26th Sunday: How far are you willing to go?

September 29, 2018

An early Christian, Origen (184-253 A.D.) was the most important theologian of his time. His influence is still felt today. He was a tremendously zealous man as were others. Zeal for the Gospel and jealousy, however, often go hand-in-hand. One question is how literally he took the following admonition from Jesus. In The Gospel of Matthew 19:12 Jesus, after being asked by his followers about divorce and teaching how we Christians are to live, advised his followers,

[His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case (divorce is not permitted) of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” Mt. 19:12

The Early Christian Origen and Zeal

Origen was a theologian in the early Church. This story about Origen's radical acceptance of the Gospel is told by Marcellino D’Ambrosio, in his book, When the Church was Young:

“But when Bishop Demetrius found out that Origen (a lay theologian living in Alexandria), had preached during the divine liturgy (in Palestine), he was incensed. Such a thing was not permitted in Alexandria. Origen was promptly summoned to return home… About fifteen years after this incident … Origen was invited to come to Athens to help resolve an issue there, and Demetrius let him go. On the way, he made a brief stop in Palestine. Once again, the bishops begged him to preach during the liturgy. Origen declined, reminding them of his bishop’s objections to a layman preaching. His hosts fully understood his dilemma and came up with a simple solution to the problem––they ordained him to the priesthood on the spot. Instead of appeasing Demetrius, this enraged him. Eusebius (an early Church historian) identifies jealousy as the motive for what happened next. Demetrius evidently began to circulate the story that, in a moment of rash, youthful zeal following his father’s martyrdom, Origen had not only embraced celibacy, but had taken Matthew 19:12 too far by castrating himself. Since tradition forbade the ordination of eunuchs, the ordination, he insisted, was invalid.” D'Ambrosio, Marcellino. When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers (p. 90-91). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.

No one knows if this story is true or an early Christian slander. Origen’s zeal for the gospel made it believable, however. Origen died from the torture he endured as part of the Decian (a Roman emperor) persecution.

Jealousy and Zeal go Hand-in-Hand

In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, Moses appointed seventy elders to help him in governance of the Israelites. Eldad and Medad weren’t there when the Spirit was given to the elders, nonetheless they began prophesying. A concerned young man told Moses expecting that the older man would do something about it. Moses said, “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!” Numbers 11:29. The Spirit of God worked through the seventy elders, but was not confined to only seventy elders. Likewise, John, a young man, told Jesus that someone else was casting out demons in his name; shouldn’t he be stopped? Jesus told John,

"Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” Mk. 9:38-43.

All that makes sense. The Church doesn’t limit God. The scriptures don’t limit God. The sacraments don’t limit God. The elders, the Church, the scriptures and the sacraments are sure paths to God, but nothing can limit the work of the Spirit of God.

What prevents us from doing God’s work?

Jealousy can undermine the mission God gives each of us. What Jesus says next is remarkable because it asked the disciples to go deeper and ask what causes our jealousy. He said,

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” Mk. 9:47-48.

We should not forget that in the Middle East physical punishment of this sort is still meted out to convicted criminals. Better to cut off a gangrenous limb than risk the whole body. Better to recall bad hamburger than risk spreading more disease.

The foot is the limb by which we set off on a path in life;
The hand is the limb by which we grasp reality;
The eye is the window to our soul.

So should we take the scripture literally? Should we pluck out our eyes, cut off our hands and self-castrate. Should we all be blind, lame eunuchs. Jesus suggests that instead of cutting other people out, or limbs off, we might still have some cutting to do.

In the Bible, hands and feet are symbols of purposeful activity. You worked with your hands and produced good things or did evil. Your foot took you on the right road or on a misguided journey. Your eye could read the Torah or allow evil to enter in your soul. Similarly, eyes are paired with the heart in the Bible, because what we look at with our eyes forms our minds and hearts. If we are darkening our minds and hearts, by what we see, better not to look. Jesus wasn’t advising us to maim ourselves, but still some pruning is required.

Be radical in your choices

When it come to our journey to God, what doesn’t fit must go. If you are an alcoholic, drop it. If your marry, cut off other contradictory relationships of whatever sort. If watching the talking heads on the news makes you angry, turn it off. If you look at any pornography on the internet, just stop doing it because it undermines your self-control and chastity. If the job compromises your conscience, and the boss will not hear of any changes of policy, maybe you need to quit. If you can’t stop these behaviors for 30-90 days, you have an impediment between you and God. Be ruthless. Cut it out!

Fr. Callistus’ class for adults seeking the sacrament of confirmation will begin next week. There is still time to sign up.
We are also beginning a sign up for 33 Days to Morning Glory a study group focusing on Marian spirituality.

Here is a great read about the early Church from a thoughtful author. "When the Church was Young." You can buy it at Amazon. Here is the author's blurb:

"If the word trinity isn’t in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith? And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway? The Church Fathers provide the answers. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved for us the rich legacy of the early Church.

D’Ambrosio dusts off the dry theology and brings you the exciting stories and great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Jerome. This page-turner will inspire and challenge you with the lives and insights of these seminal teachers from when the Church was young.