No to "shotty not"

Matthew 14:13-21 (18th Sunday of Ordinary time, year a)

Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

We are all probably familiar with the expressions “pass the buck” and “cop out”.  If you are younger, you will know what it means when someone calls out “shotty not!”  Situations regularly arise when we are aware that there is something we should do to help those who are in need. For example, we might hear of an opportunity to donate money or food to help the poor. Or we may know a friend or co-worker who is passing through a hard time and needs someone to talk to. Maybe we realize there are ways we can better support our parish. When we encounter these situations we sometimes choose not to help, knowing that we are able to.  We can pass the buck to our neighbors, assuming someone else will take care of the situation. We can even pass the buck to God thinking something like “let Him take care of it, He’s God afterall!” Today’s Gospel makes it clear that if we are serious about following Christ, passing the buck in this way is not really an option.

From the miracle in which Jesus feeds the multitude we learn a fundamental lesson: Jesus helps the needy through the mediation of his followers. Jesus is aware of the needs of the people around Him and desires to help. Pay close attention to how Jesus works this miracle. He does not pull out bread and fish from His own bag, multiply it and then personally hand this out to the crowd. Jesus does say to the people - as in an episode of Oprah - “everyone look under your seats ... surprise, there is a meal there!” This miracle does not happen without the mediation of the disciples. The disciples are those who bring the needs of the people to Jesus’ attention. The disciples provide the five loaves and two fish which Jesus multiples. Finally, the disciples distribute the food to the hungry crowd. Jesus follows this same pattern today. Jesus has compassion on those in need - whether it is the materially poor or the spiritually poor - and helps these people through the mediation of those who follow Him. St. Theresa of Avila recognized this in her famous reflection:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

no hands but yours,

no feet but yours,

yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion

is to look out to the earth,

yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good

and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.

It is for our own good that Jesus allows us to be mediators in His work of compassion. We may wonder why Jesus does not simply help the needy directly.  Why doesn't Jesus just snap His fingers and give food to all the hungry in the world and consolation to the sorrowing? Why must we be His hands? The truth is that Jesus does not need us to be His mediators, rather, we need to become His mediators so that we can grow as His disciples. The other day I was watching my sister and her young son interact as he was trying to put on his shoes. My nephew was struggling and soon became frustrated. He wanted his mom to simply put on the shoes for him. My sister wanted to make him do it on his own. It’s not that she didn't care that he was having trouble. Rather, she knows that if she always put on his shoes for him he would never learn to do it on his own. Parents often interact with their children in this way so that they can grow and develop. When it comes to helping the needy, Jesus does a similar thing with us. By letting the disciples play a role in the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus gives them an opportunity to become more like Him by being generous, serving others and more attentive to the needs of others. We are all meant to become more like Jesus. If Jesus simply provided helped the needy directly, without our cooperation, then our growth as Christians would be forever stunted.

It is Imperative that we put our time, talents and treasure at the service of those in need, trusting that God will make our efforts fruitful. Sometimes we hold back from helping those in need because we feel we cannot make a difference. We feel like we wouldn't know what to say to console someone who is sorrowing. Maybe we think we lack the talents or time to get more involved in the parish. Perhaps we feel that the small amount of money that we could donate to some cause is too insignificant to matter. In the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, what the disciples give is so little: 2 fish and 5 loaves. What is this among thousands? Jesus, however, multiplies these gifts and feeds the crowd. If the disciples had not given anything, however, there would be nothing to multiply! With us too, when we give give of our time, talents and treasure to help those in need, we can be sure that Jesus will make our contributions fruitful. A recent example that comes to mind is the life of Mother Teresa. Physically she was so small. She did not posses any advanced degrees or training. She herself was aware of her own weakness. When she was convinced that God was asking her to begin serving the poorest of the poor, she often prayed that God would choose someone who was strong, more talented and better qualified. In the end, Mother Teresa was generous in helping those in need and God made her work extremely fruitful. The world would be a very different place for a great many people if Mother Teresa had not used used her gifts, trusting that God would make her efforts fruitful. Many thousands would have remained in their suffering. She herself would never have become such a remarkable saint.

Passing the buck, copping out or calling “shotty not” are not options if we are serious about following Jesus. Doing this has two negative results: 1) the suffering of the needy will not be alleviated and 2) we will not grow to become more like Jesus. When we are tempted not to help those in need, we would do well to remember a favorite saying of Mother Teresa: “be the one”. When you hear of a way you can help out in your parish think let me be the one. When you get a chance to listen to someone who needs comforting, be the one. When there is an opportunity to help out someone in your family or a coworker with some task be the one. If we desire to grow to become more like Jesus, each of us must want to be the one.

Focus on Beauty

Matthew 13: 44-46 (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A)

Are you a Catholic because you want to be a Catholic or because you have to be a Catholic? Do you go to Mass on Sunday because you desire to or because you feel obligated to?

It makes all the difference when we follow Jesus because we want to rather than because we have to. Doing something because we desire to do it is a completely different experience than doing something because we feel obliged to do it. This principle applies in all areas of our life. If you watched the recent World Cup, you no doubt know Lionel Messi, (arguably!) the greatest soccer player in the world. Do you think that Messi became so good because he wanted to play soccer well or because others forced him to play well? Imagine if during Messi’s life, his father constantly  pressured him to practice and train hard so that he could become a professional soccer player. Perhaps Messi would continue playing for a while, but this external pressure would only take him so far. Eventually he would give up. The reality is that Messi desired with all his heart to play soccer and become great at it. It was this desire that led him to willingly make sacrifices and train hard year after year. In the gospel, we heard Jesus explain that the kingdom of heaven - that is, following Jesus and his way - is like a treasure or a pearl that someone is willing to sacrifice everything to obtain. If we go to Mass, pray and follow the commandments because we feel we have to, because we feel obliged by rules or expectations from our family and friends, we will only go so far. Chances are, we’ll eventually just give up. We should follow Jesus because we want to. Following Jesus should be something that captures our imagination and leads us to desire it above all else. When Jesus becomes our greatest treasure we willingly make sacrifices to be close to Him. It makes all the difference when we follow Christ because we want to rather than because we feel we have to.

In order to renew our desire to follow Jesus, it is helpful to reconnect with its beauty. The key word here is beauty. Notice in the parable that Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure or a wonderful pearl, two beautiful things. Jesus Jesus does not say that the kingdom of heaven is like a pair of old gym socks, taxes or broccoli.   Beauty attracts us, it draws us out of ourselves. Encounters with beauty inspires us to makes changes in our life. This is something I experienced in my own life. I was raised in a Catholic family. Like many in my situation, I often went to Church because I felt my parents made me. As is so common, when I started to become an adult and no one pressured me to go, I started to have a lot of questions. Why should I go to Church? Was Jesus God? Is there even a God? During this confusing a difficult time, I had an experience that greatly affected me. One day I went to visit my grandmother who lives close by the ocean on the Sunshine Coast. It was already dark and I was walking along the beach towards her house. Suddenly I was struck by the beauty of what I saw around me. The water was so calm and peaceful. The moon, which was shining brightly in the clear sky, was reflecting upon the ocean. It is difficult to explain, but at that moment I was struck by the idea that all this beauty was created by a good God.  More than this, I felt that this wonderful God wanted to have a relationship with me. This seemed like such a wonderful and beautiful thing! At that moment I greatly desired to have this relationship in my life and began searching to see how this could be possible. There is so much beauty in our faith. The beauty of Jesus’ life who died out of love to save us. The beauty of the holy lives of the saints. The beauty of being part of the Church, a family that transcends time and nationality. When we reconnect with this beauty, we renew - or perhaps enkindle for the first time - our desire to follow Jesus.

Our view towards Sunday Mass will tell us a lot about whether we follow Jesus because we want to or because we feel we have to. Sometimes going to Mass each Sunday is referred to as our “Sunday Duty”. True, going to Mass each Sunday is an important obligation and if we miss Mass on Sunday without a just reason it is a serious sin. Further, getting to Mass on Sunday can be difficult at times; people are busy and parking can be difficult to find! This said, we can often approach Sunday Mass as something we want to get done and out of the way so that we can get on with the rest of our day. Would we go to Mass if there was no rule forcing us?  The YouCat (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church) has something very interesting to say on the issue of “Sunday duty”:

Actually, for a genuine Christian, “Sunday duty” is just as inappropriate an expression as “kiss duty” would be for someone who is truly in love. No one can have a living relationship with Christ without going to the place where he is waiting for us. Therefore, from ancient times the celebration of Mass has been the “heart of Sunday” and the most important appointment of the week. (YouCat 219)

If we really understand the beauty of what Mass is, we should want to go. We would desire to be with Jesus and receive Him in His word and His Body in the Eucharist. We would want to be strengthened by a community that is also trying to grow closer to God. How we view going to Mass on Sunday can tell us a lot about our desire to follow Jesus.

Are you here today because you want to be here or because you have to be here? Do you follow Jesus because you want to and or because you have to? If you are unable to answer a resounding “yes!”, stay calm. At times, it is normal for our desire to follow Christ to become cold. Take a moment today to rekindle your desire to follow Jesus by reminding yourself of one beautiful aspect of our faith that captivates and inspires you.

What is your "beautiful reason" for following Jesus?

Mythbusters: Catholic Edition

Matthew 13:24-43 (16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year A)

Have you ever seen the TV show Mythbusters? This program tests the validity of myths, rumors and urban legends. Today I thought we could have our own episode of Mythbusters: Catholic Edition. In the Gospel, Jesus gives us three parables, all describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Quite simply, the Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom in which God is in charge. It is a kingdom found in our hearts and in the world, particularly in the Church. It is a kingdom that is really here, but hasn't yet been brought to completion. Each of Jesus’ three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven dispel one of three common myths or misconceptions that people have about the Church and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Myth 1: Evil in the Church disproves its Divine origin

With the terrible sexual abuse crisis in the Church in recent years, we are all too aware that there is sin in the Church. Other examples can be pointed to: crusades, inquisitions and certain Popes who were preoccupied with being worldly kings rather than spiritual leaders. Many wonder, how can an organization that has done this evil possibly be founded by Jesus? How can it possibly be part of the Kingdom of Heaven? Some use the sins of the Church as an excuse for not wanting anything to do with it. The parable of the weeds and the wheat helps us understand that the Church, even with all its flawed members, was founded by Jesus. In fact, though evil in the Church is a terrible thing, the fact that it is present should not surprise us. In the Church, there have always been members who have lived extraordinarily good lives and have been a remarkable force for good in the world. At the same time, there have always been members, sometimes at the highest levels, who have sinned and made terrible mistakes. There will always be weeds and wheat in the Church because of our free will. Jesus wants all members of the Church to be holy and continue His mission. He has given us all the tools necessary to do this. At the same time, Jesus does not force us to follow Him. Why does God not simply crush out the evil in the Church? God allows both the good and the bad to grow so that those who do evil are given time to repent and change. That there is sin in the Church should not prevent us from participating in the life of the Church. As my friend is fond of repeating, “saying you don’t want to go to Church because it is full of sinners is as ridiculous as saying I don’t want to go to the gym because it is full of fat people”. There will always be weed and wheat in the Church because the Church is here to help sinners become saints.

Myth 2: I am too small to make any positive change in the world

When we see all the wars, injustices, broken relationships and difficulties in the world, it can be all too easy to want to give up. We can think that our small contribution cannot possibly do anything to build up the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. Jesus’ parable about the mustard seed shows us how wrong this line of thinking is. As a modern day equivalent to the mustard seed analogy, we can consider the phenomenon of viral internet videos. Take, for example, the music video Gangnam Style by the Korean musician PSY. Before this video came out, hardly anyone had even heard of PSY outside of Korea. When the video was released, however, people watched it and shared it with their friends, who shared it with their friends and so on until the video went viral. Now the video has been viewed over 2 billion times on YouTube. Today it would be difficult to find any young person in Canada who did not know the dance invented by PSY. Viral videos and the parable of the mustard seed demonstrate that regardless of how insignificant you feel, you can make an impact. Our action to continue the mission of Jesus, though small, can spread to have an effect that we never dreamed possible. Consider the situation in which one person chooses two people to disciple for two years. This means that for two years one person helps two other people come to know Jesus better and become more involved in the Church. At the end of these two years, each of the three would then find two others to disciple and so on. In this scenario, growth of disciples would be as follows.  After 2 years there would be 3. After 4 years there would be 9. After 10 years there would be 243. After 20 years there would be 59048. After 30 years there would be over 14 million. Talk about viral growth! Our efforts to spread the Kingdom of Heaven are never insignificant.

Myth 3: Faith is a private thing with no place in the public sphere

We have all probably heard of the expression “separation between Church and state”. Though people interpret this expression in different ways, many promote the idea that though you may be Catholic, these beliefs are private and should not affect the way that you do your job as a lawyer, a doctor or a politician. Recently this opinion has gained prominence in Canada. For example, some political parties are prohibit their members from following their conscience and voting pro-life. Or we can look at the attempts made to prevent Trinity Western University from opening a Law School.  Many Catholics have bought into the myth that faith should be a private thing kept out of the public sphere. Outside of the hour they spend at Mass on Sunday, the fact that they are Catholic seems to have little impact on the way they live. Their friends and coworkers may not even know that they are Catholic. The parable of the yeast teaches us that our faith in Jesus is not a private thing that is to be kept in a separate bubble from the rest of our lives. Our faith in Jesus is like yeast that works to change every part of our lives. We should relate to our friends differently because we follow Jesus. The fact that we are Catholic should change the way that we work. That we are Christian should have an impact on the movies we watch, where we shop and the books that we read. People should know that we are Catholic by the way that we talk and act. If not, we are probably doing something wrong. Faith is not merely a private thing.

Dispelling myths is important because when we believe in them, our view of reality becomes skewed. Our ability to interact in the world is a positive way is severely compromised. The same is true for the three myths we have discussed: 1) evil in the Church disproves its Divine origin, 2) I am too small to make any change in the world and 3) faith is a private thing with no place in the public sphere.  “Bust” these myths in your faith life today so that your effectiveness as a disciple of Jesus Christ is not compromised.