Whew! Ok, I can finally say that I have "arrived" at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish here in Latham, NY. Actually, I showed up on June 6th, was here for a week, left for our Seminarians' Summer Gathering, and have been back for almost another week. Today, however, I gave my first reflection at the 9:00AM daily Mass. I have so much to share about what's been going on since the quarter ended out at Mundelein—I've been here, there, and everywhere—but I wanted to start right away with sharing my weekly reflections. (Fr. Burke and I have worked it out that I'll give a reflection every Wednesday at the daily Mass. I figure these will also make good blogs… and a chance for you to… um… give me feedback? Pretty please?) Anyhow, this week and into next week, our 1st readings are taken from the 2nd Book of Kings; we're getting to hear the saga of which kings were faithful and which kings were responsible for getting Israel and Judah carried off into exile. The gospel passages are from Matthew. Today, specifically, the readings were 2 Kings 22:8-13, 23:1-3; Psalm 119:33-40; and Matthew 7:15-20.
Today's psalm speaks about discernment, and I think that this is a very important theme running throughout these readings. Did anyone notice the tension between today's gospel telling us to beware of false prophets and Monday's gospel telling us not to judge one another? Or did you notice, back in Monday's first reading, that Israel is essentially led off into exile because it behaved in exactly the same way as the nations all around it, "whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel," only to hear in the gospel "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" These readings all highlight the difference between judgment and discernment.
We certainly cannot pass judgment on anyone's relationship with God. We cannot know the state of a person's soul or the inmost dispositions of someone's heart. These things are the matter for God's final judgment and therefore are no cause for concern on our part beyond the obligations of charity. Nevertheless, we are called, in today's gospel, to exercise discernment when it comes to behaviors. We must judge right from wrong in people's actions and we would be stupid not to notice patterns. We must be on guard against the abuses of people who time and again behave selfishly, foolishly, angrily, faithlessly and so forth. That is, we must be on guard that we do not come to imitate their examples.
On the flip side of this, however, we must be aware at all times that people are watching us and judging our behaviors and drawing conclusions about us from what they see. Their judgments of our behaviors will reflect on the faith we profess. For instance, what message would it send if a daily "Mass-goer" were to be a total Scrooge when it came to finances? What if it were obvious that they never knew what it was to give a gift or send money to a charitable organization? Or, on the other hand, what if it was well-known that they were frivolous with their money, spending dollar after dollar on every silly little luxury but running out of funds for basic needs? In each of these extreme cases, we would see someone who doesn't really believe that they have a role in God's plan of salvation for others. Both, while in different ways, refuse to provide for others. What kind of faith does that show? Do we believe that irresponsibility is a good thing? Certainly not, but were we to behave this way, why should anyone think otherwise? The same goes for things like worry: worry too much and it shows that you don't trust in God's providence, get too fancy-free and people will think that you have no real care for the future. How could a worry-filled person inspire anyone to trust in God, and who in their right mind would listen to the exhortation to "Let go and let God" from someone who clearly wouldn't prepare for future problems anyhow? This type of thinking applies to just about any subject that touches on the virtues.
To sum it all up, we always need to be mindful both of whose examples we follow and the type of examples we set. Both are obligations of charity, the first to ourselves, the second to our neighbor.
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