2016/02/28 - Turn around before you Fall

February 28, 2016

3rd Sunday of Lent; St. Romanus and St. Lupicinus

Before Mass:

Why do bad things happen?  Is it punishment from God?  Jesus sort-of jumps into that question in today’s Gospel – but in my opinion – he seems to be talking out of both sides of His mouth.  See if you can decipher what He’s trying to tell us. 

Homily:

When the tsunami killed a quarter million people in the area of Indonesia, some preachers claimed it was God’s wrath against the false religion of Islam.  I don’t choose to believe that.

When the hurricane hit New Orleans back in 06, I heard some preachers declaring that God sent His wrath onto that city because of all of the sin in it.  I don’t choose to believe that.

When the twin towers fell, some preachers pointed out that our country was getting its just payment for all of the babies that are killed in abortion.  I don’t choose to believe that.

When the earthquake hit Haiti, supposedly it was God’s wrath for all of the voodoo superstitions in their culture.  Need I go on? 

This kind of thinking goes back to Old Testament beliefs that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.  It might be easy as a preacher to get up here and peddle my own beliefs since I’m speaking for God – and I can denounce WHOEVER I want – and point out that I must be right, because look at what God did to THEM!!  (pound fist)   

Why don’t I choose to believe that?  Well, first because if you follow that logic, you’d have to say – look at what happened to those people in Dubois County recently!  God sent his wrath in the form of the bird flu because of some sort of sin or other.  You’d also have to say look at the tornadoes that God sent to punish us a few years ago.  God’s obviously not happy with us.

If you believe the tsunami was God’s wrath – then it would clearly follow that the bird flu was God’s wrath.  You can believe that if you WANT TO – BUT I don’t choose to believe that. 

The main reason is because Jesus just told us ... “do you think the people who were killed in that accident when the tower of Siloam fell were more guilty than others – BY NO MEANS”

Jesus is making it clear that the fate that befell them was not because of their sin.  Seems to me that this would apply to our avian flu and tornadoes… we may be guilty, but we are no more guilty than anybody else. 

Now if he stopped there, I’d be fine – that’s actually a comforting thought which makes sense… but then he adds – “but if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”  OK, Jesus – which is it… do our sins decide our fate or not? 

Well – actually – I’ve always interpreted that wrong.  Pay attention to the words He uses:  ‘if you do not repent you will perish’.  It’s not our sin, specifically, that condemns us… it is our state of mind.  Stick with me now…That word REPENT is the key.  Remember a couple months ago I talked about how REPENT really means METANOIA – which is a complete change of mind.  REPENT has to do with our state of mind…It means we have to start thinking 180 degrees from the way we think.   Everything we THINK is true based on our earthly lives must be turned upside down in order to understand and LIVE the example that Jesus gave us.

Repent DOESN’T mean to stop sinning… it means to turn around…

So – with that in mind, let’s reword what Jesus said to see if it makes more sense:

“Did those people die because they were worse sinners than you?  No Way.  But you are headed in the wrong direction, and if you don’t turn around, you are not going to be happy when you reach your destination.” 

The actual definition of Sin is to “miss the mark” – think of it like aiming an arrow.  If acting like Jesus is the bulls-eye, then sin is to hit anything other than the bulls-eye.  Nobody accidentally lands in heaven – we have to be aiming for it.

That’s why we have to REPENT (Metanoia).  Ever since the beginning, when Adam and Eve ate that first apple, we have all wanted to be like God – deciding right and wrong for ourselves.  So every decision you and I make every day is based on what WE want.  But in order to enter the Kingdom of God, we have to completely change our minds… to put God at the center of our lives… to make decisions based on how we can best fit into HIS will. 

What’s that look like?  To model our lives to be like Jesus and to imitate His example…To pick up our cross and follow, To put the needs of others ahead of our own.  While the world would say we are foolish… Jesus would recognize in our hearts that we truly DO love Him and He will draw us close. 

Bad things will happen to every person here – regardless of how much we sin.  Of course, some people’s behavior is self-destructive and they bring the tower down upon themselves through their bad choices.  But the true punishment of God for sin is to allow us to have what we love the most.  Think hard about that… the true punishment of God is to allow us to have what we love the most.

If we love liquor the most, he’ll allow us to consume it until we ruin our own life.

If we love sex the most, he’ll allow us to follow that desire until it destroys the relationships of those we truly love.

If we love money the most, he’ll give us enough to keep us always wanting more and the greed will consume us.  We bring the tower down upon ourselves. 

But – if we repent – metanoia – completely change our minds – we can love God and he’ll give us all of himself.  We can love serving God’s people, and he’ll feed us with endless blessings of serving others.  We can put God’s will first in every situation, and thereby bring God into our everyday lives – into every decision.   

Let’s try one more analogy to help understand what Jesus said…. And this gets deep… so you might have to pay attention. 

Did you ever have a dream where you just kept falling and falling and falling until you woke up?  Did it ever hurt us?  They say… whoever they are… they say that if you hit bottom while in that dream, you would die.  Now – there’s no way we can know that, because if anybody ever DID hit bottom and die, they wouldn’t be around to tell us! 

But the truth remains that if you are falling, the fall itself doesn’t hurt you… it’s that sudden stop at the bottom.  That’s the best analogy I’ve been able to come up with to explain what Jesus is saying.  Stick with me and hopefully this will be helpful.  Sin is like falling off a cliff.  If we allow the culture and our human nature to guide us, we’ll all aim in the wrong direction and step off the cliff and head straight to the bottom.

Sin, like falling, won’t kill us.  But Sin points us in the wrong direction…straight down… And GOD will allow us to keep falling in that same direction for eternity… and we’ll only hit bottom when what we love most has destroyed us….but… if we REPENT…if we love Jesus most, He will be there to catch us.

2016/02/07 Where is your net?

Before Mass:

The readings fit together so well, I almost don’t even need to explain.  In each case, somebody is called by God to bring the Good News to His people.  All three readings – watch for that common thread.  The other undeniable thread is the fact that in all three cases, the person jumps in with both feet.  God asks for help – and they devoted their lives to it.

Pay particular attention to that Gospel…. We all fit into that story in at least two ways… pay close attention to see if you can identify where YOU are.  Remember – we are all at least two different characters. 

Homily:

Jerry went with his kids on a field trip at their school one beautiful spring day.  The kids we all excited – mainly because they got to get OUT of school for a whole afternoon – and they were going to get to eat at McDonalds – but also because their science teacher was taking them an hour from home to see and catch fish.  Every year on that day, the Salmon would make a run through the area toward their spawning grounds almost a thousand miles up-river.

The problem was – there had been a drought that year and between them and their spawning grounds, the river had gone dry in a couple of places.  There was NO water running down the stream for almost 100 miles.  The fear was that if the fish could not make it to their spawning grounds, they wouldn’t be able to spawn, and the entire population of these salmon would be lost.

So the plan was to catch as many salmon as they could and load them into a huge tanker truck to transport across the next state where the water was still flowing.  It was important they catch every salmon they possible could – because any that get by will likely die. 

The kids were split into groups of about a dozen and given a net about 20 feet long.  They were instructed to hold the nets in the water to catch the fish as they came upstream – then they would pick up the fish and drop them into a bucket – then other kids would carry the full buckets to the truck to dump in.  There must have been 1000 kids convening on this section of river that day.

Jerry didn’t have a job other than to be chaperone and run errands if anybody needed anything.  So, he had time to just watch the process:  The air was filled excitement as kids would squeal when a feisty fish would try to jump out of their hands as they scooped them into the bucket.  He noticed the cooperation and teamwork the kids were learning by working together for a common goal.  He noticed how some of the kids were just born leaders – seeming to fill the role as Head fisherman where adults normally would have filled that role.  Jerry couldn’t help but smile watching them all working so intently on this one goal – to save the salmon.

Once in a while, a fish would get by the nets, and the back-up team would swoop in with their dip nets to bag the lone fish.  This was important – remember- any fish that gets by is likely going to die.  It was for their own good that the kids were catching them.  But the fish didn’t understand… they just knew that somebody was trying to take them out of their element.  They were quite comfortable in the water – oblivious to the impending doom that lay ahead – and they struggled with all their might to escape the hands of the captors.  Some of the kids even got cut by the fins of the fish as they flopped around.

Some of the kids got frustrated by that… why didn’t the fish understand that we were there to HELP?!  So for a while, they let their nets loose – or lying on the shore – and hundreds of fish swam by without being caught.   On the edge of tears, the kids would sit on a rock – not sure what to do.   Should they continue to enforce THEIR will on these fish for their own good – or leave them to their fate?

Where are you and I in this story?

Are we the fish?  Sitting in our comfort zone of the lives we’ve built around ourselves – oblivious to the doom that is coming upon us?  Do we readily accept help when it is given, or struggle to avoid any helping hand?  Many have attempted to preach the Gospel to us to help us understand what lies ahead, but we’d rather just stay here in the warm water where we’re comfortable.  Yeah – I’d say every one of us is the fish at some point in our lives.  Somebody mentions a book or a retreat or a parish Mission – and well – that’s good for some people – but I really don’t have time for that.  Besides, I’m quite comfortable here in the water.

Where ELSE are you and I in the story?  Are we the fishermen?  Have we taken seriously Christ’s call to be fishers of Men?  In the Gospel he was talking to Cephas, but he really was talking to you and me.  Have we ANSWERED that call to put out our nets for a catch?  Do we work tirelessly with others in our community to reach out to all of the fish who come our way – or do we leave that work for others?  Do we get discouraged when our efforts fail and they flop back into the water?  Do we let them slip by us, or do we go to where they are in order to bring them to Christ?

Look around - Where are your nets?  Are they dry – on the shore… think about that:  When WAS the last time we actually cast into the deep to TRY to bring someone to know Jesus?

Two challenges for today – depending on where you found yourself in this story:

First – allow yourself to be caught – if Jesus has sent someone to pursue you – jump INTO the net.

Second – pick up your net and get back in the water….. go where the fish are – and save them.

 

 

2016/01/24 Little Toe

Did you understand that second reading about the body has many parts?  Paul can be wordy….I have an example which might help us understand it differently.

I remember as a kid I’d have some sort of pain to complain about and I’d go to my Dad and whine about ‘my finger huuurrrts’ and put on the most pathetic face I could.  I don’t know if I actually expected him to fix it or if I just wanted attention, but I’d usually get one of two answers:  either “come here and I’ll cut it off” – or – “come here and let me stop on your toe – then you won’t feel your finger anymore.” 

Anybody else ever experienced that?  Watch what would happen if you stomped on my toe… (call altar server to ‘pretend’ to stomp on my toe…then jump around on one foot howling and writhing in pain).  Did you notice what happened?  Let me re-enact that for you again in slow motion:  the mouth immediately opens, the lungs immediately gasp inward, the voicebox immediately lets out a scream, the leg immediately jerks the toe out of harms way – then lifts the injured toe into the air where the arms and hands immediately move into position to hold it up.  The face contorts, the neck stretches back, the eyes close tightly and water a little bit(no I wasn’t crying!), the other foot and leg jump up and down as if THAT would help to alleviate the pain or something. 

In short – when one part of the body hurts – every other part of the body rushes to do whatever it can to alleviate that pain.  The hands don’t say – well WE are more important than a stupid toe, so WE are not going to lift a finger to help.  The lungs don’t say – well you know – a body can live without a toe… but a body CAN’T live without lungs… we’re not going to waste our breath on such an inferior body part. 

No – EVERY body part rushes to do WHATEVER it can to remove the pain. 

That is what we witnessed in our community over and over again – and once again in the last two weeks… Some members of our body were struck a horrible blow at their farms – and when it happened –it was like somebody stomped on our toe.  The whole community immediately jumped up and down willing – wanting – needing to do anything we could to alleviate the pain of those farmers.  Immediately prayers were going out on Facebook and emails.  Prayer services were organized.  Adoration for 6 six days in a row was organize almost overnight.  I gotta be honest, I didn’t think THAT would happen – but it goes to show that THIS body of Christ SINCERELY wants to do WHATEVER we can to alleviate your pain – because your pain – is OUR pain. 

That’s the way it is with the Body of Christ…and that’s what Paul is talking about in that second reading.  Let me give just a little background - Paul wrote this letter about 20 years after Jesus’ Resurrection when he was in prison in Rome.  It’s written to the church in Corinth – one of the churches he started in his missionary journeys.  This church was vibrant and growing, in many ways, it was the model for how churches were to be formed…but he caught wind of some rivalries taking place in the parish and he felt the need to step-in to keep things from getting out of hand.  Apparently some of the parishioners were able to speak in tongues – others had a gift of healing – there were several various ministries and each person had their part in the church.  But apparently some of them thought – well, I have the gift of tongues, so I’m more important than the Altar Servers – so I don’t have to do my fair share around here.  The Lectors thought – I have the gift of proclaiming the Word – surely that’s more important than these other people, so I shouldn’t have to help wash dishes. 

Paul is quick to point out that nobody is more important than anybody else.   Just like a human body has many parts and each is necessary….likewise  EVERY person is given a gift or a ministry to build up the Body of Christ.  In other words, every person has a Charism, given by God, which is specifically to help the people of God – the Church.

I like the way Fr. Eugene defines a charism… a charism is the God-given ability (or talent) to do something that OTHER people consider to be WORK, but YOU actually get ENERGIZED doing it. 

What is YOUR charism?  Everybody has at least one… Examples – some people are really good at taking notes at meetings and actually ENJOY it!  For me, that would be almost as bad as going to the dentist.  On the other hand, a lot of people would cringe in fear at standing up here and preaching a homily – but for me – THIS is what ENERGIZES me. (you probably noticed that;)  Some people think cutting firewood is a drudgery, but many men would rather do that than just about anything else… it’s fun..it’s in nature… and it’s providing heat for the winter.  Some of us think cooking is akin to torture, but others have a god-given talent and there’s no place they’d rather be than in the kitchen.  If you can think of a job that fires you up… perhaps THAT is your Charism. 

Every Charism… yes… every Charism… has a place in the Church.  Why?  Go back to the definition… it is a God-given talent.  God gave you that Charism for the benefit of HIS church…His people. 

We have MANY different ministries in this parish – and that’s what this Ministry Fair coming up is all about.  I suspect that everybody – myself included – will find SOMEthing at the ministry fair that we can say – wow – I didn’t know we did that here!  That is exactly what I’ve been wanting to do!  And if you DON’T see it there, and you have a passion for it, by all means, put your God-given talent to use.  For example, let’s say you LOVE camping… there’s no place you’d rather be than sitting around a campfire.  Maybe you could use your Camping Charism to organize family outings or youth camp trips?  Not only would you get to do your camping, but you would be putting your experience at the service of God’s people.  Be creative – just like God was creative when he made each one of us – down to the last little toe.

20160102 - Epiphany: Real Wise Men Seek Directions

What we don’t hear about in today’s Gospel is the fact that all three of the wise men were married.  What we don’t hear about is the fact the three wise men had wandered around in the desert for two years trying to find Jesus….and all the while, Belthazar’s wife Sheila kept insisting – ‘Why don’t you just stop at the next Oasis and ask for directions’.

I need to drive to Tuskaloocha…does anybody here know directions on how to get there?  Where is that, you say?  I don’t know, that ‘s why I’m asking you.  How can I find out?  I can google it, pull up mapquest, put it into my Garmin navigational doohickey, I might even try to watch the stars like the wise men…four different ways to find out how to get to Tuskaloocha.

Now, what if I need directions for how to get to Jesus?  What would you say?  Seriously think about that a minute… Can you tell me how to get to Jesus?  Honestly, I don’t know that I’d have a ready-to-give answer to that question myself – but I really think we ALL should have that answer.  How could I find out the best way to find Jesus?  If I google Jesus, I’ll find thousands – literally tens of thousands of churches who claim that THEY have the one and ONLY way to get to Jesus.

How can that be?  How is it that one guy named Jesus was here – a book called the Bible was written about him – and now 10’s of thousands of different churches have different interpretations? 

As Catholics, we believe that Jesus started ONE Church – a church we call the Catholic Church…and within it he gave authority to teach, baptize, and forgive sins.  He endowed it with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  He graced it with the seven Sacraments so that he could continue to reach out and touch his people through the hand of His ministers.  He inspired its leaders to write the Bible…that’s right, the New Testament writers were Catholics!  Why would Jesus start a Church?  To help people find him.  The Church is the Garmin navigational doohickey  for finding Jesus.

Now that doesn’t mean we have a corner on the market for getting to Jesus – and that’s what today’s feast is about.  You see, there were two important groups of people who came to see Jesus when he was an infant:  the shepherds and the magi.  We don’t have a special feast for the shepherds, but today’s Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the fact that three pagan wise men came to know Jesus.  That should shake us up!  These guys weren’t Catholic, they weren’t Christian, they weren’t even Jewish!  They tried to find God by reading the signs in the stars.  Most of us today don’t use the stars to navigate…– yet, they came to know Jesus through this method….so is it all bad?  The shepherds, on the other hand, found out about Jesus through direct revelation – when an angel appeared to them.  We don’t seem to have a problem with that, do we?  And yet, if I stood here and told you that an angel appeared to me last night, you’d think I was a little off my rocker.  Yet, we accept it as perfectly normal for these guys 2000 years ago to receive a vision from an angel. 

But there was a third group who came to know that Jesus was born.  Who?  Think through the story:

Ø  The shepherds came to know through a direct vision of angels.

Ø  The magi knew through a reading of the stars.

Ø  And King Herod’s scribes came to know through searching the scriptures.

Visions, stars, scriptures -- different ways of arriving at the same truth. Of course this doesn’t mean that ANY method of finding Jesus is just as good as the other. Notice how Matthew indicates that when the guiding star got to Jerusalem its light failed and the magi HAD to stop and ask for directions… They were forced to consult the scriptures to direct them to Bethlehem. Obviously, since they were not familiar with the prophecies in the Jewish books, they had to get the help from the scribes in Jerusalem.  That is an important point:  Over and above the natural light of the star the magi still needed the SUPERNATURAL light of scripture to finally get to Jesus.

Yet the crucial question in the story remains: Who actually FOUND Jesus? Herod and his scribes who were the scripture “experts” FAILED to find Jesus, but the magi, who followed the natural light of the stars, WERE able to find him. Why? Because the Jewish authorities, even though they possessed the shining truth of revealed scriptures,…didn’t follow it. They did not walk in the light of the scriptures. The magi, on the other hand, who enjoyed only star light, followed its guidance. See - It is not the possession of the truth that matters, it is how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we DO possess. It is better to have the dim light of the stars and follow it than to have the bright light of the holy scriptures and neglect it.  Ouch – I’m preaching to myself here – we can’t just relax knowing that we possess the fullness of truth – we have to actually act on it in order to find Jesus.

Let me give you one more example – what if you were having money troubles and somebody who knows a lot about money told you how to handle money God’s way… that it would help you get out of debt and to lead a happier life…  Would you follow their instructions?

Or like driving to Tusckaloocha:  If I googled directions and printed them out for you, would you follow them?  If we punched it into your Garmin, would you turn when it tells you to turn?  Or – would you see a road that looks pretty and say – I’ll bet I can still get there from here….I’ll just go up a ways and see where it takes me.  Since we don’t even know where Tusckaloocha is, wouldn’t that be pretty silly to try to find our own path to get there?

We, as Catholics, have been given the most direct route to Jesus – in the Church that He established.  But what does that benefit us if we don’t follow the directions?  Nature worshipers and even non-believers who try to find God through the dim light of natural reason might actually find Jesus before some of us Christians who have been given all the revealed truths about God …because we failed to look at the map… REAL wise men will turn to the scriptures for directions.

Homily - Feast of the Holy Family - We shouldn't be surprised

Before Mass:

This morning we are privileged to hear the first words Jesus utters in the Gospel.  “Why did you look for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  These words were originally written in Greek – and that last phrase could just as easily be translated as “I must be about my Father’s business”.  It’s just a small tweak of the meaning, but keep that in mind as you listen and try to figure out Why He responded the way he did and more importantly – what He’s trying to tell YOU today.

I’m always struck by how Jesus responds to people in the Gospel.  To OUR ears it sounds dis-respectful.  Like today – ‘why did you look for me?  Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?’  Sounds a little like he’s too big for his britches, if you ask me!… I would think a sincere apology would be in order.  But who am I to question what JESUS said?  There MUST be a message for us or it wouldn’t have been recorded in scripture.  I have a story which might help us think a little differently about that response. 

Jerry’s 4 year old daughter Susie was out playing in the mud puddles one day and making mud pancakes.  Jerry was babysitting that day, and he KNEW his wife would be sooo upset that he let her play in the mud.  Yeah – she was making a huge mess of her clothes, but she was SOO cute and having so much fun.  Jerry went in to grab a camera to capture the moment… but when he came back, Susie was gone!  Where could she be?  Did she cross the road?  Did she go to the neighbor’s house?  Did she go inside?  He panicked…  running around calling her name – searched the bedroom, the playroom, the TV room, all the neighbor’s houses.  Even the neighbors joined the search.  Giving up, Jerry ran back inside to call the police when he heard some singing coming from the bathroom… bursting through the door, he saw Susie sitting in the bath tub playing with her rubber duckie…  The first thing out of his mouth was THANK GOD… which was quickly followed by words that sounded harsher than he wanted… WHERE did you go?  We were looking all over for you?!!!  And Susie, sensing how upset he was, started to cry as she said, “But – I was all muddy and I knew mommy wouldn’t like it so came to get a bath…I thought you KNEW I had to take a bath”.

I think Susie’s response gives us a clue about Jesus’ response to Mary and Joseph when they found him in the temple:  He  likely was surprised by their reactions.  “Why did you look for me?  Didn’t you know…?”  From HIS perspective, it should have been quite OBVIOUS to them where He would be found.  They shouldn’t have been surprised to find him in Church.

 

So – what’s the bigger message?  How can we find our own story in these readings?

Here is the question for each person here:  Have YOU ever lost Jesus?  We might have surrounded ourselves with so many people, like the caravan in the Gospel, so maybe we haven't even REALIZED Jesus is missing from our lives.  When troubles hit – When sorrow, pain, and worry envelop us, we suddenly realize we’ve left him behind somewhere.  We might scurry around all over town like Mary and Joseph searching for Jesus...and then, as a last resort, we go the Church.  THIS is where we find him...here...in the Father's House...in church... with a community of believers.  Yeah, we can find him WHEREVER God's will is being done, but the PRIMARY place to find Jesus is in the Father’s house. 

The second most-likely place to find Jesus is at home in our Families.  Home is where we learn how to live as Christians.  You may remember just a couple of months ago a Synod was held – basically a meeting of Bishops with the Pope – and the topic was the Family.  Here are a couple quotes I pulled from their document:

the family is a “school of love,” a “school of communion,” and a “gymnasium for relationships,” that is, the privileged place to learn to build meaningful relationships which help a person develop a capacity for giving one’s self. ...the family can be considered as the “basic school of humanity,” and thus regarded as irreplaceable.

As with just about any Church document, it’s kinda wordy… but packed with meaning.  What’s all that mean?  The family is where we learn to Love and what it means to be Loved.  It is a place where we learn ‘communion’… how to live together.  That third phrase is interesting.. the family is a ‘gymnasium for relationships’…what do we go to a gym for?  To work out…to practice… to play the game.   The Family is where we practice giving of ourselves..we practice forgiving…we work-out our problems….we practice communication…we exercise our communication skills… we practice being self-less… in essence – we learn how to Love.

The family is also the breeding ground for Vocations.  This is where the first reading connects with the Gospel.  Notice that Hannah dedicated Samuel to God very early in life.  She took him to the temple and left him there to be raised by the priests and temple handmaids.  That seems a bit extreme to our modern culture… We normally don’t decide FOR our kids what they should be when they get older – we let them decide.  However, Families still have a HUGE impact on whether a young person will consider a priestly or religious vocation.

On one hand, I know families who pray together - and I mean teens too - praying the rosary together daily or weekly.  They pray before meals - they go to Mass together - go to Reconciliation.  These people have trained their children to view the Sacraments of the Church as 'normal'… that doesn't match what the rest of society thinks is normal.  These kids are reminded to ask GOD what HE wants them to do with their life.  They are encouraged to seek a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

On the other hand, I also know folks - one lady in particular is a very close friend and a very strong Catholic - who purposely DISCOURAGED her son from following a calling to the priesthood.  Why?  She wants grandkids.  Really?  This statement actually worries me… if every parent wants grandkids – and few families have more than one son anymore… then we won’t have ANY parents encouraging their sons to consider a vocation.

How CAN we encourage vocations? 

Ø  First - By changing the question we ask our youth.  Instead of ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’, let’s ask, ‘what is God calling YOU to do?’  Start asking the question early in life, so it will become just a normal question they ask themselves.

Ø  Take them to church… I don’t mean to LEAVE them at church, like Hannah did.  I don’t think Fr. Eugene wants a bunch of kids running around the Rectory. Taking the family to church shows the youth how important this is to you. 

Ø  You know, when I was young I used to get frustrated by babies and toddlers who would make noise in church… but somewhere along the line somebody reminded me that noisy babies are a sign that our parish is still growing – rather than just being a church for the old people.

Ø  Another way to encourage vocations is to Show respect for the priest.  Speak kindly about Father in front of the kids.  Do things as a family to thank Father for all he does – like – I can remember we would have our parish priest over for dinner often.  What a great way for us kids to get to know these priests as ‘real people’.   

I realize there are other reasons parents don’t want their kids to be a Priest – but most of us involved in Ministry would agree that it is the most fulfilling way to live.   Father touches SO many lives on a personal level – AND – he has been ordained to feed us the Body and Blood of Jesus.  I personally can’t think of anything I’d rather my son would do.

If we would dedicate our children to God as Hannah did in the first reading... if we would set the example for them… if we guide them to always seek what GOD wants them to do… we shouldn’t be surprised if we find them in church,… doing our Father’s business.

2015/11/29 First Sunday of Advent - Looking for the Off-Ramp

To set the stage, I need you to think about the signs along an interstate highway – like on I-64.  If you get on the highway headed West – what will the sign FACING you say?  St. Louis…  and obviously, if you head east, the signs facing you would say Louisville.  In other words – the signs tell you where you’re going, right? 

Many years ago, a group of us were driving to New York to a ski resort.  Yeah – I know – we could have just gone to Paoli, but well – they actually have SNOW in New York.  We left on a Friday right after work and drove until the early hours of the morning.  We got somewhere near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border when we stopped for gas.  It was foggy, because of the snow melting in the area – and it was dark – and we weren’t familiar with the area.  So – whoever was driving got turned around in the dark and ended up getting on the ramp headed in the wrong direction.  Most of us were half- asleep, so it wasn’t until 15 minutes later that somebody looked behind us at a sign on the other side of the highway and noticed the signs said Erie, PA….wait a minute…that’s where WE’RE supposed to be headed.  That’s when we noticed the signs on our side said ‘Cleveland, OH’ and Syracuse, NY.

Not much you can do when there’s no off-ramps – we had to keep driving as fast as we could in the wrong direction to find a way to get back on track.  For 22 miles, we drove the wrong way – wishing to find an off-ramp.

All of us at times find ourselves headed in the wrong direction, don’t we?…. Imagine our lives as a highway.  One way leads to heaven and the other way leads to …well….the other place. 

When we’re young, we rode with our parents and grandparents on this road to heaven.  They showed us how to live.  They showed us how to read the signs.  They were responsible for keeping us pointed in the right direction.  Then – we got our own driver’s license… kinda like Confirmation… we got to drive ourselves – which means WE get to choose which direction we want to travel.  Often – we might see the off-ramps and take an excursion to see what else is out there and completely lose sight of the highway to heaven.  I’d venture to say this probably describes many of us here… we got the right upbringing, but when it came to making our religion our own, many of us took the off-ramp, and headed in the wrong direction.  Many never returned.  Many of us keep driving in that wrong direction thinking “someday” we’re going to have to get turned around…someday we’ll get our lives back on track. 

Problem is - whenever we get pointed in the wrong direction, it’s hard to get turned around.  Often something in our lives seems to force us to push on and on.  Every day just brings us more of the same – work, kids, responsibilities – they keep us too busy to even THINK about making any changes to our lives.  We can’t find an off-ramp.  That’s what Advent is for us: an off-ramp.  The Church in her wisdom gives us a brand-new start – like a chance to re-boot and start over.  These four weeks are an invitation to get off the rat-race; to look at where we are, where we’ve been, and most importantly – where we are headed.  If we would just stop and READ THE SIGNS, we can SEE where our lives are leading.  The signs along the highway TELL us.  If we don’t like where we’re going, perhaps it’s time to turn around.

See – Jesus talks about ‘there will be signs’ – these are signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God.  These signs are all around us even now …seriously... God puts signs all around us to guide us back to the highway to heaven… thing is – they’re all facing away from heaven – just like the signs for Louisville only point West…. so unless we turn to look TOWARD heaven, we won’t be able to read the signs.

Normally in Advent, one of the first words we hear is “Repent”.  I’m going to impress you with my vast knowledge of the Greek language… ok – maybe the only word I know in Greek:  Metanoia.  That’s the word in the New Testament which is translated as ‘repent’.

Metanoia is more than we typically think of when we think of ‘Repent’.  It is a COMPLETE CHANGE OF MIND….  You might say – it is to turn completely around – to go the other direction.

This is what we’re called to do in Advent.  Pull off the road – look at the map – look at where we’ve been and where we are headed…. And when we realize just how far off course we are, we can metanoia… turn around… and get back on the highway to heaven.

How can we keep ourselves going in the right direction?  This is where Psalm 25 comes in:   Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me.

God has given us the directions… he even came down here and died on the cross to point us in the right direction.  Pray this psalm often – in every situation – God show me which way to go.  God teach me what I need to know.  Keep me pointed in the right direction.  Open my eyes to read all the signs you place around me….even the ones behind me.