Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hear

July 21, 2010

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “I know not how to speak; I am too young.” But the LORD answered me, Say not, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth! Jeremiah 1:6-9

“But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Matthew 13:8-9

Piety
Psalm 139
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.
Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too. If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" --
Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.
How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!
Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity.
If only you would destroy the wicked, O God, and the bloodthirsty would depart from me!
Deceitfully they invoke your name; your foes swear faithless oaths.
Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?
With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own.
Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.
See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths.

Study
Recently I saw a book titled Motivating the "What's In It For Me" Workforce: Manage Across the Generational Divide and Increase Profits. Last Sunday, Alfie Kohn wrote a column in The Washington Post headlined “Complaining about a generation of spoiled kids – again.” In fact, this American pastime that targets the Pepsi generation with criticism is, frankly, getting old.

What generation is the “What’s in it for me?” generation? The answer all depends upon where you sit and how old you are. First, the “WIIFM Generation” is not whatever age group your generation happens to represent. So that means we can eliminate the Mature/Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers, the Baby Busters, Generation X, Generation Y and the Millennial generations. There, that’s settled. Or maybe not.

What generation is the “What’s in it for me?” generation? The answer all depends upon where you sit and how old you are. In fact every generation listed above at one time or another has probably been seen by the preceding generation as the WIIFM generation. Doesn’t society tell every member of every generation from a very young age to look out for number one?

The young grow up being socialized by an older generation that sets the example of “So what? Who cares? What’s in it for me?” Perhaps a reason elders blame things on youth is that there is only one other place to blame with our discontent. When you point your one finger out at others, three other fingers are pointing back at you.

The WIIFM attitudes are the signs that we are still seeds falling on rocky soil. Jeremiah reminds us that age is only a subject of mind over matter. No matter you’re your age, when the Lord calls, we are all sent forth to share His message, not ours.

In the American Catholic church, we have a practice of confirming our youth around the eighth grade. That sacrament is the final step in their initiation into the Church. It is not a graduation from religious education but a commissioning into the broader mission of the church in the modern world. The sacrament empowers those so blessed with carrying he message of faith out into the world.

Beth and I taught confirmation classes for a few cycles when Regina and Sarah were younger. Each time the director of religious education, a deacon or priest from our parish would interview the class before allowing them to approach the bishop, his blessed oil and the proverbial touch on the cheek. These parish leaders would agree that the average eighth grader in Northern Virginia is no more ready for confirmation than were the people addressed by Jeremiah or the disciples locked in the Upper Room.

Action
Ready or not, we are all called to set aside our selfish WIIFM habits. In their place, we are called to imitate Christ. We can imitate Christ when we listen to his words. We can imitate Christ when we spread his message. We imitate Christ when we get to know Jesus as a friend. How can we imitate Christ, asked Fr. Ephraim last Sunday, if we do not know him?

Jesus’ call is very inclusive. There is no argument there. He doesn’t call the young or the old. He doesn’t call the citizen or the stranger. He doesn’t call the blonde-haired or the red-haired. He calls on everyone who has ears. Check the side of your head. When you find your ears, you will realize that Jesus is calling you and I. The ancient paths turn out to be pretty modern.

Let’s make today the day we hearing his message, not ours. Let’s make today the day that we speaking His words, not ours.