The Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

The tie in between today’s readings: The wicked and the righteous

Psalm 1:1-6, Jeremiah 17:5-8, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Luke 6:17-26

The theme running through today’s Mass Prep is the contrast between the wicked and the righteous, those who worship and obey the God of the Bible and those who doubt His existence…or live like it. It’s not a simple question. Because no one knows for sure, both sides have sincere, intelligent and, at times, not so intelligent proponents. Our readings, Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17, and in Luke 6, conclude with blessings for the righteous for their obedience to God. The wicked are warned, but they live by different laws than the Church. Let’s examine some of the laws into which the ungodly have placed their faith. It’s important. Destinies lie in the balance.

Law of Physical Nature: The Materialist starts from the premise that if it can’t be measured, for all practical purposes, it doesn’t exist. So, until somebody invents a God-o-meter, belief in the Almighty is irrational. Everything came from the “Big Bang”. So, time + matter + chance = your brain. The goal is that one day we will plug our consciousness into our own indestructible androids and finally reach a reality in which, “We shall not surely die but will be like God.” But in his world where the transcendent qualities of being human, such as love and the pursuit of meaning are mere chemical reactions, he must admit that he is committing his senseless life to an illusion and so, condemns himself to an eternity of contradictions.

Law of Common Sense: The Scoffer is just straight out proud. He is confident in his intellect. Anything that doesn’t fit into his cosmology is ridiculed outright. He believes that God is a myth like the Tooth Fairy and that no rational person would take this religion stuff seriously. He is unteachable. If you answer one of his God objections, he’ll come back with another, and another, and another still. The scoffer doesn’t want to know. He likes it that way. So, stop arguing with him. Pray for him, instead.

Law of Man: The Humanist is similar to the materialist but with a psychological twist. He believes that in the beginning we all were atheists. As we evolved, we needed to invent God in order to make sense of our fears. He is confident that science will dispel the darkness of God ignorance as it projects its’ own light of truth. In the not-too-distant future, he expects to consign Jehovah to the museum of the “Quaint and Curious” along with other deities like: Thor, Apollo, and Quetzalcoatl. He is moving forward to become his own god. When the humanist dies, we will plant his body in the ground and commit his soul to the black hole of his imagination, from whence his idea of deity came from in the first place.

Law of Me: The Hedonist thinks that he is only accountable to himself. His motto is,” It’s my life and I’ll do what I want.” He knows the existence that he covets is short, so he desperately clutches for all the thrills he can find. He believes that everybody dies but few of us live. He resents any judgments of sin on his character as limiting his life options, which, in his mind, is the biggest sin of all. He does have a sort of “do unto others” morality, but tends not to see his own selfish and toxic behavior. He thinks that he is free. He is really a slave to his self satisfying life of banality as his kicks just keep getting harder to find. So, in the end, all of his pursuits prove to be a fallacy. His “liberty” has jailed him. He panics as death stalks, and despite all his rage, he is still just a rat in a cage.

Law of Results: To the Pragmatist power is god and the ends justify the means. He is not against religion, on the contrary, he admires it in a perverse kind of way. For him, it is a great invention to manipulate the masses. Build a pyramid. Launch a crusade. Give all your money; everything for the promise of a happy afterlife. What a wonderful con!  Unlike Marx, he is all for a good population opiate if it keeps the citizens docile through abusive hardships. So, support the church, that is until the people discover their God-given rights to dignity and self determination. When that happens…SQUASH IT LIKE A BUG.

The Law of Life: When it comes to Christianity, the Apostle Paul lays it all out in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 with one big declaration of “Bring It!”  If the Savior of the world is dead, then our religion is a joke and all you have left is a Jesus Club. So, to all you worldly wise out there: disprove the resurrection and the Bible will all go away. Many an adversarial crusader has taken up the challenge. However, all attempts to show that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a hoax end up as either fanciful theories or in heartfelt conversions to the risen Lord. Paul counters: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who sleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Easter Sunday is the one irrefutable fact of history that you can stake your life on. The Resurrection changes everything. It destroys the wisdom of men, and in the destroying, God offers mankind hope. Jesus said, “Because I live, you can live also” (John 14:19). The Son of God invites you to join Him. Believe in His sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of your sin and then, by faith, be born again in the Holy Spirit with Him in His resurrection to new life. He will never leave you or forsake you in this present life and forever. So, what will it be? Choose! Your destiny hangs in the balance.