Christ the King Church

REFLECTIONS WITH Fr. Bill

   Happy Independence Weekend

     A dollar bill and a snowflake can help us understand this weekend’s gospel (Luke 10:1-2, 17-20). This gospel is all about mission. Jesus appoints seventy disciples and sends them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Of course, what the gospel is saying is that we are called to the same mission, to proclaim the Kingdom to others. But what does it mean to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and to whom should we proclaim it?

     The dollar bill has the answer. We probably handle a dollar bill every day (if we still use money instead of credit cards), but I wonder how often we look at anything other than the number one in the corner. If you look at the back of a dollar bill, what you will find is the Great Seal of the United States. The seal was designed by the founders of our country only a few months after the Declaration of Independence. On the front of the seal you will see an eagle, holding in its claws arrows to symbolize war and an olive branch to symbolize peace. However, what is important for us as we reflect on the gospel, is what you will find on the back of the seal. If you look there, you will find a pyramid.

     Now the pyramid clearly stands for our country, because at its base in Latin, numbers are printed seventeen seventy-six, the year of the founding of the republic, the day we celebrate on July 4^th. But the most noteworthy aspect of this pyramid is that it is unfinished. It only goes about two thirds of the way up. The conscious decision on the part of the founders of this nation to represent our country as an unfinished pyramid was intended to make a statement. It asserts that America is unfinished. Despite all of our strength, wealth, and influence, the nation is not yet complete. We are still working to finish the principles of justice and freedom and peace on which this country was founded. It is still a task to be completed two hundred and forty years after the nation was formed.

     There is more. If you look at the unfinished part of the pyramid, what you find is an eye and a Latin motto that reads “Annuit Coeptis” which translated means, “God has favored the undertaking.” The eye is the eye of God. Together with the motto it forms an act of faith on the part of the founders of this country. It testifies that they believed that God was involved both in the founding and finishing of this nation, that God’s activity was a part of their vision.

     What the dollar bill tells us is that we are called to bring our faith to the finishing of America. Now clearly there are many faith traditions in America. There is the Christian faith, the Jewish faith, the Muslim faith, the Hindu faith, the faith of most religions of the world. What the symbol of our democracy tell us is that every person of faith is not to keep silent, but rather to contribute his or her beliefs to the free and public debate over the issues in our political life.

     We as believers are expected to contribute our faith convictions to the discussions on all the important issues that are facing our country – on abortion, on war, on guns, on violence, on race, on health care, on education, on capital punishment, on poverty, on immigration, on gender issues, on euthanasia, on the environment, on voting rights, on housing, and on hunger. All these issues have a moral dimension. The same Christ that sent out his disciples to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom expects us to contribute our voices to the future of what our country will become.

     The Great Seal of the United States calls people of faith to help complete America. In a specific way that is our mission today. But as soon as we hear the call, it is easy to become discouraged, to be overwhelmed. The issues of our country are so vast and so complex. Any one of us could say “What difference does my involvement make? Maybe I have the freedom to influence things in my own life, in my own family, but on these great political issues of our time, who cares what I believe, what I stand for, how I vote.”

     Here is where the snowflake is helpful. A field mouse met a mourning dove, and asked the question: “How heavy is a snowflake? How much does it weigh?”

     The mourning dove responded, “Nothing more than nothing.” “Then explain this,” said the field mouse. “I was sitting on the branch of a pine tree, and it began to snow, heavily but quietly, without any violence. I began to count how many snowflakes landed on the branch on which I sat. I counted every one – 3,791,954 snowflakes. Then the 3,791,955 snowflake fell, weighing nothing more than nothing. The branch broke. What does that mean.”

     The mourning dove thought for a minute and said “Perhaps it means that there is only one person’s voice lacking in order to bring peace to the earth!”

     Perhaps the mourning dove was right. Perhaps there is only one person’s voice, weighing nothing more than nothing, which is missing to bring about freedom and justice for all that can complete America. Just be sure that that absent voice is not yours.

Forward together and no one left behind,

Father Bill

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