Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
What does being a Christian really mean? Over my lifetime, being a Christian has been an ongoing process of discovering who I truly am in Christ. It has been a series of advances and failures, victories and defeats, struggles and successes. Mostly it has been the result of making many little daily choices—not just a few big ones. But it has been a process—not an event. I found myself feeling compassion for the Pharisees and other religious leaders when I reflected on today’s readings. I really do not think they planned to be the bad guys all the time. Like most human beings, I think they became who they were little by little and eventually found themselves in positions they felt forced to protect at any cost. At some point they lost sight of the fact that all they were and all they possessed were gifts from God intended to serve God and their communities. Now that may be an oversimplification, but I think we can all look at ourselves and our lives and see that we have become the people we are today largely by a series of many little daily choices along the way. The way we look at life, make use of our possessions or position in society is not determined in an instant, but rather over a long period of time.
Today’s passage from the Gospel of Mark tells the parable of the wicked tenants. In this parable the tenant farmers are entrusted by the owner with the care and tending of the vineyard. When it came time to harvest, a servant, sent by the owner to obtain the produce, was beaten and thrown out. The owner sent several other servants who also ended up being beaten or killed. The owner finally sent his own son thinking the tenants would certainly show respect for him, yet the son was killed as well. In the end, the owner has the tenant farmers put to death and entrusts the vineyard to others. Jesus is relating the parable to the religious leaders who realize he is talking specifically about them. They had already been plotting to arrest and kill him, but aware of the people’s feelings about Jesus, knew they could not seize him. It seems the religious leaders, like the tenant farmers, have long forgotten who they are. The gifts entrusted to them by God end up being used to oppress others and further their own personal agendas. Truth be told, there are times when we all have found ourselves guilty of similar behavior. I may not openly oppress others or hoard all my material belongings, but if I participate, even in a passive way, in societal structures that do so, I am complicit and have made choices along the way that placed me in that position. If I do not struggle against a situation that is unjust or oppose systems that promote or support inequality, I am part of the problem. This perspective—realizing my Christianity once choice at a time—changes my Christianity from a part time hobby to a fulltime commitment. This type of Christianity—this kind of commitment and vision is only possible when I hold fast to the realization that everything I have and everything I am comes from God to be intended for his purposes.
When my perspective on life is one of having received everything that I am and everything I have as gifts from a loving God, I am on the way to becoming the Christian I am meant to become. This way of seeing the world gives my life an urgent purpose every day of my life, no matter how ordinary or mundane the circumstances may seem. I am gifted and blessed with more than I need to accomplish this work and I am placed in Christian a community to support and encourage me to work toward becoming more deeply Christian. Today I pray that God grant me the grace to make choices that reflect what it means to be on the way to becoming fully Christian.
"O Holy Mysterious Father, Grant me the grace this day to offer you my life as a Christian. Deepen my desire and strengthen my resolve to continue becoming the Christian you intend me to be. With the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Through Jesus Christ. Amen"
- Gail Lyman