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Homilies,

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste

Mary set out and traveled in haste, for the time was near.

Our time is near. In fact it is here.

Take this Advent for example. This year in particular is a year in which the Forth Week of Advent lasts but a few hours. We are particularly presented with the urgency of expectation. The urgency of the moment is brought home to us for we know what is to come.

You may sense it in your everyday life, and ask yourself: Where did the days of preparation go? Is everything ready? I feel so unprepared.

In some years the Fourth Week of Advent lasts a full week. So I must ask you, is it any different this year? A full week, a few hours, do either get you any more prepared. If you were a member of an Orthodox parish, and you had until January 6th to prepare, would you be more prepared?

I cannot speak for you, but I can tell you, I’m not ready. Knowing that is to know failure. A failure in putting Jesus Christ at the head of everything I do. There is no excuse.

When asked about His coming in glory our dear Lord told those who wondered that not even He knew the day or the hour. The Father reserves that to His own merciful judgment. We should count ourselves blessed by the Father’s merciful delay, by this opportunity to focus ourselves on the urgency of the moment.

So, here we are, presented with the closing moments of Advent. We know what is to come, we know that our expectation must draw to a close and be converted into the reality, the actuality of a new moment.

That changeover is the kind of thing that happens every moment, the kind of thing we, in our stubborn sinfulness refuse to recognize. The reality of Jesus Christ real and present is here and now.

The prophet Micah had an interesting revelation. His writing tells us of the blessings of time, time we have been given to recognize the reality of God among us.

Micah begins his prophecy with the impending judgment of the Lord. A judgment we deserve because of our sins, our hard heartedness. That judgment gives way to the glory of our restoration. The eternal King will spring forth into the world, a new ruler from the house and lineage of David to rule over us forever.

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel

Ponder over this prophecy. Like the Israelites we know that we deserve the chastisement of exile; the Lord is well within His rights to turn His face away from us. Micah told the people of Israel:

Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne

The Lord gave His people an awful long time, from the time of Isaiah and Micah till His coming as man, about 680 years. All that time to wait and get ready.

In a few days we will commemorate the Memorial of the Holy Innocents. Do you remember what King Herod had to do? After 680 years King Herod had to call the chief priests and the scribes of the people to inquire of them where the Messiah was to be born. He didn’t know! He didn’t have that reality in his heart, he had to go to the experts. Of course that was so he could kill every firstborn male in the place.

If the message were within his heart, if it were real to him, death would not have been the answer. If the message of salvation is within our hearts we would know what we have to do. We would know that the moment is now, and we would avoid the death of sin.

Whether we are given is 680 years, a few hours, or a week, whether it is a season or a lifetime, we are called to be ready, to be prepared. Jesus is here at the doorstep. The big day is here.

I say then, know what to do. Like Mary let us make haste, let us set out and be actively engaged, not in preparation, but in readiness. The time is here. Each moment is new. Let us put aside our stubborn hearts.

As children washed in Jesus’ blood, baptized into Him, as people who have been renewed in the Spirit, we may do no less. We know what is to come, be ready.

Homilies,

The Third Sunday of Advent

—Teacher, what should we do?—

Advent is a time of preparation, but did it ever strike you as odd in that we are preparing for something that has already happened?

That is one of the mysteries of the Christian faith. Jesus’ coming, His birth, death, burial, and resurrection, have ushered in the Kingdom of God. Yet the Kingdom has not arrived in its fullness.

So here we are; left with choices. The preeminent choice is whether we will faithfully follow Christ, join ourselves to His work, follow His way, and build up His kingdom.

Deciding to faithfully follow Christ, to join ourselves to His work, and to follow His way requires preparation. It requires a constant re-evaluation of our priorities and a desire to bring the Kingdom one step closer.

We prepare again. We prepare and struggle throughout our lives; lives that without hope would go on year after year, through the cycle of time, with no purpose other than death.

But for us God is our hope. As Christians we know that God created a world of cycles and times and that the Church faithfully follows these. We know that as we walk through time, through the seasons and cycles ordained for our lives, these repetitive cycles will end with the joy of heaven. As we walk through the cycle of times and seasons Jesus’ words are ever fresh; they speak anew to us, prompting us on to preparation and reparation.

Paul reminds us:

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.

The first among those requests is that we be prepared, prepared to do what we are called to do. We pray and petition God, asking Him to wash us and renew us. We ask Him to take charge of our growth, our change, and our work. We need His grace to assist us in our work for the kingdom. God help us to bring Your heavenly Kingdom one step closer to its fulfillment.

My brothers and sisters,

This time of preparation gives us the opportunity to engage in reparation.

Our lives are constantly changing, and as I noted, that change makes Jesus’ message ever new.

How has His message spoken to you? Prepare and repair.

This past year made us different in some way, both for the better and for the worse. Our ability to change, to work toward the kingdom is a constant challenge. Our ability to overcome our faults and our our sins, as they take on a new character to challenge us, is a never ending battle.

Perhaps our anger changed, our desires and lusts took a slightly different direction. Perhaps we found a new way to fall, to deny Christ, to be more cynical or sarcastic about our partners, our friends, our family, the Church, or God.

The times and seasons and God’s everlasting grace are the antidote to those new challenges; the time of preparation and reparation punctuated by the great joy of Christmas is the cure we so desperately need.

You remember that joy. You remember it – that morning when you caught mom or dad secretly smile because you were happy. That joy you felt when you learned that giving was more than spending money. That feeling of warmth, when you were surrounded by family, when you ate, sang, and walked or drove off to church together. That day you held new life in your hands for the first time and knew the meaning of hope. We return to that joy year after year because of Christ, because He affords us the opportunity to prepare and repair, through the seasons and throughout time.

Today we celebrated an expanded Sacrament of Penance, the very same sacrament you receive at the beginning of every Holy Mass. Prayer, petition, and thanksgiving —“ God make me a new man, a new woman. Get me back on the road, the work lies before me, the kingdom needs to be built. Here are my hands, here is my heart. I am sorry I wasted them in any way.

You are washed anew in the sacrament of penance. Through the penance you have been given, a means to reflection, recompense, and prayer, and through the words of the priest you are absolved of sin. Your sin is no more. You have entered back into full communion with your brothers and sisters, with the Holy Church, and with God.

So onward. Preparation and reparation… By these mystical means God builds you, prepares you, and sets you to work for His kingdom.

The sinful came to John in the Jordan and asked:

—And what is it that we should do?—

He told them: preparation, reparation, and amendment of life…

Now the people were filled with expectation

They were ready to move forward, at John’s words eagerly awaiting the Messiah.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn

Come Lord Jesus! Gather us in.

Homilies,

The Second Sunday of Advent

The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.

The word of God came and John went.

John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

God’s coming to John was quite different from the rest of the prophets. God had to come to them in burning bushes, in whispering winds, and in a myriad of other ways. John simply listened and when he heard God’s word he went.

John’s example brings up two very important virtues: perception and readiness. John is the perfect example for our Advent preparations, exactly for the virtues he lived.

Let’s tackle these virtues head-on.

The first is perception.

In essence the act of perceiving is our ability to listen for and hear God’s word in our life; our being tuned into God.

Oh, but deacon, God doesn’t talk to me… Anyway I do good things and I try hard.

While I’m sure that you have that perception, a perception that flows from your comfort zone, I’m here to shake up that perception.

God wants to talk to you. He is prepared to talk to you at several levels, but to hear Him you must clear your mind. Clear your mind and get out of your comfort zone. God’s here to upset the apple cart.

This Advent prepare yourself to perceive God’s word.

How do you think John prepared? He did it by study —“ John knew his scripture, his prophets, and he knew the men and women of his generation. He knew human life and family life, but, and this is the big difference, he allowed God to put that knowledge in perspective for him.

John prepared by study, prayer, fasting, and extreme self denial. He was the man who came wearing a cloak of animal fur and eating locusts and wild honey.

You too must prepare to hear God in the same way; you must prepare to listen for God’s perspective on your life. You must prepare by penance, fasting, self denial, study, and most importantly prayer. You must prepare by creating the space in your life, the space God is ready to fill with His word.

Yes my brothers and sisters, God will speak to you. You won’t like what He has to say, you won’t be comfortable with it, but His is the only voice that counts. His is the only voice that will save you, redeem you, and bring you to heaven.

Do not place anything above His voice. Do not place obstacles in your path to heaven. Rather than place obstacles remember what God has done for Israel:

For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.

You are the new and everlasting Israel. God wants to speak to you. He has prepared the way, so prepare yourselves to perceive His voice.

The second virtue is that of readiness.

Readiness is more than preparation. Preparation, as I noted, is the act of getting ready with the tools you have been given, and for the event you know is coming.

Think of a dinner party at your home. You know the guests that are coming; you know the number of chairs, hors d’oeuvres, place settings, and wine glasses you will need. You know what you need to prepare for and how to prepare.

Again, as I noted, preparing to hear God’s word, and the tools you need are well known: penance, fasting, self denial, study, and most importantly prayer.

But readiness is more. Readiness is more like the firefighter. He never knows what may come, but he is ready to go.

You too must be ready. The same tools: penance, fasting, self denial, study, and prayer give you the training you need to be ready.

Your being ready means that you are prepared to respond, to go forward without thought or regret. God says go and do, you go and do, and like John you do not count the cost or the implications. Like John sometimes it means loosing your head for Christ.

Brothers and sisters,

Be perceptive and be ready. Remember, God upsets the apple cart. He calls you to do things that you once thought were impossible. He asks you to give up things you once thought you could never live without. He turns the world on its head.

Be perceptive and be ready to live up to the name you bear —“ Christian.

Be perceptive and be ready so that Paul’s prayer might be fulfilled in you.

And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ

The day of Christ will dawn upon us without warning. Be perceptive and be ready.

Homilies,

The First Sunday of Advent

—Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”

Did you ever get the idea that Jesus is trying to bring us back to reality. In listening to these words, we hear Him telling us to avoid, to shun the things that are inconsequential to our salvation.

The salient point is that Jesus’ caution is accompanied by His promise and commitment to us.

Some have said that God doesn’t dabble in small matters, that falling off a curb or tripping over an obstacle is no concern of His. Yet Jesus told us the Father, who is Father of all, cares for us even in small matters. In Matthew 16 Jesus tells us:

Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? … Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. … If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you

Latter, in Matthew 10 Jesus tells us that

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.

Yes, God does watch over us, in each step we take, in each thing we do. Our brother Jesus is ever at our side, ready to give us a little jolt, a nudge to reawaken us from our drowsiness. He is there to guide us back to the things that are really important.

Jesus speaks of end things today, things so awesome and fearful that He said, —People will die of fright.— He knows what awaits us, and He tells us that the best way to get to Him is to be awake and alert, to be active participants in His plan of salvation.

Jesus works at us consistently and constantly, stay awake, be ready, I will not let you sleep. You need to change, to grow, to mature in faith and in the life you are called to —“ not just life on earth, but eternal life.

Jesus tells us that the Father has the spectrum covered. From the smallest things in life to the greatest, He is there. In the end, He is there to let us know that regardless of the negatives we may encounter, the bad that may happen as a result of sin, He holds us in the palm of His hand.

The promise is great, yet we fall short in sin, in laziness, drowsiness, monotony, dissatisfaction with our family, our state in life, our Church. Therefore, we need a time, a time to re-commit to working out our salvation, as it is said, in fear and trembling.

That time is now. That time is Advent. Advent is about our answer to God’s care for us. It is about our preparation, a time of fasting, prayer, and re-commitment.

It’s funny, because the world has turned Advent upside-down. It has filled Advent with an intensified dose of the anxieties of daily life —“ the very thing our Lord warns us to avoid. The things that pull us away from our focus on God.

So place the world in perspective this Advent. Let us recommit, taking an inventory and putting the tools Jesus gave us to work in reforming, amending, and preparing our lives for Him.

Paul prays:

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

Paul’s prayer asks the Lord to grant us an abundance of love and a strengthening of our hearts. These gifts, along with the tools we have before us, the bulwark of the Holy Church, the sacraments, and prayer arm us for action. We have been armed for the day of Christ’s coming.

Isaiah prophesied about it:

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise.

The days are indeed coming. Use this Advent to prepare yourselves, to strengthen yourselves, to re-arm yourselves so that Jesus’ words to us will come to fruition in our lives, so that we are prepared to:

stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.

Homilies,

The Solemnity of the Christian Family

God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good.

Teenagers and children —“ you have a job to do.

We need you to build on the foundations we have laid. We need you to build, not by becoming us, but by adding your uniqueness, your gifts, your personalities to the Church —“ to the Christian life.

Adults, all of us, are afraid, not just for your safety, not just for your health, education, and well-being, but for the most important aspect of your life —“ that you share yourselves with us and that what you share be everlasting.

You are more than the future.

When people talk at you they tell you —“ ‘oh look you are our future.’ Then they try to capture your imagination and attention. They do this by trying to give you everything. Look you can be rich, we can provide you with cool music and clothes, fun and pleasure are easy. Just remember, you are our future.

Those sayings, those types of things are just a way for people to capture you. They want to capture you and turn you into what they are.

Mom and Dad, your teachers and friends, counselors, doctors, all want you to be their future. ‘Look, you are just like me.’

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Christian Family.

Our Holy Church chooses to mark this special day as a festival. Our Holy Church chooses to focus on family.

But what is family? Is it a group of older people and their future? Is it a group of clones where everyone thinks, looks, dresses, eats, and acts the same?

I don’t think that these would count as Christian families.

The essence of the Christian family is the conscious sharing of ourselves with each other. That is what heaven will be like —“ no barriers, no putting on masks. You will be the perfection of who you are, and you will share yourself freely in the adoration of God.

That means that we, here on earth, have to bring who we are to the table. It means that we all have to respect the fact that God created each of us in His image, as today’s reading from Genesis tells us:

Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.

God does not make mistakes. He doesn’t make errors in His use of His creative power. He endows, gives, each of us a share in His image. We each have a uniqueness —“ a unique personality, unique skills and abilities, all coupled with a natural desire to be part of a family, to be loved, and to reach God.

My dear children and teens, I do not want you to turn into me. I already have one me.

Remember that Jesus said a very powerful thing when he blessed the children:

“Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”

Jesus, being God, knows that each person, regardless of their appearance, status, age, or stature is valuable in His Church. As St. Paul tells us:

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

What I wish for —“ and more importantly what I pray for —“ is that you turn into ‘the you’ God created you to be. I pray that Our Lady, our patron, watches over you and guides you so that you share yourselves with the entire Catholic Christian community. And finally I pray with Jesus who said:

I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.

We pray that the world does not bind you, but that you challenge the world by your Christian witness. We pray and ask that you be kept safe, and that you clearly see that you are valuable, not as our clone, not as our future, but simply because you are valuable to God.

Teenagers, children, you have a job to do. The job you have is to share yourselves with us as a community, and with the whole world – to share that part of God’s image that is you.

Homilies,

The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

As I stood at the altar this past Wednesday I experienced the most wonderful sensation, a beautiful feeling of love. I experienced that moment as Jesus was placed, body and blood, into my mouth.

Every so often God comes to us in a way that touches us deeply. He is, of course, always there. His presence is always real, but this particular moment was a step above the extraordinary.

It was a moment of savoring; a moment of sweetness and beauty. No words can describe it, but there I was, with Jesus in my mouth, and He enveloped me in His love.

He said, I’m here for you Jim.

Jesus says that a lot —“ to all of us. I am here for you Mary, John, Alice, Henry. I am here for you.

As in Moses’ day, God’s coming to us elicits a response. Listen to what happened:

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.
Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,
the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;
and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

The elders who received the Spirit of God prophesied. They could not contain or suppress the immense joy they experienced at receiving God’s Spirit.

God’s Spirit, His laws, His precepts give us joy. Joy is our response and our assurance —“ an assurance that we have found our place, our home, in God.

Jesus certainly spoke to me in that moment of communion. He was telling me to talk about the beauty, the peace, the joy found in Him. The beauty, the peace, and the joy found in His assurance.

Earlier in the week I sat down and considered topics for my homily. I prayed, read the scriptures, checked out websites, and considered our shared experience.

I looked at what happened during PolishFest. I thought, perhaps I should talk about the questions people asked —“ essentially, what differentiates the PNCC.

I could do a nice long homily teaching about, and touching upon, one-hundred and fifty points of difference. But to what end —“ to scream about differences?

The key concept, the source of our joy, the unifying aspect of our community, of the Church, is our election. This is Jesus’ assurance. We are the predestined, we are the elect, we all share in Christ and are heirs with Christ. We are bound together in Him and are all sons and daughters of the Father.

Jesus saved the world. His offer is on the table for everyone.

Our election, our sharing in Christ is not a symbol of our exclusivity, us but not them, but rather is the result of our answer to His offer.

We step forward saying yes, Amen, it is You Lord, You are for me Lord. We do that as individuals and in the way Jesus asked us to, as a community of believers, as the body of Christ.

St. James tells us:

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.

If your joy is in the things you can count, gather, and store your joy is not a lasting one. If your joy is in your exclusivity, it is not a lasting joy. If your joy is found in that sublime moment, holding Jesus in your mouth, consuming Him so He can consume you —“ you have joy that lasts forever.

If we focus on differences, on enumerating points of conflict, then we miss the point of Jesus’ instruction to John:

Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.

Be assured, your presence here, your sharing in the Body and Blood of the Lord, your choice in taking up and living by the name Christian, surely marks you as the predestined, the chosen, and the elect. You are sharers in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Washed in His Blood you stand here in His presence accepting His promise of eternal life. Rejoice, be filled with His joy, a joy that will last forever.

Homilies,

The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Spójnia Sunday)

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
—If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.—

Father Andrew, honored guests, my brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today we celebrate Spójnia Sunday, a day on which we reflect upon the connection between faith and works, a day on which we celebrate the insight and common sense of our Church’s founder, Bishop Francis Hodur, and of all our ancestors.

Indeed, this weekend we, in New York’s Capital Region, celebrate a great festival highlighting Polish and Polish-American culture. We highlight a people of faith, determination, and common sense.

These two celebrations flow from our unique heritage, from the strength of our traditions and from our commitment to the truth and honesty found in Catholic-Christianity.

Bishop Hodur and our ancestors understood Jesus’ lesson. They understood Jesus’ instruction regarding our place and our service.

They focused on faith.

Their strong Catholic faith was not an aside or a pastime; it was the center of their existence. From this center, from this grounding in Catholic-Christian ethics, they worked tirelessly for freedom, freedom from tyranny, freedom of expression, and freedom to worship God in full faith. They held to a dream that transcends national borders, while holding fast to a culture that joyously celebrates, and strongly defends the faith.

Through their hard work, they integrated themselves into the dream that is America. They put that dream into action in organizations like Spójnia, understanding the connection between faith, hard work, and the values enshrined in Our Country’s Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…

They struggled.

Bishop Hodur and our ancestors realized that the struggle was not just of the moment, but of eternity.

This week’s reading from the Book of Wisdom foretells the suffering of Christ —“ and of all Christians bound to Him.

Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.

This is the judgment of the worldly. Let us put God and His Church to the test. Let us gather evidence. Let us see if God is real and if His people hold the truth.

God Himself was put to the test in more than the philosophical sense. God Himself condescended to be mocked, dragged, beaten, whipped, and killed on a cross.

What the world didn’t realize was that the very test it subjected Him to would be His vindication. He proved Himself, not because He had to, but because He loves us.

His vindication was the raising of His Son from the grave to life. Jesus stood victorious over death and separated all of us from the snares of the world. Jesus showed us that the struggle is only a prelude to eternal perfection in His kingdom.

Our ancestors understood that well.

They set to work.

Last week’s second reading from James focused on the connection between faith and works. James took a very common sense approach to describing the fullness of the Christian life. Anyone can say they have faith in Jesus, but without the corresponding works, by which their faith is exhibited, their proclamation means nothing.

Today St. James tells us that:

Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there is disorder and every foul practice.

As Catholic-Christians our responsibility must correspond to and come from the teaching of Jesuis Christ. These responsibilities have been delegated to us by our ancestors and our fathers in faith. We are to avoid all semblance of the disorder created by self interest, ambition, and jealousy. We, like Bishop Hodur, and our ancestors, are to engage in work for the common good.

That is why Spójnia, the Polish National Union of America is more than just an organization. It is a symbol and a public witness to our work. It is a symbol and a witness to our working together for the common good, setting ourselves as servants of each other, and of all people.

Bishop Hodur and our ancestors understood Jesus’ lesson very well, and by faith, work, and struggle they lived His word.

We, our families, our community, our organizations, and the Church are all called to struggle against evil. We are to uphold the banner of truth —“ the only truth there is —“ God’s truth. And, we are to work diligently on our salvation and for that of our brothers and sisters.

Amen.

Homilies,

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

When we consider the vast number of pages that have been written in regard to philosophy, science, theology, and the humanities, when we sum all that up, and look back across history, we may think that we have a right to be pretty proud.

We may think – ‘Look, mankind has created a lot. We’re pretty smart.’ The inherent danger in that declaration is equating accomplishment with truth. Do we rely on the array of what we have created as truth, neglecting God?

I think that captures the trend in humanity – one that has existed even before Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

Remember, the scribes and pharisees of Jesus’ day lived that kind of existence. They relied on the words and thinking of the teachers that came before them. They certainly had the word of God to rely on, but it obviously wasn’t enough, especially in light of all the interpretations that followed, the oral teachings of their fathers and the Midrash. The Scribes and Pharisees needed the commentary of the Talmud to expand and clarify God’s Law, to codify the code so to speak.

Codifying the code is not wrong in itself, nor would the Pharisees and scribes have been singled out for Jesus’ criticism based on that fact alone. They fell rather on their reliance on those interpretations and codifications to the exclusion of God’s truth. Their code was not in line with God’s code.

The words of the psalmist, his poetry and song, come to completion in Jesus. Jesus worked to refocus The Jewish people on the truth of His Father.

If God is your center and source, if God is your help, if the laws of God are written in your hearts and used as the point of reference for your life, no one can prove you wrong.

Jesus lived in perfect oneness, in perfect unity with His Father. His Father’s will was His own. His Father’s laws were His benchmark. He tried to impress this on His followers. He tries to impress it on us – today, right here and now.

—Who do people say that I am?—

Who indeed! Someone wrote to me recently saying: ‘The Muslims don’t criticize Jesus.’

I responded by implying – ‘I guess it depends on what you mean by criticism.’ If we have no faith, if we are not focused on God, then we would say, Sure, they even write about him (small h) in their book. As a matter of fact we would be pretty close to Islamic belief, Jesus was a nice guy and a great prophet… with a great mom.

If however we have true faith, a true understanding and centering on God, the truth of God revealed to the world, then we would say ‘They do indeed criticize Jesus. They criticize Him (capital H) because they deny who He is.’

My brothers and sisters,

What kind of faith did Peter and the apostles exhibit?

Peter said to him in reply,
—You are the Christ.—

Can we join with Peter and acknowledge Jesus as God and man, as the Messiah and the Savior? Can we stand up and tell the vast majority of the world’s population that they’ve got it wrong?

A pretty brave declaration from Jesus’ closest followers don’t you think? We would be considered pretty brave for saying that today – you know, we might offend someone.

Unfortunately, it was the kind of declaration that in all its truth and power soon fell victim to the parade of human accomplishment.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Peter was ticked. Jesus just said:

the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.

I just declared that You are God, lets go accomplish what I understand You are going to accomplish. What are you talking about? The documents I have in front of me say You are wrong. Here, let me straighten You out.

Peter found and quickly lost the center. He found the faith to proclaim the truth, then the awful weight of our humanity’s self-serving aggrandizement fell upon him.

At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, —Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.—

That about captures it.

Is God God to us? Do we center and judge by Him? Do we work with and relate to each other as He would want us to? Can we make simple proclamations of faith.

Our Orthodox friends say a lot with very few words. The continually pray one little prayer:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

A simple proclamation of faith – Jesus is God. A simple acknowledgment that we fall short of what God wants from us.

I encourage you to pray this prayer all day. Repeat it often, and contemplate its meaning. Above all focus yourself on Jesus – God incarnate.

St. James reminds us:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?

Faith judged by purely human standards has little value. Faith lived is everything.

Proclaim Jesus as God in all we do; let us live out the fullness of the faith.

Homilies,

Memorial —“ St. Eugenia, Virgin and Martyr

As Christians we are to focus on, and be committed to God. We are called to live lives that set us apart from the age in which we live. Not apart from people, not apart from relationships, but apart from the spirit, the trend of the day.

You might not get that message unless you understand a bit of history.

In the first reading Paul is speaking to the Corinthians. He spent a lot of time in Corinth, and tried to build up the Christian community there. Corinth had quite a reputation.

The city had been destroyed by the Romans and was re-established as a colony by Julius Caesar. It was the capital of the Roman Province of Achaia. Crowds came to Corinth every four years for the games. Corinth was also known for its temple dedicated to Venus, filled with female devotees dedicated to a life of licentiousness.

Corinth was a center of traffic, excitement, wealth, and vice. If people referred to you as ‘Acting the Corinthian’ they meant that you led a loose life.

This is what Paul was confronted with, and over the course of a year-and-a-half he grew frustrated, but the Lord saw him through it all.

Acts Chapter 18 tells us:

One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

So he taught the word of God among them, bringing many people to conversion; some of them noble, wealthy, and learned, but the great majority neither learned, nor powerful, nor noble.

Needless to say, Paul had to stay on top of them. They lived, much as we do today, in the midst of vice, easy money, loose morals, stunning compromises. Paul had to remind them, and he has to remind us, that our focus is not to be on worldliness, but on Godliness.

People, especially non-practicing Christians and outsiders, think that the message is: It’s great to be in bad shape —“ God wants it. Don’t get married, don’t have fun, rejoice in being sad, lonely, despised. Listen to Paul again:

From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.

It’s natural to say: You Christians focus so much on sadness and death —“ where’s the joy in life? They miss what we do have —“ the promise of everlasting joy. They miss what we truly desire – right living.

We can just about count our days. A recent study shows that your ethnic group, finances, and location have a lot to do with your lifespan. It certainly does, but it does not affect the span of your life. If life were of this world only I’d be concerned about my days, but life is everlasting.

That is Paul’s message. Do not act as if the things of the world are the totality of existence. Don’t bind yourself to the world or to the spirit of the age. Bind yourself to the truth:

For the world in its present form is passing away.

My brothers and sisters,

Jesus tells us:

—Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.

A person can have all the money in the world, or can be impoverished. Regardless of our material wealth or poverty, know that we are poor only to the extent of our love, dedication, and devotion to God. Knowing our poverty we must strive to reach Him. Jesus knows we are poor and has shown us the way to a wealth that will not turn to dust.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.

Know that our hunger is a hunger for unity with God. We can have all the food in the world or be starving. Neither counts for much unless we seek God.

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.

Know that we weep because of our distance from God. We can laugh or cry all the day long, but neither counts for much unless we draw close to God.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

We are hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced because Jesus is a scandal to the world. Hated or loved, unless it is because our faith in Jesus Christ, it counts for nothing.

Today we honor St. Eugenia. Her name means “noble” in Greek. She was born in 280, and was the daughter of the governor of Alexandria, Egypt.

Eugenia embraced Christianity secretly in her youth, running away from her parents to live a life of prayer and self denial. When she was found she underwent persecution, especially from her father Phillip. He imprisoned her and was to have her killed. She remained faithful and eventually her father, Philip, was converted. He died a martyr’s death. Eugenia was taken to Rome where she converted many to Christ. She, along with Saints Protas and Hyacinth were martyred.

We, like Eugenia, need to keep our focus on God and our loyalty to Him. With Paul we need to focus on the kingdom. In following Christ we need to live His message. In doing so we have Jesus’ assurance:

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.

Homilies,

The Solemnity of Brotherly Love

I will place My law within them, and write it upon their heart’s; I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

What a day —“ we celebrate the Solemnity of Brotherly Love and we recall the death of so many who five years ago were attacked, killed, or wounded by their brothers.

When we look at the world, and we focus on the realities of pain and suffering, when we view man’s inhumanity to man, we naturally want to ask God about that law thing:

God, when are you going to fulfill your promise and write your law upon our hearts? When will you write your law on the hearts of our enemies?

It is impossible not to ask, not to wonder, not to question.

Today, I bring you good news. I bring you the good news of God’s word and God’s truth. It is right here and is among us.

God’s law is perfection and His word is true. His promise has been fulfilled.

In the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul states:

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

God’s word is living and effective. His word penetrates all things, physical and spiritual, in the present and in the everlasting.

God’s word is as true today as it was for the Jews of ancient Israel. It was true in their captivity, in their exile, and in their joy. It speaks to us today just as effectively and truthfully as it spoke to Jeremiah.

God’s word is truth. It awakens our conscience and reaches into the most private corners of our lives. God’s word bares all our motivations, secret feelings, desires, and His word answers our hidden longings.

God told Jeremiah no more than this; What He planted in the hearts and souls of our first parents will come to fulfillment.

We are created in God’s image and likeness; the image and likeness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are all created in the likeness of Their mutual, eternal, and perfect love.

God created the world out of His goodness, out of His perfect love. We cannot explain or define God’s love nor can we fall back on our reason to plumb its depths. There is no reason for His love; His love is its own reason. We must simply accept and respect its reality and truth.

Because God established us in love, created us in love, and because He wrote the model of His love within each and every human being, the good news tells us that His law is within us, it is written upon our hearts; He is our God, and we are His people.

You, me, our friends, neighbors, and our enemies, we all have God’s law written on our hearts. We are all His children. We are all His people.

Jesus called upon us to do right. He didn’t tell us to do right in everything except… everything but… He told us to do right, to love our enemies —“ because doing so has value, because doing so is hard. If we are to be Jesus’ brothers and sisters, if we are to be co-heirs with Him, if we are to follow Him into His glory, we have to do the difficult. We have to recognize Him in those where it is hardest to see His image.

Is it hard and risky? —“ Most certainly! Is it difficult to choose peace, prayer, and reconciliation over anger and hatred? —“ Yes!

St. John tells us that:

Our love is brought to perfection in this; that we should have confidence on the day of judgment; for our relation to this world is just like His.

We aren’t just supposed to be close to Jesus —“ we are to be like Him. He is God among us, God in the flesh —“ understanding all there is to know about the human condition. On the Day of Judgment we should have confidence because we dealt with the world just like Jesus did.

Like Jesus we set ourselves aside to serve our brothers and sisters. We counted gain only in serving the Father, and we set our lives aside for the redemption of the world. Is this true for you, for me? If not, when will it be true?

The truth we need to recognize, the thing we need to do, is to recognize that the closer we are to Christ and His cross, the closer we will be to Him in His glory.

There is nothing to be afraid of. St. John states very simply:

Perfect love casts out all fear.

Jesus teaches us about paying the price. He teaches us what it means to be in a relationship with the Father and with our brothers and sisters. He tells us, through the story of the Good Samaritan, that we are to pay whatever is required to care for, to love, to forgive, and to sacrifice for all of humanity. The Samaritan says:

If there is any further expense I will repay you on my way back

No limit, no set definitions —“ do whatever it takes. Do whatever it takes to recognize God in our brothers and sisters —“ indeed His law is written in each of our hearts.

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