, so to speak.

I believe that the ultimate for which we seek, we already possess, plain and simple, with emphasis on plain and simple. What will be revealed to us is that the divinity for which we seek can be found by the simple act of looking in the mirror.

As we gaze into the mirror the divinity of God that exists within us can be seen looking back at us and loving us. From the moment of creation, when God’s life was breathed into the universe, forming life from nothingness, God’s breath became the breath of all living creatures. God’s DNA became an intricate part of all carbon based life, animal, mineral, vegetable, water, air, earth, human. The pebble we hold in our hands contains the incarnate God. Bird song is the voice of God singing. The richness of God is revealed in that indescribable scent of rich loam turned over in the Spring awaiting the planting of seeds. Every breath we inhale and exhale is the breath of God who lovingly animates us.

The temptations that Jesus and we experience are attempts to distract us from the real presence of God above us, below us, to each side of us, and within us. The temptations are an attempt to blind our senses from knowing that the ultimate for which we all seek is already here. This Lent is an exercise in sharpening our vision, our hearing, our smelling, our tasting, our touching the God for which we so long.

Maya Angelou composed a beautiful which, I think, speaks to our Lenten journey.

Alone

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

From Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well By Maya Angelou. Copyright © 1975 by Maya Angelou. Reprinted with permission of Random House, Inc..

As we strip away all the pretense, all the myths, all the distractions we find that we are never alone. With every breath we take, with the song of birds filling the sky, with nature being revealed beneath the melting snow, with the reassurance and care from others, and within the quiet of our souls, we will find God, the One who created us in love and infused within us the divinity for which we long.

For as short as the month of February may be, it is a month that I find very difficult to get through. With the long winters in Minnesota, February is when cabin fever begins to kick in, and the cold, grey days of winter seem endless. To make it more difficult, it is a month where I grieve the loss of some very important people in my life, who have died in this month.

February 1st is the feast day of three people I know.

Donna Mae Kadrlik was an outstanding musician, director of music, educator, and colleague of mine at St Wenceslaus. She also was a spiritual director and worked with children suffering from loss. I assisted at her funeral. At the time, I was sick (some kind of flu/upper respiratory thing) but there was no way I was not going to be at her funeral (I made sure I did not distribute communion … no one needs the Body of Christ and an infection). St Wenceslaus seats about 900 people. The church was packed.

My brother Bill died on February 1st last year. Bill was my older brother. As a kid, I looked up to him. He helped me navigate my freshman year of high school. As what happens in all families, we both developed in our own ways. Bill moved away from Minnesota, and, toward the end of his life, moved back to Minnesota for 10 years. By that time, his health was going south, cigarettes and alcohol, taking its toll. For the last 2 years of his life, Bill moved back to Chicago where his family and friends were. When Bill died, I became the sole remaining member of our nuclear family (Mary died in 1997, Dad died in 2004, Mom died in 2018).

Marge Semlak, one of my diaconal family, died on February 1st as well. At the time that Tom died, Marge was looking pretty frail. She died a couple of years following Tom’s death. Marge was a woman of great class. She worked as one of the “higher-ups” at 3M in Maplewood for many years. Intelligent, kind, and compassionate, she was a good companion for Tom.

Here is the music I composed for Tom and Marge on the occasion of our ordination to the diaconate.

Deacon By Rudolphi died on February 3rd. I wondered at the time that By died why his funeral had not occurred shortly after his death. His funeral was the Friday of Easter Week, in April that year. By had been cremated and the family decided a great time, both in terms of weather and the liturgical year, would be during Easter Week.

By, or should I say Dr Rudolphi, was a man of great intellect and compassion. He dearly loved Ellen and was quite devoted to her. By, possessing a level headed way of approaching everything, including conflict, was one of those people you would consult for his wisdom and insight. What a wonderful man!

Here is the song I composed for By and Ellen when we were ordained in 1994.

Deacon Bill Beckfeld died on February 27. Bill was the first of our diaconal family who died. He suffered an aneurysm while he was preaching at a funeral and died a couple days later.

Bill was a bit of a bull in a China Shop. You always knew where you stood with Bill. Bill was a very opinionated, much like myself, and was an advocate for those most vulnerable. He was a church progressive like myself, eager to put his shoulder to the wheel and push this monolithic church of ours into the 21st century. In spite of his blusteriness, Bill’s heart was big and filled with compassion.

Here is the song I composed for Bill and Mary at our ordination in 1994. I remember playing it at Bill’s first Mass at St Bartholomew.

While it may sound like February is all doom and gloom for me, there is a bright lining to this month. It is also a time of life. Three of my grandchildren, Sydney, Ollie and Owen were born during this month. They are the source of great joy in my life and help me to balance the loss with happiness.

HOMILY FOR THE 7^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A (2020)

In the scriptures for this weekend, we have a sequel to the scriptures of last weekend in which Jesus teaches his disciples that he will fulfill rather than abolish Mosaic Law. The scriptures answer for us the question, “What does Jesus mean when he says he will fulfill the Law?”

In my homily last week, I explained that the Commandment in which Mosaic Law is fulfilled is that Commandment Jesus imparted to his disciples at the Last Supper account in John’s Gospel. That Commandment is “love one another as I have loved you.”  Jesus explains to the disciples that in order to find everlasting joy, they must do three things.

The first is: “Remain in me as I remain in you.” (John 15:4a) The second is: “Remain in my love.” (John 15:9b). The third is to “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Jesus tells his disciples that if they do all three of these, he promises them that his joy will remain with them, and their joy will be complete. (John 15:11)

What the scriptures address today is: 1) how we remain in Christ; 2) what it means to remain in Christ’s love; 3) how to love one another as I have loved you, so that the joy of Jesus may remain in us and our joy will be complete. The scriptures explain to us that in order to do all of this, we must first jettison the codes by which humanity normally lives and reorientate our whole way of life.

In the Gospel, Jesus cites the ancient code of the Babylonian King Hammurabi, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” This code of ancient justice lays out a retribution or revenge equal to the crime perpetuated. It literally says that if you blind me, I will blind you. If you destroy my house, I get to destroy your house. Jesus tells his disciples that this very human law of retribution is contrary to the Law of God. The first reading from Leviticus (the book of the Law) spells this out. “You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:17-18)

To be his disciple, Jesus  explains that you must never seek revenge on those who have wronged you. ”But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” (Matthew 5:39-42) To be his disciple Jesus explains that you must “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:44-45a)

This seems utterly foolish and contrary to human justice as we know it. However, Paul explains to us and the Corinthian community community that to love as Jesus loves will seem utterly foolhardy to the rest of the world. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” (1 Corinthians  3:19-20)

Paul explains that human beings are not just commodities to use and abuse as one would like. Rather the human being is the dwelling place, the Temple of God. Anyone who attacks another human being will be attacking God. And, those who attack God will be destroyed. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” (1 Corinthians 3:15-16) All of this is explained in depth by Jesus in the Gospel for today.

Why are we required to so drastically reorientate our lives and our way of addressing injustice in our lives? The answer is very simple, so that the joy of Christ may be ours, and that our joy will be complete.

To live by the Hammurabi Code is condemning us to live a life of bitterness and constant revenge.  We encounter all sorts of people who are embittered toward those who wrong them. There are those who harbor great resentment toward others who have wronged them in life. Their bitterness slowly poisons their lives creating within them a negativity that eats away at their souls to the point that their souls become empty. Even when they are successful in revenge toward those who hurt them, the revenge never satisfies them. The revenge never equals the loss that has happened in their lives. The execution of murderers never satisfies the revenge of those whose loved one has been murdered. Their anger, their hatred toward the one executed never goes away and their lives become all the more empty.

We recently have seen this how revenge plays out in our politics. Those who obeyed the subpoena to testify before the Congress in the Impeachment hearings were thrown to the street in revenge by the President, simply because their testimony incriminated the President in criminal activity. The President’s bitterness and hatred for those who testified will never take away the stigma of impeachment attached to him for all of history. His revenge toward those who testified only exemplifies the guilty verdict against him.

In Luke’s account of the crucifixion, we hear the story of the other two thieves executed with Jesus. One is consumed with bitterness and hatred because of his fate. The other thief, however, confesses that the punishment he has been given is deserved. Then that thief acknowledges that Jesus is not deserving of the same fate. “we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.”  Recognizing the absence of bitterness in Jesus and desiring the same, the thief follows, ““Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus responds to the thief, ““Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” In other words, the thief’s joy will be complete.

The scriptures today present to us a choice to make. We can choose to live lives that are consumed by hatred, bitterness and revenge, to choose to remain in Christ’s love and model his way of love in our lives.

It is not easy to jettison a way of human living that has been such a long part of the history of human kind. As the old saying goes, “old habits are hard to break.”  We have all experienced being wronged in our lives and have felt the revenge welling up in us against those who have wronged us. However, Jesus tells us that to act on that anger and hatred is only to succumb to a live of bitterness and misery. I am no different than the rest of humanity and struggle against the need exact vengeance on my enemies.

If we choose to live lives consumed by hatred, bitterness and revenge, we will carry all of that with us into the afterlife. Or, we can choose to live lives that are governed by the great commandment of Jesus to love one another as he has loved us, and enter into complete joy in the afterlife. I don’t know about you, but I choose to experience the completeness of Christ’s joy.

In the passage we hear from Matthew’s Gospel this weekend, we hear Jesus say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Mt 5:17, NAB)

Jesus gives examples of this.

He cites the 5^th commandment, “You shall not kill,” then adds that anyone who is angry at another person is liable to the same judgment as a murderer. Jesus then preaches that those coming to bring gifts to the altar must first reconcile with those with whom they bear grudges.

Then Jesus brings up the 6^th commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” He adds that anyone who looks lusts after someone other than their spouse, commits adultery in their hearts. (Mt 5:27-28)

Jesus then confronts the evil of divorce as practiced at the time, when a man could easily obtain a divorce by merely presenting his wife with a script citing he was divorcing her. ”Whoever divorces his wife –  unless the marriage is unlawful -causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”  In the patriarchal society of Jesus, women had no rights, and were totally reliant on their husbands for survival. Receiving a script of divorce was literally a death sentence for the divorced woman. Women were forbidden to engage in business and commerce, so the divorced woman’s only means of support was begging or prostitution. Citing the justice of God, Jesus condemns the divorce of his time in history and places the onus on the man divorcing his wife.

The Gospel concludes with Jesus prohibiting sacred oaths. “Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne.” (Mt 5:33-34) Jesus tells his disciples to leave God out of it when they take oaths. “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No. Anything more is from the evil one.”  (Mt 5:37) The impeachment trial of Donald Trump is a good example of the evil of cavalierly swearing to God and subsequently dismissing that sacred oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

In each of these examples, Jesus illustrates that it is not enough to simply live the letter of the law. In the words of Father Richard Rohr, to only live the letter of the law produces an ugly morality devoid of love and compassion. Jesus tells us that as disciples of Jesus we are compelled to live beyond the letter of the law, that there is a greater commandment  that supersedes the ten commandments we know so well. We hear Jesus teach this commandment in the Last Supper discourse of John’s Gospel.

“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (Jn 15:10-12)

We have a saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” After Jesus completed his last instruction to the disciples, he put into action what it means to “love one another as I love you.”

He got up, went to the Garden to pray, was arrested, interrogated, tortured and then was executed. His love for all humanity was so great that in his greatest agony, he calls on God to forgive those who betrayed him, who beat and tortured him, and who executed him. Jesus illustrates for all his disciples what it means to fulfill the Divine law of love, by dying out of love for us and forgiving those who brought about his death.

We cannot just quote little Biblical periscopes spouting pious platitudes. If we are to be authentic disciples of Jesus, we must put Jesus’ great commandment into action in our lives. The famous ten commandments are merely stepping stones to the great commandment of Divine love. If we truly live the commandment that supersedes all other commandments, then there will be no need for commandments condemning murder, adultery, divorce, or swearing false oaths. God’s divine law of love will be the only law we need follow.

I have told this story on more than once occasion. The power of the story is such that it has profoundly impacted my life.

It was the first Christmas of my assignment at St Stephen’s, an inner city parish in South Minneapolis, that I experienced God’s light working through others. St Stephen’s at that time was a spiritual refuge for many disenfranchised Christians. Though a Catholic parish, there were many from other Christian traditions who regularly attended Masses at the church. The parish mission statement stated that the church was a large circus tent under which all were welcome. Because the parish based most of its ministry on the social justice teachings of the Bible and the Catholic Church, there was a huge outreach to the homeless in the city, to ex-offenders, the gay and lesbian community, former priests and religious, and all other disenfranchised in the area.

As in many parishes, the 5 pm Mass this one Christmas Eve was packed. At the beginning of Mass, a homeless man, dressed in a purple suit, came to Mass. He appeared to be intoxicated, and sat in the front pew of the church. Throughout Mass, he wept. At the conclusion of Mass, he remained in the pew. He had nowhere to sleep that night. Because he was intoxicated he could not stay in the parish homeless shelter. Newly assigned to the parish and living in rural New Prague, I didn’t know what to do. Among those at Mass were two gay men and their children. One of the men was employed in human services. I remember him sitting next to the homeless man. He listened intently to the man as he poured out his soul to him, and, embraced the homeless man when the man sobbed into his shoulder. Though this gay couple and their children had made plans for Christmas Eve, they took the homeless man into their care, and found a place for the man to stay that night.

As I witnessed this fount of God’s love, grace, and mercy poured out by my gay parishioners that night, I thought of the words of Jesus expressed in the Gospel today. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16, NAB)

We are living in a time when the “cultural warriors” judge one’s “righteousness” (their words more so than mine) or one’s “light” by a narrow set of criteria, namely, abortion and gay marriage. This is done to the exclusion of a far greater criteria spelled out in the Bible and in the life of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels. By the narrow criteria of these cultural warriors, they would reject the ministry of Jesus, the followers of Jesus, and those to whom Jesus ministered. It was to those, who many “cultural warriors” oppose , that Jesus chose to associate and lived among. Some of the greatest saints of the early church emerged from the ranks of the greatly despised and rejected of Jesus’ society.

We are called to Christ’s light of the world. One does not have to be Christian to be God’s light to the world. There are many non-Christians, Mahatma Ghandi, for example, whose lives showed God’s light far brighter than many Christian religious leaders. The prophet Isaiah spells out the criteria that God requires of those meaning to be God’s light to the world.

Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.(Isaiah 58:7-10, NAB)

If we truly live in a relationship with Jesus, we will respond to the plight of others by the criteria given to the prophet Isaiah by God, and, in the manner lived by Jesus. For Jesus, orthodoxy to God was not narrowly defined to a strict living of Mosaic law. Jesus was severely critical of the strict orthodoxy of the Scribes and Pharisees of his time. Jesus blew the confines of Mosaic law away. He didn’t define people’s worth by the narrow orthodoxy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Rather, Jesus peered into the hearts of people to see if they were capable of opening their hearts to the law of God’s love. What was that Law? In the Last Supper discourse of John’s Gospel, Jesus spelled it out very clearly to the disciples at supper. “Love one another as I have loved you.”

In the pastoral letter of James, we hear that spelled out in clear and specific terms. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. (James 2:14-18, NAB)

If we truly want to be the light of God to our world, we must be willing to share God’s light within us to those who are in need. This is what Jesus did. He became one with those most in need of God’s love and light. He fed them, listen to them, and led them to God, much like those parishioners from St Stephen’s who listened and cared for the homeless man that Christmas Eve in 2004. If we are truly in a deep relationship with Jesus, our relationship will be visible to all.

²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (Luke 2:22, NRSV)

There are numerous customs around the birthing of children throughout the world. The custom of parents presenting their children to their communities and dedicating their child to God is not isolated only to the Jewish and Christian religions. This custom is present in many cultures, religions, from the rain forests of the Amazon to the skyscrapers of modern cities. What compels us, as parents, to do this?

When Ruthie and I had our first children, it was vitally important for us to have our son, Andy, baptized soon after birth. If you asked me at that time why I did this, I would have told you that my motivation stemmed from two things: 1) when you grow up in a Catholic culture, that is what is expected from the Catholic parents of a newborn child; and, 2) fear of Limbo. Now while the teaching of Limbo, which said that an unbaptized child who dies would not go to heaven, has been declared by the Catholic Church a false and erroneous teaching, in times when infant mortality was very high, it was a major motivator for parents to have their infants baptized soon after birth. After having raised our four children, the youngest now thirty-six years old, I would say to you that the major motivator for having my children baptized, presented to God, is my love for them.

I remember having this discussion with God at the birth and baptisms of each of my children. “God, I will do my utmost to love, guide, and provide for the children you have given to Ruth and I to my dying breath. However, after they reach the age of eighteen years, I hand whatever control I have had over them to you. From that time onward, you must be the one who has primary care of them.”

This was a lesson I learned as I grew up in the home of my parents. While I lived with them to the time I married Ruthie, the choices I made from the age of eighteen became more independent from the choices of my parents. Yes, they continued to influence me, but I had reached the age when I had to make decisions on my own, and they allowed me, within reason, to make my own decisions, to direct my own life, even if it resulted in me making a mistake.

Ultimately, there will be a time in our life when we must hand our lives completely over to God. As we get older, the fact that we are not as much in control of our lives as we would like to think, becomes a very real, brutal fact. Why wait to dedicate the lives of our children to God till much later in life? It is far more loving for parents to dedicate the lives of their children into the loving care of God at the beginning of their children’s lives.

Secondly, at the baptism of my children, I didn’t dedicate their lives to the Catholic Church, or some other religious tradition. I dedicated their lives to God. This is an important distinction.

As a child of the sixties, with all its social unrest and violence, I became wary of all human institutions, including religious institutions. I learned that not all decisions made by human institutions were honorable and for the common good of all people. Greed and power was a major motivator behind many government, business, and, yes, even at times, religious decisions. The betrayal of trust perpetrated by what had once been considered trustworthy institutions was devastating, sowing a deep cynicism within me that still exists to this day. The words of Jeremiah came to my mind. “

“You fooled me, God, and I let myself be fooled. You were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All day long, I am an object of laughter. Everyone mocks me.” (Jeremiah 20:7)

So often, our trust in human institutions is so great that we think that they are divinely created by God. We make the mistake to think that when they speak, they speak for God. Only God can be God. Our Church traditions and institutions are not God, but offer us a way by which we are led to God. God does do wonderful work for people through the Catholic Church. In as much as our Church is run by humans, the Church will still disappoint us and betray us. Jesus was a devout Jew, and his religious authorities not only opposed his earthly ministry but were instrumental in his torture and violent death. This important lesson learned by the Catholic Church was such that the Church made the important step following Vatican II to teach that while Jesus, head of the Church, never sins, the human component of the Church can sin and is in need of conversion like all human beings.

When I was ordained to the permanent diaconate 25 years ago, I promised to Archbishop Roach that I would live a chaste life, I would live simply, and I would promise obedience to the Archbishop and his successors. However, I made it very clear, at least to myself, that while it was through and within the Archdiocese I did my ministry as a deacon, it was not the Archdiocese I served. I served God and the people in the communities to whom God entrusted me through the Archbishop.

Our lives and the lives of our children must always be directed to God!

³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵ so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed— and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35, NRSV)

This passage from Luke vividly paints for us the third, and final reason why it is important to dedicate and entrust our children at their birth to the loving care of God.

Imagine for a moment receiving the prophecy of Simeon at the birth of our children. What do you do with being told that your child would be the rise and fall of many human beings, would be opposed; and, that we, as parents of our child, would not only have our hearts broken but the pain would be so great that the sorrow of it all would kill us?

When I held my infant children in my arms, I wondered what come for them in their lives. What are the gifts they will possess, and what are the challenges they will have to face in their lives? What could I do to support them in their lives, to guide them in the good times and through the troubles they will have to face? I simply did not know, but I trusted in God to help me in my parenting, and to be there to help me love and help my children.

The lesson I have learned is simply this: In order to dedicate and entrust our children to God, we, as parents, must first dedicate and entrust our live to God.

Whether we like it or not, our lives are immersed in Divine Mystery. In order to navigate our lives through this Mystery, we must entrust our lives to God. We just can’t navigate through life by ourselves. We need help. If we do not, we will flail away ineffectually and grow bitter.

It is important for us to adopt the attitude of the psalmist in Psalm 131.

¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. ² But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me. ³ O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore. (Psalm 131, NRSV)

So what does this Feast of the Presentation teach us today?

First, like Mary and Joseph, we need to entrust our children to the loving care of God. Second, while our Church traditions are important and we should form and raise our children within our Church traditions, it is to God, alone, that our children are entrusted. Third, in order to entrust the lives of our children to God, we must first entrust our lives as parents to God. We are incapable of raising our children, helping them develop the gifts with which they have been gifted, and support them through their troubles by ourselves. We need the loving parenting of God to assist us in the parenting of our children.