Ordinary 15-C (July 11, 2004)

I read last week a story about a man who was thoroughly frustrated with lawyers. One evening in a café, the conversation turned to his pet peeve and he started venting. “All lawyers are jerks,” he proclaimed. Another man nearby heard this, became disturbed and said, “Look, I heard what you said, and I am highly offended by your remarks.” The first man asked, “Why is that? Are you a lawyer?” – “No,” said the man, “I’m not. I’m a jerk.”

Now I want to apologize right off the bat if I offended any lawyers here. I just couldn’t resist, especially since our gospel today begins with a lawyer asking Jesus a question. We all know that SOME lawyers are good! But you must admit there are probably more lawyer jokes than any other kind, except maybe for dumb blonde jokes or priest jokes!

Let’s look at our gospel. Let’s read it together off your handout: “There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ” (Luke 10:25)

Despite his motive – this lawyer probably was a jerk, because it says he was trying to trick and test Jesus! -- the question is a good one. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” How many here today would agree that this still is a very important question?

But I’m not sure many people ask it any more. That’s why, as your handout says, God gives us little detours – nudges to help us get back on track spiritually and go the extra mile so that we can get back on the road to eternal life. In fact, the detours are not really detours at all – they are the main highway, the freeway to eternal life. The other, less important things in life – those are the real detours and distractions that pull us away from God.

The story of the Good Samaritan in our gospel today is just such a detour – a nudge which our lawyer friend did not expect from Jesus – a detour meant to help the lawyer understand in a practical way what eternal life really entails. This lawyer probably just wanted a nice, simple, pat answer from Jesus: Love God, love your neighbor. But he probably didn’t want to be challenged by a story that made him see Samaritans as his neighbors. You see, the Jews of Jesus’ day despised Samaritans – they were considered traitors, the scum of the earth. A good Jew would not even say hello to a Samaritan. A good Jew often would walk an extra 50 miles just to avoid passing through Samaritan territory.

Now nobody likes detours. They inconvenience us. They cost us extra time. In the Good Samaritan story, the Samaritan was on a journey and he lost a lot of valuable time stopping, bandaging the poor injured man who had been beaten by bandits, placing him on his mule, carrying him to an inn, arranging for someone to take care of him. But God gives us these spiritual detours for a reason. You see, they are not really detours at all – they are the “freeway” to eternal life.

On your handout, we begin with a question: Do we think of eternal consequences before we act? I suspect most people don’t.

Let me tell you a story, taken from a Chicago newspaper. It was a hot summer night in Chicago, and a woman was sitting outside at a sidewalk café. As she sat there, she saw a skinny boy, about 10, with a shoeshine kit under his arm, standing at the edge of the café. The boy was black and poorly dressed, in sharp contrast with the well-dressed, mostly all-white clientele at the café. As the woman watched the boy, she thought two things. First, she felt it was terribly late for a 10-year-old to be working. Second, she admired the boy for trying to be a man and earn money by shining shoes. It wasn’t great work, but it was honest work. Just then, the boy asked a patron if he wanted a shoeshine. The patron said no, and the boy walked away. The woman wished she wasn’t wearing sandals, so she could ask the boy to shine her shoes. She wanted so much to let him know that she supported what he was doing. Just then, the manager of the café came rushing at the boy, grabbed him and threw him like a bag of garbage into the street. The boy clung tightly to his shoeshine kit and tried not to hit the pavement too hard. When the boy got up, his face was filled with pain, fear, anger and humiliation. Two questions haunted the young woman who witnessed all this. First, why did the manager treat the boy so brutally? He hadn’t picked anyone’s pocket. He hadn’t stolen anyone’s purse. He hadn’t tried to sell anyone drugs. He had simply tried to be a man and earn a living in an honest way. Second, she wondered what effect this brutal treatment would have on the boy. Would it change his attitude about work and about people? Would it snuff out the tiny spark of initiative and hope that flickered in his wounded heart? Most shocking, nobody in the café said a thing.

Now all of us have seen situations like this. Ask yourselves: Do our actions have consequences? Did this store manager’s actions have consequences on this little boy? Also ask: Does our inaction have consequences? What might have happened differently and better if someone had simply had the courage to step forward and say something or do something? But most people are so busy with their own lives and their own problems that they have time to stop or slow down for someone else. In this story, God provided a detour – but nobody took advantage of it.

On your sheet are listed four categories, or types of people:

Some people do not believe in eternity, in heaven or hell or life after death. If they did, I suspect they would be a lot more careful how they lived. But they live only for themselves, completely unconcerned about other people.

Some people are lazy and have this attitude of “out of sight, out of mind” – they don’t much think about the future, or about death, or about life after death, Maybe they are hiding in fear from the thought of death. Or maybe it seems so far off that they get preoccupied and distracted by other things, especially by the concerns of the here and now. They are too busy to stop and help someone else in need. It’s “none of their business.”

Some people are simply fatalistic and apathetic – whatever happens, happens – but there’s not much they feel that they can do about it, so why even bother to try. They just sit on the sidelines and let life pass them by, missing all the many wonderful opportunities and detours for real growth and happiness that God gives them.

And finally, some people truly follow God. They are doers, not just hearers of God’s Word.

In what category are we?

God tells us in His Word that he wants all people to inherit eternal life. “For God so loved the world….” But Jesus also clearly warns that not all people will inherit eternal life. In our first reading, Moses in the book of Deuteronomy warns the people of Israel that they have a choice: Life or death. He urges them to choose life.

Our first reading today is from one small part of Moses’ challenge to choose life, not death. Moses offers words of comfort – words of assurance that following God and choosing life, not death, is possible for everyone. It’s not an impossible goal. Here’s what God tells the people of Israel, through Moses:

For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, “Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?” No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” – Deuteronomy 30:11-14

In other words, fullness of life, eternal life is attainable. It is right in front of our nose. But like the Nike commercial says, “Just do it.” “We only have to carry it out.”

I often wonder what goes through the minds of people that they so easily ignore God and shove him out of their lives. Do they ever stop to see the forest, not just the trees? Do they look down the road at the big picture, from God’s perspective? For example:

Do the leaders at Enron and the power companies believe in God and ever ponder the eternal consequences of stealing millions and millions of dollars?

Do the Osama bin Ladin’s of the world ponder the eternal consequences of blowing up innocent civilians with bombs and airplanes, or decapitating prisoners?

Do the police think about the eternal consequences of brutally beating up a thief who is trying to surrender peaceably?

Do the politicians think of the eternal consequences of sending other people’s children into war in Iraq, but not their own?

Do abortionists think of the eternal consequences of killing millions of helpless unborn babies?

Do judges consider the eternal consequences of the harsh “three strikes and your out” laws that send non-violent offenders to life imprisonment on technicalities or for stealing a candy bar?

Do parents consider the eternal spiritual consequences on the children they supposedly love, when they neglect to teach their children about God?

I don’t know if Kenneth Lay of Enron goes to church – he does clutch a Bible whenever he’s being carted into court. I don’t know if the policeman who beat up the car thief in Los Angeles consider themselves followers of Christ. I don’t know the conscience of the soldiers in Iraq who sadistically tortured helpless prisoners. I don’t know what goes through the minds of some of the young people in our parish who are Marines and must somehow balance Jesus’ message with the message of their superior officers to shoot and kill the enemy. I don’t know the mind of the President and Congress as they send our young people into war, but won’t send their own sons or daughters or themselves into harm’s way. It’s always easier to send someone else’s child or spouse into war, but not our own.

But I do know that sometimes, oftentimes – maybe even most the time – we put our Christian faith on the back burner, we act like the priest and the Levite and walk by instead of stopping to help or standing up to make a difference, we convince ourselves, “That’s none of my business” or “I’m just following orders” and we fail to imitate Christ and to love our neighbor.

Our faith teaches that there will be a judgment day, a day of reckoning before God. “What must we do to inherit eternal life?” It is a core, fundamental question of life. God’s answer is that we are destined for eternity – but which eternity, heaven or hell, depends on our choices.

Two weeks ago, I preached on religion and politics, and we talked about the prophets who were not afraid to speak out against evil and injustice. On your sheets, it says: “Warning – the Culture of Death is Hidden, Subtle and All Around.” I truly believe that. We Christians need to be alert. We need to be careful. We need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.

Last week, I went to see the movie “Fahrenheit 9/11.” In many ways, it is a frightening movie. It shows the depth of the evil of the lust for power and greed and selfishness. For me, one of the most powerful scenes depicted military recruiters targeting poor black and Hispanic schools and neighborhoods, but passing over the rich neighborhoods. The producer of the movie noted that no member of Congress has a son or daughter who is serving in Iraq, yet they are willing with their votes to send the children of the poor into harm’s way.

The movie reminded me of a quote from Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk in the 1960s and a very famous writer and prophet for social justice. The quote is on your handout. Let’s read it together:

[I]n modern warfare… the real moral problems are not to be located in rare instances of hand-to-hand combat, but in the remote planning and organization of technological destruction. The real crimes of modern war are committed not at the front (if any) but in war offices and ministries of defense in which no one ever has to see any blood unless his secretary gets a nosebleed. Modern technological mass murder is not directly visible, like individual murder. It is abstract, corporate, businesslike, cool, free of guilt-feelings and therefore a thousand times more deadly and effective than the eruption of violence out of individual hate. It is this polite, massively organized white-collar murder machine that threatens the world with destruction, not the violence of a few desperate teen-agers in a slum. But our antiquated theology myopically focused on individual violence alone fails to see this. It shudders at the phantasm of muggings and killings where a mess is made on our own doorstep, but blesses and canonizes the antiseptic violence of corporately organized murder because it is respectable, efficient, clean, and above all profitable. – Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, in Faith and Violence: Christian Teaching and Christian Practice (1968)

I think Merton hits the nail right on head. He helps explain why there is so much evil and godlessness in the world. It’s because violence and evil so often are hidden and subtle. We fall into the trap of thinking that we’re just small, insignificant cogs on the big wheel, that we’re powerless to affect any real change in our world. So many huge problems – global warming, terrorism, starvation, AIDS, abortion. But what can we do? So we do nothing, and just try to take care of our small piece of the world.

So a Martha Stewart or a Kenneth Lay say, “It’s just a few million dollars – it won’t be missed, it won’t really hurt anyone!” Or the fighter pilot behind a cockpit computer screen never sees the missiles hit and kill the enemy village, never sees the blood and guts of the victims who are crushed in the rubble of their destroyed homes. Or the factory worker at a munitions plant like Arm-tech never sees how that weapon ever gets used. We live in a world that dehumanizes and depersonalizes.

Friday night, I saw another movie, “The Terminal,” with Tom Hanks. This one was a comedy. But it shows how our society dehumanizes and depersonalizes. Poor Tom Hanks plays a traveler who falls through the cracks of America’s bureaucratic immigration system. At the airport, he is denied permission to enter the U.S., but he also is denied permission to return home, so he is forced to spend weeks living in the airport. One government bureaucrat, in particular, is more interested in following the letter of the law than in being human, and plays Scrooge rather than the Good Samaritan, wrecking the poor traveler’s life by forcing him to live in the airport.

Watch this clip from another Tom Hank’s movie, “Forest Gump.” [Show clip – 0:18 to 0:20.30, 2 min. 30 sec.]
I love this movie, especially for its simplicity. Forest Gump is so innocent. And here, in Jenny’s simple act of kindness, we see the beauty of the Good Samaritan.

God tries to get us back on track by giving us detours – detours that invite us to walk an extra mile to help someone else, to become more human, to not just go about our business as usual, to see the possibility of goodness in the midst of so much violence and evil.

On your sheet, we see three different philosophies of life offered to us by the story of the Good Samaritan:

First, we have the philosophy of the thief. “What’s yours is mine.” I can steal, kill, maim or hurt to get whatever I want – and other people don’t matter. There are lots of people out there with that mentality. They don’t care about anyone else. It’s scary, but real. And it can be even in our own families – an abuser who pushes spouse and kids around and thinks only of himself or herself. Parents who do great harm to their children out of selfishness on their part. There’s a novel out that once wrote about a very self-centered woman named Edith. “Edith was a little country,” wrote the author of the novel, “bound on north, south, east and west by Edith.” More generally, when we pollute the environment and abuse and destroy it, we show this attitude – “what’s yours is mine.” We don’t care about other people or about future generations – the philosophy of the thief was to care only about himself.

Second is the philosophy of the priest and the Levite. “What’s mine is mine.” We get so locked into our own private world that we won’t be inconvenienced to slow down and help someone in need.

This week in the bulletin, look at the Pastor’s Letter. I’m writing about a book entitled “Sabbath” that talks about the need to rest and slow down and get off the treadmill of life that is going round and round, but getting nowhere. The author believes that our rush-rush culture makes us too tired, too preoccupied with making money, to slow down and develop the values that our society so desperately needs – values like compassion, kindness, gentleness, mercy, generosity, sharing. Our kids aren’t learning these values because parents are too busy to teach them or even to take them to church. We are so busy we don’t have time to slow down and help the person in need who is on the side of the road, beaten up by bandits.

Finally, we have the philosophy of the Good Samaritan: “What’s mine is yours.” Everything is on loan. My car, my house, my job, my money, my spouse, my kids. It all belongs to God. And we are meant to be generous and share with others of our blessings.

In God’s world, in the Good Samaritan story, walls are torn down. Think of all the walls that exist and often are used to separate people:

Black or white or Hispanic

Conservative or liberal

Catholic or Protestant or Jew or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu

Democrat or Republican

Male or female

Gay or straight

Rich or poor

Formal school education or not

Immigrant or native born

Citizen or non-citizen

Married or single or divorced

Old or young (or middle aged)

On your sheet are a few quotes. The first is from Mother Teresa: “None of us can do anything great on our own, but we can all do small things with great love.” Being Good Samaritans means doing small things with love.

Look at the next quote: “He drew a circle that shut me out – heretic, rebel, thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win – we drew a circle and took him in.” Good Samaritan love is inclusive of everyone.

This last quote is from a priest I knew in West Lafayette, Indiana, in my college days. We were trying to start a homeless shelter in town. I always remember him saying, “Unless you are willing to take the risk of being hurt or used, you will never really be able to help others.”

Love, being Good Samaritans, takes some risk. We might be fearful. And I’m not saying that we should be foolish or stupid or unwise. In my small faith community last week, we talked about this – and all of us could remember stories of someone taking advantage of us and our kindness. Certainly in our dangerous age, we need to be careful of picking up hitchhikers or opening our home to a stranger, especially if we are all alone. I believe women, in particular, need to be careful – and certainly, all our children need to be wary of strangers.

Nonetheless, we also need to be willing to take some risks and take the detours that God offers us – the detours that really are the highway to everlasting life.

The world needs more Good Samaritans. And we can all be those Good Samaritans.

If you work in DMV or at the courthouse or at a law office or as a security guard or at a hospital or doctor’s office, or at a hotel or golf course or restaurant, or at the church, or in a store, or out in the field -- be more gentle and kind to the people around you.

At home, be more gentle and more kind with your spouse and your children. Perform small acts of simple kindnesses.

In traffic, be more patient with the other driver, even if they cut you off. Maybe it was not intentional, just an accident.

In the store, be more patient waiting in lines.

At church, be more courteous as you enter and leave – friendly to those around you, polite in the parking lot.

God gives us these many detours so we can inherit eternal life!

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
July 8, 2007

Contagious Christians

A story is told of a teenager who wanted permission from his father to drive the family car. Dad told him, first, he had to start getting A’s in school; completing his chores at home; reading the Bible and attending church on Sundays; and cut his hair. A few months later, the boy returned to his dad and said, “I’ve completed most the things you told me to do. I’m getting A’s at school, doing my chores at home, reading the Bible and going to church.” “Only one thing left,” said his dad. “Cut your hair.” “But dad,” said the boy, “Jesus didn’t cut his hair!” “You’re right,” replied the dad, “but Jesus didn’t drive anywhere, either!”

In today’s gospel, we hear the story of Jesus and his disciples on mission, walking from town to town, sharing the Good News of the Gospel. These disciples were evangelizing, and that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning: Evangelization. Let’s begin with a few simple questions: Good news or bad news?

• Winning the million dollar California state lottery?
• Making straight A’s in all your classes?
• Getting married?
• The birth of your first baby?
• Going on vacation to Hawaii or Mexico?
• Buying your first house?
• Your birthday?

We all like good news, don’t we? And when we have good news, we run to share it with others, right? All the children, come forward! I have an assignment for you. It’s really simple. (whisper to the children that they are to pair off in groups of two, then fan out into the congregation and shake hands or give hugs to as many people as possible)

How did you feel when the kids came out to greet and welcome you? In a sense, that is “evangelization.” The word “evangelization” comes from the Greek, and really means simply, “Sharing Good News.” Specifically, evangelization is sharing the good news about Jesus Christ with other people. It’s simply reaching out and touching someone with the love of Christ.

On your handout, it says, “Contagious Christians.” That’s the title of our Mini-Retreat 401. We as Christians are called to be evangelizers, missionaries, persons who share the Good News of Jesus with others. Saint Augustine once said that Christians should be an alleluia from head to foot. We should be contagious Christians – our enthusiasm for the Lord so palpable, so real, so energizing that our enthusiasm becomes catching and contagious.

Our gospel today talks about evangelization: “The Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.’ ” (Luke 10:1-2, NAB)

Anyone here like to go to parties? Isn’t it fun to receive an invitation to a party or special event? In a sense, I want you to think of evangelizing as an invitation from Jesus, an opportunity and a privilege to share with someone else what is most important to us, our relationship with the Lord. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Chapter 28, Jesus told his disciples – and let’s read this together, it’s called Jesus’ “Great Commission” -- Jesus said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” -- Matthew 28:18-20 (NAB)

In one sense, the Great Commission is Jesus’ last commandment, his last set of marching orders, to his disciples: Go, make disciples, evangelize! We as Christians ought to memorize this Great Commission, these marching orders from our commander-in-chief. But more than just a set of orders, more than just a commandment, I think it is important that we see evangelization as an invitation and an opportunity, something we really want to do because Jesus is really good news, and we want to share that Good News with others. Many years ago, I came across a wonderful definition of evangelization: A group of beggars, all hungry, but one has found bread and wants to share that bread with the other beggars. You see, all of us are beggars in need of God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s healing, God’s life – but we as Christians have found bread for our souls, which is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Evangelizing is simply sharing our bread with those who are still hungry and lost and without bread.

How do we evangelize? On your handouts, it says that we are to be “audio-visual Christians.” That simply means that we are to speak about our faith with others – the “audio part” – and, most importantly, we are to flesh out our faith through our actions, through the way we live – the “visual part.” Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”

Both are important. Sometimes, people just try to live good lives and hope that their faith will automatically rub off on their kids or on others in their lives. It won’t. We need to teach our kids about God, and we need to speak to others about our faith. I remember one preacher who used to ask: “Who of us live such good lives that our example is enough?”

But actions also are important, lest our words seem empty and devoid of meaning, and people see us as hypocrites. I remember a joke told about a woman who was always nagging her teenage son to follow God. But apart from talking about God, she was bossy and mean and a gossip, and generally, a very angry and bitter person. One day, she prayed to God, “Lord, please remove the obstacle from my son’s conversion to you.” And at that very moment, the skies opened and a lightning bolt from heaven struck her dead.

Why evangelize? On the screen are some pictures of prison bars. In our world today, many people are living as slaves, imprisoned by hurts, anger, bitterness, despair, or enslaved to addictions and idolatries – to alcohol, to drugs, to pleasure, to materialism. In our gospel today, Jesus tells his disciples: “Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' ” (Luke 10:5, NAB) In Hebrew, the word for “peace” is “shalom,” which means “wholeness, completeness.” God wants to free us from our slavery so that we can experience peace and wholeness in our lives, spiritually, emotionally, physically.

In the 19th century, an African-American woman named Harriet Tubman was a leader of the Underground Railroad. She helped free thousands of slaves in the South, transporting them via the Underground Railroad to safety and freedom in the North. Many years later, she told a reporter, “I helped free thousands of slaves, but I could’ve freed thousands more, if only they realized that they were slaves.” Spiritually, the same happens to many people, even to us. We sit complacently on the sidelines, watching as others in the church serve and minister, but we are mere spectators, not accepting the invitation of Jesus to be a missionary and an evangelizer – and we think we’ve found God’s life just by being present, but really, we are still enslaved spiritually, and just don’t know it, because we are not doing what Jesus asks, we are not obeying Jesus’ Great Commission.

From our gospel today, here are four principles to help us evangelize:

1. Watch this short video. (Show short video clip of a pit crew at an auto race) What do you see? Right! Teamwork! We don’t do this alone! Jesus sent out his disciples in teams, two by two. And he sent out 72, because he knew that he could not accomplish the job all by himself. Scholars tell us that 72 is a symbolic number, referring back to Genesis 10, which lists 72 nations in the world. The 72 in our gospel means that Jesus wants us to reach the entire world with his Good News.

2. Second principle: Simplicity. “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” (Luke 10:4, NAB) In our society today, we become so encumbered and weighed down, especially with material things. We buy too new a car that costs us more than we can afford, or too big a house, or too many television sets; and we give our kids too many Nintendo sets or Game Boys or I Pods. Then we work too many hours because we need to pay off all these things. We’ve enslaved ourselves. Simplify. Then we will have more time to relax and to serve God, and more money to help the poor and to be good stewards of all that God has given to us.

3. Third principle: Expect both hospitality and rejection. “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3, NAB) Some people will accept the message of Jesus, but others will reject it – and we are asked simply to sow and plant the seeds, and to water the garden – but it is up to God to make the plants grow. Many years ago, I was in Mexico City, and at that time, I did not speak much Spanish, and I was lost. At the subway station, I asked a lady for directions. How do you think she responded? She not only gave me directions, but she took me by the hand, we both got on the subway together, and she accompanied me 30 minutes to my destination. Then she refused to accept even a dime for her time and effort. We find God’s grace and hospitality sometimes in the unlikeliest places! But sometimes, we also experience the rejection of others. Dust off your feet and keep going. But don’t get discouraged. Doing the Lord’s make often takes patience and perseverance.

4. Finally, Principle 4: God’s joy. The 72 disciples returned from their journey filled with joy. God promises us that inner sense of peace and fulfillment and contentment when our lives have purpose and meaning, and that inner sense of purpose and meaning only comes when we are serving others, reaching out for others, not just living selfishly for ourselves.

How are we to respond to Jesus’ gracious invitation to be his witnesses and his evangelizers? Anyone here ever heard of the Pareto 20-80 Principle? It was developed many years ago by an Italian named Vilfredo Pareto, and goes something like this: 20 percent of all drivers cause 80 percent of all accidents; 20 percent of all people cause 80 percent of all crimes; 20 percent of all workers produce 80 percent of all the profits. The Pareto principle, unfortunately, also seems to apply in most churches: 20 percent of churchgoers do 80 percent of the ministry, while the others sit and are spectators.

I have some good news and some bad news for us as a parish. The good news – great news, really – is that after our parish census a few weeks ago, 1,140 people responded and 464 said they were involved in some activity here in the church, which is 41 percent – a lot higher than the Pareto Principle would predict. So give yourselves a round of applause! But the bad news is this – 41 percent is not 100 percent, and God wants 100 percent involvement.

Here are some concrete ways to respond to God’s call to be a contagious Christian:

1. Start at home and in your neighborhood. Set a good example for your children. Teach them and speak to them about God. Read Bible stories with them. And reach out with the love of Jesus to people who are close at hand. Is there a single mother in your neighborhood? Offer to babysit for her. Is there a family without transportation to church? Give them a ride. Is there a young couple, struggling with their marriage? Sit down and share with them some of your wisdom. Is there a teenager in your neighborhood, all alone, likely to get into trouble? Reach out and become like a big brother or big sister to this teen. Are there elderly and sick in your neighborhood? Go shopping for them, or fix them a meal, or invite them over to your home to eat. Is there a co-worker who seems depressed? Take some time to talk with him or her and offer them some encouragement. All this is evangelizing!

2. Get involved in activities and in ministries here in church with other Christians. Remember that word: Teamwork. Jump onto a team. It’s always easier when you are with other Christians. Our church offers lots of activities in which evangelization is a part: Small faith communities, youth groups, Ruben Duarte’s School of Evangelization, the Friday Prayer Group, Angel Melero’s Holy Spirit Community, the Valley Missionary Program, the Ministry Formation Institute, on and on…

3. Pray for missionaries around the world. Support them financially. Two weeks ago, we offered an opportunity to support ministry to a poor child overseas.

4. Pray for more vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life. There is a shortage of priests, brothers and nuns. "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Luke 10:2, NAB)

5. Finally, if you are a parent, encourage your children to consider a vocation to the priesthood or to the religious life. And young people, prayerfully consider serving the Lord in this marvelous way.

Several years ago, a Central American musician named Ricardo Arjona wrote a very moving song in Spanish, “Jesús es Verbo, No Sustantivo” – “Jesus is a Verb, Not a Noun.” The song attacked passive, spectator Christianity and urged us to put our faith into action. Jesus invites us to be missionaries and evangelizers.

A catechist once asked a group of children, “What is the most important part of the church building?” One child raised his hand and said, “The doorway.” Most the other kids snickered. The teacher thought he was being mischievous, trying to say that the best thing about church was leaving through the doors as soon as possible. But then, the little boy explained: “The doors of the church are the most important, because if we don’t take our faith out the doors and into the world, then what happens here inside the church doesn’t really matter very much.”

He was right. Mother Teresa once wrote, “I am just a small pencil in the mighty hand of God, writing a letter of love to the world.” Use your pencil well. Write well God’s love letter to the world – through your word and example, as contagious Christians, as evangelizers and missionaries for Jesus in our world.

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
July 1, 2007

God’s True Freedom

For the last two weeks, we’ve had hundreds of children here at the church for summer children’s Bible camp. It’s been a wonderful experience, but I know that the volunteers are tired! Any kids attend last week or the week before? Any adults or teens here who helped out? Give them a big round of applause!

Kids sometimes say the darndest things, right? Last week, I came across a story about a priest who was teaching a group of children about the U.S. and about freedom and about the meaning of the 4th of July. After a while, one little boy became real excited and started jumping up and down, saying, “I’m free! I’m free!” But that immediately prompted another little boy, who didn’t want to be outdone, to start jumping up and down and yelling, “I’m four! I’m four!”

Today, we are going to talk about freedom – true freedom that comes from God. In our second reading, Saint Paul talks about freedom in his letter to the Galatians. The reading fits nicely, albeit coincidentally, since this Wednesday is July 4, Independence Day in our nation. The United States will turn 231 years old this Wednesday, which is rather young for a nation, especially when compared to some of the great ancient countries of the world like Egypt, Greece or China. To put it into perspective, when Thomas Jefferson died, Abe Lincoln was a teenager, 17 years old; when Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a boy of 8 years old; and when Woodrow Wilson died, Ronald Reagan was 12 years old. So the lives of just four of our presidents takes us all the way back to the start of our nation, 231 years ago. America is very, very young. And yet, we have been very blessed. Let’s begin by watching this short video clip that talks about our freedoms: [show 2 minute video clip]

It’s easy to take our freedom for granted. It’s easy to forget that freedom has a cost. It’s easy to forget that some have sacrificed even their lives to safeguard our freedom.

But freedom is not an American idea. Freedom is God’s idea and God’s plan for our lives! Let’s read together what Saint Paul tells us today in our second reading, in his letter to the Galatians: Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. (Galatians 5:1, Message Bible)

There are two kinds of freedom, and God is concerned about both. First, there is outer freedom. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt, and in the book of Exodus, God says: “I am the Lord, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt.” (Exodus 6:6, NLT) God was concerned that his people were slaves, that they were being oppressed and that they were not free. Today, God is still concerned about outer freedom – that many people live enslaved to poverty, to injustice, to oppression. We as Christians are called to defend the vulnerable, to reach out to those who are suffering, to end the slavery and the injustice of our day. Especially in the United States, with our abundance and our affluence, we as Christians are called to share our riches with other nations and other peoples who are trapped by war and poverty.

God also is concerned about inner freedom. God does not want us to be enslaved to our sin. Maybe this is the greatest slavery and the greatest threat to our freedom in this country – not so much material slavery (though there is still great poverty in our country), but spiritual poverty and spiritual slavery. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin…So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free." (John 8:31-32, 34. 36, NLT)

If God calls us to be free, what’s the problem? In many ways, in our country and in our culture and in our world, we are experiencing not an explosion of freedom, but rather, an erosion of freedom. Saint Paul warns us about that in Galatians: It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. (Galatians 5:13-14, Message Bible) You see, freedom is not just a free ticket to do whatever one pleases. Freedom is an opportunity to choose to live responsibly, as God would want us to live, and to not take our freedoms for granted.

Last week, I started reading a new book by Fr. Dan Groody, entitled Globalization, Spirituality and Justice. Many of you may remember Fr. Dan – he spent quite a bit of time here in Coachella at one time, and even wrote about our parish and about the Valley Missionary Program in his dissertation. In this new book, Fr. Dan warns about idolatry, about following false gods. Now clearly, none of us have little statues of Zeus or Baal or Asherah sitting on our table tops at home. But in America today, there are other kinds of false gods – subtle idols which we follow. In his book, Fr. Dan writes: “One’s god is what one devotes one’s heart to, what one most values and even sacrifices for. One of the most fundamental challenges human beings have faced throughout history… is not atheism but idolatry.” (Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice, Orbis Press, 2007)

In his book, Fr. Dan talks about money-theism versus monotheism. “Money-theism” is when we worship material things more than “monotheism,” the one true God. In our society today, false idols can enslave us and rob us of our freedoms. Some of those idols include:

• Civil Religion and the false “isms” of the world. Civil religion is when we elevate patriotism and nationalism and allegiance to our country and to the flag above our allegiance to God. We say “God bless America” and “one nation under God.” But be careful not to make our country into an idol. It’s easy to forget that God loves the people of other nations, also! In the past, our country has done many wonderful things. We rightly celebrate the principles defended in our Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. But our nation also has been guilty of some awful atrocities, especially in recent years. Last week’s newspaper revealed some of the abuses of the CIA – illegal domestic wiretaps, spying on American citizens, efforts to assassinate other world leaders and topple other governments, illegal detention and torture of prisoners. We live in a nation that promotes abortion, capital punishment, and other assaults on the dignity of human life. We have the scandals of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and the Iraq war. We have millions of homeless and poor trapped in inner city ghettos and on our streets.

• A second idol: Work-a-holism – and the idolization of pleasure, comfort, leisure, convenience, vanity as ultimate goals in life. Ours is a society of consumerism and “keeping up with the Jones.’ ” When I was a kid, I remember that on Sundays, most stores were closed. Only the police, the firefighters and doctors and nurses (and priests) worked on Sundays! Now, everyone works – morning, noon and night; all the stores are open, some 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; kids play soccer and baseball all day on Sundays; and there is no time for rest or for God.

• A third idol is trying to satisfy the false expectations of others instead of God’s expectations. Peer pressure, the pressure of co-workers or of bosses, the pressure of family – to cut corners, to be just a little bit dishonest, to do something else instead of what is pleasing to God – those are temptations that most of us experience, from time to time. We will never, ever be able to please everyone and to accede to the demands and expectations of others. Our first task in life is not to please others, but to please only One, which is God. Put God first in everything, even if it means being ridiculed, rejected, ignored; even if it means it will cost us; even if it means we must sacrifice and forego some other more immediate pleasure!

The following reflection was sent to me last week on the internet:

The paradox of our time in history is that:

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years!
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
We’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less.
We plan more, but accomplish less.
We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. -- Author Unknown

Back in 1831, a French nobleman, Alexis de Tocqueville visited America. In his famous book, Democracy in America, he wrote: "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”

On your handout, it says there are three kinds of freedom: (1) Freedom from… addictions, slavery, falsehood, idolatry. Jesus came to liberate and free us from these things. But (2), freedom to… make godly decisions and choices. It is is up to us to decide how we will use the freedom that God has given us. And, (3) freedom for Jesus Christ.

The essential questions are these:

• Are you willing to answer God’s call in your life?
• How do you want to spend your life?

We can make excuses, as in our gospel, when Jesus invited people to follow him. We can use our freedom to live enslaved to the idolatries and falsehoods of our time. Or we can use our freedom to free others and to build God’s Kingdom and to serve our Lord.

Saint Paul tells us: It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. (Galatians 2:20, TEV). Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior put it this way: The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

On your handout are five principles to help you live out God’s freedom in your life. I suggest you take this handout home with you and write out five goals for yourself around these five principles. Create an action plan for yourself, then put it into action.

1. Principle 1: The Principle of Worship. Put God first. We need God’s help. We cannot do anything on our own. Some concrete suggestions: Pray each day and spend some quite time with the Lord; don’t neglect Mass on Sunday and the sacrament of the Eucharist – let Jesus feed and strengthen you; and take some time off each year, or on occasion, to retreat and rest and slow down and reconnect with the Lord, so that you are refreshed and strengthened for ministry and service.

2. Principle 2: The Principle of Community. We need not only the support of God, but also, the support and help of others. Two or three are stronger than one. That’s why the rugged individualism of much of America is a big lie. We need community. We need a spiritually family to help us when we struggle and stumble. That’s why we urge everyone in our church to get involved in a Small Faith Community or Bible Study Group, or a Support or Counseling Groups like AA or NA, if you are struggling with slavery to an addiction.

3. Principle 3: The Principle of Discipleship. The word “discipleship” is rooted in the word “discipline,” which means that, to sustain the spiritual life, we need to grow, become more mature spiritually. We need to develop and nurture strong spiritual habits. That’s why we ask the members of this church to attend the mini-retreats – 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501 – and, then, other retreats, classes and workshops. It’s why it is important to read the Bible and other spiritual books, and to read other things, too – the newspapers, books on politics and contemporary culture. The world needs educated Christians.

4. Principle 4: The Principle of Stewardship. This means giving generously of our time, talent and treasure to support the works of God and to help others in need. Everything we have is on loan from God. It is not ours. And we are to use what God has lent to us in a way that gives glory to the Lord. That’s why we urge everyone to get involved in some sort of ministry, here in the church or outside, helping the poor, serving on the soup line at the homeless shelter, donating blood to the Red Cross, tutoring children after school, so on and so on. And to tithe – to use our financial resources to further the Kingdom of God.

5. Principle 5: The Principle of Mission. We are to share the Good News of Jesus with others -- setting a good example of Jesus at home, work, school, the market; inviting others to know, love and follow Christ; living as “World Christian,” aware of politics, of world and local issues, voting, participating actively in the civic life of our community, fighting as prophets to defend the marginalized and the vulnerable.

Two weeks ago, we conducted a census in the parish. The results were staggering and impressive. Forty percent of those who participated are active in some sort of parish ministry. In most churches, that percentage is only about 15 or 20 percent at most. Give yourselves an applause! (applause) But should we be satisfied with that? No! The goal is 100 percent participation! But we are on the way.

Listen with me to this song. Let’s use it as a meditation. Let the words sink into our hearts. Let us renew our commitment to serve the Lord and to use the freedom that we have from God in a responsible way, to serve God and to love our brothers and sisters:

(Play song: Take My Life (by Scott Underwood)

Holiness, holiness is what I long for;
Holiness is what I need;
Holiness, holiness is what You want from me.

Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for;
Faithfulness is what I need;
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what You want from me.

Righteousness, righteousness is what I long for;
Righteousness is what I need;
Righteousness, righteousness is what You want from me.

Take my heart and form it; Take my mind, transform it;
Take my will conform it; To Yours, to Yours, oh Lord.

© 1994 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

I want to conclude with a story from Fr. Dan’s book, about a lighthouse and rescue station. The light house and rescue station are symbolic of the church. The story goes like this:

Once upon a time, on a far distant coast, there was a very small lighthouse and rescue station, run by a very dedicated group of townspeople who would go out to sea in stormy weather and save the lives of many people who were shipwrecked along their shore. They saved the lives of many, many people. But as time passed, some of the townspeople decided the lighthouse and rescue station was too small, too cramped. They added on to it. They put in beds and a kitchen for the victims of shipwrecks. They transformed the rescue station into a social club with a rescue motif. And as they started to hang out at their clubhouse, they became less interested in rescuing victims of shipwrecks, and more interested in eating and drinking at their clubhouse. So they hired people to rescue the victims of shipwrecks. One summer, a boat crashed off their shore, and the victims of the shipwreck were brought to the lighthouse. They were cold and dirty, some with black skin and others with yellow skin, and they muddied up the nice, clean clubhouse. Some of the members later put in outside showers for the victims of shipwreck, so they could maintain the cleanliness of their clubhouse. But eventually, there came time for a vote. A majority wanted to just have a nice club for their family and friends and get out of the rescue business altogether. A minority held on to the original mission and purpose of the lighthouse, but were told to leave the club and start their own lighthouse and rescue station, further down the shore. They left and did just that. But as years passed, this lighthouse also became a social club, and so, new lighthouses and rescue clubs were built along that shore. Today, that coastline is dotted with lighthouses and rescue stations that are now social clubs. Today, ships still crash and wreck along those shores, but most the victims die.

Freedom – but freedom to choose. Are we living faithfully the call of Jesus, as missionaries out to rescue the lost and the hurting? Or have we sold our freedom for comfort, and become just another spiritual club?

Jesus wants to free us from slavery and from idolatry. He invites us to experience true freedom that only comes when we dedicate our lives in service to Him and to others. Choose wisely!