FEBRUARY 26, 2017
4:30 PM (SAT 2/25), 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASS
William Shakespeare’s play, “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” … often shortened to simply “Hamlet” … has, right in the middle of Act III (three) Scene 1 (one), a scene, known as the “Nunnery Scene” which contains the most-famous soliloquy in all of Shakespeare’s works; although it is makes up less than one percent (1%) of the entire play.
The protagonist, Prince Hamlet, contemplates existence as he begins:
To be or not to be, that is the question.And ends two-hundred-fifty-one (251) words later with:
Be all my sins remembered.In this short speech, Hamlet struggles … on the horns of a dilemma …between action and inaction, waking and dreaming, freedom and bondage, war and peace, good and evil, and ultimately life and death.
One could argue that ever since that first bite from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, all mankind has been balancing – for better or for worse – on the knife’s edge – of these decisions.
“Hamlet” is Shakespeare’s longest work and is considered among the most influential and powerful tragedies in English literature … if not World literature. In its entirety the play requires four (4) hours, although it is rarely performed without being abridged.
Written in the wake of the English Reformation, the play alternates between medieval and modern themes expounding on a variety of philosophical ideas ranging from relativism, existentialism, and skepticism.
Nonetheless, it is one of the most quoted works in the English language and is placed among the world’s greatest literature.
Today is the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Our Gospel reading begins with another famous quote:
You cannot serve both God and Mammon.Mammon, comes to us from the Syriac of Jesus’ day, meaning money, wealth, or possessions. By the middle-ages, Mammon was personified as one of the seven princes of Hell.
Nonetheless, I would posit that the emphasis here is more on personal freedom than on materialism.
Spiritually, excessive reliance on material things can weaken our will, cheapen our relationships, and injure our reliance on Faith, Hope, and Love.
Even the Beatles reminded us that “money can’t buy you love”; and Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club” has the protagonist’s alter-ego, Tyler Durden, pontificating that: “the things you own end up owning you.”
As Christians, excess – of any kind – can destroy our ability to witness, damage our authenticity, and exhaust our joy.
Jesus tells us that “[Our] heavenly Father knows” what we need, and admonishes us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” and the rest is gravy.
We can often crucify ourselves with worry – trapped between the ‘two thieves’ of regrets over the past and anxiety over the future.
But God dwells in eternity, and we must seek the eternal now … the present state, in the presence of Christ: both in our midst and within ourselves.
St. Paul uses two words to describe our role in God’s kingdom: servants and stewards. The Greek word used for servant means “under-rower” – the rows of slaves on a galley ship; and while a steward may have administered great wealth, but he did not possess it.
And so, we are neither the captain of the ship; nor the owner of the kingdom – nor are we the judge, the jury, or the executioner. Rather, we are called to follow Jesus … and in following Him, we find all things in Christ.
We must become more and more aware of God’s presence with and within us … more aware of what God is doing for us – right here, and right now – lest we forget Him … and like the People of Zion in the First Reading from Isaiah, lose sight of Him … and mistakenly think that somehow, God has forgotten us. When He can never do that.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us ask for the grace to dwell with Christ in the eternal “now” of the kingdom of God. Let us pray for an increase in Faith in Christ, putting our Hope in God our Almighty Father, and through the generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit … Love God first and foremost with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might.
And just for fun ... Sir Patrick Stewart contemplates the letter "B."
