Judgment according to Jesus

The gospel reading at Holy Mass today may strike us as a bit obscure. Some verses get skipped in the Lectionary.

Hopefully we recall reading about the cure of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, when the Lord Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk. Then the Temple authorities sought to arrest Him for breaking the sabbath.

In the chapter we read from today, the Lord points out to the crowd that it is considered legal to circumcise on the sabbath. So shouldn’t it be legal miraculously to heal paralytics on the sabbath?

The Lord seems to me to be getting at this question:

What is the foundation upon which we can base a consistent method of judging between right and wrong?

The idea in Jerusalem was: “We have the Law of Moses!” But Jesus pointed out: The very circumcision by which we identify ourselves as Jews—this practice is older than the Law of Moses.

In other words, Christ basically says: You really don’t have anywhere near as solid a foundation as you think you do. After all, here I am, pouring out divine love everywhere I go, and you consider me a criminal. Something don’t add up.

Then the Lord declares: ‘The foundation I have for all my teachings is the heavenly Father, Whom I have known perfectly for all eternity.’

Because Jesus possesses—and has always possessed—unique and perfect knowledge, He and He alone offers a true foundation for a consistent method of judging between right and wrong. Christ, and only Christ, offers us the basic reference point of life.

Away from Him–in the darkness of a life that does not have Jesus Christ for a daily companion–we know only confusion, shallowness, and ultimate self-destruction. But if we stay close to Him, we find the true path.

May the upcoming Passiontide, upon which we embark next week, draw us closer to the one and only true standard of judgment and reference point for life.

King Josiah and the Right Perspective

Today in church we read a beautiful episode from the second book of Kings. King Josiah had the Law of Moses read aloud to all the people of Jerusalem, none of whom had heard it before. They kept the Passover properly that year, for the first time in centuries.

This episode inspires us all the more when we consider that King Josiah succeeded King Manasseh, who had fallen so deeply into paganism that he sacrificed his own son on the altar of Moloch and turned the Jerusalem Temple into a pagan shrine. And when we consider that, by this time, all the northern tribes had forgotten about God and the truth. Instead, they worshipped Ba’al and lived for pleasure. Because of this, they had fallen into the hands of the Assyrians and had been taken into exile, never to return.

So the picture of the people of Jerusalem gathered together with the king and priests; the Temple rededicated to the obedient worship of the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Passover kept, as Moses commanded—this picture inspires us with a vision of faithfulness and harmony. God’s kingdom at work on earth. May we worship God together, too, with humble love, at peace and living in the truth.

But before we get too maudlin about this beautiful episode from the Old Testament, let’s remember that as this scene unfolded, the prophetess Huldah meanwhile declared that the punishments which the book of Moses promised would indeed be carried out. The people had been unfaithful for many generations, and God’s justice would not be flouted. King Josiah and his contemporaries kept the Passover faithfully in peace. But their children were carried off in chains to Babylon, and Jerusalem was reduced to ruins.

In the world, but not of it. The message of Christ, the grace of Christ, the kingdom of Christ—only from the perspective of Jesus Christ can we understand our role on earth. We want to worship in spirit and truth. But we cannot stand before God in peace if we do not face honestly the problems of our times. All is not as it should be.

Which means we have a job to do: to seek the truth, to stand up for what’s right, to confess our sins, to offer our resources for the good of others. And to hope for heaven.

The good tree bears fruit for heaven. In this world we will have trouble. But Christ has overcome the world.

Soldering 101

Last month I received a very warm compliment after Mass.

But yesterday I got the best compliment EVER:

Father, we love to listen to you preach.

You have a kind of tone when you speak…

It’s like Captain James T. Kirk! You talk like Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise!

…Here is Captain Kirk’s homily for this beautiful Sunday:

The Law of the Lord is perfect. –Psalm 19:7

We human beings are complicated. Some of us are more complicated than others. But all of us are complicated, compared to other creatures, like squirrels and dogs. Squirrels and dogs follow instinct. We, on the other hand, make choices.

We are unique creatures on the earth. We have free will. The problem is that we don’t exactly know what to do with it.

Seven Deadlies Compendium, Etc.

I woke up this morning feeling basically okay with myself. But then I discovered that I agree with Ken Woodward…(If the comic strips appearing here are too small for you to read, you can see a larger size by clicking on it.)

…According to the Law of Moses, capital crimes were to be punished by stoning to death.

The first stones were to be cast by the witnesses upon whose testimony the guilty party was convicted. Then everyone else could join in the stoning. By this violent act, the injustice of the crime would be purged from the nation.

God is perfectly just. He examines every heart. Before Him, no one is innocent.

But He has not cast a stone and done violence to the guilty ones. Rather, He subjected Himself to violence at the hands of the unjust.

By this violent act, our injustice is purged. We are not condemned to death.

God restores justice; we are pardoned; we may live.

…Here is a little compendium of my sermons on the seven deadly sins…

Pride

Greed and Envy

Anger and Lust

Gluttony and Sloth

Also, there are some new Bests above.

And I added a new feature above…a collection of the collections.

…I wish I could say that I am willing to take the sins of others upon myself, like our Lord.

I can say this, though: I do take the germs of others upon myself.

This is what communion under both species means for the priest: Taking the germs of the entire people upon yourself.