“ no hay nadie que pueda servir a dos amos…”

 

Después de leer las lecturas para este próximo domingo 25 C,del tiempo ordinario, me encontré con tres artículos en la prensa del día que contenían un mensaje triste pero dos de ellas,  dan esperanza.

 

Decía el primer artículo que la Academia militar de West Point había retirado la oferta de otorgar  un reconocimiento al actor Tom Hanks por orden de la Casa Blanca, debido a que el actor es del partido contrario.

 

Lo primero que me vino a la mente al leer esta triste noticia fue el recuerdo de algo que el presidente anterior dijo poco después de ser electo. Dijo, los que no votaron por nosotros no son nuestros enemigos, son “ fellow Americans”!

(Compatriotas americanos)

 

Este este mensaje responde a los valores cristianos.  “ que todos sean uno como el Padre y Yo somos uno…”

 

La acción de la Casa  Blanca fomenta la división.  La división no es parte del mensaje cristiano.

 

El segundo artículo que leí, contenía un mensaje mucho más alentador aunque también triste.

 

Tres meses antes de la graduación un estudiante de Roosevelt High School, uno de aquellos jovencitos que llegaron solos al país y recibieron asilo, fue arrestado por agentes de inmigración y llevado a una prisión federal en Texas.

 

El director de dicha escuela Viajó a Texas para otorgarle el diploma de graduación. Le tomó más de tres días llegar a verlo pero no le permitieron presentarle el diploma.

 

La perseverancia y la acción de este director que no es ni hispano, ni afroamericano sino parte de la mayoría, corresponde a los más altos valores cristianos y constituyen un rayo de gran esperanza.

 

Finalmente, leí una entrevista hecha al primer señor obispo nacido en Nicaragua y ordenado para una diócesis en los Estados Unidos.

 

El señor obispo Pedro Bismarck Chau vino a los Estados Unidos a los 16 años ilegalmente.

 

En aquel momento el gobierno nicaragüense llamaba a servir en el ejército a jovencitos a los 17 años. Los enviaban a la selva a enfrentarse con los disidentes que luchaban contra el gobierno.

 

Su mamá decidió que él debía salir del país. La familia se puso de acuerdo con un “ coyote“  para que lo entrara ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos.

 

Dice él, que el coyote resultó ser una mujer que providencialmente tenía un parecido extraordinario con su madre. Esto facilitó que sencillamente ella entrara en automóvil ,el a su lado, pretendiendo ser su hijo. Esto es , por la gracia de Dios, no tuvo que entrar cruzando el desierto como tantos otros y tampoco vadeando el río.

 

El señor Obispo cuenta su miedo como joven ido indocumentado, la oportunidad de estudiar que recibió al trasladarse a Nueva York, un retiro de jóvenes en una parroquia en Brooklyn que le ayudó a volver a la fe de su niñez, y la llamada a servir a Dios como sacerdote.

 

El señor Obispo Chau fue ordenado para la arquidiócesis de Newark New Jersey, auxiliar del cardenal Tobin.

 

Estoy de acuerdo con que se deporte a delincuentes, a miembros de “gangas”, a personas que han cometido crímenes. Pero no puedo aceptar que se deporten a ciudadanos trabajadores,  padres y madres de familia que contribuyen al bien común.

 

 

En la primera lectura de este próximo domingo escuchamos al profeta Amos decir, “Escuchen esto los que buscan al pobre para arruinarlo… El señor Dios de Israel, lo ha jurado: No olvidaré nunca ninguna de estas acciones “.

 

Mientras que en la segunda lectura de la carta de San Pablo a Timoteo, Pablo nos dice, “ les ruego hermanos, que ante todo, hagan oraciones, plegarias, súplicas y acciones de gracia por todos los hombres y en particular, por los jefes de Estado y demás autoridades, para que podamos llevar una vida tranquila y en paz, entregada a  Dios y respetable en todo sentido “.

 

Amiga y amigo lector, no podemos servir a dos señores. Escojamos servir al Señor de los Señores.

 

El caballero de Nuestra Señora

Who Is the Subject?

 Let’s start today with a little grammar quiz.  What is the subject of a sentence? The subject performs the action or is described by the verb.  Tom threw the ball.  Tom performs the action of throwing the ball.  Tom is a baseball player.  Tom is being described as being a baseball player.  Tom is the subject of both sentences.  

This Sunday the Church gives us the great opportunity to look at the cross.  The other day we really get to do this, of course, is Good Friday.  As we think about the crucifixion, perhaps we don’t see Jesus as the subject, but rather as the object or the victim.  We can say Pontius Pilate crucified Jesus.  We can say the Jewish leaders crucified Jesus.  We can even say our collective sins crucified Jesus.  While these thoughts have some degree of truth, I think they fall short by of what the crucifixion is mostly about.  Having Pontius Pilate or the Jewish leaders or our sins as the subject of the action, it leaves Jesus as a helpless victim.  And yes, we might consider him a victim, but we must realize that he is a willing victim, he is the subject.  Jesus chose to be crucified.  For he is God.  God is never a powerless victim, rather, he is a willing savior and redeemer.

In Phillipians, we hear about the all-powerful God emptying himself and taking the form a slave.  He humbled himself.  His torturers did not wield power over him.  No, he emptied himself and took the form a slave.  We did not make him a slave.  He became one, so that we might have life.  The Incarnation itself, the Word becoming flesh, was a total gift of self.  The Eucharist is a total gift of self.  He gave it to us.  We did not take it from him.  He laid down his life for us.

Why does this matter?  After all, he still died.  What does it matter if he gave his life or if it was taken from him?  It makes all the difference.  A God who had his life taken from him is simply a God who lost his power.  A God who has given himself for our sake and the sake of the whole world is a lover.

From the very beginning, God is in love with whom he created.  He longs for us to be with him for all eternity.  This desire is in him and it never fades.  It is very simply who he is.  And so he acts on that desire, and we get phrases in today’s readings like, “He emptied himself…He humbled himself….He became obedient even to death, death on a cross.”  A lover does something for the sake of the beloved.  The lover could stop the action at any point.  The sentence is nothing without the subject.  The fact that Jesus, that God, that the one who loves us without measure, could have stopped the crucifixion and didn’t is an amazing reality.  He came not to condemn the world, but to save it. There has never been or where there ever be a more important sentence as this, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  Where would we be with that sentence and most importantly without the subject of that sentence?

- The Servant

 

23d^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 14:25-33

 

Talk about being brutally honest.

 

Jesus is telling us that to be true followers we must hate our fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers and sisters?  That must surely have gotten the attention of the crowds travelling with Jesus, just as sure as it gets our attention now.

 

Jesus’ command, here, certainly seems counter-intuitive on so many levels.  It seems wrong on a simply human level, and it seems to go against the commandment to honor thy father and mother, and certainly seems to conflict with Jesus’ command to love one another. So, what gives?

 

According to many reflections and commentaries that I read, the key perhaps, to fully understanding this passage lies in an understanding of the ancient Greek word for hate.  Miseo.

This word, used in context, does not describe the emotion of hate as we understand it, but means to love less, or to regard with less importance, or reject.  In other words, Jesus is telling us that to love God is paramount, even when loving our family members comes into conflict with loving God.

 

This passage made me think of an experience I had when I was young.  A neighbor, a very devoted and loving parent, said that she would do anything for the sake of her child.  She used the old phrase that she would “beg, borrow and steal” to make sure that her child’s needs were met.  Afterward my father explained that while, on its face, that phrase and sentiment seemed admirable, in reality it was dangerous.  He explained that he would certainly beg or borrow in order to take care of me and my sister but that it would be wrong of him to ever steal.  He explained that stealing was wrong and was an act that deliberately hurt another human being.  He said that he would be a poor parent if he taught us that stealing was ok.  He reminded us that stealing from another is wrong in every case and, as a loving parent, he could not teach us otherwise.

 

This experience helps me understand this passage better.  To go against God by stealing, lying, cheating, hurting, or killing another is wrong.  Even if one desires to do so for a good cause – such as for family – it is wrong. To put it in other words, the end never justifies the means.  If God is first, then God is first.

 

And when you come down to it.  Loving God first is the best way to love our fathers. mothers, wives, children, brothers and sisters.

 

 

“Call Me Ishmael”