Reflection for 11/5/17 (Sunday)

    I remember growing up, I always hated when my parents would tell me to do something and their only explanation would be, “Because I said so…”  That was so very frustrating because there’s no argument against that…you can’t logically deny that they said so, and you can’t convince them otherwise.  So, as a kid, I used to always walk away defeated by this very simply phrase.  But then, when I would hear stories about my parents and what they did as children, and a lot of times it would be the very same things that they were not allowing me to do, I knew that I had an argument to bring before them.  “Well, you used to do that as a child, or you still do this today…”  And they would come back with the old, “Do as I say, not as I do,” reply.  

    Well, finally, in today’s Gospel, I have been vindicated by our Lord.  He reprimands the Pharisee for not “doing as they were saying,” for not “practicing what they were preaching.”  Jesus says, “Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice.”  At the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had created all of these excess laws that were aimed at MAKING SURE beyond a shadow of a doubt that nobody even came close to breaking the law of Moses.  They placed these heavy burdens on the people but they themselves did not always follow the excess laws they had implemented.  And what’s more, they went around with the longest phylacteries and prayer tassels, meaning they just liked to be noticed.  They wanted to be singled out as the most prayerful or the most pious of Jews.

    There are many things that Jesus can work with in the Gospel, he is compassionate with the adulterous woman, he invites a tax collector into his ranks, he even keeps Judas around, but there is one trait that Jesus cannot stand.  “Jesus has no time for hypocrites.”—People who say one thing and do another.  Why is that?  Why is Jesus so hard on hypocrites?  Because a hypocrite usually doesn’t realize that he or she is a hypocrite.  A hypocrite usually has convinced himself or herself that “I am good,” “There’s nothing to worry about,” “I love God and my neighbor just fine.”  However, even though a hypocrite might say and think that he or she is fine, the reality is far from this assessment.  Jesus can deal with sinners because sinners, in recognizing their sins, can be healed and brought to conversion; however, a hypocrite—someone who lies to themselves and others—cannot necessarily be healed and brought to conversion because that person is convinced that he or she does not need conversion or healing.

    My brothers and sisters, are we hypocrites when it comes to the Lord?  Are there areas of our lives that we need to change but perhaps are not willing to admit that we need to change?  Do we believe that we love God enough and love our neighbors enough when in actuality we could stop gossiping and talking behind people’s backs and we could stop being so cynical about others?  

    One area in particular where I see people being hypocritical is when it comes to trusting in God, specifically trusting in God enough to follow his will for a person.  People tell me all the time, “I trust in God,” but the moment something goes wrong in their lives, they are the first to blame God.  Where did that trust go?  I especially see it as the director of Vocations, working with men and women who are thinking of becoming a priest or a religious sister.  When I see someone who I believe might have a call from the Lord and I tell them so, I oftentimes get, “I don’t know, father, I don’t think so.”  Once again, I ask the question, where is that trust?  If we truly trust in God and believe that he will work our everything for our spiritual good, then shouldn’t we be willing to drop everything and follow his will in our lives?  But so many people are afraid, it seems to me, to be called to a life that they deem “difficult,” like being a priest or a sister/brother.

    I was no different, trust me.  When I was first asked about to consider becoming a priest, I immediately said “NO.”  I didn’t want to be a priest.  I wanted a nice house and big family and nice car.  But eventually, I began to see that I wasn’t trusting in God.  Then, one day in prayer, I came across a Scripture passage that said, “Cursed is he who does the Lord’s work remissly (halfheartedly)…”  And I began to realize that I can’t stand here and say that I trust in God and want to do his will in my life if I am going to put limits on doing his will.  I can’t say, “I will do your will for me, God, SO LONG AS your will is for me to have a big family or SO LONG AS your will is for me to drive a nice car.”  I either have to do God’s will wholeheartedly or I am only doing my will in the end.  And right then and there, I decided to stop being a hypocrite and to give myself to the will of God completely as I had believed I was doing already.

    This week, we celebrate National Vocation Awareness.  This week, we take time to look at all the Religious Vocations in life — priesthood, diaconate, sister, or brother.  Let us begin to ask the question, “Am I honest with myself when it comes to trusting in God?  And if not, why not?  What am I afraid of when it comes to trusting in him?”  And let us begin to practice what we preach, to live according to the things we say and believe.  Let us seek to no longer be hypocrites in our relationship with the Lord and with one another, but let us strive to have our “yes be yes and our no be no.”  And if the Lord is calling you to consider a life devoted to him as a priest, deacon, sister, or brother, begin to seek out his will in your life.