27th Sunday Loyalty to God brings life

Loyalty is a virtue. We praise loyalty, whether it is loyalty from our spouse, family, friends and our dogs. Loyalty means to trust in that other. So it involves a relationship of some form or another, almost covenantal.

Loyalty itself does not necessarily have a specific reward. I know companies will reward “loyalty” by giving so-called discounts for using them exclusively, but that to me seems a distortion of loyalty. That borders on manipulation.

Loyalty’s reward rather is loyalty itself; that relationship, that security that comes with it. Our expectation is that the person, the other will be with us.

Anger is the emotional response to when an expectation is not being fulfilled. We expected something of someone, whether another human, an institution, ourselves, God…and it does not happen. The stronger that connection with the other, and the higher the expectation, the more anger we experience.  Do we see a lot of anger right now? Within ourselves, within our world, within our community?  Granted I do think the media tends to focus on the more extremes, but even in my conversations with people, I sense anger. Now just recently, not just Covid related, but this underlying anger. I see it in me; and I have seen and heard it in others.  Anger at our Church, this parish, because it is not the way that some expect. Anger in our country, because people expect it to conform to their understanding of what it means to be an “american” and people too are scared by the changes they see. There is Anger at spouses, children, parents because we want, we desire, certain things, certain actions and attitudes from them, and we don’t get it that way we want.

Anger at God, for the chaos, for the sickness and death.

Faith, in the Gospels and Scriptures and in the context of Jesus’ time meant loyalty. It wasn’t necessarily a “belief in” attitude, but one of loyalty. Jesus called for Loyalty to him, and above all, to God.

This Gospel passage, if we got the whole scene, could almost be funny. Prior to where we started it today, Jesus has just admonished his disciples. He told them that IF any of them should hurt the faith, the loyalty, of any other disciple, it would be better if they themselves were thrown into the sea and drown.  The disciples hearing this react, with fear… “Jesus give us more faith, give us more loyalty, so that we don’t mess up”.  They ask for more; Jesus responds by saying it’s not the quantity that matters, but the quality.  

Jesus remained loyal to God; without expectation of reward, without expectation of getting what he wants. Jesus remained loyal to God’s own desire that all come to know the love of God. Jesus’ loyalty, tested by Satan and in the Garden, remained firm; and he surrendered himself to God.  I often think that Jesus woke in the tomb pleasantly surprised, even laughing in Joy at his resurrection.

Jesus calls us and graces us to that same loyalty. We surrender our own wants, desires, needs to God; and we trust that God brings about God’s plan. Think of Habakkuk as we heard in the first reading. Think of Abraham, loyal to God that God would fulfill the promises.

Our loyalty to God produces no real rewards for us; we don’t earn anything by it; simply the relationship with God remains sufficient.

St. Paul remained loyal to the way; trusting in God. All the Great saints did too; Francis, Teresa of Avila, Therese, John of the Cross…  The same saints got frustrated, angry at times; because they had to let go of their ideas of how things were supposed to go. St. Therese, whose feast day is today, wanted to be a missionary in the world. God said no, Therese was angry. She had to wrestle with a different call.  St Teresa faced many setbacks; and famously after falling into the mud off a wagon said to God if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few. John wrote beautifully of that letting go of our own egos, our own ideas, our own plans for God; and finding God truly; only after being imprisoned in a closet by his religious community.

Let’s be honest, it can be difficult to trust in God. It can be difficult to be loyal. We see a world that appears to be in chaos. We see people we love, hurting from cancers, from other illnesses, from divorce and broken hearts. We see how the poor continually are abused while the very rich get more and more, more. We see this beautiful world being poisoned for profit.  “We can think “Really God! You let this happen.”

But, God doesn’t. Humans do, because our loyalty is not focused on God; but on ourselves, our own wants, desires, needs.

Eucharist calls us to place our Loyalty in God and in God alone. The culmination of every Eucharist is that doxology: “Through Him, with Him and in Him, to you Almighty Father, in the Holy Spirit, all Glory and Honor are yours. Forever and ever.”

Loyalty means that we ask what God wants of us. Loyalty means we act with compassion, kindness, generosity; Loyalty means we look out for the good of others; we truly love; exactly as Jesus acted, and remained loyalty.

Our loyalty is not to demand God take care of business; God already has. God entrusts us with God’s business.

Our Faith, our Loyalty to God brings the reward of trust, of freedom; it means we experience that presence of God in our lives. It means that we live in this world, and we bring forth the Peace of God; we transform the chaos to harmony.