I have done a fair number of weddings; I don’t recall many, but one came to mind as I reflected on the mindset of the Pharisees in this gospel passage. In my first parish, after their rehearsal, the groom asked, “Father, aren’t you going to ask, ‘Who gives this bride away?’” They were disappointed when I said, “No, that question isn’t asked in a Catholic ceremony because the bride is not property being given away but is an equal in the sight of God alongside you.”

Alas, the Pharisees did not accord such dignity to their spouses. In Jewish law, a woman was regarded as a thing. Jesus rebukes them for allowing divorce because of thehardness of their hearts. They defended their practice, claiming that Moses permitted husbands to divorce their wives and dismiss them, which sometimes they did, for rather trivial reasons. They viewed their wives as being disposable if they did not live up to their expectations.

In Jesus’ society, women rarely, if ever, owned property, and few had any means of livelihood unless they were married or supported by their children. For their sake and the sake of their children, marriages had to be stable. As one who cared deeply about the weak and defenseless, Jesus in effect was saying to the Pharisees, “Don’t even think of divorcing your wives!” He was speaking words of compassion, telling his critics not to cast their wives and children off into poverty.

Is his message still relevant today? Then and now, divorce was pervasive and permissive. We still have many divorces and it’s a touchy subject. We live in a world where people make and break promises, where they find it hard to keep commitments and where for any number of reasons they find it necessary to end their marriage and get a divorce. Despite its stigma, they viewed divorce as their only option.

Yet, even they know that Jesus is fundamentally right in proclaiming the sanctity of marriage. Blessed are the couple who endeavor daily to minister this sacrament to each other in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer until death do they part. Jesus speaks of marriage as the joining of two hearts into one by God, a single heart that loves, that lifts up, that mends other broken hearts, including each other’s when necessary. That is the mystery and wonder of the marriage covenant.

Still, the ideal falters for some couples. Statistics reveal that nearly half of all first marriages end in divorce due to causes ranging from poor preparation and/or poor communication to selfishness and as Jesus said, hardness of heart. We live in a highly pornographic and secular society, which mocks the sacredness of marriage, encourages infidelity and views sex more as a means of recreation than as a sign of one’s total commitment to his or her spouse.

True marriages falter if the mindset of one or both spouses is “What’s in it for me?” The consequence of that often is verbal, physical, and/or emotional abuse. None of which God has in mind when a couple initially exchange their vows. Rather, God’s hope and mine is that every couple enters into marriage, knowing that they are not in this bond for themselves alone, but rather they have bonded with each other to combine their growing love into the service of others: children, the poor, the future, God, and the betterment of society. A dedicated commitment to something or someone greater than themselves is often the glue that keeps couples together and makes them holy in the process.

Contrary to what some people think, anyone who divorces is still a good Catholic in good standing. Divorce in itself is not a sin. Many marriages fail because couples lacked what was needed to make their marriage a sacramental one and for some divorce may be their better option. Until proven otherwise by an annulment, however, they are still in the eyes of God married to one another. If they remarry without getting an annulment, they would be considered living in sin and should not receive Holy Communion.

The Church still holds fast to the ideal of a lifelong faithful marriage as being good for both children and society. To assist couples in making their good marriages even better, they could take a marriage encounter weekend, which provides them with tools for making their marriage even better. If however their marriage is tearing them apart, there is an alternative weekend program known as Retrouvaille, which could prove to be a lifesaving event for them.

We cannot soften Jesus’ words. Divorce is a failure but keep in mind we all fail at times to live up to the ideal of Christian life as found in the Beatitudes. How many of us live by them day after day? How many of us live by the ideal of non-violence and always turn the other cheek? How many of us will give away a coat when someone asks for our shirt? How many of us have never looked at another person with lust or called someone a name in anger? The fact is we all fail one way or another, yet we all believe in God’s mercy and forgiveness and we continue to live as members in good standing in the Christian community, endeavoring to respect all life from conception thru death. Why then should the issue of divorce and remarriage be treated any differently?

What matters is that we uphold the dignity of all peoples, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, race, faith or age. Many have been wounded because we have failed to do so. Today’s psalm tells us, “Blessed are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways!” For when you do, no one is wounded.

 

Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” This is perhaps the most important question posed in the gospels. Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.Perhaps you are wondering why Jesus told them to keep this a secret but he had good reason for asking this favor of them.

Peter’s notion of the Christ was not what Jesus had in mind. Moments later Jesus shared with the disciples for the first time his fate that he would be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and rise after three days. Peter protested. The notion of Jesus enduring such suffering was unthinkable. Mark doesn’t tell us what Peter said, but whatever he said prompted Jesus in turn to harshly rebuke him. “Get behind me Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

What did Peter have in mind when he called Jesus the Christ? From Jewish tradition, he anticipated that the Christ, also called the Messiah, would be the great king who would restore the powerful Israel of old. His homeland was under Roman occupation so he and the apostles imagined that as the Christ, Jesus would liberate their country from the Romans and establish a new kingdom. He expected the long awaited Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and restore their nation’s prestige, ushering in an era of “good times.” Despite all that Jesus had said to them during his public ministry, they had not yet begun to think as God does.

Have we? What does Jesus as the Christ mean to you? We have an advantage over Peter and the disciples. We know about the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, so we understand what Jesus meant when he predicted his fate. We understandthat even though he rode a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to shouts of “Hosanna, hosanna blessings on the king!” that Jesus never intended to be an earthly monarch. No, his kingdom would be universal, transcending earthly kingdoms and nations. He is there to rule us no matter where we are in the world.

As the Christ, Jesus rules us in ways unlike any earthly ruler would or ever has. As the Christ, Jesus rules his subjects with love and calls on them to love one another as he loves them. When we do that, we are thinking as God does. God created us in his image. But for their love to be real, God gave his subjects free will. With that freedom, regrettably, sin, suffering and death entered into the created order.

Given the freedom to rebel, we have all chosen to sin from time to time and oftentimes sin has led to much suffering. All of us have suffered because someone has sinned. Many people have died because someone has sinned. Alas, too many still choose to think as human beings do and as a result, the world continues to suffer.

Our Church is suffering enormously because some of her ordained have chosen to sin and forget that they were ordained “in persona Christi,” that is, ordained in the person of Christ. They were ordained to act as Christ would. They failed their victims, as well as you and me. As a priest, I am sorry that they failed to think as God does when they were tempted to act so wrongly and abusively. I am sorry for the times when I may have failed you and not think as God does before doing or saying something that may have hurt you.

As his disciples, as people willing to follow Jesus, we are urged to think as God does. And how might that be? Consider the advice Jesus gives. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” We are to live for others, following the example of Jesus who came to serve, not to be served. As James points out, our faith means nothing unless we do serve others.

It doesn’t take a genius to see the lesson here. More than ever we need to realize that real love requires dying to self if we are to live for others and that suffering is the blood, sweat and tears of life. However, we live in a world that does all it can to avoid the reality and value of suffering. Many refuse to face their problems and attempt instead to distract themselves with overwork or hobbies. Some medicate their problems with alcohol and drugs. They spend much effort to avoid feeling the hurt of life.

We have all witnessed suffering up close and distantly on the news. But how do we react to that suffering? Do we think as God does, asking how we might respond with love or do we think humanly, ignoring someone else’s plight so that we are not discomforted? Trusting in the divine will, Isaiah’s good man did not turn back from life’s difficulties. Neither did Jesus. Neither should we.

Today, Jesus teaches us the need to take up our cross, not literally but the cross of facing up to the issues, difficulties, and sufferings of our life. He will give us the courage, wisdom and grace needed to deal with what comes our way.

Peter learned his lesson. Fortified by the Holy Spirit, he faced the persecution that is essential to following Christ. He led the early Church with great wisdom and gave his life as testimony to his love of Christ. Countless others have done the same since, learning to think as God does. Jesus has given them and he gives us the power to endure sufferings that come our way, promising to walk with us to the end.

I have never served on a jury but its premise is simple. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That certainly isn’t a flawless method. Statistically, for example, one out of every ten men on death row in this country is innocent. Recently a southern state reversed the verdict against a teenager it had wrongly executed when evidence emerged proving his innocence.

Years ago, I saw the movie, 12 Angry Men. Early in their deliberations, eleven jurors were convinced that the accused was guilty but the twelfth juror found him innocent. The angerthat ensued as these jurors argued with him was fierce but eventually the eleven sided with that stoic juror and agreed that the accused was innocent.

The initial conduct of those eleven jurors raises a relevant question. How often do we jump to conclusions and pass judgment on someone without knowing all the facts? Sadly, the gossip mill is always kept busy spreading misinformation and false perceptions, prompting us to render judgments that may not send a person to death row but could damage a person’s reputation beyond repair.

Because of my hearing loss, I am always touched by this gospel passage, the only miracle of Jesus healing a deaf man. But, since the lesson of any gospel is universal, for those of us who are not deaf, what is Jesus getting at here?

Think back to what he said to the deaf man after putting his fingers into that man’s ears. He groaned, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” Yes, Be open to hearing the whole story before passing judgment is a timely lesson for us to heed any time, certainly in the midst of this crisis that has many people convinced that most bishops are not holding themselves accountable.

In his letter, St. James raises another relevant question after describing how an assembly treated two men differently, one rich and the other poor, thus failing to be impartial. “Have you,” he asked, “not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?”

Ever since the grand jury report indicting six bishops for not responsibly handling the sexual abuse of minors in their dioceses, the rumor mill has been working overtime. In addition, a former papal nuncio is urging the Pope to resign for failing in his opinion to act appropriately. I haven’t been able to keep up with the volume of articles generated by these scandals. Like many others, I am angry and sad for I had hoped by now that all the bishops in this country were acting responsibly but not so. Yes, many shepherds have failed their flocks, but are we allowing our anger and hurt to suck us into judging them with evil designs?

I imagine every American Catholic is angry and rightly so but the attitude of some to demand the resignation of every bishop along with Pope Francis doesn’t strike me as a solution to this debacle for that would be like passing a guilty verdict on many innocent bishops, including ours. Before rushing to judgment, we need to act like those 12 angry men and discern as much of the story as we can from credible sources, not gossip mills.

All this anger may seem like an un-Christian scourge seeking to tear the church apart, but anger is good and healthy when handled rightly. Jesus was often angry with people in power for mistreating people without power. So, anger was an important part of his ministry. Likewise, anger should be part of the Catholic life with Jesus as our guide.

Much of the current anger is directed at the institutional church but there is more to the Church than that. In 1976, Avery Dulles wrote a still popular book entitled, Models of the Church. In addition to describing the Church as an institution complete with its bishops and the curia, he described the Church as herald, mystical communion, sacrament, and servant. He summarized it all with the expression, “the Church as disciple.”

The disciple church endeavors to follow Jesus today just as his disciples did when he ventured along the Sea of Galilee. So what lesson can he give us? Jesus’ anger is always a righteous anger, never on behalf of himself with evil designs, but in reaction to how he sees others being treated. Even on the cross, he did not get angry with the soldiers who had crucified him, choosing instead to pray for them. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus’ anger is unselfish and constructive, intent on doing something to effect change for the better.

So what can we do? The pain is real but so too is the healing power of love and reconciliation. Listen to your anger and let it move you to act Christ like. The Second Vatican Council said, “by reason of the knowledge, competence or understanding ability which they may enjoy, the laity are permitted and sometimes even obligated to express their opinion on these things which concern the good of the Church.” So, listen to the Holy Spirit directing you how to act. Perhaps you can write to Archbishop Sartain, or the current papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, or Cardinal DiNardo, who heads the USCCB. But if you do, do so without any “evil design” or malice. Above all, pray that our Church will weather these storms just as it has done in the past with Christ at the helm leading the way.

 

Having been a pastor here for 15 years, I have seen people leave for any number of reasons and while that concerns me, it doesn’t surprise me. Some may leave even now because of the latest clergy scandal. Before they do, they may want to consider this advice from AB Fulton Sheen, “Judge the Catholic Church not by those who barely live the spirit, but by the example of those who live closest to it.”

As we heard, many disciples took issue with what Jesus said in last Sunday’s gospel, “Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” That notion was so repulsive that they grumbled, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” In turn Jesus asked, “Does this shock you?” He then foretells his ascension, noting that despite all he has said and done, “There are some of you who do not believe.” Consequently, many of his disciples left. Jesus then asked the twelve, “Do you want to leave?” Peter answered, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy one of God.”

Like Peter and the apostles, we often find ourselves at cross roads, pondering which fork in the road to take. Sometimes we look back on the choices we have made, be it the person we married, the career we pursued, the place we call home or the faith that we profess and wonder if we made the right choice. In moments like that, the words of Robert Frost come to mind. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.”

Forty years ago when I heard that a deaf priest was ordained in Maryland, I was prompted to reconsider the notion of becoming a priest. A decade earlier I was turned down because back then the Church didn’t ordain men with a profound hearing loss or any other severe limitation. In the years that followed, I had several close relationships in college and graduate school but they all ended before marriage was seriously considered. One evening when I was 29, my mother asked me if I was ever going to settle down and get married. Imagine her surprise when I replied that I was planning to enter the seminary.

More than once while in the seminary, I wondered about taking this “road less traveled by.” After all, most young adults get married, hoping they have found the person who will be their life long companion. I often wrestled with the question of celibacy and what the Church was asking of me. When I was ordained, Archbishop Hunthausen asked me, “Are you resolved to remain celibate for the sake of the kingdom and in lifelong service to God and mankind?” I replied, “I am.” Despite the many times the devil has tempted me since, by the grace of God, I have honored my promise to remain celibate and chaste.

I had little idea what was in store for me that day, just as few married couples have any notion of what was in store for them when they exchanged vows on their wedding day. I imagine that most priests and married couples would agree that traveling down the road they chose has made all the difference in their lives.

Every journey begins with that first step. When Joshua gathered the tribes of Israel, he challenged them, “If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” That is a choice we make daily. Whom will we serve? Who is the god we serve?

For some, it is money, for others, it is power. In other words, ultimately the god they serve is themselves. Focused on their wants, they often care little about others. That attitude was so commonplace that Paul was prompted to speak his mind and share his thoughts on marriage. Some wives take offense to his opening remarks, tuning out the rest of this passage. Do they realize that Paul is telling both spouses to be subordinate to one another?

Approaching marriage by placing the needs of one’s spouse ahead of his or her own is fundamental to the vitality of any marriage. The husband or wife who dominates the other is abusing that person and likely got married with the mindset, “What’s in it for me?” rather than “How can I serve the love of my life, whom I chose to journey down this road with?”

Every couple should remind themselves often of the vows that they took, just as every priest and deacon needs to remind himself of the vows they took at their ordination so that, as today’s collect said, “amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.” Sadly that is not everyone’s prayer.

Sexual abuse of a minor, rather it is done by someone who is ordained or not, is evidence that not every person has their heart fixed on where true gladness can be found. The scandal of some bishops, by not appropriately dealing with the misconduct of their clergy, thus failing to be subordinate to their flock, is a tragic testimony that they too aren’t really tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord. It seems that both are focused on serving themselves, not God.

So who is the god we serve? I hope that your presence here suggests that the god whom you choose to serve is not yourself, but Jesus, the Holy one of God.

Jesus said to the crowds, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” As we heard, the Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Many people have wondered that ever since. Jesus’ words make no sense to the casual bystander. They won’t for us either unless we thoughtfully chew on them.

How can he give us his flesh to eat? Some of you may be wondering that even now. Perhaps you see the bread and wine as only symbolizing the body and blood of Jesus like many Protestants do, but for us Catholics, they are not symbols. What was bread and wine before Mass began becomes the real presence, truly the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is what nourishes and sustains our faith. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

But that is still bread and wine you may be thinking. True, what you see at communion look and taste like bread and wine, just as they would back in the sacristy, but their substances through the intercession of the Holy Spirit have been changed.

If you are among those who see the bread and wine as only being symbols, I urge you to heed Paul’s advice and try to understand the will of the Lord. Recall what Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper. You hear those words every time the Mass is celebrated. Jesus didn’t tell the apostles that the bread would symbolize his body or that the wine would symbolize his blood. Instead he told them to eat his body and drink his blood in remembrance of him.

But you protest, how can that happen? Think back to the opening lines of the book of Genesis. Out of nothing God created all that exists from the most remote stars to the flowers of the field, from the orcas in the sound to the eagles in the sky, from every unborn fetus to the countless bugs that surround us. Who are we to limit what God can do?

Like many Catholics I believe that bread and wine when consecrated at Mass become for us the person of Jesus Christ himself. Recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread, I have life because I choose to feed on him.

If we spent time praying and contemplating the gift our Lord is offering us in this sacrament, we would be awestruck, not complacent. Jesus is giving us himself, lock, stock and barrel. Not a thin host or a sip of wine, but himself. He is literally giving us everything he has to offer, his very body, blood, soul, and divinity. Not even the greatest theological scholar or the holiest of saints can fully understand this mystery we are blessed to celebrate, nor will we.

The first reading encourages us, “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.” What timely advice! Do not be foolishly misled by whatever public sentiment you have heard that seeks to destroy the beauty of our faith. The devil is doing its best to destroy our love for the Eucharist, with scandals that dishearten us. To abandon this awesome sacrament because of what a handful of awful priests and bishops have wrongfully done in the past is to foolishly surrender our chance to live eternally.

In the second reading, St. Paul cautions, ”Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity because the days are evil.” Yes, the days are evil. They have always been evil for the devil is constantly working at ways to distance us from Jesus Christ. Once again, we have been broadsided by the criminal misconduct of priests who failed to honor their obligation to live celibate lives and harmed many people in doing so.

Not only am I angry, sad and ashamed by their deplorable conduct, I ache for the many who have abandoned this sacrament as a consequence of what was done to them or to their loved ones. The devil has succeeded in driving a wedge between them and the Eucharist.

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord,” we sang moments ago. However you feel about the sins of others, do not let their errant ways provoke you to boycott this meal. Instead, be mindful that this sacrament, when partaken in a state free of grave sin, provides us with the grace we need to resist the devil and his temptations in our lives.

Alas, many fellow Catholics have quit attending Mass for any number of reasons, and more might do so because of this scandal yet I wonder what Holy Communion meant for them before they did. What does it mean for you? The saints leave no doubt what the Eucharist meant for them. St. Augustine marveled at this gift. He said, “Although God is all powerful, he is unable to give us more; though supremely wise, he knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, he has no more to give.”

Today we join countless Christians around the world to receive the Eucharist just as many have done for centuries. We don’t need to be saints to receive the gift of Jesus himself nor does a priest need to be saintly in order to celebrate Mass but we do so with gratitude. After all, the alternate name for this sacrament is Eucharist, which is Greek for thanksgiving. Thanks be to God for the freedom and the opportunity to celebrate Mass and receive his son.