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What Kind of Eyes?
The gospels from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 and 6) continue and in many ways the underlying question remains for whom and with whom are we choosing to be formed; who and what are we becoming.
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” (Matthew 6:22-23)
This brief saying of Jesus in Gospel of Matthew 6:22-23 is one of the more intriguing passages in the Sermon on the Mount. At first hearing, it can sound cryptic. Yet in its biblical context, it is the gateway to a profound reflection on discipleship; one that is especially relevant in our visually saturated, media-driven world.
The passage comes immediately after Jesus’ teaching about storing up treasures in heaven (“Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be”) and immediately before his teaching that “You cannot serve God and mammon.” This placement is important. Jesus is not changing the subject. He is speaking about how our desires, values, and choices are shaped.
The New American Bible translates the Greek word haplous as “sound.” The word carries several meanings: healthy, whole, sincere, single-minded, or generous. Many biblical scholars think Jesus is describing an eye that is undivided in its focus on God. The “sound eye” sees reality clearly because it is not distorted by greed, envy, or selfish ambition. In Jewish tradition, the “good eye” was often associated with generosity. A person with a “good eye” looked upon others with compassion and shared freely. By contrast, a person with an “evil eye” was stingy, jealous, or resentful. For example, in Book of Proverbs 22:9 (NAB), we read: “The generous will be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” The Hebrew literally speaks of one who has a “good eye.”
Jesus continues: “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.” We are not talking about diminished eyesight, but to a way of seeing the world that is distorted. An unhealthy eye can be clouded by greed, envy, prejudice, resentment, lust, pride, or materialism. Such a person may physically see clearly but spiritually perceive very little.
Our eyes are not merely windows through which we see the world; they are also windows through which our values enter our lives..
“If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Jesus is warning against self-deception. The greatest danger is not knowing that one is in darkness, believing one’s darkness is actually light. We justify selfishness, rationalize dishonesty, or allow resentment to become “common sense.” Spiritual blindness often begins with small compromises.
These days we live in an age in which our eyes are constantly occupied with social media, advertising, movies, videos, streaming services, all with endless scrolling. Jesus invites us to ask not only, “What am I looking at?” but also, “What is shaping the way I see.” If we constantly consume anger, outrage, envy, fear, or consumerism, those things begin to color our vision of the world. Conversely, if we regularly contemplate Christ in prayer, read Scripture, notice beauty, practice gratitude, and look upon others with compassion, our vision becomes clearer. The question is not simply what enters our eyes but what kind of eyes we are developing.
Back in the day photographers spoke about “developing” film in a darkroom. What emerged on the photograph depended on what the camera had been focused on. In much the same way, our souls gradually develop according to what we habitually look at and dwell upon.
- If we spend our lives looking for reasons to criticize, we become critical people.
- If we look for reasons to be grateful, we become grateful people.
- If we look for opportunities to serve, we become servants.
- If we look upon others with the eyes of Christ, our own hearts begin to resemble his.
For ultimately, Christian discipleship is not just about seeing the world differently. It is about learning to see the world and every person in it with the eyes of Christ.
What kind of eyes will you ask God to give you?
Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain
What is asked of us
This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In previous posts we have been exploring the human reaction of fear in the context of the divine mission. Jesus has given them assurances for their time in the mission, reason to not be afraid. Now He provides eternal assurances: 32 Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.33 But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
There is the old expression, “fish or cut bait.” One has to choose to move forward and take action (fish) or simply be back on shore “cutting bait.” So too, the question of priorities – who to fear – is asking a radical loyalty and fidelity to Jesus.
The previous mention of judgment before God gives added urgency to the choice. You can play for the short-term benefit and garner human approval or the long play of maintaining a prior loyalty to Jesus in the face of human opposition. The issue is not merely obedience to Jesus’ teaching, but the explicit “acknowledgement” of him as Lord before a hostile world. The demand is for faithful witness to Jesus even when it means suffering in Jesus’ name.
It is not without basis that one suggests that Jesus’ verdict will be on a reciprocal basis: acknowledgement or denial depending on whether they have acknowledged or denied him. In this it is a matter of final judgment. But it is also a “long play.” Consider the story of Peter and his denials of Jesus (26:69–75). He denied Jesus under the pressure of public opinion, but Peter’s subsequent rehabilitation suggests that the stark verdict of this saying allows for a temporary lapse under pressure.
Image credit: Image credit: The Sacrament of Ordination (Christ Presenting the Keys to Saint Peter), c. 1636-40, by Nicholas Poussin, Public Domain
Yet Trust in God
This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In previous posts we have been exploring Jesus’ admonitions to not be afraid during the course of the evangelizing mission. In this post, Jesus begins to offer reasons and assurances to support the admonitions: 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
The Greek text literally translates as “without your Father.” Most translations include “knowledge,” “consent,” “will,” or “care” as the English seems to demand a clarification from the expression. But depending on the view of the reader it simply offers up more questions of divine sovereignty and providence: “does God simply know about the death of the birds (and therefore also of his people), or does he allow it, or does it happen because he has decided on it, or is the point that even in their death they are not outside his loving concern?” (France, 404).
This section does not try to sketch a misleading picture of a God. Sparrows fall to earth and disciples of Jesus are slain, and Jesus never says that it hardly matters. “What these sayings assert is that God is indeed God, that he is above success and failure, help and isolation, weal and woe, holding them in hands that Jesus says are the hands of the Father.” (Schweizter, as found in France, 404)
Where these verses begin with the repeated message not to fear, this verse reminds the reader that fear in general and fear of God (v.28) is balanced by trust in God as one’s heavenly Father. The God who can destroy in Gehenna is also the One who cares for the smallest of creatures. The sparrows, which can be purchased for a pittance, are cared for by God (v.31) while alive, but even their death is within the Creator’s care. How much more true is it of the children of a loving Father.
30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Some things are impossible to count: the stars in the heavens, the grains of sand on the shore, and the hairs on your head (baldness aside!) The impossibility of counting the hairs of the head is proverbial (Ps 40:12; 69:4), but even the impossible is not impossible to God who made them. The Creator’s intimate knowledge of those he has made is expressed movingly in other imagery in Ps 139:1–18. Equally proverbial is the saying “not a hair of his head will fall to the ground” to express a person’s total security (1 Sam 14:45; 2 Sam 14:11; 1 Kgs 1:52; cf Dan 3:27, Luke 21:18; Acts 27:34.22) The Father who knows the number of each disciple’s hairs will make sure none of them are lost.
As we learned in v.29, the small sparrow matters to the Creator, and so (for the third time) the disciples are told not to be afraid. All of God’s creatures are important to Him, none more so than humanity.
Image credit: Image credit: The Sacrament of Ordination (Christ Presenting the Keys to Saint Peter), c. 1636-40, by Nicholas Poussin, Public Domain
Marine Corp Museum
The National Museum of the Marine Corps is an amazing history museum and a tribute to the U.S. Marines Corps. It is located on a 135-acre site adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia and right off Interstate I-95. Its exhibits cover the history of the Marine Corp from its inception November 10, 1775, at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia to it modern 21st century deployments. The exhibits include artifacts, movies, and other features that animate and amplify the presentation. Most, if not all, of the docents are retired U.S. Marines and are steeped in the history of the Corps.
In the World War II Hall one segment is dedicated to the landings at Iwo Jima and the iconic flag raising on February 23, 1945 atop Mt. Suribachi. The first flag was raised about 10:30 am by a patrol from the 28th Marines who tied a small flag to a piece of iron pipe and planted it. The sight of this first flag was roundly cheered by the Marines fighting on the island and the fleet on the ships offshore.
Shortly after, the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson, realized the small flag was obscured from many parts of the island and decided a larger flag was needed for maximum visibility. A 96-by-56-inch flag was brought up the mountain to replace the original one. It was this second flag-raising that Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured in his Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph. Today, both historic flags are preserved at the National Museum of the Marine Corp. The second flag, which flew for several months, is wind torn and stained by the island’s volcanic ash, and is always on display. The first Iwo Jima flag is brought out of storage and displayed annually from mid-February through late March to align with the historical timeline of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which lasted from February 19 to March 26, 1945.
There is a whole story about the second flag raising which you can read here. Each time I have visited the museum – which is only 5 minutes from the friary – the docents well explain the history. However, the last visit was different.
Across the passage from the flag display is a memorial wall that contains an “Eagle, Globe & Anchor” pin for each Marine who died on Iwo Jima, a Navy emblem for the sailors who perished in the Iwo Jima operation, and a single emblem for the Coast Guard sailor who died. If you simply turn around from the “flag corner” you miss something very special. But if you move ~15 feet away and turn around, you will see this:
It is an image of Mt. Suribachi with landing craft headed toward shore for the landing.
So, visit the museum, enjoy the docents and take a moment to see this spectacular memorial and in so donig, honor the 6,821 U.S. service members who were killed in action or died of their wounds.
Martyrdom’s Possibility
This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the previous post we discussed that there will be all manner of people who will not receive the evangelizing message, but may actively threatened your safety. Jesus tells them not to be afraid (v.26) and now He repeats this message: 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
The possibility of martyrdom in the cause of Jesus, already raised in v. 21, is now addressed head-on. The body/soul contrast, when used in relation to execution, presupposes that there is a true life which goes beyond mere physical existence, so that the real “self” is untouched by the death of the body alone. And that is all that human opponents can touch. But both body and “soul” are subject to God’s power, and therefore also to his judgment. Under that judgment, it is not only the body but the true life of the person which is liable to destruction in hell.
“Hell” (Gehenna) that was already referenced in 5:29-30, is again referenced in 10:28 (and will be again in 18:9; 23:15, 33) is the place of final destruction of the wicked. This use is well-attested in Jewish apocalyptic literature. It is not the same as Hades, the place of the dead, which is not usually understood as a place of punishment or destruction but rather of shadowy existence. The name Gehenna derives from the Valley of Hinnom (Hebrew gê hinnōm) outside Jerusalem which had once been the site of human sacrifice by fire to Molech (2 Kings 23:10; Jer 7:31). There is a later tradition that the city’s rubbish was dumped and burned in this valley, which if true would provide a vivid image of “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Image credit: Image credit: The Sacrament of Ordination (Christ Presenting the Keys to Saint Peter), c. 1636-40, by Nicholas Poussin, Public Domain
Love and Hate
Last week our daily gospels were taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A major theme was a series of three gospels was a description of progression in Christian discipleship in asking three foundational questions. Who is God shaping me to become? What effect is that transformed life meant to have on others? If that is who we are and how we are to be present to others, what is the “end game” of this mission into the world.
In yesterday’s gospel, we began to encounter passages in which Jesus begins with a familiar teaching and expressions from the Old Testament and then says: “But I say to you…” We started with the oft heard: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” I covered that gospel in detail. You can read the reflection here.
In today’s gospel, we encounter another familiar verse: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” The first half comes from Scripture; the second half does not. The command: “You shall love your neighbor” comes directly from Leviticus 19:18. This command was already one of the great ethical teachings of Judaism. In fact, Jesus elsewhere identifies it as one of the two greatest commandments.
But what about “hate your enemy”? This phrase does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament. There is no verse saying: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” Rather, this appears to reflect a common inference or attitude that some people adopted. The logic may have been: If I must love my neighbor, then perhaps I do not have to love outsiders, enemies, or oppressors.
Some groups in Second Temple Judaism drew sharp distinctions between insiders and outsiders. This was the period after the exiles returned from Babylon (~540 BC) up into Jesus’ time and slightly beyond to ~70 AD. In that period the command to love one’s neighbor could sometimes be interpreted narrowly. Yet even the Old Testament contains passages that point beyond such a limitation. For example:
- Exodus 23:4-5 commands helping an enemy’s animal.
- Proverbs 25:21 teaches: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.”
So the seeds of Jesus’ teaching already exist within the Old Testament. And it makes sense when Jesus says: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” He is correcting a restricted interpretation of the commandment and expanding the meaning of neighbor so that the disciple’s love is no longer limited by family, tribe, nationality, friendship, or reciprocity. Why? Because this is how God acts. This is who we are to become.
Jesus says: “He makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” We are being taught that God’s love extends beyond those who deserve it. And we are called to imitate that divine generosity.
Yesterday’s gospel and today’s form a logical progression. To the question: How should I respond when someone wrongs me? Jesus answers: do not retaliate. To question: How should I regard those who oppose me? Jesus answers: Love them and pray for them.
Yesterday’s gospel moves beyond revenge. Today’s moves beyond mere non-retaliation to active love. Jesus’ “but I say to you” is not rejecting the Old Testament for it already teaches: mercy, forgiveness, care for enemies, and God’s universal compassion. Jesus came not to reject the teachings of the Old Testament but to fulfill them by bringing the already existing principles to a new and unprecedented fullness by making love of the enemy as a central mark of discipleship. And he does more than teach it. He lives it. The fullest commentary on these passages is not found in a legal text but on the Cross when Jesus prays: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
That is why the early Christians understood these sayings not merely as ethical ideals, but as a description of the life of Christ himself – a life into which disciples are invited to grow.
Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain
Fear and Proclamation
This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our gospel reading opens with the ominous, “Therefore do not be afraid of them.” Of course that just raises the question about the identity of “them.” There are verses that are not included in the Sunday gospels, notably Matthew 10:9-25, in which the actions of “them” are described. A summary might include:
- those who do not receive the Twelve and their message of redemption (v.14)
- the ones who “hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues” (v.17)
- governors and kinds (v.18)
- family members who turn against you (v.21)
“Don’t be afraid” prepares for the sayings about whom the disciples should fear in vv. 28 and 31, a part of our Sunday gospel in which the admonition to not be afraid is repeated.
The readings from the 11th Sunday made clear that they have been prepared to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and to announce repentance with the same urgency as Jesus (Mt 4) and John the Baptist (Mt 3). The basic theme is stated in 10:24–25: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master.” Just as the disciples share in Jesus’ power, so they must share his life, mission, and his sufferings. As Matthew describes in v.19, the disciples will be “handed over” (paradidomi), the same word Jesus uses in the description of his own passion (17:22; 20:18–19; 26:2). Like Jesus, they will suffer for the sake of the divine mission in the world.
26 “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops
These verses have their parallel in Luke 12:2 and, some would say, in Mark 4:22. I would disagree with the Markan parallel. While the words are similar, the topic in Mark is not missionary endeavors, but rather why Jesus teaches in parables and leaves some listeners “in the dark,” so to speak. Perhaps one might offer that the Markan context is that what must remain secret for a time will ultimately be revealed. But in Matthew’s use (and Luke’s) there is no nuance. The disciples are to proclaim the good news so that all can hear. That being said, there is a bit of muting about the proclamation if one considers Jesus’ own method of teaching by parables (Mt 13:10-17) which has the effect of being somewhat secret if not simply privileged.
The disciples have the duty to proclaim the message and not to let that public proclamation be the first casualty of fear. “Good news is not meant to be kept under wraps, however little some people may wish to hear it. Even though for the time being Jesus’ teaching to his disciples has to be “in darkness”…in the coming time of witness before governors and kings (vv. 17–18) and of world-wide proclamation of the euangelion (24:14) it must no longer be hidden.” (France, 402)
Image credit: Image credit: The Sacrament of Ordination (Christ Presenting the Keys to Saint Peter), c. 1636-40, by Nicholas Poussin, Public Domain
An Eye for an Eye
Last week our daily gospels were taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A major theme was a series of three gospels was a description of progression in Christian discipleship in asking three foundational questions. Who is God shaping me to become? What effect is that transformed life meant to have on others? If that is who we are and how we are to be present to others, what is the “end game” of this mission into the world.
In today’s gospel, we begin to encounter passages in which Jesus begins with a familiar teaching and expressions from the Old Testament and then says: “But I say to you…” Jesus is not rejecting the Old Testament. Rather, he is revealing to an original intent that seems to have been lost or misappropriated, restoring the verse’s deepest intention and calling his disciples to a higher righteousness appropriate to the Kingdom of God. Today we hear the familiar “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
This verse appears in several places, including Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. The verses are expressing the principle known as the lex talionis (“law of retaliation”). Modern readers often assume it was harsh or vindictive, but in its original context it was actually a limitation on vengeance. In the ancient world, retaliation could easily spiral out of control. Someone injures your animal, so you destroy his herd. Someone breaks your tooth, so your family attacks his family. The law sought to establish proportional justice.
The point was to limit revenge, keep violence from escalating, and create a situation where measured justice could be applied. It was fundamentally a legal principle intended for judges and courts saying that the punishment should fit the offense. In its historical context, it was a significant advance toward systems of justice. Most Jews understood it as part of God’s law governing justice within the community, not as a guide for personal vengeance. Nevertheless, by Jesus’ day, some people could interpret it as justifying a spirit of retaliation: “If someone injures me, I am entitled to repay the injury.”
Jesus is not declaring the Old Testament wrong nor is He abolishing civil justice. Instead, He is addressing personal relationships. He tells his disciples: “Offer no resistance to one who is evil.” and “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two miles.” Jesus moves beyond the question: “what am I entitled to?” to the question “How does love respond?” The law had restrained vengeance, but Jesus called disciples beyond vengeance altogether as part of a movement from revenge, to proportional justice, towards generous mercy. This is not a correction of the Old Testament but a radical deepening of its ultimate purpose.
What about in real life? Scholars have found is that in both popular culture and everyday speech, “an eye for an eye” is commonly understood as a principle of personal revenge or retaliation, whereas historians, legal scholars, and biblical scholars overwhelmingly understand the original lex talionis as a principle of proportional justice within a legal framework. Why? In part because the phrase is detached from its legal setting. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, the formula appears within collections of laws governing judicial decisions. Modern readers usually encounter the phrase as though it were a proverb, not as part of a court system.
In modern English if someone says today, “It’s an eye for an eye,” they usually mean “he got what was coming to him.” It is a staple of cinematic plot. Consider the “John Wick” movies, “The Equalizer” and sequels, “Taken” and its follow-on movies. It is perhaps a legacy writ large in the American imagination with tales of the American cowboy. Studies in moral psychology have also found that people possess strong intuitive approval of retaliation under certain conditions, suggesting that many people instinctively associate justice with personal payback. Research on revenge versus forgiveness treats the phrase as the common cultural expression of retaliatory behavior and contrasts it with “turning the other cheek.”
When faced with individual or systemic injustice, there is a basic human response for a change. We want a hero who can right the wrong in a timely manner. Perhaps a deeper question beyond our instinctual response is “what kind of person am I becoming?” What difference could this “becoming person” make in the world? Will we be the “light” that pushes back the darkness of blood feud and revenge or will we join the fray that points to a world of blind and toothless people.
I guess it depends on who our hero is: Jesus or John Wick?
Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain
Context for this week
This coming weekend is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Last week (2023), with the celebration of the 11th Sunday, we returned to Ordinary Time in the liturgical sense. Depending on the year (leap year or no), the phase of the moon (seriously – that is in part how Easter is determined) and some other celebrations you may or may not have encountered the readings from the 9th, 10th or 11th Sundays in Ordinary Time. Here is a quick overview and context.
9th Sunday (Matthew 7:21-27)
The end of the Sermon on the Mount and its discourse on the deeper, fuller meaning of the Law and righteousness, Jesus says to the disciples: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock” (Mt 7:24-25)
10th Sunday (Matthew 9:9-13)
Mt 8:1 to 9:38 is Matthew’s description of the powerful deeds of Jesus, nine in all, interspersed between is the theme of discipleship. Mt 9:9-13 is the call of Matthew, the tax collector, to follow Jesus as a disciple. Jesus also describes the intrinsic nature of his mission: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mt 9:13)
11th Sunday (Matthew 9:36 – 10:8)
This reading is the story of sending out the disciples: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36) They are commissioned but asked to stay within Galilee and not go to the Samaritans or Gentiles. They are told they are to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons” (Mt 10:8)
The first verses of Matthew 10 describe Jesus’ sending the disciples on mission: the names of the Twelve, their commissioning (vv. 5:15), and a warning of the persecutions they will face (vv.16-25). It is after this warning that the opening verse of our reading has its meaning: “Therefore do not be afraid of them.”
Image credit: Image credit: The Sacrament of Ordination (Christ Presenting the Keys to Saint Peter), c. 1636-40, by Nicholas Poussin, Public Domain
Chosen, Loved, and Sent
Over the many years I have read, studied, written commentaries and led Bible studies, I have become ever more convinced that all the books of Sacred Scripture carry and reveal a pattern that runs through the entire story of salvation. It is simple three-step pattern
- God chooses a people,
- God loves them before they deserve it, apart from whether they think they are worthy, and
- God sends them into the world to let the people of the world know they are loved.
That is the story of Israel. It is the story of the Church. And it is the story of every baptized Christian.
Chosen
In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, God speaks to Israel at Mount Sinai: “You shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.” (Ex 19:5). Why Israel? Are they the strongest? Hardly. They are a small and vulnerable people far more used to enslavement than freedom. Are they wealthy? Hardly. Whatever wealth they had they left behind in Egypt. From a “big picture” point of view, they are actually not all that impressive.
God’s choice of Israel as a people all his own is an act of grace, pure and simple unmerited grace.
That being said, it is not a “free pass.” God immediately explains why He has chosen them: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (Ex 19:6) What might that mean? In all places and times, one of the most fundamental roles of priests in the Judeo-Christian tradition is to point the way to God, to be a light to the nations, a clarion call of the kingdom, and more. Israel is chosen so that the nations might come to know the Lord through them.
The same is true for us. Through Baptism, we have been chosen by God. Not because we earned it. Not because we are worthy. But because God, in his mercy, has called us into relationship with Him. In the baptismal rite each one of us was marked with the sign of faith and anointed with the sacred oils to share in the role of priesthood. And like the Israelites, that is our calling, that is our commission.
And that calling is never only for ourselves. We are chosen by God and entrusted with a mission.
Loved – The second reading Saint Paul writes: “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8, NAB) This is one of the most important truths in Christianity: God loved us first. We often think we must become worthy so that God will love us. But Paul says the opposite. Christ died for us while we were still sinners. That changes everything.
The Church does not exist because human beings successfully climbed their way up to God. The Church exists because God came down to us in Jesus Christ. And this is crucial for understanding mission. We do not go to others as people who have everything figured out. We go as people who ourselves have been loved and forgiven and well before we have figured everything out.
Tomorrow our Sister Parish mission team is going to Chinle AZ. Does that make them spiritually superior? Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. They are going because they have experienced the mercy of Christ and want to share that mercy through service, prayer, friendship, and witness. They possess the most basic awareness of deep abiding gratitude that God loved them first. And that is the foundation of every authentic Christian mission.
Sent – God chose us. God loved us. And now God sends us. Not just the Sister Parish folks – all of us. In the Gospel from Gospel of Matthew, Jesus looks upon the crowds and sees their suffering: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36)
One day if I am ever in charge of biblical translations, “moved with pity” will read “moved with compassion.” There is something soft and passive about the way we understand “pity” in our modern milieu. “It’s a pity you can’t go.” Not exactly a clarion call for action.
When you look at the original Greek, you find something – I think – very different. The underlying Greek contains a very unusual verb which is derived from the Greek word for intestines, entrails, or in our slang, your guts. And that sense is not lost in our American idioms. “When I heard the news, I felt that someone had hit me in the gut.” “I was sick to my stomach” “My insides just ached.” We can all understand such a visceral reaction. The sight, the sound, the sense perception of something that just wrenches us in the deepest recess of our soul, our being. Our reaction is instinctual, immediate, and raw. It is with good reason that more recent translations use the word compassion, from the Latin to bear or suffer with another; a sympathetic awareness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. In the Christian understanding, to truly, deeply feel compassion is to be wired into the love of God poured forth into the world.
The heart of Jesus is moved with compassion. But compassion does not remain a feeling. It becomes mission. He says: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” (Mt 9:37) And so he sends the disciples out. The Christian life is not only about being chosen and loved. It is about being sent into the world as witnesses to the Kingdom of God.
Some are sent far away, like our mission team traveling to Chinle. Most of us are sent into the ordinary places of life:
- our families,
- our workplaces,
- our schools,
- our neighborhoods,
- our parish,
- our daily encounters with people who are hurting, lonely, searching, or burdened.
Jesus still sees crowds today who are “troubled and abandoned.” He still calls laborers for the harvest.
Misson – So today’s readings give us a simple but powerful pattern:
- Chosen – God calls us into relationship with him.
- Loved – Christ gives his life for us while we are still sinners.
- Sent – The Holy Spirit sends us to share that love with the world.
That is the Christian life in three words. And it is also the story of the Church’s mission.
A Word to the Mission Team – To our brothers and sisters who are being blessed and sent to Chinle, remember these three truths. You are chosen by God. Your baptism has already made you part of his holy people. You are loved by Christ. His mercy goes with you, not because you are perfect, but because he is faithful. And you are sent. You go not in your own name, but in the name of Jesus, to serve, to listen, to pray, to learn, and to witness to the Gospel among the Navajo people. Your mission is not only what you will do there. Your mission begins with who you are in Christ.
A Word to the Whole Parish – And to the rest of us: this blessing ceremony for the missioners is not a moment for spectators. It is a reminder of our own calling. Not everyone is sent to Arizona. But every Christian is sent somewhere. Every morning, the Lord places before us people who need encouragement, forgiveness, patience, compassion, truth, or hope. The harvest is still abundant.
Before God sends anyone, God first chooses them and loves them. May we never forget that before we are missionaries, we are beloved sons and daughters of God. And because we are loved, we can go forth without fear.
Chosen. Loved. Sent. That is the Gospel today. And that is our mission.
Amen.
Image credit: Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-1311, National Gallery of Art, Public Domain
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