The Gospel for SATURDAY, June 4, 2005 (St. Boniface)
Luke 18:15-30
People even brought babies to him, for him to touch them; but when the disciples saw this they scolded them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ One of the rulers put this question to him, ‘Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not commit adultery; You shall not kill; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; Honour your father and your mother.’ He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my earliest days.’ And when Jesus heard this he said, ‘There is still one thing you lack. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this he was overcome with sadness, for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to make their way into the kingdom of God! Yes, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ Those who were listening said, ‘In that case, who can be saved?’ He replied, ‘Things that are impossible by human resources, are possible for God.’ But Peter said, ‘Look, we left all we had to follow you.’ He said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times as much in this present age and, in the world to come, eternal life.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
Expensive Ticket
Jesus is [hopefully] using hyperbole, to some extent. If everybody left everything, we would all be in a very sorry state. And it would be pretty difficult to carry on YHWH's directions, to tend the earth as his creation, should we leave the stewardship He gave us for our life's work.
A Reflection
On the other hand, when we put people and things in a place of honor above God, when we -- for all practical purposes -- worship those other things, what statement do we make?
We all know, implicitly, that spending an hour in church once a week is not the kind of followership that Jesus was describing. But neither is leaving it all behind us and throwing ourselves onto the mercies of this world's population a way for the average Joe or Josephine to serve the Lord, at least this week, where I live.
As I have aged, I have become aware that more things in my life are becoming millstones around my neck. They slow me down spiritually. And any activity that doesn't have some sort of service connected with it is less desirable to me than one that does. I cannot put my finger on the motivation; my earnest desire is that it is that I am finally channeling energy into the direction Jesus talks of.
Living in His kingdom is a rewarding experience. Recognizing that every encounter is an opportunity to show His love is a life-changing realization. When I fall back into the "me" mode, I am frequently not far from being a horse's patootie. But when I have left a fellow human being in whom I dealt with Jesus, there is a glow and a lightness about me that is indescribable.
Screwtape, of course, hates that, and constantly flings in front of me all the other things that I can love more than Jesus. I know from experience that the pleasures that attend to those other things are extravagant, but are very short-lived. What lessons should I have learned the thousands of times that the recognition of their ephemeral nature has been exposed?
And how on earth do we expect an adolescent or young adult, without those experiences, to learn about the marvelous intimacy that is available with Jesus, when all her experiences are about here/now/fantastic?
Screwtape has had a corner on that market since the snake convinced first humans that he had something better than YHWH.
If we can stop Polio, what can we do about Screwtape?
The Collect
Almighty God, who called your faithful servant Boniface to be a witness and martyr in the lands of Germany and Friesland, and by his labor and suffering raised up a people for your own possession: Pour forth your Holy Spirit upon your Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
2:11:02 PM 
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