The Spirituality of Subtraction - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father Mathew's Homily:

True disciples love God even when He annoys us!

Mother Theresa of Calcutta had a dream. She told her superiors; "I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage." "Sister Theresa," her superiors chided gently," you cannot build an orphanage with three pennies. With three pennies you can do nothing!" "I know," she said, smiling, “but with God and three pennies I can do anything."

We can see a similar scenario in today's Gospel. It is about feeding a big crowd of people. The disciples wondered how they could feed a big crowd with limited resources. Jesus took what was available. With five barley loaves and two small fishes, He fed 5,000 people and then He had some leftover.

There are many layers of meaning to this story. Two things struck my mind. First is the attitude of Jesus: When there is a humanitarian crisis in our midst, it is cruel to pretend that we don’t see it and walk away. The other important thing is that no gesture in meeting the needs of people is too small.

In contrast to the attitude of Jesus, the attitude of the disciples is very striking. Philip seems to throw up his hands saying, “How can this be possible? Jesus, are you crazy that you want to feed this multitude? Don’t you know that you cannot feed them with 200 paydays worth of salary? Let them go their way.” Many of us reflect the attitude of Philip: Everything is drastic and negative for them.

Then there was Andrew who came to Jesus and says, "There's a small boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish." He knew that it wasn't much, but for Jesus it was enough. Andrew is an optimist.

Attitude determines our success or failure." There are many people who live with a negative attitude to the world and people. They dig their own holes and perish in the hole they dig for themselves. They are more part of the problem than the solution.

What is very impressive is the attitude of the little boy. He shared everything he had. He had five loaves and two fish. He gave them all. This is exactly what we see on the cross. Look at this cross. He gave it all. Jesus even gave up His life for us. Here is a great example of the spirituality of subtraction.

I borrowed the concept of “the spirituality of subtraction” from Fr. Richard Rohr. Have you ever heard about Fr. Richard Rohr? He is a popular contemporary writer, Franciscan capuchin priest, speaker and a spiritual giant who is widely known in the United States because of his sublime thoughts about spirituality.

Let me quote and explain the spirituality of Subtraction in Richard Rohr‘s own words:

“The notion of a spirituality of subtraction comes from Meister Eckhart (c.1260 -1327), the medieval Dominican mystic. He said the spiritual life has much more to do with subtraction than it does with addition. Yet I think most Christians today are involved in great part in the spirituality of addition. (1)

Fr. Rohr continues:

“The capitalist worldview is the only world most of us have ever known. We see reality, experiences, events, other people, and things—in fact, everything—as objects for our personal consumption. Even religion, Scripture, sacraments, worship services, and meritorious deeds become ways to advance ourselves—not necessarily ways to love God or neighbor.” (2)

Fr Rohr continues:

“The nature of the capitalist mind is that things (and often people!) are there for me. Finally, even God becomes an object for my consumption. Religion looks good on my resume, and anything deemed “spiritual” is a check on my private worthiness list. Some call it spiritual consumerism. It is not the Gospel.” (Richard Rohr, OFM)

It is in this context, we have to read the news that appeared yesterday:

The news is: “The Pope’s Popularity has plummeted in the United States from 76% to 59%.” Do you know why his popularity has fallen in the US? Because he has spoken against the spirituality of addition which many of us are fond of!

Why is there more of a negative attitude toward Pope Francis? At the same time that this news came out about the pope’s popularity, I happened to read a critique about the news by Jim Denison. Jim is a faithful Catholic and profound writer. Let me quote him:

“Whether liberal or conservative, you love the pope when he agrees with you. And he's been saying things that annoy both sides." So says church historian Christopher Bellitto, explaining Pope Francis's dramatic decline in popularity among Americans.”

“In recent months, the pope has stated that climate change is largely man-made, and has criticized economic systems that he believes drive global warming and exploit the poor. Now, two months ahead of the pope's first trip to the U.S., Gallup reports that his popularity has fallen from 76 percent to 59 percent. According to one observer, the poll reflects that "many American Catholics are more closely affiliated with their political party than their faith.”

Jim Denison continues in his article with a challenging question, “….Do we love the Lord when he agrees with us, but less when His Word annoys us? (Tweet this.)”

He further elaborates it as, “Our conditional commitments to our faith” and then adds, “Conditional commitment impoverishes our souls and eviscerates our witness. (Tweet this.) Our culture loves God only when he agrees with us. True disciples love God even when he annoys us. Which are you?”

Here is a great example of the “spirituality of subtraction” in today’s gospel, a young lad who gave away all he had; he gave it all: five loaves and two fish. Look at the cross; we can see the greatest example of the spirituality of subtraction. If we follow the example of the spirituality of subtraction as we see in today’s Gospel, we can perform miracles in the world.

What is your and my spirituality? Do you follow the spirituality of subtraction or the spirituality of addition? Is it true that my faith is conditional? Our culture loves God only when he agrees with us. True disciples love God even when he annoys us. Which are you? Which am I?

(1) In our culture, the “good life” means getting more. Our self-worth is determined by how much we add to our life; how much we possess in our life. Fr. Richard Rohr’s talks challenges listeners to subtract—to release whatever hinders us from siding with the cosmic Christ, whether that be in our inner world or our outer world . Father Rohr offers a daring vision which calls us to surrender, to liberation, to making room for real freedom.

(2) Any economic system, whether it is socialism or capitalism, without compassion is a transgression against humanity. The capitalism without compassion regards everything including human beings as objects. Pope Francis is not against capitalism; he is against capitalism without compassion. You must have heard in the news that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Think about a CEO who is making 45 million a year as the head of a corporation and his preoccupation is how he can make 50 million at the cost of others in the next year.

Or in an economic system, imagine a working mother delivering a baby is forced to report to work not having enough days to nurture her baby without maternity leave is another example of capitalism without compassion.

Bibs vs. Aprons: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father Mathew's Homily:

Former heavyweight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma.  A deeply religious man, Tillis is remembered as the first boxer ever to make Mike Tyson go the distance in the heavyweight division.  Tillis had his disappointments as a boxer, but evidently they didn’t let him lose his sense of humor.

He still remembers his first day in the Windy City after his arrival from Tulsa.  “I got off the bus,” he says, “with two cardboard suitcases under my arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower.  I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to conquer Chicago.’   When I looked down . . . the suitcases were gone.”   What a way to begin a boxing career. But Tillis did not quit.

In today’s gospel we read about some of his disciples quitting.  They decided to leave him because his teaching was hard to follow.

Researchers tell us that, nationally, every week over 53,000 people leave the church never to return.  But even among those who remain, only about twenty percent are really committed to their faith.

Why is that?  For many people, it is said that the Christian faith is like an outer garment you put on at certain occasions, at funerals, weddings, Easter and Christmas.

Some time ago, I asked a young girl who was preparing for sacraments, but seldom showed up for classes and Masses why she was missing classes and Sunday masses, she said that mom decides to go to church only when there is nothing to do.

Some time ago, a researcher in church growth was curious about a dynamic and fast growing Church in Minnesota and he wanted to know the secret of their success.  He interviewed a few members of this church and one of the phrases that he heard while he was there was, “We want our members to wear aprons, not bibs.”

That’s an interesting phrase--“aprons, not bibs.”

Here’s what they meant:

·        Bibs are for people who only want to be fed.

·        Bibs are for those who are more interested in being served than in serving.

·        Bibs are for those who insist that the church exists for them and their needs.

·        Bibs are for those who are not mature in their faith.

·        Bibs are for those who haven’t caught God’s vision for the church.

·        Bibs are for those who are not yet of the faith.

On the other hand, aprons are for those who have a heart to serve others in Jesus’ name.

·        Aprons are for those who know that they are the church.

·        Aprons are for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty.

·        Aprons are for those who take the time daily to feed their spiritual hunger.

·        Aprons are for those who are growing in faith, and hunger to help others grow.

Church growth consultant, Win Arn, interviewed thousands of Christians in America several years ago and asked them what they thought the church existed for.  Eighty-eight percent said, “The church exists to serve my needs and the needs of my family.”  In other words, 88% of Christians in America are still wearing bibs.  They believe that the church exists to serve them . . . not so they can serve the world.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, before the last supper, Jesus got up and took off his outer garments, wrapped a towel around his waist, knelt down before his disciples and washed their feet.  When he was done he said, “I have just given you an example to follow.”

In other words, Jesus calls us to wear aprons, not bibs.

The people came to Jesus to be fed, but when he challenged them to feed others, they weren’t interested. And, of course, it was Simon Peter who answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

And that is why we linger here too. That is why so many of you have exchanged your bib for an apron; why you have decided that a casual involvement in the life of the church is not enough.

         

I suspect that there are some of us who have grown all too comfortable in our faith.  Even some of us who have been around the church for many years are still wearing bibs rather than aprons. Many who followed Jesus turned back.  Only his most committed disciples remained.  Are you part of that group?  Am I part of that group?

Homily by Fr Mathew 5th Sunday in ordinary Time

The Law of Unintended Consequences

Mark 1:40-45

Love begins at home. We care for those who are close to us. We protect them. This is a sound policy. Most of us follow this policy. When someone appears as a threat, we instinctively push them away. It is in this context we got to see the first reading. Leprosy is infectious.  So according to the book of Leviticus, such people who are infected with leprosy should be isolated from the community. Such people were to live outside the camp, and they were to call out “unclean, unclean” as a warning to others to stay away lest they also become infected.

So we set up barriers to protect ourselves from others. However, today’s gospel goes in the opposite direction. The gospel mourns and regrets such barriers. Jesus message is very clear: whatever divides us lessens us and that we are never complete until we are united with one another This is why Jesus in today’s gospel heals the leper, not simply to remove the disease but to remove the barrier, so that the leper might again join the community.  Our mind plays such games as to exclude those who don’t belong to our ethnicity, religion or nationality regard them as our enemies. Our mind games push people away on the basis of race or religion,  sexual orientation or appearance. When we succumb to our prejudices and mind games  we are working against the kingdom of God. Moreover, when we work against the kingdom, we are in fact working against our own best interests.

We exclude others to protect us. How many of us realize that this law has unintended consequences. The law of unintended consequences happens everywhere. For example, a couple of decades ago, the fashionable mantra among the environmentalists was “save the trees.” Instead of  papers to save trees, we began to use plastic bags. Now we know plastic is a great hazard to our health. It pollutes seas and highways and endangers wildlife and fish. This is very true of the medical field. The advent of antibiotics saved the lives of many people.  Now germs have built up resistance to antibiotics and so our local hospitals can be havens of germs and a dangerous place to go when you are sick. These are great examples of the law of unintended consequences.

Thus we start out something to protect us in an innocent way but in the end we forget it could lead to  unintended consequences.I order to protect us we exclude others. It is a myth to think that we are better off by excluding others.  We all inhabit the same planet, and the life of each person is interwoven with the lives of others in one great tapestry of life. Whenever we choose to pull out a particular thread of that tapestry, we mar the whole cloth.

Mother Teresa, a woman who worked with lepers throughout her career in in Calcutta spoke of this once. She said, “We have drugs for people with diseases like leprosy. But these drugs do not treat the main problem: the disease of being unwanted and the disease to exclude others.”

We think that to exclude others to protect ourselves is great policy. But the gospel always regrets and mourns such barriers, because we know that they are not part of the ultimate plan of God. That is why we continually commit ourselves to reconciliation, to forgiveness, and to building unity. We above all should know that whenever we choose to divide ourselves from one another, we do so at our own risk.

Homily by Fr Mathew January 1, 2015

Ten Commandments for the year 2015

1. Be thankful to life

We are dying to the year of 2014. Once in our life, we will not see the following year. So, therefore, live this moment, cherish this moment, be busy doing good to others.

2. You've got to love yourself

Many people hate themselves. If you don't like yourself, it spills over in your interactions with others. How do you know that you don't like yourself? These are the symptoms:

• ornery, sour, critical, judgemental, negative
• Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." That means that you cannot love others unless you love yourself.

3. Don't be rigid with yourself

Rigidity is the mother of many vices from which comes out obsessions, perfectionism, fanaticism, idealism, and which can ultimately lead to terrorism. Don't be a rigid follower of any ideology. Even a political party can make you an obsessive person.

4. Give up must-erbations

Albert Ellis is the author of Rational Emotive Therapy. He talks about avoiding ten irrational thoughts. We must give up these irrational thoughts.

• I MUST be loved and approved by every significant person
• I MUST be an adequate person in all areas
• My wife/husband MUST be like this...

5.  Forgive others and forgive yourself

Don't carry the burden of hatred. Don't carry the burden of guilt feelings. They will literally kill you. You've got to forgive yourself and others because God has unconditionally forgiven you.

6. Don't internalize other people's problems.

There are crazy (troubled people) out there. They will maltreat you. They will slam you. You cannot prevent this from happening. Remember, they are their problems. Don't make their problems as your problems. In other words, don't internalize other people's nastiness and problems.

7. Do small gestures of kindness

Opening a door for somebody, picking up something that fell, bringing a meal to someone who is sick, are small kindnesses that can make a lot of difference and the world can be a lot brighter than before.

8. Don't try to change others

Rather, try to change yourself. Many a time we are busy trying to change others but we forget to change ourselves. If everybody changed themselves, what a wonderful world we would live in.

9. Be joyful

That is the primary characteristic of a Christian. Without being joyful in this world, how can you be joyful in the world to come (heaven). Read the book The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis (If you have not received a Copy of Pope Francis' "THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL," please get your copy from St John Bosco parish. It is our gift for you during this Christmas season/New year).  Smile at others. It can be infectious. It will cause a chain of smiles in other people.

10. Meditation

Mindfulness, a new terminology, for meditation has become popular in many people's lives because helps them deal with life problems and maintains your calm. Try to stay for a few minutes in solitude without being distracted by noise in order to get in touch with your inner self and other self (God).

Pray together as a family, eating dinner with family, and going to church on Sundays will definitely foster bond and love among the members of a family. A family that prays together stays together!.

Epiphany: Homily by Fr Mathew

  

Epiphany of the Lord

 Is 60:1-6 ,Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6, Mt 2:1-12

Mark Twain used to tell a joke that he put a dog and a cat in a cage together as an experiment, to see if they could get along. They did. So he put in a bird, pig and goat. They, too, got along fine after a few adjustments. Then he put in a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a Catholic, and hell broke loose. Mark Twain did not even bother putting together a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu. That was unthinkable in his days

In today’s world, we live in a global village. We humans are like animals who live in the same cage who profess different faiths and belong to different races and nationalities. However, our interaction with each other is very minimal. We are on a journey together as the prophet Isaiah speaks in the first reading and interestingly our destination is the same.

Nevertheless, sometimes I think we are like passengers on a plain. I have made long trips in my life. I was on a journey with a group of people in Europe for two weeks. I remember none of them by name now. I don’t remember who it was next to me when I made long trips to India. We ate together and sat together for many hours, but didn't care for each other as to remember who they were.

Isn't that what is happening in this world now? Do we get along with each other? Do you remember a scene from Eugene Ionesco’s play, “The Bald Soprano.”? Two people who do not know each other are sitting in a room. Their conversation reveals a series of striking coincidences. Both were born in Manchester. EACH has a two year daughter named Alice. They are now living in London and are actually dwelling in the same street. They live in the same apartment building and share the very same flat.  It transpires that they are husband and wife and they do not know each other.

We erect barriers among ourselves. We create our own idol gods who limits God’s generosity among ourselves. We refuse to get in touch with our own common humanity.

Epiphany brings those walls that we created among us down. It tells us that God is accessible to everyone regardless of your background. It declares the commonalty of the human race. After all, God created us in his image. God dwells in us.  As Paul says in the second reading, we are co-heirs, members of the same body and co-partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Epiphany calls is to a new vision of the world that sees beyond the walls and borders we have created and to walk by the light which has dawned for all of humankind, a light by which we are able to recognize all men and women as our brothers and sisters under the loving providence of God, the Father of all.

In this world, in which there is a lot of hatred and war, we can become like guiding stars to those who are searching and looking for truth.