I'm a
Cincinnati Reds baseball fan. I have
tickets to twenty games each year. But,
I miss quite a few of these games, like today's game, because something comes
up which is more important, like a birthday party for one of my children or grandchildren.
I'm not an avid follower of the Reds. When they are losing, as they are this year,
I don't go out of my way to see them.
For the past
few Sundays, we have heard Jesus tell those with him about the Eucharist - his
flesh and blood present in the appearance of bread and wine. These people are following Jesus because they
heard about his miracles -multiplying the loaves and fishes, healing
people. Now, they have come to see and
hear Jesus first hand. Jesus tells them:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread
will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of
the world." But the people respond:
"This saying is hard, who can accept it?" So, most of them walk away from him.
Those who
walked away were fans of Jesus, like I'm a fan of the Reds. They were not avid followers or
disciples. Jesus wants disciples, not
fans. He says to the apostles: 'Do you also want to leave?" Later he tells his apostles to make
disciples of all nations. That's the
message for us today: be disciples of
Jesus, don't just be fans. Jesus asks us
to accept His teachings, including those of his church, based on faith. Accept all of them, even those that you don't
fully understand, like the Eucharist, trusting Jesus great love for us.
This wasn't
easy for the followers of Jesus as we
hear in the Gospel. And it still isn't
easy today. We think we know
better. We want to pick and choose what
we will believe. Our society tells us
that some teachings of Jesus are good, like loving our neighbor, while others,
like the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, are not viewed as
relevant in these enlightened times.
For many
Catholics today, it's easier to accept the Eucharist than it is to accept the
teaching of Jesus' church regarding our relationships. We'd rather listen to Doctor Phil or to Oprah
in these areas than to Jesus' church.
Today's reading from chapter 5 of Paul's letter to the Ephesians about the relationship between husband and wife is probably the
most misunderstood and controversial scripture passage. But,
if properly understood, this passage helps us see the intended relationship
between husband and wife in the marriage covenant. And, just to be clear, this relationship is
not one of master to slave or of dominance by the husband.
Clearly, our society is struggling with marriage and the
relationship between husbands and wives.
The divorce rate has skyrocketed over the past fifty years and now we're
even struggling to define what marriage is.
So, it is important for us to take a hard look at the timeless wisdom of
our Church in this area.
Five times in this reading St Paul compares the relationship
of a husband and wife to the relationship of Christ and his church. St Paul is telling husbands that a husband is
expected to be willing to sacrifice for his wife to the point of death as
Christ did for his church and a wife is expected to receive and return this love. This kind of
love excludes every kind of submission by which the wife would become a servant
of the husband.
This passage in Ephesians can be summed up as follows: the
husband is the one who loves. The wife is loved, so as to love in return. While both are called to love and to
subordinate themselves to the other, the husband initiates the gift, and the
wife receives the gift. In fact, this relationship is stamped into their
bodies. Men and women are created by
God to be equal but different. In their
creation, they are complementary.
To live these
teachings, we need the grace that comes from receiving the sacraments regularly,
especially the Eucharist. I know that
many of you may be thinking as Jesus' fans did: "This is hard, who can
accept it." Are we fans of Jesus or
disciples of Jesus? Do we sacrifice our
time and treasure for him? Can we accept
and live those teachings of Jesus which we don't understand?
For many years, I was
a fan of Jesus. I knew his commandments
and followed them. For me, Jesus was a
judge and I tried to follow his rules. I
certainly didn't know God as a loving father.
Then, after a marriage encounter and a life in the spirit seminar, I
began my long journey to develop a relationship with Jesus. Slowly, I began to become his disciple and to
feel the joy of his love. I began to
develop a greater love for the Eucharist and to attend mass more
frequently. Of course, this process for
me is far from complete; I have a long way to go.
Today, I'd encourage
each of you to begin your journey to get to know Jesus. Become his disciple. Trust in him.
Know and follow the teachings of Jesus' church not because you
understand them but because they came from Him.
Feel the peace and joy that comes from following his plan instead of
yours.
