June 22, 2017
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 368
2 COR 11:1-11
PS 111:1B-2, 3-4, 7-8
MT 6:7-15
I like buffets. My all time high weight of almost 400 lbs really showed that on the outside. For years when my family would ask where I wanted to eat, my main requirement was that there be a lot of food. The beautiful thing about a buffet is that everyone can find what they want. At a place like Golden Corral, I can find some decent vegan food, even fruits and vegetables, and my kids can have pizza or whatever else their heart desires. An entire family can eat different entrees, as much as they like, and all be satisfied. The problem with buffets is that we both don’t know when to stop and we often avoid those things which are healthiest for us. I’ve rarely seen my kids come back from a buffet trip with steamed broccoli, a baked potato, and salad. I also would rarely see myself doing that either.
In America, the idea of a buffet has invaded all of our cultures, and in the mind of some, it has even invaded their religious practice. Many take what they love about the Church’s teaching and hold on to that, but the parts they disagree with they push to the side or never even put on their plate. Like the steamed vegetables that are very healthy for them, they never take them off the buffet because the taste isn’t as pleasing as the other things in their life that it would require them to walk away from. Paul reminds us of the danger of picking and choosing, or of following a newer Gospel, a more pleasing one to the ears. In another scripture verse, he declares even if an Angel of the Lord were to appear with a different message we should cling fast to the original Gospel.
If we look back historically to the first Christians we find them unapologetically Catholic. The faith of “Our Fathers” is one that has been spoken of well before Constantine and though it has developed over time, can even be seen in the writings of Justin Martyr, who would likely recognize the Mass if he were to walk into a Catholic Church today. That faith is built on the rock of the Founder, Jesus Christ, who established a teaching authority in the Church. That authority has handed on for centuries now beautiful prayers, like the Our Father given to us by Christ himself, as guides and rules to show us how to get to the table. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have it all! You can have your cake and eat it too. But at some point, you also have to have your steamed vegetables! That key line, “Thy will be done,” is one of the ones left on the serving line all too often. Are you ready to make that deep a commitment to Christ? Every household has rules. When people look at you do they know you are part of the family?