They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them (Matthew 23:4).

Transcription

1 They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them (Matthew 23:4). 31 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A October 30 th, 2011

2 First Reading: Malachi 1:14-2: Cursed be the cheat who has a male in the flock and vows to give it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is reverenced among the nations. 2 And now, O priests, this command is for you. 4 Know, then, that I have sent this command to you, so that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction. 10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors? Responsorial Psalm: 131:1-3 A Song of Ascents. Of David. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and for evermore. Second Reading: I Thessalonians 2:7-13 Though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ, but we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you

3 and pleading that you should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God s word, which is also at work in you believers. Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:1-12 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

4 Homily I d like to ask you to indulge me with a little exercise I want you to try. You will not have to share the results with anyone unless you choose to. Question: What three people, real or fictional, living or dead, do you most admire and why? Take a minute to make a mental note or to jot down your answers. Now to the scriptures for today: While our first reading was initially aimed at those who served as priests in Israel, it provides a template for us all in terms of how we as disciples of Christ will conduct ourselves and be witness to the blessings of our covenant relationship with the Lord. Malachi says that we are to walk in integrity and uprightness, to be true messengers, guardians of knowledge of God s commands, and we are to give true instruction that does not show partiality or cause others to stumble. Levi, his priest was said to revere God, to stand in awe of his name, and to give true instruction. Malachi says, Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? All of being children of the father, Malachi asks us: Why then are we faithless to one another? Malachi s message speaks out to all of us, priests and laity alike, who all belong to the priesthood of all believers, we can see that we re called upon to live in God s blessings and to bring a pure message to others, whether given in words and instruction or through our transparent lives and our availability to others. This standard seems so lofty how will we ever fulfill it, we who are so prone to going our own ways, making missteps, taking diversionary sidepaths or going down dead ends instead of staying on Jesus path for us. We won t be able to reason our way out of this problem. We won t be able to figure everything out on a high intellectual plane where we think we grasp and understand it all. And we won t serve others simply through teaching correct doctrine and spouting a church party line. Our other lectionary readings will help us understand our priorities. Our responsive Psalm tells us that there are many things that are too great and too marvelous for us, but in the process of hoping in the Lord, we can enjoy a calm and quiet spirit. And it is that calm and quiet spirit which will convey to others the quality of our relationship with the Lord, not anything else that we might actually say. What is the quality of this assurance? It is interesting because one can infer going from total dependence to just beginning to learn that God is here with us even when we ve had to make a momentous step of feeling ourselves to be separate beings. We are compared to a child with its mother, having already gone through weaning, reaching a stage in our development where we can trust her availability even though we may have been nudged toward a little more independence. We are no longer at breast and there

5 is the necessary demand to grow. Though we may flail and resist during the weaning process, after it is done, we are still in her arms. And our Second Reading tells us that Paul understood the tension between demands of teaching new believers how to live a life worthy of God and caring for them. Like a good mother, he was living the faith and being gentle among people, tenderly caring for them. And what does Paul say is the essence of sharing the Gospel? How can we be that true messenger spoken of by Malachi? It is too high for us, as the Psalmist allows us to admit. Isn t it wonderful how the Psalmist allows us to cry, to be mad, to be confused, or frustrated? And he allows us to pray about our fears and weaknesses. He is a model for true prayer. Paul and his coworkers were determined to share not only the Gospel, but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. What was Paul s gift, his message to his people? He shared his own self! Think about that. Now think about those three people I asked you to think about awhile ago. Think about those from whom you most closely identified, that became your role models, from whom you have received the deepest spiritual gifts in your life. Were they simply teachers from afar, remote from you? This is not to minimize good teaching that may come from people we don t personally know. But the deepest, most profound learning for me has come from those who not only talk the talk, but walk the walk right in front of me. I can see how a real human being with his or her strengths and weaknesses really lives the faith and instructs me in the process. And the deepest learning comes when we share our very selves with one another. I found this passage in the Epistle a very profound teaching. Paul models for us how we are to teach one another. We are to share our own selves! And as we share our authentic selves, we will open the way for Christ to work among us. Paul and his coworkers dealt with each individual in whatever place in life they were, as a father would urge and encourage his child. Some of us didn t have available fathers or mothers and we ve learned from others that God has put in our path. We know in our hearts and souls who is authentic and who is not. And those in Thessalonica who received Paul s word knew it was from God. How do you think they knew? How did they discern? By their love you will know them. The essence of knowing the Gospel is found in the love that is shared. Jesus told the crowds and his disciples that the burdens are heavy and hard to bear when the people are encumbered with requirements that do not bring healing. If we follow Jesus, we will not add to the burdens of guilt, of alienation and separation, of judgment to those with whom we share the path. What are some of those burdens that Jesus takes away? He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Yoke refers to

6 obligations that are overwhelming to the spirit. How shall we succeed in fulfilling Malachi s standards when the Psalmist tells us that they are beyond us? Jesus tells us that the burden will be light when we love. Everything goes better with love, Let love be the non-stop flight that takes the Word directly to places where it can go to work, filling us with affection for those we serve. Amen. Prayer copied by permission. Copyright 2011, The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.