Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Did you know that halloween – which means “All Hallows Eve,” the eve before All Saints Day, also included in the Celtic folklore of the middle ages All Saints and All Souls Day. We might want to remember departed loved ones during these days, especially on All Souls Day.

 And if your children/grandchildren go trick-or-treating next Wednesday on Halloween, be sure they have a fun and safe time.

Did you ever wonder how to start an argument?  Here’s one way.  A woman wanted a new SUV, practical; her husband wanted a flashy sports car. He finally said in frustration, “My birthday’s in a week. I want something that goes from 0 to 250 in four seconds or less!” Surprise me! The wife bought him a bathroom scale. That's when the argument started. Moral of the story: watch what you say and do.

The word of God today takes us back to the 6th century before Jesus.

Jeremiah generally was a prophet of doom and gloom, but here he speaks about hope: a new beginning for a people now conquered but soon to be free, now overwhelmed by tragedies but soon to enjoy prosperity and peace.

Jeremiah challenges us to hope always in God even when bad things happen to us.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews speaks of the saving work of Jesus, our high priest who, through his death and resurrection, re-established our relationship with God and one another.

The author challenges us to see our earthly life in light of our true purpose. One day God will transform us, just as he did to Jesus, into a new heavenly reality so that we can be with God and one another forever.

In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus asks a blind man: “what do you want me to do for you?” If Jesus asked that question of you and me, how would we answer?

The man in the Gospel answers: “I want to see.”

And Jesus says: “Your faith has saved you.” And the blind man saw.

Today I want to reflect briefly upon a man of extraordinary faith, St. Paul. He was once blind to who Jesus was and suddenly saw him as the living Christ.

Paul, initially known as Saul of Tarsus, was well educated in Judaism and Greco-Roman philosophy. He had been a rabid persecutor of the early Christians.

But Paul was suddenly blinded by a light from heaven on his journey to Damascus in Syria. That awesome visionary experience of the risen Christ turned Paul’s life upside down. He became God’s chosen instrument to the non-Jews, one of the greatest evangelizers in Christianity.

Often controversial but always self-confident, Paul lived a purpose-driven life. This religious genius established faith communities throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and authored letters shaping the history of Christian thought. Eventually he was beheaded in Rome by order of the emperor Nero.

I believe Paul, well versed in philosophy, had a keen insight into what makes human beings tick. Everyone yearns for happiness. That desire is universal. We often do things that we think will make us happy, only to discover that we end up miserable. Why? Because we sometimes confuse pleasure with happiness.

Etched into Paul’s vision of human beings were the words of Jesus:
“I have come so that they may have life—God's life-- and have it more abundantly.”

For Paul, the path that leads to the fullness of life is discipline. Think about it. When we eat well, exercise often, and sleep regularly, we feel more fully alive physically. When we love, when we give priority to our significant relationships, when we lend a helping hand to others or speak an encouraging word, we feel more fully alive emotionally. When we study the achievements and marvels of the human spirit in various cultures, our world expands, and we feel more fully alive intellectually.

And when we take a few moments each day with God in prayer, humbly and openly, we experience more fully the transcendent dimension of our lives, the spiritual, the awesome presence of God.

All of these life-giving endeavors require discipline. Discipline sets us free to attain our ultimate purpose: life with God. Freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want, but it is the discipline to be true to our own inner selves, to do the true and right thing. Freedom is indeed a prerequisite for love of God and our fellow human beings.

Paul grasped this and preached that Christ came to reconcile us with the Father, and in doing so, Christ satisfies the craving for happiness that preoccupies our hearts. Our yearning for happiness is ultimately a yearning for friendship and intimacy and relationship with our Creator. Augustine’s words in the fifth century echo anew in every place, in every time, in every heart: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Lord.”

For St. Paul, Christ is indeed “the way, the truth, and the life.”

And who is this Jesus that captivated Paul and should captivate us? The four Gospel writers give us a glimpse into different portraits or faces of Jesus because they wrote to different audiences, and emphasized different ways in which to follow Jesus.

In Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, so Matthew reviews the family tree. Jesus emerges as the new Moses, the teacher, the rabbi who instructs the disciples in five discourses, especially in the Beatitudes; and Matthew invites us to become teachers as well, especially by example, by the practice of virtue.

In Mark, Jesus is the suffering Messiah—very human, approachable. Mark proposes that like the early Christians, we too may have to cope with suffering. And yes, we may wonder at times if God has forgotten us, especially if what’s happening is the opposite of what we want. But Jesus reminds us, “do not fear. I am with you always.”

In Luke, Jesus is compassionate and forgiving, and salvation is for everyone. Remember the parable of the prodigal son. Luke challenges us to be compassionate and forgiving in our relationships with one another.

In John, Jesus is noble, majestic, divine. “The Word was God.” “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus invites the first disciples to stay with him, and John invites us to stay with Jesus, especially in prayer.

Jesus is more than any one person can describe.

And so the question is: what image of Jesus captivates us? What image inspires us to become the kind of person today that Jesus was in his day? Let that image captivate you the way it captivated St. Paul and so many holy men and women in Christianity.