2016/07/03 - The Kingdom of God is AT HAND

What is the ‘Kingdom of God’ – and what’s it mean that the Kingdom is ‘at hand’? 

We hear that so often, we might not even have thought about it, but if we had to put it into words.  If you had to describe it to your five year old, what would you say?  My first thought is that the Kingdom of God is ‘heaven’… did anybody else think that?

When something is ‘At Hand’, I immediately think it means something is coming “soon” – like “there’s a storm at hand” means it’s gonna get windy and start raining any moment now.

So – putting that together, many of us would define that statement to mean that “Heaven is coming soon”.

But – it’s been like 2000 years since he said that… did he really mean it is coming soon?

We could interpret it that way – but – I think we would miss the point Jesus was trying to make.  So – let’s break it down a little bit.

Literally, the ‘kingdom of God’ means – God is the king and we live in His kingdom.  For example, If we lived back when David was king of Israel, then we could say we lived in the kingdom of David ...kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?  David was the king – so we live in the kingdom of David.  So, it follows that God is the king of the ‘kingdom of God’.  That might be heaven, but I think it is more than that.  I think we are ALREADY in the kingdom of God.

You see - The phrase ‘at hand’ means something is “close” – so it could mean it is a short TIME away – OR – it could mean it is a short DISTANCE away…. Like – within arm’s reach.

Think of a chef working in the kitchen creating a great feast.  She’s got all of her spices and seasonings and other ingredients ‘at hand’ – meaning – they are within arm’s reach.  She doesn’t even have to walk across the room to get it – because it is ‘at hand’…she just has to grab it.

I think these definitions may give us a better perspective on what Jesus means – ‘the kingdom of God is at hand means’ – it is right there – so close you can reach out and touch it!  You don’t even have to walk across the room to get it – just grab it.

The key, I think, to making this all make sense is the last sentence of the Gospel… “the Kingdom of God is at hand FOR YOU”.  For YOU.  That little addition gives us some insight to how Jesus meant this.  It means – you can make God YOUR king… it is within your reach right now.  You and I just gotta decide that God is going to run our lives –… make the rules, impose taxes on us, set our economic policies, call us to war, or lead us to peace.  The KING makes all of those decisions – not us!  If we choose to reach out our hand and accept God as our personal king, we give up our freedom to live however we want.  That doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?  I mean, why would anybody CHOOSE to make God their king?

Because, look how the 72 reacted when THEY participated in the kingdom… they came back rejoicing!  Their little missionary jaunt gave them great JOY!  Now – does that sound like somebody who gave up their personal freedom?  No!  God gives us freedom – yes – but not so that we can do whatever WE want – but He gives us the freedom to choose to do HIS will.  Doing His will brings true joy.  Joy that will last for eternity.

How do we get this joy?  How do WE participate in this kingdom?  Look at the first line of the Gospel, “the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit”.  “every … place he intended to visit”. 

Jesus sent them where HE wanted to go.  He sent them, not so much to prepare the way for him… but By going there, they brought the Kingdom of God to that place.  By their presence, they made the kingdom of God present to everyone they met.  As a result, they experienced Joy – and Jesus saw Satan fall as a result. 

Where is God sending you and me?  To Haiti?  To Louisville?  Maybe – but remember – he said the kingdom is AT HAND – meaning close to you.  Each one of us is surrounded by other people.  Some are Christian, some are not.  Some are heterosexual and some are not.   Some are Democrat and some are Republican and others have given up on our political system.  Some are circumcised and some are uncircumcised.  Like Paul says in the second reading – none of that matters anymore.  When we accept God as our King, the world is crucified to us, and we become a new creation.  Our job is merely to reach out to those who are close enough to touch – and to share their pain – to do what we can to relieve their suffering.  Basically – Love one another – THAT is what it means to participate in the Kingdom of God.  That sounds so simple,…and it is!  We think this religion stuff has to be so complicated…like we have to do this, and this, and this…but The kingdom of God is right here!  Right now!  Every moment of the day, all we have to do to tap into the joy of the kingdom is to choose to go out of our way for the benefit of someone else.  Visiting the sick – visiting our elderly who don’t get out much or get much company – maybe making them a meal or offering to do some yardwork for them. 

Reach out to your fellow student who seems to be depressed or having trouble at home.  Reach out to the men who are so self-assured that they think they don’t need God…all they need is beer… believe me… they have pain… we all have pain.  We must step outside of ourselves to learn their pain – to empathize with them – and to share their burden.  In doing this, not only do WE feel the joy of the kingdom, but they are freed from Satan and experience the same Joy and are hopefully drawn toward us and the Church.

 
The harvest is plenty – lot’s of people out there NEED our witness as Christians.  St. Isidore parish is the 72 disciples sent to every place where Jesus wants to go.  But he needs US to take him there.  If we don’t go there – Jesus can’t go there.  When we reach out to others, we make Jesus present… and indeed the kingdom of God is at hand – right here, right now.

Homily 2016/06/19 - Identity

Why did Jesus ask his disciples, ‘who do YOU say that I am ?’ Was he having an identitycrisis ? Did he forget what he was about ? I think he recognized a teachable moment and wanted to force the disciples to get off the fence. I picture it went down something like this : Jesus was praying and overheard the apostles discussing among themselves just WHO Jesuswas. ‘Well – I heard somebody say he was Elijah reincarnated’… Yeah… I heard that, and somebody said one of the ancient prophets has come back – I’m kinda leaning toward thattheory. But… Jesus wanted them to commit – to make a decision for themselves… who IS Jesus ? Once you define who someone is, it has direct implications for how you live.

So when Peter answers, ‘The Christ’ – you would THINK Jesus would give a sigh of relief or applaud that they had figured it out, but instead, he almost scolds them - like – ‘Shhh… don’tsay that too loud… that is dangerous talk’. You gotta wonder again – Jesus – why are youacting like that !?

Because, while the disciples had gotten his title right – ‘the Christ’ – he knew they didn’t have a clue what that meant. This was a teachable moment, so Jesus jumped right into it : Yes – you’re right, but what that means is that it is inevitabe that I’m going to be put to death… and you should know that anybody who wants to follow me is going to have the same fate.

That has direct implications for you and me here today. Who do YOU say that Jesus is ? If wereally BELIEVE that Jesus is the Messiah, then it implies a lot about who WE are and how welive our lives. Disciples of Jesus above all show love to the world. When we do that, we’ll makeenemies…because evil doesn’t like to be challenged. Yep, If you and I do Christianity right, they’ll nail us to a cross too.

Blessed ArchBishop Romero was shot in 1980 while saying Mass because he dared to speakout against the corruption and injustices in San Salvador. The people in power didn’t like for himto rock the boat. Even look at Mother Teresa’s life – she was constantly showing love to the poorest of the poor – and that earned her many enemies. Nobody likes a goody-two-shoes, sothey looked for a way to discredit her or to block her from building some of her ministry.

It’s not that we as Christians must SEEK OUT suffering… it’s more of a cause and effect… When we challenge injustices, somebody is not going to like it. On the other hand, as disciples of Christ, we find our greatest JOY in doing things for others. Like giving up our Saturday to work at the Community Meals is a small way we ‘suffer’, but we also experience the Grace of God when we do it.

So, hopefully it’s clear that when Jesus says ‘Who do YOU say that I AM ?’, he’s really askingus to define who WE are.

This question is particularly important right now as our parishes merge. In case you’re visiting, let me explain briefly – St. Celestine and St. Raphael are two parishes – but In less that twoweeks, we will officially become St. Isidore parish.
It’s a new beginning – a moment to ask : Who are we ? Why do we exist ? To answer thosequestions, we’ve been working on a Mission Statement. This may not be the final version yet, but I wanted to share it with you in case you have input.

We the parish of St. Isidore
witness to the world the love of Christ and
invite others to personally experience the Grace of God
through prayer, acts of service, spiritual formation,
and to encounter Jesus the Sacraments.

Let me read it one more time. As I do – think about these questions : Does it really describewhy St. Isidore exists ? Ask yourself, do I personally believe in this mission enough to let itdrive how I act and live in our community ? If you have any thoughts or ideas, share them withme.

We the parish of St. Isidore
witness to the world the love of Christ and
invite others to personally experience the Grace of God
through prayer, acts of service, spiritual formation,
and to encounter Jesus the Sacraments.

Who do you think St. Isidore parish SHOULD be ? Who are we really ?

All of these answers rest on how we answer Jesus as he asks each of us personally :
​Who do you say that I am ?

Easter 2016: Rebar

 (picture attached is in the bulletin this weekend)

Anybody seen the Lord of the Rings?  There’s a scene at the end when the mountain is exploding and they’re stuck on a rock in the middle of a bunch of flowing lava.  The scene is utterly hopeless – they are beyond saving.  Frodo says to Sam, “It’s good to be with you, here at the end of all things.”

The end of all things… as hopeless as it gets.  That’s surely how the disciples were feeling after the terrifying turn of events on Friday.  They had put all of their hope into one man, Jesus – but he’d been tortured and killed.  With his death, their hope died.  With his death, they themselves feared for their lives.  This was the end of all things.  Hope was lost.

In our own lives, every one of us goes through times like that:  Times of hopelessness.  We see no way to fix our broken marriage, get out of debt, fix our son or daughter who has made bad choices, bring back the health of a loved one… or ever feel “alive” again after the death of a family member.  Like the apostles, every bit of our hope seems washed away – nailed to that cross.

In our recent trip to Haiti, we saw LOTS of reasons for hopelessness: Crumbling infrastructure, intermittent electricity, no sewers, unclean water, corruption, deforestation, 80% unemployment, the list goes on.  It would be easy to just walk away… write it off… give up…

But, there’s something we can learn from the people of Haiti.  Look in your bulletin on the next to last page – there is a picture of a building in Haiti.  What do you see? 

I know, it’s not a great picture and it’s hard to see in this bulletin – but this is a typical building in a city.  Many families start out with a hut made of sticks and mud.  When they get a little bit of money, they’ll dig a foundation and start building a concrete building.  There are concrete buildings EVERY where you look – at least in the cities.  Some are done, but many are in various stages of construction… in fact, it’s hard to tell whether they are half-built or half-destroyed.  But there’s one thing every building has in common… notice the rebar sticking out of the roof.  Rebar is a ¾” rod of metal that goes inside of concrete to give it strength.  Almost every building you see has rebar sticking out of it.  At first, I thought they must not have the right tools to cut it off – but it was explained to me that whenever you get enough money to build even just a little bit, you build what you can.  Every time you build a wall or a roof, you let the rebar stick out so that WHEN you get enough money, you can build on.  So the rebar sticking out of this school in the picture I interpret as a sign of hope!  It means – tomorrow will be a better day – hope is still alive.  As long as there is hope, even someone in Haiti has a reason to go on living.

That’s what Easter is for us as Christians.  Regardless of how hopeless our lives seem, the empty tomb is a sign of hope – the empty tomb is like a piece of rebar sticking out… it means God is not done yet.  He plans to keep building.

He starts with a firm foundation… Every Easter we renew our baptismal promises.  When we were baptized, God poured a foundation in our lives.  This foundation is a big Rock… our Rock of faith.  Note that just being baptized doesn’t make us a good Christian… it is just the foundation.  God leaves the rebar sticking out of that foundation so that He can continue to build on us.  Think about when you pour concrete, you have to make a form with boards and have the rebar running inside – so when the concrete is poured into the form, it doesn’t run all over the place.  The forms hold it in place until it can harden.  As long as the concrete has the right mixture and the rebar is in place, the wall will be strong and virtually indestructible. 

God continually pours His grace into our lives – every moment of every day.  How we live is what forms us.  Every time we follow Jesus’ example, we are forming ourselves into the shape of Jesus.  If we fail to live as Jesus showed us, then all that Grace flows right out of us and is wasted.

But that’s part of the good news – no matter how we have lived our lives in the past, God continues to pour His grace and Divine Mercy into our lives – and if we simply start forming our lives to be like Jesus, God will build us up.  (Look at Peter – he denied Jesus three times, but instead of despairing, he allowed Divine Mercy to build him into our first Pope.  Even Judas could have been saved if he had allowed God’s Mercy to form him.)  Every one of us has a piece of rebar sticking out of our heads…. Because God ain’t done with us yet.  No matter how hopeless our life feels, this is NOT the end of all things

... God will roll the stone away and build on top of it.   

Good Friday Homily: By His stripes We were healed

When Jerry was younger – probably about 16 or 17, he was on a soccer team.  That year, they had a great season and they actually WON the sectional – so the next Saturday they would be playing the Regional. 

Well, Friday night, Jerry wanted to go out to a party with the rest of the soccer team to celebrate their Sectional win, but Dad said ‘no way’… you need to catch up on your homework which has suffered during the soccer season because of all the practices.  Jerry was mad… all of his friends would be at that party… and HE was one of the heroes of the sectional-winning team, so he’ll miss his chance to impress the girls.  He went to his room and slammed the door – fuming.  How could Dad be SO mean!  He thought about running away…I mean, obviously Dad didn’t love him.  The more he thought about it the more worked-up and angry he got.  Then he had an idea…

Dad worked 2^nd shift, so he would be leaving the house around 3 pm and would get home right around midnight.  Mom had her sodality meeting that night… so he could sneak out just after she left… and neither of them would ever know about it.

As Mom left, she reminded Jerry to stay focused on the homework and try to get to bed early to get rested for the game tomorrow.  Your older brother Tom is in charge, so you listen to him. 

That’s right… Tom and Jerry… they never heard the end of that joke at school.  And they FOUGHT like Tom and Jerry did in the cartoons too.  OK, Mom… Jerry just rolled his eyes… whatever.  As soon as the car left the driveway, Jerry grabbed his coat to leave and Tom asked, “Where are you going?”  None of your business.  Well, yeah it IS my business… you heard Mom, I’m in charge and you are supposed to stay home and get your homework done.

I got some of it done and I’ll finish the rest after I get back…I’ll be back before Mom gets home.  Tom tried to stop him, but Jerry would hear nothing of it… he got into his Dad’s 1960 Corvette and took off.  Well – as you might expect, there was alcohol at this party, and even though Jerry stayed away from it, one of the other players backed his car into the Corvette.  Jerry almost got sick to his stomache….oh no!!… what will Dad say?  I’m not supposed to be here and I’m CERTAINLY not supposed to drive the Corvette!  He figured his life was over…  He drove home, parked the car in the garage and hesitantly went inside and tried to sneak to his room.  But just inside the door, Tom was glaring at him.  You’re gonna be is SUCH trouble.  I know about the dent in the Vette… one of your buddies called here looking for you since you left the party in such a hurry.  You KNOW we’re not allowed to drive Dad’s vette!  And you left the house, which Mom and Dad explicitly told you NOT to do! 

As much as Jerry tried to be a tough guy about it, he was scared of what punishment his Dad would give him.  He apologized to his brother for not listening to him…then headed to his bedroom to try to concentrate on homework, but all he could think about was the punishment which he deserved.  Dad was gonna beat him within an inch of his life!

Mom came home about 45 minutes later and he expected her to come up and start yelling, but 10 minutes later – nothing… 30 minutes – nothing… He snuck into the hall and could hear the TV on, but no talking.  Strange… wonder why she didn’t come up.  Maybe she’s leaving it for Dad to handle… yeah that’s it, she’s waiting for HIM to punish me….which means he gets to sit here and stew in his guilt for another 3 hours until Dad gets home…. Pure torture.

At midnight his Dad came into the house.  Jerry was waiting for the yelling to begin.  He was waiting for Dad to storm through the door and punish him…He fully expected to be grounded and not be able to play in the Regional game tomorrow.  He would never live that down at school… His life was over.

But 10 minutes passed…30 minutes… then his brother came up the steps and went to bed, and he could hear his parents brushing their teeth and preparing for bed.  The suspense was killing him, so he snuck across the hall to his brother’s bedroom and whispered… ‘what happened? – why aren’t they yelling?’.

His brother explained, I knew that if you got grounded, you wouldn’t be allowed to play in the Regional tomorrow – and that would be horrible.  You’ve worked so hard to be on this winning team, I couldn’t let that happen… so I told Dad it was my fault.  I’m grounded for a month and I have to pay for the repairs to the car.

WHAT?!  Why would you do that!?  Jerry felt a mix of emotions… guilt for what he had done, fear for the punishment he knew he deserved, and now gratefulness to his brother who took the punishment that HE deserved.

From that moment, Jerry gained a new respect for his brother.  They’d always fought up to that time, but now there was an unspoken bond between them – and he knew if there was ANYTHING he could do for his brother, he would. 

Jesus is our older brother.  He took the punishment upon himself for our sins against God… our Father.  By His Stripes, we were healed…upon him was laid the punishment WE deserved.  How do we respond to that?  Like Jerry, once we realize how much our older brother has done for us, we are grateful – and we will do ANYTHING we can for him.

Homily Palm Sunday 2016: The Stones are still crying

Anybody been watching all of the political primaries going on this year?  You’d almost have to live under a rock to NOT hear about it.  Seems to be all the News talks about.  Well, to understand the Gospels, imagine with me that Jesus was part of the political primary…Jesus is a candidate for President!  With that in mind…

Listen again to what the crowd was crying out as Jesus entered Jerusalem:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” “if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

Who are these people waving palms and screaming for joy as their candidate enters Jerusalem?  They were getting so rowdy and shouting SO loudly that the Pharisees told them to shut up.

It reminds me a lot of a political rally... Everybody gets worked up into a frenzy, and people who normally would be silent and grumpy with their arms crossed seem to wake up and throw all of their support behind their candidate.  For some reason, politics is one of those topics that churn up a lot of emotion in us so we will do and say things that otherwise we would consider – well – uncivilized.  If anybody in the crowd tries to speak contrary to MY candidate or tries to point out the lies being told, they risk being lynched by the mob. 

Most candidates today court us with catch phrases, real us in with rhetoric, and pandered to us with promises…and for some, Our fears are fanned into flame by words of hate.

Not Jesus – as a candidate, He speaks of Love.  He speaks of Truth.  But more than words… He goes on to prove He IS from God by the miracles he worked… like when he healed that crippled guy in the Temple on the Sabbath.  It was enough to convince the crowd in Jerusalem, at least for a day….that Jesus is the King.  It wasn’t based on rhetoric or flowery speeches.  They have SEEN for themselves what he can do.  They were SO convinced, they took to the streets waving palms and shouting HOSANNA! 

But… where were these people one week later when the crowds cried CRUCIFY HIM!  Unfortunately, a lot of them were the same crowd.  How could they go from Hosanna to Crucify in one week?

Well – it’s similar to our current political situation. 

No matter what a candidate says, It can be hard – even impossible - to decide if they are a good candidate.  It seems it’s no longer about what a candidate will do, but about what the other candidates have done wrong.  Everyone is quick to point a finger…to try to make us afraid of how bad things will be if the other candidate wins.  People throw doubt and hate into the decision by presenting their own versions of the truth, half-truths, and even outright lies. 

You’ve seen this happen, haven’t you?  Often, somebody takes one truth and puts their own spin on it... posts it on Facebook or CNN with a suggestive title ... And suddenly thousands of people have their opinion formed and set in stone... Few people actually read the article, and even fewer check the facts to see if the article is true.  The HEADLINE is what sets our opinion. 

This is nothing new though...

I imagine some Pharisee from the Jerusalem Daily Gazette - sitting with his iPhone typing up an article declaring that Jesus is OBVIOUSLY evil because he broke the Sabbath.  The headline just says, “Jesus, the impostor, Breaks the Sabbath”... The average Jew would think – well – I 'thought' Jesus was the one, but OBVIOUSLY Jesus CAN’T be the Messiah if He broke the Sabbath…and it was a chief Priest who wrote the article, so it MUST be true.  Suddenly, public opinion is turned against him.  The facts don’t seem to matter:  The HEADLINE is the opinion former… nobody actually reads the article or checks the facts to understand that Jesus “broke the Sabbath” by curing a crippled man.  Even a MIRACLE can be twisted into something bad.  Perhaps that could explain why the same crowd that shouted HOSANNA one day turned against Jesus by the end of the week…they were swayed by the headlines.

Put yourself in that political rally with Jesus – the candidate for King.  Which side of the crowd are we on?  Do we WANT Christ as OUR King?  Think seriously about that:

Does Christianity have ANY impact on our decision about who should be our leader?   

Like the crowd in the Gospel, we've allowed the world to rebuke us to be silent.  Anybody speaking Truth with Love will get squashed… but Jesus promised, “if we keep silent, the stones will cry out!”  You and I are called to join the stones in continuing to declare as loudly as we can... With our tongues, with our knees, with our votes, and with the way we live, that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD and King. 

Yes, even today, the stones still cry out….because people have stopped shouting for Jesus.

Haiti 2016: Headed Home (Mike)

It has been a great trip, and aside from a touch of diarrhea for a few of us, it has been a healthy and safe trip as we prayed for.
Right now, half of the group is in the Port-Au-Prince airport waiting for our 2:30 flight and waiting for the others from our gang to show up.  (The chartered flight from Jeremie only holds 5 people, so we had to split up, but we'll be on the same flight to Miami).  Hopefully Fr. E got out of bed...he was still sleeping when the first of us left the house.
The commuter flight gave us great views of the mountains and Jeremie as we flew out.  Now that we are familiar with some of the landmarks, it meant more to see it from above.  That side of the island is So much more forested than north of PAP, showing the beauty that this island COULD possess.

If all goes well, we should be in Louisville by 11 pm.
Bon voyage

Haiti 2016: Mission within a Mission (ladies of the group)

Our journey began with Sunday Mass. After Mass we met a carpenter!!! Throughout the week visiting various schools we continued to see this carpenters work. This man made all the desks for the schools in Jeremie. By Thursday we had a strong desire to visit his tiny wood shop. With limited resources and basic tools, he creates masterpieces. He introduced us to his wife, and told us about his family.  His daughter is in her fourth year of nursing school. She has an opportunity to travel to the US with her class to finish her training. Marcel told us of his struggle to help her with the money to finalize her nursing degree.

This is our Mission within our Haiti Mission: Marcel is helping all the children in Haiti with their schooling, we feel a strong passion to raise $2,500, by April 1st, to help Marcel's daughter come to the US and acquire the highest quality of training. Be watching for more info on ways we are going to raise this money