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Homilies

Reflection for the Nativity

God is Born

He has come to give the promise of 
His mercy full and gracious. For the Word was made Incarnate,
 And in truth, has dwelt amongst us!

The miracle we have awaited has come. And now, every time I see your face, I see Jesus in you. Every night before I sleep, I know that He dwells with you. In every prayer I offer I am assured that His miracles are real in your life. Before we accepted Christ and were regenerated, He accepted us. Knowing that, I sing high praise to God who has joined us to His Son and to each other. May His everlasting presence enrich and bless you and yours at this moment, throughout the coming year, and always in every way.

Deacon Jim

Homilies,

Fourth Sunday of Advent 
 – B

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16
Psalm: Ps 89:2-5,27,29
Epistle: Romans 16:25-27
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations

Secrets

This is the time of year for secrets. If you looked at the reflection I wrote in today’s bulletin, you know what I’m talking about. What am I getting? Where is it hidden? We wonder what might be under the Christmas tree or in our stockings a week from now. Children wonder where their parents might have hidden their gifts. Are they hidden in the closet, the basement, under mom and dad’s bed? As children of God, we are lot like that too. We are filled with questions and tend to see God as a mystery, as hidden.

Used to be hidden

God used to be hidden. He was certainly in contact with His people, but that contact came through burning bushes and other such occurrences. This kind of remote contact lasted for centuries. God was in the mysterious heavens. He was unknowable. Everyone knew that anyone who might happen to see God would die (Exodus 33:20). God revealed Himself to Moses in the bush and on mount Sinai, and in doing so Moses was remarkably changed. Except for Moses, who was given the opportunity to glimpse God, God was still a hidden mystery, a stashed away present.

Then comes

Mary is at home. The angel Gabriel comes to her and makes a great announcement. God is to become incarnate in humanity through her, if she agrees. As we know, she agrees, and in that moment God is incarnate. What does that mean?

It means that God is no longer a mystery. God cannot hide in heaven, or speak though burning bushes. God, in all His reality, in the fullness of His life, is now apparent and living in the world. God lives among us, and is completely joined to our humanity. God is the present that cannot be hidden. Everyone knows where it is.

Presents

Think about that present. That moment with Mary, her saying yes, and God entering our reality. Next Sunday we honor the 2011th plus 9 months anniversary of that present. The box is open, nothing is hidden anymore.

God is known

Jesus often spoke about making His Father known. He always said that if we know Him we know His Father. That was God’s desire — to be known and open with His people. He didn’t want to live in secret or apart from us. He doesn’t want to appear to us through burning bushes or in some fancy or marvelous way — some way that is way beyond belief. Last Sunday we heard that Jesus comes to rummage through our disasters, our sins with us. He is right here with us, to pick us up and to be known to us. God wants nothing else but to be with us. He stays with us, and His messages, His way of life is plain to us. We recognize Him because He even looks like us.

Paul’s message

This is what Paul is talking about. Paul’s message tells us that we need no secret code. We aren’t like the gnostics who thought that knowledge of God comes through understanding some deep, hidden meaning whose true message could only be understood through “secret wisdom.” He’s telling us that God is easily understood and in His incarnation He is fully and completely revealed. The things hidden long ago, the mysteries hidden away in the closet, in the basement, under the bed, aren’t there anymore.

Give glory

So Paul gives glory to God. He praises Him as we would praise that parent, that special someone, who found the exact right gift. It’s the kind of gift a person couldn’t even articulate. It is the gift we couldn’t even describe if we wanted to. It is the gift that the instant we see it, Wow! It fulfills all our expectations. It is everything we ever wanted all wrapped up into one.

Next Sunday that present is ours. Next Sunday the miracle of that present will be in our hands. It is God incarnate. God no longer wants to be hidden, He definitely isn’t a secret. Jesus came to us and revealed all the secrets — and none are that complex. They are simple. Our present is love and community. We know love without bounds and are to live with each other the same way. What a great present.

to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Homilies,

Reflection for the 4th Sunday of Advent

Don’t look in there… What are they hiding in there away?

St. Paul is writing to the Church at Rome. He tells them:

…the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations

Children wonder, especially at this time of the year, what might be hidden in the closet or basement; perhaps under mom and dad’s bed. We are like children, children of faith. Paul is speaking to us. He’s letting us know that nothing is hidden. God has revealed everything to us. What was once a mystery is now plain. Everything became plain in the life of Jesus.

God isn’t into mystery, or spooky miracles, or suddenly appearing saints. What He is about is clearly understood – He is about relationships founded in deep love, generosity, caring, and the deep desire that we, His people, live in community with Him and each other.

Rather than searching the closets or the basement, let’s search our hearts for the plain meaning in the Gospels. Jesus’ coming has given us all we need to know.

Armed with His gospel of love and community we join in His holy mission – making His Father’s message available to all people.

The miracle is this – there are no secrets – Jesus has opened heaven’s store of dignity and love for all people. He really loves us. Knowing that, we can say with Paul:

to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever.

Homilies

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Advent

Bang, bang, bang… Is that Santa on the roof, or St. Paul?

St. Paul is writing to one of the Churches he founded. He’s rattling off a whole bunch of instructions in short order at the very end of his letter:

Keep awake and be sober. Encourage one another. Build one another up. Respect those who labor among you. Be at peace among yourselves. Admonish idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. Do not repay evil for evil. Always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Give thanks in all circumstances. Do not quench the Spirit. Test everything. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Paul is literally banging out instructions. If he had a typewriter, we could hear him pounding the message home.

During this time of preparation we need to hear Paul’s message and to share it.

These instructions are not just wise sayings, good things to live by, or smart. They are urgent and necessary for us in our relationships with each other, our Church, and the world. They are the foundation for our journey to heaven.

Jesus’ coming changed life from a series of misfortunes and mishaps that ended in the emptiness of death to a path of holiness, righteousness, and faith that ends in eternal joy.

As we hear the doorbells ring and the guests knock, let us remember Paul banging away at these instructions. Paul ends by blessing us for following these instructions:

May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ coming is near. Let us renew ourselves so that we may be part of the joy that is forever.

May our Lord bless you and yours,

Deacon Jim

Homilies, , ,

Second Sunday of Advent 
– B

First reading: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: 2 Peter 3:8-14
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

Taking action:

I want to tell you a story.

My friend was standing outside a bar in Buffalo one night. It was late, closing time. He was with a few colleagues and they were chatting before going their separate ways. While they were standing there, a man came stumbling down the sidewalk. He was growling, gasping at them, and was waving his hands. He went into the bar, which had cleared out. Only the bartender was left behind.

My friend went in after the man. He wanted to make sure the bartender was in no danger. The man was standing at the bar, growling, gasping, waving his arms. The bartender was at the far end of the bar. Suddenly my friend yelled out, ‘Slide me a knife.’

Of course the bartender didn’t act immediately. He didn’t know these men, and he wasn’t going to contribute to a bar fight and stabbing. My friend yelled out, commanding, ‘Give me a knife.’ The bartender slid him a knife, with a stunned look on his face.

My friend cut through a rope that was wrapped around the man’s throat. He had been in a fight and someone had attempted to kill him. If not for my friend following through, and his quick action, the man might have died.

Mark’s like that:

St. Mark’s gospel is the shortest gospel. Of all the gospels, its the one that moves the quickest. It is focused on action and is action packed. There’s no shepherds, birth story, or anything quiet and peaceful about Mark’s gospel. We read the beginning of that gospel today. We are in the Judaean dessert, John is there, yelling out:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”

Bang! John is on the scene. Jesus is immanent.

Mark starts with hard hitting action. By the time we reach the end of Mark’s gospel we are standing outside the empty tomb with two women, an angel, and a message from God.

We are called:

We, the Advent people, are called to action. Jesus’ immanent coming is nothing to be complacent about. He didn’t come to say, pull-up the La-Z-Boy , put up your feet, take it easy, I’ll do it all for you. We are required to act.

The grace we need:

One of the themes I’ve been reflecting on this week is the ‘efficacy’ of grace. Efficacy is a big word, and put simply it means being effective. Efficacy is the capacity to produce an effect.

If we take a Lipitor to lower our cholesterol, we know that it will be effective in doing that. Drugs have efficacy — they produce a result, lowering our blood pressure, reducing our cholesterol, or controlling our blood sugar. An aspirin a day is effective in avoiding a heart attack.

Grace works like that. Grace has efficacy. Grace is God’s medicine of love. It brings so many gifts like peace and healing. It also brings power. Grace gives us the power to live and to act. When we accept God’s grace it is effective in getting us to act.

Problems?

Our world, our neighborhood, our lives are beset by problems. We tend to worry a lot. We need to stop that — because we have the guarantee and effectiveness of grace.

Now think about that. We face so many struggles, and I’m standing here saying don’t worry, act!

The fact is, I am not saying this. God is telling us to act, to move, to take charge and move forward with confidence. Jesus left us all we need to act. We are supported by the strength of faith and His grace. He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church. In this parish church we have each-other. Finally, He showed us that nothing is stronger than our faith and action, not even death.

To do:

We stand in this season of Advent. It is a time of expectation. It is a time of renewal. It is time to get our ideas right.

If we focus on problems and complaints we will find that they are in our face and are bigger than our God. I ask you, are our problems bigger than our God? Is money bigger than our God? Is the road and work ahead, to build our families, our parish, and our community bigger than our God?

Yes, we have a lot to do. Knowing God’s grace, we will overcome and do more than any one of us can imagine.

Our charge:

My friend took action and saved one man. We need to take action and save all mankind.

At the end of Mark’s action packed gospel we hear:

And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them.

It is time to act. It is time to save our brothers and sisters. It is time to bring the lost back and to open our arms to the people all around us. There is a miracle around the corner — and that miracle will happen if we act. God guarantees that our action will be effective because the Lord is working with us. Amen.

Homilies

First Sunday of Advent – B


First reading: Isaiah 63:16-17 and Isaiah 64:1,3-8
Psalm: Ps 80:2-3,15-16,18-19
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel: Mark 13:33-37

Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.

Black Friday:

I have always deeply disliked the term “Black Friday.” I suppose it is the Christian in me. When I hear that term, my mind turns to Good Friday. I don’t want black Friday’s, I only want that day that purchased my salvation.

This past Friday was one for the record books. Not in terms of sales volume or profits, but in terms of the degradation and evil we saw. A woman at Wal-Mart pepper sprays twenty people, including children, just so she can get to the bargain bin first; so she can get more of what’s there. At other Wal-Mart locations shootings and robberies in the parking lots. A riot and looting in the Soho section of New York. The retailers contribute of course. Open earlier. Hype it up more. Deep discount.

We shake our heads and wonder. What do people believe in? What do people care about? Where are our ideals, values, and beliefs?

Far and wide:

Now, imagine we are overlooking over a very large body of water. We are on the shore. Considering the water in front of us we might ask: ‘How wide and how deep is it? It seems to stretch on forever.’ Ideals, values, and beliefs work the same way. We need to ask the same question. How wide and how deep are my ideals, values, and beliefs?

The examples of last Friday are indicative of very wide and very shallow beliefs and values. I wouldn’t be surprised to find most of the ‘get out of the way its mine’ folks don’t have much of a value structure in their lives.

The shallow way is inwardly focused. It is selfish. These are self-centered ideals, values, and beliefs. In this way of living it is easy for people to strongly assert their rights, because they only see themselves and what they want. They present their ideals, values, and beliefs in a litany:

‘I have a right to…’
‘I am free to…’
‘I control my life.’
‘Get out of my way.’ and
‘Don’t tell me what to believe.’

Crying out:

With the Psalmist we want to cry out: ‘Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.‘

The beliefs and values of the world seem more and more foreign. We want the security of the returning Lord. We want Him to change us, to gather us in, to cleanse us. Like Isaiah, we seek the Father’s care.

Pottery:

Like Isaiah, we must recognize that we are already in the Father’s hands. We are the clay, and He is the potter. He moulds and shapes us. He has not left us abandoned or alone.

What He has created is this: a people whose beliefs are not wide and shallow, but compact and deep.

Sleeping:

Sometimes we fall asleep. We don’t always live up to the ideals, values, and beliefs Jesus gave us. We fall short. But by His grace, His forgiveness, His love, we are continually reawakened. We know where the right set of ideals, values, and beliefs are found. Advent is the time to wake up again.

Whenever we drift off, or loose sight of that compact and deep set of ideals, values, and beliefs, we are called back. That’s the action of grace, giving us the nudge to: “Be watchful! Be alert!” Today’s gospel is a perfect start to our Advent reawakening.

Here, we seek the help of the Church, and we set back on the course to reconnect with the ideals, values, and beliefs Jesus left us.

What to do:

This Advent we are called to reconsider and do what Jesus taught.

He told the Pharisees: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13) In saying this, He told us that rituals are not enough. Coming here every Sunday is not enough. We have to live a life that is deep in mercy and love. Then when we come here to worship, we worship in truth.

God, speaking through Isaiah, said: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17). In teaching this God points to ideals, values, and beliefs that are centered on serving God through our loving, serving and caring for others.

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:2-9). He told us to do likewise, to forgive, and to serve.

Jesus told us: “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” (Mark 10:43)

Jesus stood up in the synagogue, and reading from Isaiah said: “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free.” (Luke 4:18)

He left us the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), a concise list of how we are to live.

Those, my friends, are our compact and deep set of ideals, values, and beliefs. They are the way we are to live. If we have lost sight of them, let’s reconnect. If we feel worn out and sad, stand up and take charge this Advent.

Soap boxes aren’t necessary:

Election season is coming. Everyone will have an opinion. Retailers will put more and more items on deep discount. Everyone will rush, push, pepper spray, and even kill to be first. Even Christians, who have misunderstood Jesus’ message, will tell us how righteous they are, but will do it without showing love or care, without helping or serving anyone else.

As the world exposes its wide, all encompassing, and very shallow set of opinions, values, and beliefs, we must stand ready to show ourselves as a people who hold Jesus’ ideals, values, and beliefs. We must live our compact and deep ideals, values, and beliefs.

If we are standing next to the bargain bin, and the very last item remaining is in our grasp, let’s hand it to the next person in line. As the crowd pushes to the door, let’s put ourselves at the end of the line. As the politicians and pundits spout their opinions, let’s keep ours to ourselves. When someone asks us what we want, let’s ask them to come to church with us, to go to work at a homeless shelter with us, to visit the lonely and the shut-in with us. When we do all these things, and even more, without a second thought, without surprising ourselves, we are living in Christ’s ideals, values, and beliefs.

We live rooted and deep in the message of Jesus. This Advent, let us recommit to the Christian life, to the ideals, values, and beliefs that will show Jesus we are awake and ready when He returns. Amen.

Homilies,

Solemnity — Christ The King
 — 2011

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-12,15-17
Psalm: Ps 23:1-3,5-6
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26,28
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

The call:

Today we celebrate the kingship of our Lord and Savior.

It is time for us, as people of faith, as subjects of the one great Lord and King, to occupy main street, Wall Street, our parishes, homes, neighborhoods, towns, cities, and the nations. It is time to take on the challenge of Jesus, using all our gifts, all our abilities, our words and actions, in a struggle to live up to the King’s way.

Background:

Our gospel is interesting. Of course it speaks about Jesus’ return in glory. He takes His place upon His throne. He is ruler and judge, and all of humanity stands before Him. Interesting, because Jesus’ account of His coming in glory is taken from St. Matthew’s writing at chapter 25. In Chapter 26 Jesus is arrested. In chapter 27 He is crucified.

Jesus speaks of His return in glory just days after triumphantly arriving in Jerusalem, just days before He is carried off in disgrace. Jesus’ discussion of His kingship, and the requirements He sets forth for us are a challenge. We are called to struggle and meet the challenge.

Challenges:

Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, and His challenge fell on the authorities. For the past years, Jesus has been preaching, and building His following, out in the boonies. The Romans, the political power of the time, didn’t care. They let Him be as He was no threat to them as long as He stayed away from their centers of power. The religious leaders of the times had been regularly challenging Jesus, but He was in the outskirts and no real threat to their power in Jerusalem.

Suddenly He was in their city, arriving triumphantly, with big crowds in tow. People were recognizing Him as the Messiah. The Romans saw the threat. He could instigate a rebellion, He was a danger. The religious leaders saw the danger. If He was the Messiah, they were out of business. They didn’t matter any more, and they would be displaced.

After Jesus’ arrest, the apostles and disciples were challenged to see this beaten, tortured, mocked man as their king and to continue following His way.

The Romans, the religious authorities, and the apostles and disciples all struggled with these challenges. They all responded in the worst possible ways.

Dealing with the challenge:

The Romans and the religious authorities dealt with the the challenge of Jesus in the way they knew best. They used their power to get rid of the problem. They silenced Jesus.

The disciples, the apostles, they dealt with the challenge of Jesus by hiding. They locked themselves in the upper room, trembled in fear of the Romans and religious authorities, and shook their heads, wondering what had gone wrong.

Recognizing the King:

No one recognized Jesus’ challenge. No one understood the struggle they were called to undertake. No one saw the call to occupy and reform the world.

The struggle and challenge was not to maintain political or religious power. The struggle and challenge was not an inability to understand God’s way, and what would happen in the future. The struggle and challenge is to live the way Jesus has shown. In doing so we take charge of and change the world. If we live that struggle, if we meet that challenge, we truly honor our Lord and King.

The world today:

We face great struggles and challenges in the world today. From our homes, to our workplaces, from our neighborhoods to our parishes, from our towns and cities to the nations; at every turn we see a fight, and we don’t know how to deal with it.

Today we are reminded of what we are to do. Today we are reminded that we are not the powerful. We are not the political authorities. We are not the bankers, power brokers, the rich. We are not the religious leaders of old in Churches that commanded through power, false glory, political influence, disciplining and casting out believers, and fear-mongering.

Today we are reminded that our King spoke of His glory on the way to His death. We must die to the desire for power and glory, and give our King the glory by following His way.

His way:

His way is this:

I was hungry and you gave me food.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was ill and you cared for me.
I was in prison and you visited me.

We occupy every place we visit when we do this. When we do this we challenge Bank One, JPMorgan Chase, Wall Street, Walmart, the rich and powerful who horde the majority of the worlds wealth and resources, leaving little else for the rest of us, the rest who make up 99% of the world’s population. As the Occupy Wall Street movement has called for change in the structures of power and influence, we must call for an even greater change. We must call for a change of heart. We must call all to meet the challenge of the only Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

Real struggles:

The motto of our Holy Polish National Catholic Church reminds us that by truth, work, and struggle we will be victorious. That victory comes to us in the Kingdom of Christ.

Look at the Occupy Wall Street movement. Their call for reform, which has been wholly peaceful and collaborative, has been met with arrest, beatings, and pepper spray. Churches that have offered sanctuary to these protesters have had government spies infiltrate their congregations. Simple calls for change are met with strong resistance. Things haven’t changed much in 2,000 years.

But what will happen when we meet Jesus’ challenge and occupy the nations? What will happen when our work and our words call for a change of heart? Don’t get it wrong. The world sees the Holy Church as operating in the boonies. We are no real threat to the centers of power, yet!

It is up to us. The King is calling us to a revolution. This is a revolution of hearts. It is a revolution that will be plain and apparent when every heart steps up to give food and drink, to open doors in welcome, to clothe and care for, and to spend the time with all who need.

We face an enormous challenge and struggle. With Jesus as our King we can do these things and so much more. Hearts will be changed because of us. We will not be defeated, we will not be shut down. Our King is with us. Amen.

Homilies, PNCC

Solemnity of the Christian Family – 2011

First reading: Genesis 1:26-28,31

Psalm: Ps 128:1-5
Epistle: 
Ephesians 6:1-9

Gospel: Luke 2:42-52

Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,
knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord.

The gown:

Susan McCanna first wore it in 1894. This year, Liliana Grace Perella was the fortieth person to wear it. It is a lace Christening gown.

We could look on that gown as something old. We could admire the lace and the intricacy of it’s design. But it is more than what we see.

For nearly 120 years, this gown, passed from family member to family member, has connected generations. The gown is a window, a doorway into the life of a family. It is symbolic of a family relationship that spans generations, and the presence of God in that family. It is iconic.

What we see:

Pay close attention to St. Paul’s words. Give service to the Lord and not to men and women. Paul was speaking to Christians who were slaves.

Paul knew that slaves were obligated to serve their masters. They were bound to do as they were told. Whether it was service at table, cooking, cleaning, field work — it didn’t matter. He knew that slaves were programmed to serve and to please.

Serving a good or cruel master, light or heavy work, the slave knew that paying attention to their master’s needs, focusing on them, doing what they were told, was their duty.

Paul tells them to stop thinking that way, but rather to think that every act of service was to Jesus, to the Lord. He tells them that there is something more. They were to see their service as service to God. Paul is telling all Christians that they have to see a different reality. Life is more than than the obvious. Life is iconic.

Definitions:

When you hear the word icon, do you think of the little pictures on your computer desktop? Do you think of gloriously beautiful artwork in churches?

Those are definitions from the dictionary. Icon — a picture that represents something else. In church it may be Jesus, Mary, angels, saints, or the cross. On our computer, it may be the way we get to our word processor, to the Internet, to our email application.

Like the Christening gown, like Paul’s instruction to the slaves, the way we define icon is just a shadow of the true meaning. We need to get beyond the dictionary or computerese definition of icon. We need to see beyond what we see.

True meaning:

For the Church, an icon is not just a picture, it is reality.

The Church teaches that the praise and veneration we show an icon passes over to the holy thing or person it represents. The thing we see is not just seen, but is real. If we kiss an icon of Christ, we are kissing Christ, we show him our love. The icon is not mere wood and paint, something physical, it is a place of meeting.

It is actually offensive to worship the icon as something separate from what it is in reality. It is not a mere physical object. Thus, people should not collect icons as art or treat them in a way that is not holy.

If you have an icon in your house, it is the presence of the holy person or thing it portrays. Jesus, Mary, the saint, angel, cross, are alive and really there with you. If you enter an Orthodox Christian’s home, you will likely see an icon corner with one or more icons, candles lit, perhaps incense burning, and a bible or prayer book. They set aside a space in their house because the icon brings holiness to the house.

The real presence of the holy, the saint, the angels, of Mary, of Jesus we see portrayed in an icon is at once a window and a doorway to the holy thing portrayed. We meet the holy in that doorway and we enter into a relationship.

The icon is beyond the eyes, beyond the seen. It is our connectedness to God’s holiness, like the Christening gown, and Paul’s instructions on service, all are ways we meet and connect to God’s holiness.

Reality:

Our nature is iconic. We are in key relationships, and every aspect of our relationships must have the character of an icon.

Paul was asking Christians to see true reality. For the slaves of Paul’s time, their masters were icons of Christ. By serving them, they were seeing and serving Jesus. For the McCenna family, the Christening gown is a key icon defining their family relationship with Jesus.

We need to break out of our one-sided, definitional view of reality. We need to see clearly — the iconic nature of our lives in our relationship with God.

Whatever we do, whatever we see, we must first and foremost see ourselves as part of a real and present relationship with God. God is not apart and separate from us, on some different plane, in a far off heaven, but God right here, right now.

Family:

Paul often wrote about the body of Christ. Christ is alive in the holy communion of community. Jesus wants us to live in relationship.

Family is the key icon of relationship. If we see family as just a bunch of folks who share genetic traits, who might look somewhat the same, who may live in the same house — if we stop at what we see, we’ve missed the point. If we see family as just a definition, we’ve missed the point.

Family, people joined together, are the icon of God’s reality in the world. Family points to the way God lives.

Today:

Today our Holy Polish National Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Christian Family. Today we venerate the family as the icon of Christ.

How we relate to each other in family must be first and foremost grounded in the reality of what family is; its iconic nature.

The iconic nature McCenna family shows us that family is eternal, more than what we see in front of us. It is generations of family all interconnected. Whether living with us on earth or in the heavenly kingdom, we remain together, joined in love.

Our family relationships need to be seen for what they are. As icons of God’s love, we need to praise and venerate family. As icons of meeting God, we need to live holy lives as family. Our homes must be filled with holiness, and must be the doorway where young and old get to know Jesus. Our families must bring holiness to the world.

As family, we are more than a dictionary definition. As icons, we are the true presence and work of God in the world.

Our families are icons to the world. In the icon of family, friends, neighbors, and community we see, meet, and enter into a relationship with God. Family is the doorway, the window to the heavenly, the holy.

With love, respect, prayer, and worship we proclaim and venerate God as family. Husbands, wives, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — all of us as family — all of us as an icon of God. Amen.

Homilies, PNCC

Solemnity of Brotherly Love

First reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: 1 John 4:17-21
Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Stress:

I stressed myself out this week. Beyond all the weather related catastrophes around us we saw the tragedy of a father killing his two little girls. We recall the events that occurred on September 11th, ten years ago today. More than stress — sadness and perhaps despair. God’s presence seemingly unknown, unrecognizable among all this.

I was a few minutes late for work, I was driving in with my radio tuned to National Public Radio. I had just pulled into the parking lot at work and heard the news flash. My first through was of a small plane hitting the Word Trade Center. That thought was horrific enough. Then the events of the day unfolded in all their ugliness. I thought of my coworkers in the building next door to the World Trade Center. A month or two before I sat in their offices overlooking the loading docks at the Trade Center.

Renee and I ended up in church that evening. Adam was two years old, going on three. Victoria would be born in two months. Stunned and seeking solace. I needed to know that in the midst of evil, in the midst of seeming emptiness, I, my friends, coworkers, and family were not alone.

I needed to know that there is no place empty of God. I needed to know that even in the darkest and ugliest of places, God was there.

Irony:

My stress was compounded by the irony. Today, our Holy Church celebrates the Solemnity of Brotherly Love. Oddly, and ironically, the readings for the Ordinary Sunday follow a similar theme. It is Jesus’ instruction to love great enough to forgive.

Ironic, brotherly love and forgiveness. I get to speak on God’s desire for those things while we stand with these painful memories and react. Tears fall, we get choked up. Maybe we get angry. We mourn, we question. We ask, that age old and most powerful of questions, “God, where were you?”

We need to know, as I needed to know on that day, that God was there, that He is here.

Words:

We could read these readings a thousand times. From the Ordinary or from the Solemnity. Love, sacrifice, forgive, forgive over and over. High minded thoughts. Worthy and beautiful thoughts. The Good Samaritan – he was there in the firefighters and police who offered their lives, in the clergy who ministered, in those brave citizens who sacrificed so others might live. In the care givers, civil servants, and construction workers who tried to piece together what had been broken. All loving their neighbor.

God was there. In the midst of this. God was there because His word came alive in the hearts that gave of themselves. His call to act was heeded.

Reduced:

Looking back, and at the events of the past few weeks, we might allow ourselves to forget that God was there. It seems so dark, so dark that God has been blotted out.

In this dark place it seems that God’s words become no more than a droning sound. Just another series of platitudes discussed on CNN by some talking heads. Nice thoughts, but let’s get on with it. God disappears either because we will him away, or because we become complacent.

Others find it easy to fix God. They don’t hear His voice. Those words about forgiveness, fraternal correction, self sacrifice — that applies to family and friends only, let’s kill, kill, kill the enemy. Who is the enemy? Oh, them!

The further we get in our arms length relationships the less God’s words ring true, or apply to others.

In a world where God is reduced and seen as less present, where He is fixed to suit whims, where He is pushed into the corner and made not applicable to to those we do not know, it would seem that His presence is absent. Yet, God is present. God was there. God is here.

Picture:

Let’s picture ourselves in a big, crowded room. Tons of people, noisy too. Right up close to we have our family and friends. We can see them clearly. We can hear them. We can feel them near, and we feel safe. This is our corner of the room. Those further away, we know some of them. Community members, church folks, co-workers, we’ve seen them at a local fishing spot, on the golf course, at Hannaford. We kind of hear them. We can still see them pretty clearly.

Go further out. Those folks, on the other side of the room? Don’t know them. They are in the room, but they are truly the unknown. They look different, we can’t hear or understand them. They are far off, and to connect to them; we’ll never get there.

Suddenly, across the room, one of them keels over. Doesn’t look good. Nobody’s doing anything either. They are out there, alone, on the floor. They are surrounded by darkness, down on the floor. People are pressing in to fill the void.

Today’s question, the eternal question: “What is our heart urging us to do?” What is our heart calling us to do? What is God calling us to do?

How do we feel when we hear God’s call? It makes me a little nauseous. It does, because I know I am sinful. I know I hear the call to cross the room, but sometimes I don’t want to.

Small sins vs. the Call:

Only some will cross the room. Few will rush into a burning tower. Very few will crash through a cockpit door and fly a plane into the ground to save others. Few will grab the gun out of a crazed father’s hand.

So we need to reflect. What is our intuition? What does God call us to do?

Our failures begin with the smallest of sins. It starts with simple rejection; rejecting God’s call and presence. The call to brotherhood. It starts when we say no to our brothers and sisters. That’s where terror start. That’s where crazed killers start. That’s where every form of evil starts. It starts when we close our heart and our mind to God calling us to act, to His being present. It starts when we don’t think God is there, God is listening, God cares, and God is calling us to get up and go.

Big courage:

It takes big courage and hard work to see God in others, to get up and go. In the black smoke, in the cries, in that person across the room, down on the floor. It takes courage to see God there and to act.

This big courage is our heroism. When our hearts are pulled to love, to reach out, to care, to intervene, to spend an evening, to cry or laugh with our neighbor, with our brother or sister. This is big courage, to see past stereotypes and every negative thought. To see only God’s call to love, to forgive, to lend a hand, to be a martyr for love.

We must die every day. We must die to our wants and needs. We must die to saying no. We must reject that little voice that says, don’t bother, its too far, costs too much, is too hard; she or he are too much of a pain.

Yes, we will die to sin so that God’s presence can shine even in the darkest of times. We will die so that others may live. We will die to saying no and live for saying yes to love. We will stop letting God handle it and live in the big courage God has given us to go and do.

If any one says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Amen.

Homilies

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First reading: 1 Kings 19:9,11-13
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: Romans 9:1-5
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

Waiting and expecting:

The Jewish king Ahab has married Jezebel. She’s the power behind the throne. She helps to convert Ahab from worshiping God to worshiping her god, Baal. She has many of the Jewish prophets killed, and Elijah steps forward. He challenges the 450 prophets of Baal to a competition and exposes Baal as a powerless statue. He has the prophets of Baal killed and Jezebel becomes his enemy.

Elijah is in the cave. All of his fellow prophets have been killed and they’re after him now. He expects to die and is afraid. He runs away, into the desert. Elijah gets the message that God will speak to him.

Now, you think the disciples had it bad with rough seas and strong winds? Elijah has God tell him to wait at the mouth of the cave while:

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks


Followed by earthquake and fire. Elijah was expecting God to come, to speak to him, and his expectation was that God would come in all sorts of glory and power.

Paul wonders:

St. Paul is wondering about his people, the Jewish people, and his expectations of them. They are the chosen people, and they aren’t getting it. They are missing out on the revelation of the Messiah. They are sticking to the law and are rejecting Jesus. For all his expectations, here he sits among the gentiles who “get it.” His new expectation, his hope, is that the faith of the gentiles will prompt the Jewish people to accept faith in Jesus.

The crowd’s expectation:

The crowds has just heard Jesus speak. According to St. John’s Gospel, they wanted to carry Him off and make Him king. They saw the power of His miracles, and the way he taught. Their desire, their long term expectation was that a powerful leader would come to save Israel. Their thought their expectation was being fulfilled now, here’s Jesus. They wanted it now and didn’t want to wait for God’s time Jesus knows God’s timing and His Father’s expectation, so He leaves the crowds and goes off to pray.


Expectations in the dead of night:

The disciples are in a boat, and it is, according to the parallel text in St. Mark’s gospel, between 3 and 6 am. The dead of night. It is that time of night where it is darkest and hopeless. The disciples are in trouble, the sea is stormy and the wind was against them. They are tired, struggling with the sails, fighting the waves. At some point during the struggle each of them likely thought of death. They considered that they might fail to control the boat and that they would be tossed into the sea. They expected the worst.

Great expectations:

So many expectations, so many thoughts rush through our minds. We look for meaning. We worry. We wonder. We create sets of expectations in order to give ourselves hope. Sometimes life’s difficulties press on us so much that we turn our expectations to the worst. Whether for good or bad, we fall into a trap of creating our own expectations.

God reaches out:

Like Elijah, Peter, Paul, the crowds, the Bible is filled with people whose expectations never seem to fit exactly with God’s expectation. We are the same. We have “our” expectations of how things should be, will be, must be.

Now to be sure, God does not reject anyone because their personal expectations don’t quite match His. What He does do is continually reach out and pull people back to His expectations. He showed them, and shows us that their rock, their hope, their strength can only be found in sticking to God’s expectations.

Our expectations versus God’s reality:

Peter expected to walk on water – and he did while he focused on God’s expectation that he could. Peter began to drown when he focused on his expectations about being in water. Jesus reaches out a hand to pull him back to God’s expectation and the confidence found in faith. This is faith in God’s expectation of us.

What did we expect today? The lesson of expectation is present in our lives this very moment. Just look at our parish picnic. What did we expect? A sunny day? Playing games in the bright sunshine and warmth? Perhaps a swim or a walk in the park’s rose garden? What did we get? A cloudy, rainy day. Have our expectations soured?

The question we need to ask, regardless of what confronts us, or how our personal expectations never quite meet reality, is what is God expecting. What is God expecting today?

God expects that whether cloud or sun, rain or shine, we live as His people; we come together in fellowship and joy and we support each other. As we stand together, with smiles on our faces brought about by our togetherness founded in our Christian faith, God expects one more thing — that we show how our meeting His expectations brings true happiness.

As we wake each day, let’s take a moment to ask this essential question: Are my expectations aligned with God’s expectations. Will I hear God in a whisper, will I walk on water, will I show myself as living in accord with God’s expectation. That is what we are to do. God trusts us to live out His expectations. He constantly reaches out to assure us so that we will live in accord and trust that His expectations for us will be fulfilled. Amen.

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