Reflection for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014

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Joined to, Free in
Jesus

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Our children’s bulletin this week has a puzzle with the following statement and question:

Sometimes you feel tired. Sometimes you feel as if people expect too much of you. When you feel like this, Jesus has some special words for you. What are Jesus’ words? _ _ _ _ to _ _, all you who _ _ _ _ _ and are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, and I will _ _ _ _ you _ _ _ _.

Can we find rest in Jesus when we labor and are burdened, when life itself seems to be throwing bad things at us? Jesus says so (and of course He’s God), but it seems very hard to find this rest. St. Augustine makes an interesting statement:

And they consider that they who have fearlessly bowed their necks to this yoke, and have with much submission taken this burden upon their shoulders, are tossed about and exercised by so great difficulties in the world, that they seem not to be called from labor to rest, but from rest to labor.

If seems like Augustine is being sarcastic. People take on Jesus’ yoke, yet they get more work, labor, troubles, and are more tired. He went on to give proofs that those who have faith in Christ are not exempted from life’s trials, but overcome them. They overcome them mightily.

One problem is that we think that Jesus’ rest somehow equates to an easy life, to having no worries, to prosperity without cost. Have faith in Jesus and you will win the lottery! Hurray, give me more Jesus! Jesus’ statement is conditional. We have to take His yoke. A yoke is a binding device. It hooks two animals together for the purpose of doing – WORK.

Anyone who has taken Jesus’ yoke, and who is bound to Him no matter what, finds out that God is always asking them to do hard and even practically impossible things.

Jesus’ yoke, being bound to Him and living completely in step with him, means we will not be safe, respected, comfortable, and always prosperous. Jesus’ path is often reckless and risky. Being bond to Him means we give up being bound to other (often easy) things to follow where He leads.

We are called to do what God asks regardless of the cost and trust that God will cover us. The problem is that there is a cost to being bound to Jesus. It may be suffering, not enough money, inconvenience, danger, and even being unwelcome. God may not seem to be covering us. He is! For this is His revelation to us, His “little ones.” Trust that He is in charge, has a purpose, aids us in battle, and gives us victory.

Reflection for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014

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Jesus is our
hope and way of life

If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God.

This past Friday, at 1am, police were called to our neighborhood. 28-year old Angel Carrion was dead. Killed by a gunshot wound to the chest.

If you read the various news stories you will see different views of what happened. Time Warner News talks about loud parties at the residence, all night partying, mysterious middle-aged figures in black cars, children in the midst of adults doing adult things. Police there all the time. They paint a picture of broken families, broken lives.

WTEN shows a different side of the story. Angel was a father of three, a friend, someone who was brother to those who weren’t even his family. Angel’s childhood friend Jorge said, “He was a good friend. He was a good father. He helped out the community. Nobody is perfect in this world, but he didn’t deserve this.” Other neighbors noted their worry for the children who live here. One neighbor said: “For the kids, it’s going to be scary for them, too, knowing there’s a shooting right up the road.”

We began this year dedicating it to the theme of family. In my annual report I said: “…we do not just come to church to have our needs met. No family exists just to serve one or a few members. The same for the Church – our family of faith is about all its members and our relationship with the head of the family – Jesus. We belong to His family. Our family of faith does not exist to just meet individual needs. We exist to meet the needs of our fellow family members and a world that badly needs to know Jesus.”

Angel and his family, this neighborhood, its children are part of that world that needs to know Jesus. They know Him through us. In us they should see faith in Jesus’ saving power. In us they should see the joy that comes from a life that takes all the good we, and men like Angel do, to the next level through unity with Jesus. Jesus died for all. To free all from sin. As Angel’s friend Jorge said, “Nobody is perfect in this world.” In all of our imperfection the world has to know that Jesus is there for us, to save us, to raise us up. He is in this neighborhood, calling us to reject sin and grab His promises – life without end even in tragedy.

In Jesus we are bound together – parishioners, Angel, his family, this neighborhood – a bond so strong that no sin, even murder, even tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword can harm us. In this bond, in the life we have in Jesus, let us offer hope to our neighborhood and all who so need Him Who is our hope and new way of life.

Reflection for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2014

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On who can we
rely?

“I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

Paul’s first letter to the church of Corinth provides insight into the life of an early Christian community. Through it we see both the strengths and the weaknesses of Christians in the ancient world. These men and women had accepted the good news of Christ and were now trying to make their baptismal commitment real in their lives. Paul, who had founded the community and continued to look after it as a father, responds both to questions addressed to him and to the situations that existed in this community.

Paul tells the people that he is nothing special or extraordinary. He came as a man in weakness, fear, and trembling. He wants to impress on them two things that they can make applicable in their lives. First, that he had no special gifts other than those he received through the power of the Holy Spirit – that the Holy Spirit is the source of life and direction in the Christian community. Second, that Christians must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit in living out their baptismal commitment.

We are faced with all sorts of competing voices who wish to give us direction in our lives. We must use great care in discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit and commit to following that voice rather than all the others.

The voices of our personal desires (the heart can lead us into sin as easily as it leads us to God), the voices of government, and the voices of whatever is popular at the moment must not influence us. In fact, we must be careful to ignore those voices in favor of sole reliance on the Holy Spirit.

God is not distant and apart from us. God does speak to people through the work of Jesus and the voice of the Holy Spirit. He is fully involved in our lives. God is close to us and is constantly ready to guide and help us in all things. We must grow in our ability to discern His voice, to recognize it more and more.

To hear Him we must grow closer to Him, to know what He is really like. Discernment of His voice comes from knowing God as our Father and friend. The word “discern” itself means to exercise judgment. With discernment, we are always faced with a simple choice: is it God acting or not?

By living in the family of faith, worshiping, praying regularly, and reading scripture we will grow in discernment, hear God’s voice, learn to rely on Him, and better live our baptismal commitment.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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What does it mean
to recognize the light?

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing

St. John the Baptist was now in prison. Jesus, fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah, withdraws to Capernaum by the Sea – the land of the gentiles. Isaiah says of the people there, symbolizing all the gentiles: the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.

St. John Chrysostom points out two important facts – these facts of light and darkness are not the physical properties of light and darkness – but rather spiritual light and darkness. Further, the gentiles “sat in darkness.” In other words they didn’t “walk in darkness,” but sat – they were resigned to the fact that they had no hope of being saved. They had given up. They couldn’t even put a step forward to walk because they did not know the way to go. They sat, overtaken by the darkness.

Jesus came to them to show them the light. He was the Light come into the world. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

When Jesus began teaching in Capernaum, the crowds immediately recognized that there was something different about Him. It was the way He spoke. They were amazed because He taught them as one who had authority. They recognized the fact that He could open their eyes and their hearts to all God wanted of them. He was the one who could pull them out of darkness and into the light. He was the One who could pull them up from their sitting in darkness. Now they could walk in the light. And walk they did, the crowds grew and grew as they followed Him. They were filled with joy for being saved.

In the waters of regeneration we received the Light of the world. We were pulled up into the light so that we would never have to sit in darkness despairing that there is nothing for us but death. We accepted Him and were received into life everlasting. As we grew and studied we learned more about Him. While we may have fallen at times, we have listened to His call, have repented, and have come back to Him. We have, as we look at the trajectory of our lives, remained faithful to the Light we recognized and received into ourselves.

Recognizing the Light is exactly that – seeing that there is more to life than the place we sit. We acknowledge that there is only one way to go, one way to walk. That way is to grasp the hand of the One who speaks with authority, to stand and walk with Jesus, God who came to earth to pull us up on our feet and who shows us the way we must go each day.

Reflection for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone, named Godot. Godot’s absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, has led to many different interpretations. Mary Bryden observed, “The … God who emerges from Beckett’s texts is one who is both cursed for His perverse absence and cursed for His surveillant presence. He is by turns dismissed, satirized, or ignored, but He, and His tortured Son, are never definitively discarded.”

Malachi prophesied that the day of the Lord was coming. He lived about 445 years before Jesus was born. Thirty more years would go by before Jesus began His public ministry. Today’s gospel shows Jesus to be 33, in Jerusalem, and days away from His sacrificial death on the cross.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry many who followed Him had a level of self-assurance that He would free Israel from earthly captivity. When Jesus refused to be proclaimed an earthly king many lost faith in Him. They never saw that He was there to free them from a much greater captivity. They missed the day of the Lord. They deceived themselves.

Jesus said that no matter what: “See that you not be deceived.” Complacency is the way we deceive ourselves. Waiting in vain is deception. Waiting and missing “it” is deception.

We deceive ourselves when we sit around speculating on the “last day.” Rather than waiting for God we have to go out and seek Him. We have to follow His word, walk in His path, and bring others to share in fellowship with Him. We must live in Him and proclaim with the wisdom He gives us through His teaching: His day is today!!!

Research has shown that, when a fire alarm rings, people do not act immediately. They talk to each other, and they try to work out what is going on. They stand around – waiting. Do you remember your last fire drill? Instead of leaving fast, people wait. They wait for more clues – the smell of smoke, or advice from someone they trust. So often those who wait end up dead.

We can trust Jesus. The fire alarm is going off every day. We needn’t worry about the fire itself, but rather whether we have listened to Him in the midst of the fire and are on the path to life. Walk toward life, do not sit and wait. Recognize today as the day of the Lord.

Reflection for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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We often wonder
what if?

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

The Sadducees confronted Jesus intent on embarrassing Him so they could prove their political point of view. The party of the Sadducees believed that there would be no resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection.

The conflict over the resurrection was one of several between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They had a conflict of class, wealthy versus the poor, priests and aristocrats versus ordinary people. Another conflict was cultural, between those who favored Hellenization and those who resisted it. The Pharisees emphasized the importance of the Second Temple with its rites and services, while the Sadducees emphasized the importance of other Mosaic laws. They differed too on the Torah and how to apply it to Jewish life, with the Sadducees recognizing only the written Torah and rejecting oral tradition. The historian Josephus tells us that the Pharisees had the backing of the common people.

The problem of political and philosophical conflicts – as we know – aren’t limited to the times of Jesus. It even rears its ugliness in conflicts between Christians. When will the end come, what will it be like, how should the Church be organized, who should lead, how should we worship…? It goes on and on.

Each political point of view tries to provide the answer to “what if.” They try to ease our wondering and our wandering, but their answers are not the truth. Jesus is the truth. Unfortunately neither the Pharisees nor Sadducees saw that – their politics got in the way. We still fail when we seek answers to “what if” from politicians and the world even though the answer of Jesus is within our grasp.

The Maccabees were certain. They knew that surety in God was more important than the “what ifs” of today. They suffered and died, not asking “what if,” but saying, “I know.” the mother who, seeing her seven sons perish in a single day, bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.

For us there can be no reliance on politics. We needn’t question “what if,” but rather need to stand strong and sure. Jesus never promised more questions but promised absolute certainty to His faithful – life everlasting.

Take confidence in the way of the Lord. Do not wonder “what if.” Be sure only in Him Who guides us, is faithful, and gives us the answer we need.

Reflection for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Doing whatever
it takes

Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.

Zacchaeus was not a good person. As we learned last week, people despised tax collectors. Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector – but was the chief tax collector!

Zacchaeus may likely have suffered from what we might call a Napoleon complex (although he lived long before Napoleon). A Napoleon complex is an informal term describing a psychology that is said to exist in persons, usually men, of short stature. People with a Napoleon complex compensate for their short stature by being overly aggressive and domineering.

So here you have Zacchaeus, short, the chief of the thieves, living the high life – nice house, great food, all the luxuries who is also aggressive and domineering.

We consider what may have motivated Zacchaeus to see Jesus. He certainly heard of Jesus, and likely knew Jesus’ reputation – He was a healer, a prophet, and was known to have broken the rules by spending time with sinners. Jesus invited a tax collector to follow Him (Luke 5), His feet were bathed by the tears of a prostitute (Luke 7), He healed those possessed by evil (Luke 8, 9, 11), tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him (Luke 15:1).

The power of grace moved Zacchaeus to see Jesus. He was moved to do whatever it took to see Him. He was moved by the possibility of Jesus, the remote chance that Jesus might notice him and heal the smallness of his soul.

Zacchaeus’ hopes were met when Jesus stopped, looked up, and said “Zacchae’us, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”

Grace motivated Zacchaeus to seek the Lord, and the Lord replied to Zacchaeus’ response, not just by saying ‘you are forgiven,’ but by emphatically stating that He MUST stay with Him. Zacchaeus did whatever it took and Jesus answered. Zacchaeus was raised up out of sin and into new life – repenting and doing whatever it took to make his life right before God: And Zacchae’us stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

We are given grace every day, called to do whatever it takes to be raised from smallness of life to greatness of life in Christ. Jesus notices when we respond, and He responds by staying with us, healing us, freeing us, and making us great in the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Id, ego, super-ego
God

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former

Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of psyche as defined by Sigmund Freud. The three are said to interact and their interaction results in our attitudes and behaviors.

The id is instincts, our uncontrolled wants. It is all the things we would do if we lived an uncontrolled life. I want cake. I’m going to eat cake till I get sick. I don’t care because I want.

The super-ego is said to be the set of controls we impose through critical and moral evaluation of our lives. The super-ego tells us that eating cake, while pleasurable, must be done in moderation. The super-ego tells us to avoid gluttony and greed, to be reasonable, to share our cake, to do the right thing so we don’t get sick.

The ego is that realistic part of our psyche that mediates between uncontrolled desires and the balance imposed by the super-ego. We can have our cake, but just the right amount.

Jesus shows us two people, coming into the temple. The Pharisee’s id is urging him on to self-righteousness. He’s blurting out all the great things he’s done. He hasn’t examined himself at all. He’s all about the cake – he knows he’s going to heaven and he’s absolutely sure about it – or so his id tells him. You’re great – nothing else matters. He is all pride and arrogance before God.

The tax collector knows that his id leads him to do wrong things. He has certainly stolen, overcharged people, and likely spent his ill-gotten gains partying. Then his super-ego – his conscience – the voice of God in his heart kicks in – and he realizes he has done wrong.

The tax collector comes back, seeks God, and desires forgiveness. He seeks proper balance in line with God’s desires for him. He presents himself before his Judge and begs freedom from his sin.

The id, ego, and super-ego are a theory. We know as Christians that we are to subject ourselves to discernment, following God’s way. We will not always control our unbridled desires; or live justly with the love and goodness God asks of us. When we fail we must listen to our conscience and like the tax collector reach out to our Judge in humility. Then, as Jesus promises, we will be justified and welcomed home.

Reflection for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Heritage Sunday

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Celebrating heritage
Making God known to all

Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

St. Paul calls us to remain faithful. Faith is imparted to us by our hearing, by someone who proclaims and models faith for us. This is not any faith – but faith in the one true source of salvation who is Jesus Christ.

Jesus told His apostles and disciples: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”

Someone had to inform us of this fact. Indeed they did – the apostles and disciples set out to every corner of the world and proclaimed what they had seen and heard. They spoke it, they held the liturgy – bringing the sacraments to all, and they witnessed to the truth of Christ by offering their lives without fear. These witnesses, mostly uneducated and formerly fearful, brought the faith to every nation.

Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301. Tiridates III was the first ruler to officially Christianize his people predating the date of Constantine the Great’s personal acceptance of Christianity on behalf of the Roman Empire. Subsequently many nations adopted Christianity and assumed the role of imparting the faith to their people. A mosaic of peoples and cultures went on to make salvation known through faith in Jesus known.

Bishop Hodur saw nations as a tool in God’s hands. Each people is endowed with specific gifts and insights that add to the totality of Christian evangelism.

Religion cannot espouse the dissolution of national and cultural boundaries as its goal — an argument made by those who define everything in terms of separation. Our faith, and the expression of our faith – our religion – is focused on making Jesus known through the gift of nations and cultures. Nations and cultures speak of God who works through them to fulfill Jesus’ command to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

God speaks to and values every nation and culture. He works through them to make His will known, to offer salvation to every person.

Today we celebrate the individual heritage of every nation and culture. We celebrate the gifts God has given us – those gifts intended to make salvation known, to bring all to know and worship Him who created us for His purpose.

Reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Lord, increase my…
faith, soften my heart!

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Francis began his life as a confirmed sinner. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned farmland around Assisi. Francis wanted for nothing and was spoiled. He indulged in fine food, wine, and women, and left school at the age of 14. By this time, he was well known as a wild teenager who partied and broke the city curfew. He was also known for his charm with women and for being a great dresser.

Francis did learn the skills of archery, wrestling and horsemanship. While expected to follow his father into the family textile business, he dreamed of other pursuits. Instead of planning a future as a merchant, he daydreamed of being a knight; and if Francis had any ambition, it was to be a war hero like the knights he admired. In 1202, war broke out between Assisi and Perugia, and Francis eagerly took his place with the cavalry.

People aren’t very good at softening their hearts. We are, unfortunately, pretty good at hardening them. Think of someone who holds a grudge, hasn’t spoken with a family member in years, or has closed their heart to the needs of others. We don’t often see them have a change of heart, a softening, unless someone intervenes…

Francis and the men of Assisi came under heavy attack by superior forces and ran. Many were killed. Most of the surviving Assisi troops were put to death. Dressed like an aristocrat and worthy of a decent ransom, Francis was captured. Francis spent nearly a year in a miserable prison cell waiting for his father to ransom him. It was there that he first heard God’s call…

The One who can soften our hearts, who intervenes, is Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls us to listen, to repent, and to soften our hearts – to have deeper faith. Like Francis, we have to listen for God’s call. We have to accept Him in faith and allow Him to soften our hearts and build our faith. Today’s psalm speaks of the life Francis went on to live once his heart was softened:

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds…

The Holy Spirit worked to plant the seed of faith in Francis. We all have that seed of faith in us, the whole world does, but like Francis we have to open our ears to God’s call. We have to let Him soften our hearts, build our faith, so that like Francis we can serve Him in joy.