Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 425

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

Pope Francis has taken a prophetic stand; he challenges the policies of business and government which cause real suffering to millions of people. And he has spoken forcefully about the climate change which seemed to come upon us suddenly. He has reminded us that poverty and pollution are created by the same careless, mindless attitudes that govern our way of life. 

We were warned by climatologists since the late 1960's. They foresaw millions of people fleeing their homelands as seas rise and arable land is flooded, or turns to desert. With better data and more powerful computers, their predictions become ever more frightening. But only the world's armies and their weapon suppliers prepared for the social instability which breeds today's unrest and war. 

Pope Francis has also frightened many in the Church with his willingness to listen to people and reconsider ancient policies about divorce and remarriage. Abandoned spouses who search for intimate companionship in the social wilderness of megacities often remarry and find themselves rejected by the only church they ever knew. Catholic to the bone, they find nothing attractive in the sterile religion of other Christian churches. Despite the eager welcome of those congregations, and their nonjudgmental attitudes toward alternate lifestyles, they want to remain in the Catholic Church. 

If the hardliners would risk a remnant church of a few devout souls and empty, abandoned sanctuaries, the Pope and his allies hear the cry of the poor and want to respond. They remember the Lord who looked on the crowds with pity for they seemed like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt 9:36)

We seem to be caught in a maelstrom of ideologies and reactionaries, each more righteous than the other. It is hard to find a quiet place even in one's own mind where we can think dispassionately about the issues and their partisans. Certainly there is suffering on all sides, and much fear as we see little relief in the near future. Earth's climate will grow more hostile toward the life it fostered. Cities will grow ever large with their bewildering panoply of lifestyles -- a 20th century neologism -- and traditional religions will adjust in any case. 

Our Catholic tradition is a conversation with ancestors of many generations, some prehistoric and others born into generation alpha. The conversation is nothing if not respectful as today's participants learn to listen to ancient ideas and are surprised by their relevance. The can speak to today's issues. 

At the core of our Catholic tradition -- aka the Magisterium -- is the Bible with its two testaments. We turn back to them often and must be silent as the divine Authors speak. Their words and their meanings are often clearer than we expected; and we know they cannot be ignored. The Truth issues its own promises for those who listen, and warnings for those who turn away. It is forceful and, when necessary, intrusive. 

Case in point: inclusiveness would like to alter the words of many passages in the Psalms. Very often the protagonist appears to be male, although they speak to and for many women. Should the words not be altered to include men, women, and those suffering gender dysphoria?

Tradition reminds us that we have long regarded the Psalmist's voice as that of Jesus. He is the one who praises God in the temple, fears his enemies, and suffers betrayal. That reading lends unexpected depth and force to God's word. With that understanding we allow the Lord to speak to us of his suffering, and we listen with compassion. He has taken upon himself the misery and distress of all humankind and we are grateful. If my own hurt at the moment is not intense, I can go the extra mile. I can empathize with the Lord and his people. 

Ideologies suppose they have thought a thought that no one ever thought before. Pharisaism suspects new ideas because they are new; it is precisely the opposite and equally foolish.  Tradition is an inspired conversation of the past with the present. It remembers the mighty works of God in the distant past, and recognizes his continuing work in the present.