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Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Your directions are
…hard to follow.

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”

We know this story. Having spent the month of June reflecting on and praying for the gift of vocations to the Diaconate and Holy Priesthood we hear Jesus’ words echoing, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”

There are several ways we might reflect on today’s gospel.

There is the obvious – we need to listen for God’s call and go out to do His work. God’s field awaits workers. We have to be the ones who listen to Him and set out to do His work, to bring His good news to those who are unaware of His marvelous promises. We have to be the ones willing to sacrifice what everyone else thinks is “normal” to follow His call to serve our brothers and sisters.

The other part, the less obvious, is the aspect of trust we must exhibit in following Jesus.

The seventy-two who were called to go out and spread the good news might well have been shocked by Jesus’ directions: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals…” Think how those words might sound to us today: “Carry no cell phone, suitcase, wallet, purse, shoes or sneakers.” Just go out, march down the road to the next suburb, knock on a door, and see if you are welcome. Whatever house you go to, say “Peace to this household.”

If we reflect on the picture at the top of today’s bulletin, this is what Jesus asks us to do, to first love. Wish peace upon everyone, in every encounter, at every doorstep. Place our trust that Jesus will fulfill our wish for peace and give that peace to those who accept Him.

Next, live. We cannot just exist. With Jesus in our lives we have purpose and reason – a beautiful existence, a wonderful life, and most importantly a life that will never end.

Finally, lead. Knock on those doors and live life based on trust in Jesus. The cell phone, suitcase, wallet, purse, shoes or sneakers are just things. We have to show what we truly value by our example. We have to show others that our trust is in the One who makes money bags, sacks, and sandals of far lesser importance. Then we have to lead by loving, living, and speaking that trust, helping them to see beyond perceived importance to true importance, true vitality, change we can believe in: true life with Jesus.

Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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What!?!
…no pillow either?

As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”

For the very poor of the East, in ancient times as now, the “bed” was and is, as a rule, the bare ground; and the bedclothes, the gown or “outer garment,” worn during the day. When one was on a journey, or watching his flock by night as a shepherd, such a “bed” was the most natural, and often a stone would serve as a pillow. Over time the use of a mat on the floor as a bed, with or without covering, became more common. At first it was literally laid on the main floor of the home in some convenient place near the wall; but later it was put on an elevation, either a raised part of the floor, or a bedstead, which gave rise to the expression “going up to the bed.” With later development, “beds” came to be built on supports and constructed in different forms. This fact is reflected in the variety of names given the “bed” in Hebrew and related languages. The pillow was likely formed of sheep’s fleece or goat’s skin with a stuffing of cotton.

These beds and pillows are a far cry from what we have today. We can get adjustable beds, harder or softer beds, memory-foam beds and pillows – and beds of all sizes. We likely have a favorite pillow and hopefully we like our beds.

Jesus’ reference to no bed or pillow may have seemed odd to the person pledging to follow Jesus because he knew that preachers like Jesus had no bed. It seems equally odd to us. Do we have to sleep without a pillow for Jesus?

No. Jesus isn’t telling us to grab a rock for a pillow or sleep on the ground. What He is calling for is a life of total commitment. Jesus, who lived the life of an iterant preacher, had no place to lay His head. Rather, He lived and modeled the total commitment we are to have. He was the Shepherd, on His journey for us, following the Father’s will, showing us the way we must go, the life we must lead.

To follow Jesus requires that we make a conscious and consistent effort to live the life He calls us to live. Does it involve sacrifice in the present for His promised eternal reward? Certainly!

Jesus points out that thoughts of material things or present day rewards from following Him lead us “nowhere.” Instead we have to be people following His journey into eternity, life forever. We too must be shepherds, out in the fields and roads day and night living up to Jesus’ teaching, leading others to Him.

When we get in bed and grab our pillows let us commit again and again to Him.

Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The road
…taken or untaken.

On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Zechariah prophesies about Jesus’ suffering and death, not as a prophecy for the purpose of sadness and regret, but for the purpose of motivating people to understand what that suffering and death would purchase.

In his time the people could choose to confront the mourning to come by wallowing in that mourning without seeing a way out, or they could choose to see the hope to come, the salvation that was around the corner – only 500 years away.

Thus says the LORD: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace.

Jesus gave His all, His life to pour out God’s graces on us, in fact on everyone. It is, as the catechism describes:

Grace is God’s help. Grace is a gift God gives us through all that Jesus Christ did for our salvation.

God doesn’t just want to offer us grace; He freely does offer us His grace – and we are free to choose it.

Zechariah is talking about two options. Since we live after Jesus’ coming and His opening of grace, we can accept and take advantage on all Jesus did, of what the Father offers us. We can choose to accept and bathe away our weakness, mourning and sin in the fountain of those graces poured out. Graces open to us:

On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

We can choose to be cleansed of sin and live His way, or we can simply choose not to accept, relish, and be changed by His gift of grace. We can choose to live as we are in mourning and sadness.

Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken comes to mind. But, it really isn’t a choice between two equally decent possibilities. Living a life that accepts God’s grace, the life Jesus laid out for us, is the better choice. It is the choice that frees us from sin that makes us clean, that is full and that has endless – eternal – possibility.

The disciples were confronted with a question. “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “…who do you say that I am?” They had an opportunity to stick with the road the crowds had taken or they could accept the other road, the untaken road of grace that would give them new insight. They chose the untaken road and recognized God. Then they went and shared that grace. It is up to us, the road chosen, and the road we lead others to choose. Choose to see and to share the hope we have in Jesus.

Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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My children must be
…righteous before the Lord.

We acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ.

What is righteousness? It is an attribute implying that a person’s actions are justified, that the person has been “judged” or “reckoned” as leading a life that is pleasing to God. Some of the attributes of righteousness are being upright, just, straight, innocent, true, and sincere.

The Jewish teachers instructed that righteousness was equivalent to following the Law very strictly. The Jewish people have to work at righteousness by carrying out tasks.

St. Paul shows us that righteousness is more than mere acts, even if they are right acts. It comes from faith. Faith in Jesus leads us to performing right and proper acts, but those actions do not come first. Rather those acts derive from faith.

Jesus offers us the salvation He has won for us. Belief and faith in His coming, life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming provides the benefits of that salvation. In our act of faith in Him, in the waters of regeneration, in accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our membership in the community of faith we are changed to a people who do for the right reason, Jesus.

As changed people we walk in faith and have – already own – what has been won for us through God’s righteousness.

The good and righteous fathers among us have instilled this lesson in us. We are most aware of this when we consider WHY we do what we do.

Our dads showed us the way to go – teaching that we must do things for the right reason. That reason should never be simple adherence to a law or rule. Simple obedience out of fear, or just because, is never a good enough reason. We have to look and consider more deeply the “why” behind what we do.

As those with faith in Jesus Christ we do right, not because society says so or imposes penalties for doing wrong, but because doing right flows from faith. By faith we understand, by faith we live, by faith we walk in His footsteps. We are a people whose first instinct is to love, to do right, to live with integrity, to forgive – all coming from faith.

Simon the leper didn’t get the kind of righteousness faith demands. He wondered why Jesus showed love toward the sinful woman who was anointing His feet. Simon relied on the law in determining what should be done (while forgetting the laws of hospitality). Jesus showed him that her faith was the way to righteousness.
Let our lives and our reasons for doing be based on faith; pleasing to God, pleasing as precious ointment.

Christian Witness, Homilies,

Reflection for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Widow of Nain

Stop crying
…and see hope.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper. You changed my mourning into dancing; O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

Remember learning the Act of Hope? It is one of those basic prayers we all learned as children perhaps from our parents or in catechism class: O my God, relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

Today we see all of this in action. Elijah begs God for mercy upon the widow at Zarephath whose son has died.

Elijah had been a guest in her house for a long time. She and her son were dying of starvation when Elijah arrived, yet she gave him the last of what she had and from that point forward her barrel did not go empty – they were all able to eat for many days. After the famine is over her son got sick and died. After all she did she is pushed to the end of her rope and doubts.

Even though she had witnessed a miracle, and had been fed by the hand of the Lord, there is that moment of weakness and doubt. Yet God does not abandon her, He listens to Elijah’s pleading bringing her son back to life. Then she remembers her faith and the mercy of the Lord.

The lesson is that even though we lack consistent faith God does not forsake us. We always have the promise of hope.

St. Paul is recounting the fact that he had been a cruel jerk toward Christians. He tells the Galatians that at the height of his power and cruelty Jesus touched him, redeemed him, and trusted him with His message.

The lesson is that even though we sin and fall, even if we fall to the depths of depravity, God does not forsake us. He continually calls us back to His way and sends His grace to motivate us to change. We have the hope of forgiveness and redemption.

Two thousand years ago a funeral procession made its way toward the gates of Nain. The crowd was devastated: they had lost a son. His mom, a widow grieved. There was hopelessness. At the gates Jesus notices this grieving. He “was moved with pity for her,” and responded with compassion. He looked her in the eye, and says, “Do not weep.” God has “visited his people,” and was ready to save her and her son.

The lesson is that there is no hopelessness. We have tremendous hope because Jesus has the power not only to heal, but to raise. God continues to surprise us with His hope. Jesus returns to us every day with reason for hope.

Christian Witness, Homilies, , ,

Reflection for Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi

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For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Imagine if we were to walk into our very last class, just before graduation, and the professor says: ‘Forget everything you have ever learned, forget everything you know, and be filled with grace.’

Today, and every Sunday (and in reality every day), we are asked to do that, to surrender our intellectualism, our self-assured knowledge, and enter into the mystery of faith. We are asked to turn ourselves over to the Holy Spirit and to allow ourselves to be filled with the grace God offers us so that we can do much good in His name.

Our friends and close compatriots in the Orthodox Church have beautiful liturgies that call to mind both the majesty and mystery of God presence among us. Their tradition, unlike western tradition, does not rely on over thinking the mystery of God, with attempts to analyze and explain every nuance of God’s presence in our lives, but rather to worship and live trusting in the gift of faith handed down through God’s Word and Church Tradition.

We are in the midst of the Octave of Corpus Christi, eight days set aside to reflect on the mystery of the Body and Blood of Jesus in our lives, this wondrous gift that provides the grace through which we become more and more into the image of Christ.

As we have studied over the past few months, the Holy Mass is the occasion in which we encounter the full reality of Jesus among us. That reality is fully present in the Eucharistic action of the priest and the Christian people. In the Eucharistic action of ‘remembrance’ we live fully present at the Last Supper, at the foot of the Cross, the resurrection and ascension, and finally in Christ’s coming again. We are there with Him, present to Him, He is with us, and we are filled with His grace and tremendous love.

Our reception of the Eucharist in Holy Communion continues the mystery of Jesus in our life as Christians. In Communion we are joined as one. I could be receiving Communion on the moon, you here in Schenectady, each receiving the fullness of Jesus, each joined together as one body in Him. We are not separate and apart, alone in our communion, but together as one.

In these special eight days, and every day, let us forget what we think we know and actively be filled with grace, the glorious mystery of what we become in His Body and Blood.

Homilies

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

ALeapofFaith-Image1

Let’s bungee jump…
for faith.

“I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.”

In the Book of Proverbs we hear Jesus speaking about the creation of the world. Genesis tells us creation was an act of the Holy Trinity, God created the heavens and the earth… the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”

This act of creation was an act of love and a joy for God. We were created to live in relationship with Him and with each other.

This is because God understands relationship. Relationship is His very essence. He is One and three Persons. He lives in a relational unity and created us so that we would be part of that unity; so that we would reflect unity in the way we live.

Jesus says that as He played on the surface of the earth He found delight in the human race. His delight was to uphold us, to reveal the truth of God to us, to take on our nature, and to redeem and save us.

Because God delights in us, because we are His joy, He offered Himself to reveal the truth of Who He is. For our sake He draws us into relationship with the Trinity. For that unity He broke down the barrier of sin by offering Himself on the Holy Cross. So that we will not forget or be lost He sent forth His Spirit to live with us, to guide us, and to lead us to unity with Him and each other.

We have an ongoing opportunity and call to live a life of love and unity; to live the revealed and absolute truth of God.

This weekend we recall how many sacrificed all and offered their lives for us, for our freedom and wellbeing. These men and women exhibited the reality of the God of relationships; the God that lived within them, and lives in us. They chose to care about their relationship with their brothers and sisters, and to do their utmost to protect those they could never know or meet.

We could spend this weekend theologizing about the Holy Trinity and frustrating ourselves in the process. We could spend it thinking of ourselves, and how we might relax, find a good sale, or party. Instead, let’s take that bungee jumping risk, that leap of faith and decide on a life that reflects God’s truth – unity.

The leap of faith is to recognize the reality of the God of relationships; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He delights in us and calls us to live by His example – in mutual love, support, and sacrifice. In doing so He delights in us.

Christian Witness, Homilies,

Reflection for the Solemnity of Pentecost

Pentecost 2013

I have no energy.
I feel the power.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit… The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

Pentecost, unless it falls very late, generally occurs within allergy season. If you have seasonal allergies you know that they cause the typical sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes. An overlooked side effect is feeling exhausted.

Allergies aren’t the only reason for exhaustion. American society is one of the most productive on earth. We work-work-work and we don’t see many people imitating the seven dwarves as they sing their way to work. Beyond work itself workers face a dilemma – whether to rest, take time off, or take a vacation. The current work environment looks at time-off as a sign of not being needed. If you’re not missed while you are away you may come back to a pink slip. Without time-off, without the balanced life we need, we live exhausted.

It is ironic that when Pentecost rolls around, and we reflect on the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, many of us are just plain exhausted. We think – wow, it would be great to have the power of the Holy Spirit, that energy that drove the apostles and disciples to conquer the earth for faith in Jesus.

As we lay in bed in the morning our prayer to the Holy Spirit may well be, Spirit, help me get out of bed. Then we lay there and perhaps feel guilty, perhaps feeling that we either missed out on or lost those great gifts of the Spirit; even the energy to get up.

What scripture teaches about the Holy Spirit is important to us.

We learn that as Christians we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells in each of us and is constantly filling us with love, inspiration, and very unique gifts – the variety of gifts given to each person for a good purpose.

The Spirit lives in us and listens to us. It is not a one-way conversation, the Spirit prompting us to do things but ignoring what we have to say. The Spirit takes what we say, and even what we cannot articulate, and brings those as prayers and petitions before the Father. As a result we get help.

Key to all of this is trust. Jesus told the Pharisees that the only unforgivable sin was to speak against the Holy Spirit. This is not literal – like saying the Holy Spirit is a bad guy. It is a failure to see and acknowledge the good the Spirit is doing, to trust the obvious power of the Spirit in our lives with Christ. This Pentecost we may feel exhausted, but we must trust that the Spirit is with us, giving us the gifts we need to do good, hearing our prayer, filling us with power!

Christian Witness, Homilies, , , ,

Reflection for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Awesome Moms lead us to see Jesus

For I see…
What do you see?

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.”

Today, our readings and Gospel look at the present and the future.

As Stephen is about to die he looks up and sees Jesus at the right hand of the Father. He is heading toward Jesus, to His loving embrace. Stephen has Jesus with him in his suffering, and because of that forgives his murders. He is also joyful, even in the midst of the stoning, because He knows what the future holds. Stephen is in a moment so totally now, and in his (and our) future.

John is on the island of Patmos. Jesus is speaking with him once again in terms that can be read as very now, in the present, and for the future. Jesus tells John that He is the Alpha and the Omega – timeless. He also tells John: “Behold, I am coming soon.”

We look at these statements and from them understand that Jesus is ever present, always with us and is also the ultimate goal, our promised future. John knows that Jesus is his present and future. To him Jesus is a joy, better than any other thing the world can offer.

Jesus is delivering His farewell address to His disciples just before the road that will lead Him to Calvary. He is reminding them that they are bound to Him by their knowledge and love, by their unity. They have the reality of God living with and in them, ever present, ever now. They also hear that they have a share in the future reality of God – the kingdom and paradise.

Like Stephen, like John, we need to listen to Jesus and rely on this reality – that He is with us in this moment, in the present, and is not just as a goal or someone we will meet in the future. Also, that we have a share in a wonderful future that surpasses any suffering or difficulty.

Our mothers have seen what Stephen and John saw. They brought us into the Holy Church so that we would see these things, so that we might listen to Jesus and understand a moment so totally now, and a vision for our future.

Because of their faith and the instruction they provided for us we were given an opportunity. When asked, ‘What do you see?’ how will we answer? If we took mom’s lessons to heart we can say: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” Saying that we can offer this vision to others. We can let them know about Jesus who is with us now and is our future.

Homilies, PNCC, ,

Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

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Not another meeting!!!
Yes, just like the apostles.

And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

Any organization faced with questions and debate can choose between several courses of action. They can choose to let the boss decide. They can appoint a committee to study the issue and make recommendations. They can have open debate and discussion and still let the boss decide the outcome. They might meet and reach a consensus decision and act in accordance with that decision.

The early Church was not immune to questions and debate. How did they settle those?

We read that Paul and Barnabas were faced with questions and debates in the faith communities they served. They didn’t play the ‘I’m the apostle and I say so’ card. They didn’t appoint a commission to study the issue and give recommendations. Rather, they returned to the center of the Church in Jerusalem where the Church gathered in Council (or Synod) to decide on the matter collectively.

There is one key reason for doing this. The Church can only decide on important issues when it is assembled as one. When it exhibits this physical unity – gathered in Holy Synod – it also exhibits the fact that it is more than a corporation, company, club, or group. It shows the unity it has in the Holy Spirit. In Holy Synod the Church exhibits the unifying and guiding power of the Holy Spirit. The Church does not decide for itself just because. It decides as the Holy Spirit guides it to decide.

Our Holy Church closely adheres to the principals of the early Church in its democratic process. At the local level we gather during annual meetings and regular parish committee meetings to decide as guided by the Holy Spirit. We seek input and guidance from each member of the parish, because the Holy Spirit lives in us individually and most importantly as a collective body – the Body of Christ. Our diocese and the entire Church gather regularly in Holy Synod to exhibit both our physical unity and the underlying unity we have in the Holy Spirit. We trust that when gathered in meetings like these we are more that just a parish, just an organization. We are the Body of Christ, the Holy Church.

Another meeting, question, or debate? Greet each with joy as His disciples, His body, and see the Holy Spirit at work.

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