November 26, 2023
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
1 Cor 15:20-26
Mt 25:31-46
By Fr. James Kilzer, OSB
I don’t know if Jesus ever tended sheep. I understand he was a carpenter by trade. Still, he knew shepherds, saw shepherds. His teaching makes clear he understood shepherding work. Shepherding changes little over time, I suppose.
Consider the hardy men and women who lambed their flocks in a wintry spring like we just had. It is go-go-go, until one can go no longer, fatigue that reaches the last fiber on one’s body, a reviving of energy as nature’s second wind enables more work. It is pickups stuck in the snow, tractors that won’t start. It is dragging bales of hay hundreds of yards through drifts, to feed stranded bunches of sheep. It is watching hay supplies dwindle, listening to weather forecasts, hoping.
We recall that Moses was a shepherd of flocks before he shepherded Israel. We can say Jesus was that kind too. What he did for the poor and broken, broken in body and soul. He was a shepherd’s shepherd.
Today we celebrate Jesus as king and judge. To what standard will Jesus hold us, when he gets down to making judgments? Jesus will consider: was this one the shepherding kind? “The shepherd must have upon him/her the smell of the sheep.” Pope Francis. “Clothe the naked. Feed the hungry. Visit the sick. Bury the dead. Welcome the stranger. Visit those in prison.” Jesus, our Lord and judge. “When you do so for the least of my sisters and brothers, you do so for me.”
We recall and cherish the merciful works Jesus did. Recall two encounters with Jesus. Restoring of sight was not the only blessing Jesus gave to one man; Jesus gave him the blessing of agency, asking him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Agency. And recall the woman at the well. By asking her for a drink of water, Jesus did much better than give her water. Respect. Agency. Shepherding care, wise to the depths. Christ our King and our model.
November 12, 2023
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wis 6:12-16
1 Thes 4:13-18
Mt 25:1-13
by Fr. Boniface Muggli, OSB
Today’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins is bad news for procrastinators: there will be no time at the end to prepare for the inbreaking Kingdom. You will be ready, or not, when it shows. I have even worse news from this and similar parables of the Kingdom coming at night. Stories of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment seem to indicate that the Kingdom will appear at a certain time and place, when you must be ready or miss your chance. I’m not sure that attitude is the best way to think of it. By its very nature, the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal, and appears everywhere–at least, it is everywhere and at every moment God is present. Given that truth, can we turn around and claim it will show up at some moment in time? That would be like saying that a family is only real and complete at a certain time and place; all the other times and places it seems to be happening are not true. Which is just absurd.
Another hint: Jesus, and the Scriptures, tease us with apparent signs of the End Times. There is always quite a throng of interpreters, all busily picking out details and matching them to events, to determine when and where we are on the timeline. The problem is, that doesn’t work and never has. By intention, the details are deliberately inadequate, because the question of “When will the Kingdom arrive?” is the wrong question.
The foolish virgins were all prepared for a given time: when the bridegroom was due. That’s why they failed to be ready when he actually appeared–because he didn’t come in the right way, with the proper signals. The wise virgins were prepared: whenever and however the bridegroom appeared, they stood ready. Where am I looking for the Bridegroom, and the Kingdom? In a specific time and place and mode? Or do I look to see how the Kingdom is being shaped at every moment?
November 5
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mal 1:14b-2:2b
1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
Mt 23: 1-12
By Father James Kilzer, OSB
“Do not call anyone on earth your father.” A friend once wrote me to ask, “Why do you Catholics call your clergy ‘Father’ if Jesus forbids this?” I thought for a while. Why do we call our Catholic priests “Father”? Do we trust their leadership, their teaching, their guidance in matters of heart and soul? Do we follow their guidance as we would a wise and loving natural father? I suppose the title is a mark of respect, an expression of trust. We believe the priestly ministry is divinely given for the sanctification of God’s people through the ministry of word and sacrament. And we are right. I thought on this question. Then I replied to the friend who had asked it.
In my reply, I found myself saying that we Catholics perhaps quote our clergy less often than may be the case in some other Christian churches. They might say, even quite often, “My pastor says….” And what does “pastor” mean, in their use of this term? Does it mean my guide, my mentor, my spiritual father? Hopefully, we Catholics trust our priests in their teaching ministry, and are not disappointed to so trust. But we are not in a habit of quoting their teaching a lot.
In making this observation I do not mean to justify a half-hearted approach to the preaching. It is my perception that outside the mainline, Eucharist-centric churches, a great deal more burden falls upon the preacher to “make” the Sunday service, by way of a substantially long and meaty teaching. I admire these clergy for carrying that banner of the extended Sunday sermon as the centerpiece of their worship service. That is a labor of love, and verily a labor. To be frank about it, I am grateful that my preaching efforts are set alongside the sacramental celebration which takes place on the altar.
Two points from the Gospel: Let us not be grasping after prestige and titles. Let our deeds fulfill in living what our words propose in speaking.
October 29, 2023
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ex 22: 20-26
1 Thes 1: 5c-10
Mt 22: 34-40
By Father Claude Seeberger, OSB
Things are not always what they seem to be. People are not always what they appear to be. We don’t really know for sure who we are. We don’t even understand ourselves. The Pharisee in today’s gospel asks Jesus: “Which is the most important commandment?” Jesus answers: “Love God above all things.” The question is answered, but Jesus adds a second commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Now that really complicates things. Loving God is easy: worship him, respect his name, pray. Loving our neighbor is often difficult.
When I help people in confessing, I sometimes ask them how they have offended God or their neighbor. They often answer that they have not offended God, but their neighbor, yes. Actually, they are the same. God is in our neighbor. You can’t love one without the other. There is a difference in degree.
I must love God entirely and I must love my neighbor as much as I love myself. Some people feel uncomfortable with the command to love oneself, because self-love is excessive. Love of neighbor must be equal to love of self. For example, you have food and your neighbor is starving. If you give all to your neighbor, it is too much love, for then you starve. If you give nothing, your neighbor dies. But sharing what you have is just right. Proper love of self is necessary. I must love me, myself. I am the first person I meet each day, and the last one I see at night. Proper love of self means accepting ourselves as we are, warts and all. I am all I’ve got. Loving God and neighbor entails that I work to improve myself, with God’s help.