Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Isaiah 58:7-10) “Morality 101”
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Isaiah 58:7-10) “Morality 101”
At the beginning of Mass, we have the Penitential Act. We ask for pardon for our sins. We have three options to use. One is the Confiteor. We say that we are sorry for our sins. One key phrase is, “For what I have done and what I have failed to do.” A clearer statement might be, “for the things I have done wrong and for the things I have failed to do.” Somehow, we are more obsessed with the first half of that statement than we are the last. We understand why if we look at Judeo Christian history. We have two opinions about what it means to be ethical.
We read from the Book of the prophet Isaiah today in our first lesson. We get a sense there is a debate going on about what pleases God. Isaiah is one of the longest books of the Bible. As with many books of the Bible, Isaiah doesn’t have one author, but several. First Isaiah, the first third of this book, is written before the Babylonian exile at the beginning of the 8th century before Christ. At that time the Babylonians were at the gates. The emphasis was on trying to avert the disaster of war with Babylon. Second Isaiah was written in the middle of the time when Jews were living in exile in Babylon. Second Isaiah was a writing that encouraged the Jews to hold on to their faith and to have hope. Third Isaiah concerned the right way to rebuild after the Exile. The section we read from today is from “Third” Isaiah.
The author of Third Isaiah reflected on the right way to rebuild Israel. Some people were focused on restoring Temple worship. In many people’s mind the way to please God was to celebrate liturgy well. But Third Isaiah points out that the starting place for right living was practicing acts of mercy. God wants the poor taking care of. God wants the exile to be treated with justice. The Lord wants an end to oppression of every sort.
In every era there has been a debate over what constitutes right living. If we study Christian history, we see many similar debates. The debates affect the way we think of our own sinfulness. Early in Christian history there was a two-pronged approach to Christian morality. Natural Law theory says that the Christians task was to “avoid evil. And it was to do good.” When the printing press came along in the fifteenth century moral manuals were written for confessors to use. The first half of first principal of natural law became the key to living an acceptable life. Christians were to avoid evil. If that was done an individual could save their souls. Taking care our neighbor has not been emphasized as much. Somehow that has been seen as an extra that isn’t as important when we consider who is an ethical person.
Only in the 20th century did moral theologians say there is something we’re missing. The object of the Christian’s life isn’t just to save our own souls, but it is to make disciples of all nations. The object of the Christian life is to do good. How often when we are defining religious education will someone say, “The purpose of the Christian life is to get to heaven.” In other words, the goal is for me to avoid sin. The object is stay out of trouble, to achieve personal salvation. But that isn’t the goal. Jesus reminds people constantly that we are to “Love our neighbor as ourselves.” When the world sees us Christians not only saving ourselves, but also strangers, we win people for Christ.
Jesus uses a series of small parables in the Gospel today. He talks about salt and light. We can’t have life in the world unless we have salt. Salt was used in the ancient world as a preservative for food as well as a cleansing agent. Light is needed for plants to grow. If a human being doesn’t have light, we will struggle with our health.
When we as Christians, turn inward, when we forget to extend ourselves for others by feeding the hungry, consoling the doubtful, standing for justice, burying the dead, working for peace, then our faith is listless. Faith becomes a lot of navel gazing.
The next time we go to confession when we get to the end of our list of personal faults, we might then ask the question, “What opportunities have we had to help those in need? And did we choose to help? If not, we have sinned. We seek to extend mercy to others we are light and salt for the world.
Reflection Questions:
When is the last time I celebrated Reconciliation? Did I confess what I failed to do?
Am I more concerned about what I have done wrong? Do I believe moral behavior is about doing something right?
Dear Parishioners,
We are hoping to have our Gathering Center open for use by March 1st. Furniture will be delivered in the upcoming days and we will be doing final cleaning of the facility in the days before we open. The main thing that we are waiting for right now is for hand rails to be put up on the outside of the building. It is dangerous not to have them in place. We should have those by March 1st.
March 18th will be the Day that Bishop Lou will be coming to bless this new space. One hundred years ago Bishop Dunn came to bless Sacred Heart church. It was in April of 1923. This was a wonderful day for our parish. Hundreds of members gathered that day. There was a four-year building process so people had to be very patient.
Now, one hundred years later we have updated Sacred Heart Church in many ways. The addition will afford us modern conveniences that will carry us through this century.
One of the maxims our ancestors believed in was that we give our best back to God. We don’t just make do when it comes to our liturgical space. I am glad that so many parishioners still believe that today.
May Our Lady pray for us as dedication day approaches.
Fr. Mark