Fr. Rick Spicer

There is one extraordinary experience we all have in common. At some appointed time, we experienced birth. Not everyone here is Catholic, or American, or a resident of south Whidbey. Not everyone is employed, or healthy, or wealthy. Not everyone here is Caucasian, or retired, or a native of this country, but we have all experienced birth and someday we will all experience death. No matter how well we try to keep in shape or healthy we may be, our bodies cannot last forever.

Death is not a popular subject, particularly in our country where we make believe that people will live forever. The bottom line, well understood by early Christians, is that death is a part of life. They lived, preparing themselves for the end of the world or at least the end of their own world. Unlike us, many lived for the moment as the opportunity to be fully in the presence of God.

Our culture has a hard time confronting the reality of death. Many people avoid thinking about death, using euphemisms, saying the person has passed away or has expired. Some people view death as the end of their existence, as though life exists only from the womb to the tomb, while Christians see death as a transition from a journey marked by time to one that will remain timeless. We are not alone in that regards. The author of Wisdom, writing in ancient Alexandria 22 centuries ago offered hope to his readers that the wise and righteous person may enjoy eternal happiness with God. Contrary to the popular opinion of his times that regarded death as the absolute end of a person’s existence, this biblical author insists that the wise and righteous person should hope for immortality, viewing the sufferings of the present and even physical death as moments along the way to their future fullness of life with God.

A century later, Jesus reaffirms this by telling his listeners that it is his Father’s will that “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” What an awesome promise! Writing in America magazine, Fr. Daniel Harrington notes that eternal life doesn’t begin for us when we die, but when we make that act of faith in Jesus as the revealer and revelation of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus assures his followers that those who believe in him will be raised, vindicated, and richly rewarded. His resurrection is a testimony of what lies ahead for us at the end of time.

With such good news, why then do we interrupt our usual cycle of Sunday readings to commemorate the souls of the faithful departed? Many Christians argue that at the moment of death, there are only two options: heaven and hell and anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord will be saved. And they are right, but we believe that for many of the faithful departed there will be a detour on their way to heaven, a detour known as purgatory.

Knowing that God is all loving and forgiving, why does purgatory even exist? Essentially, this is what the Church has to say. “If we are not ready to live the life of heaven when we die, we will “undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” From its beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and prayed for them so that when purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.

Purgatory is not a punishment for what we have done wrong in this lifetime. Purgatory is a means for us to purge ourselves of the last of our self-centeredness, our venial sins, faults and imperfections and ready ourselves to totally enter into the presence of God for there can be no trace of sin in heaven.

Totally surrendering ourselves to God in this lifetime is a step few of us have done or are willing to do, so at the moment of death, we won’t be ready to face up to the fullness of God’s awesome love. We are like the student who puts off studying until the last moment and is now cramming for the final exam. The teacher isn’t punishing us; rather we are kicking ourselves for not being ready. Likewise, when we put off focusing our undivided attention on God, that leaves us less prepared to be in God’s overwhelming presence. Sooner or later, we must totally surrender to God. We can do so in this lifetime or the next. If we are not spiritually ready to be in the presence of God at the moment of our death, purgatory is the means by which Christ will condition us for that ultimate encounter with God.

In their catechism for Catholic adults, our bishops write, “Those who are in a friendship with God but who are not fully purified and perfected are assured of their eternal salvation. However they must undergo a purification to obtain the perfection of love and holiness needed to enter heaven, where they have a heart that is totally open to God.” In short, are we spiritually ready to be in God’s presence? If not, purgatory is the means to grow in holiness if we haven’t done so in this lifetime.

We gather for Mass today because we know that our prayers can help those who have gone before us marked with faith who are now being purified in purgatory. Our prayers may provide the extra push that some one there needs for making that total surrender to God. With our prayers, they can some day join Jesus in saying, “Yes, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!”

Someday our turn will come as well and others will be praying for us. Meanwhile in this lifetime, we continue to pray every Sunday in our creed for the communion of saints, a community we aspire to belong to. No wonder, we are moved to pray at every funeral, “May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.” Someday, purged of our shortcomings and ready to totally commit ourselves to God, we will all be experiencing the fullness of God’s love for all eternity in that heavenly community.
 

Whenever I eat out, I do not know what to expect. Some times I ask questions to better understand the different options on the menu, much to the chagrin of my friends. Even so, what I expect and what is delivered are not always the same. In any case, the consequence of what I chose is usually short lived. Many other decisions we make have much more lasting impact than the dinner we had last night, like the choices we will make on Election Day.

Many other decisions we make have much more lasting impact than the dinner we had last night. For example, ever since our Supreme Court legalized abortion 35 years ago, an estimated 49 million innocent human lives have been lost. I believe that is more than all the fatalities in every war our nation has fought in the past 100 years.  We were stunned by the tragedy of 9/11, stunned enough to go to war, but as a nation we remain complacent to the horror of abortion.

In the gospel, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, telling us that the whole law depends on these two commandments.  How anyone in good conscience can claim to love God and neighbor yet support the right to take the life of an innocent being is beyond me.  I suspect those who commit acts of violence never give any thought to loving either God or others before making such a decision. Quite likely, they don’t even feel loved by God.

Few of us have made a decision that has claimed the life of another person yet soon we will be making decisions about our future political leaders. Unlike the meal you will order the next time you dine out, these decisions on who gets our vote must not be taken lightly. Those whom we elect will lead our country according to the values they hold. As a voter, you have to ask yourself if their values are your values. Keep in mind that not all values weigh the same. Morally speaking, some values, like abortion and euthanasia, are intrinsically evil even if our society deems them acceptable, while other values are prudential judgments that reflect our concerns for the less fortunate or the disadvantaged. Then there are those values that demonstrate little concern for anyone else. Some voters go to the polls with the mindset, “What is in it for me?” instead of “Who can best serve the needs of our community, our state, and our nation for generations to come?”

Every voter needs to ponder the question, “Which candidate exemplifies the values I hold dear?”  That means discerning what our values really are.  For this reason, we need an informed conscience.  You have likely heard the advice, “Let your conscience be your guide.” Our bishops caution us that conscience is not something that allows us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling” about what we should or should not do. So what is conscience?

Our catechism teaches us that conscience is a “judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act.” Our conscience does not create right and wrong but perceives it.  We have a serious and lifelong obligation to form our conscience in accord with human reason and the teachings of our Church, which are based not only on scripture but also 2000 years of prayerful insight and revelation.

Rarely do candidates running for political office embody the full range of our Church’s social teaching, much less our Catholic convictions, which is why we must have a well-informed conscience capable of evaluating the values of every candidate’s platform and giving each issue its proper moral weight.

We can express our love for God and others by making a conscious choice to respect life fully when we cast our votes.  We need to be concerned about the vulnerable and that includes the unborn and the terminally ill.  Our country’s attitude toward abortion has helped to create what Pope John Paul called a culture of death in which human life has been cheapened.

If we can kill an innocent child in the womb of a mother or take the life of someone whom we label terminally ill and no longer be shocked as a nation, then we can justify anything such as unending wars, abuses in capital punishment, violence, and social injustices. Abortion undermines civil order because it affirms an un-American principle that everyone is not equal under the law. We must not forget the haunting words of Mother Theresa, “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

In today’s psalm, we responded, “I love you Lord, my strength.” The basic premise of all scripture is God’s unconditional love for us.  Those who have experienced God’s love can love God and love others in return. That there should even be a commandment to love may seem strange in that we think of love as being spontaneous. The key to keeping this commandment is to recognize that God has loved us first. Some people struggle with a lack of self esteem, but most of us are pretty good at taking care of ourselves. The second commandment challenges us to take some of the care and concern we have for ourselves and apply it to others, especially those who are vulnerable as mentioned in the first reading from Exodus. Simply put, we should love our neighbor because God loved us first and in loving our neighbor, we demonstrate our love for God.

Aside from urging you to vote against I-1000, I am not going to tell you how to vote, but I urge you to prayerfully consider the choices you are making before you cast your ballot and ask that in light of this commandment of love that you have a concern for the most vulnerable in our society who cannot speak for themselves. That is one aspect of the love that Jesus requires of us.  Having concern for them is part of what it means to put God first and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. 

A preacher once gave an interesting sermon on the theology of divine election. “The divine election is an election by a majority vote. There are three who are voting; God, the devil, and you. You know what side God will vote on, and you know the devil will vote on the opposite side. Thus, your vote will decide whether you go to heaven or hell.” In the parable, Jesus makes that point as well, observing that many guests flatly refused to come to the banquet, some in rather far fetched ways, I might add.

That was his way of noting that many people, like his critics and fellow Jews, were too busy with their own agendas to find much time for God in their lives. In place of the litanies we heard, we could substitute our own. “Sunday is my one chance to sleep in.” “I can’t get the kids moving in time.” “I don’t like the music or the homilies.” “The Mass isn’t entertaining enough.” “I don’t feel welcomed.” “I’ve been planning this fishing trip for weeks.”

What catches my attention is not how the would-be guests acted but how the king treats the one guest who comes improperly dressed for the occasion. “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” The guest was reduced to silence, so the king had him thrown outside. Isn’t he being a bit harsh? Not really. The expelled guest knew the rules; to be at the banquet, he had to come properly attired. In those days, if a guest arrived ill-clad, the host would offer a wedding garment so he could don such a garment but this guest chose not to. If this scenario sounds odd, trying dining at some fancy restaurant that requires a coat and tie. If you have neither, the maitre d’ makes sure you are properly attired.

What was so important about this garment? As the saying goes, clothes make the man. In our case, when we were baptized, we were “clothed in Christ.” We were told, “See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.” That is our mission. Clothing ourselves with Christ signifies conversion on our part, saying ‘no’ to a life of sin and ‘yes’ to God’s way of living. Such was the life we were voting for when we were baptized.

As the parable suggests, God is a generous host who opened his heavenly feast to all peoples, the bad and the good alike, when the chosen people of Israel declined to attend, but Jesus cautions that this invitation must be accepted on God’s terms. Saying “yes” to the promises we made at our baptism isn’t enough. Just as the king prepared for the banquet, so must the guests. If we expect to remain seated at the heavenly banquet, then we must remain clothed in Christ, that is, we must live by the values Jesus repeatedly proclaims throughout the gospels and continues to proclaim to us through the Church to this day.

Are we listening attentively to God’s word given to us in scripture and elaborated by the teachings of the Church? Are we applying its lessons in our daily lives or, like the expelled guest, are we refusing to abide by God’s expectations of his guests? In other words, do the choices we make and the values we hold suggest that we are voting with God or with the devil?

I once thought that every Catholic knew the Ten Commandments but I learned long ago that isn’t true. No wonder then that the moral attitude of many Catholics has been as varied as the buffet table at any wedding reception. Many Catholics unfortunately ignore certain moral principles because they disagree with them oftentimes without understanding God’s rationale behind them. Those who choose to ignore God’s rules might experience the same fate as the expelled guest. Like him, they may be expecting to feast at the banquet but, as this parable warns, they may find themselves “grinding their teeth” and wondering what went wrong.

It is one thing to be ignorant; it’s another to ignore. Recall what happened to the guest who ignored the rule. We cannot expect to experience the kingdom when we ignore the promises we made at baptism, to reject Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises. When we sin, we are staining the garment given to us at baptism, the garment of goodness, truth, and love. The unwelcome guest was booted out because he chose not to clothe himself appropriately. Might we be doing the same? Are we ignoring the many opportunities we have to live God’s will? Our everyday living is not inconsequential. Even the little things we do help us to either put on or take off our garment.

If we arrive at the pearly gates without being properly attired, will we have anything to say in our defense or will we, like the banished guest, be reduced to silence? Dare we claim ignorance of God’s moral law as our excuse for making moral choices God condemns? Dare we pass up opportunities for reconciliation with God and neighbor and still be able to defend ourselves? Or will we be left speechless? If the choices we make now hinder us from a deeper loving relationship with God, then the devil could very well get our deciding vote by default as to where we will spend eternity.

Dante, the author of the Divine Comedy, wrote, “If you insist on having your own way, you will get it. Hell is the enjoyment of your own way forever. If you really want God’s way with you, you will get it in heaven, and the pains of purgatory will not deter you, they will be welcomed as means to that end.”

God looks forward to welcoming us to his son’s wedding feast. The choice to be seated at this banquet is ours to make but God will spot the unrepentant sinner or lukewarm believer. Our actions and values each day reveal the vote we ultimately will cast that forever decides our eternal destiny, a vote much more important than the one we will cast on Election Day.
 

Parables are timeless tools Jesus uses to get his message across. Though full of violence, this parable is no different; just look at today’s headlines. Few of us are violent, certainly not in the manner we just heard, people killing, beating and stoning yet sadly, violence does color the world we live in. Nations, peoples, individuals, even kids, routinely hurt, maim, and kill. In this graphic manner, Jesus cautions that the kingdom of God will be taken away from those who have no respect for the son of God.

Historically, our world has been divided into “us” and “them.” In the parable, we had the tenants and the servants. Now “us and them” could be described as blacks and whites, Muslims and Jews, gays and straights, the haves and have-nots, to name but a few. One doesn’t have to go far to find division. Even within our minds, we have a tug of war going on. Our “tenants” are those beliefs, habits, and attitudes that dupe us into rejecting the call of the servants, modern day prophets, who urge us to respect the son of God and his message. The tenants’ final act of defiance in killing the son alludes to our personal rejection of Christ, which happens whenever we commit a mortal sin.

When we are influenced more by the secularism of our culture than the teachings of our Church, we do not see the act we or others commit as anything immoral or wrong. Instead, we rationalize that certain sinful acts and values are harmless, when in fact, they are not.

Every sin causes harm and hurt.  History is full of examples where we have chosen not to respect life. Genocidal slaughter based on ethnic or religious differences have touched just about every culture and every land, including ours. But the destruction doesn’t stop there. We must not ignore the cold-blooded killings by teens, patients committing suicide with the help of doctors, prisoners who have been tortured or executed, fetuses destroyed by abortion or infanticide, or addictive behaviors like pornography that undermine the dignity of the human person.

Our culture claims these values are acceptable. Many who find them offensive and immoral have chosen to remain silent on the matter or feel that “the choice is that person’s right.”  Such silence doesn’t make the evil disappear as one German ruefully observed years ago, “In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

The immorality, the violence and the legitimized killings are so common place that they may seem beyond our control. So, we reason, as did many Germans during the reign of Adolf Hitler, we have neither the power nor the responsibility to change things. Yet as Edmund Burke, an English philosopher, observed, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

Pope Benedict XVI observed the divisive nature of culture on his recent trip to our country when he said, “The subtle influence of secularism can color the way people allow their faith to influence their behavior. Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?”

The obvious answer is no. Pope John Paul II cautioned, “For many people the difference between good and evil is determined by the opinion of the majority…” He added, “The choice in favor of life is not a private option but a basic demand of a just and moral society.” To respect life, there must be a reawakening in our hearts to really know and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Such an intimate understanding emerges through daily prayer, study and attentive reflection.

Jesus told us, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  Any contractor knows that a building without a cornerstone will eventually collapse. Raising his son from the dead, God offers us Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith. If this is what we profess, then he must supplant the false beliefs, habits, and attitudes which the wicked “tenants” of our secular culture promote.  When we know Jesus and his message, his voice stands out from the rest of the world.

A Chinese lad, who wanted to learn how to make jade into beautiful objects, went to a master who placed a piece of jade in the boy’s hands, then sat there chatting about his wife, his job, his children, and so on. All the while, the boy patiently felt the jade. This continued for several weeks, until one day, without warning, the master placed a stone in the boy’s hands. “Hey! This isn’t jade!” the boy cried. He had learned the feel of jade. Likewise, if we are to truly respect life and experience the kingdomGod, we need to know the real Jesus.  Those who have made Jesus the cornerstone of their faith truly know the peace of God in the midst of a violent world.

I learned long ago never to judge a book by its cover.  Publishers often make books with poor plots look enticing with attractive covers and hide the best plots behind dull covers.  What we find may not always match our expectations. The same can be said about people.

With this parable, Jesus demonstrates that he has little respect for those who put on airs of holiness if in their hearts, they had little regard for what really matters to God. By contrasting the actions of the two sons, neither of whom were ideal, he compares the chief priests and the elders with the public sinners in their midst.

Human nature hasn’t changed much since then. Like the wayward son, many of us nowadays say yes in words but no in deeds or lack of deeds. Perhaps we can fool others or ourselves into thinking we are faithful Catholics, appearing to others to be religious while holding on to practices and values that are anything but Christian, but we cannot fool God, no matter what sort of argument we may contrive.

The second son looks good on the outside.  He gives his word to his father but he doesn’t follow through. Perhaps he sees no wrong in ignoring what his father asked of him. His brother, on the other hand, made a scene, refusing at first to honor his father.  Later he regrets what he did, changes his mind and goes to work in the vineyard.

This parable is a good example of saying “actions speak louder than words.” Having shared the parable, Jesus asked a probing question.  “Which of the two did his father’s will?”  The obvious answer to the chief priests and elders is the son who ultimately did what his father asked of him.

Whom do we relate to in the parable? Do we see ourselves in the sandals of the son who was quick to say yes, yet had no intention of obeying his father? That is, do we see ourselves as being quick to believe in Jesus yet not so inclined to do what he asks of us?  Or do we see ourselves in the sandals of the other son, initially protesting all that God asks of us, but finally seeing that a change of heart and attitude enables us to experience what Jesus means when he speaks of entering the kingdom of God.

Many Catholics remind me of the wayward son; they’re selective with what they want to believe and practice. Two good examples would be Catholic politicians who publicly favor pro-choice legislation and voters who support the practice of euthanasia despite what the Church says on these matters. They have redefined the Church to fit their needs, instead of defining their values to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.   Perhaps, like the ancient Israelites they feel, “The Lord’s way is not fair!” The issue isn’t fairness. When we ignore certain dogma and morals to suit our whims, we create a church that ceases to be Catholic, and cannot bring us to the kingdom of God that Jesus promises to his followers.

Sometimes we justify a sin or an immoral choice by saying, “It doesn’t hurt anybody.” The truth is, we just don’t know how much harm we are doing. The only reason, God, our Father, gives us laws is to tell us what does in fact hurt people, whether we know it or not. If we don’t take God’s word for it, we will learn the hard way and someone will suffer from our actions. Some things are wrong not because they do harm every time but because they are dangerous.

God hopes we will learn that being self-centered leaves us feeling empty.  Like the repentant son, we can change our minds, our values, our way of life and allow our attitudes to become, as Paul urges, like that of Christ.  Unlike the chief priests, that is what the prostitutes and the tax collectors whom Jesus associated with did.  They followed the example of the repentant son and changed their lives.

Speaking of change, we claim that leopards can’t change their spots and that old dogs can’t be taught new tricks. We usually say these things in jest because we don’t really think change can happen or that very few people do change. With this parable, Jesus challenges that mindset.  His message is simple: we can change if we want to. When we see that doing the Father’s will can make a positive difference in our lives, then change is more likely to happen.

Unless we do what the Father asks of us, we cannot enter the kingdom of God, any more than we can bake a cake without following the recipe. That means changing our priorities and making space in our busy lives for God.  Consider how much time you spend each day in prayer. Is God important enough to merit any of your precious time beyond a few fleeting minutes?  What shapes our relationship with God, the church, and others in our lives are the priorities we set for ourselves.  If our attitude is honestly centered on Christ, we would then see the value of what God continually is asking of us through his Son and through the Church. Make time for God daily by taking time to pray.

To be redeemed by Christ, we must be like Christ. Look to others’ interests rather than our own. Put your faith in Jesus and see him as the way to holiness.  By living in Christ and like Christ, we can pass from the tragedy of sin to the joy and peace that God promises us in his kingdom.  The tax collectors and prostitutes got the message and changed their lives and so can we.