On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Every so often, we hear stories about people who apply the Gospel to their daily lives in a very literal way.
For example, Mother Teresa’s parents took today’s Gospel passage to heart. “When you hold a lunch or dinner,” Jesus says, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”
Whenever they held a large family gathering at their home in Albania, Mother Teresa’s parents would send her and her siblings out into the streets to invite those who could not repay them – literally the sick and the homeless.
I can only imagine what kind of conversations they had around their table.
Those dinners instilled in Mother Teresa from a very young age a passion for the world’s poorest, so much so that she not only served them for the rest of her life, she also became poor, essentially keeping as her only possessions a crucifix and the clothing on her back.
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It may seem impractical, if not impossible, for us to populate our dinner table with the same type of guests today. But the heart of this Gospel passage should still speak to us as a Church.
What Christ longs for from us is a spirit of inclusion, generosity, and humility whereby all are seen as equals and welcomed – not only around the altar – but also into our hearts.
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Who might feel excluded from the Church today? How might we welcome them?
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“When you hold a banquet,” the Lord says, “invite those unable to repay you.”
Blessed will you be.
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Image credits: (1) For The Church (2) Faith Bible Church (3) DreamsTime.com
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There’s an old saying, “Less is more.”
Sometimes there’s a need to simplify large or complex issues in order for people to better understand them.
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In the Old Testament, Jews followed more than 600 different laws, all of which was an attempt to satisfy God.
But in Jesus’ day, some devout Jews not only found this tedious and costly, but also exhausting. So, a scribe, who’s role it was to interpret the Law, approaches Jesus with the philosophy, “Less is more.”
“Teacher, which is the first of all the commandments?” he asks.
The Lord embraces the idea of simplicity, with a twist. Jesus gives onecommandment with two parts. Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength…. and your neighbor as yourself.
These rules were not new. What was novel about Christ’s response was the fact that he links the two of them together. You cannot have one without the other.
As Saint John later writes, “If anyone says he loves God, but hates his neighbor, he is a liar; for whoever does not love the neighbor whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
Even the scribe was satisfied.
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Then looking into his heart, Jesus says to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
We might lump this scholar of the Law into the same category as the rich young man, who we encountered two chapters earlier. Both were law-abiding men.
But remember what Jesus said to the rich young man, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, give to the poor, then come, follow me.”
However, he walked away “sad, for he had many possessions.” It was not a matter of how much wealth the rich young man possessed; rather, how much it possessed him; that was his god. He had a greater love for himself than he did for God.
Unlike the rich young man, if the pious scribe in today’s Gospel is going to fulfill the Law, then he must love God first, and serve him in his neighbor.
Can he do it? Does he follow Jesus on the way?
Mark doesn’t tell us, leaving the lingering questions, “Who did follow Jesus? And what did it look like for a person to love God with all of their heart and their neighbor as themself?”
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One person who undoubtedly satisfied the Law of Christ was Saint Paul.
He was the greatest missionary of his age, who not only sailed the open seas, preaching the Gospel in foreign lands, he also traveled more than 10,000 miles on foot! Over the course of his journey, he was repeatedly beaten, shipwrecked, rejected, imprisoned, and left for dead.
Yet he never gave up.
In his final pastoral letter, he writes to his “spiritual son,” Timothy, saying, “As for me, the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.”
Paul uses vivid, athletic language, leaving the impression that he’s exhausted himself after years of toil.
This particular word, “departure,” means, “to remove the yoke from an ox,” giving the impression that Paul feels the weight of his ministry being lifted from his shoulders.
He’s done what was his to do.
After pouring himself out in ministry, he’s at peace with offering his physical life for Christ. Shortly thereafter, he’s martyred, just footsteps from where he penned this last letter.
He ended that letter – and ultimately his life – exhorting Timothy, and each of us, to do the same.
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How do we know if we’ve satisfied the Law of Christ as Paul did?
One standard I try holding myself accountable to is looking at a crucifix at the end of each night. If I can say that I’m tired, having spent my energy doing good things in this world out of love, then I believe I’ve done what God has asked of me.
While some are called to serve as priests in parishes, others are lay ministers, parents, spouses, civil servants, Christians in this world. God’s will looks different for each of us.
But we can all look at Jesus at the end of the night and ask ourselves, “How well have I loved him? How well have I loved others?”
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Saints are the merciful, the clean of heart, and the peacemakers, whom Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel.
Some examples include:
Peter, the first Pope, who led the Church for thirty years, then offered his life like his Master, crucified on a cross – only Peter died upside down.
Paul, the greatest missionary of his time, who walked an estimated 10,000 miles on foot spreading the Gospel.
Francis of Assisi, an instrument of God’s peace, who rebuilt the spirit of the Church.
Teresa of Calcutta, a modern-day Saint, who showed the world how to love the poor.
These men and women changed the world. And, rightly, they’re revered as Saints.
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But most of the Saints are ordinary men and women like us.
Saint Conrad was a doorman. For 40 years, he stood and welcomed pilgrims to a Marian shrine in Germany.
Saint Zita was a cook.
Other Saints were barbers, farmers, maids, soldiers, and soccer players.
There’s nothing extraordinary about what they did: we can all welcome people coming to church, cook a meal in our soup kitchen, till the land in our backyard, or kick a soccer ball.
So, what made them Saints?
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They did ordinary tasks with extraordinary love, living out that great prayer of Saint Francis. We’ve heard it many times, but maybe a word will strike you differently today:
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
Bring the love of God wherever you go, and you, too, will be a saint.
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Image credits: (1) Mondo Cattolico, Vatican Gift Shop (2) Wikipedia (3) achristianmindset.org
