Why work?

Matthew 11:25-30 (14th Sunday OT, year A)

I hate to dampen everyone’s mood, but today I want to discuss a subject that is not a favorite of many: work! Whether it is a job or simply chores around the house, work is part of each of our lives. The Gospel of today, in which Jesus speaks about burdens and yokes, points to the subject of work. It is a good opportunity for us to consider the purpose and meaning of work in our lives as Christians.
© Sailko / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0
A Light Yoke, an Easy Burden
Jesus’ promise to give us a light yoke is incredibly appealing. Often we do not view work in a positive light - we see it as a heavy yoke. When I am driving, I enjoy looking at bumper stickers. Recently I came across the following bumper stickers, all work related:
I HAD a life... but my work ate it.
I owe, I owe, its off to work I go.
I'm in no hurry... I'm on my way to work.
Work is that annoying time when I am not fishing.
Hard work never killed anyone, but why take the chance?
Beneath their humor, these bumper stickers reveal how we view the reality of work. Our job and other work can often seem like a necessary evil or something that we need to do to get on with our “real” life. At many times we feel heavily burdened by our work. In the Gospel Jesus tells us that in place of our difficult yoke He will give us yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. This is a very attractive offer.

Giving Work a Deeper Meaning
How is it that Jesus will give us a light yoke? Jesus is not saying that He will remove work from our lives so that we can spend our lives fishing or on the beach! Jesus is also not telling us that we should all quit our jobs so that we can spend all our time directly serving the poor and sick. This is the call for some, but not for all. Jesus is telling us that He will lighten our yoke and ease our burden by helping us to infuse the work that we are currently doing with greater meaning and purpose. It is not enough that we work simply to get a paycheck. If we only ever see work as a necessary evil, it will always weigh us down. One book which had a great impact on me is Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl who was a psychologist and holocaust survivor. This book is a reflection on his time in a Nazi concentration camp. While observing the other captives, all of whom were subjected to the same brutality, Frankl wondered why some would fight each day to survive while others would lose the will to live and soon die. He concluded that those who were able to cope best throughout their sufferings were those who had the greatest sense of meaning in their lives. Those who were living for someone they loved or for some cause, were those who survived. Those without a strong sense of meaning in their lives soon gave up. Though the hardships of our work cannot begin to compare to what Frankl and others suffered, the principle holds. If we cannot perceive a deep meaning and purpose in our work, then it will be nothing other than a heavy burden. If, on the other hand, we are able to see a deep meaning in our work, then our yoke becomes lighter. It is in this way that Jesus can transform our work, making it an easier burden.

Meaning #1: Work as Co-creation
In order to help us give deeper meaning to our work, we first need to realize that work is a good thing because it is one way in which we are made in the image of God. Let me ask you a question. Do you think that Adam and Eve were meant to work from the beginning or did they have to work because of fall? In fact, Adam and Eve were always meant to work. After the fall we learn that work becomes much more difficult, but work was always a part of the plan. It is precisely since we are made in the image of God that work is an integral part of our lives. Through work, we become co-creators with God. Regardless of how simple or routine our work is, we have all probably experienced this creative aspect of work.  When we are able to make something new we are co-creating with God. When we use our ingenuity to find some new, better way of doing things we are co-creating with God. Being co-creators gives our life great meaning and satisfaction. Now, since the fall, work has also become a burdensome, repetitive and tiring exercise. It remains however a good thing. It is not a necessary evil. One way we can lighten the burden of our work is to remind ourselves that work allows us to imitate God. When we remember to use our gifts to be creative work becomes more satisfying; our yoke becomes lighter.

Meaning #2: Work Continues Jesus’ Mission of Love
In order to infuse our work with even deeper meaning, we need to remember that work in one important way in which we spread Jesus’ love, mercy and compassion to other people. I once visited a chapel that had a very unique crucifix. On this crucifix, the body of Christ had no arms. At first I thought that the crucifix was very old and that that the arms had somehow fallen off over time. When I looked closer, I saw that crucifix was made this way in order to make an important point: Jesus has no arms in this world except ours! Work is one way in which we get to be the arms of Christ. At work we are in contact with so many different people. When we stop and think about it, we realize that each of these individuals is carrying their own burdens and difficulties. If we are attentive to the needs of whoever the specific person is in front of us, we can really communicate to them the love of Jesus. Perhaps it is simply a matter of serving them well. Maybe we can greet them kindly with a smile. When we do this, we imitate Jesus who was “meek and humble of heart”. Work is not just about doing something. Work is about being something: the love of Jesus. When we are aware of this profound meaning of work, our own burden becomes less difficult. Our yoke is lighter when we realize that work in an important way in which we are the arms of Christ, bringing love, mercy and compassion to others.

Work will never be free from difficulties. At times in will be routine and very burdensome. However, the more we are able to realize and live the deeper meaning of work, the lighter our burden. Perhaps we need to make up some new bumper stickers:
Work is how I imitate God’s act of creation.
Work is where I am the arms of Christ.

Admittedly, these bumper stickers are not as funny as the other ones. However, if we remember these messages, and try to live them, we can experience in our life the promise of Jesus that He will give us a lighter yoke.

LEGO-me

I have my own LEGO character!

Take a look at the pictures a parishioner showed me of her boys' LEGO creations. First, they made a LEGO version of me.  I was both amused and flattered - "LEGO Fr. Nick" has a sweet head of hair!


LEGO Fr. Nick
Then, they had me celebrate Mass for a LEGO congregation. For those who may be wondering, the chalices are from the Indiana Jones set.

"The Lord be with you."
"And with your spirit."
I am hoping that LEGO Fr. Nick's Mass makes it into the sequel to The LEGO Movie.

(Thanks for the pictures Andrea!)

The Real Presence: dealing with doubt

John 6:51-58 (Corpus Christi, year A)
Christ with the Host, Paolo da San Leocadio, 1520
When I was living in Rome, one of my favorite events to attend was the annual Corpus Christi procession. Every year this begins with the Pope celebrating Mass at the famous basilica of St. John Lateran. After Mass, the Pope places a consecrated host inside a monstrance and leads a crowd of several thousands in procession through the streets of Rome to the nearby basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. There everyone spends some moments in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Now, if you had no knowledge of Catholic tradition and belief, the event would seem very strange. You might ask, quite understandably, why people were adoring what looks like a piece of bread. If you were to ask why we did this, we’d reply it is because we believe that this bread is not bread but that it is really, truly, substantially Jesus. This belief in the Real Presence would no doubt leave you confused and doubtful. This reaction is not uncommon, both among Catholics and non-Catholics.

In fact, the feast of Corpus Christi came about because of doubt in the Real Presence. Back in the year 1263 a German priest was travelling to Rome on pilgrimage. Along the way, he stopped in the small, Italian city of Bolsena to celebrate Mass. During his pilgrimage, this priest was experiencing a crisis of faith. He was struggling to believe in the Real Presence. While he was celebrating Mass, something extraordinary happened. At the moment of consecration the host began to drip blood onto the piece of linen, called a corporal, that sat upon the altar. Shocked, the priest went to visit Pope Urban IV who was staying in the nearby city of Orvieto. After an investigation, the Pope ordered that the host, along with the corporal be displayed in the Cathedral of Orvieto for veneration. You can still see them there today. Soon after this event, Pope Urban instituted the feast of Corpus Christi, in honor of the Body and Blood of Jesus. He even commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to write the prayers for this special feast, one that came about because of doubts that a priest had in the real presence.

Today it seems that many Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. In 2013, a survey of American Catholics (I assume the numbers would be similar for Canadians) found that approximately 40% of American Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. That is, they do not believe that at the consecration during Mass, the bread and wine really become the Body and Blood of Jesus and are not just mere symbols. That only six out of ten Catholics believe in the Real Presence is hardly encouraging. When you look closer at the study, however, some interesting facts emerge. This study explains that half of American Catholics do not know that the Church teaches the Real Presence. Looking closer we see that 17% of Catholics do not know that the Church teaches the Real Presence, but believe in it nonetheless. On the other hand, 33% do not know that the Church teaches the real presence and do not believe in it. Most interesting of all, of those who actually know that the Church teaches the Real Presence, a mere 4% do not believe in it. From this study, we can draw an important lesson. Though four in ten Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence, the vast majority of these people are ignorant of Church teaching. This study then tells us that lack of belief in Real Presence is more a problem of lack of proper religious education rather than doubt.

The Catholic Church has always taught the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The reason the Church has always taught that the Eucharist is no mere symbol but that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist is simply: Jesus has told us so. He does this clearly in the Gospel of today, taken from John, chapter 6. As many of you know, in John’s account of the Last Supper, he has makes no mention of Jesus instituting the Eucharist. This is no accident; John’s discussion of the Eucharist happens in chapter 6. This chapter begins with Jesus feeding a multitude through the multiplication of loaves. Later in the chapter, Jesus discusses the significance of what He has done. He explains that though He has given them bread in this miracle, He will give them something better. Jesus explains that He will give Himself as bread in two ways.
  1. In the first way, Jesus becomes bread in a symbolic way. In the Old Testament, wisdom from God was seen as bread (see Proverbs 9:15). This is the bread that gives true life. Jesus explains that He is the wisdom of God; He is the bread that gives true life.
  2. In the second way, Jesus literally gives us Himself under the appearance of bread in the Eucharist, which is truly and really His Body and Blood. We just read this in the Gospel of Today. Here Jesus is no longer speaking symbolically. We know this for a few reasons, here are two. First, the verb for “to eat” changes. The greek verb “trogein” is used. This verb is crassly material, meaning “to gnaw”. This serves to emphasize that Jesus will truly give Himself for us to eat. Secondly, it was clear that those Jesus spoke to realized He was speaking literally. For Jews the idea of drinking the blood of an animal, let alone of a human, was repugnant. Throughout the chapter people are becoming more and more hostile to what Jesus is saying. Ultimately most left Him because of this teaching. Jesus could have stopped and said “listen, I am only speaking symbolically!” He could have kept most of His followers by making this clarification, but He didn't.
The Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is not some mere symbol. The Church teaches that Jesus is really, truly present in the Eucharist because He has told us so.

There are some simple ways that we can strengthen our faith in these words of Christ.  Recently, Pope Francis said something which I found striking:
Every Sunday we go to Mass, we celebrate the Eucharist together and the Eucharist is like the ‘burning bush’ in which the Trinity humbly dwells and communicates itself.
After reading this, I thought, “how did Moses acknowledge that he was in the presence of God?” He took off his sandals. Because having a body is integral to what it means to be human, we must express our beliefs with gestures. Moses took of his sandals because he believed he was in God’s presence. As Catholics, we have a rich tradition of gestures associated with the Eucharist. These gestures and the way that we act when in the presence of the Eucharist both express our faith and strengthen it. For example, we kneel during the consecration not to take a rest, but to adore Jesus who is really present in the Eucharist. When we enter or leave a Church we genuflect to the tabernacle. In the Middle Ages, when someone entered the presence of a king they would genuflect. Genuflecting toward the tabernacle reminds us that Jesus - the King of kings - is really present there in the Eucharist. Doing these simple gestures like kneeling and genuflecting both expresses and strengthens our faith in Jesus’ teaching that He is truly, really present in the Eucharist.

Today on Corpus Christi we give thanks to Jesus that in His great love for us He has given us in the Eucharist the greatest gift of all, the gift of His very self. The Eucharist is no longer bread. It is not a mere symbol. It is really Jesus. This has never been an easy teaching to accept. We believe in the Real Presence because of the word of Jesus. We believe it because He has told us so. Let us remember that kneeling and genuflecting are not part of some “Catholic Aerobics routine” but are rather powerful, simple ways to strengthen our faith in Jesus’ teaching.