CIVIL & CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP

Several years ago, I was working on a project in a medium security prison.  In those days, I had a very idealistic and unrealistic picture of what was happening in the prison. I thought “we” (the prison authorities and project leaders) were in charge.  The prisoners knew the rules and complied with them enough to avoid punishment.  What I came to see was there were two systems of authority in prison.  The prisoners had a kind of government of their own inside those walls.  A system of values, of what was right and wrong, their own authority structure and chain of command, and their own means of enforcement.  “Obedience” to prison authorities within those prison walls was, at best, compliance. Whole-hearted cooperation was exceedingly rare.

I discovered over time that the military, business and even the church was not much different than the prison where there were functionally two authority structures.  The official chain of command and policies, but also the unofficial chain of command and a different set of rules.  Often the unofficial system proved to be more effective and efficient.  People always complied with the official rules and policies, but the way to get things done was through the unofficial system.  There was compliance, but little cooperation.

This dual-citizenship of sorts has a temptation to be compliant yet the ability to use either system to gain what a person most needed or selfishly wanted.

As Paul’s letter to Titus nears its end, he returns to the obligations of good citizenship urging their followers to proper obedience to civil authorities and the idea that Christians should “slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, and exercising all graciousness toward everyone.” (Ti 3:1-2) These behaviors could well be stressed and repeated today in our country and culture.

The final section of the reading contains language used that is generally considered to be a preexisting baptismal hymn.  The role of the Trinity is clear.  Everything begins with the kindness and love of God, our Savior (the Father), and through Jesus, our Savior (the Son), the Holy Spirit is poured out on us in Baptism, the bath of rebirth to our true citizenship.

The Psalmist tell us God has “spread the table before [us] in the sight of [our] foes. (Ps 23:5) It is at this table that we learn to balance and reconcile the two authorities of our life, the civil and the sacred.

As Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem nears its end, once again it’s a Samaritan who shows the proper response for his healing, gratitude, as he returns to give thanks and praise to God.  This healing story illustrates how Jesus reaches across society’s boundaries and walls to bring his message of healing and wholeness to those whose true citizenship is with Him and the communion of saints.

I WANT TO SEE

[1]True story. A woman was on a bus with her three-year old daughter. The little girl saw a man eating out of a garbage can and was very distressed. She kept asking her mother “why this” and “why that.” A man sitting next to them in a wheelchair told the woman. “Miss, you have a very lovely and caring little girl there. And not only is she lovely, but she is very wise and very beautiful. She looks exactly like you.” The mother thanked him and then noticed, for the first time, that he was blind. As they got off, he said, “Goodbye ladies! Enjoy this beautiful day.” The man was physically blind, but in other ways he was very perceptive.[2]

Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem in Marks Gospel is situated between two stories in which Jesus restores sight to the blind. The first instance occurs in Bethsaida, where a blind man is brought to Jesus, who effects a gradual healing then sends him home (Mk 8:22-26). In today’s Gospel, the setting is Jericho, the last stop before Jesus ascends to Jerusalem, the place of his passion. Unlike the blind man of Bethsaida, Bartimaeus initiates the encounter. The crowd attempts to silence him, but he persistently calls out all the more.[3] This time Jesus said, “Call him” and so the people said to him, “Jesus is calling you.” (Mk 10:49) And here is the key exchange:

Jesus: “What do you want me to do for you?”
Bartimaeus: “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus: “Go your way, your faith has saved you.”
Bartimaeus: Gains his sight and followed Jesus on the way. (Mk 10:51-52)

Bartimaeus persistently called out “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk 10:47) This is much like the persistence of God that Jeremiah speaks of to the people in exile. God promises to lead them back, console them, and deliver them. These are the same promises God makes to us, and in Jesus, God begins to fulfill this promise. Jesus is calling us! Asking us, what do you want me to do for you?

Can we even hear his calling? The world we live in is constantly rebuking us, attempting to silence our pleadings with all its busyness and distractions. Blinding us to our real needs and the needs of others, those on the roadside begging to be heard. We convince ourselves into believing blindness is something that happens to other people, to the point that we fail to understand that the blind beggar persistently begging for attention, is us, or at least the parts of our own inner being that cry out for healing and attention, for presence and witness.

Think for a moment of the things in your life you regret, that you feel guilty about or ashamed of, when you wish you had acted differently. The times you’ve actually asked yourself, “How could I have done that?” … “Didn’t I see what I was doing?” … “I didn’t see that coming?” … “How could I have been so blind?”

There are people among us today walking around with 20/20 vision who are blind and less perceptive than the blind man on the bus in so many ways.

The good news is, these texts invite us to embrace our places of limitation, weakness, and vulnerability. They invite us to be more aware of our own inner being, to welcome the voices of need from the fringes of life, and to not let the harshness of our inner critic silence our deep cry for healing.

It is by God’s persistent love for us that we can be healed. His Word made flesh, Jesus, knows our human condition, we can take courage in hearing his calling us and asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” Be honest. Let your faith impel you to find strength in weakness, courage in opposition, and a voice when people seek to silence you. Be persistent! Jesus empowers all parts of us to ask for what we need, to not rely on victimization, nor to be silenced.

Jesus doesn’t make assumptions about what the blind man needs or wants, nor will he with us. As we enter into this event of sacrificial love, Jesus asks, what is your deepest desire. He yields to our inner sovereignty. He acknowledges the power to be healed exists within us already.

Do you want to see, do you really want to see? See the human suffering and need in the world, in the community, in the Church, and even within ourselves. Let us in obedience and faith come to Jesus, ask for what is truly needed, and follow him on the way.

[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition © 1986.  Scripture: Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52.

[2] Sundays with Jesus, © 2008 by James DiGiacomo, SJ

[3] Living the Word © 2017 by Laurie Brink, O.P. and Paul Colloton, O.S.F.S.

THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR

School was often a challenge form me, I especially found myself challenged in math by fractions. For some reason I struggled with determining the lowest common denominator.

It seems Paul, in his writing to the Ephesians, is having a similar problem in trying to teach the Christian community in Ephesus to discover the lowest common denominator.  The community in Ephesus had a very diverse population of Jews & Greeks, free & slave, women & men.  Like most of us, as human beings, they found themselves challenged in seeing beyond their many differences and Paul is attempting to get them to focus on what they have in common.  Paul points to the need for them to act with humility, patience, and gentleness, wrapping these virtues at heart as he encourages them to strive for peace.  He reminds them that, as believers, they have in common: the “one body … one Spirit … one hope … one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father” (Eph 4:4-6).

Our time is not so different.  Divisions exist within our community based on race, economic status, politics, issues concerning the right to life, the question of gender, and even marriage.  The Church knows all too well these challenges.

Jesus reminds the crowds, and us, how we know how to read the signs to predict the weather, we know how to read the signs to tell us when to buy or sell in the stock market, yet we often misinterpret or miss all together the greatest sign, the lowest common denominator, God’s love in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.  It is in our simple gifts of bread and wine, brought forth from the community, consecrated by the priest, and given back in communion that we are reminded that we are members of the one body, joined in communion with the one Spirit.  We are clinging to the one hope in the one Lord.  We are connected in one baptism and faith through which we believe we come face to face with the one God and Father.

When it’s all said and done we send you forth after this sacred meal, to go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.  To utilize the lowest common denominator Jesus gave us that transcends all languages and cultures, “Love one another as I love you.” (Jn 15:12)