Homily for the week of October 31, 2010

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010

Wisdom 11:22--12:1

Psalms 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

2 Thessalonians 1:11--2:2

Luke 19:1-10

Today, like last Sunday, Jesus tells us a story about a tax collector. His name is Zaccheaus. He is a short guy who wants to see Jesus. He lived and was a tax collector in Jericho, not the Jericho on the Rand Hill Road, but Jericho which is about 23 miles from Jerusalem. Jericho was a very wealthy city. It is perhaps the oldest city in the world dating to about 3500 years ago, and the lowest city on earth at 770 feet below sea level. It was known for its palm trees and also for the balsam groves. It was said that the smell of balsam perfumed the air for miles around Jericho. Like last Sunday’s Bible story Jesus seemed to be hanging out with people considered unacceptable by the rest of the community, especially by the religious leaders. Jericho also had luxurious villas, spas and healing waters, and was the vacation resort for the wealthy Jews and Romans. Also, Jesus may have wanted to move quickly past Jericho because the Herodians, who wanted to kill him, had winter palaces there. The people who could afford to live or vacation in Jericho were not the sort who were looking for what Jesus had to offer.

Persons who lived in Jericho had the fattest wallets. Zacchaeus was one of these persons. Zacchaeus had become rich himself by being the chief tax collector. He had filled his own pockets with money extorted in his work. But he was also hated. He collected taxes for the Roman military government which was occupying Palestine. .

But Zacchaeus was missing something. He was missing someone. Despite his great wealth and his important position in the government, Zacchaeus was poor, and he knew it. He was a prisoner of his self-centered life, but he was looking for someone to set him free. In an instant Zacchaeus risks the social stature he has so carefully built up. Small in physical stature, he acts in a most undignified way, racing ahead of the crowd and climbing a sycamore tree which lined the streets of Jericho. When Jesus sees how far out on a limb Zacchaeus has gone, Jesus calls out to him: COME DOWN QUICKLY, FOR TODAY I MUST STAY AT YOUR HOUSE. Grumbling and criticism of Jesus for staying with a sinner immediately follow. But the risk Jesus takes for Zacchaeus is worth it. And Zacchaeus came down the tree.

But when Jesus reached out to him, Zacchaeus changed. Once at his house Zacchaeus confesses to Jesus. He wasn’t the bad person everyone thought he was. His wealth was not an obstacle to holiness. He gave half of his possessions to the poor. If he had extorted money from anyone he would give 4 times what he might have taken. Jesus does not ask Zacchaeus to leave behind his profession nor to give away the rest of his possessions. Rather, he meets him in the place of his seeking and opens up a saving way forward within his circumstances.

Might there be a little Zaccheaus in each of us?. Though Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, it is Jesus who sees him first, and invites himself to his house. In seeking to find Jesus we are often found by him. Jesus often told us that he came to seek and to find the lost. But Zacchaeus is also found because he was willing to be laughed at by others. Jesus celebrates a conversion. Zacchaeus is praised by Jesus, not necessarily for practicing any particular Christian virtue, but by living up to the Law of Moses and Abraham.

Like Zaccheaus each of us are wealthy in many significant ways--in our life and talents, in our opportunities, in our friendships, in our Catholic faith. And so we need to ask ourselves whether we are as generous as was Zacchaeus in using our gifts. Most people did not like Zaccheaus. But Jesus recognized something good in him. How do we treat those we do not like? or who may have different opinions than we have? Some kids treat these persons by bullying them. Do we ever use our strength and power to intimidate others?

It should also be noted that Zacchaeus , this little fellow, knew that somehow his life was incomplete without Jesus. And he did not allow his short stature to become an excuse for not seeking Jesus. Jesus wants to be a guest in all our houses. Our desire to welcome him will easily cancel any feelings of unworthiness that may hold us back.

Each day is the “today” of Jesus’ inviting Himself into our lives.

When we gather at the Table of the Lord, it becomes our Table of Welcome. Jesus welcomes us back from whatever distance we have wandered. He welcomes us back to the relationship with His sisters and brothers. Jesus welcomes us back to who we really are in God’s eyes and invites us to see ourselves anew and live that newness.

This weekend is also a time when Americans celebrated Halloween, or All Saints Eve. Halloween is derived from a festival in Ireland that celebrated the end of summer. It was called the Celtic New Year because of the shortening of daylight at this time of year. It was believed that on this day the border or wall between this world and the “other world” was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. Some were harmful spirits, but many were good spirits, so households prepared celebrations for the good spirits that they hoped would come to their homes. Because this time of year was harvest time, produce such as turnips, corn and wheat became symbols of the feast. The colors black was for the evil spirits and orange for the protective bonfires.

The evil spirits had to be driven away. Turnips were carved into votive candle holders and placed in windows to scare off the evil spirits. Masks and costumes were also worn to scare away the bad spirits. As the Irish traditions entered the United States, pumpkins, replaced turnips. As Ireland was converted to Christianity, the Church did what it was good at. It used the existing festival, baptized it, and turned it into a way to teach tenets of the Christian faith. Thus we ended up celebrating All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

Perhaps this annual celebration can suggest a few things to us. The first is that, while a pagan celebration became a Christian celebration, that Christian celebration has now become a secular celebration. How many others celebrations have we let the secular world take over? We certainly see the secularization of Christmas and the slower but still obvious secularization of Easter. What originated as a thanksgiving celebration for a good harvest and for the saints is now an occasion for horror movies, haunted houses, and by many parties for adults that can get out of control. How do we again use it to teach our children about our beloved dead, the saints? How do we again show gratitude for the harvest given to us by God and welcome the saints into our homes?

Homily for the week of October 24, 2010

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18

Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

From this pulpit you have heard the word parable used many, many times as part of the third reading known as the Gospel. In the Bible there are only 4 Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels were written for different readers: some of them Jews like Jesus, some who had no religion, some who were Jews and became Christians. The Gospels give us the words of Jesus and how Jesus wanted his followers to live. Jesus was a teacher. Like all outstanding teachers he uses parables to teach. A Parable is another name for story. Jesus uses parables, like the one in today’s Gospel, to help his listeners identify and change harmful behavior in themselves. Today Jesus tells us the story of a Pharisee and a tax collector both who go the church to pray.

Pharisees enjoyed the unqualified respect of the Jews but were often opponents of Jesus. In English today the word Pharisee often refers to a hypocrite, to someone who pretends to be religious but is not. At the time of Jesus, however, Pharisees were often devout and religious. They were ordinary persons who volunteered their time to help others. They also tried to follow the Jewish religion with great care. And by and large, the people loved and respected the Pharisees more than any other Jewish group. That respect was earned because they went way beyond the rules of the Bible. If the Bible said that a person should give 10% of his income to the temple, the Pharisee would give 20%; if the Bible said you should go to church once a week, the Pharisees went every day.

In Jesus’ time the tax collector would have been regarded as the opposite of the Pharisee. Tax collectors were an especially terrible group. The tax collector collected taxes for the Roman government who ruled Palestine. The Roman government would set the amount of taxes to be collected. Persons would then bid on that amount and make a contract to pay the set amount to the Roman Government. The Roman government would then give the job of tax collector to the one who would pay the largest bribe to the Romans. In exchange the tax collector collected the tax from his Jewish neighbor, plus any amount he could collect for himself. Tax collectors often overcharged the people keeping the profits for themselves. They were also known as spies for the Roman occupiers. Jewish rabbis taught that there were two occasions that it was all right for a Jewish person to lie -- to someone who wanted to kill you, or to a tax collector.

In the story today the Pharisee and the tax collector both go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee tells God how good he has been. His entire prayer directs attention to himself and his accomplishments: “I thank you...I am not like.... I fast.... I pray....” He thanks God not for the gifts he has been given but for not being like all the rest of humanity. He appears to have no need of God.

The tax collector, in contrast, beats his breast and prays simply, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Focusing on God, he prays for openness to divine mercy, which has the power to transform his sinfulness.

The tax collector concentrates only on God in his prayer, while the Pharisee spends most of his energy focusing on how much better he is than the tax collector. The sinner throws himself at the mercy of God; the Pharisee recites his spiritual resume. And here is the real surprise, neither man realized as they left the Church that God had forgiven the sinner and condemned the saint.

The end of the parable is startling: It is the tax collector who is in right relation with God. He has sinned, but he knows and acknowledges it. He is acutely aware of his utter dependence on God. He does not compare himself to others, but seeks connectedness to them through their common bond of reliance on God’s mercy.

This story can be both good news or bad news? It all depends on our point of view. For those who wish their good deeds added up on deposit in God’s heavenly bank, this story is bad news. But for those who thought they were forever stiff-armed from God’s because of their terrible bad sins, this story is surprising good news. Those who think they do not have a prayer to make it to heaven need to know that a prayer is precisely what they do have. It’s all any of us have ever had. Each of you have come to church because you are in need of God. Today as you prepare for communion personally prepare yourselves, not the one next to us. As I hold the Eucharist for you to see and pray: THIS IS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD. HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE CALLED TO TO THIS MEAL. And, and like the tax collector you respond: LORD, I AM NOT WORTHY TO RECEIVE YOU, BUT ONLY SAY THE WORD AND I SHALL BE HEALED. O LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME, A SINNER.

Homily for the week of October 17, 2010

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010

Exodus 17:8-13

Psalms 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

2 Timothy 3:14--4:2

Luke 18:1-8

A good many years ago Joseph Heller wrote a book that became a popular movie which enriched our language with a new expression: CATCH 22. A "Catch 22" situation is a no-win situation. A hopeless situation. In the movie an Air Force pilot wishes to be excused from combat flight duty. In order to be excused from such duty, he must submit an official medical diagnosis from his squadron's flight surgeon, demonstrating that he is unfit because he is insane. Pilots were of the opinion at the time that flying a combat mission is insanity. But sanity is a prerequisite to discovering one is insane. In other words, one has to be sane to recognize one's own insanity.

The widow in the gospel today is also in a Catch 22 situation. She is the helpless victim of an unjust system. A wealthy man is withholding a sum of money to which she is entitled. To get her money she must pay the judge the fee or a bribe which was necessary for her to get a court hearing. Yet until she gets the money she is too poor to pay the fee.

The poor widow did not give up. Faithful to the age-old saying that THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE MOST GREASE she comes to court every day and makes a scene. She kept coming for weeks or even months. The judge does not care for the woman or her complaint, but she will not go away.

She finally finds a loophole in the corrupt judge's indifference. For the sake of PEACE he finally gives in, hears the case, and in a few moments grants her what she has so long sought for in vain. But Jesus also says there is a difference between the corrupt judge and God. Although the widow's situation was hopeless she did not give up. But with God, Jesus is saying, OUR situation is not hopeless. God is not the corrupt judge. He does not have to be bought off before he will answer prayer. God is always more ready to HEAR than we are to pray.

This past week much of the world saw the rescue of the 33 miners confined for 66 days 2000 feet underground in a mine. But also what I hope that much of the world saw is that the first thing many of the miners did as they were taken out of the capsule was to kneel down on the ground, make the sign of the cross, bow their heads and offer a prayer. They were talking to God.

Talking to God is the best definition of prayer. But prayer is also listening to God. Few of us can tolerate friends who do nothing but talk at us. Words are good. But in addition to words prayer involves our mind and heart. Just like a good relationship, prayer must include insight and affection.

There are times when our experience of prayer seems to suggest that God is simply not listening. Our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling and ricochet back to us. Is God deaf, we ask. Yet how does prayer work? Why does war prevail everywhere when every day we pray for peace? Why does God permit rich nations to ignore the hunger of millions in poorer nations? Why do young persons with great promises die young? The more we see things like this the more difficult it may be to pray with confidence. Prayer is not magic. And God is not a magician. But God is always with us even when we don't think so.

God answers all of our prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No or Wait. A No or a Yes is very clear. We struggle with the Wait. We live in a right now world. We trade in a computer if a newer model is faster. We want to eat at fast food places. We want overnight delivery. We also want an instant answer to our prayers. When it comes to prayer, we are the ones who must change.

What is Jesus saying about prayer? Jesus is saying, if a person so utterly unlikeable as this judge will eventually do the right thing, and hear the widow's plea, how much more likely is it that a good God, a Loving Father, will listen even more speedily, and act with even more sure justice and compassion toward the prayers of His chosen and beloved children?

Prayer does not change God. Prayer changes us. It opens us up to the action of God in our lives. Like Moses we may get tired of making the same requests day after day. But we must not get discouraged. At every Mass and gathering we ask others to pray with us.

I have mentioned much about praying to God. But as Catholics who believe in Jesus, we must also pray to Jesus. Jesus says it was necessary to pray always. Jesus also gave us a way of living. So when we pray to Jesus we are telling him that we are willing to live as he taught us to live. All you really need has been listed by Jesus in his own prayer which we call THE LORD'S PRAYER or THE OUR FATHER. This prayer comes directly from Jesus. Chances are each of you have prayed this prayer hundreds, even thousands of time. But so often we can fall into a mechanical repetition of this prayer. But we must not do this. The Lord's Prayer asks God for all that we really need.

Jesus boldly asks God that our lives be feed, be healed of sin, and we be made a winner over the struggle between good and evil. Our prayer should also be persistent. Jesus stress again and again in the Gospels that nothing is too small or too worldly to be an object of our prayer requests. And he tells us to call out night and day until God answers the prayer.

It is up to each of us to find a method and place and even a position for praying that works best for us. These too can often change. Praying takes creativity as well as faith. Rarely will we pray like Moses, Aaron and Hur did today,with hands upraised on a hilltop. But, hopefully, we will often pray by reading and reflecting on sacred writings, including the Bible, as Timothy advised us to do in our second reading. At times we must pray with others and for others. We need people to support us. Children need to see their parents praying, and they need to pray with their parents every day. Family prayer must extend beyond meals and bedtime. Children experience security as they see their parents praying for God's help. And, if prayer hasn't been a family tradition, it can seem very "unnatural" to introduce it as something we might do together as family. Prayer must combine words and real actions on behalf of those in need.

Homily for the Week of October 10, 2010

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010- GRATITUDE

2 Kings 5:14-17

Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Luke 17:11-19

Brother Juniper once asked St. Francis of Assisi, Teach me to preach as eloquently as you. St Francis told him: I am not good with words. I will teach you to preach more eloquently than I. Meet me tomorrow, and I shall teach you to preach.

Brother Juniper met Francis early the next morning. To Juniper's surprise, they began walking. They walked through the main street of Assisi in Italy where there were stores and shops, smiling and talking with the clerks, the shoppers, the business owners, the children. They helped an old woman carry her wash up a set of stairs. They walked by a farm and stopped to talk to a farmer who was just bringing in a load of corn from the field. They talked with a few girls and boys who were on the swings in the school yard. They talked about fishing to some fisherman who had been out fishing early in the morning. Finally, an exasperated Brother Juniper asked, Francis, when are you going to teach me how to preach? St. Francis replied:Why, we are preaching.

Today's readings tell us about three holy men: Jesus, St. Paul and Elisha and how they preached to the people by the example of their lives, and by the stories that they told of the persons they met.

In our First Reading we hear just a little bit of the life of Nathan, an Army Sergeant. Nathan has leprosy. His wife had a young girl who worked around the house. The girl suggests that Nathan visit a holy man by the name of Elisha who lived in a foreign country by the name of Samaria. He couldn't find Elisha, so he goes to the president of that country for directions. The president is suspicious because he knew Nathan was a soldier in a foreign army. At first he refused to give him directions, but then finally gives in. Nathan bathes in the Jordan river as Elisha advised him. Nathan is cured. Once home he sends Elisha a thank you gift.

The Gospel relates a more familiar story. The lepers who came to Jesus were the worst of outcasts. People were afraid to associate with them. I doubt if any of you have ever seen a person sick with leprosy. But leprosy, or known today as Hansen's disease, is a contagious and an uncontrollable disease of olden times, yet it still affects about 15 million persons in some parts of our world. It could be compared to our fear of AIDS or cancer. Many lepers had no noses, no eyebrows, at times no ears; some lost fingers and toes. Many lepers had to wear a bell so that people could move to the other side of the path or road when they came. That is why the lepers in today's gospel STOOD AT A DISTANCE from Jesus.

In the Gospel we have the 10 lepers coming to Jesus for a cure. But Jesus refuses to heal them. Instead he tells them to go to Jerusalem and show themselves to the rabbis. What Jesus says makes little sense. Sending the lepers to Jerusalem is like telling an illegal alien to report to the immigration officer. But they all leave Jesus, and are cured along the way. Only one of them comes back to Jesus to say thank you. And he was a Samaritan -- one of those who most people would have considered the least likely to come back.

Jesus is not so much telling us about his power to heal but telling us that it is ok to heal all persons, and that all persons can be thankful. It is no longer necessary by the time of Jesus to be in the right place at the right time. All that is needed is faith. YOUR FAITH IS YOUR SALVATION. The samaritan was not only healed but he was converted. His faith in Jesus was his salvation. The Samaritan came back, not only because he had been healed, but because he believed.

Did the other nine not notice the miraculous disappearance of their leprosy? Possibly they were so accustomed to looking at life negatively that they missed the moment of their own healing. Or maybe what they wanted when they cried out to Jesus HAVE PITY ON US was money, not healing. The 9 took their healing for granted. They did not believe before they were cured, nor did the believe after the cure.

How do we thank God for his goodness to us? Maybe we are not use to saying thank you. Maybe we take life for granted. We can say thank you for the medical report that shows no cancer; to the doctor or medical staff that took years and years of study to do surgeries; for the teacher who taught reading, writing and arithmetic; for the car accident that nearly happened; for the telephone call from a friend whom we thought had forgotten us; for the healing of a relationship; for parents who gave us a religious formation, for a sunny day, for a smile from a spouse or child, friend or stranger. All of these are God's gifts which we enjoy many times.

Even if we feel that we haven’t been all that richly blessed, we live in a land where the poor are often better off than a vast majority of the poor throughout the world. Most of us have friends and family. Do we remember to thank God for all the dozens of little gifts that we receive throughout the day? Or is it easier to complain that we didn’t get exactly what we prayed for?

Right before communion we pray the words that could have easily come from the mouths of the ten lepers: LORD, ONLY SAY THE WORD AND I SHALL BE HEALED. Healed and restored we can now go to share the peace of Jesus with those who are bound by anxiety, pain and sin. Will we be like the ninety percent who don’t bother to give thanks, or will will give thanks for our healing Eucharist? The choice is ours.

To be a Christian is to be a person who begins and ends a day, a prayer, or even a life with gratitude. Real gratitude is simply the act of acknowledging God in our lives. With real gratitude, we can survive any problem.

Homily for the week of October 3, 2010

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2010

Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4

Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

Luke 17:5-10

If I were to ask you which is your favorite book of the Bible, I doubt if any of you would answer Habakkuk. Yet this Old Testament book is the source of our first reading, but it is not at the top of most people's reading list. Habakkuk was one of the Old Testament prophets, which means he was a teacher about God and how God wants us to live. Today many parents name their sons after Bible names such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Nathan, Adam, Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, James. But Habakkuk? It has been a long time since I have baptized a baby boy by the name of Habakkuk.

The Book of Habakkuk is not a familiar book. It was written within a very short time span, between 605-597 B.C. Habakkuk had watched many of the Kings destroy Assyria and Babylon and Jerusalem. Habakkuk asked the familiar question, “Why, God are you letting this happen to us? Why are you not listening?” God responded to Habakkuk in a vision which Habakkuk was to write down on tablets. Writing on stone tablets would preserve the vision permanently. he urged the people to patience, reminding them that God’s way always triumphs. But in a sense if you were to read all three pages of Habakkuk book you might wonder if he wrote this book one night after watching the nightly news. He was living at a time of tremendous violence in the Jewish country.

Habakkuk is the voice of the oppressed, crying for help to God. It could be the voice of the child torn from her mother's womb, or the quiet groan of the old man as he is given an extra shot of morphine to end his "inconvenient" life. It could be the fearful grasp of the executed prisoner, or the neglected and abused child put out on the street by her own parent and picked up by sex trafficker who told her she was pretty and he wanted to be her boyfriend. It is the voice of the voiceless and the cry of the desperate.

In a sense we in the 21st century are living in a culture of violence. The solution for so many things is to destroy life either through abortion, physical abuse, sex trafficking and pornography, homicides or suicides. During the hot summer, this year several U.S. cities saw a spike in gun violence and senseless deaths.

Today is Respect Life Sunday throughout our country. A weekend that gives us an opportunity to examine God’s gift of life and how that gift might be might at risk. It invites all Catholics to examine the value that life has and to truly respect life. Life is a gift from God. It is sacred and precious. Life in all of its forms should be respected because life is not of human origin. All life originates with God.

At one time or other, regardless of age or circumstances all of us struggle with human suffering. It is not pleasant. It is not only difficult to suffer ourselves, it is hard to watch another person suffer. Being with an ill person at the end of life can be one of the most difficult things we do. We are encouraged to care for each other even unto death.

There are many issues surrounding our love and respect for life. What the Church teaches is neither easy nor a popular path. No doubt the Church’s stance on life issues is most often a minority stance. The Church is ridiculed and attacked for its belief in the sanctity of life.

Habakkuk invites us to examine our stance on human life. Have we replaced God? Have we chosen our own idolatry such as pleasure, convenience, selfishness, or revenge? Have we lost our way and find that life is just as disposable as a paper napkin?

Paul’s words to Timothy are for courage, to take a stand, to give testimony: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love.” Peace comes only where there is respect for life in all its forms. We too must give testimony to our love of what God has created, and we must show it courageously.

It is precisely when things seem at their worst that a prophet is called to articulate the vision. In the struggle for civil rights in the United States, it was when the backlash against Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for an end to racism was most intense that he publicly proclaimed his dream for equality and freedom for all. Likewise, it is from prison, where Paul is suffering great hardship, that he writes the vision for Timothy, reminding him that God has given him the power of love, self-control and strength. By stirring this gift into flame, he can overcome any fear.

Not unlike Habakkuk, the followers of Jesus in today’s Gospel want Jesus to fix things by giving them more faith. Jesus reminds them that they already have faith enough to transform what seems utterly immovable. He gives examples. Jesus says a mulberry tree has a deep and extensive root system and is extremely difficult to uproot and replant. How we care for a parent suffering from cognitive impairment, or an infant with a disability does not reflect the degree of their humanity, but our own. We are dependent on them as they are on us. There can be no compromise with the standard Jesus set and continually call us to: The measure of our love is to love without measure.