2022/02/20 7th Sunday Ordinary - Strike Back

1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

1 Cor 15:45-49 Lk 6:27-38

Before Mass:

Important backstory to the first reading – You may remember that the first king of Israel was Saul and the second king was David.  What you might not remember is that for 15 years, Saul was actively trying to kill David – hunting him down – because he thought David would steal his crown.  David had vowed his life to serve Saul and had led Israel to military victory many times, yet Saul couldn’t see past his fear and pride.  So David went into hiding… no home… scrounging for food… always on the run.  That’s where our story picks up today.  Pay close attention to what David does when he has the chance to kill Saul.

Our Gospel is loaded with great one-liners from Jesus – each sentence packed with moral genius.  Divine genius.  The two lines I want to zero-in on are about Loving your enemies and turning the other cheek.  I want to invite you to personally HEAR Jesus’ teaching today… we might have heard it a thousand times, but let it touch your heart today anew.

To prepare, let’s all pray a one minute – let’s think about who our enemy is:  who is it that we want to lash out at?  Maybe it’s a politician, a co-worker, a family-member, maybe even your spouse.  So close your eyes if you feel comfortable doing so – and pray this prayer to yourself – Holy Spirit, reveal to me now who my enemy is.  

 

Homily

Demonstration:  Two kids come up – what would you do if He hit you?  You’d hit him back, right?  (to other kid) And what would you do if he hit you?  You’d hit him back, of course!  So I want you to demonstrate something – every time you get hit, I want you to hit back - now don’t hit too hard… just a little punch in the arm.  Go ahead – every time you get hit, I want you to hit back. Go.  Faster…

OK stop.  Let me ask you – if I didn’t say stop, how long would you keep hitting each other if you followed the rules I gave you?  Forever!  So – let’s try this one more time… you stick with the same rules.  If you get hit – you hit back – but only if you get hit.  (to other kid) YOU, however, if you get hit, turn your other arm instead of hitting back.  OK you go first… 

Well, this is kind of boring… Why aren’t you hitting him?  Aaahhh… because you are a follower of Jesus who said to turn the other cheek rather than striking back.  OK – great demonstration – have a seat.  

Keep that demonstration in mind as we go on with the homily.

Imagine you witnessed constant injustice all around you – so bad that you felt like you HAD to speak out against it.  Imagine you’re in a country where speaking out will likely get you killed…seriously… killed.   Now imagine you actually HAD the courage to stand up for your moral beliefs and you DO speak out… and in a mock trial, you narrowly escape the death sentence and instead you are locked in a cell … tortured… mistreated… for years….and years… and while you’re in prison the injustice and violence in your country continues to grow and grow and those in charge are not held responsible.  Your name is banned from being spoken.. your image wiped from the memory of everyone… well – not everyone – because your moral convictions stuck in the mind of every person who ever heard you speak, and the world called for your release….but nothing changed.

What would you do if you got released from prison… pardoned after 27 years.  That’s 27 years of your life wasted in a dark cell or doing hard labor.  27 years of torture and mistreatment.  27 years missed of your kids growing up… of never seeing your wife… How would you react?!  By every right, you should lash out at those who so unjustly took your life away from you.  

30 years ago this month, the world waited as Nelson Mandela stepped to the microphone in front of a crowd of 50,000 – anxious to hear what he would say – what he would do.

The country was on the edge of civil war.  Violence had taken on a life of its own and seemed to be a never-ending spiral – a cyclone of pain and death and destruction.  It seemed impossible that the violence could be stopped… 

But then something happened… He chose to forgive.  This stopped the cycle of violence.  He went on to become president of South Africa and led the reconciliation process.  He even went so far as to invite his jailers to the inauguration and dinner!!!  The first step in loving your enemy is to forgive them… to forego your right to retaliation.

I want to read part of an interview that Bill Clinton did with Nelson which I think explains it well:

Bill said to Nelson: “That was pretty smart of you to have your jailers come to the Inauguration and all of that, but let me ask you something.” “Didn’t you really hate them for what they did?”

He said, “Oh, yeah, I hated them for a long time.”

He said, “I stayed alive on hate for 12 years. I broke rocks every day, and I stayed alive on hate.”

Then he reflected further, “They took a lot away from me. They took me away from my wife, and it subsequently destroyed my marriage. They took me away from seeing my children grow up. They abused me mentally and physically. And one day,” he said, “I realized they could take it all except my mind and my heart.”

He said, “Those things I would have to give to them, and I simply decided not to give them away.”

And so – so Bill asked, “Well, what about when you were getting out of prison?” “The day you got out of prison in 1990, it was Sunday morning, and I got my daughter up early in the morning, and I took her down to the kitchen, and I turned on the television, and she was just a little girl then, and I sat her up on the kitchen counter.

And I said, ‘Chelsea, I want you to watch this. This is one of the most important things you’ll ever see in your life.’ ”

Bill said, “I watched you walk down that dirt road to freedom.” And he asked Nelson, “Now, when you were walking down there, and you realized how long you had been in their prison, didn’t you hate them then? Didn’t you feel some hatred?”

Nelson said, “Yes, I did a little bit.” He said, “I felt that.” 

But he said, “As I felt the anger rising up, I thought to myself, ‘They have already had you for 27 years. And if you keep hating them, they’ll have you again.’ And I said, ‘I want to be free. And so I let it go. I let it go.”  (Nelson Mandela Story of Forgiveness)

Every one of us has been hurt.  By those we love, by those who attack us or anger us, or even by strangers.  We all have that in common.

But we each write our own story.  We can choose to be another cog in the wheel of retaliation that continues the cycle of violence.  Or we can be bold and actually LIVE the teaching of that radical revolutionary, Jesus Christ when he said to LOVE YOUR ENEMY.  As long as we live under the rules of retaliation, Love cannot take root.  WE must break that cycle… each of us must make the intentional decision to LOVE our fellow man and fellow woman as a child of God…to forgive rather than retaliate.

Imagine if we lived that way… like David who refused to kill Saul.  Like Mandella who refused to retaliate.

Imagine how we would change the world if we turned the other cheek rather than striking back.

2022/01/23 - Annointed and Appointed (It's Why We're Here)

Before Mass

Today we hear about the greatest preacher who ever lived… and chances are, you’ve never heard of him… at least that you remember.  We’ll hear about him in the first reading – his name was Ezra.  How do we know he was a great preacher?  Because it says he read from the book of the law for 6 hours and the people were crying and shouting amen with their hands in the air…. 

Obviously, that wasn’t a Catholic congregation… 😉

I thought I’d try that today – I’ve got a copy of one book of Canon Law which I’m going to read to you for 6 hours.  Sound like fun?  Not.

As you listen to that first reading, see if you can figure out why the people were crying – why they were raising their hands and shouting ‘Amen’ – what on earth could Ezra have been saying to them?  I can tell you, it’s not obvious.  So, I’ll give you a clue – it has to do with their Identity…. Which is also the thread that pulls together the second reading and Gospel, so listen for Identity.

Next – apply it to yourself…. What is your identity?  Who are you?  Why are you here?  

Homily

Why are you here?  Maybe you never figured that out yet – maybe you’ve never even thought about it – or maybe you and I have forgotten why we are here because we’ve forgotten who we are.

The Israelites had just returned from exile in Babylon.  They had all but forgotten who they were… Everything that had made them unique as a people was taken from them in the exile – their land, their temple, their ways of worship.  But God wanted to remind them who they are… their TRUEST IDENTITY…they are HIS people....HIS CHOSEN them.  So, He inspired the king of Persia to allow them to return to Jerusalem to re-build the temple.  He even went so far as to appoint Ezra the priest to be IN CHARGE of re-establishing Jewish Law in Israel.  

So when Ezra and a rag-tag group returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, they were distraught…dismayed…  everything was destroyed… the amount of work ahead of them was insurmountable and they didn’t know where to start!  They had to rebuild their own homes, rebuild the temple, rebuild the walls of the city, rebuild farms and vineyards – all the while defending themselves from the people who had occupied that land while they were gone.  They might have given up – they probably were ready to give up – but Ezra called the people together to read the Law of God to them – to remind them why they were there.

He must have been very eloquent, because they were crying and raising their hands shouting Amen!  (Can I get an Amen?!)  Somehow, they were cut to the heart – but wait - how do you get cut to the heart by reading laws?  I can think of a couple of reasons – first – the ‘law of God’ is more than laws… it’s the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, the writings of Moses…. where all the stories of salvation were written down.  In hearing the stories, I think they recognized WHY they had been exiled… how their forefathers had not followed God's law and so they suffered the inevitable consequences.  

Second – and more to the point for today – it says that Ezra interpreted the scripture as he read – that’s kinda like a homily – where we read the word of God and then explain how it applies to us.  Ezra must have explained that all along in those stories, God has been reaching out to His chosen people inviting them into a deep, intimate relationship, but they kept turning away.  Don’t miss that – God – THE God – the Great El-Shadai – the Alpha and Omega – the Lord of Lords wanted a personal relationship with them, but they had rejected him time and again.  Ezra must have been a great homilist who touched their hearts… they realized that this relationship is not just PART of who they are – it IS who they are.  They were the Chosen people.

Surely you know, This is not ancient history... it’s really about you and me.

Every one of us is Chosen by God.  He wants that intimate relationship with YOU and Me.  Every one of us has turned away from God at some point.  Every one of us has been exiled in one way or another – walking away from our heritage and forgetting who we are.  Our culture tries its best to strip us of our identity as a Child of God.  I mean, just walking out the door of our church into our culture, we are bombarded with things that go against the life that God has planned for us.  That’s part of why we come here every week:  we listen to the Word of God and we enjoy THE most intimate union with God we can have this side of heaven as we participate in the Eucharist.  THIS is the relationship that God holds out to us.  THIS is who we are!

The Israelites recognized from the Law that this is who they were supposed to be… this was their heritage… Maybe that was it – the reading of the Word of God made them realize they were finally home.  Imagine you had been away from the Church for decades and then you walked into some place like St. Joe’s… you’d be in awe – you’d immediately feel the Presence of God - and thinking – this is mine – this is my heritage - this is part of who I am – this feels like home….and that’s when you and I might even start to cry.

How’s that fit with the second reading?  Wow – I could talk for 6 hours about just that one reading!  But instead, I’ll give you just a one-line summary.  Basically, Paul tells us that every person who makes up the body of Christ (that’s you and me)… every one of us has a purpose - given to you us by God himself.  

In fact – each of us is appointed and anointed by God to do something to build His kingdom.  It’s part of our identity as Christians.  God has appointed us to a specific purpose – and what’s really cool is that He has also anointed us – given the strength, equipped with the tools, divinely sent us to fulfill that purpose.  The technical term is charism - a gift or talent given to each individual for the sake of the Church.  This purpose is so integrated with our Identity, that without a purpose, we forget who we are.  

God had Chosen the Jews, not because they were the smartest or holiest or best at anything… just read the Bible and you’ll get that message that loud and clear.  God Chose them because THROUGH them He wanted to bless the world.  The Israelites were supposed to set themselves apart from the world so that they could introduce the rest of the world to God.  But when they turned away from God, they forgot who they were...they forgot their purpose.

You and I, as children of God, are supposed to set ourselves apart from the world.  We’re supposed to LOOK DIFFERENT… think about that – am I any different than my neighbor?  Each of us is supposed to set ourselves apart so that through US, God can bless the world.  When we KNOW our Identity and LIVE it, we are different from the world – and the rest of the world should see that we live in Shalom – peace – because of our intimate relationship with God.  Being Catholic – Being Christian – doesn’t make us better than the world.  We are not here to JUDGE the world, but to invite the world into relationship.

A lot of people see Christianity as just a set of rules to follow – but you and I know that it’s not about rules – it’s about Relationship.  It’s not about LAW, it’s about LOVE.  Here’s the key point:  It doesn’t matter who we are, but WHOSE we are.  We are children of the Father.  He is our Abba - our Daddy.  Once we know whose we are – and we’re confident that we have a place in God’s heart, then it just overflows from our hearts to want to reach out to others to let EVERYONE know that God wants that same relationship with THEM.  THAT is our purpose!  WE have been appointed and anointed:

  to bring glad tidings to the poor.
  to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
  to let the oppressed go free

We might think – wait - that was why JESUS came – but that’s not my purpose!  And we’d be wrong.  We are Christians.  Literally that means we are ‘little Christs’… ‘little anointed ones’!!  We are appointed and anointed to speak love to everyone in the world.  We might be the only Bible that many people read… and the scripture should be fulfilled every time interact with anyone.

It’s who we are.  

It’s why we’re here.  

2021/12/26 - Holy Family... like a chipped plate

Before Mass: 

Today we actually have the convergence of THREE feasts at one…. First, obviously, it’s Christmas – it’s one of those holy days that’s so big, we actually celebrate it for 8 days.. it’s call the octave of Christmas.  Second, it’s Dec 26th - the Feast of St. Stephen – he was one of the first deacons of the Church and he was officially the first martyr.  You can read about him in the book of Acts in the Bible.  It’s actually because of Stephen that I can do some of the things I do… deacons were ordained to serve at the table… so that’s why I’m up here in the sanctuary and I am considered to be ‘minister of the cup’.  Also, Stephen was inspired to preach the Gospel – and that’s why Deacons are ordained to read the Gospel and preach the homily.  In Stephen’s case, that’s also what got him stoned to death… something I don’t really want to repeat, by the way.

However, today’s major emphasis is on the Feast of the Holy Family… and that’s what we’ll talk about in the homily.  What makes a Holy family 'HOLY'?  I want to give you a nugget before we read the readings so you can listen with a different perspective.

To be HOLY is to be ‘set apart’.  Remember that: to be Holy is to be set apart.  Each of the readings give us some insight for how PEOPLE are set apart for God…. So listen for that today.

 

Homily

This week I was getting out a plate to make a salad and as I turned I misjudged the height of the counter and accidentally chipped a piece off of this plate.  While I was sorry I did it – luckily for me, this plate already had three chips in it, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.  It wasn’t like the plates on the bottom of our stack which we hardly ever use… they’ve been set apart for use when we have company – I guess so our company doesn’t see that the man of the house is a clutz and chips the dishes.

Most of us probably have a similar set of plates – those special Christmas plates which only get used for one Christmas dinner each year – and even then the kids don’t dare touch them… they use the paper plates. 

One family was digging through their great grandmother’s things after she passed away and they stumbled across a box of unopened china – matching the set that was in the china cabinet...which never got used....  The box said it was packed in 1894…. Yet it was never opened.  Those plates were set apart because they were too priceless… too fragile… so they never got used for the purpose for which they were intended…for three generations.

Contrast that with another family I know who use the good china at EVERY meal… they recognize that EVERY time the family gets together is a special occasion.  They learned that the hard way:  See – one of the young boys of the family had died several years back – and the Mom realized that her son had NEVER used the special plates.  Her son had never felt like any occasion was special enough – that HE wasn’t special enough to get out the fine china.

Mom unpacked those boxes immediately and put the dishes into the kitchen cupboard where, to the bewilderment of everyone else in the family, they used it for EVERY meal… even for a bowl of ice cream!  At first they were all really nervous – and the first time one of them broke – everyone stared at it in horror, wondering what Mom would say.  She simply grabbed a broom and started cleaning it up and said – that’s what they’re for – to be used.  Just get you another one.  

Here’s my theory:  I think God sees US as like fine china.  Every one of us is priceless and fragile, so He has set us apart.  However, whereas normally WE set things apart and almost never use them, God is more like the Mom in my story…. He has set us apart to be used every day.  Not because we aren’t special… we are infinitely special to him… but because he wants us to fulfill the purpose for which we were made… to show everyone else how special they are.  You and I have been set apart.

Like I said before Mass, to be Holy literally means to be ‘set apart’.  You and I ARE Holy, because God has made us so.  Listen again to the line in the second reading – ‘See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.  And so we are.’  I love how he said that...'and so we are'.  It's like, God said it - so it is.

Did you catch that?  We are children of God… how did we get that title?  Baptism… just like Samuel was taken to the temple and dedicated to the Lord and Jesus was taken to the temple on the 8th day for dedication, you and I were likely brought to the Church as infants and baptized… dedicated to the Lord.  Baptism is basically an adoption ceremony where you and I are adopted as a son or daughter of God.  In baptism, we are made HOLY… we are set apart… not because of anything WE did or anything we deserved – but because of God’s action.  That partly explains why we baptize infants.  While it might seem to make sense that we should wait and be baptized when we’re old enough to make the decision for ourselves, in reality, that's bad theology.  This is an act of GOD and not OUR actions. 

Yet – as we grow up – we do decide whether we want to LIVE our lives as a child of God.  We decide our actions and what we believe.  How do we fulfill the purpose for which we were made?  How do we continue to set ourselves apart for God?  Let’s look back at THE Holy Family.

Besides the fact that THE Holy Family is made up of the son of God and two saints… what made them ‘holy’?  

What really sets Jesus, Mary and Joseph apart is each of their of deliberate decisions. They each willingly decided to live out the purpose for which God had created them.  Joseph chose to accept Mary and her unborn Son as his own and dedicate his life to protecting them. Mary chose to bear the Christ and put her life at the service of Him. And the Son of God chose to become flesh, to become a member of a human family.  In short, their family’s holiness is reflected in the fact that they didn’t put their own desires first.  They counted others as more important than themselves.  

That’s different.  That’s not like normal humans… at least not like our culture teaches us.  Like them, Your family and mine are also called to be set apart.  The family unit is the place where each of us is trained to put others first.  As you know, infants are completely selfish when they’re born… they have no way to think of others – but as they grow up, we teach our kids to think of others rather than themselves.  In short, we teach them to ACT holy.

As members of the family of God, you and I are all set apart to look out for others.  John reminded us in the second reading, we are called to love one another.  THAT is how the family of God is recognizable to the world… because we love one another.  That includes our immediate family – our parish family – but much more even.

This past Monday, several dozen folks from our area headed to Kentucky to assist with the disaster clean-up.  As you would expect, the devastation was jaw-dropping.  We were in what WAS a wooded subdivision in Bremen Kentucky… but some houses were completely gone… others were off their foundation, and some were half-torn-away.  The trees were gone or down by the hundreds.  The homeowners were shell-shocked – which was understandable considering their entire life had been turned upside down literally in just a few minutes.

We stood in one yard looking at the immensity of the job and just didn’t know where to start.  By lunchtime we had at least 60 people working in two yards – and by the end of the day, we had most of that mess cleaned up.  Feeling like we had made a dent, all we had to do was turn around and see dozens more yards in this neighborhood needing just as much work… and then you think about the fact that this stretched for over 200 miles.  It’s unfathomable.  We’ve seen tornados in our area, so we have personal experience of the devastation… but the scale in Kentucky is unbelievable.

I bring that up because of the people.  It felt like family.  People were so appreciative that we’d come from so far to help.  At lunchtime, two ladies drove up in a four-wheeler ‘Hey you want lunch’?  They unloaded enough food to feed an army….and left to get more.  Then another 4-wheeler came by asking if we needed any food… then an hour later another lady came by INSISTING we take some hot food… and who can resist smoked pork?!

Like I said – it felt like family.  Everyone was ready to tell their story and hear your story.  Thankfulness was in every conversation.  Every person there was like this chipped plate… every one was special, but every one was being used by God to fulfill the purpose for which we were made… to love one another....to show everyone else how special they are.

So we ate - and shared stories - and worked hard together.

It felt like family.  A Holy Family.  

 

2021/12/12 - Darkness does NOT win

Gaudete!  Rejoice!  Humbug…What’s there to rejoice about anyway?  That’s how the Israelites would have responded when this prophecy was first proclaimed by Zephaniah.  The whole world was going crazy and the country was in deep trouble….

Things were going from bad to worse – the leaders of the country had abandoned morality and instead they honored the gods of money, power, sex, and personal freedom.  Child sacrifice to false gods was becoming normal.  Most people had abandoned the faith handed down to them from their parents.  People who still followed religion were looked down upon and ridiculed.  Zephaniah could read the writing on the wall….It was obvious that God was not going to let this continue – that bad things were going to happen… not as punishment, but as a consequence… and as a way for God to bring the country back to himself.  

That’s what the prophecy from Zephaniah is about… in most of the book, he is warning of the impending doom – begging them to change their ways.  You see – he is prophesying BEFORE the exile… before the darkness has closed in.  But in the snippet we hear in today’s first reading, he’s looking BEYOND the upcoming darkness to the time when the Messiah would come.  He’s looking BEYOND the upcoming exile to the time when God the Father would rescue His people.  Rather than let His people sit in complete despair, God offers this ray of hope – like a flashlight – or a candle– so that when the darkness comes, they have this hope to hold-on to.  The darkness will not last forever… the sun will rise again.  The Lord is Near – our God is in our midst.  THIS is good news.

Obviously, this message was meant for Israel… not us, right?... We can’t imagine living in a country that has abandoned morality… that sacrifices its children to the gods of money, power, sex, and personal freedom.  We can’t imagine living in a country where people have walked away from the Faith – walked away from the TRUTH - and those who do follow religion are ridiculed.  

If you’ve watched any news in the last couple of years, you know that Zephaniah’s prophecy applies to every age – including ours – where the darkness is creeping in.  It is a message of hope.  It reminds us to Stand fast – even rejoice in our sufferings because the darkness does not win.  The Lord is Near – our God is in our midst.  Do you think God gets all anxious watching the nightly news?  God’s GOT this! The light will return… He already has a plan to rescue us even before the darkness closes in.

31 years ago this week, an earthquake devastated the northwestern section of Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 persons. In one small town, immediately after the earthquake, a father’s first thought was ‘MY SON!’.  He rushed to the local elementary school, only to find that the school had been flattened and there was no sign of life.

But without hesitation, he started digging… it never occurred to him NOT to dig. This father concentrated his efforts on the spot where he believed his son's classroom had been.  He kept repeating what he had often told his son, "No matter what, I'll always be there for you when you need me!"

Many other parents flocked to the area.  Many didn’t even bother digging… it was hopeless… there’s no way anyone survived that collapse.  Some did help – but after an hour or two, gave up.

So, he proceeded alone – through the day and into the night… for 8 hours... for 12 hours... 24 hours... 36 hours. Then in the 38th hour, as he heaved away a heavy piece of rubble, he heard voices. He screamed his son’s name, "Armand!"  "Dad! It's me”!  Then, he heard his son turn to the other kids in the hole saying – “See- I told you he would come!”  

Moments later, the dad was helping his son Armand and 13 other frightened, hungry, thirsty boys and girls climb out of the debris. Out of the darkness and into the light!  They were as good as dead, but he had brought them back to life! The father embraced his son and said – ‘sorry it took so long, son…were you scared?  Armand said – ‘it was so dark and scary – many of the kids were crying… but I told them – ‘My Father promised no matter what, he’d always be there if I needed him. – so he WILL save me...and if he can save me he can save you too.’   

God - OUR Heavenly Father, is in the rescue business. THAT is the Good News.  You and I were trapped in darkness of our sin until Jesus came to save us.  What’s more, that promise from the father continues for us today even as the darkness closes in around us… The Lord is Near.  That’s where the Peace beyond all Understanding comes from that Paul mentioned in the second reading.

What’s that look like anyway, this ‘peace beyond all understanding’?  

It means that when the world is falling in around us, when it makes no sense at all to still have hope – we can trust that Our God IS IN OUR MIDST!  God has a plan to rescue us from the darkness even before it gets dark!!  

2021/10/24 - What you really, really want...

We don’t usually get a name…. In the Gospels, we usually hear about the "crippled man" or "the woman with a hemorrhage"… but today we get a name – Bartimaeus.  This is significant because it says this guy MUST be a real person – not just a story.  He could have still been alive when these stories started circulating and he could easily have stepped forward saying “that’s not how it happened”. 

So, this is a real event – but the masterful way Mark tells the story reveals spiritual insights as well, which means this story is also about you and me.

First - The blind man is a beggar.  He has no power.  He has no control.  He is at the mercy of the people around him even to be able to eat.  And he is at the mercy of God to inspire people to have compassion.

You and I are that beggar…. We have no control.  We are at the mercy of God and the people around us to help us through life.  We may ‘think’ we’re in control, but events happen which prove to us time and time again that we have no control.  Every good thing people have done for us was because God inspired them to compassion.

Second - The beggar is blind.  His entire world is limited to what he can hear and feel.  He knows there is more to life beyond the reach of his fingers, because he can hear it – he can sense it – but he can’t see it.

You and I are the blind man.  Experience tells us there must be more to life than what we can hear and feel – Science CAN’T explain everything.  Something in us KNOWS there is a God – but the culture tells us to only believe what we can see.  Yet, some people have such a good sense of the divine that it’s as if they CAN see God… we want that sense too!  So we call out – Lord, I want to see! 

Third - Bartimaeus doesn’t know Jesus – but he’s heard the crowds talk about him… how he healed that deaf man and that woman with a hemmorhage – and for the first time he could remember, a strange feeling called hope arose inside of him.  Jesus is the source of his Hope, so he wants to meet Jesus.

You and I are Bartimaeus – at some point in our life, we realize that we don’t have a relationship with Jesus.  We hear other people around us who seem to have that relationship – who have a joy or peace about them that can only be on account of Him – and it raises a feeling inside of us – even when all hope is gone, our hope lies in meeting Jesus.

It’s like we KNOW that God is out there – we KNOW that Jesus is real – we’ve heard stories about Him.  We KNOW he works miracles, but we’ve not SEEN it for ourselves.  Yet, just the fact that others HAVE seen miracles creates that feeling of hope in us – so we cry out – Son of David, have pity on me! 

Jesus asked him, “what do you want me to do for you?” – and without hesitation, Bartimaeus answered – Lord, I want to see!  Notice, there was no hesitation…

How much are we like him?  Do we KNOW what we want from Jesus?  Is it on the tip of your tongue?  Would you be able to answer that question if Jesus asked you?  What do you want from me?

Also notice that when Jesus called him, the man dropped everything and ran to him.  Let that sink in – if a blind man drops something, it’s GONE…forEVER. He’ll never 'see' it again.  He’s ready to risk everything he has – everything he has put his faith in – everything he has acquired in his meager existence to create ‘some’ level of comfort – or at least to survive the cold nights.  He was ready to leave it all behind because his greatest desire was to be able to SEE.

What do YOU want to see?  Do your actions support your ideal?  Are you doing the things necessary to attain your greatest desire?  Would you drop everything to attain it?  Would you leave your life behind for a chance to meet Jesus?  For example - 

Jerry always said he wanted to see mountains, but every vacation was at the beach.
Sara wanted to see northern lights but couldn’t stand the cold, so she never went north.
Alex says he wants to meet Jesus, but he never made it a priority to go on a weekend retreat.

Too often, what we SAY is our deepest desire isn’t really true – and our actions prove it.

Here’s a short story to hopefully make my point clearer:
When he was still in high school, Jerry and his buddy Joe would go to dances – Jerry loved it – he was out there busting a move – break dancing – and he especially liked dancing the slow songs with the girls.

Joe hated it.  He thought he was too cool to get out there and act like a fool… he thought the girls would think he was a dweeb, so he sat against the wall.  In his mind, Jerry was a dweeb – acting like a fool out there on the floor.  He didn’t notice that Jerry was the one slow dancing with the girls…  Joe hated it so much he didn’t really even want to go to dances anymore.

But then…, Elizabeth showed up – and Joe was smitten – she was the girl of his dreams – and he overcame his fear of looking stupid and asked her to dance.  They danced a slow dance and he wished the music would never end… but then a fast dance started and he stood there kinda awkwardly for a moment, but Elizabeth just said – c’mon let’s keep dancing – and she started dancing – and Joe – still awkward – tried to mimic what he’d seen Jerry do – dancing around a bit – but looking over his shoulder in case somebody was laughing at him.  Notice that- his beloved was dancing in front of him, but he was so self-conscious that his attention was not on her.

Slowly, he got more comfortable and his attention gradually re-focused on Elizabeth.  Her smile made him feel less self-conscious and he relaxed and danced and looked her in the eyes.

And wouldn’t you know it – by the end of the night, Joe LOVED dancing.  After that night, HE was the one who would be coaxing Jerry to go with him to the next dance, hoping that Elizabeth would be there.

The moral of the story, is that we all need SOMEthing, some desire, to pull us out of our comfort zones.  Our normal tendency as humans is to be SELF-conscious – to think only of ourselves.  It would be a lonely existence except that God planted a desire in us to connect with others.  In theological speak, it’s called EROS – it’s that passionate desire that has the power to overwhelm our inhibitions and change the way we act.  In short – EROS pushed Joe away from being a wall-flower and onto the dance floor, where he discovered the love of his life.  (They’ve been married now for over 30 years now, by the way)

Without EROS, we’d all be stuck in our own world.  Without eros, boy would never meet girl.  We would only look at our SELVES and never look at our beloved face to face.

What’s your EROS?  What is your deepest desire?  What desire has God placed on YOUR heart?

Several years ago, I was out of town at a Catholic conference and went to Mass – and somehow I was convicted that I was not in a state of Grace, so when it came time for communion, I simply crossed my arms to receive a blessing.  I still recall the exact words this Priest used to bless me:   “May God grant you your deepest desire”.

At first, I thought – is that a good prayer?  Because if you asked me what I desired, - well, you can probably guess what I desired – because I’m a red-blooded man.  But I knew there had to be more to this blessing than those kind of surface desires…. This blessing was that God would fulfill my DEEPEST desire.

What IS my deepest desire?  Ask yourself that… what is YOUR deepest desire?  I propose to you that whatever our deepest desire is was put there by God… and that deepest desire IS to be united with God.  It’s like a homing signal placed inside of us which draws us ever back to our Father.  Until we RECOGNIZE our deepest desire, we won’t live our life in a way to achieve that desire.  We’ll always find reasons why we shouldn’t drop everything and go after that desire.

If we learn nothing else from Bartimaeus, let it be this:  Jesus IS our deepest desire.  Drop everything and run to him… and when you can see, -  look your beloved in the eye and see God face to face.

2021/08/22 - This is a hard teaching

Catching some of the news in the past week, not only from Haiti, but from Afghanistan… I can only imagine what it’s like to be a woman living in Afghanistan right now…  for the past 20 years, the US has pushed back the Taliban and maintained a semblance of peace.  Now that the US has started pulling out, The Taliban is reimposing Sharia law over the country, which means women no longer have any rights.  What’s worse, if anyone associated herself with the US while we were occupying the country, she now has a target on her forehead.  Those women who aren’t already dead are trying to erase any associations – shredding documents – burying their phones – putting on their burkas and trying to blend-in  - submitting to the male-dominated regime.  They no longer have a choice…about how they live, about religion, about education, about kids, or even how they dress.  They are less than second-class citizens in their own home. 

It reminds me of an interview a few years ago of an Islamic woman who became Christian.  By the way, She lives with a constant death-threat now, because: You do not have a choice to leave Islam.  Second – she talked about videos that some men were making in order to help Islamic men be better heads of their households.  One title was  “How to beat your Islamic wife into submission”.  <pause>

This may be the kind of thoughts that come to mind as we read our second reading:  Paul tells us, “Wives be subordinate to your husband”.  As many times as I’ve preached on this reading – as much as I KNOW this is not what it sounds like, I can’t help but bristle at that statement – feeling in my heart what many women must think when they hear that.  Women in our culture – women sitting here right now – have too often been treated without the respect they deserve – and historically, this passage was used as a justification for men to impose their wills on women… giving them no real choice. 

However, Paul was writing to a culture not unlike what I just described in Afghanistan.  Women were less-than second-class citizens in their own homes.  Paul is trying to raise Christian families out of that culture.  While you and I would likely use different words which would be less misunderstood, the sentiment he’s trying to communicate includes guidelines for BOTH husbands and wives.  Seriously – listen again to the first line of that reading:  Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.  He’s addressing both husbands and wives – both should be subordinate.  He then gets more specific:  Women are to be subordinate to their husband… or another translation might be ‘submissive’… SUB-MISSIVE which literally means “under the mission” of the husband.  What is the mission of husband?  He tells us in the very next line… Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her.

In other words – the mission of the husband is to give himself completely for his bride.  That means we are to lay down our very lives for the sake of our bride!  What bride WOULDN’T want to put herself under that mission?  What bride would NOT want to allow her husband to love her that way?  Just as Christ gave himself completely so that we could become part of the body of Christ, the husband’s job is to give himself completely so that “the two can become one flesh”.  Noone hates his own flesh, so we cannot treat each other without respect and love.

Still – we may find ourselves saying “this is a hard teaching, who can accept it?” 

Jesus heard that same statement in today’s Gospel as he was teaching his disciples perhaps the most important lesson of His ministry.  The disciples could not accept that he REALLY meant they had to eat his flesh.  That goes against their deeply entrenched Jewish beliefs that eating someone’s flesh would be sacrilege.  Because they couldn’t accept that one teaching, many of them walked away.  While that is sad, for me it is the BEST reason I’ve found for believing that Jesus really meant what He said…  See, If he was only speaking symbolically, he would immediately have said – wait guys – don’t leave!  I was just using a metaphor – you know – my body is LIKE food…. C’mon back now.

No – instead Jesus upped the ante several times, using words that made it VERY clear he was talking about really eating his flesh.  Instead of clearing up any misconceptions, he says, “does that shock you?”.  Then he doubled-down again – even asking his inner-circle of Apostles… do you want to leave too?? 

He gave them a choice.  They could accept his teaching and continue to follow – or they could go back to living like the rest of the culture.  Many of them chose to go back to their old lives…. Over this one, central teaching.

Which takes us back to that first reading:  Joshua was the leader who took over as leader after the death of Moses.  After conquering the promised land, Joshua gave them the choice:  decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. 

In other words, there is a whole culture around you – and you’re going to be tempted to conform to that culture.  You’re going to be tempted to chase after false gods of  money, sex, power, and fame.

Joshua laid the choice before them – allowing them to walk away if they wanted – but He made it very clear which answer is the path to true joy:  “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

You and I have that same choice today – not just a once-in-a-lifetime decision, but we have to choose each and every day… each moment even!  We can choose to conform to the culture … but the path to true joy is through this one-flesh union with Christ himself. 

Unlike many people in the world, WE have the choice – something we should no take for granted.  We have the choice to walk away.  But hopefully we’ll all answer as Peter did:  “to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life. “

Now is the time for you and me to decide.  In the words of Joshua: 

“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,

decide today whom you will serve,…

As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

2021/03/21 - The sliver of light visible from inside the tomb

Before Mass:

Today we’ll hear the familiar, amazing story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  One thing I need to bring up which may help you understand the story.  In the ancient world, you had to be dead for three days to be declared legally dead.  Up to that point, you might just be sleeping.  But when the body started to decay, that was a clear sign that the spirit had left the body.  That’s a key point, so keep it in mind.

There’s so much in this story, so listen closely – but I’ll call your attention to this one line – actually you’ll hear it twice: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”.  Have you ever said something like that to God?  I propose to you that this one statement applies to all of our lives.  We all have that thing in our life which seems hopeless – and if God really loved me and really was with me, He would have fixed it a long time ago!  In fact, if God really loved me, he would never have let this happen!

Call those situations to mind as you prepare to listen to the Gospel – because this is not just a story of something that happened 2000 years ago – it is our story – your story – my story.  Each of us has given up on God ever showing up in some aspect of our lives… but today listen closely to hear the command of Jesus… ‘Roll away the stone’.

Homily

OK – so finish this sentence:  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So when he heard that he was ill, he  ______.  We’d expect it to say – so Jesus immediately ran back to his friend to cure him.  Any of us would have done that.  But no – our Gospel says, ‘when he heard he was ill, he remained where he was for two days.  What kind of heartless Messiah is Jesus to LET his friend die!  We HAVE faith in you Jesus – we KNOW you can heal him – and THAT makes it even worse.  We know our God has the power to remove whatever it is in our own lives… this illness – this death – this evil – this relationship gone bad – the job situation - whatever it is in our life – We HAVE FAITH that Jesus COULD take it away, but apparently He has CHOSEN NOT to act.  What?  God – I thought I was your friend- I’ve served you my whole life – I pray – I fast – I go to Mass – why aren’t you acting?

Our tendency is to come to the conclusion that – well either God isn’t as powerful as we thought He was – or I’m not his friend like I think I am.  At first, we maintain our faith in God and think – I must be doing something wrong… so we re-double our efforts at prayer and fasting and trying to do everything right to win the favor of God to take this pain away…. But still, we hear only silence.  At some point, we give up – OK – there’s nothing I can do about this, and God, if you’re there, you apparently ain’t gonna do nothin’ either – so we roll a stone across the entrance of the tomb and walk away.  We get discouraged… which literally means to lose heart – ‘cor’ being the root word meaning heart.

Yet, even in our despair, we know somewhere in the depths of our spirit that God is still good and any hope that exists will come through God.  That’s why both Martha and Mary approached Jesus and the first thing they said was, ‘if you would have been here, my brother would not have died’.  They had faith!... but Jesus let them down.  They had become discouraged – lost heart – given up on Jesus, rolled the stone across the entrance of the tomb and walked away.

Why?  That's the question most of us ask... Why doesn’t God cure everyone?  Why doesn’t he annihilate the pandemic?  Why didn’t he stop it before it started?  Why has he taken a year already.  Why is our country going down the toilet?  Why are the morals of our society being ripped to shreds?  Why doesn't God act?

I’d say it’s the same reason that Jesus gave for why he didn’t get up immediately and run to save Lazarus.  Listen:

“This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Somehow, Jesus knew that the only way people were really going to understand the kingdom he was preaching was to see firsthand that behind every death is a resurrection… beyond every hopeless situation is hope…  beyond every discouragement is a new heart.  Sounds harsh – but Jesus knew he had to let the situation progress beyond hope, because – without death there can be no resurrection.  Jesus knew that people needed to COMPLETELY give up hope before they could realize that all their hope is in Him alone.  That’s why he waited… so that Lazarus would be in the tomb for four days.  Legally, a person had to be dead for three days before they could be declared dead.  Up to that point, there was still hope that maybe they’re just sleeping or maybe their spirit will reenter their bodies… If Jesus had shown up before Lazarus died, it would have been just another miraculous cure, instead of this super-miracle.  If Jesus had shown up even one day earlier, Lazarus would not yet have been legally declared dead, and the impact of the miracle again would have been minimized because people would have explained it away with whatever science they could use to back up their opinions – they would come up with an answer why Lazarus was alive, and it wouldn’t have anything to do with Jesus. 

Like Lazarus, you and I aren’t given a choice whether we want to suffer.  Suffering is a part of life.  We pray for miracles – we pray for Jesus to show up – but often we’re disappointed because He doesn’t show up when and how we want him to.

But even when all evidence is to the contrary, God IS up to SOMETHING.  Somehow He will reveal His glory through our situation…  Perhaps we could pray differently – we could pray more daringly: ‘God – I surrender all to you.  Do with me whatever brings you the most Glory.’  Embrace the suffering… embrace the cross we’ve been given.  Surrender everything to Jesus.  Yikes – that’s a tough prayer.

Only when things are hopeless can we see clearly that Jesus is the only source of Hope.  Only when things are dark can we see the cracks of light shining into our tomb.  Only when we’ve become discouraged – lost heart – can we receive a new heart and a new Spirit.

As we all lie in our tomb of grief and despair and discouragement, hope springs eternally in our hearts.  We strain our ears in the silence… listening for the command of Jesus as he speaks into the darkness:  “Roll away the stone”.