Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Letting It Be

Jesus once told a story about over-eager field workers. Sometimes called the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the gist of it is that the workers find that someone has sown weeds in their master’s wheat field, and they ask if they should go pull them up. Surprisingly, the master tells them no. Just let them grow together, he tells them, because otherwise they risk tearing up the wheat as well.

If, like all the parables, the story is meant to relate to our lives, what’s its message? Is it that we should give up trying to make a flawless self, a perfect spouse, a perfect child, a perfect church or a perfect country?

Actually, I think that is the point. Jesus pretty clearly seems to be telling us to drop the burden of trying to right every wrong, iron out every wrinkle, and tie up every loose end. We can certainly try to improve things, but we’ll never succeed in sorting out all the good from the bad and getting rid of the bad. That will only come at the end.

In the meantime, the story warns us against too aggressively trying to eliminate all the weeds in ourselves or the world because we might ultimately do more harm than good.

Two Basic Truths

A few days ago, the first Mass reading was from Deuteronomy, chapter 7, in which Moses reminded the Israelites of two basic truths. The first was that they had nothing that could make God love them. They were neither numerous nor powerful, but rather a little people with little influence in the world.

But the other truth was that God had nevertheless set his heart upon them. Though there was no way they could compel his love, there was no way that they could ever lose it, either, because God had graciously chosen to love them and would never repudiate that choice, even though they might turn away from him and cause needless suffering to themselves or others.

Though the message was addressed to Israel, it is meant for us, too — both collectively and as individuals. We are all, in the last analysis, little people, and we all fall short of what we should be. But God’s love doesn’t depend on our actions or achievements; it is based on God’s own faithfulness and mercy. Even when we are unfaithful and hurt ourselves and others, God stands ready to forgive and renew us.

We need to remember both of these truths because doing so can help keep us from either false pride or crippling discouragement, and we very much need that gift.

Sweet Tooth Heaven

Let’s Dance

We just celebrated Trinity Sunday, a feast that is normally a preacher’s nightmare, for not only is the mystery of the Trinity hard to explain, it’s easy to take a wrong turn and end up in some kind of heresy.

But in a recent article I found out the Greek theologians had a word to describing what goes on in the Trinity — “perichoresis,” which is related to the Greek word for “dance.”

I wonder, then, if what is really going on in God is an amazing, beautiful, passionate, and creative dance, in which the three Persons move in creative harmony and rhythm, joy and love. And could it be that the Father “leads” and sends the Son to us to teach us the steps, while the Holy Spirit gives us the beat until we feel it in our bones?

I like thinking about the Trinity this way. It makes me eager to join the dance here and now, and when my life on earth is over, to be a permanent partner in God’s dance of unending life and love.

Heart Characteristics

In one of his sermons, Pope Leo the Great urged his hearers to have hearts which are “faithful and enlightened.” What does that mean?

I think a faithful heart is one that keeps faith, stays loyal, and remains committed. It is a heart that may meet temptation but doesn’t yield to it. It also realizes that saying yes to God may require saying no to what is not godly, but it says yes anyway.

I think an enlightened heart isn’t so much one that knows a lot of things (the usual meaning of “enlightened”), but one that has let the light in, that is, opened up to God all the rooms and all the nooks and crannies of our lives and wants God to have access to everything about us.

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, it’s not a bad idea to ask the Holy Spirit to give us, and the Church, too, hearts that are loyal and open.