Homily for the Baptism of the Lord

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A young man I know was getting married out of state. For some time we’d been talking about having me go down to preside at the ceremony. As with all weddings there were a few things that had to be done for the church. For one thing there’d be the paper work that all engaged couples need to fill out before a Catholic marriage and because he was marrying a non-Catholic and the ceremony would be in a church of another denomination certain permissions from the local bishop needed to be obtained – no problem. As the day drew closer I mentioned that time was getting short and they needed to do these things soon and offered to find a priest or deacon down there that would guide them through the process. I kind of sensed some reluctance and finally got out of him that he was just going to let the minister marry them because he thought the Catholic Church just makes people jump through too many hoops.

 

He didn’t want to jump through hoops. How do you argue with that?

 

In today’s Gospel we find the Son of God being baptized by John. The one who in fact was sinless accepted a baptism that was a sign of repentance for sin. And he was baptized by one who was admittedly inferior to Jesus. \

 

Why would Jesus do that? For that matter why did he have to be circumcised? Or fast and pray? Why did he need to be tempted or learn scripture? Why suffer and die? Why become human at all?

Why does the Son of God jump through all those hoops?

When I first began to play the piano my teacher had me practice scales and arpeggios all the time. I’d have to play them for one octave, then two, then three then four – every time in different rhythms and different keys. It was tedious - boring and pointless. One day I’d just about had enough so I went to my teacher and said “Why do I have to keep doing these stupid scales – what’s the point? Can’t I just play some Bach or Mozart? Why are you making me jump through all these hoops?

So he told me to start practicing this Mozart Sonata. Thank you! I started to play it… it was beautiful and it was ALL scales. I was able to play that piece because I had practiced those scales over and over again. By jumping through scale-hoops I prepared myself to play all kinds of music.

Athletes jump through hoops too.

A ball player that takes batting practice and catches ground balls finds himself ready to play in the big game.

By skipping rope, hitting a bag and sparing, a boxer conditions his body and mind for the main event.

Jesus jumped through all these hoops to condition his humanity to do those things his divinity would require. He was in effect preparing for the main event. By humbling himself, becoming a baby, and by being baptized by John, Jesus gave himself a taste of what it would take to be humbled before Pilot.

He who was sinless underwent a baptism of repentance knowing he would become sin for our sake and endure the cross for us. Jesus studied scripture so that when temptation came he had a weapon to defend himself against the tempter and when he found himself abandoned on the cross he could still lift his mind and heart to the Father by praying the psalms.

Jesus underwent circumcision, obeyed the dietary laws, underwent ritual cleansing and everything else because that’s what God asked good Jews to do – and Jesus was a good Jew.

A Jewish man I know, when asked about dietary laws, said that Jews don’t refrain from eating pork because there is something inherently bad about pork. Jews refrain from eating pork simply because God said not to. In the practice of their faith they practice obedience to God.

It was through human disobedience (that of Adam) that our relationship with God was broken and nothing we could do for ourselves could ever repair that. It was only through the obedience of Jesus that our relationship with God could be restored.

Musicians, ball players, boxers and others all jump through hoops because they know they aren’t perfect. They know that they won’t be ready when the time comes for them to put up or shut up unless they’re prepared.

And we are practicing Catholics for the same reason because we aren’t perfect either. We need to be in constant training. We need to practice our faith even when we think it’s tedious and pointless.

We fast not only as a form of penance, but because some day there might be a time when we may have to give up something we want – something we want dearly – for the sake of Christ and His Church, maybe our own lives.

We sing in church, even if it’s uncomfortable for us and we’re afraid of what someone might say about our voices, not only because it gives praise to God but because it’s a practice of courage. Courage for the day when we may be required to raise our voices in a public way for Christ, or against some grave injustice and we’ll be prepared because we’ve practiced courage.

We pray; attend mass; study scripture; obey the laws of God and the Church so that when the time comes, when we’re confronted with our own main event, finding the Lord and following him won’t be foreign to us. It will come naturally - as it did with Christ, tempted in the desert, and suffering on the Cross.

Jesus trusted God his Father to such a great extent that He was willing to have himself nailed to the wood of the cross where he would hang humiliated on a hill within sight of the temple where he ought to have been paid homage. He learned that trust through prayer, scripture, and obedience to the traditions of his Jewish faith. In doing so left us an example.

Everything he ever did he did for our sake.

That leaves us with a challenge - to find some time for ourselves over the coming week and reflect on that example and through our prayer discover ways in which we can make the trust of Christ, the obedience of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ and the work of Christ our own.

Homily on Mark 6:34-44

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Let’s set the stage for what’s happened in today’s gospel. Jesus had sent out the apostles into the country side to preach repentance, to heal the sick and to drive out demons.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Herod had John the Baptist’s head given to Herodias on a platter.

The apostles came back all excited about what they were able to do and found Jesus surrounded by all kinds of people coming and going.

Jesus and the apostles had all been so exhausted and busy from the work that they were doing that they didn’t even have time to eat. They were tired from ministry, grief stricken at John's death, they were hungry and weary so Jesus gave everyone permission to rest. “Let’s go someplace quiet where we can re-group, pray, fill our tanks.” “let’s go for a sail.”

The thing about sailing is you’re not in a hurry. Sailing is a leisurely form of transportation. It all depends on the wind and the current. It’s calming. It’s relaxing. Not a bad way to start a day off, maybe catch a couple fish for dinner.

Now, the people saw Jesus leave and figured out where he was going, so with great haste went there ahead of him. These were the town’s people; the villagers; the farmers; shopkeepers; the common folk. People like us.

I like to imagine what that might have looked like to the people still in the fields tending their flocks or tilling the soil, masses of people hurrying someplace. They must have stopped what they were doing to ask what was going on. Hearing Jesus was coming they went with  others to meet him. Curiosity might have just driven some of them to just follow the crowd, kind of like people who run to see a fire or an accident. They want to know what’s going on. They want to be part of the action. And so the towns, villages and fields along the way emptied out until everyone was on the shore waiting for the arrival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

It seems to me that these people were hungry long before the sun began to set, way before the apostles brought it Jesus’ attention. And it wasn’t bread and fish they were hungry for.

• They were starving for Jesus.

• They were craving the word of God – the Word Made Flesh dwelling among us

• They were thirsty for good news

• They longed to be filled with grace

• They needed to be loved and cherished

• They had no direction or leadership – nothing to live for or look   forward to but a life of oppression.

But, these people had had a taste of Christ and it made them hungry for more. So when they knew where to find Jesus they hurried to get there.

Now Jesus and the poor apostles just wanted a little time to themselves. But what did they find? A field filled with everyone for miles around. The Lord’s heart was filled, we are told, with compassion. It was something he felt in his gut. It was heart wrenching. Compassion is a typical Old Testament quality attributed to God. Compassion is God’s merciful love. It’s different than sympathy; it’s not just feeling bad for someone. Compassion moves us to action. What action did Jesus take? “He taught them, he taught them many things.”

Wouldn’t you love to know what they learned that day, what it was that could hold the attention of that many people for so long; things about the Father, about grace and holiness, our place in the universe, forgiveness of sin, scripture. They found God’s word, coming from the mouth God’s Word.

"When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart." Jer. 15:16

They had found God’s word, they were soaking it in and it filled their hearts with joy and happiness.

 

On the other hand, I don’t think the apostles had the same reaction to the crowd as Jesus, I’m not sure they were filled with compassion. On the contrary, I think they were kind of ticked off that their alone time with Jesus had been taken from then. They may not have been paying attention to what Jesus was teaching because they were so distracted by their own pettiness. So they figured out a nice “compassionate” way to get rid of the crowd. “Send them away, so they can buy something to eat in the villages and farms.” They must have forgotten that it was the villagers and farmers who were sitting in front of them.

Now it’s time for the disciples to learn a lesson.

“You give them something to eat.” “Serve them.” “I’ve been feeding them with my word, now you give them something.”

“Are we supposed to spend 200 days wages on THEM?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“All we have is five loaves and two fishes.”

“Give them that, give them everything you have (that’s what I do) then trust me.”

That’s the lesson for us isn’t it? We Christians must be ready to give everything in service to the gospel, our time, our talent, our treasure; and not just 10% either, but everything, if necessary. Being in service to the gospel of Christ might mean we’ll have to change our plans. It could be costly. We might have to give up more than we want to – maybe everything. It may cost us our lives.

But this miracle, this foreshadowing of the Eucharist, promises us that even when we give every last bit, every ounce, even when we empty ourselves completely at the service of Christ and others, what is left over is even more than what we started with.

We are an apostolic people, an apostolic church. We are a people sent out as the twelve were so many centuries ago to preach the good news, heal, to teach, to be the expression of God’s immense love proven to us by the life, death and resurrection of His only Son, and we are sent to invite the hungry throngs to feast at the table of God’s word and of the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.

May we accept that call to be apostles tonight. Christ has given us the authority and power to accept this undertaking. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit for the courage we need so that through our efforts people will find the Word made Flesh dwelling among us and that He will become the joy and happiness of their hearts.

True Grit

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I was waiting to get a haircut today and was reading a review of the movie “True Grit” in the Boston Herald. The movie got a great review and as a fan of the first one with John Wayne I think I might go see it.

What has me writing about this on my blog has nothing to do with the movie but with a tag line at the end of the review. Right after we are told the movie is rated PG this line is added…

“’True Grit’ contains intense violence, disturbing images and gospel music.”

Really? Is gospel music now something we have to be warned about when we send our children to the movies? Does gospel music a gateway drug to violence? Is proclaiming the gospel in song now considered obscene?

Is this another subtle attack on Christianity or just an inside joke by someone who just doesn’t like the gospel style? I can’t begin to speculate.

Honestly, I don’t know what to say except we are living in very strange times.

Refelction on Jeremiah 18:1-6

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This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.

Then the word of the LORD came to me:

Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.  - Jeremiah 18:1-6

Although it can be said that the “potter” has destroyed that which turned out badly it can also be said that he forms it into something else entirely. It is taken from the same material but reformed.  Can we not also be reformed?  Cannot God also make us into something new? Just because it may look as though something is being destroyed perhaps it is really being made better. Even when we by our own designs turn out “badly” God can, with our cooperation, make us pleasing to him. This is why we must not rush to judgment. We don’t know what God can do with a person who may seem to us to be lost. Saint Paul hated Christians and persecuted them. But we read his letters nearly every Sunday.  Saint Peter was a coward – in the end he was also courageous. The apostles were kind of dumb.  But in the end they brought the knowledge of salvation to the world. This is why we must try to be patient with one another. God isn’t finished with us yet.

Reflection on the Lord's Prayer

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Sometimes we think that our prayers are a private matter between us and God; between me and God. And it is true that sometimes it is. And it is important that we have that personal prayer time with Lord. But not all prayer is that way.

I have talked to many people who no longer go to church. One reason they give for this is that they don’t need the “church” to pray to God. They don’t need to pray with other people to be spiritual.

This is not the lesson of the Lord’s Prayer. This is not a private prayer, although we often say it privately. Jesus didn’t give us a prayer that is just for ourselves. He gave us something to pray with each other. He gave us a community prayer and by doing so he teaches us that praying in community is an important part of our spiritual lives. That it is an important part of our relationship with the Living God.

• Jesus did teach the disciples the “My Father, who art in heaven” - it’s the OUR Father.

• Jesus didn’t pray for his own needs but for “our” needs. Give us this day our daily Bread.” It’s not “my daily bread.” It’s not “give me.”

• In the prayer that Jesus gave us it’s “forgive us” – not “forgive me.”

• He leads US away from temptation and delivers US from evil.

Some prayer is private, between me and God. But if that takes on a life of its own outside the community of believers we are actually driving a wedge into our relationship with the Lord. We need each other to support us on our journey; to pray for each other; to be one with one another.

Jesus showed us this in other ways as well.

• He gathered a community of apostles and disciples around him.

• He sent out the disciples to preach and heal not individually but in pairs.

• He founded on the rock of Peter not a loosely connected bunch of individuals but a church.

• We believe in the communion of saints – that is a holy community of saints – past, present and to come.

To separate ourselves from the church or to separate ourselves from each other – in any way, to refuse see the dignity in each person, is to separate ourselves from Christ. As we pray the Lord’s Prayer at Mass or with the Hail Mary in our rosaries, or as we say our prayers before we go to bed, let’s keep in mind that our prayer is one of community and for the well being of us all.

Homily for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

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The following homily is taken from the readings for the Feast of the Immacilate Conception. You may want to read these scriptures Gen. 3:9-15,20 and Luke 1:26-38 before reading the homily.

Where are you? That’s the question today’s readings asks.

When I was around 5 -6 years old I was up the street playing all afternoon with the neighborhood kids. It must have been nearing supper time because one of my friends came over and told me that my sister was looking for me. We were having too much fun to go home so I decided to hide in this old decrepit barn that the neighbors had. I heard my sister call my name and I just sat there behind an old wood pile thinking she wouldn’t find me and that she’d give up and go away. I stayed in my place there quite a long time- no way I was going home sooner than I wanted to. That’s when I heard the voice! “Joey, where are you?” It was my mother. Now I knew I was in for it. First of all I didn’t come when my sister called, second I was in a dangerous barn that I had been told many times to stay away from, and third my mother had to leave dinner on the stove and to come and get me herself. I was afraid, and for good reason, and so I hid because I knew I was gonna get whacked all the way home and be embarrassed in front of my friends.

That was an Adam response, the first that I remember but not the last. I think everyone has had similar experiences, where we’re too frightened or embarrassed by something that we had done to respond the way we should or the way we want, or even the way that’s best for us.

Poor Adam, all God asked was that he not eat the fruit from one little tree. I’ve often wondered why God require that, just to test him? I don’t think so. That wouldn’t be the God of my experience. I think it was more compassionate. God knew the fruit was bad for Adam and simply had his best interest at heart. But Adam didn’t trust God. Adam thought God had an ulterior motive and so he ate the fruit and it made him “sick.”

“Adam where are you?” God calls. So filled with regret, shame and fear all he could do was hide.

Today’s feast is a contrast to this response to God’s call. On the one hand we have the response of Adam who disobeyed and hid in fear and shame. On the other hand there is Mary who responds as a disciple and said “Here I am. I’ll do whatever you want.”

When the angel appeared to Mary she didn’t cower in fear. She didn’t hide under the bed. She had been God’s faithful servant from the moment of her conception always saying “yes.” She was full of grace.

Mary trusted God totally and she had every reason to doubt. She wasn’t afraid though she had every reason to be. Whoever heard of a virgin birth? Even if it were possible a young, un-married woman, found pregnant in that culture could have been dragged out to the town square stoned to death. She had every reason to be afraid, every reason to doubt and yet she trusted, she said yes. She was ever the faithful disciple, the first to believe in Jesus, the first to receive him and the first to give flesh to the body of Christ.

If we look at Mary’s life from that moment on we see clearly that it was the life of a disciple. She always served God and she always served others. She had a keen eye for the needs of other people and always brought Jesus into the situation. She shared the good news. The first thing she did, the very first thing, was to go serve her cousin Elizabeth, to bring Christ in her to someone else. At Canna she was the first to notice that a young couple would suffer embarrassment when they ran out of wine, and she brought Jesus into the situation.

Mary said yes all the way. Yes to the angel, yes to a life she never expected, yes to the sword that would pierce her heart, yes to the cross and always yes to her Son, and she could have said no at any time. Mary is for us THE icon of discipleship, she is the model of perfect discipleship, exactly the disciple we want to emulate, exactly the kind of disciple we should be.

God always seeks us out, to love us. God calls to us as he called to Adam “Where are you”? How do we respond? We can respond as Adam did, embarrassed by our sins and cowering in fear, looking the other way or we can respond as Mary did by answering “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me as you have said.”

If my life is any indication, our response to God’s call is somewhat schizophrenic, sometimes responding as Adam and sometimes responding as Mary and often responding somewhere in between. If, like Adam, our sins keep us in fear and shame unable to look the Lord in the eye or answer God’s call as we should we need not lose hope. Continue to seek God in prayer. Find his forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation. Draw close to Him in the Eucharist. He calls because he loves us.

This feast of the Immaculate Conception is an opportunity for us to look toward Mary as our model of discipleship, to review our own response to God’s call and re-adjust our own reply. It is also an opportunity for us to see Mary as our hope for what we will some day become when we are able to say as she did “let it be done to me as you have said.”

News regarding Bedford NH School

I just received an email from Ms. Terry Wolf of the Bedford NH school committee. She assures me that the book in question is no longer being used.  The parents who made the complaint will be heard at a meeting on December 13. Please hold off on any mail to the school committee they appear to be doing the right thing. 

Deacon Joe 

Open Letter to Bedford NH School Committee

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The news last night reported that a book, “Nickeled and Dimed”  is being used in the Bedford NH school system as a text for a finance class. The book has been protested by at least one family in the community for a number of reasons, in particular for refering to Jesus as “a wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist.” In addition, the book uses obsenities and explains how the author was able to cheat on a drug test.

I have penned the following letter to the Bedford school committee and ask anyone who reads this blog to do the same.  Feel free to copy and paste my letter or write one of your own. I am going to both email mine and send it snail mail. Also, lets make this thing go viral by sending this email to everyone on your email list as well. Perhaps, if their email accounts and local post office are buried in responses the school committee there and others will come to realize that we Christians will not sit by silently while our God is being insulted.  We will defend the Name of the Lord. Lets get active and have this book removed from curriculum in Bedford.

Send your letters to:

Bedford School Board  or

Bedford School District, SAU #25
103 County Road

Bedford, NH 03110



Dear Committee Members,
 

As an ordained Catholic Deacon I was both saddened and appalled to hear that your school system is using a book that describes Jesus as “a wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist.”

Certainly, some among you must have known that this would be offensive to Christians who consider Jesus to be the Son of God. In fact, we believe that Jesus is in fact God.

Would you have been so cavalier in your response to this issue if the offense had been directed at Allah? Would you have allowed a book denying the Jewish Holocaust to be beneficial for educational purposes just because it had some “educational merit” I think not. Nor would Buddha, or those things sacred to Native Americans, or Hindu’s, or any number of faiths been disrespected in this way. Indeed in today’s society it seems that only the name of Christ can be insulted with impunity and Christian beliefs not tolerated.

Hearing those words about my Lord is like getting sucker punched. It takes my breath away. If I had been assaulted on the street by an anti-Christian thug using that language they’d be charged with a hate crime. That is exactly how I view the language regarding Jesus used in that book – hateful and insulting.

In your response to the press it was stated that “the committee ruled that the book's educational merit outweighed its shortcomings.” Really? What educational merit is there in this particular book that outweighs the hate-speech and obscenities that “Nickeled and Dimed” contains? Sure, it has some legitimate points to make regarding social and economic justice but without a doubt there are materials that make the same arguments without being obscene, hateful and insulting to a large segment of the voting population who call themselves Christian.

I am not calling for any book to be banned or burned. If people want to read it, let them go out and buy it. Free speech is free speech no matter how irresponsible it is. However, school committees across the globe use prudence and discernment all the time in choosing materials that are used to educate children. Given the multitude of materials available and reviewed by school boards the vast majority are rejected for one reason or another. What is so special about this book, which insults the name of Jesus, teaches children how to cheat on drug tests, and uses obscenities. What makes “Nickel and Dimed” more appropriate than some other non-offensive book?

I implore you to remove this insult from your schools.

I am sure, no doubt, that a majority of citizens in your community belong to one Christian denomination or another, or that they consider themselves Christian. Have no doubt, you have offended them. I’m sure there are other non-Christian people in your town who are also alarmed at your tolerance of religious hate-speech. It affects them too. Perhaps they will speak out in the voting booths in the next election.

After reading a number of news articles in the past weeks insulting to Catholics and Christians of all faiths, I can no longer remain silent. My intention is to post this letter on my blog, send it out in emails and ask people to forward it to those on their mailing lists. It will include both the committees email address, mailing address and web page. Perhaps when you find your email clogged and your post office buried in responses you may find it more prudent to remove the book from your classrooms. Hopefully we will not have to organize a peaceful protest march with thousands of Christians from around the country descending on your little hamlet to have this book removed from your schools.

I pray that you remain in the peace of Christ. Merry Christmas

Sincerely,

Deacon Joseph E. MacDonald

And now a word from our sponsor

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Be still my child. Be still. It is only in the quiet of your heart, the quiet of that sacred space in your soul that I speak to you.

Do not let the troubled waters overtake you. Do not be overwhelmed. I will not let you sink and you will not drown.

My call is permanent. I will not turn away from you even if you turn away from me. Turn around, look at me. Turn back and see I have not left you. Look toward me, I am still here and I will always be.

Take my hand and let us continue on the journey together. It is a journey that I have made for you and a journey that you were made to take. If you want to find peace; if you want to know your purpose; if you desire fulfillment, then COME FOLLOW ME.

Sadness or Joy

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Homily on Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus)

Deacon Joseph MacDonald

Tuesday November 16, 2010

Luke’s gospel, tells the stories of two rich men and their encounters with Jesus. These stories occur within just a few short verses of each other. They are juxtaposed in that way, I’m sure, for our benefit.

The first story, the one we didn’t read tonight, is the story about a rich official who came to see Jesus and asked “what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered as the law would have prescribed, obey the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.' The young man said that he had always obeyed the commandments. To every good Jew who knew the law this guy had made it. His wealth proved it.

Jesus said, “You’re “this” close. “All you have to do is one more thing. Sell everything you own and follow me. I’m what you need for eternal life. I am life.” And the poor rich man went away very sad, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t see that Christ was his salvation because his wealth got in the way. And his attitude was wrong.  It was as though he was looking for a pat on the back just for doing what was right, he wanted an “atta boy” from Jesus.

Tonight we read about another wealthy man. This one’s a tax collector. To the Jew, he was a traitor. Often, tax collectors extorted more from the citizens than was required and there was no recourse.  In Israel tax collectors were a scourge, they were outcast, they were thieves and collaborators, they prostituted themselves to a foreign government, selling their souls for silver.

But this guy’s attitude was different. This guy was “seeking” Jesus. In Greek, to seek, just doesn’t mean looking with your eyes, it means trying to understand, it means that he had been thinking about this, meditating on it. And it means to crave. Zacchaeus wasn’t just looking for Jesus. He was CRAVING Jesus.

There is another “seeker” in this story, another craver – Jesus himself. The last line of tonight’s gospel tells us, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus craved Zacchaeus’ salvation at least as much as Zacchaeus craved Jesus. “Zacchaeus come down, I MUST stay at your house.” Jesus is desperate to save this tax collector.

The encounter changed Zacchaeus.  He was converted and transformed. He was the new and improved model. But the crowd wasn’t buying it. “Jesus is hanging out with sinners. What’s with that”

But Zacchaeus stood up to the crowd and their complaints. He stood his ground and laid claim to his new life in Christ. “I’ll prove it” he said, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor – more than the law required, and to I’ll repay anyone I may cheated four times the amount. He went beyond what the law demanded.

Nothing was more important than Jesus. And so, Zacchaeus received him, with great joy. One man went away sad and the other joyful.

When the Patriots won their first super bowl, my son, wanted to go into Boston to see the victory parade. I wasn’t too keen on the idea but decided to let him skip school and we went in town, and staked out a spot near the Park Street station.  The Crowd was already at least 5 people deep when we got there and it got thicker. And when those duck-boats approached, you could hear the shouting of the crowd swell louder and louder as the parade drew near.  The crowd surged forward. Ben and I didn’t have a chance.  We were crowded out. All we could really see was a hand waving or the top of someone’s hat. Coincidentally, we were directly across from the Episcopal Cathedral. There is a tree on their property, quite possibly a sycamore, and one man made the effort to climb that tree to see better.

I think it must have been like that for Zacchaeus, too many people in his way. He was crowed out. And no one was going to give an inch to the likes of him.

You know, there are a number of scripture accounts of a crowd keeping people from Jesus.

·         The blind man Bartemeus. They weren’t just physically in the way they were telling him to “shut up.  Jesus doesn’t want you.”

·         There’s the story of the paralytic. The crowds were so large that his friends had to poke a hole in the roof to get him to Jesus.  

·         The woman with the hemorrhage – not just lost in the crowd but separated by social norms because she was considered unclean.

·         People were bringing infants and children to Jesus, and his own disciples got in the way.  His own followers were crowding out little children. Like a dozen WC fields’ “Go away kid ya bother me.”

What’s crowding us out? What’s preventing us from seeing Jesus? Who’s telling us to be quiet or to go away?

·         Is it the “in” crowd we want to be part of? Our family or friends?

·         Do our possessions and wealth keep us from seeing Jesus?

·         How about our grudges and resentments?

·         Our favorite sin?

·         Does prejudice keep us from seeing Christ?

·         Is it our pride or the need to be right all the time?

·         Are we blinded by our own tears?

We are given a choice, you and I. We can reject Christ and go away sad or we can open the door and receive him with great joy. There’s no in between. It’s either yes or no, hot or cold. Lukewarm is not an option. But we need to be courageous. We need to find the courage to change our attitudes.

We need the courage to cry out like Baremeus “Son of David have mercy on me a sinner.”

We need to have the kind courage that cuts holes in the roof tops for the sake of another and not care what the crowd thinks of it.

We need the determination to work our way through the crowd even if it’s just to touch the hem of Christ’s garment, even if society tells us not to.

We need to be like Zacchaeus and stand up to the crowd, claim our salvation amid the taunts and ridicule of our neighbors.

We need to crave Jesus THAT much. And we need to be strong in the knowledge that Christ also craves us. He craves our salvation, he longs to share his love with us, he wants us so much that he climbed not a sycamore, but the wood of the cross, so that we can look up, recover our lost sight, and see his love clearly, sacrificed not for the righteous but for the sinner – to free us, the lost, from sin. Jesus loves us to death – His own.

And so my friends let us be eager to open the door when Jesus knocks, and let salvation enter our lives. Let us not go away sad but may we be made new by our encounter with Christ and receive him with great joy.

Excuses - Excuses

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Somewhere along the line we got the idea that if we didn’t like church we didn’t have to go. There are a lot of excuses. One of the most frequent reasons I here is, “I don’t get anything out of it.”

Other reasons include:

• I don’t like the priest/minister
• Preaching is lousy (I don’t like message)
• I don’t like the music (the style, it’s not performed well, too slow, too fast, to old, to contemporary)
• I don’t like what they teach
• The people are hypocrites
• It's not warm and fuzzy (It's too warm and fuzzy)
• All they do is ask for money

The list could go on. But we miss the point.

We shouldn’t be going to church on Sunday in order to get something out of it. The reason we go to Church is to put something into it.

“Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day.”

Did we forget that  it’s not about me - it’s about HIM. We go to Mass (church) to worship not be entertained. We go because we love the Lord not because we like or don’t like a particular priest. We go to hear God’s word and be with the community He formed, even with its imperfections.

We honor the Sabbath because we were commanded to. God said it - not me. And it isn’t as though God needs our worship. He doesn’t, but as I’ve said before, when God asks something of us, when we’re commanded to do something, it’s for our good. God doesn’t need our worship, He doesn’t need anything from us, but we have a need to worship Him. Our worship of God puts us in a right relationship with Him. Through our worship we communicate our love of God and God communicates his love for us.

The Church teaches us that Christ is present at Mass in four ways. He is present sacramentally in the Eucharist. Christ is also present in the His Word proclaimed in the midst of the people. He is present in the sacramental priesthood and in the people who have assembled to worship.

How can we, how can anyone, walk away from the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the Word? How can we be accepting of a relationship with God and reject a relationship with His people, His body the Church?

Perhaps we don’t get anything out of Church because we don’t put anything in, garbage in, garbage out as they say.

Perhaps we so easily judge the community as hypocritical because we see the speck in our brother’s eye and not the plank in our own.

Perhaps it isn’t warm and fuzzy because we are icy cold.

When we attend Mass with our mind set on worship it won’t matter who the priest is. It won’t matter if the preaching is bad because the “Word” is good. We’ll sing the music because it gives praise to God even if the choir is out of tune.

Our purpose in going to Mass needs to be first and foremost the praise and worship God. But that doesn’t mean that God won’t give us something in return. When our heart is in the right place; when we give God primacy, we are indeed filled with every grace and blessing, with every spiritual gift under the heavens. The music will have a richness we never expected, the priest might not be the lunk-head we thought he was, the teachings of the Church will become clear and meaningful and our love for the community of hypocrites will increase. We just might see everything in a new light.

It is God’s nature to love us and to desire what is good for us. Won’t that day be wonderful when, gathered at Mass with the Body of Christ; having listened to God’s Word; having received Christ in the Eucharist; having raised our voices in praise and thanksgiving, we cry out together as St. Peter did on Mount Tabor, “It is good for us to be here,” in church.

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Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

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Today we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. In 324 A.D the emperor Constantine gave the Laterani family palace to the Christian community of Rome and it was dedicated to worship on November 9th of that same year. It is the Cathedral Church of Rome, the Popes own church, and for the western church it is a symbol of Christian unity. Certainly, this is an event that is worthy of our celebration and of our reflection. Still, we might struggle to find how this event is significant to us in the 21st century. What lesson can we gain from this ancient building? What difference does it make to us?

Without doubt over the past year thousands of people have made pilgrimage to this Basilica and even as we speak scores of people from around the globe have passed through it doors and are worshiping the true God in union with the entire Church. It is a magnificent edifice, a work of art, and a monument to the human desire to reach beyond the self, to aspire to the very life of the God it honors. As wonderful as it is; as poignant is its meaning to us it remains brick and mortar and God doesn’t love brick and mortar. God did not breathe his spirit into stained glass nor did God redeem cement. God loves human kind, God breathed his spirit into flesh and blood, and God redeems men and women!

Saint Paul gave a profound reality – We are God’s building. We are God’s temple. I wonder sometimes how well we really get that.

Every first Friday in one of the parishes I served we would have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:30 in the morning until 5 P.M. when we concluded with Benediction. In that adoration we honor the true presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar. Indeed on a daily basis people enter the church, reverence the tabernacle and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. It is a laudable practice.

Every Sunday during Holy Communion we all approach the altar and receive the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Doesn’t that make us a kind of tabernacle? Should we not then be deserving of one another’s devotion? I often wonder how far we are willing to accept this notion of true presence.

I had a priest friend. From nearly the beginning of his ministry he has suffered from a debilitating neurological disorder. He had not been able to take an assignment for nearly all of his priesthood and for much of that time he has not been able to serve at all. Yet he always had his faculties and was able to help out in a parish on weekends and celebrated mass for various prayer groups. He was a very good man and one that I admire. But to many of his brother priests he was damaged goods. He was avoided like a plague because his speech was sometimes off; he sometimes had tremor and walked with some difficulty. He was nearly always in pain. Before his disease was diagnosed and treated properly he may have behaved or appeared even more oddly. The man was Job.

I remember one of his homilies from years ago. He talked about how people make pilgrimages to all kinds of shrines – nothing wrong with that. But recognizing that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and that we are “living stones,” “temples” of the Holy Spirit he suggested that maybe it was time that we went on pilgrimage to one another. Perhaps it was time we showed reverence for each other. Fr. Jack was God’s temple, was he not as deserving of our devotion as any shrine on earth?

I had another friend. A deacon, he had a massive stroke and died Christmas day last year. Several years ago he had a another massive stroke and nearly died. If he survived no one thought he’d ever have any quality of life again, but he came back beyond what anyone would have hoped. Still, he walks with a gate, especially when tired. His speech is frequently slured. Although he studied for a masters degree at one of the nations premier colleges and doing quite well he would sometimes appear to come across as something less than intelligent. In fact, he reminded someone of Forest Gump. they thought it was funny enough to call him that to his face, not meaning any harm - but it was hurtful. Wasn’t He God’s temple? Was he not deserving of our devotion?

What about all those people living on the fringe? We know the who they are. They’re the ones that we go out of way to avoid on the sidewalk or when we enter the subway. They’re the ones that talk to themselves or stink of urine. Are they too not made in God’s image? Did Christ not suffer and die for them? Are they not temples of the Holy Spirit?

Are they not deserving of our affection?

Why is it that it’s so difficult for us to see Christ in each other? What are we looking for? Are we looking at all? Do we really believe in true presence?

I have this little ritual that I do frequently. People have seen me do this and probably wonder what it’s all about. They may think I’m just fooling around (because I do fool around a lot).

This little ritual was inspired by Fr. Jack’s homily. When I see someone or I’m introduced to someone I make a little reverent bow. It has become my way of acknowledging God’s presence in His people. It’s a way that I can make a pilgrimage to Christ who is truly present in those around me.

I invite anyone who will listen, to find some way to make this pilgrimage with me. It might be a reverent bow, a kind word or any gesture that shows a brother or sister that they are not invisible and that they are valuable and indispensible, loved by God and loved also by us.

Take his hand

In was praying this morning, nothing unusual about that. But, one of the things that I do before I pray the office is this, I consecrate the time to God asking only the courage to know him and to do his will and if he gives me anything beyond this that I accept it humbly, with a contrite heart. Now if I am feeling especially sinful or contrite about something I make an act of contrition.

“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins…,” at this point I say something like I detest… whatever sin or issue it is.

Well today, I was particularly mindful of some anger, frustration, resentment and vengeful thinking regarding a situation in which I have been mistreated. I really wanted to give some people an earful. The thing is that frequently these feelings have been invading my prayer. They have undermined my peace, and, to some extent, have kept me separated from Christ.

I brought these things to my “confession.” “Father, I detest my resentment and anger. I am unable to strip myself of these feelings and so I leave them at the foot of your throne.” Having completed my act of contrition I began praying the office. I was reading the psalm from the office of readings when I came upon this passage. I knew that God had heard my prayer. He spoke to me in the psalm. He might as well have spoken through a burning bush or from a cloud in the sky, it was that clear.

And so when my heart grew embittered

And my soul was deeply wounded

I was stupid and did not understand,

No better than a beast in your sight.

Yet, I was always in your presence;

You were holding me by my right hand. (Psalm 73:21-23)

I think that one of the things that have kept me enslaved to my anger, clutching desperately to my resentments, quick to pass judgment is not just the deceitful, mean spiritedness of a single act. Indeed I have no resentment toward the one who instigated the betrayal. I know he is ill. But the rejection and abandonment of people who claimed to be my friends; to suffer their abandonment and rejection and their continued attacks, this is a bitter pill. That’s the source of the anger and everything else that goes with it.

But I have been stupid, like a dumb animal I have not been using my brain or my heart. I was not abandoned. The Father was there through it all. He was holding my hand. Just as I would have held my own son’s hand when he was a child, making sure he got through whatever difficulty faced him. Like a child rests upon its mother’s knee, protected, provided for, and loved. That’s who God is, not just for me, but for anyone who calls upon Him.

Who else have I in heaven but you O Lord?

Apart from you I want nothing.

We are never abandoned. Even if it looks like it and feels like it, the Lord has us by the hand. He’s got our back. No real harm can ever befall us. Take His hand. I leave you with this lyric based on Isaiah 49 from a song by Carey Landry.

My people, I have carved you on the palm of My Hand, I will never forget you, I will not leave you orphaned, I will never forget My own. Would a mother forget her baby, or a woman the child within her womb? Yet even if these forget, yes, even if these forget, I will never forget My own.

Justification

A reflection on Justification prompted by Romans 14:17-19


Lectio: Justice, Peace, Joy



If I have been justified, not by any work of my own, but, by Christ’s sacrifice and the blood he shed, should I not see my brothers, my sisters also as people for whom Christ shed his blood and justifies by His sacrifice? And seeing them in this light, should my actions and attitudes toward them not reflect this knowledge?

The one caught in addiction or depression, mental illness or any number of other afflictions is saved and freed by Christ’s good work. If they are yet unable to live in that freedom, who am I to judge? Have I let Christ free me from everything yet? No.



How can I judge my siblings in Christ? To act justly is to remember who justifies. To act justly is to refrain from judging the oppressed and expecting them to pay the price for their own freedom. To Act justly is to pray fervently for their freedom.



To act justly in this way leads to peace and that peace will bring joy in the Spirit.

Prayer

Friday October 22nd

Breath in me breath of God.
May I breath with your Holy Spirit;
Let my heart beat with yours;
Allow my veins to surge with your blood.
May my thoughts be your thoughts;
Let me think with your mind;
See with your eyes;
Speak only your word and listen with your ears to hear the cry of the poor.
Allow me to heal with your hands and love as you love. Make me Holy as you are holy.

Lection from prayer and a dream

Tuesday October 19th


Lectio from (2 Cor. 1:3-5)

1. Comfort those who are in trouble.

2. (with) what we have received from Him

3. Consolation


A dream last night:

I was in what appeared to be a restaurant. I felt the urge or desire to pray for healing for a wman on the other side of the dining area. I don’t think I ever actually saw her but I had a strong sense that she was in a wheel chair.

As I walked toward her I started to feel doubt and hesitation. At the same time I felt something in my body urging me to continue. These words came to me. “All healing comes from Mary.”

I got the sense that I needed to pray with Mary and for Mary’s intercession at least for this particular woman. I didn’t trust my own discernment but as I walked past a table there was book. On the cover it said “Mary.” At least that word jumped out at me. It was as though that one word was highlighted for a moment on the page. I got more courage from this and continued on my way to the woman, but was still apprehensive. It may have been less about doubt in what I should do but fear about the reaction of the woman and others when I told them I wanted to pray for her healing. But the “feeling” in my body was getting much stronger. It was something like the prompting I might receive at prayer meeting when I know I should share a prophesy.

Joe, Pay attention.

October 18th

Be still and know that I Am God.
Remember what I showed you from the beginning, what I taught you. Your ministry will find you.

Thoughts from prayer

From Friday Sept. 17

In the secret of my heart teach me wisdom (ps 51)

Praise the Lord...that his tent my be rebuilt in you with joy (Tobit 13)

Our attitude must be Christ's.

What was his attitude on the cross? What was his attitude when no one understood him? What was his attitude when people interrupted him or brought him where he didn’t want to go or intend to go?



From Wednesday October 13

God is the joy of my soul (Is. 61:10)

A Prayer

A Prayer from September 9, 2010


Lord, give me the grace to love and serve you unshackled from the bond of sin; free form the ties of worldly possessions, liberated from fear and anxiety.

It is your presence, O Lord, I seek.

Unleash your Holy Spirit in me that my mouth will truly proclaim your praise. May I speak boldly of your goodness and love. May I be one who plants the seed of faith in the hearts of those you bring my way.

Use me Lord as a vessel of your love and healing.

Open my eyes that I might be aware of the opportunities you set before me. Open my ears to listen to the needs of your children and to the word you want me to bring them. Amen.

Homily for Tuesday in the 28th week of Ordinary time
Galatians 5:1 “Freedom”
Tuesday October 12, 2010

Some years ago, at a sales conference, a man told us a story about how people in a particular country trained elephants, specifically how to keep them from running away or escaping. It goes something like this.

When an elephant is just a baby, its owner/trainer would tie a very thick rope or a chain around its ankle and attach the other end to a post driven deep into the ground. The baby elephant of course would try to break away but because of its size it was unable and after many attempts it would simply give up.

As the elephant grew it became so accustomed to being tied down, unable to leave, that the metal chain or thick rope could be replaced by a much thinner cord. It would be like tying a string around our ankles and expecting it to hold us.

That gargantuan beast could easily snap that cord like a twig, but it had become so accustomed to its captivity it became impossible for it to even conceive of being free.
Are we not also like those elephants? Sometimes?

Let me illustrate.

As a young man, I had not been to confession in several years. A lot things kept me away – guilt mostly. But I was also certain that God could not love me as much as much as he loved everyone else. I was convinced that my sins were more serious than anyone else’s. I knew he wanted and could heal people – but not me. But I went to confession anyhow. I had no choice I was miserable and depressed and I knew I needed God in my life.

What do you think the penance would be for someone who had been away for so long? I was expecting 50 rosaries, 100 novenas. But this is what the priest told me to do, “rejoice and give thanks to God for calling me home.” I left that confessional light as a feather; I could have danced out of that church. The weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. God could love me. God could forgive me.

But like that elephant, I had become so accustomed to my captivity that I couldn’t live the freedom that confession promised me. It was as though the enemy had tied a string around my ankle and although I was in fact free, I still lived like a slave. I still felt like God could not love me as much as he loves you. I couldn’t understand how he could forgive my sins or heal me. I didn’t deserve it. So, I continued to be miserable and depressed. It took years to be healed - to snap that string and live in the freedom of God’s children.

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

I was thinking about those 10 lepers that we read about on Sunday. For centuries we’ve been assuming that the 9 didn’t return because they were ungrateful. But the scripture doesn’t say that. What it does say is that “one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice.” I’m beginning to think that the other 9 lepers were not ungrateful at all but that they hadn’t yet realized they were healed.

I was trying to picture it, Jesus said “Go show yourselves to the priests” and the gospel tells us that as they were going they were cleansed, not immediately. They’re walking away, talking to each other. “Did you feel anything?” “No did you?” “I’m not going to embarrass myself by going to the priest. Why would God heal the likes of us” One leper falls behind because his sores were on the bottom of his feet. He couldn’t keep up but then he notices – his feet don’t hurt anymore. He looks, the sores are gone. He realized he was healed and returned to give thanks.

Christ had freed the 10 not only from their illness but from the isolation and humiliation that leprosy brought with it. Only one was able to snap that string and be free. I wonder how long the others continued to live unnecessarily like lepers, in isolation, rejected, un-loved, before they too realized what Christ had done for them.


“Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the savior of the world.”

Christ has indeed set us free. All of us!

• Free from sin
• Free from death
• Free from our diseases
• Free from addiction
• Free from depression and mental illness
• The freedom of the Children of God.
• Freedom to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight.

It has nothing to do with deserving it or earning it. It has everything to do with the grace of God. It has everything to do with God’s complete personal love and care for each one of us.

My brothers and sisters it is time to live in the freedom Christ has given us.

Christ broke the chains that enslaved us. He paid the price of our ransom. There is no reason to live like lepers. “We are God’s children now.” And He fills us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control –now!

“Stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1)… Use this freedom as an opportunity to serve one another through love.” (Gal. 5:13)

Praise God.