In the political system of the United States, the President gets to select those persons he wishes to fill the various Cabinet positions in his administration. He occasionally has the duty and opportunity to make a nomination to fill a vacancy on our Supreme Court. We are going through that Cabinet vacancy process right now. Names are presented to the Senate for confirmation. The opposition party usually takes this opportunity to challenge the choices and perhaps challenge the ability of the President to choose proper appointees. The people selected for this ordeal of service must have a clean history and a thick hide. They undergo intense scrutiny before their being selected and even more during their Confirmation Hearings. Many people are bypassed because of their personal history or thinness of skin.
In today’s First Reading (Jeremiah 17:5-8), Jeremiah sets out two groups of people according to where they get their support. There are the “cursed” who trust totally in human frailty. Their roots seek for stability in the salty desert of merely human strength. Shallow is their reach and constant is their thirst.
The “blessed” find their support in the Lord. They are planted near a constant stream which from which they get sustenance and are able to grow because of the faithful-flowing water. These can take the heat of examination and the cold of rejection. Their stability is deep, because their roots have patiently and faithfully sought their source and are assured of their final end.
The Gospel passage that we hear today (Luke 6:6-17, 20-26), has Jesus coming down from the mountain where He has chosen the twelve members of His “cabinet”. They will spend the rest of their lives being examined and rejected. Amidst the crowds from all corners of the region, Jesus addresses directly these simple, hard-working people in terms that leave us scratching our simple, hard-working heads. They are not promised any short-term results or perks. Jesus announces that they will be blest when they are poor, hungry, weeping and persecuted. His “cabinet” members begin to hear what is expected of them and begin to examine themselves, as do we, about whether they want to cast their futures beyond this world. Now or later seems to be the question of the moment.
Jesus is not finished though. He has some more examination questions for His followers. Do you know that if you are rich now, that later you already will have had your consolation? Do you know that if you are full now, that later you will reach for and never obtain? Do you know that if you laugh now, you will weep at the loss of everything later? Do you know that if all you do is make your life’s choices so as to have everybody speak well of you, that those who live falsely and are celebrated for their lies now will be ultimately be rejected?
These questions, perhaps, make us wish we had not read or heard these readings. The Disciples heard them and began wondering, as we do, where do we find our stability: in human support, reinforcement and meaning; or in the constant faithfulness of knowing God’s care. Happiness now, or happiness later?
It is said that in Nebraska, on a warm and humid summer night, out in the fields, if you listen, you can hear the corn growing. For the farmer, there is comfort in hearing the corn grow and knowing that a bountiful harvest is coming. For us, can we hear, see, feel how we are growing, like the fruitful tree planted near the ever-flowing stream? We want results for our efforts and the quicker the better. We would like to know at all times how quickly our roots are growing. But notice that Jesus never tells His disciples how they were doing. He does advise them what they should be doing if they truly trust in His ways. It was their need for immediacy that occasionally got them in trouble. It is that way with us as well.
We wonder as we hear these words, whether we can be or are, poor enough to share, hungry enough to keep reaching, loving enough to weep and grateful enough for who we are in Christ, that we can stand firm in the face of being rejected. Our roots take time. There may be a tomorrow, but we can only grow today. We either find the temporary in the shallows or our depth in the relying on God’s grace to help us face the call and the Caller. The Disciples heard these sayings and continued their walk with Jesus knowing that he had not forgotten what He had told them. That stream of God’s faithful love does not run dry whether we are reaching for it or not. God is more faithful than we are. Thank God!
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!