A Regular Joe

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

CATCH-22

The term “Catch-22” comes from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel. In the story, “Catch-22” was a rule followed by army doctors in the Second World War. If a frightened pilot tried to avoid a dangerous mission by claiming he was “insane”, this was seen as healthy and the doctor would diagnose him as “sane” and eligible to fly. In contrast, any pilot who actually wanted to fly was marked as “insane” and would not be allowed to do so. So “Catch 22” was the perfect example of an illogical rule which made everyone unhappy.[1]

Nothing seems to please many people, in Jesus’ time either, as they refused to accept the Lord’s invitation to new life. Comparing his contemporaries to children at play, Jesus makes the point that they are like children playing a dirge. John the Baptist called people to lament their sins. He lived a life of fasting and austerity, challenging people to change their ways. But people refused to accept his invitation and considered him mad. Jesus, on the other hand, invites people to join in a wedding feast, to dance in celebration of the Lord’s presence among them. But people likewise refuse to accept the invitation, dismissing Jesus as a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. In the final verses, Jesus points out that some children are disenchanted yet others value the wisdom of God. What is the wisdom of God? LOVE.

Our English word love is better understood in Greek as “self-giving,” this is the meaning Paul emphasizes. It is worth substituting “self-giving” in this reading. “[Self-giving] is patient, [self-giving] is kind. It is not jealous, [self-giving] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests…” (1 Cor 13:4-5) This is when Paul’s meaning shines. Self-giving is a way to define God. When we hear “God is love,” we understand that Jesus showed us the way to the Father through self-giving. While reflecting on this I came across a timely Facebook post that said, “The hardest command we have from Jesus – and one of the most revolutionary – is love your enemies.”

The Church is an instrument of self-giving that becomes Christ for the world through its actions in the world. Just as a husband and wife witness God’s love by their own self-giving, we as the Church, the bride of Christ, are called to be a living sign, a sacrament, of the same self-giving the bride groom, Jesus, is for us. This brand of self-giving means, giving all that we have and all of who we are, expecting nothing in return. God is love (self-giving). Let us bring all we have and are to this offering, this gift of love (of self-giving) let it transform us so when we return to the world we can share God’s greatest and eternal gift, LOVE.

[1] BLOOMSBURY INTERNATIONAL, Idiom of the Week “A Catch-22 Situation”, created on May 20,2015.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

A LOYAL RESPONSE

I was given an article from “The Wall Street Journal” entitled “A Crisis—But Not of Faith” publish in the Saturday/Sunday edition (September 1-2, 2018). One of the points made in the article was, “Catholics aren’t—or shouldn’t be—at Mass on Sunday because they admire the pope of the day, or their local bishop, or their pastor. Catholics come to Mass on Sunday to hear what we believe to be the Word of God in Scripture and to enter into what we believe to be communion with God because of Jesus Christ.” While the crisis of the scandal is in the forefront at the moment, upon reflection I believe the crisis is deeper. This year many priests were reassigned for the good of the diocese and this disappointed and in some cases enraged congregations. Some feeling as if the bishop was punishing them. Their loyalty to their pastor/priest seemed to feed their dissatisfaction.

Loyalty is a double-edged sword. It can bite the hand that feeds it very easily. Because those who are loyal to you can also be your biggest critics when you disappoint them. Their reaction can be far more vocal and vicious than that of just an ordinary customer or parishioner. To the rabidly loyal person, even the smallest injustice or perceived slight, can take on enormous proportions. Loyal followers are often demanding followers, sometimes in a reasonable way and sometimes in a way beyond all reason.[1]

Paul is challenging the Corinthian community: whose jealousies and rivalries over their loyalty on who they follow. “Are you not of the flesh, and walking according to the manner of man? Whenever someone says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely men?” (1 Cor 3:3-4) They reveal their immaturity both in their self-knowledge and of the judgments about their apostles. They tend to evaluate their leaders by the criteria of human wisdom and to exaggerate their importance.

Paul describes the community as infants in Christ; still unable to eat solid food, for they are still caught up in the flesh. “The flesh” connotes all things not of the spirit: rivalries, divisions, an unforgiving spirit, and everything causing scandal.

Paul presents the roles of himself and Apollos as complimentary, humbly acknowledging they are simply agents of God and warns not overestimate their role in the spiritual life. In other words, don’t confuse the agent for the primary person in the relationship, God.

From the beginning of time, humans have experienced significant challenges in our relationship with God, within and between nations, within our secular and faith communities, between each other, and even within ourselves. Let’s face it, we are weak and sinful human beings. The only one who can save us is God, this relationship exists because Jesus freely offered to take on our weakness and show us the path to salvation by placing our loyalties in the one true God. In his model of true leadership, a key element, essential to Jesus’ life was taking time to be alone and pray. Such self-care while ministering to others is a timeless lesson.

Paul too offers a timeless lesson on true leadership: Those who lead well, point beyond themselves to higher values for the common good. Church leaders are servants of God. Our leadership goal is helping the community grow and prosper in holiness. Further, leaders must foster leadership abilities of others, creating a ripple effect, discipleship for the ongoing growth of the community. Yet, let us be mindful, we are only human, we will mess up. Will a disproportionate loyalty to the agent distract us from the primary person in our faith relationship?

[1] Raving. https://www.ravingconsulting.com/2014/09/loyalty-a-double-edged-sword/ Posted on September 25, 2014 by Amy Ponce

Monday, September 3, 2018

WALK THE TALK

[1]There is a story that while the Japanese were attacking Pearl Harbor, some American service members ran to the armory to get weapons so they could fire back. They were met by the the quartermaster. The quartermaster was responsible for the proper inventory and procedures to check out and in the weapons and ammunition. So the quartermaster refused to let the service members take the weapons demanding: “Where are your requisition slips?” They said, “We don’t have any. The Japanese are bombing us!” The quartermaster said, “I don’t care who’s bombing us. Nobody takes anything out of here without a requisition slip.” They eventually had to overpower the quartermaster to get the weapons. While the quartermaster was very conscientious in his duty, in this situation he may has been a bit too rigid.

There is a similar ongoing debate in the Gospel reading today concerning the purity laws in the Israelite tradition. The Pharisees and some scribes from Jerusalem point out that Jesus’ disciples do not “follow the tradition of the elders” (Mk 7:5) when it comes to practices of purity. Jesus chides the Pharisees, who were more concerned with interpreting the Law than living its purpose: to take on the mind and heart of God. They gave God lip service, but not lived service.

Let’s talk about tradition. The author of Deuteronomy, emphasizes the privilege of the Hebrew people, chosen by God from among all peoples to enter into an unprecedented friendship. Moses calls the people together to remind them, “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live … (here’s the kicker) … you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.” (Dt 4:1-2)

The problem with the Pharisees, they were pious men who took God seriously. So seriously that they tried to spell out, in exact detail, what each of God’s commandments entailed. For example, the third commandment says, “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.” (Ex 20:8) Thus journeys were forbidden on the Sabbath. They defined how many steps added up to a journey? Hunting was also forbidden on the Sabbath. So was it all right to swat a fly? The laws were originally meant to preserve the spirit of obedience to God’s will, but Jesus saw that the letter of the law was killing the spirit.[2]

Positions of authority, secular or religious, are more than a prize to be won or a place to ascend to, they come with responsibility and accountability. Whether it is the President of the U.S. or the Pope, a CEO or Pastor, a school teacher or volunteer minister, these leadership roles demand embracing responsibility and being accountable to and for the greater good and care of the community. When there is distance between leaders and followers, between the rule makers and those subject to the rule, crisis management most always ends badly, often someone ends up dead. The death can be literally, like Jesus on the cross, or some other form of psychological or social death. The trappings of authority, positions of power, is they can facilitate the expectation of privileges which in turn can lead to abuses of positional authority. Often these privileges can lead to the perception that they protect leaders from acknowledging accountability. It’s easy to make ourselves exempt from the expectations and standards of all the “regular” folk when we are in charge. Leaders must model ALL the behaviors expected of others. The Army often uses a saying that goes something like this, you must “talk the walk, and walk the talk.” Personal exemption is unjust.

Deuteronomy places obedience to God’s commandments in the context of a relationship of love. In a love relationship, we want the best for the other, even to the sacrifice of our own needs & desires. Couple this with the exhortation in the Letter of James, whose tone echoes that of Israel’s prophets: true faith must be expressed in deeds. From baptism we are called to put God’s word into practice rather than just hearing it. True devotion, fulfilling one’s duty to God, is best expressed in the care of others, especially those in need and opposing the forces of evil.

Pope Francis’ 2017 Palm Sunday homily called us to show Jesus through our deeds, he said: “He [Jesus] is present in our many brothers and sister who today endure suffering like his own: they suffer from slave labor, from family tragedies, from diseases … from wars and terrorism, from interests that are armed and ready to strike. Women and men [boys & girls] who are cheated, violated in their dignity, discarded … Jesus is in them, in each of them, and, with marred features and broken voice, he asks to be looked in the eye, to be acknowledged, to be loved.”[3]

Jesus reminds us that we should respect the law, but not be rigid. The Ten Commandments are meant to be guides, not chains. As he says in another place, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” (Mk 2:27) When we obey God in this spirit, his commands become a source of genuine truth and life. As we process to receive in communion let our Amen mean, I will walk the talk.