FOURTEENTH SUNDAY-A July 6, 2008

Zechariah 9:9-10 Ps 145 Rom 8:9,11-13 Matthew 11:25-30

In the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius there is a meditation called the two standards. He paints The standard of Satan and the Standard of Christ. Satan promises everything that glitters and razzle-dazzles. His pattern is seen in the temptations of Christ at the beginning of Jesus’ public life. First: satisfy the desires of the flesh: some are good, like feeding oneself, others are not. Secondly put everything to the test - there is no room for faith or hope. Thirdly, sell your soul for all that glitters and is pleasing to the eye. We see that happening today in pyramid schemes. People are greedy. They want quick and high returns.

1. These two standards, or value systems are seen in our first reading from Zechariah. It is a reading associated with Palm Sunday, for obvious reasons.

When our Lord rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, his action was not a sudden inspiration but something wholly in character with his ministry—his identification with the lowly.

We are stopped in our tracks. It is not what we would expect. The pattern of our world is that the King comes riding on a magnificent horse. The greater the king, the more elaborate is the saddle, the bridle and the reins. However, this king does not come resplendent and proud. He comes to us humble and meek. He comes not riding a horse, but a donkey, the lowest of all the animals. We are told he is going to destroy the weapons of war. We could do with such a king in our “make belief” search for Weapons of mass destruction. The king is going to bring peace not only to Jerusalem, to Israel but peace for the whole world. Our prayer is Come Lord ! Marana-tha.

2. Paul picks up the contrast of the two standards in the second reading, his letter to the Romans. It is a letter to a community he has not yet seen. He is seeking their support in his preaching in other parts of the Roman Rule. Paul brings out the contrast between Life in the Spirit and Life in the Flesh. It is not a contrast between the spiritual and material, but rather between Two Standards, Two value systems.

The Spirit leads to life and challenges us to live a life according to a higher level (plus altior). The Flesh on the other hand wants us to live a life of immediate but momentary gratification. This pleasure will fade away like the dew in the morning sun. This ultimately will lead to corruption and death.

3. Many years ago there lived an King who cared so much for fine clothes that he spent all his money upon them. Two rogues set themselves up as weavers. They bought expensive cloth, but pocketed all the money. The cloth could not be seen by anyone who was stupid or unfit. They took yards of nothing down from the empty looms. They made cuts in the air with big scissors. They praised the gorgeous colouring and explained the peculiar pattern, which was not there at all. No one would say that he could see nothing, for that would have proved him very stupid and unfit for his office. And so the King dressing himself in his “new clothes” paraded down in all his glory through the main streets.

"But the King has nothing on!" said a little child.

"Hush! Hush!" said its father.

But the people began to whisper to one another what the child had said; "The King has nothing on! A child says he has nothing on!" The child had spoken the truth which no one dared to utter !

Our story of the King with no clothes is based on the truth and reality about which Jesus speaks today. I thank you Father for hiding these things from the learned and clever, and revealing them to mere children.

Once again we have the two standards. The standard of this world says that to be close to God, to be good, depends on our knowledge and wisdom. Those who are clever are close to God, those who are unlearned, ignorant are far from God. They are to be despised.

Strangely enough this theory is still held, and often even in our church today. In the time of Paul, the Gnostics claimed to have knowledge revealed to them in secret by God. They were the Elite or super-elite who can board the trip to heaven first.

Jesus thanks God for revealing the kingdom not to these but rather to the simple and lowly, the often forgotten people of this world. Like the child they see the truth and state it, much to the dismay of those who “know everything.” They get to the heart of the matter, they get to the core of the truth, because they are not distracted by the things that glitter and razzle dazzle our senses. The simple and the lowly are not pressured into trying to conform, in try to keep up with the Jones, in trying to appear smart with those who are knowledgeable.