Homily for the week of July 26, 2009

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B), JULY 26, 2009

Readings: 2 Kgs 4:42–44; Ps 145:10–18; Eph 4:1–6; Jn 6:1–15

Those of you who use the Internet often make use of what are called ''search engines.'' A Web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. There are many of these search engines. The best known are probably Google and Yahoo. A new one called Bing was available for use in June. For those uninitiated into the on-line world, a search engine enables you to find things on the Internet. If you want to find out something about a saint, for example, you would simply type the saint's name into the box provided on the computer screen. Hundreds, if not thousands, of references to that saint will very quickly appear. For example yesterday I used Google to find articles about Jesus Christ and within a second got 49,500,000 Internet links about Jesus. I did the same for St. James and got 287,000,000 including St. James church here in Cadyville.

The Internet is a marvellous source of information. But as with all information whether you find it in a library or book store or the newspaper or television it must be evaluated. Just because it can be found does not mean it is true and trustworthy, or that it respects human dignity. For example there are 67 million web sites linking a person to pornography. Children ages 12-17 are the largest group of consumers of this Internet pornography.

In a sense the Internet can be useful when trying to find a story or sentence in the Bible. Regardless of how well you know the Bible it is not easy to find the right verse in these 72 books known as our Bible. In the past years I have mentioned to you that I do not chose the Bible readings we have each weekend or even each week day. Any Catholic Mass you go to in any Catholic church in the world in any of the many languages will always have the same Bible readings.

The Church has three cycles of Bible readings, A, B, and C, and each new cycle begins on the First Sunday of Advent, or usually the first week in December. This year we are in Cycle B, which features the Gospel according to Mark. However, there are occasional changes. This weekend and for the next three weekends we will depart from Mark and turned our attention to the Gospel of John.

Last Sunday we read from Mark's Gospel about Jesus and the Apostles trying to get off to a quiet place, but they were followed by the crowds. Jesus noticed that they were very hungry and tired. If we had kept reading, this weekend we would have read from Mark's version of the feeding of 5000 people with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish. But St. John also has a version of this event. The Church is asking us to use St. John's version of this event. What is different? Why John's and not Mark's?

The difference is need. In St. John's story today there is no stated need to feed the large crowd! The story doesn't even say the people were hungry! Jesus just chooses to feed them. It is also important to note that in John's version this miracle takes place in the context of the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.

It is also important to notice that the boy had 5 loaves of barley bread. The fact that was barley is important. Barley had been grown for food and beer and whiskey for about 17000 years in Palestine and Iraq. Barley can also be harvested before wheat. Jews each year always gave the best of the barley harvest call the ''first fruits'' of the barley harvest, as an offering to God. Barley also reminded the Jews of an important event in their lives. The first remembered was when the Jews had to leave so fast they had to make their bread from barley as the wheat was not yet ready. The second remembered event was the first harvest in the Promised Land when they made bread undefiled by anything, including yeast. This feast and Passover celebrated both what had occurred -- so that no one would forget what God had already done -- and it celebrated something God would still do.

It is also important for us to understand that the people following Jesus were not following because of their faith. They were following Jesus ''because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.'' They knew that Jesus could heal and perform miracles. This crowd was looking for more healings and more miracles for family or friends or just for themselves. They were not concerned with Jesus' message.

As sometimes happens when using a search engine, they were searching for one thing and something far more interesting popped up. Of all the things that were wanted from a Saviour, they got none of what they wanted, but they got exactly what they needed. They were not hungry, or at least not hungry for what Jesus had to offer, but they had a certain hunger within them fed anyway. John said that Jesus took the loaves and ''gave thanks.'' The word John uses for thanks is ''eucharisteo,'' our word ''Eucharist.'' John is teaching us about the Eucharist, which is the Bread of Life.

And this is precisely why you and I are here today. We are here because we are hungry. When I am hungry for food, where do I go? I go where I can find food: the refrigerator, the grocery store, the restaurant, the cafeteria. When I am hungry for spiritual bread, where do I go? I go to Mass to receive communion. Throughout the Mass we are preparing for Eucharist. Jesus takes our faults and our gifts. He then makes it possible to receive again our lives as gifts, and our gifts as forms of “bread” as food for others.

So often there are things we want so badly that we miss what we have and worse, we miss what God really desires to give us. These crowds never asked to be fed, but they were. They did not get miraculous cures, but they did get healing. While we should always ask for what we want, we should allow God to give us what we need.

Homily for the week of July 19, 2009

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time B 2009

Jer 23:1-6; Ps 23:1-6; Eph 2:13-18; Mark 6: 30-34

Few scenes in the bible are more moving, more touching than today's reading from St. Mark's gospel. Jesus and his apostles are exhausted. They tried to get away from the crowd to find some rest. They could not even find time to eat since the people kept coming and going in such great numbers. So they went off in a boat to a deserted place. They tried to get away from it all. But the crowds walked about the Lake of Galilee and were waiting as they landed. They walked a good distance under the blazing Israel sun. They were motivated by the miracles of Jesus. They were looking for help and guidance. Who were they? They were the poor; the broken hearted, the downtrodden from all walks of life. They were human beings whose hearts were restless. They were looking for something more than they had. They are hungry for a leader who speaks sense, someone who feeds the deep hunger of their souls. So eager are they to find Jesus. They are looking for someone who cares about them, and one who can protect them.

In the world of the Bible sheep and shepherds were common sights. Many rulers and kings adopted the image of sheep and shepherd. Sheep were precious and the shepherd an important person. Shepherds existed when and where there were no fences, in places where sheep roam free. Shepherds were necessary to guide, protect and to find food and water for the sheep. The Responsorial Psalm to which you just responded is Psalm 23. It is the most beloved and famous of all 150 psalms. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. This psalm has brought confidence and hope to fearful and suffering people for thousands of years.

But as we have seen in the other readings today the idea of comparing leaders and Jesus to shepherds did not begin with Jesus. It goes back nearly 600 years before Jesus when Jeremiah uses the image to condemn the religious and civil leaders of his day. He mentions that the leaders who scatter and mislead the people will be taken away and God will replace them by others who will not scatter the flock.

Actually, a leader who was a good shepherd never came. There was no need for such a one. The people were guided and fenced in by the 613 laws found in the first five books of the Bible known as the Torah.

Today we have examples of sheep without a shepherd such as the sick without a doctor; children without parents; a team without a coach; a choir without a director, crowds without a leader, a community without a fire department. Jesus was caught up in seeing so many people who didn't seem to know where they were going, or had no religious commitment. They were people without purpose in life. As he looked at all the people along the beach he took pity on them. They came as lost who search for a better life. Shepherds were LEADERS. Being a leader does not depend on your age, or your education. Whether we know it or not, all of us are leaders. We can lead others to make the most of themselves, or lead others to destroy themselves. And how well we lead others depends on how well we take control of ourselves. We make a difference in the life others if we have made a difference in our own life.

But most of us don't think we make a difference. I recently was told about a school teacher who decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them about the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class one at a time and told each of them how they had made a difference to her and to the class. She then presented each of them with a blue ribbon on which was written in gold letters: WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE. She then made it a class project by giving each student three more blue ribbons and asked each student to go out and give a ribbon to someone who made a difference in their life. They would then leave other ribbons with them and asked them to do the same. The students were to report to the class in a week. One student gave a ribbon to a person who had helped him apply for college. He left him with two blue ribbons and told him to give it someone who had made a difference. He gave it to his boss, and left him with the last ribbon and told him to give it someone. As this man was driving home that night he wondered who he would honor with the last ribbon. He thought of his 14 year old son. That evening he sat down with his son. He told his son that he hasn't paid much attention to him; he yells at him for not getting good grades or for his messy bedroom. But he told his son that tonight he wanted to let him know that he makes a difference to his father. Your a great kid. Your mother and I love you. He gave him the blue ribbon. The boy starting crying. He told his Dad that earlier that evening he sat in his room and wrote a letter to his dad and mom explaining why he had taken his life. I didn't think you cared for me. Who you are DOES make a difference.

Jesus always told persons that they made a difference. Jesus did something about their situation. He gave them a purpose, a new way of looking at life and their situation. The Good Shepherd is given to us as an example of how we are to lead others. Jesus is telling us that he wants to lead us. We can't be led by Jesus unless we invite him into our lives on good days as well as bad days.

Don't ever be afraid to let Jesus lead you and teach you. Let each of put ourselves as close to Jesus as is possible and we hope that something rubs off. We live and how we live in Jesus is revealed in our smallest actions and most public gestures. You are here in this church today because Jesus does make a difference in your life. First of all, be sure you realize that you do make a difference. And this week be tell someone that they have made a difference in our life.

Homily for the week of July 12, 2009

HOMILY Fifteenth Sunday B, 2009

First Reading: Amos 7:12–15

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9–10, 11–12, 13–14

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:3–14 [3–10]

Gospel: Mark 6:7–13

For the last 3 or 4 months the news in our country has been mostly about money or what is called the economy. We have heard about our President and our elected members of Congress giving billions of dollars of our money to banks and companies like General Motors and Chrysler in order to balance their check books. Very shortly after their bailouts and stimulus checks it was discovered that some employees received millions of dollars in bonuses. It was also discovered that these bonuses were being paid to many of the very ones who were responsible. In one way or other most of you have been affected by this economic downturn. For example every Catholic parish that has a cemetery must by law must invest the cost of grave in a perpetual care fund. Only the interest on that fund can be used for taking care of the cemetery. The St. James Perpetual Care Fund has lost about 30% of its amount in the past 4 months.

Our Bible readings for today give us an entirely different message based on faith and justice. Jesus offers no bonuses or bailouts to those he chooses. After doing interviews Jesus chooses twelve persons to represent him. Try to imagine Jesus sitting at a table talking to his 12 chosen workers. He calls their names two by two; they step up to receive their destinations and directions. To each person he hands a walking stick. We must understand that before they met Jesus these twelve men all had money and quite a lot of possessions. Jesus gives them very specific instructions about what they are to pack—nothing! He insists that they take nothing with them except the walking stick and sandals on their feet, They are to take no food, no bag, no money, no change of clothing. They are to go completely empty-handed. They are to put on the clothes of others and eat whatever the local people share. This way they become one with those they are teaching.

Jesus was choosing his followers and his workers. Being chosen is one of our most common experiences. Some of you may have been chosen to win a prize in a contest. Others may have been picked to play on a high school or summer sports team, or be a member of a card group. In marriage, a man and a women choose each other for better or for worse until death parts them. One day 50 years ago a bishop chose me to be a priest.

Jesus did the same thing. He chose six pairs of persons who had been working on all kinds of jobs: some were fisherman, others were carpenters, others were unemployed. None of them had any college degrees or even formal education. None of them knew Jesus; none of them believed in Jesus. They are to take nothing upon which they can rely, but only their trust in Jesus’ word. They became the first missionaries. That is, a person sent out to do God's work.

Once they were picked they were given job descriptions. Jesus asks them to do a very simple job. They are to invite all persons they meet to repent, which means to make a 180 degree turn in their lives. Jesus tells them that at times they will meet with opposition and be laughed at. At times they will be seen as a threat to others. Many will not believe a word of what they tell them. They are not to argue with these persons. But merely go on to another place.

God had been choosing persons to speak for him for thousands of years. In our First Reading we are told the story of how God chose Amos to be a prophet, the conscience of the people. But Amos wasn't trained; he never went to school; he had no education; he was never taught how to speak. But God chose Amos to change jobs to do God's work.

On the day of our Baptism you and I were chosen by God. We were chosen to be holy and blameless. On that day we became an adopted child of God. We were given a lighted candle and told to keep it burning brightly as a reminder that we are followers of Christ. We were dressed in white as a sign of our dignity. The priest touches the ears and mouth of the baby saying: May the Lord soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith.

As persons chosen by God we are reminded to look at ourselves to see if we need a change in direction in our lives; if we need to return to God and put God at the CENTER of our lives.

Today we are called to do exactly the same -- to travel light, not to be attached to the things of this world. Jesus calls us to trust in Him and not rely on the false securities of material possessions, success, popularity, and money. He sends us out into a world that seems to have forgotten God or that has rejected God. He calls us to bring people back to a knowledge and a love of God. Rather than to complain about the situations, we are invited to help heal the sick and comfort the dying, the depressed, the lonely and the unloved.

Jesus tells us to expect to be rejected, or at least not to be accepted by everyone. He tells us to expect it and when it comes, we should just keep on walking and talking.

At Baptism each of us were chosen by God. What has happened in your life since that day? Where has God been? Have you found yourself packing and unpacking? In what way have you been an example to others? Today thank God for something that you very much like about yourself; today ask God to help you with something which bothers you.

Homily for the week of July 5, 2009

14th Sunday, 2009

First Reading: Ezekiel 2:2–5

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 123:1–2, 2, 3–4

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7–10

Gospel: Mark 6:1–6

We come to church this weekend mindful that it is the Fourth o

July weekend, the birthday of our country. As we gather eating our hamburgers and hot dogs we probably don't talk much about the fact that we are the largest Christian nation in the world, or about how well we Christians live our faith. And we probably don't begin our picnic with the Pledge of Allegiance as our prayer written for children in 1892 by a Baptist minister. Many in our country at that time opposed equality for women and blacks, and many persons were immigrants. They were rejected as true Americans.

Jesus had the same experience. The townspeople of Nazareth rejected their native son. Nazareth was very small during Jesus' life, maybe 300 people. In such a small setting everyone would have known Jesus and His parents. He has just finished making one of his first public speeches in the synagogue. While they are arguing about him, Jesus stands up, lays his hands on a few sick folks and leaves the square. The sick get better. But Jesus feels rejected.

Here was a man teaching in the synagogue in his home town, a man whose voice and face were familiar to the people. He was the carpenter, the son of a woman they knew, a member of a local family. Bu Jesus' listeners did not think that he was sufficiently educated to speak with such learning and authority. At first the people gave a half-hearted recognition of someone special. Perhaps they did not want someone they knew to be better than themselves. In a sense Jesus was being rejected by those who should have known him best. It is as if Jesus was being thrown away or tossed aside. In our first reading we found the same thing happening to Ezekiel; and such was Paul's problem.

The more they got to know Jesus, the more they were confused about him. Because we know a person well does not prevent us from making wrong judgments about that person. Here are some examples from history:

The teachers of Albert Einstein described him as mentally slow because he could not speak until he was four and could not read until he was nine.

A football expert once said that Vince Lombardi possessed very little football knowledge.

When F.W. Woolworth tried to get a job at a dry goods store, the store owner would not hire him because he did not have the intelligence to wait on customers.

Thomas Edison's teachers told his parents to keep him home because he was too stupid to learn anything.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper because the editor thought he was lacking in creative talents.

ON THIS JULY 4TH WEEKEND WHICH IS KNOWN AS INDEPENDENCE DAY, WE AMERICANS CELEBRATE A GROUP OF PERSONS IN 1776 WHO ADOPTED THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARING THE 13 COLONIES FREE AND INDEPENDENT OF ENGLAND. YET THESE PERSONS WERE IN FACT REBELS WHO REBELLED AGAINST A GOVERNMENT WHICH THEY CONSIDERED AS UNJUST.

Each of us in one way or another may have had similar judgments made of us. If these comments can be made in our time then it must not surprise us that they can be made of Jesus, or of St. Paul or of Ezekiel. Each of our readings challenges our desire to label and limit what a person can or cannot do.

Growing, changing, becoming new again are all very frightening, but Ezekiel had to eat the scroll and we too eat God’s word and share his life’s grace in the Eucharist. Jesus did not argue or defend, or reject his neighbors; he continued being who he was and doing what he had come to do. The questionings of others did not move him to question himself, but he remained a question mark in the minds of those who thought they knew the answers. Jesus left his watchers and listeners scratching their heads by what he taught and what and how he did.

Today each of us in our own way is challenged to live up to what we believe. We are called by Jesus to be and to live as Catholic Christians. Those of us who try to do what God wishes us to do may feel like strangers, or may even feel we do not fit in, or even at times may not be welcomed. We may feel rejected or not welcomed.

And that is why we are have some time out of this weekend to come to church, to pray and to receive Holy Communion. We are here because we believe that the Jesus of the little town of Nazareth can o for us what he did for his own town. Today and this week as you make the sign of the Cross, remind yourself that Jesus is blessing you and healing the part of you that needs healing just as he did at Nazareth. On your part do all you can to promote the work of Jesus, sharing His love, opening yourself to the power of Jesus. And with Jesus and our founding fathers and mothers, let us pledge to bring liberty and justice to all.