Bishop Anthony B. Taylor delivered this homily July 21.
Karl Marx described religion as the opiate of the peoples, a drug that sedated oppressed people by promising future rewards for putting up with their present intolerable circumstances. Marx opposed religion because the powers-that-be used it to keep the people under control.
You don’t have to be a Communist to see that religion is often used for non-religious purposes. In our own country both political parties craft platforms designed to win our votes.
One party opposes abortion and hopes by means of this issue to get the Catholic vote because of our absolute opposition to abortion, the single gravest evil of our times. The other party appeals to our Catholic vision of inclusion and care for the poor.
But the real objective is power: to get elected. Abolition of abortion and care of the poor may be on the platform, but it is also important to consider just how vigorously they are likely really to pursue these issues once they’re elected.
There’s always the danger that we will be taken in by the empty promises of those whose real agenda has nothing to do with the truths we proclaim and the values we hold dear.
This is also true in our relations with each other: people often use religious language for non-religious purposes. In today’s Gospel Martha invites Jesus to the house which she shared with Mary of Bethany, and then under the veneer of trying to be a good hostess, she makes a little power play, a move designed to put Mary in her place. The attitude of the time was that only men discussed theology; women belonged in the kitchen.
So when Martha asks Jesus to make her sister help her, what she wants is for Jesus to use his religious authority to get Mary off her duff and into the kitchen where she belongs.
But Jesus doesn’t buy this at all. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Who cares about what’s going on in the kitchen? We’re in here discussing the Kingdom of God and you can’t sub-contract out your religious life to the men. You need to understand and believe on your own. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it.”
And there you have it! God has no grandchildren, only children. Faith is passed on, but it’s not inherited; no one is grandfathered in. Jesus wants us to get to know him ourselves and we will do so by sitting at his feet like Mary did, listening to his words.
One of the biggest impediments to people truly opening up to the Lord is the scandal that occurs when people use religion to further their own personal agenda.
For example, religious battles within families often serve as proxy for conflicts that are really about who will get their way and which side of the family will have more influence: power plays dressed up in religious language. And, of course, the kids are caught in the middle.
When religion is used for non-religious purposes, innocent people get hurt. Jesus does say that conflicts will arise on account of our faith because following him requires us to put doing God’s will ahead of everything else, but most such conflicts are really about trying to make others do our will, which is not the same as God’s will. And it is very easy for us to be blind regarding our own real motives. Any time you see so-called Christians conducting themselves in a unkind manner, you can be sure of three things: 1) the conflict is not of the Lord, 2) the basic issue is power, not faith, and 3) innocent people will be hurt.
Jesus faced every conflict with love and every adversary with understanding. He knew the truth didn’t need any embellishment and that in the end love and persuasion are far more powerful than manipulation or coercion. That’s the mystery of the cross. If we are truly his followers, then we must sit humbly at his feet and learn from him like Mary did. This is the better portion and we shall not be deprived of it.
