YOU CAN’T DO THAT!
The title of my for this homily - for the 33 Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C - is, “You Can’t Do That!”
How many times has that been the bottom line? We experience frustration
or hurt or disappointment - and we say of God or others, “Hey you can’t do that
to me!”
We’re moving along and someone does something that we don’t
want them to do. We don’t expect them to do what they are doing or have done. And we scream inwardly or mutter outwardly,
“Oh no!”
Or we think: “Oh no - not again!” Or, “You can’t do that!” Or “Dang it!” Or much worse!
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings are these end of the year readings and
every year when we come to them, I think
inwardly: “Oh no! Not again!”
Give me a parable or a healing story or a good moment about
Jesus helping someone.
Nope. Once more - when I spot these readings I hear my moan:
“Oh no! More bombastic apocalyptic language!”
Once more we have these end of the year - these near the end
of gospel - passages - before we get to
the Palm Sunday and Holy Week and Easter readings.
We have them every year for about 3 weekends. “Ugh!”
They talk about earthquakes and fires. They talk about wars
and upheavals. They talk about pestilence and persecution. They talk about end
times. “Oh no! Not again!" And I can’t change the channel.
I inwardly think, “Hurry up Advent!” But then I discover
that those Advent readings repeat some of these end of the world themes as well.
They use them as we prepare for Christmas the first coming of Christ - to
prepare us for the final coming of Jesus Christ.
Today’s first reading from Malachi is vintage apocalyptic
language: “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and
all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on
fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of hosts.”
Today’s gospel talks about wars and insurrections, terror
and horror. Then Luke talks about the followers of Jesus being arrested and put on
trial - being handed over by even one’s own family.
Sometimes converts to Catholism tell us: “This is what
happened in my family when I converted.”
That’s an underlying theme in the New Testament writings. Expect difficulties when you become a follower of Jesus.
Scholars think Luke was written after the year 70 - because
it is talking about Jerusalem
being destroyed. And we know from non-biblical sources that there was a destruction
of Jerusalem
around the year 70 A.D. The historian Josephus says that one million, one
hundred thousand people died, in a long siege and 97,000 were carried away as
captives.
YOU CAN’T DO THAT!
I’ve been in a few car accidents. I’ve seen some heavy
storms, but I’ve never experienced
massive destruction like that mentioned in today’s readings - destruction
by violence or fire or earthquake or armies.
I’ve seen on TV a tiny bit of what’s happening now in Syria - and still in Afghanistan
- as well as still in Iraq
- and in the various troubled places on the planet. I’m sure folks experiencing horror say, “You
can’t do that!”
Yet, I assume violence, horror, wars and rumors of war, natural
and human destruction will continue till the end of time.
And I expect most people utter to God and others in times of
disaster those down deep words, “You can’t do that!”
IT MAKES THE NEWS
Horror stories are the stuff of the local as well as the
evening news.
There was a shooting last night on X street and a fire on Y
street and a water main break on Z street.
Horror stories hit our families - as well as our iddy biddy
everyday experiences. They make our inner news desk. Daily irritations appear on our inner monitor.
The person in front of us in the middle lane on Route 50 or 97 switches lanes and didn’t put on their blinker. We’re a blinker putter oner. So we say in the privacy of our car, “Dang it! You can’t do that!”
Someone in the family gets sick - or dies - or leaves a marriage - or does something
harmful - especially something that hits kids - and we say, “You can’t do that!”
In today’s second reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians we hear Paul saying
he tried to give good example to the Christian community there. But - but -
but…. There are people there who are out of order - people who are not minding
their own business - people who are interfering in the lives of others. Then Paul
basically says, “Don’t do that! Work quietly and eat your own food.” In other
words: Stay at your own plate!
SOLUTIONS AND HAPPY ENDINGS
We all want solutions and happy endings.
We want to control what’s happening in front of us - and
behind us.
We want people to do what we expect people to do: be nice, be good, do no harm.
We want the weather and the world to happen the way we would
like it to happen.
We want our kids and our neighbors and our spouse to have
our assumptions and ways to do things - and make things happen.
SURPRISE!
Surprise! They don’t.
So what I get out of these end of the year readings is not
what happened 2000 or so years ago - but a question: "How do I deal with today - when things
don’t go my way?"
I assume we all have our tricks - our ways - our patterns
for doing life - when life doesn’t go our way.
We have our little sayings like: “That’s the way the cookie
crumbles.” Or, “Hey, you never know.” Or, “Bummer!” Or, “I guess this is my way of the cross.”
We have our songs like, “The Gambler” - sung by Kenny
Rogers. You got to know when to play them - and when to walk away. You got to
know when to speak up and when to shut up.
Or we have that song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, "The Bug". Sometimes
we’re the bat and sometimes we’re the ball; sometimes we’re the bug, and
sometimes we’re the windshield.
Sometimes we’re the dog and sometimes we’re the
grass. And you know what dogs do on the grass - and sometimes people don’t clean
up and we step in it - and we scream to that unknown person, “Hey, you can’t do
that.”
We have our philosophies: “KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.” Or
“I choose to be an optimist when these things happen.” Or “This brings out the
best in people, so I’m not going to let it bring out the worst in me.” The
Stoics say: “Be stoical about it!”
We have our religions - which deal with this issue - big
time.
The Buddhists say: desire is what kills us every time. So
kill desire - wanting our way or scenario. Let it go!
The Christian says: “This is the cross!” And “Lord, give me the strength to carry it.”
Or, “Thy will be done.” Or, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace here!” Or “God you are the Great Quiet - the Great
Powerless One - hanging on a cross, nailed down by others, and you simply said,
‘Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.’" Or we say, "Into your
hands O God, I hand over my spirit.”
CONCLUSION
So we pray. We philosophize. We think. We walk on. We cry. We say, “Others have it
worse.” We trust. We persevere. We try to help others. We try to let it go.
Instead of saying to God, “Hey you can’t do that,” we say,
“Lord, help me to do what you do - give it time - and experience. Move me to work
towards resurrection on the other side of death and destruction.”
Or we smile and say, “I wonder how many people say of me - when
dealing with how I drive, how I handle things, how I do life: ‘Hey! You can’t
do that!’”
