Category: Uncategorized

***

How many of us have seen the newly released documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old? 

***

Using real footage from World War One, the movie weaves together seamlessly horrific images of war with very human stories of youth and friendship.

As one commander remarked, “When they came to us, they were frightened children. They had to be made into soldiers.” 

Some were as young as 15.

Watching these boys scramble through muddy trenches together while under fire made it easier to understand the old adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”

***

While not universally true, suffering has a way stripping away the things that divide us. 

In fact, suffering can unite us.

That’s been true in foxholes, cancer wards, the Bahamas, and even in today’s Gospel.

***

In the Gospel, ten people are afflicted with leprosy, a devastating disease that cripples your hands and feet and makes your skin look like it’s boiling. 

Nine of the people with leprosy were Jewish. And one of them was a Samaritan.

***

Jews and Samaritans hated each other.

Any honorable Jew in good health would never associate with a lowly Samaritan; Samaritans were losers.

Yet we find this Samaritan welcomed into the colony of the nine. Why?

***

Leprosy destroyed their prejudice. 

Like dodging bullets in a foxhole, these men were united in their suffering. They were no longer Samaritan or Jew; they were brothers.

***

That’s a lesson every society could learn from, including our own.

Think of how much time is spent in the news cycle or at the water cooler talking about how different we are.

We’re divided along racial, social, political, economic, and religious lines. But when these externalities are stripped away, we’re all the same within.

On the surface, we could say every person is made in the image and likeness of God – and therefore equal.

But is there something else, even something more uncomfortable, which unites us?

***

Sin.

As Saint Paul says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Though our sins may be different and vary in frequency, at some point each of us has been guilty of judging our neighbor, either with disdain or a jealous eye.

What the Gospel challenges us to do, then, is to let go of any prejudice or judgment in our hearts, accepting the fact that we’re all in need of redemption. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

Instead of seeing what divides us, then, focus on what unites us – namely our need for redemption.

***

The other side of the coin is this: we’re also in need of love.

That cranky neighbor, the rebellious teenager, and the person who unfairly cuts you off on the road – they’re all like me…they’re all like you. 

They’re all sinners in need of love.

***

How much time do I spend thinking about the faults of others? 

And how might I shift that focus to loving my neighbor instead?

***

“There are no atheists in foxholes.” Nor are they black or white, rich or poor; they’re a band of brothers. Their suffering unites them.

Similarly, there should be no judgment among Christians. We know we’re all in need of redemption and love.

Seeing ourselves as equals before God, how might we better love one another this week?

***

“And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name” (Malachi 3:16).

***

Malachi was one of the last prophets in Israel, prophesying several hundred years before the birth of Jesus.

He preached about the final judgment, warning Israel that God will personally judge each person for his or her behavior.

Those who serve the Lord faithfully will have their names written in one book, and those who are unfaithful will have their names written in another – an imagery of separation, which Jesus himself uses.

Some believe Malachi is making an early reference to the Book of Life, the book that contains the name of every person who will journey safely to heaven.

***

Malachi warns Israel about three behaviors, in particular: priestly and marital infidelity, unpaid tithes, and half-hearted believers, things we should still be warned about today.

Fortunately, there is still time for us to repent, if needed. But may the prophecy of Malachi remind us that we must do so if we want to be forgiven.

As the Psalmist says today, “Blessed the one who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners…But who delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.”

***

I love how honest children are. They have no fear of telling the truth or crying when they’re unhappy.

We’ve all been there. If a parent or teacher tried making us do something we didn’t want to do, we’d protest – and pout.

For example, when I was a kid, if I got a bad grade on a math test, I’d refuse to do it over again, saying, “I’m not going to do that dumb assignment again.” 

As if refusing to learn somehow punished my teacher, my school, and math itself.

***

How many kids still behave that way at home? “I’m not eating my vegetables! I’m not doing my homework! I not breathing until I faint!”

When in reality, vegetables keep us healthy…homework makes us smarter…and breathing keeps us alive.

When children pout, we don’t lose out; they do.

***

But we adults can do the very same thing; only we pout about bigger issues. 

For example, when our marriage goes awry, our job seems unrewarding, or someone we love is diagnosed with cancer, who gets the blame?

Most often it’s God.

As if he’s the mastermind behind our suffering. “I’m not praying anymore! I’m not going to Church! I refuse to believe!”

In such cases, it’s not God who loses out; we do.

When we clinch our fists and close our hearts, we lose the opportunity for God’s grace and comfort. Just as a parent cannot console a pouting toddler, so God cannot console us if we turn away from him.

It’s a hard thing to accept – God doesn’t prevent us from suffering or making poor choices; but he is willing to console us – and open new doors when we need them most.

***

Just consider the prophet Habakkuk in our first reading.

***

Habakkuk lived in very dark days. Like the residents in the Bahamas who lost everything in Hurricane Dorian some weeks ago, Habakkuk’s hometown was also destroyed. 

Only it wasn’t a hurricane that caused it; a foreign army invaded Jerusalem, burning many peoples’ homes to the ground. Families were separated – many were killed or sent into slavery.

Seeing such destruction made it tempting to give up the faith – to close up inside and say, “God isn’t here.”

As if God would be the loser when we pout.

But that’s not what Habakkuk does. He pours his heart out to God, saying, “How long, O Lord? How long? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry to you, ‘Violence!’ But you do not intervene.”

Yes, things look bleak.

But Habakkuk still trusts that God will come to his aid.

Though we don’t hear it today, Habakkuk ends his prayer with the words, “I will rejoice in the Lord and exalt in my saving God. God my Lord is my strength.”

***

That’s faith the size of a mustard seed.

***

It’s the type of faith that Jesus praises in the Gospels. It’s the one who doesn’t give up when things look bleak; rather, they pray and wait for another door to open.

Like the prophet Habakkuk, where am I being invited to trust? Or where do I need another door to open?

***

“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says, “seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”

But we cannot pout. Rather, we need faith the size of a mustard seed, faith that hopes in times of trial and waits for God to do the rest.