Dearest Dad, I am getting married soon and so you need to get your checkbook out. As you know, I am in Australia...and he lives in Scotland. We met on a dating website, became friends on Facebook, had long chats on Whatsapp, and he proposed on Skype. I’m coming home soon, need your blessing, and a big wedding. Love and thanks. Your daughter, Lilly. PS: I hope the virus won’t upend my wedding plans.
And here's dad's response:
My Dear Lilly, Wow! I suggest you get married on Zoom, get kids on Amazon, and pay for it all through PayPal. And when you get fed up with him, sell on eBay. Love, Dad.
The word of God today takes us to the ninth century before Jesus (the 800s), to a “holy man” named Elisha. A wealthy childless woman welcomes Elisha into her home. He, in turn, promises that God will bless her with a child.
Lo and behold, the woman later has a son. This woman invites us to always be hospitable to one another; and Elisha challenges us to trust in God’s providence or care for us as we journey through life.
St. Paul’s letter describes how we have the triune life of God in us through the waters of baptism. In early Christianity, baptismal candidates submerged or “buried” themselves in water, a gesture symbolizing a dying to a self-centered life; and then came up out of the water, another gesture symbolizing a rising to a God-centered life.
Paul challenges us to remember who we are: new creatures by virtue of baptism, sons and daughters of God our Father, called to live a God-like life.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus calls us to get our priorities straight. Our first priority: to live in a relationship with God. And second, to see the face of God in our fellow human beings, no matter how hidden or shabby that face of God might be.
Jesus here calls us to live a life of discipleship. Not tomorrow or some future date, but today, here and now! Then we will experience what joy and happiness are all about. Everyone wants happiness. One author wrote that to be happy is to:
forgive and apologize (we all make mistakes) but we have to move on;
listen for good advice;
keep our temper;
share the blame;
make the best out of every situation (most things seldom work out perfectly);
and put the needs of others before our own.
Many think that if they get enough money, fame, or power, they’ll be happy. But if that’s so, how explain why so many celebrities who “had it all” sedated themselves with drugs or other addictions.
Happiness has to factor into every dimension of life: work with its stresses; relationships with their tensions; disappointments versus dreams; guilt about what one did or didn’t do; health or lack thereof. And ultimately, happiness has to factor into death.
Bishop Robert Barron, of “Word on Fire” fame, cites Michael Jordan as an example of someone who became his happiest not by playing basketball any way he wanted but by mastering the basics.
So too with us. We have to master the basics of discipleship with Jesus.
So, what are the basics? Let’s first remember that at one point in his earthly ministry, many followers left Jesus. Jesus then turned to his inner circle and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Yes, we become our happiest by mastering the basics: I suggest we find them in the Beatitudes. Trying as best we can to live the beatitudes, with God’s grace, we will become the best version of our selves.
In the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the kind of moral character we should have, in our relationship with God and our relationships with one another.
First, disciples recognize that only God can fill their emptiness!!!
That’s what it means to be poor in spirit. We needn’t try to fill ourselves with earthly things. Disciples recognize who they really are: fragile creatures whom an awesome Creator gifted with life. We realize our good fortune to be alive and are grateful to God, and we owe this awesome God honor and praise and worship.
Disciples yearn for healing from our brokenness and know only God can heal us. They are gentle, considerate and unassuming. Disciples, above all, hunger for a right relationship with God.
The next beatitudes have to do with our relationships with one another!!!.
Fortunate are they who forgive wrongs done to them and let go of their anger and resentment. God will be merciful to them because they realize how much they themselves need God’s mercy.
Fortunate are the pure in heart, who have integrity, openness, and authenticity in their relationships with others; they will see God face to face.
Fortunate are they who are ready to suffer rather than betray their conscience, who try to do the right thing in all situations. The 20th century American literary critic H. L. Mencken described conscience as the “inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking.” That’s a good guide for transparency in our relationships.
And finally, fortunate are they who don’t stir up conflict but try to be at peace with God, with themselves, and with others.
On May 18 we celebrated the birth centenary of Pope St. John Paul II. Pope Francis noted how St. John Paul motivated us to live a life of service in today’s “throwaway society” in which many people are treated as disposable. He challenged us to remember especially that all life matters.
I pray that God will grace us to live the beatitudes so that we will become the best version of ourselves, true disciples of the Master, always living in a right relationship with God and each other. Amen!!!.
