Homily for the week of March 28, 2010

PALM SUNDAY, YEAR C, 2010

Isaiah 50:4-7

Phi 2:6-11

Luke 23:1-49

We are beginning Holy Week with this liturgy of celebrating our salvation. During the days of this week we are invited to take little “holy Moments” to experience our need for salvation. We are freed, not only from eternal separation from God, but our being separated from our selves, our better selves and by that from the experiences of being united with others.

We begin these "holy moments" with this Palm Sunday. Palms were very common at the time of Jesus. Egyptians believed that palm branches could protect them from serious diseases. Miners carried small pieces of blessed palms in the shape of a cross as a protection when they entered the dangerous mines. Palm branches woven into the shape of a cross were placed in homes to protect them from lightning and demons. Farmers wold place palm crosses in their field to repel insects and help the crops to produce more abundantly. These and many other practices used palms as a sign of strength. There is an old legend that told that if a heavy weight is placed on the top of the palm tree it would grow taller. So when Jesus entered Jerusalem on his last visit there before his death on the cross, people met him with palm branches. The palm branches which we bring home today can be a reminder for us that, just as Jesus overcame suffering, we too can be protected when we see our palm branch in our home.

Our Gospel reading gives us two roads. There are two parades described in the two Gospels. One parade leads into Jerusalem with Jesus’ being welcomed and proclaimed. We could view Him as doing a foolish thing as He enters the city of His arrest, suffering, and death. This leads to the other picture where Jesus leaves Jerusalem days later in disgrace and abandoned. The Liturgy of palms and the liturgy of the Passion bespeak the duality of our human response to God through out history. Sometimes we welcome him in and other times we push him away.

In the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ not rebelling, not turning back. The words he speaks are of his personal truth and not a defensive refute. Jesus’ words are of handing over; his teachings, his body in the Eucharist, his spirit on the cross. Judas hands him over as well, but refuses to take in that spirit.

Jesus came triumphantly into Jerusalem, but he knew what faced him. The death would be terrible, and the suffering that would accompany it would be excruciating. Worst of all would be the pain of abandonment. Jesus would die abandoned by everyone. His friends and disciples would run away and leave him alone.

From among his very best friends, one would turn him over to the authorities and another would deny knowing him. Jesus’ experience of abandonment even seemed to extend to his Father:My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

In dying his lonely death on the cross, Jesus brought salvation to all those who are abandoned by others: the poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the lonely elderly, those suffering from communicable diseases, the hungry, political prisoners, prostitutes, those on death row. Jesus died and rose that they might be liberated from their abandonment. Your attitude must be Christ’s, we are told by St. Paul. We must empty ourselves and take the form of slaves on behalf of those who are abandoned by the world.

Homily for the week of March 21, 2010

5th Sunday of Lent, Year C 2010

Bible References:

Isaiah 43: 16-21

Phil 3:8-14

John 8:1-11

Jesus has told us many times: Judge not and you shall not be judged. Yet it is part of human nature to point out the faults and sins of other people, as if we did not have enough of them ourselves. Most people do no want to be caught red handed in a sinful act. That is why robbers and those who set out to kill others or commit other crimes like child abuse will camouflage themselves so that they will not be caught. These persons try to avoid the spotlight.

In the Gospel today the case seems clear-cut. A woman is caught in the very act of adultery. The evidence is indisputable, and the Jewish law is clear. It is just a matter of carrying it out. Jesus’ opponents are not interested in the circumstances that led to the woman’s actions—and one must wonder how her partner escaped judgement when both were caught in the act! The scribes and Pharisees are intent on being able to charge Jesus with transgressing the law. They quote the law of Moses to Jesus and press him for his judgement. While they wait for an answer, Jesus bends down and begins to write on the ground with his finger.

Much ink has been spilled by commentators who speculate on what Jesus wrote. Much has been made of this, and many have speculated about what Jesus wrote. The real probability is that Jesus wrote nothing. It was not what He wrote that silenced the crowd, it was how He did it. It is thought, and it is still observable in Middle Eastern men today, that the common gesture made when annoyed by other people was to squat on the ground and doodle in the dirt with a finger or a stick.

In the Old Testament God wrote the 10 commandments on a tablet, and then gave them to Moses. In today’s Gospel it is Jesus’ action of writing with his finger, replicating God’s action in the giving of the 10 Commandments, that helps us understand that Jesus’ interpretation of the law is in line with God’s intent. The law was never intended as an instrument of condemnation but was to guide believers in a godly way of life. I wonder how many of us are like the Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel how Jesus could let a terrible sinner off without punishment.

Jesus came to save us, not judge, not condemn. Jesus certainly could have judged and condemned, and one day Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, but not yet. We must take our cue from Jesus. The Christian's role is not to judge anyone. We cannot possibly know another person's heart. We do not know who the woman was or how she happened to be caught in the very act of adultery. We also know that there was a double standard at the time of Jesus. Men could not be accused of adultery. It is clear that the man was not brought out to be stoned!

The worst part of this scene is not the sin of the woman. The worst part is the sin of the crowd. The crowd had no concern for the woman. She was simply a pawn to be used to catch Jesus in a mistake that would discredit Him. Unlike us, Jesus does know human hearts, and Jesus knew that the crowd was guilty of the greater sin.

Jesus held nothing against the woman. He did not excuse her behavior, but he did not hold it against her either. He gave her a chance to start over again and return to what she should be doing as a Jewish woman. He gave her a future.

The challenge of the Gospel is not whether we can see ourselves as the woman who is caught in adultery, but see ourselves as the man who is caught up in forgiveness. We come to church to be formed in Jesus’ mercy so that we don’t judge others as sinners. The gospel is a reminder that we must be careful about labelling people or deciding how they stand before God. Wrong and bad actions must be condemned, but people are complex. The Christian is called to remember repentance and conversion are possible through God's grace. All too often we find it too good to be true that it is God who loved us first. We find it hard to believe that we don’t have to earn God’s love. Can we forgive as quickly as Jesus forgives? Can we forgive and leave it?

Lent is a time for us to be reconciled with God. As Catholics who go to Church we have the opportunity at the beginning of each Mass to let Jesus forgive us. We can also talk about our faults to another in the sacrament of confession. We ask God to forgive us for the hurts we have caused. It is nice to know that he gives us a chance to start over again and again and again. Likewise, just as Jesus forgives and accepts, let us try in our daily lives to forgive and to accept those who annoy us.

Homily for the week of March 14, 2010

Fourth Sunday of Lent (C), March 14, 2010

Jos 5-9a,10-12

Psalm 34

2 Cor 5:17-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

In most families there is a prodigal son or prodigal daughter. One often hears of bitter disputes among brothers and sisters when it comes time to divide up the inheritance left by their parents. The story Jesus tells begins on a shocking note. The younger brother demands his share before the father is even dead! The older brother stands there without saying a word as the father gives each son his share. The elder brother’s objections come later, when his brother returns home and the former fears his own portion will be jeopardized. Both sons display a sense that their father owes them something. They have calculated what they have coming to them and they are making sure they collect all of it. This is not a poor family. They have cattle and means to put on a feast. The father has a fine robe, sandals and a ring to put on his son’s finger. At the time of Jesus these were all signs that this was a wealthy family.

When the father hands over his considerable wealth to his sons, one would think they would be happy. But both end up miserable. The younger one squanders everything, while the older one hoards it all, not spending even a little bit to entertain his friends. Both complain about what they have not been given. The younger son, after using up all he had inherited, lowers his sights and would be satisfied with the slop fed to the pigs. ” The older son complains bitterly to his father: “You never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.”

This accusation is puzzling, given that the son already has been given everything the father has. It is equally surprising that the father, instead of angrily dismissing his son’s baseless accusations, responds with a renewed invitation to joy and a reminder: “Everything I have is yours”—already! But something has died in both sons. Their greed and jealousy have blinded them to the overflowing abundance that is theirs.

The first son has come back to life. He has hit rock bottom. He believes he no longer deserves to be called son. He acknowledges the wrong he has done his father and the whole community. What has brought him back to life? It is not his own coming to his senses and his own efforts to return to the source of his heritage. Rather, it is the father’s unfailing love. For a long time his father has been looking for him. When he does see him off in the distance he flings open his arms, hugs him and forgives him. This action gives this young son love and joy and gratitude. He now feels certain that he is forgiven freely and totally. He did not earn and it can not be taken away.

The infinite mercy of God, the Father of saint and sinner, is brought out very clearly in the story of the younger son. Even though he abandoned his father, the father did not abandon him. The father's mercy was big enough and generous enough to forgive and forget. His love for his son was strong enough to smother any feelings of personal resentment. His son's return blotted out all his past faults and failures. It was surely an occasion for general rejoicing.

For the vast majority of us our message of consolation and hope is in the first part of today's parable. All of us have, many a time, been prodigal, ungrateful, selfish sons and daughters of our loving Father. But he is still a Father of infinite love, of boundless mercy. He is not only waiting for us to return, like the human father in the story. He is continually sending out messengers to recall us and to help us on the return journey. Like the younger son in the story we may have abused our freedom and broken his laws. We may now feel torn and tattered but, our loving, merciful Father is waiting for us with open arms to welcome us back the moment we come to ourselves and decide to return. Until we have drawn our last breath on earth, the mercy of God and his pardon, are there for our asking.

During this 4th week of Lent talk with God about what is dead in you that longs to come to life again. Ask Christ to help you let go of any resentment toward others with whom you share this inheritance. Have you ever forgiven someone who really hurt you? How did it feel to be acting so much like God? Consider the older brother. Have you ever felt that someone else in your family or among your friends "has it better" or easier than you do? Pray to God our Father to help not to compare ourselves to others.

Homily for the week of March 7, 2010

Homily: 3rd week of Lent, C 2010

Exodus 3:1-8, Psalm 103,1 Corinthians 10-6, Luke 13: 1-9

For many of us when something tragic happens to us we are tempted to look at our lives to see if we have done anything wrong. If only I had not been speeding, the accident would not have happened and my daughter would not have lost her leg. God is punishing me for my recklessness. Instead our response to such a statement should be NO. NO, that is not how God does things. And yet we wonder. One thing, however, is certain. Some people also think of suffering and sickness in the same way. Accidents happen for a variety of reasons.

We may not have the answer as to the WHY of suffering or sickness, but we can be sure that it is not punishment from God. In other words, suffering is not a sign of God's judgement any more than prosperity is evidence of God's approval. More importantly, we are to take no comfort from the sufferings of others, regardless of their religions, lifestyles or behavior. Instead of delighting in the so called punishment of others, Jesus challenges us to examine our own lives, and to realize that we will all be judged on how our life has affected others.

When we mess up we many times may know the reason. In some cases they were not freely made. But these situations are not God’s way of shaking a finger at us and saying that we are a naughty person. For whatever reason, all too often we think of God as a get even God when things go wrong in our lives. We can so easily slip into thinking: I am being punished for being a bad person. I hope that our bible readings today will help to take away this type of thinking. Didn’t we just respond: The Lord is kind and merciful.

Our first reading is about the Jewish people who had been wandering for years. They had been driven out of their homes not knowing when they would ever return. They found themselves as slaves in Egypt under the Pharaoh who used them for his own purposes. Moses is out in the Egyptian desert taking care of his father-in-law’s cattle when he notices a burning bush which keeps on burning without being consumed. He goes closer to find out what it might be.

And then he hears a voice call out telling him to come no closer and asks him to remove his sandals. The voice identifies itself as the God of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey, the voice said. He was told to bring this good news to his family, But Moses wanted proof for those he was going to talk to that what he saw and heard was real. If I ask What is his name? what will I tell them? And God replied: I AM WHO AM. Tell them that I AM SENT ME TO YOU. The bush was for Moses a sign of God’s presence.

St. Luke gives a collection of events that are not logically or chronologically connected. But there is one theme and lesson running through them all. It is the need of every one of us to own up to what we have done right or done wrong, and seek forgiveness for the times we have done wrong.

The story of the useless fig tree has a lesson for all time and for all of us. God's mercy is infinite but our earthly life, during which he can obtain that mercy, is very finite. God's mercy can forgive sins no matter how bad they might be, but it cannot forgive even less serious sins unless the sinner is sorry and asks for forgiveness. Christ, our true mediator with God, is continually interceding for us, but unless we do our part by repenting and changing our behavior, his intercession will be of no avail to us. God wants each of us to be saved, but we must want salvation as much as God wants it for us.

Think on this story of the fruitless fig tree today. If your conscience tells you that it applies to you, think also that Christ is interceding for you. He has obtained for you a moratorium, a period in which you can prove yourself fruitful. Use that gift of God with gratitude and you shall obtain the result that God wants, and that in all good sense, you should want as well.

Throughout each day God places burning bushes in our life. But do we see them as signs of God’s desire to enter our own lives? Do we hear God speaking to us in these burning bushes? Do we call out in prayer to God, or just ignore the burning bushes until some other time when we feel more like getting to it. Maybe we are afraid to ask God the question: WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? Let each of us this third week of Lent daily try to see some thing spiritual within the ordinary activities of each day,