The prophets...maybe profits

Are the prophets of the Old Testament still relevant? Can they teach us anything in our day and age? Unfortunately, I think they are as relevant today as they were in the time of ancient Israel. Why would I say unfortunately?? It is because they delivered the news of God's impending judgement to a people who were not interested in hearing about how they have not lived up to the covenant. A prophet was a person called by God who had the gift to reflect on the past and understand how God worked in the world in the past, and then to provide guidance in their present reality. In Israel, history seemed to repeat itself over, over, and over again. God used those people who understood that breaking the covenant with God would bring God's judgement. The prophet would warn the King and people, they would have time to repent, but repentance rarely came and the judgement of God would fall on the people.

Why are they relevant? As people, we are all responsible for the the period of history we are born into. A response is demanded of each generation. We are responsible for the political climate, wealth, social justice, caring for the most vulnerable in society... and idolatry is rampant in many forms in this modern world. Many of the things that are in disarray in our own society, are the things that God severely judged Israel for. We live under the New Covenant, but does that give us protection from the judgment of God? In this country, is there any doubt that we have been blessed beyond all nations on earth? With that will come responsibility. Morally, this country has lost its way, God is quickly becoming an afterthought. A small minority of atheists are trying to eliminate God from all aspects of public life and are succeeding. We sit back as Christians and get steamrolled. With blessing comes responsibility.

Are we to ask God to bless us for the multitude of sins, social ills, and indifference there is in this world (like Israel's ancient days) or are we to repent and ask mercy. If one of these ancient prophets walked our streets announcing God's impending judgement...even Christians would laugh them off because we feel to secure...after all we are covenant people and we're God's favorites. That's what Israel thought. With our present course in this country, it will not be long before we are bankrupt, profits or prophets will not matter, and we could experience a way of life foreign to all of us. God's favorite Israel was sent to captivity. Are we immune from it? Only God can save us from impending disaster...no politician or army. A response is needed from every generation. The prophets told us to turn our hearts back to God...it happens one person at a time.

Laodicea made Jesus sick?

In the book of Revelation, Jesus tells the Church at Laodicea that they are neither cold nor hot...but He prefers they were. The problem was that He said they were lukewarm in which case He would vomit them out His mouth. What does this mean? If the people were hot, they would love Him, if they were cold they would hate Him. Even hating Jesus was preferable to being lukewarm. If you are lukewarm, you do not care one way or the other, which seems to make Jesus ill. Jesus can work with someone who hates Him because at least they have passion and care. To the person who gives no care for the things of God, there is nothing Jesus can do.

I did a funeral Mass recently for a person who really struggled with their faith in the last quarter of their life. When their spouse died early, their faith became unhinged in many ways. There was a struggle with God and most likely a notion that God had abandoned them. This person stopped going to Mass and really wrestled with faith. Talking to the family, I found out that they knew they secretly watched Mass on TV and would lock the door and pray a lot. They knew of prayer books this person had. This person was struggling and wrestling with God...which I found very endearing. There is no play book for the perfect Christian faith and understanding of God...God is just to immense to contain in our human understanding.

As Jesus states in Revelation though, Jesus does not condemn for a lack of wisdom or understanding. Jesus condemns Laodicea because they do not care at all. They don't care about their relationship with God enough to even try. I think back to this particular person who struggled with God all those years...they cared and they cared a lot to keep praying and struggling with their faith. It was a beautiful thing, and then to be reconciled at the end of their life in the sacraments of the Church. God's grace and love is amazing, no matter how we feel at any particular time in our life.

Humility comes in many forms

We can be humble in many ways but there are still lessons to be learned all the time in this department. One of the hardest things for me to accept when I went to seminary in 2003 was the fact that I now was at the mercy of others for everything. As a forty something adult who had been employed since college and making my way in the world just fine, I now was studying for priesthood with expenses and no job to speak of. I was the one who wrote checks to church and organizations who needed help and that's the way I liked it. I felt good to be able to help and thought no more of it. It wasn't until I was on the other end of the giving that it became hard to accept and that was a lesson in humility from God that I was never expecting. The underlying feeling was that when I had the checkbook, I had power. I did not use that power for bad, but it was better than not having power and that is what I experienced at seminary. God used humility and these life experiences to help me feel what so many marginalized brothers and sisters feel and that is a lack of control and the lack of power.

I write this because of my recent experience with the muscular dystrophy association. I was asked by the association to be one of their "jailbirds" and asked to raise bail money. I was charged to raise $1600. I knew this would be a test for me...actually I thought this kind of testing from God was over after seminary. As a priest, I guess we always are raising money for the parish we are in. When I took the assignment, my only wish is that I did not want to completely embarrass myself in fundraising ineptness. It did take a lot of inner strength to begin putting the word out that I was searching for funds to make this bail happen. As always, the people of God responded generously and I am nearly at my goal and this lesson is over tomorrow.

I remember overhearing our old Archbishop Dolan lament the fact that his priesthood had changed since becoming a bishop. Instead of doing more pastoral activities, he had to go "pick the pockets" of donors to keep the diocese afloat. Obviously, I share the same feelings of asking for money as he did. In the end, I know it is a lesson of humility for me from God. Until we learn real good, the lessons generally continue. We pray for those today who have to humble themselves to go to a food pantry or ask for assistance in so many various forms. For many of those people, it is a very painful ordeal to seek assistance...for some it has become a way of life and the pain is now only numbness. Let us take a walk in the shoes of someone else..

A nation divided

This week at our school Mass, we honored the 8th graders on their graduation. The Gospel reading that day was from Mark and it was the "golden rule" of loving your neighbor as yourself. Sure, that's an easy message to deliver and make relevant, but I really agonized about what to tell these kids. I know...you know...and they know what kind of world is being left for them by these past few generations. It's only natural that we want to protect everything we have worked for our entire lives and that we all would like some semblance of an easy retirement. The reality is, that it will not happen unless these 8th graders are willing to pay for it. A two party government has always been a good thing for checks and balances in our past and from keeping one party's philosophy from dominating. Unfortunately, these philosophies have mutated into extreme views and neither party can seem to even remotely accept the possibility that either party has something to offer this world. Independents and tea-party alternatives are attacked as irrelevant and civility is a thing of the past.

When I thought about this and the repercussions it would have with these kids, I could only think of Jesus' words that a house divided cannot stand. The way this country is divided, and the world for that matter, will eventually lead to its collapse. We are not that far from it and just because we are the good old USA, doesn't mean it cannot happen. My only message to these kids that day was to take their education seriously and to please save us.

Love your neighbor as yourself is the solution that Jesus gives us to these problems. I asked that they take their studies and mesh them to God's Words and to be the solution to the problems of divisions because it does not look like our generations are going to get it done. The Bible truly is the blueprint for a Utopian society if we follow the directions. Unfortunately, love has become a four letter word and like Israel in the Old Testament, we as humans think we have better ways than God. That's a recipe for disaster.