Wisdom to Do Right

Parables about Treasure and Pearl of Great Price

In all decisions, we may pray to God for the wisdom to do the right thing.

King Solomon was clever with affairs of state and built a splendid temple in Jerusalem.  Tradition ascribes 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs to him. God appears in a dream to Solomon, saying: ask me for something and I will give it to you. Solomon wants the wisdom to know the right thing to do.

Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Rome writes: “All things work for the good for those who love God.” In light of daily news, we might surmise all things are not working for the good. But Paul, the faith-filled disciple of Jesus, urges us to fix our eyes on eternal life in relationship with God, who ultimately will transform us. Start that life now!

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus continues the theme of choices. In his first parable, a farmer plowing someone else's field hits a clump that turns out to be a buried treasure. He sells everything he has to buy the field so that he can claim the treasure as his own. In the second parable, a merchant finds a pearl so magnificent that he sells all he has accumulated in life to buy that one pearl.

Jesus says to us in these parables: seize the moment. Make the right decision. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

So much for right decisions. What about the decision maker? Right decisions presuppose men and women with character or integrity. Character defines who we are at the core of our inmost self. It's an ethical reality. Centuries ago, the Hebrew psalmist spoke of King David as a great (though not perfect) leader who guided his people with integrity of heart and skillful hands.

Leadership also requires courage. Whether it's starting a new business, battling a life-threatening disease, getting married, struggling to overcome an addiction, or engaging in community service, life demands courage to move beyond our fears and self-doubts to achieve something worthwhile.

The most common phrase in the New Testament is “Do not be afraid.” The most common phrase in the Old Testament is “Be not afraid.” The phrase appears more than a thousand times in both testaments, so God may be trying to get that message across to us.

Finally, leaders have a “can do” attitude. They're optimists; they get the facts; they're enthusiastic and self-confident, and their confidence instills confidence in others.

At different times in life, all of us are called to be leaders: as professionals, business people, parents, citizens in a community and volunteers in an organization.  Seek always the right thing to do — not what is fashionable, not what is merely acceptable. And having found what's right, just do it.

Unconditional Love

Jesus on the Mount of Beatitudes

In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus asks us to love our enemies. The Greek text of the Gospel shows the word for love is agape. Not a romantic or emotional love, but an unconditional love, wishing our fellow human beings only good.

Jesus makes some radical demands upon us: Love your enemies; if someone slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other; give to everyone who asks.

Now how can anyone practice all the teachings of Jesus? How understand them? Who can give to everyone who asks? Are these teachings simply another example of middle eastern hyperbole or exaggeration? A few people, for example, Francis of Assisi or Dorothy Day, have tried to live these literally. For most people, they’re not very practical. So, how understand these ethical teachings?

First, you don’t have to like someone to love them. The love that Jesus asks us to have means that, no matter how someone may wrong us, we will never let bitterness close our hearts to them nor will we wish them anything but good. Agape recognizes the humanity we share with all people who call God “Father” – and that unconditional love begins within our own households, workplaces and communities.

Second, the radical ethical teachings of Jesus are linked to the mission of Jesus, who proclaims that the kingdom of God is in our midst. Yes, the kingdom is here, but not completely or fully. You and I are living in-between the historical coming of Jesus centuries ago and the final coming of Jesus in glory. We live in the tension between.

Jesus indicates the goal or thrust of our behavior, but this goal may not always be achievable. "Giving to everyone who asks" is not always possible, yet it indicates the direction of our lives: be generous with what we have -- our time, talent and treasure.

Remember that Jesus connects our love of God with our love for one another. Matthew 25 says this loudly and clearly: when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, etc. We can’t say we love God and yet neglect our needy fellow human beings. To the person who strikes you on one side of the face, Jesus says, offer the other as well. Yet sometimes we must fight against evil. We may have to take someone’s life in self-defense.

But Jesus indicates the thrust or direction of our lives, that is, we must try to be peacemakers, healers, bridge builders, reconcilers. So, these teachings of Jesus create tension between the present and final stages of the kingdom of God.

The genuine disciple of Jesus lives in this tension by seizing the many opportunities to do good today. To quote John Wesley: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” Amen.

A Fresh Start With Jesus As Our Guide

Rubens' Adoration of the Magi

Perhaps the best resolution for the new year is to cultivate a focus on the presence of God in our lives, to become aware of God's presence within ourselves and let the glory of God shine forth in our daily routine.
 
Today we celebrate the Epiphany: the manifestation or showing forth of the child Jesus as the messiah to the magi.

We really don’t know who the biblical visitors were--wise men or astrologers or spice traders. All we know is that they were non-Jews who came from far, far away, guided by a mysterious bright star. They came to pay homage to this Jewish baby called Jesus.

In today’s readings, the word of God from Isaiah takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus. The Jews were freed, to rebuild their city of Jerusalem. The author indicates a divine light will emanate from this shining city on a hill and all people, Jews as well as non-Jews, will acknowledge and walk by this light.

Christians see Jesus as this light who illuminates darkness, who shows human beings the ultimate purpose of life: to be in relationship with God and thereby manifest the glory of God through who we are and what we do.

St. Paul's letter to the Christian community at Ephesus in Turkey outlines our future. Jesus is indeed our guide: a beacon of hope for all.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, we have all the ingredients of a great story: exotic visitors, a wicked king, court intrigue, a mysterious star, precious gifts, a new child. The magi give homage to this child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, highly symbolic gifts about the identity of this child.

Gold can symbolize kingship or divinity, the things of God; and the coin of this child’s heavenly realm are the virtues of self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, courage, perseverance, honesty, decency, respect and faith in God. Are these virtues the “currency” of our own lives?

Frankincense with its wonderful fragrance and medicinal magic can symbolize healing, and this child came to heal our wounds and bridge the chasm separating us from God and one another. We too are called to be healers.

Myrrh or ointment can symbolize a burial embalmment, and this child through his dying/rising re-established our relationship with God.

Now who is this child? This newborn messiah, completely human and completely divine, is the exemplar or prototype or model of what it means to be an authentic human being. That is why some ask themselves: what would Jesus do in this or that circumstance?

With Jesus as our model, God invites us, from an infinite number of possibilities, to live a holy life, every man and every woman, without exception, regardless of age, race, socioeconomic background, career or calling in life.

Holiness is allowing God to enter into the very fiber of our being so that we can become the best version of ourselves through who we are and everything we do.

Now is the time for us to begin again, to become the best version of ourselves. 

Merry Christmas

Rembrandt's Adoration of the Shepherds

Every year we relive the wonderful Christmas story. The Gospel according to John summed up this magnificent story in a single line: The Word became flesh.

That takes us back in our imaginations to the beginnings of the human family, in Genesis: when man and woman walked with God, had friendship with God and one another. But somehow man and woman lost that friendship, they fell from grace: they hid from God.

But in the midst of ancient Israel’s fidelities and infidelities to the covenant, God never reneged on his promises. And so the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

The Word of God for the Christmas liturgies is like a prism through which is refracted the multiple facets of this great mystery of the Incarnation.

Isaiah proclaims glad tidings: the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Paul writes that the grace of God appeared in Jesus Christ who made us “heirs” to the promise of eternal life. In the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke, the Virgin Mary gave birth to her son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.And the Gospel of John sums up the meaning of Christmas: the Word became flesh. That is God’s greatest gift to us.

Some gifts really transform the lives the people: gifts of teaching, of listening and supporting, of sharing time and experiences, of compassion and forgiveness and affirmation. This begins in our own families and workplaces and communities: enduring gifts that we can always give to one another.

The Word became flesh. That single line changed our destiny. Christmas means not simply God in Bethlehem centuries ago, but God within us. We carry within ourselves Emmanuel, God with us. How? By virtue of the life-giving waters of baptism.We gather to proclaim the awesome Word of God, to celebrate the presence of the living Christ.

That great truth of our faith, God within us, challenges us always to look for the good in ourselves, in other people and in all situations in life.

And who is the ultimate good-finder? God so loved us that he became one of us. Yes, Jesus had a unique relationship. He was God-man. A healer, a teacher, a peacemaker. Think of all the people in the Gospels that Jesus met: the blind, the leper, the lame, the sinner, the forgotten. And Jesus found goodness in all of them where many didn’t.

The promised Messiah has come, He is in our midst mystically in the word proclaimed and the sacrament celebrated, and He will come again in power and glory at the end-time. In the meantime, pray this Christmas season that the Lord will help those who doubt to find faith; those who despair to find hope; those who are weak to find courage; those who are sick to find health; those who are sad to find joy; and those who have died to find eternal life in God.