Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 22:32-40) “Why is This Important?”
Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 22:32-40) “Why is This Important?”
We mature throughout our life in various ways. We can see ourselves grow physically. We might measure our growth with lines on a wall when we are children. We also know that we grow intellectually. We pass through grades as we are educated. All of us grow emotionally. We know that as we mature, we become less self-centered focusing on the needs of others rather than our own. One area we might not consider is our moral growth.
We can slowly mature ethically. When we are small, we know that we look to our parents to affirm our moral choices. We like to hear that we are good boys or good girls. When we are older, we begin to think for ourselves. We judge good actions and bad actions by what we perceive as fair. The cry of the fifth grader when there is a disagreement over discipline is, “That’s not fair!”
When we become adults, we come to a more nuanced view of what is right and what is wrong. Some Pharisees come to Jesus asking the question how do we know what is right and what is wrong? The Pharisees were always concerned about the law. Whenever we start to have organized religion, we begin to have rules and laws. The Jewish faith had all kinds of guidelines.
General norms slowly became detailed instructions. Regulations guided Jews in how to pray in the morning and how to pray in the evening. Rules were written that guided the proper way to act at table. The Jews were supposed to follow certain behaviors when they visited the sick. Rules dictated how to treat widows and orphans as well as resident aliens. Laws governed how one should parent, the right use of money, when one could use physical force. And of course, there were rules in place that governed sexuality.
How did a Jew know if they were a good person? What became all important was the behavior. Were the rules followed? Was the right thing done? If that is the case, the religious person usually feels that that is all that is necessary. But somehow that doesn’t quite seem enough.
A story is told of a man who ran his own business. He worked long hours so that he could make money so his family would have security. Often, he would go back to his office after having supper with his family. One night he was heading back to the office to finish up some work. His three-year-old son was stacking blocks in the middle of the hallway. The father stepped over the son heading out the door.
He was halfway down the sidewalk when he started feeling guilty. Harry Chapin’s Cats in Cradle played over and over in his mind. What would a good father do he thought? He went back into the house. He started stacking blocks with his son. He felt like he was a good father. He was making a sacrifice for his son. At the same time, he was looking at his watch wondering when he could put his son to bed so he could get back to the office. After about fifteen minutes the three-year-old shocked the father asking, “Why are you mad at me Daddy?”
The three-year-old had an innate sense that his father wasn’t really with him for the right reason. The man’s action wasn’t motivated by love but by guilt. Quite often people are said to be turned off by religion. Many reasons are given. The least convincing reason is that people are just ignorant of the rules. One of the major reasons that people don’t adhere to religious practice is that a person recognizes that quite often religious persons are motivated by obligation rather than love.
Several years ago, I was taking care of my elderly parents. The two of them demanded a great deal of attention. I was making many trips to the doctor. My mother was hospitalized on numerous occasions. At the end my parents went into a nursing home. Many times, I was exhausted by all the decisions I was making. I reflected often on the commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” I said to people that I owed my parents my help since they had put up with me as a teenager. One night as I was reflecting on my motivations in a moment of insight, I realized that I was doing what I was doing because of love. I loved my parents. And that was the only explanation that was needed. Realizing this opened by heart giving me tremendous consolation.
Reflection Questions:
1. Why do I follow Christian morals? Is it for the right reasons?
2. Can I tell when a person helps me because they love me? Who has done that in my life?
Dear Parishioners,
There is an old story told about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
In every organization this is often the story. A minority of people do 100% of the tasks that need to be accomplished. In a religious organization this is a curious thing. When we are confirmed in the rites of initiation, we say that one of the Theologies of that sacrament is that we ordained for Christian service. We have candidates do “service hours” to try to train young people in being servant leaders. We would guess that when we need a job to be done it would be easy to find people to do it. This is not necessarily the case.
We have great volunteers in our parish who move mountains because of their love for God. But can usually predict who they will be before they show up. If you are sitting on the sidelines, please respond the next time we need your help. It feels wonderful when new parishioners call saying, “I want to get involved.” Then the onus is on me to find out how someone might help. That is a pleasant problem to have. It gives me energy when I have to wrestle with it.
May Our Lady of Peace pray for us.
Fr. Mark