October 13, 2024

This homily was not delivered as I am attending the 100^th anniversary of the Cathedral in Oklahoma City.

Wisdom 7: 7-11 + Psalm 90 + Hebrews 4: 12-13 + Mark 10: 17-30

This man who stops and questions Jesus at the beginning this week’s Gospel introduces two key terms worth our thoughtful reflection: “good” and “inherit.” In the conversation with this man, Jesus is not trying to deny his own goodness, but he is asking the man if he really knows what he is saying and why he is saying it. Not interested in flattery, Jesus pushes the conversation further suggesting that this man is confused about what is good. He can’t seem to distinguish between what is good from goods.

Goodness is an attribute of God. One look at the two words in print might give us some clue. Any thing that is good in this world is good because it comes from God or comes from God’s creation. On the other hand, the word can be used to identify riches or material possessions not because they reflect God’s glory but because they satisfy our desire to possess and consume. What we see is that this man cannot let go of his “goods” because he can’t see what they are and where they come from. Then, there is this matter of inheritance. An inheritance implies a relationship or a kinship with a willingness to wait and receive. The man does not seem to understand this. He wants some “thing.” What he needs is some “one.”

What we hear in this story today is not a critique of this man, but an invitation to look at our own lives and evaluate what we own and how what we own leads us to see and express the glory of God remembering the source of all that is good. There is nothing in the Gospel that demands that we become like Saint Francis and give away all our possessions. However, at the same time, every line of the Gospel warns us about the ways a desire for more goods, more prestige, more luxury or more power diverts us from our greatest potential.

With all his wealth, a man who seems to lack nothing ends up being told by Jesus that he does lack something. All of his abundance has created a lack that can only be filled or satisfied by a relationship with a person rather than with things. He lacks what he needs most, an ability and willingness to follow the way of Jesus Christ. This rich man is really a poor man too content with his riches or his “goods” to see what is really good – a relationship with the one Good – God. All those goods have led him to settle for less because they seem to be the best offer around. The inheritance he could have is a reward that comes when goods become good by being circulated, both given and received not possessed or owned.

In the end, keeping the commandments does not make any of us good. It just makes us keepers of the rules. This man in the Gospel keeps the rules, but yearns for something more. He has a lot of stuff, and he knows and feels that it still is not enough. He needs someone. He comes to the one who can give him what he longs for. But, at that moment, he is too confused about what is good and how to inherit failing to understand that having an inheritance means having a relationship. It seems like a sad story the way it ends, but maybe it is more of a beginning. Maybe he will, having reflected as we do now on the message of this Gospel, he will return ready and open recognizing what is really good and where it all comes from.

October 6, 2024 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples, FL

Genesis 2: 18-24 + Psalm 128 + Hebrews 2: 9-11 + Mark 10: 2-16

These verses of Mark’s Gospel are not about divorce at all. The troublemakers are there to trap Jesus with a question about divorce. They want to get Jesus to say something that will get him into trouble with Herod whose divorce was a hot topic at the time – a topic that cost John the Baptist his head. Jesus does not fall for their tricks. He talks about marriage.

Reaching deep into the well of our heart’s desires Jesus repeats the words of the Creator, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Going further to reveal God’s will and God’s plan, the Genesis story puts Adam to sleep so that it is clear that this is only the work of God. A rib is taken. Unlike the creation of every other creature, this creature will not be less, separate, or different from man. This is bone from bone, flesh from flesh. There is equality here intended by God, and that is the real revelation and response Jesus gives to those troublemakers. For them, this idea had to be disturbing.

At the time, marriages were arranged. There was no thought about love and commitment in marriage. As a result, divorce was a constant issue that could even upset the economy. When the response of Jesus brings the suggestion of God’s action in this relationship there is something new to think about. This is no longer about economics or providing children to help with work. Marriage, like everything else, has changed with the coming of Christ. The purpose of his Incarnation and the motive for his mission is to restore the perfection of that Garden where everything was perfectly in harmony and peace as God had intended.

No longer just a relationship between two people, Jesus speaks of God’s intention for marriage to be a covenant between two people and God. The binding force in marriage, as Jesus sees it, is not vows or even the love of the two people for each other. The binding force is God’s own presence in that relationship. He makes the point by saying: “What God has joined together……” Recognizing and cultivating God’s presence in a marriage brings joy in good times and hope in sorrow. As God intends and Jesus teaches, marriage is a living sign of God’s presence in our midst. It is the manifestation of the love of God, a love that knows neither condition nor limit in its ability to give and forgive. Jesus appeals to all of us to embrace the Spirit of love that is the basis of God’s love.

Yet, we know only too well that no human relationship is without sin, and sometimes promises are broken. While living with this reality, we must hold fast to the promise that God is always radically faithful, and there is nothing that will divorce us from God’s love. Entering into and maintaining a marriage relationship requires a commitment that must rely on God. What these verses ask of us is a serious consideration of radical faithfulness. First comes faithfulness to God, and with that, we can be faithful to one another in the promises we make.