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POPE John Paul II, like Ezekiel, has been appointed a ‘watchman’ for us, his people. He has the thankless duty of challenging us to turn from evil, and the impor-tant duty of encouraging us to continue the good that we are noted for world wide.
Ezekiel was a priest from an aristocratic family and was taken hostage with about ten thousand others by the expanding Babylonian Empire. His fellow exiles felt that the king of Judah would soon ransom them and they would return home. Ezekiel however received a call to be “the watchman” of his people who were reduced to forced labor by the streams and canals of the great empire. As we celebrate the importance of labor in our free nation and land we should not forget that throughout history and in our own times as well their are people who suffer from forced and semi-slave labor.
Ezekiel was reduced to the status of a forced laborer when he received his vision of God. He was the first to receive the prophetic call outside of the boundaries of Israel. The vision of God he had was extraordinary and compelling. He saw God rolling on wheels of eyes and capable of seeing all and being present to all. Yet, the message he had to deliver his fellow exiles was disheartening. He had to tell them to prepare to live and die in captivity. He dashed their false hopes. They didn’t want to hear his message that they were doomed to live out their lives far from home, temple, and all that they held dear. When Judaea fell, the city was destroyed, the temple burned, the king’s family killed and the king blinded. When all the nation was carried into exile, then they knew the words of the watchman were true.
At that point, however, the watchman changed his tune. When everyone was about to despair, he gave a word of hope. He asserted that although people, army and king had failed, God never fails and that God would deliver their descendants back to the land of their ancestors. He warned, however, the wicked to reform their ways and he urged people to repent rather than die in their guilt. In proclaiming God’s word of judgment and God’s word of hope, he found his own salvation and fulfilled his destiny as one of God’s spokesmen. He paid his debt to God by giving his entire life over into God’s service. The watchman was one of God’s great heroes and a laborer for Yahweh.
We cannot take up the mantle of prophecy or presume to be God’s watchman in the world. But we can certainly respond to the reading of Paul to the Romans and pay our own debts to God and neighbor. Paul simply says the type of debt we must plunge into is the debt of love. All believers have the call and destiny to be great lovers of God and for God.
This is the labor we are called to undertake. We are to work at being great givers of support, wisdom, comfort, and joy to others. We are to checkmate our evil desires and inclinations by unleashing our God-given capacity for caring for and nurturing others. As great lovers we are required to make great sacrifices. As great lovers we are called to work for harmony in a world in conflict. As great lovers we are expected to shine forth with the light of Christ in a world filled with injustice, exploitation of the poor, mistreatment of workers, misunderstanding of decent business people, and political systems that crush rather than support a humane way of existence.
In a world that promotes conflict the Lord urges us to seek reconciliation. In the most practical terms Jesus urges us to keep our troubles as private as possible. He knew that his disciples were not perfect and would continue to inadvertently hurt one another. He urged that people try to work out their differences. If that failed they should seek mediation and ultimately a just judgment given by the community as a whole. Jesus constantly extended his love to all but realized there always would be enemies of love, those who would refuse to love beyond themselves and drain and disrupt the decent, the loving in the community as a whole. Such individuals could not be of the company of his disciples because they would not fulfill his command to love God and neighbor completely and justly. The community itself would be the “watchman” for Christ’s love in this world..
He wanted so much for his followers to be bound in love. The casting out of the community those people refusing to love was the only course possible for the believers. Love can never be forced. God loves everyone but not everyone loves God in return. This does not diminish God’s love but it prevents God’s love from taking root in the heart of the haters of God. God stands in the midst of all people but God is in communion only with those who pray and live together in love.
On the earth and in heaven only the bounds of love will hold us together and hold us to God. Hell is for those who have rejected love’s bounds and responsibilities. Hell on earth has been created by those who flee from love and the God of love. Hell on earth is created by those who harden their hearts against God and neighbor. Though these people may prosper materially they are bankrupt humanly and personally. Ultimately if they do not heed the watching communities commandments to love they will die in their guilt and enter a loveless, lifeless, lonely realm of their own creation.

A SAINT once noted that anger and vengeance are like a sharp blade with out a handle. Anyone who grasps and holds it will be cut severely. The author of Sirach reminds us that the vengeful and violent will one day face the vengeance of God. Our world is torn apart by people who are trying to “even” the score, get back at enemies, and to right injustice through the promotion of new injustices. As a result our species is bleeding and wounded. Everywhere people usurp the power and role of God and end by adding to the ocean of tears that engulfs our planet.

Sirach urged all to allow God to administer judgment to those who inflict injury on us and others. He felt that the secret to peace with God and receiving God’s forgiveness was to develop a forgiving attitude towards those who have in fact offended us. This piece of advice is the hardest for us to follow of all the Scriptures and yet if we do not follow it we will walk the trail of bitterness and sour revenge. If we don’t follow a path of forgiveness, we will never know the God of forgiveness or pray the prayer that Jesus himself has taught us.

No one goes through life without being hurt, let down or betrayed. All of us could easily spend our days and nights brooding over the wrongs we have experienced and known. The older we become the greater the number of times we will have been disappointed in one way or another and the more excuses we can accumulate for being dour, joyless people. No one has a perfect family, job, or health. But being mad at the world and ourselves for not being in a perfect situation merely adds to our own woes. A saint once noted that no one can fight against a good person because a good person will not condemn anyone. People can hurt us but they cannot make us vengeful and vindictive. We do that to ourselves.

Peter in our Gospel reading asked the crucial question. How many times should we forgive someone? Peter thought that seven times would most likely be the maximum that any reasonable forgiving person could be expected to tolerate an offender. He was wrong. Jesus multiplied Peter’s expectation seventy-fold. He followed this astounding statement by an amazing story. We have heard the story throughout our lives and because of its repetition its impact on us is not what it should be. If we translated the tale of Jesus into contemporary terms, we might envision a businessman who led his company hopelessly into debt. When his chief creditor called him in and demanded a payment schedule, the businessman pleaded so effectively that the creditor actually cancelled the man’s entire debt. He did so because he realized that the man simply could not pay back what he did not have. That same day the businessman went out and demanded immediate repayment from a small businessman who owed him a small amount. When the man couldn’t repay, he forced the man into bankrupcy putting the man out of business and his few employees out of work. When his major creditor heard of this he was flabbergasted, and realized that the man he had shown compassion upon was devoid of compassion himself. In a rage he took the man to court and stripped him of all that he owned.

One day we are going to stand before God. God has loaned us life, our talents, our religious faith. In the end God will demand an accounting and ask what we have done with all we have been given. Unfortunately, none of us will be able to stand on our own merit or be rich enough spiritually to pay back even a small portion of what God has given us. The good news of Jesus is that the Lord of forgiveness will stand with us as our attorney and we will be able to rely on the clemency of God to pull us through. There is one giant hitch, however. We will be able to count on the clemency and mercy of God in the next life on the condition that we attempt to be forgiving and understanding towards others in this life.

If not, the Lord of Justice and love will be forced to let us slip into the realm where there is no love, justice, forgiveness, friendship and no hope. The God who is powerful enough to hold the entire universe in existence cannot force anyone to return the divine love that is freely offered to all. The forgiveness that came to the entire world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus cannot penetrate a heart that has no room for forgiveness. The unforgiving person cannot enter the realm where forgiveness is the only gate of entry.

The Catholic doctrine of the afterlife is benign. We have reason to hope that Christ is indeed savior and that more often than not he finds a way to bring a person to a modicum of reconciliation and love in this life and thus prepare the person for an eternity with the God of forgiveness.

Our doctrine of purgatory, simply states that many people are not yet perfect when they leave this life but have in fact been touched by the grace of God in their loving struggles. Purgatory is the gate through which they pass into peace. It is the final moment when they let go of guilt, forgive from their hearts those who have wronged them, and in a spiritual way make a final restitution for their sins and failures. It is not a second chance to believe or forgive. It is simply the perfection of a process that had already begun in this life. Next week we will explain in story form the reality of purgatory. But, for the moment it will have to suffice to say that if there is absolutely no sign of a forgiving, loving spirit, no hint of care or responsibility shown by a person in this life, then that person will step into a terrible realm of their own making from which there is no escape-hell.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 19, 1999

THERE was in a small, industrial, midwestern city a boy who had been dealt a losing hand by life. His father was in prison, his mother had remarried and he and his brothers were constantly beaten by his step father. A storm of wicked thoughts obsessed the youngster and he was compelled towards evil ways. His first communion meant nothing and he became a school bully inflicting on others the same pain and fear he knew at home. He could laugh, joke, be the life of any party but even when he was having fun his soul was filled with a rage that could erupt at any moment. He was a boy of many moods. He was rushing along a self destructive-path. He failed in school. He failed in picking friends. He failed to control himself.

He hated being bad but had no power to be good. He pretended he didn’t care about his failures but under his appearance of cool indifference lurked a terrible self-loathing. In school he taunted and at times beat up the boys who were succeeding in class and from stable homes. He laughed at them but he was consumed by a jealousy that caused him to weep inwardly even as he outwardly appeared as hard as nails.

As an adolescent he was in constant trouble with the juvenile authorities. The tougher they were with him the tougher he became. He was a danger to society and to himself.

A high school drop out, he soon turned to crime for money and a small amount of independence. He was, however, a failure as a criminal as well as a failure as a human being. The burglaries and robberies were so poorly carried out that the police could not fail to catch him. Deep down this was what he wanted. He wanted to be punished and he wanted to be jailed. He scared even himself. In prison, he found men that were harder and more terrifying than he had imagined.The bully of the school yard found himself again being abused and beaten just as with his own step father. He unconsciously had wanted to follow his natural father to jail and found that the half formulated dream was a nightmare.

Most of his adult life was in and out of prison on both petty and more serious crimes. The years slipped by and he finally began to feel the rage within him die out as physical health lessoned and his strength ebbed with the onset of old age. He worked at a series of menial jobs and looked out for himself as best he could.

In both society’s and his own eyes, his was just another wasted life with nothing to show for the pain and sorrow he had endured and had inflicted on others.

Normal people wisely shunned him. Not all people are normal, however, and some for the sake of the Lord are down right upright. Some are fool enough to take the Lord’s message of forgiveness seriously. A church janitor who had gone to grade school with the scoundrel ran into him one day on the streets. They began to talk over childhood memories. The janitor had been beaten up a few times in grade school but had long since let go of any bitterness towards the scoundrel. Though the scoundrel had beaten him a few times decades before he realized that life itself had beaten down the scoundrel. He felt no need to be vindictive or to gloat over the man’s wasted life.

Much to the horror of the pastor, the janitor invited the scoundrel over to the Church to help him with a few odd jobs. The pastor kept his fears and feelings well hidden. The scoundrel accepted the offer for part time work partly because he was bored and partly because he felt he might discover something worth stealing. After his first day, he realized the parish was as poor as he was and there was nothing worth taking. The puttering however did help pass the day and his boredom was at least mildly relieved. One day he was dust mopping the Church. He was alone. It was quiet. Sunlight flowed through the ancient stained glass windows. He looked up to admire them and saw depicted the Calvary scene. Jesus was looking with love to his right at the good thief mentioned in Luke’s gospel. The scoundrel looking at the thief was suddenly moved. The thief was broken in body, degraded, dying but at peace. For the first time since his childhood, the scoundrel began to weep. Perhaps, it was a trick of light caused by a cloud passing before the summer sun, or a refraction light caused by his own tears, but the hardened scoundrel swore that for a brief instant the Lord of Calvary glanced his way.

That weekend he cornered the pastor and went to confession. The priest helped him with the formula and words and then listened to a story of violence, betrayal, decadence and an incredible amount of sadness. After an hour and a half, the priest raised his arm in absolution. The man left forgiven.

A few months later, the forgiven scoundrel died of a massive heart attack. He found himself standing before the Lord of forgiveness and once again saw the look of love depicted in the stained glass window. Yet, precisely because of that look the man was in torment. He was saved and entering the kingdom of love but for the very first time he understood the horror of the sinful life he led. For the first time he experienced the pain, fear, and hurt he had inflicted on others. For the first time he realized how little he had done to mend the harm he had done. He could hear the cries of his victims and they became his own trauma of sorrow. The more loving the gaze of Jesus the deeper his sense of guilt became. He realized that all of his life he had lied to himself by thinking that no one cared. Now he knew that the Lord of Calvary was with him and had been all along. The Lord insisted he enter his final peace but the forgiven scoundrel insisted on doing something spiritual to make up for the harm he had done. He prayed for the world he had left and harmed. He prayed for his victims. He was in a state of cleansing, he was in Purgatory, the active earth-oriented phase of eternal salvation. He refused to look beyond the face of Christ to the Father until he had made right as best he could the harm he had done. At long last he was able to enter the realm where guilt has no place, where loneliness is unknown, and the glory of God shines forth. He received an eternal life’s reward for a few months of righteous life. The generosity of the Harvest Master was once again proven.

JESUS complemented John and assured his listeners that the man from the desert was an authentic prophet. He preached with deeds as well as words and had an immediate and tremendous impact on the outcasts of society.

Jesus expressed astonishment that the chief priests refused to heed the call of John. Nevertheless, Jesus continued to reach out towards all, including the religious leaders of his time. The rabbis and teachers of the Law of Moses on the whole were fine men. Most worked sincerely to spread a respect for God and God’s people. Most were working class men whose only wealth was their knowledge of the Scriptures. These were able to identify with the man of the desert and with the carpenter’s son, Jesus. But, then as now, there were other religious leaders who had succumbed to power and wealth. They were unable to accept the authenticity and austerity of John or the gentle and forgiving ways of Jesus. They fell into the deadly habit of accusing others of sin and were unable to realize their own attitudes were driving others from God and preventing their own human and spiritual development. The encounters they had with Jesus such as in today’s gospel were unable to reach or move them. The encounters that could have saved them from themselves turned into fiascoes.

Unlike John who lived in the desert and wore animal skins and unlike Jesus who lived simply and moved from place to place, these leaders live in comfort but are unable to comfort a world in mourning. They are profoundly dangerous. They cloak their own ideas in the word of God, mislead people, break up homes, and despoil widows, orphans, and the lowly. Their particular sin is that they do it in the name of God.

Religious leaders who oppose them with an intelligent, articulate and sincere presentation of the message of Jesus, are accused by them of being in league with the anti-Christ. Though these leaders in tears and song might say Christ is the cosmic executioner who is returning soon to destroy all those who disagree with these self appointed leaders.

Most ministers, deacons, priests and religious spend their lives in quiet and effective service of their people. They are shocked that the religious truths they have dedicated their lives to are able to be completely twisted and turned around to enrich individuals while impoverishing the Kingdom of God.

Unfortunately, it would seem that even John the Baptist or Jesus himself was unable to soften the hearts of this type of person. Yet, miracles do happen. Paul had been a religious fanatic and caused a great deal of harm but had his life turned around by the blinding light of Christ. We pray that this will happen to others in our day and they will be able to begin healing the wounds they have inflicted in the name of God.

There are religious fanatics in every denomination. Our prayer is that they will retain their intensity and devotion but temper it with compassion towards all. Our prayer is that they will see the need to make restitution for the damage done and their mellowing under the grace of God will restore the image of authentic religion which they have tarnished.

Jesus used the harshest language against the rigid, self-righteous leaders of his day. We must be careful that in our condemnation of religious fanaticism we do not become fanatical ourselves. We should not gloat over the downfall of any religious leader but we should rejoice when there is exhibited an authentic, restitution oriented conversion. The main restitution that needs to be given is to deliver people a peace of mind that the narrow interpretation of religion might well have robbed them of.

This was the type of restitution Paul made in his career in the first century. He began by condemning all Christians as heretics and rebels. He accused them of betraying the law and the prophets. After his conversion he spent the rest of his life admitting his mistake and doing his best to make up for it. He demonstrated in deeds as well as words that he had had a true change of heart. In his service of religion he sacrificed his health, his freedom, and ultimately his life. He did not demand that others lay down their lives. Paul, John the baptist and the savior himself, laid down their lives in the service of others.

It would be marvelous if all could be infected with that same spirit of service that Paul refers to in his great hymn to Christ. Christ did not cling to power and divinity but became completely human and accepted even death for our salvation.

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