And So It Begins

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conversion of hearts, good deeds, Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus, Joel, love, Matthew, repentance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The prophet Joel wrote a very brief but compelling addition to the Hebrew Scriptures. We hear him today very much in a hurry to move people to repentance. After his affirmation of God’s willingness to forgive what seems a serious period of disregard for good behavior (“Even now“, says the Lord, “return to me with your whole heart…”) Joel blasts forth imperatives to call all the people to attention. “Blow the trumpet. Proclaim a fast. Call an assembly. Gather the people. Notify the congregation. Assemble the elders. Gather the children. Let the bridegroom quit his chamber…” Clearly, Joel sees this moment as paramount for salvation.

In Matthew’s gospel this morning we find advice of a quieter kind. Jesus says, “Do not blow a trumpet before you…” and “Don’t let your left hand know what your right is doing” as you go about doing good. The time is past for us to be showy about our good works but the day is just beginning for the necessity of greatness of heart. Look for nothing in return for your good deeds. Just turn to Jesus as a model and practice what he preached. Make this Lent about conversion of heart in small ways which will result in a transformation that may be imperceptible each day but will lead to a grand celebration of the Easter mysteries when we will know Christ in a deeper beating of our hearts. Love is always its own reward.

Good Example

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compassion, good deeds, imperfections, Jesus, lessons, Matthew, mercy, mistakes, Pharisees, Pope Francis, sacrifice, sin, sinner, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I remember the day, early in his papacy, that Pope Francis said, “I am a sinner” in public. The quote, as we say now, “went viral.” It’s rare to have a public figure admit during an interview or a widely attended speech that s/he has imperfections. We all know that none of us is perfect but admitting it to the world – especially using the word sin to describe our actions – is not a common practice. At first I was dismayed about his admission because I think that religious people tend to focus more on sin than on giftedness and good deeds. I grabbed onto Barbra Streisand’s line that “there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned” and used it to talk about sin from that perspective. I still think we either overplay our imperfections sometimes or try to hide them by prevaricating (i.e. “skirting around the truth or delaying giving an answer, especially to avoid telling the whole truth”) but being able to follow the Pope’s example can be very freeing. If we are honest enough to offer our true selves to others we may find that we are accepted in spite of ourselves because nobody else is perfect either!

In today’s gospel (MT 9:9-13) we meet St. Matthew, as Jesus approaches him and says, “Follow me.” At this, the Pharisees were indignant because tax collectors (Matthew’s job) were described in the same breath as “sinners.” They asked the disciples why Jesus was associating with such people. I always wish that Jesus hadn’t jumped in to answer that question; I would just like to know what his disciples would have said. But Jesus heard the question and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Pope Francis talks a lot about mercy, sometimes in the same sentence with the word “sinner.” In that way – as in so many more – he seems so close to doing what Jesus did, in being who Jesus was, to teach us all the compassionate reach of God to all of us. Ought we then do the same for one another? For ourselves?