Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) – Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? – Luke 18:8
No man can serve two masters. – Matthew 6:24
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Thus begins this Sunday’s second reading. It goes on to bring before our eyes Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as exemplars of this faith, with a particular emphasis on Abraham and his wife Sarah. This is not surprising to us. Abraham is often praised as an example of great faith in both Old and New Testaments. We often refer to him as our father in faith. By faith, Abraham left his native land and took up a nomadic life in the land of Canaan, believing God’s promise that, one day, this land would be given to him and his descendants. Abraham is one of the central characters in the Scriptures.
Let’s do a little thought experiment. Try to imagine how Abraham would have looked to the people who lived in the cities of Canaan. To them, Abraham was a foreigner who was just passing through. He did not settle in any Canaanite city. He owned no land – except for the plot of land he purchased to bury his wife Sarah after she died. He was not involved in the political doings of the Canaanite kings, unless he had a personal stake in the matter. Abraham never tried to take any more land in Canaan for himself in any of the usual ways. He was not flawless or sinless. However, he chose to trust that God would honor His promise in His own time. Abraham would not have been seen as “central” by the people around him in his day. He was “eccentric”, a nomad, a foreigner, someone who believed in a strange God. Yet we honor him as our ancestor in faith.
Now, compare Abraham to his nephew Lot, who accompanied him to Canaan. When the two were wandering together, they found that the land could not support both of them with all their flocks of animals. They agreed to separate. Lot chose the prosperous Cities of the Plain, and decided to settle in Sodom. Sodom was already known for the wickedness of its people. Lot was not a bad man. But, being seduced by the promise of material wealth, he threw in his “lot” with Sodom. He tried to serve two masters. As such, he was compromised. Even when God sent angels to save Lot and his family from the destruction soon to befall Sodom, Lot cannot tear himself away. The fantasy of material success represented by Sodom was more real to him than the angels of God who stood there before him. The angels had to practically drag Lot and his family out of Sodom, as an act of sheer mercy to them. Even then, they could not quite look the other way. Such was the hold of Sodom on their minds and hearts. After this episode, Lot soon disappears from the Biblical narrative.
With Abraham and Lot in mind, consider the history of Catholics in the United States. Our Catholic ancestors came to this country as immigrants. They (s0metimes) spoke a different language, had different customs, and had a different religion as Catholics. They lived in small towns or city neighborhoods that were predominantly Catholic. They founded Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and other institutions. This was necessary as they were not generally accepted as “real” Americans when they came. They faced great hostility and prejudice at times. To other Americans, they were seen as invaders, Americans of questionable patriotism, people who were “just passing through”. Our Catholic ancestors were seen as “eccentric” – not generally part of the centers of power and influence in our society. They were not flawless or sinless, but their Catholic faith was usually the center of their lives. Poll after poll showed that Catholics voted differently from other Americans. Their faith mattered. They usually served one master. They were like Abraham in this respect.
These immigrant Catholics, however, also had a love for their new country and wanted some of its wealth and success for their children. They wanted to be respected and accepted by other Americans. This was how they – and we – began to feel the temptation of Lot. They were not bad people. But they found the allure of material success very compelling. They began to try to serve two masters. As a result, their faith – and ours – became compromised. Now, polls tell us that Catholics in the U.S. vote no differently than other Americans. Progressive Catholics vote like progressive secular people do; conservative Catholics vote like conservative secular people do. Anerican Catholics look more to celebrities for guidance than to saints. We are becoming more and more like Lot, and less and less like Abraham. In our desire to be seen as less “eccentric” Americans, we risk losing our true center, which must always be in Christ and His Church. We are in the world, yes – but we must not become “of the world”. We must guard against the temptation that Lot fell into.
How do we manage this? Where can we turn for help in rfecentering ourselves on Christ and His Church?
Remember Abraham, and how he was seen as “eccentric” in his day. Jesus Himself was seen as marginal and eccentric (at best) to the authorities of His time. Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians, when they were in danger of regressing to worldly values, to never forget that few of them, when they were baptized, were successful in a worldly way. They were mainly “eccentric” in worldly standards, but centered on Christ. We also remember how Christ told His disciples that whatever they (or we) do to the least of His sisters and brothers, we do to Him.
There is the key. If we want to re-center ourselves on Christ and His Church, and live by Christ’s standards, we need to identify not with those who are central in a worldly way, but those who are eccentric. Those who are on the margins. Those who are scorned and ridiculed. Those who are not accepted. And they are many: immigrants (legal or illegal), the elderly, the unborn, the overweight (surprised?), those who have some kind of “mental illness”.
A word on “mental illness”. At a time when our nation is reeling from several mass killings, we feel a temptation to attribute them to people with “mental illness”. That term can include psychopaths and sociopaths, it is true. But it is also used to speak of the people with Down’s Syndrome who competed in a Special Olympics race. The ones in the lead slowed down to let the others catch up so that all could cross the finish line and be winners together. We also might use “mental illness” to refer to a young man with autism who volunteers at a homeless shelter, even though the residents sometimes accuse him of being a “bad man” because he does not show empathy like the other staff members do (though he feels it). He continues to work at the shelter though he “gets” nothing out of it (except for personal attacks), because he believes that this is what Christ wants him to do. How often it is that God sends us people who are “eccentric” in the eyes of the world to humble us with their goodness and show us, once again, what it means to be truly centered in Christ. One wonders who the “mentally ill” really are. Perhaps, in a sick society, those who seem “ill” might be the truly sane.
Do you want to more truly follow Christ and His Church? Don’t look to those who are successful in a worldly way; look to those who are “eccentric” by worldly standards. They have much to teach us about what it means to be centered in Christ. They are willing to be seen as “nothings”, “just passing through”, because their faith is in Christ. They are still in the world, but the world is not in them. They belong to Christ. They serve one Master. They are not compromised. It is they who are the true children of Abraham. It is they who are the “little ones” especially dear to the heart of Christ. If we are to be saved, Christ will save us through their humility, faithfulness and mercy. Those who have no place in this world may be at the true Center of everything.