Trans…… Trans……  Trans……  Got your attention, didn’t I?  But nope.  Whilst I’m all about supporting folks who are trans, this isn’t that kind of post.  SURPRISE!  Nope.  This is all about trans…other things.  Stop for a sec and think about those five little letters, that one little syllable:  trans.  It’s a prefix.  According to the dictionary, most commonly it means: 

1.  across; beyond.  “transcontinental”  on or to the other side of.  “transatlantic”
2.  through.  “transonic”  into another state or place.  “transform”  surpassing; transcending.  “transfinite”

It’s that second one that’s important to us here today:  Transform; “into another state or place.” 

When I was a kid we had electric trains.  There was a transformer that made the electricity transform into another kind of electricity that made the trains go.  We all of us have transformers in our homes in one way shape or form.  You know those little black boxes that are at the end of a cord, and you have to plug another cord into it before you can plug the whole business into a socket?  Yep, those are transformers, too.

Then, there are the Transformers that are toys, which spawned movies and cartoons and a whole wealth of possibilities in entertainment.  These are toy line is that the parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure and back again.   Great fun!

There are transformers in nature, too!   Seeds to plants, caterpillars to butterflies, pollywogs to frogs, and the list goes on.  By some miracle of nature, they all transform from one entity into another.  Exciting stuff, that!

And then….there is us.  We are born and we grow and change for sure.  But most of us don’t really “transform” into something completely different.  We are simply who we are.  Or are we?  Can we be transformed into something, someone, other than who we fundamentally are?

In the Gospel reading appointed for today, we read in Matthew of “The Transfiguration of the Lord”:   Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.  Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here,

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,

then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;  listen to him.”

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”  And when the disciples raised their eyes,

they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Well now.  There’s a lot to unpack from those few paragraphs, but the big takeaway for today is that Jesus showed those guys his true form.  He went from being “plain ol’ Jesus” to “Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.”  Like whoa.  But wait a sec.  Question.  Wasn’t he ALWAYS “Jesus the Christ, the Son of God?”  Was HE really changed; transformed, if you will?  Did he change, or did he just show the world who he already was?  I vote for Jesus doing the “show and tell thing” and him cluing the men who were with him into the fact that he wasn’t some second-rate nobody preacher, but that he was SOMEBODY.  THE Somebody.

And that brings us right back to the question, “Can we be transformed into something, someone, other than who we fundamentally are?”   Mmmmmmm     Maybe the question should be, “Who are we and what do we need to do to make us into the person God wants us to be?” 

And you ask, “Who does God want us to be and reckon wonder how do we become that?”  It’s sorta kinda easy to answer the first part.  Who does God want us to be?  God wants us to be the best version of the person he created.  Be you.  Be your best.  Be the best you that you can be.   Work to become You2.0

The second part?  The “how do we do that?” part?  He’s told us that, too.  In John 13 Jesus says to us, “But I am giving you a new commandment. You must love each other, just as I have loved you.  If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  We are to continue to work to change (transform!) ourselves and the world by doing the work that Jesus has given us to do, by helping others to see Jesus through and in us, by showing that love that he demonstrated, by bringing that love to everyone.

Jesus told us to love everyone.  Love.  Everyone.  Period.   Not just those whose politics are the same as ours.  Not only those whose religion is the same as ours, not only those whose lifestyles are the same as ours.  Love.  Everyone.  Period. 

We are to remember that there is not one person on this planet who God does not love.  Yes, even that…….….fill in your own blank.  Democrat?  Yep.  Republican?  Yep.  Trans person, gay person, bigot, other-race person, criminal, gossip, and irritating next door neighbor? Yep.  Yes.  Affirmative. Positively.  Absolutely.  Yep, and yes again.  We who claim to love the Lord, must show that love.  And if we act in love, if you actively DO love, that would transform the world.  Love.   Love others as you love yourself.   

Jesus tells us in pretty no uncertain terms and more than once:  Love.  Here:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. – John 13:34

This is my command: Love each other. – John 15:17

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. – Mark 12:30

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you – Matthew 5:44

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. – John 15:12

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you – Luke 6:27

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. – John 13:35

If you love me, you will obey what I command. – John 14:15

I’ll say it again, you are the only Jesus some folks will ever see, the only Bible some folks will ever read.  

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) said it like this:

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

We must show that we have, indeed, been transfigured and transformed.  Amen.

Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.  Judge not.  No gays allowed.  Everyone welcome.  Separate but equal.  Love your neighbor.  And on and on and on….

Do y’all get as tired as I do of the back and forth between conservative and liberal, Democrat and Republican, this religious denomination vs. that religious denomination back and forth, my way or the highway babble that goes on and on and on and on, ad infinitum? 

Sometimes I just wanna scream STOP It!  Other times it’s a quiet “Why can’t we all just get along?”  More recently, my thoughts have been, “What the hell is wrong with you?”  I find it exhausting, this push and pull and continuous descension, and I find myself wondering, “What if?  Why?   How can we stop this madness?”

The answer, really, is kinda simple:  There’s an app for that!  And before you stop reading this and hasten to the App Store to look for this miracle thing that will guarantee you peace of mind forever more, lemme finish.  In the Gospel appointed for today, Matthew 13: 47-50, Jesus tells a parable or two, as was his custom, to make a few points.  Here: 

 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous  and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

See?  This is the “Kill ‘em all and let God sort’ em out” thing, only without the “killing” part.  What remains to be asked though,  much like Glenda asking Dorothy “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” is, are you a good fish or a bad fish?

We, all of us, need to continually examine ourselves to make sure that we are, indeed, in the ‘good fish’ pile.  And how do we know what kinda fish we are?  Are you ready?  Remember that App I was talking about?  Here it is:  Love God.  Love People.  Really, it’s pretty simple and straightforward.  We are to love folks in the way that God loves us.  We are to treat others the way we want to be treated.  Jesus says, again in Matthew 25:

  When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Notice there is no mention of race, gender identity, sexuality, religious preference or lack thereof, gender expression, or anything else that we today us to separate us into an “us versus them” mentality.  Nothing except acting in love.   There it is.  Love God.  Love people.  Act accordingly.  Amen.

Today my brothers and sisters in Christ, we come together as the church to commemorate the memorials of three siblings, Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were close friends with and were followers of Jesus. Together they hosted Jesus in their home on more than one occasion. Yet, on one such visit from Jesus, they Martha and Mary chose two very different actions, and the way that Jesus reacted to their choices is a very valuable lesson for us today. Let’s review the story (Luke 10:38-42):

Martha is worried

Martha was rushing around, serving and doing her best to make everything good for their beloved guest. And where was Mary when Martha needed a hand? She chose to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening as He spoke.

It’s pretty easy to imagine how that made Martha feel. Irritated, frustrated, resentful. Why should she be doing all the work? Wasn’t it only righteous for Mary to be helping out? In fact, Martha felt so justified in her indignation that she went and talked to Jesus about it. “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me,” she said to Him.

But, instead of backing her up in her demand, Jesus rebuked her! “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

This must have felt like a slap in the face for Martha. Here she was, doing everything in her power to be hospitable and make it good. And Mary just sat there, and what she was doing was the right thing?

Sound familiar?

Getting our priorities right

It can become so easy for us to get wrapped up in all the things we need to do and the things that need to be accomplished that we lose sight of what the most important thing is. Isn’t it possible that we can get too wrapped up in the cares of life? Jesus makes this even more clear in the parable He told about the sower. “He who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22.

The highest priority in our lives needs to be choosing the good part, as Mary did: to learn of Jesus so that we can become like Him. It’s a love and devotion to Him that makes everything else of secondary importance. It is to seek the riches of wisdom and understanding that are in Him. If we don’t do this, how can we follow Him, how can we be His disciples? A disciple learns of the Master.

This is not an excuse to be lazy, and not take responsibility for anything. That is another trap entirely. We are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only! (James 1:22) But what we do has to be led by the Spirit, whose voice we learn to hear by choosing the good part. There is no blessing in running our own lives based on our human understanding of what is important. Mary understood that she needed to learn more of her Master and to seek the things that have eternal value. It’s when we do that that we can be a blessing, because then all of our works are Spirit-driven. Love causes us to listen, to learn, and to keep His commandments. (1 John 5:3)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27.

Take heed to yourself

We can be in danger of falling into the same trap that Martha did. We can be so troubled by what we perceive as negative behavior in others, and become so self-righteous in our good works that we start to judge others for not doing as we do. Satan is the one behind these kinds of thoughts. He whispers lies and accusations, trying to create as much conflict as he can. His aim is to lead people as far in the opposite direction of “the good part” as he possibly can – to lead them away from Jesus. To listen to him and agree with him leads to all kinds of unrest and trouble and worry. We need to slam the door on his deceitfulness!

“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you,” it’s written in 1 Timothy 4:16. Only that will do us any good in life. The wrong choice that Martha made wasn’t that she was serving and doing good. It was that in her work she had demands and criticism on Mary, rather than doing what Jesus taught herself! If we are living before the face of God, we have no cause to look around at what others are doing and feel that we have a right to pass judgement on them. We live in obedience to the Spirit’s promptings in our own lives, and what others do is none of our business. We don’t know how He is leading others.

Let’s rise above all the noise and pursuits of this world and seek those things which have eternal value. Like Mary, let’s find that fellowship with the Master and with those who follow Him so that we can learn of Him and become like Him. Through the Word of God, fellowship, and prayer we become rich in our spirit, and God will give us everything we need in abundance.

 “Finally, dear brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8.

We all know some people who have very high ambitions. It can range from wanting to win the lottery maybe, or getting a certain perfect job. Maybe a top-class car, a mansion or lots of wealth and possessions. Even in some churches, I have seen those whose only ambition is to become a Bishop, nothing else is good enough for them, the ambition of power and status.

Whilst some ambition is a good thing, if you are setting goals for yourself or for an organisation, it is when our ambition loses its balance and ignores the consequences for others, that ambition can become toxic and corrupt.

We have an example of over ambition in our Gospel reading today from Matthew. James and his brother John, who together with Peter are the three favoured apostles, approached Jesus together with their mother. According to Matthew, it was indeed their mother who asks Jesus to promise her sons would get the highest places in His heavenly Kingdom. Jesus responds directly to James and John and Jesus recognising the possibility of corruption in their ambition, Jesus puts a stop to it by asking them, “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” Without truly understanding what they had agreed to, they replied that they could. Jesus knowing full well what awaited them, concurred with their agreement. Just like a good parent will give their teenage children a realistic picture of what to expect in Adult life, Jesus tells them that indeed they will have much to suffer.

James the Apostle that we celebrate today, became the first Martyr amongst the apostles. Jesus knew that ambition wasn’t a bad thing in itself, and he didn’t wish to extinguish his apostles enthusiasm, indeed it’s an enthusiasm about eternal life, it’s a goal that each and every one of is should indeed have as great things are rarely achieved without both enthusiasm and suffering. Jesus just needed to refocus their ambition, so that they would truly understand not just the goal of eternal life, but also the true nature of the pathway that that is required to achieve this goal. Jesus knowing that the Apostles could possibly succumb to the temptations of personal ambition, gave the Twelve apostles a lecture on power and authority to remind them that authority in the kingdom must not imitate the authority that is ever so present in the world.

Jesus tells them that their role as his apostles =the first shepherds of His church, was not to rule but instead was to serve. Jesus didn’t only tell them to serve only each other and the lowly of the world, but offers himself as an example -revealing to them that he will go so far as to sacrifice his very life for the sake of all humanity. “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for the many”. Jesus is telling James, John and the other apostles that the ambitious are blessed, but that their ambition must not be driven by self=assertion, but by self=extinction. This message also goes the same for us today, that we always act with Thanksgiving and praise :Thanksgiving because all that we have, all that we are, all that we achieve =all of this is solely given to us by the Grace of God, and praise because all that we do must be for the Glory of God and not for ourselves.

Let us pray :

O Gracious God,

We remember before you today thy servant and Apostle James, the first amongst the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ ; and we pray that you will pour out upon the leaders of your Church that Spirit of self=denying service by which alone they may have true authority amongst thy people, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

In the ✠ Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

This passage in particular naturally presents itself as a challenge to many preachers, including myself. These holy words from our Lord and Savior have been weaponized and misrepresented by humans to condemn other members of the human family in pre-judgement of their salvation for centuries. We see this by many Christians who explicitly and outwardly spew hate against our neighbors. But even more subtly, we also see this in our own congregations– against each other and even amongst ourselves.

It begs asking the question of what even is the place of gnashing of teeth anyway? If we were to ask Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, the three children who were visited by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 in Portugal, they would be very illustrative in their descriptions. In Lucia’s own words, as later recorded in her memoirs, she said: “Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.” The children were profoundly affected by this vision, which contributed to their later lives of prayer and penance. The Roman Catholic Church has officially endorsed the Fatima events as worthy of belief, and Popes Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis have all made hefty endorsements.

CS Lewis, a legendary theologian and Christian apologist thinks otherwise, however. In his work “The Great Divorce,” Lewis presents an allegorical vision of Hell as a gray, dull town where it’s always raining and everyone is distant from each other. The residents are free to leave at any time for Heaven but often choose not to, either because they’re comfortable with their habits or they have nurtured some resentment or desire that they refuse to give up. In this sense, Lewis viewed Hell less as a place of fiery torment, as it is traditionally conceived, and more as a state of self-chosen isolation from God, others, and one’s own best self.

In “Mere Christianity,” Lewis wrote, “In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of Hell, is itself a question: ‘What are you asking God to do?’ To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But He has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what He does.” Essentially, Lewis viewed Hell as a product of human freedom. God has made a way for people to come to him, but he also respects their free choice to reject him. This notion is sometimes summated by the saying “the doors of Hell are locked from the inside”.

As is evident, there is a wide range of theologies regarding what happens in Hell, who goes there, and why some are sent there. This becomes further complicated by the fact that many allegorical depictions of Hell in the western world are inadvertently conflated with the fictional work of Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno”, wherein nine concentric circles, each of which punishes a different category of sin with a torment that reflects the nature of that sin.

It is important to note that regardless of one’s own personal theological opinion on this matter, that we center our hearts on the truth that Christ Jesus has already prevailed over the gates of Hell, and through his Passion and Holy Sacrifice, has purchased the salvation of all of our souls. We also know from the Gospels that those who were victims of public casting of stones were actually the closest to receive God’s grace and mercy.

My siblings in Christ, the best way we can assure our place in the Kingdom of Heaven is to help make Earth as it is in Heaven. Through radically recognizing the Christ in all peoples, we use our souls and our bodies to invoke God’s grace and mercy in our communities. Rather than quick condemnation, we ought to trade in our judgment gavels for opportunities of patience and empathy.

Pope John Paul II’s Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima

Mother of all individuals and peoples, you know all their sufferings and hopes. In your motherly heart you feel all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, that convulse the world: accept the plea which we make in the Holy Spirit directly to your heart, and embrace with the love of the Mother and Handmaid of the Lord those who most await this embrace, and also those whose act of entrustment you too await in a particular way. Take under your motherly protection the whole human family, which with affectionate love we entrust to you, O Mother. May there dawn for everyone the time of peace and freedom, the time of truth, of justice and of hope.

“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

In the ✠ Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Historically, when Dominicans are taught to preach, we are generally told not to view Holy Scripture as historical documents that necessitate eloquent interpretation. Likewise, we are not supposed to read the Holy Gospels with the intention of discovering a hidden meaning or a novel theological epiphany that hasn’t already been debated by biblical scholars and theolo-gicians throughout the ages. While at first glance this might appear seemingly contrary to the very nature of preaching, it calls us to be attentive to the text in a rather mystically intimate way.

When we prepare to preach at the pulpit, our heart is set on discerning how the living Word is speaking to us in the context of today. The Spirit kindles our heart, and our heart informs our mind to articulate aspects of the divine essence in human words. This is the same Spirit that bestowed the gift of speaking the language of the people on the day of Pentecost. The Dominican is first called to contemplate, and then consequently, has a responsibility to share the fruits of our contemplation for the salvation of souls.

The United Church of Christ in particular does an excellent job of nurturing this truth that “God is still speaking”. Furthermore, not only do we interact with the living Word, we believe every Christian has an apostolic call to bear witness to how God authors the Gospel in our everyday life as an extension of our shared priesthood gifted to us at baptism.

Aside from preaching, we have already iterated that a prerequisite to faithful speech is to start by actively listening with open ears, a curious mind, and a softened heart. On the Feast of Thomas the Apostle, you might even recall that we previously discussed how listening to God requires a risky leap of faith that flies in the face of societal norms. It has become normative to subject Christ unto our own desires as opposed to submitting ourselves fully unto Christ’s subjection. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

We also discussed how taking this leap of faith is inherently sacrificial. By rejecting the world and submitting ourselves to the will of God, we die to the world and increase in God’s abounding merciful grace.

Each day we discern God’s will and make a considerable attempt to choose Him over the world,  “we offer and present ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice.” That we might be filled with His grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with Him, that He may dwell in us, and we in Him. In fact, we affirm this every Sunday in the ultimate Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Indeed, seeing and hearing are choices we make using our freewill. In doing so, we look intently towards the heavens, and we lift up our hearts to listen to the Word that comes from the mouth of God. My beloved siblings in Christ, God is speaking to you every single day. Are you listening?

Prayer Attributed to St. Dominic

May God the Father, who made us, bless us.

May God the Son, who redeemed us, send healing into our midst.

May God the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, move within us.

May God give us eyes to see to God, ears to hear God, and hands to bring God’s work into the world.

May we walk with God and preach the word of God to all. May the angel of peace watch over us and lead us at last by God’s grace to the eternal Kingdom.

‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ (“Matthew 11:29 ESV – Take my yoke upon you, and learn from – Bible Gateway”)

Karl Marx notably wrote that religion was the ‘sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it was the spirit of a spiritless situation’. At first glance, Jesus’ words in the gospel of this Sunday may seem to offer a rather simplistic and strange way to follow. Come to me, all who labor and are oppressed, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke, and you will find rest.

In fact, we would not be far from Marx’s view if we were to interpret these words as an invitation to accept our labor and predicament without complaint, as oppressed people accepting everything in the hope of finding the pie in the sky!

So, how could we properly understand these words? Christianity does not invite us to accept any kind of yoke like oppressed creatures. Rather, Christianity is a call to simplicity and authenticity.

Jesus’ words are first of all a call to simplicity: as human beings living in society, we build our lives on principles, rules and laws, and we think that this will help us to grow. Yet, these laws and rules are necessary, but their existence cannot lead us to lose sight of the only reason why we need them: to reinforce our love for God and for our neighbors.

What Jesus invites us to discover is to do by love what we have been taught to do by duty, and this is simplicity, because, in this way, our only rule is the Love of God. Too often, however, we fulfil our duties simply by duty, like religious petty bureaucrats without freedom who forget the spirit of our rules and laws. This is precisely the reproach Jesus made to the Pharisees: to lose sight of the center implies to make things more difficult.

Therefore, against the Pharisees who made the ancient law more oppressive, difficult and heavy, Jesus invites his disciples to take upon themselves his yoke, which is simple and light: the spirit of the law, which is Love. Deeper than the letter, which may seem heavy, lies the Spirit, which invites us in a life of freedom, aware of our boundaries and limits.

Jesus invites us, then, to take his yoke and to be simple by having only rule: his rule of love, hidden to the wise and understanding. Jesus invites us to live in the spirit, and to discern the Spirit behind the letter of the principles of our lives. As Paul reminds us in the second reading, we are not in the flesh, but we are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in us?

Therefore, we are invited today not to make our rules more oppressive, complicated but more accessible, like true children of God. Of course, it does not mean that everything can be done, but rather that we do not have to be fettered by principles only but bound first and foremost by love for God and our neighbors.

We are invited not to be ‘religious petty bureaucrats’, who follow exact rules because they have to be followed, but to discern the spirit of love which underlies them. Too often, we are likewise bright people, unable to discern what is simple and essential in our lives. We focus on details and on the letter of our principles – which can enslave ourselves – rather than on the spirit of the letter, which may set them free.

Jesus’ words are therefore a call to authenticity. He invites us to be spontaneous and authentic, with an undivided heart. As the Son knows and is one with the Father, we must be one in mind and not to have individualist Christianity. Let us learn from their mutual love how to be fully ourselves, without transforming our rules and principles into a fence cutting us off from what we truly are and what we have to do.

Y’all, today is our nation’s birthday.  The United States is 247 years old.  And never since the Civil War has our country been more divided.  We frequently hear certain politicians claiming to be “Christian” and actively espousing the desire to ‘take the country back’ and to ‘put God first,’ and to make sure that the United States follows only their brand of “Christianity.”  These are the folks who have declared a War on Woke.”  These are also the folks who distort the Constitution, and the Scriptures, using selective editing and mental gymnastics to claim these documents say things they don’t say.  Often they insist on a literal reading of Scripture and an originalist interpretation of the Constitution; other times they claim the Bible doesn’t mean what it says or they ignore the explanations given by the Constitutional framers. This is hypocrisy, something Jesus repeatedly condemns.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbors — no exceptions. (How very “woke” of him!)  The Gospels emphasize this commandment in dozens of different verses about love (particularly in the Gospel of John) and lay out specific blueprints about what love in action looks like throughout Matthew 25, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, the beginning of his ministry in Luke 4:18, Mary’s song about the rich and the lowly in Luke 1, and more.

There are those who claim  that America was founded to be – and should remain – a so-called “Christian nation,” despite the clear intent of the Constitution to separate church and state and to honor religious liberty for all.   It most assuredly was not.  Many of our Founding Fathers were not Christian.  Many of them were Deists, among them were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.  (Yes, I know some of you will disagree with me.  However, check out the “Jefferson Bible” before you say anything.    Heck, check out your own Bible, in a direct translation and proper context, before you say anything.)     These are also the people who advocate for oppressive legislation — rooted in far-right religious beliefs — that strips away equal rights the LGBTQ community, non-Christians, women, people of color, and immigrants, among others.   Where is God in all this?  Where is the love that Jesus has said that we are to show to all?

I am weary of hearing about how evil those of our brothers and sisters are who “woke.”  I am even more weary of hearing things like  “Pray for America,” and “Jesus Heal Our Nation,” and “Let God Fix It.”  I mean, really?  “Let God Fix It?”  What kind of warped theology is that?  God is not Zeus and He will not send lightning bolts to the earth to ‘fix things.’  God is not some genii who is going to magically go “POOF” and all will be right with the world.  God is not some fairy who will grant your wish.  There is not a thing that God will do to make our world a better, more just, happier, more loving place.  He has done it already.  However, what He has done has been ignored for centuries now.  He gave that power to us, we’ve blown it, and it’s catching up with us.

We were, all of us, created with that pesky little thing called ‘free will,’ that allows us to choose how to behave, how to act.  God is not going to force any of us to do anything, just as He does not force us to believe in Him, worship Him, or follow Him. 

It is time to stop giving lip service to our faith and actually live it.  It is time for us to, as they say, “put up or shut up.”   It is up to each of us to conduct ourselves in a manner fitting our faith.  By all means, pray for America.  But don’t you DARE then sit back and do nothing to heal our nation. 

We are taught in Galatians 3:28 that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  That also means, by extension, no race, no nationality.  Isn’t it time we act like it?  Isn’t it time that we hold those in power accountable if this is what we wish?  We are taught in the book of James to “ show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” James 2:1-26   Further, we are taught, again in James, that faith without works is dead. In other words, if the faith inside of us doesn’t get expression through our actions and words, it will no longer be alive. If we don’t use it, we will lose it, so to speak. We have to step out in faith in order to keep faith alive.  (James 2:26:  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.)

It is up to us, each of us, every one of us who profess to be followers of Christ, to BE the change, to work for the change, we so desperately need in this world.  Again from James:  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  James 1:22-25  I have said, over and over again, that WE are the only Bible some folks will ever read.  WE are the only Jesus some folks will ever see. 

I think we all of us are familiar with the song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”  And what is the next line?  Yep.  “And let it begin with me.”  Isn’t it time we lived up to that?   What are we doing to bring about change?  To bring about equality?  To bring about that healing this country so desperately needs? 

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.

With ev’ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jill Jackson / Sy Miller

Let There Be Peace on Earth lyrics © Music Copyright Consultant Grp