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Reflection for the 18th Ordinary Sunday 2025

Christian Witness

Reflection for the 18th Ordinary Sunday 2025

Christian Witness

Reflection for the 18th Ordinary Sunday 2025

Homilies, PNCC,

Requiem on the Anniversary of the Death of Ś+P Bishop Franciszek Hodur

First reading: Wisdom 3:1-9
Psalm: Ps. 23
Epistle: 2 Timothy 1:6-11
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

You are the light of the world.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.

Gather:

Today we gather, on this anniversary of the calling to heaven of our organizer, our spiritual mentor and father, Bishop Franciszek Hodur. Today we gather to remember and recall his work, but not only. Today we gather to refocus and recommit ourselves to the path he laid before us, a sure path that shows our Christian light and faith to all, and which leads all to heaven.

The great piece of art on the ceiling of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Cathedral shows exactly that. Bishop Hodur is following Christ, our light. In turn the people and clergy follow behind him, as he reflects Christ’s light. Off in the distance, more and more people continue to follow Christ’s light as it is reflected by each person who follows Christ.

We are debates:

As is so often the case in any endeavor, we attempt to label our actions. We attempt to define ourselves in words. For those who do not know us, we use analogy and metaphor.

As the people of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church, we do the same. We walk through the litanies of who and what we are, and sometimes engage in extensive debates. Everyone has a favorite analogy or metaphor. It is natural, because those coming through our doors want a touch point. They want some basic understanding. You know the questions and the answers:

  • Do I have to be Polish to join? No.
  • You’re Catholic, right? Yes, but not the kind you’re thinking of.
  • Democratic Church? What does that mean? It would take too long to answer in one homily…

No one wants to come to church, especially for a first visit, and be inundated with long technical answers or even the quite inappropriate and untrue: We are just like the Roman Catholic Church, except…

Who we are:

Bishop Hodur would have none of that. As I noted in the bulletin, Bishop Hodur referred to the numerical growth of the church and noted that an increase in numbers was not enough. What is necessary is spiritual commitment. Growing the Church is not only about numbers. It is something more profound. It is our personal commitment to the spirit and faith of our Church. It is also an invitation to others to join in our Church through the power of our ideas.

Who we are is the light of the world. We are a community of believers, in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic faith, that reflects Christ’s light and leads all to heaven. We are people who are committed to the spirit and faith of our Holy Church, because that spirit and faith best lead to heaven. We are a Church whose hands and arms are open to all because we invite all to join. Our invitation is the way we reflect Christ’s light and the sheer power of our ideas.

Dignity:

Looking at the work of our great organizer, we can reflect on the accomplishments achieved by the community of faith he built.

The first accomplishment is dignity. Bishop Hodur led an immigrant people, largely disenfranchised, used as fodder in mines and factories, underpaid, and seen as the dirty underclass of society, to dignity. He built up the people’s spirit; he called on them to exercise their patriotic duties, to become involved, and to grow — as a result of their faith — into physical and intellectual strength as solid citizens, business people, and community.

The people he led were the descendants and heirs to a strong and proud land, with a rich history of physical, political, intellectual, and democratic endeavors. Most importantly, as human beings, they needed to see the inherent dignity bestowed on them by God. Bishop Hodur saw all people as God’s children. He saw every nation as endowed with particular gifts by God. No one was without dignity. No one was to be treated as less than human or as mere capital for use by others.

We are all endowed with human dignity by God and that is the starting point for reflecting the light of Christ. No one is too small or insignificant to be the words, actions, and light of Jesus in the world.

Equality:

Another accomplishment is Bishop Hodur’s support for equality. He fully supported, encouraged, and stood in the midst of the Labor Movement. He rallied for equality in the workplace, and in the ownership of property. He saw a great wrong in those who amassed great fortunes and who horded wealth, building self-serving empires on the backs of their workers. Bishop Hodur rallied too against churches that saw their people as donation machines, who aggrandized their clergy, bishops, and popes while letting those they considered subjects suffer want and subjugation.

We are equal children of God. Within our Church no one ranks first, no one last. Our great democratic principles make all equal owners in the responsibility — not just for governing and managing — but for being Christ’s light to the world.

Education:

A third accomplishment is Bishop Hodur’s focus on education. Look at our Church and its organizations. You cannot trip over an organization or event without finding some sort of scholarship or college stipend associated with it. Bishop Hodur built poetry societies, a large publishing house, and literary societies. He coupled intellectual education with physical education, taking a holistic approach to learning. He saw reading and all education as the keys to success — both in society and in our key mission of spreading Christ’s word and light, being light to the world and teaching the gospel.

Light:

God’s light does not exist in a vacuum. Spreading God’s word and reflecting Christ’s light, is dependent on people. Our organizer, Bishop Hodur, knew that. Being the light of the world is not a definition, metaphor, analogy, or description. It is not a comparison, or a job for the clergy caste. It is the job of the Church. The Church is all who take up its spirit and faith, who invite others to join by the way they reflect Christ’s light and by the sheer power of ideas.

Let us once again take up the spirit and faith of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church by the way we acknowledge the dignity of every person, the way we practice equality in our democratic model of Church, by educating to teach the gospel, and most importantly by being Christ’s light to the world — the same light Bishop Hodur reflected and continues to reflect. Amen.

Christian Witness, , , , ,

Church is for lovers

His banner over me is love. – Song of Songs 2:4

May our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, bless your marriages and relationships. May He be the source and example of love and fidelity in your lives. May He grant you the gifts of love that are patience, kindness, selflessness, forgiveness, truthfulness, trust, and perseverance. May He be the center of your love, for He is love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Homilies

Sexagesima Sunday

First reading: 1 Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46
Psalm: Ps 32:1-2,5,11
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

He remained outside in deserted places

Denise:

Denise was a student in Victoria, Brazil, and doing private piano teaching in her spare time, when her relationship with her boyfriend of three years came to an end. She felt like her hopes, dreams, and her future had come to an end. She felt devastated and alone. She felt like she had no one to share her life! She felt so lonely! Nothing could fill her emptiness.

Denise began to think that maybe God could help. Then someone who knew her situation invited her to a church, and this person assured her that she would be better after going there.

The speaker at the church meeting was talking about Jesus, how He would like to take her hand, and lead her all the way ahead. The speaker said that Jesus is alive, and that He would like to live with her and help her to overcome all difficulties, especially her loneliness.

Denise cried and prayed, “Jesus, I want you in my life. I know you died to give me life. Take all my sad and bad feelings, take away my loneliness and give me purpose for my life. Give me all you have. Guide me until the end. I give my life to you.”

Denise realized Jesus was with her, as if at the table having a meal, or walking on the street, or in her room. She was not alone. She could talk to this special and perfect friend! And she had new friends who were Christians, who helped her, and invited her into their community and their community’s work.

Types of loneliness:

There are two types of loneliness, emotional and physical.

Emotional loneliness occurs when we feel separated from others we are attached to. Examples of this are when little children are separated from their parents and begin to cry and act out. This happens in adults too, when we feel separated from the person we love the most. One of the biggest days for feeling that separation lies ahead, Valentine’s Day, especially if the one we love is far off, disconnected from us, or has died.

Physical loneliness is the bodily separation from another person, place or an event. This is the loneliness we experience when we lack a wider social network, when we feel apart from our community, or if we do not have friends or allies that we can rely on, especially in times of distress.

We are getting lonelier:

We are getting lonelier. About 60 million Americans see themselves as being lonely, that is 20% of the total population who feel lonely.

Another study found that 12% of Americans have no one with whom to spend free time or to discuss important matters, and research suggests that the rate of loneliness has been increasing over time. The General Social Survey found that between 1985 and 2004, the number of people the average American discusses important matters with decreased from three to two. Additionally, the rate of Americans with no one to discuss important matters with tripled.

At the beginning of the 20th century families helped to alleviate the sense of loneliness. Families were typically larger and more stable, divorce was rarer, and relatively few people lived alone. In 1900 only 5% of households were single-person households; by 1995, 24 million Americans lived alone, and by 2010, it is estimated that that number has increased to around 31 million.

Loneliness as a symptom:

Loneliness is a symptom. The greatest challenge in human life is not some extraordinary scientific discovery, or some great feat of daring. Rather, it is the challenge of avoiding sinfulness. Loneliness is the worst of the symptoms that result from the sickness of sin. We tend to separate ourselves from those we love, from our social network, friends, and allies as a result of sin.

In Denise’s story, we see loneliness resulting from the sin of despair and hopelessness, and from an act of abandonment by the person she loved.

Sometimes it might be the smallest of sins, that time we neglected to pick up the phone, or visit that friend because we were feeling lazy. At other times it might be that big sin, the time we yelled at the person we love, used harsh words, told someone to get out. It is also the sin of not committing enough time to our spouses and our families.

Jesus and loneliness:

Jesus had just healed the leper who had begged Him for mercy. Jesus instructed the former leper to go show himself to the temple priests and to make the called for sacrifice. But now Jesus was in trouble.

According to Mosaic Law, Jesus could not go near anyone. He had touched a leper, and in the process had made Himself ritually unclean. According to the law, He had to stay away from people, had to be isolated, so that He would not contaminate anyone else. Of course, Jesus was completely pure and clean, but He abided by the strictures of Mosaic Law.

Jesus came to us, not to be separated from humanity, but to be part of humanity. That meant He was subject to the same feelings, the same temptations, the very same things we face. So today, we learn about Jesus’ experience of isolation and loneliness.

Jesus knew loneliness well, and the greatest moment of loneliness was as He felt totally abandoned, hanging on the cross.

The cure:

The whole point of Jesus’ isolation was not just to show that He is like us in every way but sin, but to let us know that He is here, to this day, as the remedy and cure for our isolation and loneliness.

That cure takes two forms. The first, and something to be especially cognizant of as we prepare to enter Lent, is that Jesus heals our sinfulness. In Him we find the cure for the sickness of sin and the roadmap we can follow to avoid sin. More so, Jesus gives us the grace we need to set aside sin and to live the life God asks us to live.

The second part of the cure is the very same one Denise found. She let Jesus into her life. She accepted Jesus and His grace. She offered her life to Jesus and in doing so entered the community of faith.

So many people have found that finding and accepting God was to lose loneliness. In doing so they found forgiveness. They found real purpose in receiving love from Jesus, and in giving it to other people in this unhappy world.

Never lonely again:

Jesus calls us to repent of sin and follow the Gospel, to fix relationships that are damaged and spoilt because of our own wrong actions and selfish behavior. He also wants us to know that the Father – the maker of the whole world – is a loving person, who desperately wants a relationship with us! It may be unbelievable, but it is true. God is not a power, a force, a feeling, or a distant angry ruler – He is a person, who wants to be a ‘friend who stays closer than a brother’. He is the ultimate Family, the real Lover, and the special Friend. What is more, He gives us a new power inside, to handle life, relationships and problems. He came to heal isolation, to end loneliness, and to be with us, even when we think we are so alone.

As difficult days lie ahead for this parish, as community appears to be breaking down, let us take comfort in knowing that if we follow the gospel, if we trust in Jesus, if we set aside despair, and rely on God’s grace, like Denise did, we will remain joined. Let us be assured that God remains with us, ever close to us.

God created us, each of us, to be social, to live in community, to be a real part of each others lives. We need people because God designed us that way. Recall what God says in Genesis: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Then let us resolve to remain in each others lives, in each others hearts, in each others prayers. We are first and foremost members of Jesus’ community and nothing can make us lonely or separate us from Him or each other. Amen.

Homilies,

Reflection for Sexagesima Sunday

Just say away!
Please don’t abandon me!

He remained outside in deserted places.

Jesus had just healed the leper who had begged Him for mercy. Jesus instructed the former leper to go show himself to the temple priests and to make the called for sacrifice. But now Jesus was in trouble.

According to Mosaic Law, Jesus could not go near anyone. He had touched a leper, and in the process had made Himself ritually unclean. According to the law, He had to stay away from people, had to be isolated, so that He would not contaminate anyone else.

Of course, Jesus was completely pure and clean, but He abided by the strictures of Mosaic Law.

Jesus came to us, not to be separated from humanity, but to be part of humanity. That meant He was subject to the same feelings, the same temptations, the very same things we face. So today, we learn about Jesus’ experience of isolation.

The whole point of Jesus’ isolation was not to show that He is like us in every way but sin, but to let us know that He is here, to this day, as the remedy and cure for our isolation.

God created us, each of us, to be social, to live in community, to be a real part of each other’s lives. We need people because God designed us that way. Recall what God says in Genesis: “It is not good for man to be alone.”

Jesus calls us to repent and follow the Gospel, to fix relationships that are damaged and spoilt because of our own wrong actions and selfish behavior. He also wants us to know that the Father – the maker of the whole world – is a loving person, who desperately wants a relationship with us! It may be unbelievable, but it is true. God is not a power, a force, a feeling, or a distant angry ruler – He is a person, who wants to be a ‘friend who stays closer than a brother’. He is the ultimate Family, the real Lover, and the special Friend. What is more, He can give us a new power inside, to handle life, relationships and problems. He came to heal isolation, to end loneliness, and to be with us, even when we think we are so alone.

Homilies,

Septuagesima Sunday 2012

First reading: Job 7:1-4,6-7
Psalm: Ps 147:1-6
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Busy:

Jesus was hard at work. He fasted in the dessert for 40 days, underwent temptation, walked along the Sea of Galilee gathering His disciples, went to Caper’na-um where He preached and healed, went directly to Peter’s home where He cured Peter’s mother-in-law, then took care of the crowds that came. Scripture tells us that: the whole city was gathered together about the door.

It would make sense for Jesus to want to sleep in a little, to seek some respite and refreshment. Instead, Jesus got up before sunrise and went off to pray. In prayer He found rest and healing.

Mutual:

Jesus’ prayers weren’t casual. He engaged in prayer in the same way He engaged people while preaching the Gospel, with intensity. In His prayer Jesus sought out the Father’s will. He listened for direction and entered an active dialog with His Father. In turn the Father heard Him and set His plan in motion. In doing so, He gave His son the rest, healing, and strength necessary to succeed.

Not one sided:

Relationships with God are not one sided affairs. Jesus gives us example when He asks, listens, and responds. He tells us that the Father listens and gives what is needed. Prayer is a mutual process, a two way exchange, because God truly hears and responds to His children. As the Father heard and responded to His son, so He hears and responds to us with gifts of rest, healing, strength, and resolve.

Understanding/Solution:

The underlying message of today’s Gospel is that healing and rest are not just at the surface, and not something that lasts for only a time. Jesus healing and His rest are everlasting. We get to His healing and rest through the relationship of prayer. When we hear the gospel message Jesus preached, and respond to it, God mutually responds to us. As we enter this pre-Lenten season, hearing that message key to our starting out right.

Doing:

These are the weeks we are to work toward intensifying our prayer. These are the weeks in which we are to focus on the areas of our lives that need reform and repentance. This is the time to sit down with God and engage in that mutual exchange. He is already listening, always has been. He is holding out those gifts of healing and rest, strength and resolve that we each need in different measure.

Recompense:

We think, I don’t have time. This is too much. Paul might have felt the same thing on the way to Damascus, planning and scheduling his ‘persecute the Christians time.’ Suddenly he met Jesus. Today, Paul reminds us that he received a commission that day – to preach the Gospel. Paul saw this as not just a commission, an obligation, but as a duty and a reward in and of itself. Paul chose not to take the things he was entitled to, including rest and recompense. Paul set those aside to become a slave to all so that God’s work would be accomplished. Paul knew that those who accepted God’s word would be saved, and for this he set aside all he was due, even a moment of rest, so that he could pray and spread the Gospel of Jesus. In doing that he found true rest and peace.

Healing:

In choosing to enter a life with God, in preparing for our Lenten journey, we must make the mutuality of prayer a key component. In that mutual exchange we will find our God who is listening, and His response which will be the reward of healing, peace, strength, resolve, and the glory of a life lived in joy as we take up the commission to share the Gospel.

Our first step will be never be a holy hour, or perhaps not even five minutes. But, we must make a start. We must resolve to follow Jesus’ example, by starting our day in prayer, by saying yes to our God who listens so that God’s healing and peace will remain with us for the challenges ahead. Amen.

Homilies, ,

Reflection for Septuagesima Sunday

Couldn’t I just sleep in a little?
Nope! Let’s get up and go.

“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed.”

Jesus was hard at work. He fasted in the dessert for 40 days, underwent temptation, walked along the Sea of Galilee gathering His disciples, went to Caper’na-um where He preached and healed, went directly to Peter’s home where He cured Peter’s mother-in-law, took care of the crowds that came. Scripture tells us that: the whole city was gathered together about the door.

It would make sense for Jesus to want to sleep in a little, to seek some respite and refreshment.

Instead, Jesus got up before sunrise and went off to pray. This wasn’t casual prayer either, ‘Hi Father, how are You?’ This was intense prayer in which Jesus sought out the Father’s will. In that time of prayer He listened for direction and engaged in an active dialog with His Father.

None of this is to say that Jesus wasn’t weary. Of course He was. His humanity was screaming at Him, rest, rest, rest.

What did Jesus receive in prayer? First, He received the rest and refreshment He needed. Those who spend time in prayer find that they have more time in their day, a more rested mind and body, and have the ability to accomplish more. This isn’t just getting the dishes and the common work done, but more-so getting the work of God done.

When we are resolved to pray, to rest in God, and follow His commission, we are able to change the world.

St. Paul tells us that he received a commission – to preach the Gospel. Paul saw this as not just a commission, an obligation, but as a duty and a reward in and of itself. Paul chose not to take the things he was entitled to, including rest and recompense, and instead became a slave to all so that God’s work would be accomplished. Paul knew that those who accepted God’s word would be saved, and for this he set aside what he was due, even a moment to sleep in, so that he could pray and spread the Gospel of Jesus.

Homilies, PNCC, , , ,

Reflection for the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Freedom is not free…
But we are free because the Lord has delivered us!

“Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties.”

There was a lot of anxiety in 1897. The people of Scranton had scrimped and saved to build a church. The parish they had built, that their generous donations supported, didn’t want them. They had been ejected from their former parish by a cruel pastor who demanded only obedience, who derided the hard working people, threatening them will hellfire. He sought only to be the lord and master of the people.

Think of their anxiety. They were outcasts, without a parish, without a pastor, without a spiritual home. Their investment in a spiritual home was gone and its doors were shut to them. In their anxiety they reached out to God and in doing so found comfort in a pastor, a shepherd who made the grace of God available once again. Not a pastor who demanded to be their lord and master, but a pastor who was their brother, teacher, and guide; a pastor whose heart was for the people.

God sent Ś.P. Bishop Hodur to take their commission. He let them know the one key way to alleviate anxiety. It was not submission to priests, bishops, and a pope who defined themselves as royalty, as lords and masters, but instead knowledge of the one Lord and Savior who frees us.

Bishop Hodur showed them the true Jesus who came to give us His word, to teach us, to show us the way to the Father. He showed them that Jesus was not preparing hellfire for His people, but rather the joys of heaven. He pointed and led to Jesus who takes up every one of our anxieties, big and small, and frees us; Jesus, who promises us joy.

Today we honor our freedom as we exercise our voice and vote in our annual parish meeting. This freedom was hard won, but has given us the best of all churches – one that is fully Catholic and fully democratic.

The people of Scranton took their anxiety to the Lord and He showed them the way, provided for them. Let us too rely on the Lord who has made us free.

Homilies, PNCC, ,

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2012

First reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm: Ps 95:1-2,6-9
Epistle:1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.

Anxiety:

Maria was beset by anxiety attacks. They progressed over time, but eventually became so severe she could no longer function, could no longer have a normal life. These attacks were debilitating, she felt constant fear, and her mind wandered through all the possibilities and probabilities that something terrible would happen. Not only would Maria feel anxiety, her anxiety was compounded because she knew something was wrong with her, and she feared that too.

The word anxiety is derived from the Latin word which literally means “to choke.”. Maria felt choked. She couldn’t acknowledge her fears so she could deal with them, she had no help, and she felt she had nowhere for her anxiety to go. Her breath was almost cut off.

Paul on anxiety:

St. Paul is addressing a group of questions posed by the church members, people like you and me, the early parishioners at Corinth saying that he would like them to be free from anxieties. St. Paul addressed the problem of anxiety with the parishioners at Philippi as well. He told them:

Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Paul talked a lot about anxiety because it is real, something present in our lives, but which he knew we could be freed from.

1897:

There was a lot of anxiety in 1897. The people of Scranton had scrimped and saved to build a church. The parish they had built, that their generous donations supported, didn’t want them. They had been ejected from their former parish by a cruel pastor who demanded only obedience, who derided the hard working people, threatening them will hellfire. He sought only to be the lord and master of the people.

Think of their anxiety. They were outcasts, without a parish, without a pastor, without a spiritual home. Their investment in a spiritual home was gone and its doors were shut to them. In their anxiety they reached out to God and in doing so found comfort in a pastor, a shepherd who made the grace of God available once again. Not a pastor who demanded to be their lord and master, but a pastor who was their brother, teacher, and guide. A pastor whose heart was for the people.

The end of anxiety:

God sent Ś.P. Bishop Hodur to take their commission. He let them know the one key way to alleviate anxiety. It was not submission to priests, bishops, and a pope who defined themselves as royalty, as lords and masters, but instead knowledge of the one Lord and Savior who frees us.

Bishop Hodur showed them the true Jesus who came to give us His word, to teach us, to show us the way to the Father. He showed them that Jesus was not preparing hellfire for His people, but rather the joys of heaven. He pointed and led to Jesus who takes up every one of our anxieties, big and small, and frees us. Jesus, who promises us joy.

Today:

Today we stand on the foundation Bishop Hodur and those free men and women built. We are not slaves to lords and masters, to bishops and popes. We stand free with the knowledge and grace given through God’s word. Our priests, deacons, and bishops stand along side us, teaching us, working with us. Because we are free, no one can close our church, shut doors to us, take away our voice and vote, send us to hell, or tell us that God is not for us. God, working through history, has freed us from all those anxieties and has given us the light of His Holy Polish National Catholic Church.

Hezekiah:

In 2nd Kings we read of Hezekiah, the 14th king of Judah. His enemy, the Assyrian king, sent messengers with a letter. This letter is one of those that cause great anxiety. What did Hezekiah do? He went before the Lord and spread the letter out in front of God. Hezekiah did what what the Lord asks all of us to do, what St. Paul strongly encourages: put all anxieties before the Lord. St. Paul tells us that when we do that:

the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Reassurance:

Anxiety literally means to choke. When we choke our outlet is blocked. Anxiety does that when, like Maria, we see no out, when there is no place for troubles and anxieties to go. How terrible to be trapped, and bound.

But we, we are free. In our democratic Church, a true treasure among all the Churches, we stand with each other and support each other. Most of all, and best of all, we have a Father in heaven who loves us. No matter the anxiety, no matter problem, big or small, we can spread them out before Him. We are able to tell God of our anxieties because He is our outlet and our relief. He is our hope, He frees us.

Our God is the God of everything. We are able to have peace, because as St. Paul says, God will take all our anxiety away. Let us spread out our anxieties before God and trust that the God who gave us freedom and eternal life in Jesus, will free us of all anxiety. Nothing can truly harm or take away what Jesus has won for us. Amen.

Art, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Xpost to PGF, ,

New Cross-Promotion event to feature Polish Singer Magda Kaminska

International Exhibits to be Part of New Events at Convocation Center
Magda Kaminski to Sing at Basketball Doubleheader
Courtesy of Polish Times

YPSILANTI– Something new has been added to the Eastern Michigan University basketball doubleheader on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at the Convocation Center. Polish-American Heritage Day will be celebrated along with some new attractions.

Polish singing sensation Magda Kaminski, in the middle of her Midwest tour dates will be featured. She will do some selections from her current CD and will also appear locally Friday, February 24, at a Polish pop showcase at the PNA Hall – Dom Związkowy on Conant Avenue in Hamtramck.

The women’s varsity will take on Kent State at 2:00 p.m. and the men host perennial Mid-American Conference power Ohio University at 4:30 p.m.

The afternoon will also be highlighted with an Art Show in the Convocation Center atrium. There will be art for sale along with educational and historical exhibits and the Wawel Folk Dancing Ensemble showcase. The ever popular EMU mascot, ‘SWOOP’ will entertain and Telewizja-Detroit will video messages for European broadcast. The ‘EMU SPIRIT’ dance team along with the Pep Band will be performing throughout the day.

The two largest Polish fraternal organizations, Polish National Alliance and PRCUA are sponsoring the dance activities. The E-Club, an organization of athletic letter winners will be presenting this year’s Hall of Fame inductees during halftime of the women’s game.

Also, included with a game ticket will be a free chance at a $1,000 MacBook among other prizes. For out-of-town visitors there is a special basketball package available.

Homilies

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
 – 2012

First reading: Jonah 3:1-5,10
Psalm: Ps 25:4-9
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.

The story:

We all know the story of Jonah. We know it so well that we can overlook some of its finer points. Today’s reading starts with Jonah washed up on shore after the whale spat him out. God comes and reminds Jonah of his task. Go to Nineveh and deliver my message.

How did Jonah get here? Where did he fail? Why did Jonah lack faith and trust in God’s goodness?

The journey:

Jonah was a happy-go-lucky prophet. He had been delivering all sorts of good messages from God for years. God comes to him and asks him to deliver a new message. Jonah is ready for another great message that everyone will like.

Imagine you were visited by God sometime around 1936. God tells you to board a plane and travel to Nuremberg. You are to visit the largest Nazi rally ever held. You are to take the stand, in front of all the microphones, stand right next to Hitler, and tell him and all the gathered crowds that they are doing evil and are required to repent. They must repent or they will be destroyed.

That’s the message Jonah received. The Assyrians of Nineveh were the Nazis of the ancient world. They conquered huge territories. They were particularly brutal. Their statues show their kings standing over conquered people while they were brutally tortured and killed. They loved violence and blood.

The happy-go-lucky prophet was to go to the center of their capital, a four city megalopolis, with walls so thick you could drive three chariots abreast along them. There were 1,500 towers, and 120,000 people living there, and it would take three days to walk through the city.

Jonah figured, forget faith in God — I’m going to run away. Anyway, why should the chosen people deliver a message of possible salvation to these foreigners?

Journey, Part 2:

Now Jonah’s not being too bright. He is running away from God forgetting that God is — everywhere. You can’t run away from God, you can only run to Him. Jonah gets on a boat headed in the opposite direction from Nineveh. He meets a group of foreigners. More foreigners! When God sends the storm to stop Jonah, who acts with faith? The foreigners do. They show their trust in God and try to save and help Jonah. When they finally relent and throw Jonah overboard, they do so acknowledging God’s power. This is something Jonah still hasn’t done.

Here is a small faith challenge: Jonah gets swallowed by a fish? Can’t be possible right? Isn’t it silly, and quite unscientific to think this was possible? Yet we must acknowledge that God, as creator of all, as God, can make anything possible. We are asked, in this small way, to respond with faith. If we cannot believe that this was possible, how can we believe that Israel was led through the sea on dry land, that Daniel stood in faith before the lions, or that the miracles of Jesus occurred? For us, this is about acknowledging God’s power and miracles with faith. Responding when faith reveals something that is beyond reason.

Jonah arrives:

Jonah has arrived, and in the face of the most brutal, psychotic, despotic people in the world delivers God’s message: repent or in forty days Nineveh will be destroyed.

The people of Nineveh do exactly that, they repent. Jonah for his part gets angry with God. Jonah wanted to see the fireworks. He wanted destruction. What he found was God’s love extended to foreigners who reacted with more faith than he had.

Faith:

For Jonah, faith was easy when times were good, and he had happy messages to deliver. As soon as his apple cart was upset, he didn’t like it. His faith failed.

As God’s spokespeople in the world, we are called to act with faith. We are called, as God’s children, to always respond with faith.

In our Epistle, Paul is telling us that time is running out. Does that mean we should run around crazed with fear? Should we abandon everything and hide? Should we act like Jonah, and try to run away? Of course not. We are to act with faith.

Faith is confidence in the caring and powerful love of God who makes all things right. Our God does miraculous things. He keeps His promises. The brutal Assyrians were no match for a Jonah when he followed God’s word and acted with faith.

Like Daniel:

There was a pastor who was faced with very difficult times. His congregation didn’t like him very much. They wanted someone else, and we’re making moves to have him replaced. He was young, and didn’t know how his reputation might be affected, or how he could possibly pastor and minister to people. He began to doubt himself, his vocation.

One of the women in his congregation invited him over. “I have something to show you,” she said. “Please, come to my house.” Apprehensively he went to visit her. “Come in,” she said, “I have something to show you.” She led him through her house to her bedroom. She pointed to the wall. “Tell me what you see,” she said.

It was a picture of Daniel in the lions den. He looked, acknowledging what he saw. “Tell me,” she said, “what do you see?” He gave the usual description, knowing the verses from the Book of Daniel. “It’s Daniel, he’s been thrown into the pit with the lions. There are the bones of others who were thrown into the pit. That’s about it.”

“Look at his eyes, where are they?” she asked. She went on, “His eyes are not on the lions or on the bones. He is looking up and his eyes are focused on the light of God.” The pastor saw the reality of Daniel acting with faith and complete trust in God.

The call and response:

John has been arrested, and Jesus is walking along the sea. He calls a message of repentance and the immanence of the kingdom of God. Andrew, James, John, and Simon respond to His call and they drop everything to follow Him. They act in faith, not knowing the future, except to know that the kingdom was at hand, was close, was around the corner.

We live in the kingdom that has begun and is coming to fulfillment. That’s all we need to know. We all face our Nineveh, we all face our lions, and we are all called to trust that God’s miracles overcome. We are called to faith and trust, that God who could love and forgive the psychotic and brutal Assyrians, who could still the lions, who raised Jesus from death, will save and renew us.

God is already rewarding our faith and trust in Him. It isn’t easy to trust like that, to set aside fears and practicalities — but we do. It is there, in our eyes, in our resolve. His miracles are for us. Thank you Lord Jesus for the gift of faith and trust in You. Grant that we live them every day. Amen.

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