HerbEly

Fifteenth Sunday: Finding Compassion

    As we listen to readings from the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear in Dt 30:10-14  that the command to love the Lord is written in our own hearts and we have only to carry it out.

    Then in Luke 10:25-37 we read that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus drives the point home by telling the story of the good Samaritan. On Sunday most of us will be reminded that the Samaritans and Jews were enemies and that our love of neighbor should extend to the undesirables and enemies in our world.

    The result of this preaching may be that many of us will feel inadequate and wonder if we will always fall short of the gospel command.  The question is: how do we get from where we are to a state of mind similar to that of the good Samaritan. Why was he able to see a naked, beaten up Jew - an enemy - as someone deserving of compassion, effort and expense? How do we find it in our own hearts?

    We don't know anything about this Samaritan, but we can speculate. Kathleen Norris, in Amazing Grace  writes that in the original Hebrew the word "salvation" has a worldly, not religious, meaning. It meant to find a safe path out of a narrow and dangerous place. This was surely the situation of the man in the ditch, beating and stripped by robbers. Maybe the Samaritan had himself been "saved' or rescued from a similar danger. If so, he would not have been able to pass the victim by, as did the priest and the Levite. Instead, out of gratitude for his own rescue the Samaritan "approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal,took him to an inn, and cared for him."

    It is very hard for any of us, to see another as suffering while we are convinced of our own moral and spiritual superiority.  It is only after we become aware of our own shortcomings, and our need for rescue, that we can begin to look on others as the Samaritan did. How do we do this? The best short description that I know is found in Thomas Keating's The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation.

Do We Have to Make a 180 Degree Turn?

    Our scripture readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time deliver a challenging message, one which challenges and fascinates. It is also one from which most of us would like to escape. Elisha (1 Kings 19:16-21)  gave up his career as a farmer, killed his oxen and used is plow as fuel to boil the oxen and gave the food to his people to eat. Then he followed Elijah. If that were not enough of a challenge we read in Luke 9:51-62 that no one who sets out on the journey and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

    While I admire the dramatic sacrifice, I find myself hoping that a similar action will not be required of me. Being willing to go to any lengths is fine. I may need to give up my old ideas in favor of better ones - but do I have to? Maybe the First Principle and Foundation  in St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises will offer an escape hatch:

The First Principle and Foundation
(St. Ignatius of Loyola, as paraphrased by David L. Fleming, S.J.)

St. Ignatius begins his Spiritual Exercises with The First Principle and Foundation. While not typically thought of as a prayer, it still contains much that is worth reflecting on.

The Goal of our life is to live with God forever.

God, who loves us, gave us life.

Our own response of love allows God's life

to flow into us without limit.

 

All the things in this world are gifts from God,

Presented to us so that we can know God more easily

and make a return of love more readily.

As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God

Insofar as they help us to develop as loving persons.

But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives,

They displace God

And so hinder our growth toward our goal.

 

In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance

Before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice

And are not bound by some obligation.

We should not fix our desires on health or sickness,

Wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one.

For everything has the potential of calling forth in us

A deeper response to our life in God.

 

Our only desire and our one choice should be this:

I want and I choose what better leads

To God's deepening his life in me.

    If I read St. Ignatius correctly, we need to review each of the things/activities to which we are attached or attracted. If we are not bound by some obligation (family, promise to a community or ethical obligation to employer) we should be willing enjoy and use and appreciate them - or to set them aside if they are leading away from God. This may not be much of an escape hatch.

    I remind myself that what starts as a sacrifice - giving up old ways or ideas - becomes a transformation. The very energies that lead us in the wrong direction can be transformed into strength for the journey. Then we won't even want to look back.

Putting One's Corpus on the Line

As we get into the biblical readings for the Feast of Corpus Christi  - the Body (and Blood) of Jesus Christ, there are a number of meanings for the word “body”. I can barely begin to list them, much less write about the many subtle and profound theological discourses on each. We have:

• The physical body of Jesus, crucified and changed by the resurrection.

• The bread and wine  as body (1 Cor 11:23-26),  subject to multiple interpretations by Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist and other traditions. The tragedy is that what should be source of unity is a cause for division among us.

• Somehow we are all members of one body Eph 3:6  and as such are part of the body of Christ is this world. In this we may be able to regain some of the unity lost by our differences in understanding the Eucharist.

    It is in this last sense, being the body of Christ on earth that we can reflect on the words “for you” in 1 Cor 11:24.What does it mean to say “…my body that is for you.”? Knowing the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection we can only read this as his giving up his body in the crucifixion. As his body is for us, our bodies can be for others. There are many ways in which we put our bodies on the line for those that we love. Husbands and wives give up their bodies every day for one another. They do this in many ways caring for one another in sickness and health and in good times and bad. Mothers give up their bodies in pregnancy and childcare. Fathers give up their bodies in many less direct ways, often working to the point of endangering their physical and emotional health. Soldiers, sailors, police and fire officers are willing to give up their very lives for others. Professionals that they are, they train to minimize the risks that they knowingly accept in order to serve others 

    Last Monday we celebrated Mary’s Visitation to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56). 

Mary put her body in the service of her cousin during those last months of her pregnancy.

St. Francis de Sales once wrote to a young person who seemed to be wishing for a highly dramatic and heroic way of putting his body on the line – through martyrdom. His words were to the effect that we should turn our attention to the sacrifices that are in front of us and do them cheerfully, lovingly and willingly. Good words.

We do have daily opportunities to put them into practice. We can restore Christian unity in many ways that, at first glance may seem of little significance. In attending college and high school reunions we are putting ourselves in position (both physically and emotionally) to renew the love that we have for one another.

            What better way to celebrate the feast of the Body of Christ than to renew our dedication t serving one another and the community at large? 

News Flash: Hypocrisy Rooted in High Morals

Live Science staff writer Jeanna Bryner tells us

Morally upstanding people are the do-gooders of society, right? Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats.
Stop us if this sounds familiar.

It certainly does. This is but one more example of psychology rediscovering old truths. Bryner, doesn’t refer to it, but her article reminds us of Mt. 6:4-6

So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

and of Luke 11:37-54.

Bryner suggests why people become hypocrites:

Past research has suggested that people who describe themselves with words such as honest and generous are also more likely to engage in volunteer work and other socially responsible acts.
But often in life, the line between right and wrong becomes blurry, particularly when it comes to cheating on a test or in the workplace. For example, somebody could rationalize cheating on a test as a way of achieving their dream of becoming a doctor and helping people.
In the new study, detailed in the November issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers find that when this line between right and wrong is ambiguous among people who think of themselves as having high moral standards, the do-gooders can become the worst of cheaters.

People who are striving to be good can easily fool themselves and overlook or rationalize character defects and shortcomings. As my teacher, Msgr. Chester Michael has suggested in his meditation on Jesus’ temptations in the desert (Luke 4:1-13), good people can fall prey to one of the "three P's" (Pleasure, Possessions, and Power). As we enter Advent, it is time to pause, consider which of the three is tugging on us, and resolve to practice one of the three remedies (fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.) Go here for a chart on how these are related.

Advent is a time of waiting for the One who can deliver us. As we practice, let us remember with gratitude that none of these temptations need have any dominion over us.

News Flash: Old Truths are Still True

Every now and then major newspapers treat us to new discoveries of old truths. Here are three:
• Living one day at a time really works!
• Gratitude is good for you!
• Leading by example works!

It’s easy to make fun of stories like this. The headline might read: University professor discovers biblical saying is true!!! Yet, the stories reveal new information, even as they fail to mention biblical texts that make similar points.

If you are dieting, budgeting, or just trying to get your Christmas shopping done on time, you are better off to “Count today’s calories …” writes the WaPo’s Shankar Vedantam. He quotes psychologist Carey Morwedge on choosing a shorter time span as our frame of reference when deciding how much we can eat:

The deeper question, of course, is why people choose particular frames of reference. Why not choose smaller frames of reference when it comes to money, time and food, which would allow you to regulate the amount you eat and spend, and make more realistic estimates of the time you need to finish important tasks?

Without their conscious awareness, people seem to choose frames of reference that supply them with the answers they want. By telling themselves they will not overeat at Thanksgiving, but deciding how much to eat based on a weekly or monthly total of calories, rather than a daily number, they get to overeat and feel like they are making a careful decision.
"When I was thinking about eating a sundae I would think of all the exercise I would do in a week and not the exercise I would do that day" to make up for eating the rich food, Morewedge said.

My own experience with Weight Watchers reinforces this. Keeping record of each meal encourages me to concentrate on hitting the point target for each day, not what I’m promising myself for the rest of the week. The old slogan of taking things one day at a time really does work.

We could have saved ourselves a lot of effort and trouble if we had just learned it when it was first preached (See Matthew 6)

11. Give us today our daily bread (and)
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

On to our next great discovery: Give Thanks. It’s good for you. In the Health section of the Washington Post Darrin Kolkow summarizes some of the recent work of positive psychology. Vietnam war veterans are less likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) if they score high on tests for gratitude. Students with high marks on gratitude are much less materialistic. (If you like, there is a test for gratitude here.)

This research, one hopes, will prove useful in treating current and future veterans. It a lesson taught in Proverbs 15:13-15

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast

.John C. Maxwell, in People do what People See discusses some revisions to his book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

1. Followers are Always Watching What Leaders Do
2. It’s Easier To Teach What’s Right Than To Do What’s Right.
3. We Should Work On Changing Ourselves Before Trying To Improve Others
4. The Most Valuable Gift A Leader Can Give Is Being A Good Example

This is all good advice. It is all too easy for us to deceive ourselves, giving advice unaware of our own shortcomings. it is all too easy to make a catalogue of everyone else’s failures whil overlooking our own. While reading Mr. Maxwell we might also ponder James 1:22

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Remember, it helps to eat for today, not promising ourselves that we will make it up through exercise or diet on Friday. Cope with stress by pausing to breathe and give a prayer of thanks. Ask God’s help in changing ourselves while we let everyone else grow in their own ways and on their own time.

Finding God in a Technical Memo

    In his talk, Bidden or Unbidden, God is Present (audio CD) Gregory Pierce tells a story about finding God. He took his family to an Easter sunrise service in the Grand Canyon. As he says, while it was easy to find God in the Grand Canyon, he doesn’t live there. He lives in Chicago, managing a publishing company, caring for three daughters and a little league team. While he values the teachings of monastic spirituality, he calls for a spirituality that helps us to find God in the midst of noise and at work.

    Physics professor Aileen A. O’Donoghue gives us an excellent example of workplace spirituality in her March 5 America article God in Machines.

Desert Temptations, Beowulf, Cardinal Virtues, and Ethical Crises

    A professional association – for which I am a pro bono contributor – is developing an ethical code. The code in draft form is an excellent aid to practicing the cardinal virtue of prudence, defined as taking the right action at the right time. However, sometimes having a code and identifying the right action, however, are not enough. The virtue of fortitude is also required.

    Temptations to avoid the next right action can be overwhelming. As those of us who work in large corporations or government agencies know, the temptations come in form of the "three P's - power, pleasure and possessions. These are the three basic temptations presented to Jesus in Luke 4:1-13.

    Poet and corporate consultant David Whyte gives a vivid account of how these temptations undermine right decision in his book The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America. On pages 42-46 Whyte quotes from Burton Raffel’s translation of Beowulf. 

On Distractions in Prayer: Advice from the Hasidic Jewish Tradition

    Every now and then it is good to return to books that are old favorites. Old stories often yield new understandings. Over the past week I have returned to Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidim These tales are often puzzling and frequently inspiring legends told by the Hasidim – a community of devout Jewish people in 18th century Eastern Europe. Here is “The Limits of Advice,” a tale of the Baal Shem – Hasidim’s revered teacher.

The disciples of the Baal Shem hear that a certain man had a great reputation for learning. Some of them wanted to go to him and find out what he had to teach. The master gave them permission to go, but first the asked him: “and how shall we be able to tell whether he is a true zaddik?” (i.e. spiritual leader of the community)

The Baal Shem replied. “Ask him to advise you what to do the keep unholy thoughts from disturbing you in your prayers and studies. If he gives you advice, then you will know that he belongs to those who are of no account. For this is the service of men in the world to the very hour of their death: to struggle time after time with the extraneous, and time after time to uplift and fit into to the nature of the Divine Name.”

This tale illuminates an important aspect of Centering Prayer It helps us learn to let go of our distractions and turn them over to the care of God. To see how this can workfor the Marthas of this world as well as for the Mary's, please see my review of Cynthia Bourgeault’s Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening . The Baal Shem Tov has much to teach us. True prayer teaches to turn over our distractions to the care of God. This may be, as they say, “job one”. As we gradually learn how to do that, we can seek to know God’s will for us and ask for the power to carry it out.

Should The “Widow’s Mite” Story Make Us Feel Guilty?

    In Sunday’s gospel reading (Mk 12:38-44 ) we hear three contrasting positions on the use of money:

• The scribes – glory seeking religious leaders of the day – rapaciously consume the savings of poverty stricken widows.
• Rich people who put large sums in the temple treasury
• A widow who gave the last of her meager savings to the temple – “all she had, her whole livelihood.

Through the years, I’ve heard this gospel interpreted as a criticism of the rich for failing to contribute even larger sums. The meaning is different and in many ways more challenging than a surface appeal for more funds. To get to the meaning, it helps to compare this story with the advice of St. Paul, in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, (Chapters 8 and 9.)

Cut It Off – but What is It?

    Last Sunday's gospel gives us a startling and challenging image:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.Mark 9: 43-45

    What is there, in our lives, that so strongly holds us that it will cause us to sin – either by omission or commission? If you want to know, try rephrasing the saying, substituting some other parts of ourselves that might cause us to sin and the nature of that sin.

If your dedication to your job causes you to work 24/7 ignoring your family and your own health, cut it off.

If your desire for power and prestige causes you to fail to tell your boss the truth when the public safety is on the line cut it off. (I suspect that there a large number of Enron employees and Presidential aides who wish that they had heeded this verse.)

If your need for possessions causes you to encumber your own life and home, cut it off.

If your need for esteem and affection causes you sacrifice your legitimate needs in order to gain someone else’s approval, cut it off.

If your need for safety and security causes you to avoid taking up a new profession or changing your lifestyle, cut it off.

The immediate objection is that dedication to job, power and prestige, and “worldly goods” can all be positive goods that help us to care for ourselves, and others, in this world. It is through our jobs that we provide service, care for our families and find ways to be creative.

In order to see past this objection one must discern whether dedication to job, etc. are “causing one to sin.” The best way of discerning this comes from the first principle first principle of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

The human person is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord, and by doing so, to save his or her soul.

All other things on the face of the earth are created for human beings in order to help them pursue the end for which they are created.

It follows from this that one must use other created things, in so far as they help towards one's end, and free oneself from them, in so far as they are obstacles to one's end.

To do this, we need to make ourselves indifferent to all created things, provided the matter is subject to our free choice and there is no other prohibition.

Thus, as far as we are concerned, we should not want health more than illness, wealth more than poverty, fame more than disgrace, a long life more than a short one, and similarly for all the rest, but we should desire and choose only what helps us more towards the end for which we are created.

If we are indifferent to goods, power and prestige, or health and security, we are surely ready to “cut it off.”

    The challenge of the gospel is for us to learn what it is that causes us to sin by omission or commission. Given the power of the human soul to fool itself, we need to understand that it is only with time, prayer and perhaps the help of a spiritual director, coach or trusted friend.

    Cutting it off is a daunting prospect. Gerald May’s Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions is an excellent source of advice, both for distinguishing legitimate needs from disordered attachments and for meeting the demands of Mark 9:43-44 in "cutting it off."