In today’s Gospel, Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes.  The road was generally considered impassable because of two savage demoniacs there.  They saw Jesus and “cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Son of God?’”

Why do two savage demoniacs recognize Jesus, but so many of the Jews fail to do the same?  Why do other demons also recognize Jesus, but so many in our world fail to do the same?

C.S. Lewis wrote a famous work called “The Screwtape Letters” that consisted of a series of fictional letters from a senior demon named Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood.  The uncle is helping the nephew in his assignment to ensure the damnation of a British man known only as The Patient.

At one point, Screwtape writes knowingly of this problem of men and women failing to recognize God when he says, “The humans do not start from that direct perception of Him which we, unhappily, cannot avoid. They have never known that ghastly luminosity, that stabbing and searing glare which makes the background of permanent pain to our lives.”

In this life, we are given the ability to make choices.  It is possible for us to live a life that fails to recognize God.  God is present.  It is just that we can be so inwardly focused that we fail to see God and his work in our world.  We can refuse to enter any sort of prayer relationship with God.  We can reject the Church that Jesus founded.  We can completely deny God.  If we do that, we will be in for a serious surprise when we enter the next life.  But such a denial and such a life oblivious to God is possible while in this life.

And yet, we are made for God.  We have a hole in our heart that can only be filled by God.  We can strive to fill this hole and to seek fulfillment with any number of things of this world.  But, if we get some of these worldly things, we only want more.  They never satisfy.  And it is hard to overlook the famous quote of Saint Augustine to God on the first page of Confessions: “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”  It is only in God that human beings can find true peace and fulfillment.

If we must be willing to recognize and to encounter God, how have we done so in our lives?  How can we help others to do the same?  Do we demonstrate that recognition in our own lives to others?

Today, we hear about how Jesus calmed the storm.  As the sudden and violent storm came up, the boat began to be swamped by waves.  Those in the boat with Jesus panicked.  Jesus, on the other hand, was sound asleep.  Before Jesus could calm the storm, the Apostles had to wake him up first. 

The boat would not have had a sleeper cabin.  So, Jesus would been sleeping in the open during the storm as the boat started to become swamped.  I think a lot of people wish that they had that ability to sleep through anything.

This passage reminds us of two things.

First, the miracle itself is more evidence of Jesus’ divinity.  His human nature was clear to those who accompanied him.  But his divine nature was proven through acts like these.  Things that only God could do.

Second, though, is Jesus’ sense of peace at this point in his ministry.  He knew that the hour had not yet come for his Passion.  He was not going to be worried by a storm…if he was even aware of it in his human nature.  This storm was occurring in the world that he helped to create.  Either way, he slept peacefully through it all until the others woke him up.

Great faith is evidenced by great trust.  Great trust is shown by other traits.  Humor in the face of adversity can be a sign of trust in God.  Knowing that God has our back.  That we do not need to panic in the face of trouble.  Instead, we can laugh at our trouble.  We do so because we trust that God will help us with the outcome that he wants.  And we set aside our own expectations of the outcome.  We wait to see what God has in store for us.

The peace that Jesus exhibits is another sign of that trust.  He showed no sign of any anxiety.  He could have slept through it all.  In our experience, we hopefully have seen others who showed great peace regardless of the situation.  The secular world calls this grace under pressure.  For Christians, this might truly come from grace.  A grace that increases faith and thus trust.  This trust can then give peace.

Can we find examples where we trusted in God’s will in difficult circumstances and found peace from that trust?  Can we find examples where we struggled to find peace?  Can we see a lack of trust as a root for that lack of peace?

Today, we hear Jesus asking the question at Caesarea Philippi, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  When they respond with various answers, but not the right one, Jesus asks them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The heart of Christianity is that God became one of us.  That God the Son took on a human nature while retaining his divine nature.  Jesus Christ, in his person, is both fully human and fully divine.  He is not a merely human person elevated to the divine after his Ascension.  In his divinity, he existed before time began.  He is not a creature created by God after time began.  There is no time at which he was not.  But, in his Incarnation, he took on a human nature.  Not just appeared to be human in some sort of illusion.  He became human.  He is not some human being named Jesus that God the Son adopts temporarily for his own purposes.

God the Son, in his human nature, experienced human emotions.  He knew physical pain.  He was hungry and thirsty.  He got tired.  He suffered and died.  He knows our experience.  He lived it.  But he never stopped being divine.

Jesus’ teaching is important.  But only because of who Jesus is.  If not for who he is, his teaching would have no importance whatsoever.  But because the Word speaks these words, they become very important. 

Other religions might have interesting teachings from interesting men or women.  But Christianity’s teachings come from God entering our world to bring them to us. 

To have an appreciation for the teachings, we must fully appreciate the being of Jesus Christ.

Does this understanding come from something that the Church invented well after the time of Christ?  No, it is found in the Prologue of John…those first few verses of John’s Gospel (“In the beginning was the Word…”).  It is found in Jesus’ own statements that he is God.  And that he existed before Abraham. 

If Jesus is God…if Jesus is God the Son entering into our world…giving his life for us…is there anything more important to us?  Does not everything of any significance flow from that?

Of course, it all depends on one thing.  How do we answer Jesus’ question?

“Who do you say that I am?

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Do we receive Jesus into our hearts?  More precisely, since he is already there as Saint Augustine wrote, are we open to an encounter with him there?  Are we open to a deep and profound relationship with Christ that unites us to him?  Are we open to the graces of the Holy Spirit that help to bring about that union?

Jesus comes to unite us to the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit.  He is the mediator for us with the Father.  The nature of God is open to us in a special way because God the Son, fully divine, took on a human nature to become one with us.  It is in his Person that humanity most fully touches divinity.  It is through the grace of the Holy Spirit that we might touch divinity.  That we might partake of divinity.

This is a beautiful and mystical truth.  The promise of what awaits us.  The end for which we were made.  To become one with God.  Being brought to the Father by Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is an end for which there is a beginning.  In our Baptism, we are welcomed as child of God.  We are claimed by Christ.  It is the start of a journey in which we grow closer to Christ in this life.  With faith and hope for being fully united with Christ in the next that he might bring us to the table of the eternal banquet with the Holy Trinity.

It is a journey that happens in a relationship.  Grounded in prayer.  Aided by the sacraments.  When we break down or run into the ditch, we are brought back onto the right road by the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Restored by the sacrament of mercy.

Do we want that relationship?  Do we want that union with Christ?  That, in receiving Christ, we might receive the Father too.  Do we want that more than anything else?  Because, as we pray in one form of the Act of Contrition, we love God “above all things?”

As we continue through Matthew, today’s Gospel is the cure of the centurion’s servant.  The centurion’s quote is used at Mass after the priest says, “Behold the Lamb of God.”  The centurion’s response to Jesus’ commitment to come and cure the servant is “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed…”

This response is held up by Jesus as a model of faith.  This centurion, not most of the Jewish leadership, demonstrates a faith that includes a very humble dependence on God.

Despite Jesus’ initial mission being to the Jews, we note how he interacted with Gentiles.  We also note how miracles were done for Gentiles in the Old Testament.  Elijah and the widow of Zarephath.  Elisha and Naaman the leper.  In this Gospel passage, Jesus exclaims that he has not found such faith among those in Israel as in this Roman centurion.

It had to be difficult for the Jewish people, the Chosen People, to see Gentiles being cured by a man claiming to be the Messiah.  While Jesus came first to the Jews, he came for the whole world.  He came that all might be saved. 

If we are an evangelical Church, we must reach out to others.  We must be inclusive.  Not condoning of any sins but accepting of all people.  There is a great temptation for us to become inwardly focused.  To become an exclusive club.  To be the keepers of the secrets of eternal life.  But our goal cannot be to keep others out but to invite others in. 

Are we challenged when we see repentant sinners admitted to the Church?  Or when they start to become active in the parish?  Do we welcome newcomers or see them as threats to our comfortable status quo?  Are we jealous when we see priests and parishioners ministering to others?  Or do we rejoice as others become included in the life of the parish?  Are we even willing to give up our role in a parish ministry if there is someone new who wants to step up?  Do we encourage that without withdrawing ourselves in response?  Are we willing to step up and serve in a different way ourselves?

The leper comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

The way that the ancient world dealt with leprosy was to basically quarantine them.  They were isolated from the rest of society.  For a leper to come to the great crowds following Jesus and to approach Jesus, he would have almost certainly had to pick his way through those great crowds.  Such a thing was just not done.  The leper did so at great risk to himself.  If he fully understood epidemiology (admittedly unlikely), he would have understood that he did so at great risk to others. 

But still, he came to Jesus.

And Jesus did not reject him. 

We see in the words of the leper an interesting Greek word.  The leper asks Jesus to make him clean.  The Greek word used is katharisai.  Yes, this is the same word from which we get “catharsis.”  One dictionary definition for our word “catharsis” is “a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension.”  If we consider that dimension of what the leper is requesting (and what Jesus did), we can see this cleansing as more than a physical healing.  It is a deep renewal, spiritually even, through the release of what was burdening him.  He is freed from what had held him bound.

God is a God of mercy.  Mercy more than justice.  If we request that mercy.  God cleanses us if we request that.  But we must come forward first.  We must approach Jesus.  Perhaps when it is inconvenient.  Perhaps when we must set aside our pride in doing so. 

We might feel that something cannot be forgiven.  That something cannot be brought to the light.  That is not true.  One reason is that God sees even into our darkness.  The other is that the only way that God will not forgive is if we refuse to ask for that forgiveness.

Is there some burden that is weighing us down?  Is there some secret that has been kept hidden?  Is there some sin that needs to be confessed?  In what way do we need to be made clean?  In what way do we need catharsis?

Today, Jesus says that “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” will enter the kingdom of heaven.  Many others who claim to have done great works in the Lord’s name will be turned away.

Why would Jesus say this?  Aren’t good works to be commended?

Remember that Saint Thomas Aquinas talked about there being three parts to a moral act.  There is the object, or the action itself.  There is the motivation.  And there are the circumstances.

If I gave a great sum of money to a hospital only to get my name on the building, have I done something for God or for me?  If I prayed an hour in the seminary chapel every day, was I doing it because of my desire to please God or to have the rector, who happened to be in the chapel at the same hour, think more highly of me?  If I did a good deed for one person, but then told a hundred other people about it, was I doing an act of charity or an act of self-promotion?

Am I doing the will of God, or am I building a resume to gain the adulation of others?

Actions done for reasons of self-promotion are not pleasing to God.

More than just avoiding selfishness, God wants us to be instruments of the divine will.  We are called to discern the will of God and then to act in line with it.  True discernment involves making significant decisions between multiple good options.  We do not discern between chicken and beef at a restaurant.  We do not discern whether to do evil.  We commit to our first vocation – a life of holiness.  In our pursuit of holiness, we discern our second vocation – priesthood, religious life, marriage, or single life.  Then, we can confidently discern our occupation. 

Within those vocations and occupations, we can discern other major decisions.  Where should I, or my family, choose to live?  What parish should be our home?  Where should our children go to school?  Should I move to a new job or take a transfer? As a priest, should I let my bishop know that I feel called to serve in a particular way? 

Ultimately, our lives are not our own.  We live this life making choices that lead to eternal life with the Trinity, or not.  We live these lives that God might be glorified through us.  We live these lives in service to God and others. 

It is not all about us.  Our actions speak loudly, though. 

In the end, do our actions say, “Look at me?”  Or, do they say, “Look at Him?”

Although I usually post some thoughts and reflection about what is in that day’s Gospel reading, I wanted to share a few things this morning about what is not in today’s Gospel passage.

The Vigil Mass Gospel gives us the announcement of the conception of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah in the Temple.  An angel appeared to Zechariah while he was serving in the Temple.  The Gospel at the Mass during the day gives us the story of the birth of John the Baptist.  In the Temple, Zechariah had been made mute.  When he wrote out the name of his son in today’s passage, his voice was restored. 

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah then prophesied about his son and about the coming Savior.  For the sake of brevity, this part was not included in today’s Gospel reading.  It is, nonetheless, an especially important passage that is known as the Canticle of Zechariah.  For those who pray the Divine Office, or the Liturgy of the Hours, it is a part of every Morning Prayer (or Lauds, as it was traditionally known). 

Starting with praise and thanksgiving to God, Zechariah rejoices in the coming Savior before addressing his newborn son.  He tells him that he will be “a prophet of the Most High.”  Then, he says that he will “give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son comes to us as Jesus Christ.  He is the Son of the Most High.  He is the “daybreak from on high.”  His light will shine on those in the darkness.  It will guide our path that returns us to God.

Like John the Baptist, we are called to be a prophet of the Most High.  We help lead people to salvation through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  Of course, for those fallen away, the Sacrament of Reconciliation serves as the gateway to their return.  Through this sacrament, we can know of our salvation through the forgiveness of our sins.

Am I reaching out to those who have fallen away?  Am I “a prophet of the Most High” in my words and deeds?  Have I invited those fallen away to return through the sacrament of God’s great mercy, the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

Today’s Gospel passage begins with Matthew 7:6: ““Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

In the Jewish context, this word for “holy” also meant “sacred.”  To them, the obvious example of the sacred was what was offered for sacrifice.  The Temple sacrifice was not to be then given to dogs. 

The use of “pearls” here cannot but call attention to the short parable in Matthew 13:45-46.  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Sacred sacrifice and treasure.

As Catholics, what is the sacrifice that we offer?  What is the sacred that we need to protect?  We no longer offer animal sacrifices in the Temple.  We offer the Eucharistic sacrifice on the altar at Mass.  And so, this is the most sacred.  This is what we need to keep from profanation.  This is what we cannot throw to the dogs.  This is what we cannot allow to carelessly fall onto the ground for dogs to lap up.  It is why we must be worthy to receive.  It is why we go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion when we fall into mortal sin and out of a state of grace.

The Eucharist is also the greatest treasure that we have as Catholics.   We do not merely have one set of beliefs out of the many that exist in the world.  We are not merely one community among many.  We are the members of the mystical Body of Christ who have been given the Real Presence of the Body of Christ as the greatest treasure.  A treasure that we value, but not a treasure that we keep secret.  It is one that we want to make available to all by inviting them into the Catholic faith that they might be brought into full communion with the Catholic Church and be able to receive this great treasure themselves.

Do I value this treasure that we have been given?  How do I show by my life how much I value this treasure?

Today’s Gospel is Matthew’s version of Jesus telling us to stop judging others.  More precisely, he tells us not to keep judging others as is often our habit in order that God might not judge us. 

Why do we fall into the habit of judging others? 

One reason might be a lack of confidence about ourselves, especially when we make the mistake of unnecessarily comparing ourselves to others.  In judging others negatively, we feel better about ourselves by comparison.  But we lose when we allow ourselves to get sucked into this comparison in the first place. 

We need to remember that our measure of success is independent of the success (or failure) of others.  Our truest measure of success is our faithfulness to God and our willingness to live out God’s plan for us.

When we become judgmental all the time about others, it clouds our vision about ourselves.  We fail to see the areas in which we need to improve because we are so often consumed with pointing out others’ failures.

Remember though our own call to holiness.  Remember the Greatest Commandment.  If we love God with our entire being, that love will manifest itself in a loving service of neighbor.  We will be keenly aware of our own sins.  We will be keenly aware that we are not able to cast the first stone against our neighbor.  That does not mean that we do not see objectively sinful actions for what they are.  It does not mean that we condone sins.  It does mean that we give others the benefit of the doubt regarding their motivations.  If we know that we are sinners ourselves, then we see ourselves as sinners helping other sinners on this journey. 

Answering that call to holiness allows us to begin to realize our potential for sainthood.  We do so only through our cooperation with God’s grace.  We do so when we realize our own sinfulness without losing sight of the greatness possible with God.  When we stop trying to compare ourselves to others and start comparing ourselves to God’s expectations for each of us.

When have I found myself comparing myself to others?  In my relationship with Christ, have I found a greater sense of who I am supposed to be independent of any comparison with others?