She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.

When you are a child, some of these adult words can be very confusing.

I recall asking my mother, on more than one occasion, what the difference was between the Ascension and Assumption.

Being ever patient with me she would explain that to ascend, one must do so of one’s own will and power. To be assumed means to be taken up, not of your own power, but by the will and power of another.

Jesus, being God, ascended.

Mary, being human, was assumed.

When you are an adult, some of these adult words can be very confusing.

So what is this solemnity of the Dormition slash Assumption?

Simply put, we celebrate the day on which Mary, the Mother of Jesus, fell asleep. She died. That is her Dormition. She was mourned by the Apostles and was laid in a tomb.

Concurrently, we celebrate that day when the Apostles found the tomb empty. That, as was revealed to them, was her Assumption.

Words are confusing, especially in theological context. What is said, or left unsaid, especially in regard to the life of Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles, is repeatedly interpreted, added to, misconstrued, and misunderstood.

The Holy Church makes it easy for us common folk.

Jesus, by His coming to us as man in the Incarnation, remained fully God, and became fully human – one with humanity in all its travails, except sin. Jesus, the God-man chose Mary as His mother.

The angel Gabriel asked, and Mary said yes. She recognized that God:

—…has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.—

In Jesus’ coming, in His suffering, death, resurrection, and Ascension, God

…has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

In the presence of His followers Jesus ascended into heaven. As St. Paul reminds us:

Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

St. Paul also provides us with perspective:

For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father

The Church helps us non-theologians to understand Mary’s proper role and place.

Brothers and sisters,

It is so sad to see the manner in which Mary’s beauty and witness has been corrupted. She has become many things to many people, all because, improperly understood, and with some things left unsaid, people make her into anything but who she is.

We have the Mary of visionaries. We picture the Father, Son, and Spirit sitting in a boardroom discussing the sins of humanity. Jesus pipes up, ‘Father, it is terrible down there, it is time to crush them.’ The Spirit is waiting with the heavenly host, ready to bring about a cataclysmic end. The Father intervenes —“ ‘Let’s send Mary to some children in Fatima, Lourdes, Medjugorje, or Knock. She’ll set ’em straight.’ Of course these folks miss the message of Jesus —“ clearly taught by the Church. If we cannot grasp Jesus’ simple message, no vision or secret message will scare us into grasping that message. Visions of the heavenly host, poised for war, make no difference. We can only make a difference by doing as Jesus asks of us.

We have the Mary of the perfect birth. Some believe that Jesus was transported out of Mary’s womb in a painless, blood and mess free manner, gently placed in the manger. These folks miss the fact that Jesus was like us in all things but sin. How exactly is He like us if His birth is so unlike ours? We get squeamish thinking of Mary, in a stable, giving birth, and the reality of that process. Not easy for a young woman and her husband – all alone. We would prefer clean – and not quite human. If it is not quite human we have an excuse for not living up to Jesus’ expectation of us.

We have Assumption purists who believe that Mary was pulled up into heaven without experiencing human death. This is not taught by any Church, but is left unsaid by some. In being left unsaid, well, people fill in the blanks. In this scenario Mary trumps Jesus —“ who suffered and died. Again, an excuse. This is so far beyond me I couldn’t possibly live the kind of witness Mary lived.

We have Mary worshipers. Mary becomes the female Christ, the co-mediatrix of grace and salvation. These poor folks treat Mary like a vending machine. Pray to Mary, she’ll get you what you need.

In this Solemnity we recall Mary’s humanity:

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

We recall her yes to God’s will. We recall her death. And, we recall the miracle of her Assumption.

Today we recall Mary’s humanity. Mary, fully and completely human in every way said yes to God. Because of this, Mary’s place within the Church is set. Because this lowly human being had the capacity to live for God and in complete conformity to God’s will, we know that we can do so as well. She did it. We can do it was well – and there is no excuse not to.

Mary is the first witness, the perfect servant, the beautiful mother. She is singularly honored by her Assumption into heaven, a foretaste of what we shall all experience —“ what she is, we can be.

During her earthly life she continually pointed to her Son and reminded His followers:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

Mary witnesses to us today. She once again proclaims of the powerful love and grace of God. Love and grace that touch every human life. Elizabeth saw this clearly.

—Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.—

Yes, Mary, Blessed are you amongst women —“ for your firm believing and for your yes.

Mary, pray for us that we might have faith like yours, a voice to say yes, and the will to live in complete conformity to God’s will. Help us to understand and help us to do whatever He tells us.

Amen.

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.

The a-ha moment, when the light comes on and we have a sudden understanding of something we’ve struggled with.

Our first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, recounts the benefits derived from being faithful. This was faith as perceived by the old Israel —“ salvation for faithful Israel and destruction for their faithless enemies.

This is an ancient faith, and a simple faith. We have faith, those without faith are destroyed, all is good.

The psalmist seems very confident in this promise when he sings:

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, recounts Israel’s history, but in light of the faith necessary to grasp the Gospel.

Abraham was a stranger in a strange land. He lived in tents. He had no promise regarding the destruction of his enemies, only a promise that an old man and a sterile wife would have descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, the sands of the seashore.

The writer tells us:

…for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

Brothers and Sisters,

If Jesus were among us today in human form He would very well tell us to divest of our stocks and bonds, sell our houses, give the proceeds away, and focus on the only asset worth having —“ faith in God.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven

Jesus then talks about the servants who are prepared. Peter questions Him:

—Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?—

To which Jesus replies:

—Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward?—

The prudent servant is the servant who lives by faith, faith like Abraham had, in that trustworthy promise.

The key is, the Lord’s words are meant for everyone. Everyone is invited to partake, to be a prudent servant.

My friends,

We are all unsure of our eternal place. What will happen to me?

In our hearts we long for eternal life with God.

Consider the song —Knocking of Heaven’s Door.— Personally, I like the Polish translation of the song, because the words are particularly directed toward God. Here’s a rough translation:

I stand in the corner, near Your gates.
Please Lord, open them for me.

Let me in today, although I am far away.
I am waiting for your pity
I pound on your gates O Lord.
Do not let it be Your will that I stand outside.

We desire heaven —“ God’s love, a love that is all consuming, the complete love of the Father for His children. That love is a love that fills us so completely that no word could possibly describe it.

The desire for that eternal love lives in everyone’s heart.

It lives in the heart of the faithful, prepared servant;
The heart of the abusive servant;
The heart of the unprepared servant; and
In the heart of the servant who is ignorant of his Master’s will.

Jesus’ expectation is the same and His standard is the only one that counts. It is against His standard that all servants will be judged.

So, my friends, we have a choice.

We cannot claim ignorance of our Master’s will —“ that excuse won’t help us.

That leaves us with the choice of being abusive, unprepared, or prepared.

Brothers and sisters,

The desire for God’s love lives in our hearts.

If we acknowledge that desire, we will knock, He will open.

Be prepared by doing His will now and always.

…and what is His will:

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Simply, be prepared, put your faith in His promise, a trustworthy promise. Listen, and live the Gospel message. It is the gold standard against which each of our actions will be judged.

—O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.—

Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman brings lack of faith full circle.

In our first reading from Numbers, Israel responded to the Canaanites out of fear. The Israelites, with God marching with them, forgot the most important lesson of all —“ faith in God is paramount. Faith in God is stronger than any obstacle.

The Israelite scouts went into the land of Canaan, a people without faith in the true God, and came back afraid. They were not just afraid, but they encouraged fear in the people.

But the men who had gone up with [Caleb] said,
—We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us.—
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel
about the land they had scouted, saying,
—The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants.
And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants
we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.—

Those men certainly sinned against God, and lost trust in Him. Perhaps the sin they committed, their lack of trust, would have fallen on them alone. But no, they couldn’t leave it at that. Misery loves company.

So their sin spread:

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries,
and even in the night the people wailed.

Today, we would attribute the Israelites response to human weakness.

Human weakness and human self-confidence are both sinful. Consider Caleb’s statement:

Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said,
—We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so.—

Ahem, who can do so?

We can do it or we are afraid and can do nothing.

The psalmist got it right when he said:

They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.

The Canaanite woman stands in stark contract. She has no standing in Israel, a member of the race cast out by Israel, people still without faith in the true God.

Yet she persisted. Despite all the obstacles, bitterness, and suffering of her people, she persisted in faith —“ a faith that produced results beyond human understanding.

Brothers and sisters,

Today we commemorate the Fourteen Holy Helpers. These were people of faith. They were bishops, soldiers, abbots, virgins, and all but one were martyrs.

They had faith.

The people of Bavaria developed a strong devotion to these saints and their intercession. Their faith told them that by prayer, and by trusting in the Lord’s bountiful mercy, these saints’ intercession for the people’s needs would be heard.

[1] St. Christopher and [2] St. Giles against plague, [3] St. Denis, against headaches, [4] St. Blaise, against ills of the throat, [5] St. Elmo, patron of abdominal maladies [6] St. Barbara, against fever, [7] St. Vitus, against epilepsy, [8] St. Pantaleon, patron of physicians, [9] St. Cyriacus, recourse in time of temptations, especially at the hour of death; [10] St. Catherine for protection against a sudden, unprovided death; [11] St. Eustace, patron of all kinds of difficulties, especially family troubles. Sts. [12] George and [13] Erasmus, are invoked for the health and protection of animals. [14] St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron of safe childbirth.

The Church, through Her witness proclaims the power of faith.

The Church’s saints, by their example, witness to the power of faith lived.

The Church doesn’t just make its proclamation to the un-listening world, to the anonymous masses of people out there. She makes that proclamation to us.

Have faith, trust in God, God is stronger than human weakness, be like that Canaanite woman. When you cry out, like the Canaanite woman,

—Lord, help me.—

…trust that He will actually provide what you need.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.

Well that’s Jesus for you —“ all dazzling, all miraculous, and all powerful.

Consider all the displays of power exhibited by Jesus. He turned water into wine; healed; cursed a tree and it withered; and he raised people from the dead. Consider Jesus in the Jordan, with the Holy Spirit descending and the voice of the Father from heaven, much like at the Transfiguration, saying:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

If there were any doubt, surely it was dispelled with His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven.

We could spend a long time focusing on Jesus’ power —“ and people’s disbelief. We could ask how disbelief is possible. Consider Peter’s words:

We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Eyewitnesses —“ you cannot do much better than that. Will disbelief continue even when there are witnesses?

I have trouble believing, you have trouble believing, he, she, and they have trouble believing. Those folks out there don’t believe at all —“ they deny believability.

Brothers and sisters,

Jesus’ display of His glory was not only for the benefit of believing —“ so that we would believe more strongly —“ but more importantly it was His promise to us.

This miracle is not about those who question belief, nor is it about forcing belief.

Rather, in Jesus’ changing appearance we are to recognize a foreshadowing of the way, and manner, in which we will change. His transfiguration is a promise to us.

That Jesus, transfigured on the mountain side, is a revelation of what we will be one day. His conversation with Moses and Elijah will be our conversation with our forbearers, the prophets, and the saints.

The Father speaks to us and tells us:

—This is my chosen Son; listen to him.—

When we listen to Him we become more and more like Him.

By our baptism we began a journey toward becoming more and more like Jesus. At some point we were confirmed, completing our baptismal journey. After that, we made some kind of decision to show up here each Sunday.

We come here to pray, to be forgiven, to listen to God’s word, and to receive Jesus.

As with the transfiguration, our communion changes us. We become that holy bread —“ the Body of Christ. We are changed. Over and over, we are changed.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, today is about more than a miraculous event some 2,000 years ago. It is about the on-going change we are to experience. It is about the miracle we experience when we stand here, shoulder-to-shoulder, praying as one. It is about our journey out of here and into the world, carrying with us the gift that changes us inside and out.

Today is about the promise of transfiguration.

Recognize and appreciate the transfiguration as God’s gift for each of us.

St. Peter reiterates this very point:

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

That will be the day we stand shoulder-to-shoulder before the throne of God. We will stand before God in garments of dazzling white, serving Him in union with the entire communion of saints. It will be the day Daniel prophesied:

His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

Be changed! Stay on the path to your transfiguration , and attend to the Most High and the Lamb.

Amen.

What if there are at least ten there?—
He replied, —For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.—

The world is ending, the world is ending!!!

We all picture the slightly off kilter person walking the streets of a large city. He cries out, the world is ending.

While much in today’s readings and gospel is focused on petitioning the Lord, there is an eschatological undercurrent.

Brothers and sisters,

Ponder Jesus statement in Mark 13:32-33,

“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.—

Now I have no particular insight or clue, but what I would like us to focus on is God’s great graciousness.

Have you ever pondered God’s love, His gift of grace? Have you ever contemplated the way He enters our lives?

Abraham didn’t have to wonder. He knew that God was coming to look at Sodom and to bring judgment, terrible retribution for their sin. He knew that the end was near. Yet, he did a remarkable thing. He appealed to God’s grace. He appealed to God face-to-face.

What if there are fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, or even ten left? Would You still destroy them? Abraham asks.

God says, I will relent, even for ten.

Friends,

Think of God, on His throne of glory saying:

—their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.—

In simpler terms, ‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing; I have to go check it out.’ Can you imagine God saying that now?

The cry against the world is so great I can see God doing that right now, shaking His head, needing to see it to believe it.

We have created war, poverty, disease, coldness toward our fellow man, a twisting of values to suit our likes and dislikes, our pride and our prejudice. We have a complete disregard for God’s call, for God’s way. We have a world of Sodom’s and Gomorrah’s.

Yet, God spares us His wrath. God holds back His anger. God does not send destruction, rather, He sent His Son, and He sends Him over and over again upon this altar.

Brothers and sisters,

When will God pull the switch?

In the Our Father we beg for it: —Thy kingdom come.—

I asked if you have ever pondered God’s love, His gift of grace; if you have ever contemplated the way He enters our lives?

God enters our lives in exactly this way —“ in love. He loves us so much that the end isn’t neigh — that the end will wait for us to actually perceive His love.

God waits, and in His gift of grace, received in so many ways, and most particularly through the Holy Sacraments, He call us to change our lives; to fall in love with Him completely.

When you love someone, you love them completely. You would sacrifice anything for them. Love is not an exercise in compromises, as pop psychologists and marriage counselors would have us believe. Rather, love is that complete and total self sacrifice, the immolation of self, to cast light and warmth on the other.

God gives us this kind of unconditional love. What He seeks is that we do the same for Him.

The end will come when our love and desire for Him is so great, neither heaven nor earth will stand in our way.

St. Paul tells us:

Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him

Baptism ties us to our beloved Lord. It makes us members of His body. It is our marriage vow to our one and only, our love. We die in Him, we are raised yet again in Him, and we live in Him.

When we pray, we must not rely on words alone. We are to talk to our love. We are to ask for our daily share of His life, the daily bread that brings eternal life. We are to ask that we not be subjected to the final test, confident that our Lord grants the time and grace needed so that we will conform ourselves to Him.

Jesus, who is one with the Father, knew us. He knows us. He knows we are wicked. Yet He says:

“If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?—

How much more will God send down His grace, drawing us ever closer, asking for our love in return?

He does so every day. Each day we receive a measure of His grace. Each moment, but especially when we are tempted or weak, His love is there, prodding us to life in Him.

These readings and Gospel certainly tie it together. God is gracious to us, we need only to call upon Him. He will relent, we need only respond.

The world is certainly ending and we have an invitation to make it joyous. Even if there were only ten of us left, we have an invitation and the power of prayer. We are invited to love God, to lay our heads on His shoulder and to whisper to Him, I love you.

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.

Brothers and sisters,

That is the dichotomy of Church. That is the range of gifts we are given.

I think that we could walk into just about any parish, whether it be a PNCC parish, a Roman parish, an Orthodox parish, or a Protestant parish, and find the same thing going on.

There will be those who are constantly in the church, sitting, praying, and listening to God’s word. They revel in closeness to the Lord, a closeness they find first and foremost in the Lord’s presence.

There will be others. They will wander in and out of the church. They will adjust the heat, shovel the walk, and mow the grass. They will be in the kitchen cooking up a brunch or making sure that coffee is ready for coffee hour. They revel in service to the Lord, in being busy about the Lord’s work.

If we look at today’s Gospel and compare it to the first reading, we would think that Martha was in the right. Like Sarah, she busied herself in serving the Lord’s needs.

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
—Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls.—

Sarah didn’t argue or complain. She served those three men. Those three men represented something very special —“ more than what they appeared to be. They represented the Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Sarah served without complaint. Yet Martha complained.

Was she right to complain?

I’m guessing that you are thinking that Martha was in error when she complained. We would base that reaction on the Lord’s response. He told Martha that Mary had chosen the better, and would not be deprived of it.

Was the Lord upset with Martha for serving?

I’m guessing that we all think so.

My friends,

We have to judge all this in light of the core issue. Look at our experience and hold that up before the testimony of the Gospel.

How many of us sit at the Lord’s feet and listen. How many of us busy ourselves with the work of the Church? Of those on both sides, how many are upset with their fellow parishioners who are on the other side?

It’s interesting to contemplate the Gospel story of Martha and Mary. Let’s turn it around just a little.

Martha is busy working in the kitchen. She is making a meal of fish and rolls for the Lord. She has brought Him water to wash His feet. She’s busy setting everything in place. Mary is sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening intently. She looks up and says: Lord, tell my sister Martha to knock it off. She’s always so busy —“ and she misses the point completely. She doesn’t adore You as she should!

The Lord set Martha straight, not because she was busy serving, but because she was busy holding a grudge and complaining about her sister. The tables could have been turned just as well, if Mary had complained about Martha’s busyness.

We often miss the point. Not because we are lacking in gifts or talents. Not because we do not adore as we should. We miss the point because we judge what the person next to us is doing. We judge their motivations.

St. Paul puts a fine point on this:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his body, which is the church

In what we do, each in our own way, and most particularly in what we suffer for the Church, we build up the Church.

Those who serve, who bear the battle scars of cooking, cleaning, and outdoor work, bear those scars out of love for Christ and His body —“ the Church.

Those who have arthritic knees, who pray fervently and faithfully on those knees, setting aside so many other things, bear their scars out of love for Christ and His body —“ the Church.

Bear in mind the Lord’s words:

…you are anxious and worried about many things.

And we are. What we must do is set our anxious worries aside. In addition, we must set our expectations aside. Whether serving or praying, the Lord tells us:

There is need of only one thing.

That one thing is to listen to the Lord’s instruction. To listen and not busy ourselves with resentment toward our brothers and sisters for the part they have chosen.

The part we have all chosen is in the service of Jesus Christ and His body, the Church. In the end, that faithfulness in service, whether it be primarily in work or prayer, will be rewarded by the Lord Himself.

As long, as long as we are faithful. Amen.

—For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.—

Do you think that God is mysterious? Do you believe that He is far off?

I imagine that in the midst of our busy schedules we don’t find a lot of time to sit quietly and ponder the mysteries of God. After all, we have to shop, work, drive, mow, clean, call bingo, serve on committees, visit friends, care for children, consider our illnesses, or ponder death.

This quote from scripture is taken from Moses’ final words to Israel, right before he anointed Joshua and turned his authority over to him. Moses would not cross into the Promised Land.

Israel had spent forty tough years in the desert. It wasn’t about to get any easier, they had to fight their way into the land, through Jericho first.

So Moses recounts the entire law of the Lord; the blessings that will come from keeping the law and the curses that will come from disobeying it.

In closing Moses says in effect, ‘It’s easy folks.’

Following God and finding God is easy.

In the first stanza from today’s psalm we hear David crying out to the Lord:

I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness:
in your great mercy turn toward me.

The psalm may very well have been David’s cry in his time of persecution, the period in which he was driven out of Jerusalem by his son Absalom. David was exhausted, alienated from family and community, and falsely accused.

Consider David’s thoughts as he fled Jerusalem and as he encountered Shimei:

When King David came to Bahu’rim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shim’e-i, the son of Gera; and as he came he cursed continually.
And he threw stones at David, and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
And Shim’e-i said as he cursed, “Begone, begone, you man of blood, you worthless fellow!

In times of trouble we cry out to the Lord. We seek His assistance, His miracles, His healing.

Do you think that He does not answer?

Brothers and sisters,

He answers! He sends what we need, often much more than we need. For His love is abundant.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is like that.

The faithful Israelite traveled between Jerusalem and Jericho and tragedy befell him.

Do you think he prayed while laying along the side of the road? Did he call out to God as people passed him by? Did he implore the Lord for help? How did God help?

God sent a Samaritan. The Israelite didn’t see God helping, he saw a Samaritan.

St. Paul tells us:

For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible

God created everything and God uses His creation to help us in our every need, for St. Paul goes on to say:

He is the head of the body, the church.

If He is the head of His body, and we are all mystically bound to, and members of His body, we can be sure that God uses His body to carry out His work, His assistance, His healing, and His friendship. We can be sure that each person we relate to bears the image of Jesus Christ to us.

When we shop, our fellow shoppers and the checkout attendant are Christ. When we work, our co-workers and customers are Christ. When we drive, others on and along the road are Christ. When we mow, the neighbor we waive to is Christ. When we clean, our family is Christ. When we call bingo, the players are Christ. When we serve on committees, our fellow committee members, and those we serve are Christ. When we visit friends or care for children, they are Christ. When we consider our illnesses or ponder our deaths, Christ is with us, because He and His body are present to us.

Moses said, ‘It is easy folks,’ and it is. We see and we find Christ in every person we meet. Whatever our opinion of them, from the store clerk to our spouse, Christ is in them, making Himself real and present to us.

Ponder the words of Jesus:

Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?—

The lawyer answered:

—The one who treated him with mercy.—

And Jesus said

—Go and do likewise.—

God is not mysterious, nor is He far off. We see Him every day.

From this moment onward, go and do likewise. See God in every person you encounter. Treat each person with the consideration and love you reserve for God, because He is right in front of your eyes.

Say to them,
‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’

Many will provide homilies on the topic of peace today.

It is very fitting to speak of peace today, based on the Gospel and the readings. The theme of peace runs throughout. There are also those who will speak on our calling, the call to proclaim the kingdom of God, our being sent like the seventy-two.

I would like to concentrate on things.

Do you have stuff? I have stuff. What is the value of all the things we own? How much more will we acquire in our lifetimes?

Our first reading speaks of Israel’s return to Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that laid in ruins, a veritable wasteland during Isaiah’s time.

Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
that you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.

The Israelites saw the prosperity of Jerusalem as the symbol of God’s abiding presence. If Jerusalem dwelt securely, God was with them.

Because of their concentration on stuff, they often lost sight of the true covenant, the one that was to be written in their hearts. They missed the point. That’s why the old Israel missed the Messiah.

Unfortunately there are Christians who will proclaim, in this day and age, that the physical Jerusalem is somehow vitally important, that somehow and in some way, God needs the city of Jerusalem.

We all know that the city of Jerusalem is just a place, a historical place to be sure, but still, just a place. It has become, in a very unfortunate way, the occasion of sin for many, because of a concentration on things, the symbol without the Spirit.

St. Paul rightly pointed out, these physical things are of little account.

For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.

Only the new creation in Christ Jesus matters. Only the Israel of God matters.

Brothers and sisters,

We are the Israel of God. The new creation is in us. We are the Israel where neither Jew nor Greek matters. The Israel where neither man nor woman, slave or free is of import. The Israel where faith in Jesus Christ, and the proclamation of God’s kingdom, is all that matters.

By our faithful membership in Christ’s body, the Church, we are participants and partakers in the kingdom of God. We are invited to work and to stand ready, with all the faithful, when the new and eternal Jerusalem descends from the heavens.

That Jerusalem is not a thing, it is eternity, with Jesus, in heaven.

If we are waiting for things, for more stuff, for the outward, we are missing the point.

The Lord God tells us through the prophet Ezekiel:

And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

We have work set before us. Our work is not defined by stuff, by things, or by cities. Our work means that we must change ourselves from the inside out. Our hearts must be alive in faith. Our work is to seek our nourishment from the abundant font of faith in Christ Jesus.

With that faith we hear the words of Jesus. The words He speaks to us:

Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
—Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.—
Elijah answered, —Go back!
Have I done anything to you?—

In light of Jesus’ testimony to those he met on the road to Jerusalem it would appear that Elijah was quite angry at Elisha’s request.

Recall:

And another said, —I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.—
To him Jesus said, —No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.—

I would argue that neither Jesus nor Elijah were angry. Perhaps incredulous, but neither was denying one’s responsibilities. In fact they were confirming and blessing them.

Let’s examine this passage from Kings.

Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
—Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.—

We have to understand responsibilities as they were understood by Elisha.

Israel had fallen away from the Lord. Elijah was appointed as prophet in testimony against Israel. Israel had thrown off God and was worshiping Baal, a god of stone, what the Second Book of Kings would call Ba’al-ze’bub.

Familiar name?

There were few left in Israel who honored the covenant, much less their responsibilities. Elisha, son of Saphat was one of those few. Saphat’s house was a faithful house.

Elijah knew that. Elijah knew that Elisha came from a faithful house, and was a faithful son.

When Elisha asked to go back and kiss his family goodbye Elijah was taken aback. To paraphrase, Elijah said: Of course you should go back and honor your father and mother. You are supposed to be a man of faith. What have I done to you that you would think that you shouldn’t do your duty?

Elijah expected Elisha to be faithful. Jesus asks the same.

Remember that Jesus came to paint God in a very different way. God was not far off, to be feared and sacrificed to. God was nearby. God is among us. God is our Father. We are to hold a right relationship to Him, as His sons and daughters.

Brothers and sisters,

Each of these passages is about expectations and right relationships.

Elijah expected Elisha to honor his relationship with his parents, and Jesus expects us to honor our relationship with God.

Elisha was called, but that was not an excuse for throwing off his home and parents. His home and parents were not an excuse for throwing off his call.

Many were called by Jesus, but came up with excuses so they could skip out on their commitments. They wanted the glory of God without honoring their duty toward Him. They were committed, not to their parents or the bodies of the dead, but to excuses.

In this day and age we find so many excuses. I am tired, the boss is demanding, my children are disruptive, my wife is cold, I’m so angry and frustrated. I don’t have time for responsibilities and formalities. Leave me alone; let me get on with my life.

Our excuses have been our undoing. Our excuses have weakened and destroyed families, communities, and our larger society. Many have turned to gods and spirits that always seem to give the answer they desire. When they call upon those spirits they hear the answer they expect, the self-serving excuse for doing as they please.

Look at this through the lens of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.
But do not use this freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh;
rather, serve one another through love.

Excuses are a misuse of our freedom.

Responsibilities, in love, toward God and our brothers and sisters are gifts that come from our freedom. The gifts we receive as a result of our right use of freedom may not always be so appealing, but they are beautiful.

On the other hand, our excuses give opportunity to our weaker selves, the part of us that desires to do as we will. Those excuses are destroying our better selves.

—No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.—

Set your hand to the plow in deciding for Jesus Christ. Leave your former life, your former excuses behind. You are made new in Christ Jesus.

Look forward to a life of commitment, commitment strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, commitment that builds up the Kingdom of God in your heart, home, family, community, and in the world.