“They soon turned aside from the way in which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, they did not follow their example.” These words from the book of Judges in the Old Testament were written over 3,000 years ago, but they are still just as valid for us today, as they were for the Israelite people. There really isn’t anything new under the sun. Every generation believes they are different and more progressive than their parent’s generation, but that isn’t true. We only repeat our human history, when it comes to sin. Actually, there are only a handful of ways people commit sin (the 7 Capital Sins), but there are thousands of unique ways to grow in holiness. Every one of the saints lived out the gospel in a very unique way, much like their own fingerprints. The lives of the saints are fascinating because of how they interpreted the scriptures and lived them out in the everyday circumstances of their lives, which varied greatly from person to person. Sinners are boring though. All the attention getting headlines in the newspapers, the television, radio and internet about crime are all pretty much the same. Greed, murder, fame, power, sex, etc. have been around since the beginning of time. If you want to do something really awesome, unique and different with your life, then try to become a saint. You will lead a very interesting life.
However, in the first reading for mass today, the Israelite people just didn’t get it. They allowed the people they lived around to influence them way too much and before they knew it, they were no different than the people they lived with. The Israelite people disregarded their parents, grandparents and great grandparent’s example and quit living by the ten commandments. Does this sound familiar? This is so true in many countries throughout the world today, but most especially in the United States. Our grandparents would be heartbroken if they saw how our country has turned out. Catholics have degenerated into the same mindset of the rest of the country too. Statistically speaking, Catholics live their lives the same as everyone else in America by the way they vote, live together without marriage, have abortions, etc.
We really need to pay attention to the old testament reading today, because God became very upset with the Israelites and they suffered greatly because of His wrath. He tried to help them wake up and turn away from the sinful lifestyles they were leading, by sending them judges but as soon as the judge died, they reverted back to their old ways.
This happens so often in our society too, when we have a good leader everyone seeks goodness too, whether that is in our families, in our parish, community we live in or our nation as a whole. But, after a good leader leaves for whatever reason, we act like we have forgotten everything we learned sometimes. This is why it is so very important for good, holy Catholics to be willing to step up and assume a leadership role. This is true in all of society, but most especially in our churches. Sometimes very vital ministries in the church flounder or die out entirely, because no one is willing to step in and lead the ministry. You don’t know if you are cut out to be a leader in the church if you don’t try. We are all just human beings and no one expects you to be perfect, but the church really needs you. Jesus really needs us all to work together to build up the church and strengthen one another, because we have so many influences on us in our daily lives that conflict with our Catholic beliefs.
If you donate your time to building up the church and serving others, it will cost you time, money and effort that you could have spent on yourself instead. It means giving up some of your free time after work, or not working overtime sometimes, and doing volunteer work when you don’t feel like it or have other things that need to be done at home too. It is a sacrifice to serve Jesus and his people. But the Lord told the young man in the gospel today to “sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me.” The young man went away sad because he did not want to give up his possessions. It is just something to think about. Are we willing to live on less money or less free time, to help build up the church and form stronger Catholic communities?
