So many people who claim to have read the Bible, but have only read excerpts claim that the “God of the Old Testament” is angry, vengeful, and only cares about judgement.

They turn around and think his Son showed up two thousand years ago and flipped the script. Jesus was entirely focused on forgiveness, mercy, and love.

As if the two aren’t the same God…

We are “Blessing Blind.”

Virtually all of us. We have so much—and could do so much for others.

If we weren’t so “blessing blind.”

My mother grew up at the lowest end of rural Wisconsin’s financial spectrum. My maternal grandparents used an outhouse into the eighties! When you ask mom about it, she’ll just shrug her shoulders and say, “We didn’t no any different.”

Why?

I remember being a wee bit afraid of Santa Claus as a child. Not the breaking and entering, mind you. That was more than okay. (As a kid, anyone is welcome if they bring me Baba Fett’s ship and some GI Joes.) It was that I’d heard he had a list of all the good kids—and all the bad ones—and no one ever told me precisely where he drew the line.

I think we, as Catholics, sometimes struggle with the same ambiguity. Will we find ourselves on the eternal good list or the eternal bad list?

Last weekend, Amanda Vernon visited our parish to do a few songs at each Mass before leading a concert with adoration Sunday night. It was a blessed event and I’d like to thank everyone who came out.

During the night, Amanda spoke quite a bit about giving our chaos to the Lord. And it got me thinking…

Chaos almost always comes with blessing.

At first listen, one might be tempted to hear this weekend’s Gospel (Mt. 22:34-40) and conclude that Jesus tossed out the ten commandments and replaced them with love (love of God and love of neighbor).

“I told you man! Jesus wiped out all the old restrictions and now we can do whatever we want as long as we say we are his!”

Not so fast, hippie.

In this week’s Gospel, the Lord reminds us there is one God.

Why would he need to do this? Well, there were “gods” all over the place. In fact, the coin Jesus is shown claimed the emperor was the son of god.

Emperors and kings were regularly considered divine. This was often a result of their success in military conflicts, territorial expansion, or it was the result of self-declaration (often accompanied by fear of death if contradicted).

But the Lord IS God, not A god among many.

This weekend’s Gospel is the second consecutive Gospel where Jesus breaks out of the box many Catholics (as well as other Christian denominations) put him in.

They tend to believe God only got upset in the Old Testament. He was (insert thunder sound effect) the God of Judgement!

Then, Jesus came along and told his Dad to “chill out.” It’s all about love. (Sure. He flipped some tables, but he was probably having a rough day.)

So. Many. Problems. With. This.

In chapter 4 of Philippians, we find one of the most beautiful and reassuring excerpts found anywhere in the Bible. I’d like to highlight it here so you don’t miss it as it is this weekend’s second reading.

“Brothers and sisters: have no anxiety at all.”

Ha! Those words obviously weren’t writen in 2023! No anxiety? How is that even possible?!

“...by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.”

In Matthew 21, Jesus gives the example of two sons. The first refuses to serve his father, but ends up changing his mind and doing what his father asked. The second quickly agrees to his father’s request, but then does nothing. The Gospel goes on to make clear that the first was the one to do his father’s will.

What does this mean?

Like any intelligent being, God cares more about what you do than what you say.

Who would you rather have as an employee? The one who says, “You got it, boss!” then, does nothing. Or the one who seems hesitant, but comes around and gets the job done?

Are you a person who wants God to be merciful toward sinners, or enforce justice on those who oppose him?

I’m going to hazard a guess that for most of us, the most honest answer is… it depends.

If we are talking about your brother who hasn’t attended Mass in 47 years or your best friend who now claims to be agnostic, you are putting all your chips on “merciful.”

But if we are talking about that ex who deserves what is coming to her, or the young man who hurt your daughter, mercy isn’t even a consideration.

Let me tell you a fictional tale…

It’s Friday night and a married couple are settling in on the couch to watch a movie. She popped popcorn for herself. He grabbed a package of Oreo cookies (his favorite).

Just then, their oldest daughter get home from band practice and sees the Oreos (her favorite, too). “Dad?” She gives him her best puppy eyes, “Ya wanna share those Oreos with me?”

According to my desk calendar, September 10th is Grandparents Day—so to all you grandparents, enjoy your day!

I was recently watching a miniseries on “Blue Zones” (populations with the highest concentrations of people living longer lives) when I heard a pretty brutal fable told in Okinawa (one of the zones). In this fable, when elderly became too much of a burden, their sons would lead them to the top of a high cliff and push them off. One son would not do it after leading him to the precipice, and hid his father instead. Over the following years, the man grew wealthy and successful. No one knew it was a result of the wisdom and counsel he was receiving from his (still very much alive) father!

How important is your relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? How vital do you consider your interaction with His Church? Do you prioritize God above everything else, holding nothing back?

This Sunday’s readings reveal how strongly we should be answering these questions.

The first reading tells of a prophet’s struggle. How he places God above all other things and cannot keep his mouth shut when it comes to his faith.