*****
"God did not make death, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living." "Just as you are rich in every respect, so may excel in the gracious act also…”
Death is an unavoidable part of life. In truth, long before each of us takes our last breath, we will experience many little deaths throughout our lives: occasions of loss, disappointment, surrender and letting go.
Francis de Sales offers this advice to all people who, while celebrating God's gift of life, also accept the reality of death:
“How worthwhile it is really to understand that we are only given this life to gain eternal life! Without this knowledge we fix our affections on what is in this world through which we are passing; when it comes to leaving it, we are dismayed and full of fear. Believe me, if we are to live happily during this pilgrimage, we must keep alive before our eyes the hope of arriving in our homeland where we shall stay for all eternity.” (Selected Letters by Elizabeth Stopp, p. 261)
Life is full of so many people, relationships, gifts, blessings, challenges and endeavors that enhance and nourish the human spirit! How do we truly, fully and completely enjoy them without clinging to them?
By being generous!
Look no further than to the example of Jesus himself. Jesus, the Son of God, the one in whom, through whom and for whom all things exist “made himself poor so that we might become rich.” (2 Cor 8) Jesus did not cling to all that was good and blessed here on earth for his own consumption or satisfaction. No, his satisfaction was found in generously sharing all of whom he was and what he possessed with others. Jesus conquered sin and death precisely because he had committed himself to the path of generosity during his life.
In the face of limitation, in the face of setback, in the face of sin, in the face of surrender we are tempted to cling exclusively to all the good that God gives us. Jesus shows us another way. Insofar as we are willing to respond to the experiences of loss and letting go by generously sharing ourselves with others, we are destined to conquer death and come to understand what it means to truly live.
If there is anything that we truly possess and never lose in this life, let it be our commitment to perform good works, to make real and tangible the richness of God's love in us, and to generously share God's love and good works with one another.
*****
“The Lord is kind and merciful…”
In the wake of Jesus' crucifixion and death, the apostles were locked away together in fear. They were afraid that they might suffer the same fate as their teacher.
Despite their anxious seclusion, Jesus breaks into their lives: not merely into the physical space in which they were taking refuge; Jesus also breaks into the core of their minds and hearts. Jesus attempts to calm their fears; he challenges them to be at peace; he does this in a rather confrontational and mysterious manner: by showing them the wounds in his hands and side.
The experience of resurrection did not remove the scars of Jesus' woundedness, the lasting marks of pain, disappointment, misunderstanding, rejection, humiliation, abandonment, suffering and death. Notwithstanding these wounds, however, Christ's resurrection powerfully demonstrated that pain, sadness, suffering and injustice did not, ultimately, enjoy the last word. While suffering is clearly a part of life, there is much more to life than suffering.
St. Francis de Sales wrote:
"We must often recall that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance, and that we must work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible forbearance the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet." (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 3)
All of us bear the wounds of failure, deception, betrayal, disappointment and loss. Our hearts, our minds, our memories - our souls - bear the scars to prove it. Like the Apostles, we, too, are tempted to withdraw from others, to lock ourselves away in some secluded emotional or spiritual corner, living in fear of what other pain or disappointments may come our way. Of course, in withdrawing from life, we figuratively - in some cases, even literally - die.
Jesus clearly demonstrates in his own life that our wounds do not necessarily need to overwhelm or disable us. While these wounds may be permanent, they need not rob us of the power and promise of recovery, of renewal - of resurrection - unless we despair, unless we allow ourselves to be defeated by the nails of negativity.
The wounds of our past continue to leave their mark in our present: they don't necessarily determine the course of our future. Turn to the love of Jesus who knows what it means to be wounded and who shows us how to move through and beyond them. St. Francis de Sales wrote: “Look often on Christ, crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, and overwhelmed by every kind of weariness, sadness, sorrow and labor.” Jesus triumphed over and through the wounds of his humanity: so, too, with God's help, can we.
To be sure, life can be tough. But as we see in the life of Jesus, however, there is something in life even stronger than ‘tough” love.
Mercy.
*****
“Their message goes out through all the earth…
The Church celebrates the lives and legacies of two of its greatest Apostles: Peter and Paul. Great as these men were, however, their lives illustrate the fact that you don’t have to be perfect to be a follower of Jesus.
Of Saint Peter, Francis de Sales wrote: “St. Peter was chosen to be the chief of the Apostles, although he was subject to so many imperfections that he even committed some after he had received the Holy Spirit, because, notwithstanding these defects, he was always full of courage, never allowing himself to be dismayed by his shortcomings.” (Conferences, Number IV, Page 63)
Francis expounds upon this duality of Peter’s nature in his Treatise on the Love of God. “Who would not marvel at the heart of St. Peter, so bold among armed soldiers that out of his entire master’s company he alone takes his sword in hand and strikes out with it? Yet a little afterwards among ordinary people he is so cowardly that at the mere word of a servant girl he denies and detests his master.” (Book X, Chapter 9, p, 167)
There are lessons to be gleaned from the life of St. Paul, too. Francis observed: “He fights for all people, he pours forth prayers for all people, he is passionately jealous on behalf of all people, and he is on fire for all people. Yes, he even dared more than this for ‘those according to the flesh,’ so that, if I dare to say so, he desires by charity that they may be put in his place with Jesus Christ. O perfection of courage and unbelievable spirit!” (Treatise, Book X, 16, pp. 188 – 189)
Of course, as in the case of Peter, Paul, too, has his shortcomings. In a letter of encouragement to a sister of the Visitation, Francis wrote: “Do not be ashamed…any more than St. Paul who confessed that there were two men in him, one rebellious to God and the other obedient to God.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, page 224.)
Indeed, their message – as we see so clearly in their lives and as we hear in their words – continues to go out through all the earth. And this message could not be any clearer or more relevant now than it was nearly two thousand years ago: “God chooses the weak and makes them strong in bearing witness…” (Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer: Martyrs, Roman Sacramentary)
God chooses the weak and makes them strong in bearing witness to the power and promise of his love. Weak as they were, God chose Peter and Paul in their time to be heralds of the Good News.
And yes, God chooses us in our time. The Lord chooses us as we are – imperfections, cracks, warts and all – and makes us something strong, beautiful, powerful and passionate for God…and for one another.
Let God’s message – and yours – go out through all the earth, especially to those with whom you will share your life this very day and every day.
*****
“I have completed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul – Apostles.
Of Saint Peter, Francis de Sales wrote: “St. Peter was chosen to be the chief of the Apostles, although he was subject to so many imperfections that he even committed some after he had received the Holy Spirit, because, notwithstanding these defects, he was always full of courage, never allowing himself to be dismayed by his shortcomings.” (Conferences, Number IV, Page 63)
Francis expounds upon this duality of Peter’s nature in his Treatise on the Love of God. “Who would not marvel at the heart of St. Peter, so bold among armed soldiers that out of all of his master’s company he alone takes his sword in hand and strikes out with it? Yet a little afterwards among ordinary people he is so cowardly that at the mere word of a servant girl he denies and detests his master.” (TLG, Book X, Chapter 9, p, 167)
Now let us turn our attention to what Francis de Sales said about St. Paul. “He fights for all people, he pours forth prayers for all people, he is passionately jealous on behalf of all people, and he is on fire for all people. Yes, he even dared more than this for ‘those according to the flesh,’ so that, if I dare to say so, he desires by charity that they may be put in his place with Jesus Christ. O perfection of courage and unbelievable spirit!” (Treatise, Book X, Chapter 16, pp. 188 – 189)
Of course, as in the case of Peter, Paul, too, has his shortcomings. In a letter of encouragement to a sister of the Visitation, Francis wrote: “Do not be ashamed…any more than St. Paul who confessed that there were two men in him, one rebellious to God and the other obedient to God.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, page 224.)
“I competed well; I have finished the race.” Paul wrote these words, but they could also be said of Peter. But note well – both Paul and Peter finished well, giving their very lives for their belief in Jesus. By contrast, look at their earlier track records. Peter was called ‘Satan’ by Jesus and Peter denied Him three times. Paul, for his part, began his public life by persecuting the early Church. Both records were anything but impressive.
When it comes to being an apostle, a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ, perhaps the most important thing to remember is this – as imperfect as we are, with the grace of God and the support of one another where we have been is not nearly as important as where we hope to go! All’s well that ends well!
*****
“They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned…”
In his commentary on this selection from the Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay observed:
“We could never compare the value of a herd of swine with the value of a person’s immortal soul. It is unlikely that we refuse to eat bacon for breakfast or pork for dinner. Our sympathy with pigs does not extend far enough to prevent our eating them. Are we then to complain is Jesus restored sanity to two men’s minds at the cost of a herd of pigs? This is not to say that we encourage or even condone cruelty to animals. It is simply to say that we must preserve a sense of proportion in life.”
“Th supreme tragedy of this story lies in its conclusion. Those who were herding the pigs ran back to the town and told what had happened. The result was that the people of the town asked Jesus to leave their territory at once.”
“Here is human selfishness at its worst. It did not matter to these people that two men had been given back heir reason. All that mattered to them was that their pigs had perished. It is so often the case that that people say in effect, ‘I don’t care what happens to anyone else, so long as my profits and my comfort and my ease are preserved.’”
Barclay concludes:
“”We may be amazed at the callousness of these people, but we must have a care that we, too, do not resent any helping of others which may reduce our own privileges.”
As one wag once put it, “I am all for change, provided that I can keep doing things the way I’ve always done them.” Therein lies the rub: Jesus did not come to sustain the status quo. Jesus came as a game changer.
How willing are we willing to roll with the changes that come with living the Gospel – and the ways – of Jesus Christ?
*****
“Why do you entertain such evil thoughts in your hearts?
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales claimed that impugning the motives of others a primary source of much of the sin and iniquity with which our world is plagued.
We witness slander when someone falsely imputes crimes and sins toward another person. We see slander when someone reveals others’ secret faults or exaggerates faults that are already obvious to everyone. We hear slander when someone ascribes evil motives to the good deeds that another does or attempts to minimize - or deny them - all together.
In today’s Gospel we see such slander in action. Perhaps slander in thought only, but slander, nonetheless.
After forgiving the sins of a paralyzed man, Jesus is palpably aware of what was going through the minds of the scribes – they secretly assumed that such action made Jesus guilty of blasphemy, that is, of usurping the power and authority of God. They were determined to turn any good that Jesus did into something bad. Jesus response is swift and twofold – he calls them out for their secret, distorted thinking and then powerfully proves by what power and authority he forgives sins by healing the same man of his physical paralysis.
Would that Jesus could have healed the attitudinal paralysis of the scribes so easily, a paralysis stemming from the slanderous manner with which they viewed Jesus , because when they were not falsely accusing him of assorted crimes and sins, they attempted to minimize – or discredit entirely – the good that he accomplished and the healings that he performed. What is the moral is this Gospel? There are far worse ways of being incurably paralyzed other than being unable to walk.
*****
“The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough burnt offerings, or rams and the fat of fattened animals. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” (1: 11 – 17)
By contrast, the MERCY paradigm of holiness emphasizes the need to integrate the two components of Jesus’ Great Commandment exemplified in the words of 1 John 4:12:“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and love is made complete in us.”
Not to put too fine a point on it, but loving God and loving neighbor can never be separated. They are indeed two indispensable sides of the very same coin. The goal of holiness that we pursue in praying, fasting, singing songs of praise, donating blood making meals for the homeless and every other act of piety and mercy is not to prove anything to God but to give God complete influence over our hearts. Sacrifice can be extremely beneficial when it is a means for submitting ourselves more completely to God’s mercy and not a substitute for it. For example, fasting can teach us to be aware of our own hungers and our need for God to feed us as a remedy for the pride of self-sufficiency. However, if God indeed desires mercy over sacrifice, the commands that God gives us are not intended to be tests of our loyalty to God but rather a pathway for allowing His reign of mercy to reign in our hearts - a reign expressed through our exercise of mercy toward one another.*****
"Unless I see the mark of the nails…I will not believe.”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Do not say that so-and-so is a drunkard even though you have seen him intoxicated, or that so-and-so is an adulterer even if you saw him in his sin, or that so-and-so is incestuous because he has been guilty of a certain depraved deed. A single act is not enough to justify the name of vice...To deserve the name of a vice or a virtue, there must be some advance in an act and it must be habitual. Hence it is untrue to say that so-and-so is bad-tempered or a thief simply because we once saw him in a fit of anger or guilty of theft…We must not draw conclusions from yesterday to today, nor from today to yesterday, and still less to tomorrow.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 29, p. 202)
So why is it, then, that we continue to refer to the Apostle whose life and legacy we celebrate today as “Doubting Thomas”? Nearly two thousand years have passed since he declared to his peers what it would take for him to believe that Jesus was risen. Why should we vilify Thomas for being honest? Why should we beat up on Thomas for speaking from his heart? Jesus certainly did not!
Jesus did not scold Thomas for his declaration. Jesus did not refuse Thomas’ request. Quite the contrary! Jesus showed him his hands and his side, saying, in effect: “Do you want to see my wounds? Here they are! Do you want to touch my hands and side? Please do! If that is what it’s going to take to convince you that I’m real, Thomas, then by all means please do it!” It was then that Thomas believed that the person, who was standing in front of him, was the same Jesus with whom he walked for three years. It was the same Jesus who had spent his ministry meeting people, where they were, who now offered the same courtesy to Thomas.
In the closing scene from the film Red Dragon, Dr. Hannibal Lector’s character opined: “Our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.” Perhaps, Thomas intuited that only the scars left by Jesus’ humiliation, passion and death could convince him that Jesus had conquered death! Perhaps this is what prompted Thomas’ request. Perhaps that’s why Thomas had the courage to speak the truth despite the giddy euphoria of the other Apostles who had previously seen Jesus. Can you really blame Thomas for not taking their word for it?
Come to think of it, it is remarkable that the experience of resurrection did not remove the wounds of Jesus: the lasting marks of pain, disappointment, misunderstanding, rejection, humiliation, abandonment, suffering and death. Notwithstanding these wounds, however, Christ's resurrection powerfully demonstrated that pain, sadness, suffering and injustice -- as real as they were -- did not, ultimately, wield the last word. While suffering was clearly a part of Jesus’ life, there was so much more to his life than suffering.
Maybe it’s time for us to retire the moniker “Doubting Thomas” and replace it with “Honest Thomas”! Maybe it is also time for us to simply accept the fact that there are some things about Jesus that we can know only through our own wounds and the wounds of others.
