Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 152

Reading I

Dt 6:2-6

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! 
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength. 
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. (2)    I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
    O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
    my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
    and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives!  And blessed be my rock!
    Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
    and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Reading II

Heb 7:23-28

Brothers and sisters:
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, 
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself. 
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.

Alleluia

Jn 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 12:28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?" 
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, 
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these." 
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God." 
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

It may be confusing to some of us that we can fear God and love Him at the same time. There are many who would say that the fear of God comes from the vengeful, angry God described in the Old Testament while the love for God comes from the merciful, loving, personal God presented by Jesus in The New Testament. This is too simple of an answer and dismisses God’s love for us and His longing to enter into relationship with us as described through much of The Prophetic Books (especially Isaiah) and The Psalms. It also doesn’t consider the acts of  forgiveness and God’s willingness to dismiss our past as the past with a focus on the present and future. Love has always been central to our existence and God’s relationship with us. The fear of God is joined with the love we are supposed to have for God. A genuine fear of God is the one that a child has in disappointing its father. It is a fear of not living up to expectations and a wanting to please. If we truly love God, recognizing Him as our Father, then we should not want to disappoint Him. We should want to please Him by doing what He wants us to do. We should have no fear of repercussions if we do wrong, but only guilt in the fact that we went against His will. If we live our lives trying to please God, while having a healthy fear of not disappointing Him, then we will find ourselves far from sin and close to Him. It is in that closeness that we will find comfort and love.

 

There is no doubt that living to please God will lead to a long life. Eternity is a long time. Eternity with Him is the ultimate joy. The prosperity that God speaks about has its origins in a satisfaction and acceptance of all things that have its origins in the spiritual. In other words, the value of things from this earth will have no standing in comparison to doing the right thing by God. A right relationship with God will make all other things become secondary. A good life will be measured by the experiences with God and not the material gain obtained. The term, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins,” will have no meaning to us. An instant memory comes to my mind when I think about contentment and satisfaction with a man who loves God:

 

An older man whom I greatly respect and have known for over 51 years has been living a devout Christian life. He has always put his family first and has made many personal sacrifices to ensure the safety and security of his children and grandchildren. A man of few words, he weighs what he says with great wisdom and forethought. I can never remember a time when he missed Sunday Mass. His days are spent with his family, finding joy in the small things. A perfect evening for him would be a small glass of single malt scotch and a small fire to gaze into for hours with those whom he loves around him. Long life and prosperity exude from his soul. I can envision Jesus sitting next to him, looking into the fire and whispering softly, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

 

Jesus Christ is the eternal high priest. He did not come to abolish the law, but to bring it to fulfillment. When reiterating what was the greatest commandment, he emphasized this by quoting the Book of Deuteronomy. He also added loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is a reminder that everything is done out of love because we were created out of love. There is no room for fear out of punishment, but only fear of disappointing. Like a child who fears disappointing its parents, is how we should act regarding our relationship with God. We should want to make Him proud. We should be crestfallen when we hurt Him, trying ever so hard to win back His approval, all the time knowing that He is encouraging us to do better, cheering us on to do the right thing. The words God spoke through Isaiah come to mind, : “Thus says the Lord: Come, let us set things right. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.” Notice how God says, “us,” joining Him to us in this effort. How can one fear being hurt by God when all He wants to do is help us do the right thing?

 

Within The Church Family, each of the faithful serve a particular function. As The Apostle Paul says, “One body, many parts.” He then goes on to describe how each person has a particular function and that each should do their function are prescribed. One should not do something that they were not expected to do. Back in the time of Jesus and for thousands of years before, high priests were expected to offer sacrifice, guidance, and to lead worship. Jesus Christ, being considered a high priest forever, is the ultimate high priest. He gains His authority directly from The Father. His office is undisputed and thus what He says regarding everything should also be considered undisputed. We have no right to go against what He says. That is beyond our function and goes against the body as a whole. When we go against the body only bad things can result. Remaining with God and in His love not only saves us from letting our worst fears come true, disappointing Him, but also risks us not feeling loved. When we don’t feel loved, it is harder for us to love. All God wants us to do is love and be loved. When that happens, only goodness and joy can follow.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 149

Reading I

Jer 31:7-9

        Thus says the LORD:
    Shout with joy for Jacob,
        exult at the head of the nations;
        proclaim your praise and say:
    The LORD has delivered his people,
        the remnant of Israel.
    Behold, I will bring them back
        from the land of the north;
    I will gather them from the ends of the world,
        with the blind and the lame in their midst,
    the mothers and those with child;
        they shall return as an immense throng.
    They departed in tears,
        but I will console them and guide them;
    I will lead them to brooks of water,
        on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
    For I am a father to Israel,
        Ephraim is my first-born.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3)    The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
    we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
    "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
    we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
    like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
    shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
    carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
    carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading II

Heb 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
    You are my son:
        this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
    You are a priest forever
        according to the order of Melchizedek.

Alleluia

Cf. 2 Tm 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. 
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" 
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." 
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." 
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

 

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

We all face hard times. It is unavoidable. This world is defect because of Original Sin and, with the entrance of sin into this world, everything has become corrupted. There should be an expectation of suffering. What we see through multi-media and what we are told through the messaging of society, that life can be perfect, is just not true. There will be times of mourning, times of sorrow, and times of immense joy. The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us, “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under heaven…A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” These things will come and go with only one constant: God is with us through all these things. We can either experience them with Him or without Him. When we choose to invite Him into our lives is when there will occur a fundamental change regarding how we perceive things and experience them. The good experiences will meld with the bad experiences with them not being labeled as such, but instead being viewed as general experiences and conditions that will come and go while we remain. Instead of us reacting to them with our emotions we can observe them for what they are and come to the understanding that the presence of God is the commonality of all these events; that through His presence, all can be good. Hope becomes the mitigating factor, which is defined as, “The expectation of things to come.” We expect God to be with us. We expect God to guide us through our lives. We expect God will bring everything to a conclusion that will ultimately benefit us and make us better people. This is the foundation of Wisdom, which flows from God: An awareness of creation brought about by our knowledge, understanding, and experiences influenced by God.

 

We cannot rely on ourselves. Those who do are always disappointed. There is only so much that we can do alone and, left to our own devices, there will eventually be either failure or a lack of satisfaction in what we do. When we encounter a particular situation, be it positive or negative, we tend to immediately label it as such and base our decision-making process off it. We either want to make it last as long as possible or make it end as quick as we can. This shows our human limitations. Nothing lasts forever and we can’t end things just by our emotional reactions alone, thus our entire thought process is compromised. God, on the other hand, can break us free from this defect; enabling us to see beyond our own selfish desires and grant us the fortitude to just experience what is happening to us while revealing the pathway to the next experience.

 

The Prophet Jeremiah reminded the Jewish People that, even though they were facing a period of suffering, their suffering was not going to be forever. There would be restoration of both The Kingdom of Israel and an end to the torment that Judah was enduring. God had not forgotten them. It was they who had forgotten God. Through Jeremiah God proclaimed, “There is hope in your future.” That hope was always based upon relationship and still is. Through the expectation of what God can do for us is how we should react to situations. The Fruits of the Spirit ( love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) are then experienced. From these come relationship, wisdom, and all good things. God is still telling us today, “There is hope in your future.” We cannot fear the expectation of God being involved in our lives and what that ultimately brings. The story of Immaculee Ilibagiza brings these words to life:

 

“Clutching her father's rosary beads and a Bible, Immaculee Ilibagiza hid in a tiny bathroom with seven women, imagining the fate that awaited her family and friends being hunted down and slaughtered during the Rwandan genocide.

Ilibagiza thought of many different ways to get revenge on the perpetrators of that bloody three months in 1994 in the East African country she called home.

"I prayed 'Kill them before they kill me. Send them to hell. They are really bad,' " she said.

However, her thirst for vengeance eventually was replaced with the will to forgive in the 91 days she took cover from her enemies, Ilibaqiza told attendees at the recent Oklahoma Catholic Women's Conference in Edmond.

Ilibaqiza shared her story of faith, of how that small bathroom was transformed from her prison to her prayer room through her faith and the word of God. Besides the internationally known humanitarian and author, a crowd of about 700 also heard from author and speaker Donna Heckler and Norman author and blogger Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda.

The audience listened intently as Ilibaqiza described being awakened at 6 a.m. one morning during the Easter holiday weekend in 1994 with the somber news that the plane carrying the president of Rwanda had been shot down and he had been killed. Soon, her mother, father and brothers learned that the 900 students who had stayed at her college over the holiday break had been slaughtered.

 

Ilibaqiza said she marveled at this news because she had wanted to stay at school during the holiday but her parents persuaded her to come home.

The president's demise had set off Hutu-Tutsi violence. When her father learned that Hutu militia representing the Hutu majority were murdering members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, he came up with a plan for his daughter. The Ilibaqizas were Tutsis, and they eventually learned that not only were Hutu militia members killing Tutsis and moderate Hutu, the Hutu government had ordered Hutus all over the country to kill Tutsis in their towns and villages.

•          

Ilibaqiza said she balked at leaving her family and hiding in the 3- by 4-foot bathroom of a Hutu pastor. Thrusting his rosary into her hands, her father insisted and so she hid out of obedience. The author said she walked away from her family and friends, looking back once to see their dear faces for what was the last time.

 

"To this day, I'm so glad I looked back because when I miss them, I go back to that picture of them," she said.

 

'Hold on to God'

 

Packed into the tiny bathroom with a group of other women, Ilibaqiza said she was angry and bitter about what was happening outside her hiding place.

Her parents were devout Catholics who taught their children to pray, so she knew how to pray, but she said it was hard to concentrate on anything because of the fear and anger that clouded her mind.

 

Desperate to quash the temptation to come out of hiding and the negative thoughts that percolated constantly in her head, Ilibaqiza began to pray the rosary, and she felt peace in the hiding place for the first time.

She said she requested a Bible from the pastor who was providing shelter, and she began to pore over it. The theme of forgiveness ran throughout the holy book, and yet, Ilibaqiza said, she could not make herself forgive those who were killers of her people.

Finally, latching onto "The Lord's Prayer," Ilibaqiza said she couldn't quite push the prayer's lines about forgiveness out of her mind, though she tried.

"I started to skip the part of the prayer about forgiveness. I did not want to lie to God or condemn myself. Then, I was reminded that the prayer was not man-made — Jesus himself spoke those words," she said.

Finally surrendering her will to the Lord, Ilibaqiza felt love, forgiveness and compassion flood her heart, and she felt transformed. She recalled that Scripture told how Jesus had asked the Lord to forgive those who persecuted him "for they know not what they do."

"In the middle of that torture, of that pain, He looked down and forgave them. I felt like I was free. I didn't have to hate them (enemies)," she said.

 

Ilibaqiza had a dream that God told her that everyone she loved was gone but that He would sustain her.

 

Sure enough, 91 days after the genocide had begun, Ilibaqiza stepped out of the bathroom hiding place light of heart and physically lighter (she went from 115 pounds to 65 pounds while hidden), but her heart became heavy when she learned that her parents, siblings, grandparents, many friends and numerous others had been killed.

 

"You could drive five or six miles, everywhere there were dead bodies," she said.

Ilibaqiza kept her spirit of forgiveness through prayer and faith and a gentle whisper from the Holy Spirit that said "Remember me from the bathroom?"

 

Other Tutsis asked her how she could be so positive and maintain forgiveness, and she told them.

Perhaps the ultimate test came when she visited a prison and faced the man who killed her family.

 

Ilibaqiza said she didn't find it difficult at all to extend forgiveness to him.

 

Since writing "Left to Tell," Ilibaqiza has written several other books. "Left to Tell" remains popular as it has been translated into 17 languages and has sold more than 2 million copies. Also, a major motion picture about Ilibaqiza's story is under production.

 

Ilibaqiza left the metro-area audience with a powerful metaphor, likening her hiding place to a state of despair or challenge that many people may face on any given day.

"Many of us have our pain, many of us have our suffering — in some ways our own bathrooms. Remember, there's always hope. Hold on to God. Hold on to Jesus. Hold on to prayer," she said.

"I went to a prison and met someone who killed my family, and it wasn't hard. If I can forgive, anyone can forgive." (Carla Hilton, 2018)

 

Ilibaqiza found hope in God. She accepted her suffering as an experience and, with God, she got through it. She lived in the moment and stayed in the moment; entering into a conversation with God. She was helpless as to what was to come and, because of this, she remained hopeful in God. God stayed with her, walked with her, and talked with her to the end of her suffering. She could have relied on herself but instead relied on God. With that came a new perception and understanding of things not only around her, but inside of her as well. We all have the same capability to have all of our experiences in much the same way as Ilibaqiza. There was nothing unique about her that put her experience beyond us. We are all invited to experience life the way Ilibaqiza experienced it, even in what could be considered her darkest moment. It was through the darkness that she was witness to The Light of Christ. As The Apostle John said, “…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

 

 

In The Gospel Reading today, Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus. When he was rebuked by those around him, he cried out louder. Jesus heard and responded. He gave him sight and said, “Your faith has saved you.” We are healed mentally, physical, and spiritually by our faith. Not only could Bartimaeus see again, but he received the Gift of Salvation by being open to what Jesus was offering. It is our resistance to the truth and our own arrogance which prevents us receiving the full benefits of a relationship with God. We fight against Jesus for no other reason then to fight. We prefer to be blind rather then embracing Him. Our voices remain silent as He passes us by. We should be crying out to Him with raised voices and with a desperate soul. The desperation I speak of is not one of futility, but instead one of longing and love. We should want to be with Him and should want to invite Him in. We are the blind man and, if we truly want to see, we should be crying out as loud as we can for Jesus to recognize us so that we may run to Him.

 

The Apostle Paul describes this best in his Letter to the Romans: We know that all creation groaning in labor pains even until now, and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” We all have this innate longing for God. When we realize this for what it is, we can then cry out like the blind man seeking healing and receive it. Through the healing we will also receive redemption and a new way of living our lives: A life with God.

 

Deacon Tom