Homily for the Week of January 27, 2013

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2013 Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 · 1 Cor 12:12-30 · Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21 One of the words most of us have identified with prayers and hymns and with church is the world AMEN. The word ''amen'' is derived from the Hebrew verb aman meaning to accept. It is best translated as so be it. It means that we agree with what has been said. In the Old Testament its primary use is to indicate that the one who says Amen! agrees with what has been said by another. Today in our first reading we hear this word uttered by the people as they listen to Ezra read from the Torah or the First five books of the what we call the Old Testament. After he has finished reading they all agreed with Ezra by shouting: Amen, amen!' At this time Ezra was with Nehemiah, the leader of Jerusalem,. Nehemiah was a Jew who had been a cup bearer for King Cyrus of Persia. A cup-bearer was a person who tasted beverages to see if they were poisoned. Cyrus had defeated Babylon and in so doing decided to end the Jewish captivity in Babylon. The background for the first reading is inspiring and instructive. The event described by Ezra took place right after the most traumatic experience in Jewish history: their exile to Babylon. They had been broken up and dispersed as a people. They lived away from their home for 40 years. Then their exile came to an end because the Persians let them go. Cyrus sent Nehemiah back to Jerusalem as governor to rebuild Jerusalem, and he sent the priest Ezra back to rebuild the Temple. With the rebuilding of the Temple, Ezra saw that the people needed to recommit themselves to the Lord. They had grown lax in faith and in their response to God. Prior to the Babylonian Exile, much of the Torah remained in its oral form. During the Captivity, the Torah was set into written form. At this assembly, the people begged that the Torah be read to them. Ezra read from the Torah for six to seven hours, translating it from Hebrew into Aramaic and explaining its meaning as he read. (He had to translate it because while in captivity the people ceased speaking Hebrew and instead spoke Aramaic, the language of Babylon.) Jesus knew about that event. What Ezra did is what we observe Jesus doing in the synagogue in today's passage from Luke. Jesus wanted to united the Jewish people again and wants to tell them what is right and what is wrong because they had gotten away from doing good. So he starts reading to them from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah had a special view of the law. By the time of Jesus the Jewish people had obeyed the law for 500 years. Jesus not only reads to them but also interprets the reading and applies it to their lives. He tries to make the words understandable and they all listen and looked intently at Him because they hungered for what he had to say. They needed a word of hope, and Jesus turned ancient words into hope. So when Jesus reads from Isaiah he reads the part about the glad tidings for sinners. Jesus indicates that he came to rehabilitate sinners. Sinners were those who could not, for one reason or another, obey the law. Jesus announces the new law. This new law forgives sinners, releases captives, heals the sick and announces a year of favor, a new millennium. Certainly another great reason for having a party. Listen to the gospel again. This time it is not Jesus who unrolls the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, but you. All eyes are on you as you announce that the Spirit of the Lord is upon you and that you have been anointed to teach, to preach, to heal, and to set free. And you announce that the Scripture is being fulfilled even as you speak. You announce this because it is the truth. When you feel spiritual dry, empty, try to nourish yourself and give yourself spiritual energy by reading for yourself the story of our gift of faith. When we read our faith story we realize who we are. We aren't Catholics or Christians because of a moral code or a set of laws. We are Christians because we believe in what Jesus taught us, how to live it. Our story is also one which brings us out of exile into the wonderful presence of God and Jesus. In many ways, the hardest place to bear witness to God is in our daily lives, among people who know us, warts and all. Jesus chose his home town of Nazareth to proclaim who he was. Our witness, if it is to be effective, must start with the people of our own community, our own town, our own family. That is where we find God and where we are called to give witness to God--among the people who make up our daily lives now. Anything else is unreal. Jesus said: "this text is being fulfilled... even as you listen." It was being fulfilled through him, through the kind of person he was. The challenge for us is to fulfil that teachings of Jesus today, to make them real, to live them out. Let us try to be like Christ, and bring joy and life to the people we are sent to. May that be the lasting impression we make on the world around us.

Homily for the Week of January 20, 2013

2nd Sunday C 2013 Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 John 2:1-11 The Gospel reading that we have just heard is perhaps the most familiar one for most people after the story of Christmas. It also talks about the first time that Jesus got out in public and helped out someone by performing a miracle. It also means a lot because Marriage is the common vocation or desire that God gives most people in sharing their life with one another. It is a reading which is often chosen to be used at a wedding Mass. The typical Jewish wedding in Jesus’ day was very different than our weddings of today. Hosts would rarely know how much of a crowd to expect Very often the weddings were arranged by the parents. There was no dating, or courtship as is now in our American weddings. The wedding would start when the groom arrived at the bride’s home with his companions, usually at night. The groom would then walk with his bride to his home, along with the bride’s father. They were joined by the groom’s friends and others who carried lanterns to provide light during the walk. On the way there would be singing, and the throwing of grain on the ground. When they arrived at the groom’s home, the feast started. It could last as long as seven days. The feast included speeches, dancing, prayers, music, and of course food and wine. And on the final day the bride and groom signed a wedding contract. They were then married. The groom's family would be responsible for housing and feeding their guests for the entire week. So running out of wine would not be unusual. Jesus and his parents had been invited to this wedding at Cana. The marriage was not what most of the guests talked about. It was the fact that they ran out of alcohol. But they were lucky that Jesus was one of the invited guests, and so was Mary his mother. Mary noticed the wine had run out. This would have brought embarrassment and shame to the groom who was responsible for the wedding party. She lets her son Jesus know about it. Somehow she must have believed that he could do something about it. And he does. He asks that 6 25 gallon water jugs be filled with water. These jugs would have been used for symbolic cleansing of hands of the guests according to Jewish customs. He turns the water into 150 gallons of wine. And the Bible tells us that it was the best wine. At most weddings cheap wine was served. Cheap wine had the looks of syrup. So water was added to the wine to get it to the right consistency. 'Good wine,' however, needed no preparation. It was perfect just as it was -- and it was incredibly expensive. The story of Cana has a much greater meaning for us than Jesus turning water into wine. It has an important human meaning, but also a spiritual one. One of the wonderful truths in this passage is not that Jesus did a miracle. It is that Jesus cared enough about the newly married couple to rescue them from social embarrassment. He cared enough about the guests that He made the best wine. He cared enough about Mary’s distress that He rescued her. Have you ever wondered if God cares about the little things in your life? Have you ever been lonely and wondered if God cared about how you feel? Have you ever wondered if God just simply cared? The answer is found in the simple, little miracle of making water into wine. God cares about even the little things. Just like Mary, we can come to Jesus and ask for help. He may make us wait. He might comfort us another way, but He will not disappoint us. If He cares about even the little things in my life, how much more the major events and crises. He cares about lonely feelings, and cuts on little fingers. He cares about the little things in your life. Our human heart and our life are often torn between a sense of emptiness and a need of being filled, like the water in the jugs of Cana. The wine can stand for all of God's gifts to us. His joy, his love, his understanding, his forgiveness, his wisdom. The empty water jugs can represent any of us who may be empty, or who can't find meaning in life. Like the newlyweds we often face the lack of something: a good job, good looks, good health. For one reason or another we begin to pray or come to Church or talk to someone about God and he fills us. He gives us new life; he gives us a new start. This event at the wedding of Cana can also give us a way of praying. Mary's emphatic statement to Jesus THEY HAVE NO WINE was a prayer. That prayer was answered in a way that was likely beyond her expectations. Mary simply brought her concern to Jesus without specifying how or when he should respond. When we say a prayer we often mention how we would like our prayer answered, but sometimes we should imitate Mary's style of praying. Instead of telling Jesus or God how and when we would like our request answered, let us just express to God what is on our mind and trust that Jesus has a better answer than we. If a little child has an earache, the child does not specify the cue, but merely cries out "Mama." The Mother knows what's the best thing to do for her child. If we, likewise, have some deep trust in God or Jesus, we can express our hurts, our fears or any other concerns and feel assured that our Loving God will know what is best for us. And finally, the wedding of Cana tells us that marriage is a very special way of life. As I mentioned last week, the Catholic church calls it a vocation. Many of you here are married. Make each married day better than the day before. Remove any fears or doubts you may have of each other. Show your love. Also, many of you are thinking of marriage, or may have already made plans to be married soon. Start now to invite Jesus into your life. Begin to realize how special you are to each other. We do have to listen, however, to Mary's words: DO WHAT HE TELLS YOU. God tells us each day in family events as well as in our own life what he wants us to do. Let her words ring in our day after day.

Homily for the Week of January 13, 2013

Baptism of the Lord, 2012 Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Psalms 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 Acts 10:34-38 Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 We celebrate today the feast of the Baptism of Jesus as we end the so-called Christmas season. This week we will be removing the Christmas crib until another Christmas. But while we remove the Christmas symbols we still recall the mystery of how God could become a human being, live among us and then calls us all back to him on our last day. But the person celebrated at Christmas still remains with us. That person, Jesus, ha now grown up. Today we read about his Baptism by John the Baptist. Unlike most of our Baptisms, the Baptism of Jesus took place when he was an adult and not a baby or child. Baptism is one of the 7 sacraments and it is known as the first of the sacraments of initiation. That means it is the first sacrament that we receive. We cannot receive the other sacraments until we have been baptized. Baptism is also the one sacrament that practically all Christian religions share in common although each religion baptizes at a different age. The Catholic church also accepts as valid the Baptism in many other religions provided that water was used. Even in the Catholic church Baptism is provided in different ways such as pouring water over the forehead as is done here. But some Catholic churches Baptize by immersion or placing the person in the water much as was done when Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River. At his Baptism Jesus publicly took on the responsibility of doing what God wanted him to do. In a sense it was at his baptism that God gave him his vocation. It is at our Baptism that we became a Catholic. At that time we became part of the Catholic religion. As a young baby we had a lot of growing today in our religion. That is why parents and godparents promise that they will instruct their child in the ways of the Catholic faith. Most Catholics have heard the word vocation. In a sense it is at our baptism that God gives us our vocation. The vocation which we choose as we grow up is the way that will be the means for us to get to heaven. When Catholics think of vocation they usually think of marriage, or being single or becoming a priest or a nun or a deacon. Each Sunday our local newspaper has a page dedicated to those who are engaged, to those who have recently been married and to those who have been married for 25 or 50 or more years. All are part of the vocation of marriage. Unfortunately, most of you cannot remember when the newspaper reported that a person became a priest or a nun. You can probably remember, however, when the newspaper reported that a priest or nun died as was recorded in this weekend paper of the death of Sister Rose Curtin of Plattsburgh. Most of you have probably never heard of Francis and Clarence Devan and Ed Delaney. All three lived on the Hardcrabble Road and became Catholic priests. All are now dead and became priests more than 65 years ago. No one from this parish has replaced them. Perhaps our society does not encourage us to think in terms of vocation. Young persons are encouraged to choose a career rather than living out a vocation. On the other hand, we who are baptized are not called to a career, but to a vocation; not to a livelihood, but to a relationship, A vocation is a way of life, not a means of supporting our life. Yet, it is easy for us to confuse the two. Many years ago I wrestled within myself over what I thought I wanted and what I truly needed. As long as I focused on myself, I could not focus on God. It was only when I trusted that God knew me better than I know myself that I let God lead me to my vocation, and I choose to be a priest. Some of you may have been wrestling with your own vocation. For some of you it could be a call to be a priest, or nun or deacon. Many of you have already found your way to God through marriage or a committed single life. But some of you may need to mentally and spiritually make marriage or the single life a living vocation to go beyond what you are now doing. In the end God calls each of us to a vocation of profound love. There are no second class vocations; only second class choices when we leave God out of our decision making. Each of us are called to be God's love in the world, but the roads are different. We must allow God to form us. Pray that each of us will be on the lookout for God who is always Like Baptism, a person’s vocation in life must be based on three actions: by reading the Bible and praying on what we have read; by participating at Mass on weekends, and by trying to live as Jesus wants us to live. These three actions are the very best way of choosing a vocation in life, and once you have accepted a way of life, of living your choice in happiness and joy. In a spiritual sense that choice began on the day of your Baptism.

Homily for the Week of January 6, 2013

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD:2013 AS WE HAVE LISTENED TO THE READINGS FOR THIS EPIPHANY, WE MIGHT WELL ASK OURSELVES THE QUESTION: WHO WERE THE MAGI?. WHAT WAS THE STAR? HOW DID A STAR LEAD THE MAGI TO BETHLEHEM SINCE STARS DON’T MOVE? OF ALL THE STORIES IN THE FOUR GOSPELS NONE IS STRANGER THAN TODAY'S STORY OF THREE MAGI FROM THE EAST WHO SET OUT TO FOLLOW A STAR. These three who came from the East were men of science and astronomers, They had studied the movement of the stars and planets. In the year 7 B.C. there was a coming together of the planets Jupiter and Venus, and later of Jupiter and Saturn. This would not occur again for 800 years. This occurrence was significant enough to make these astronomers believe that an important ruler was to appear in Palestine. They set out on their journey expecting to find the king whose star they were following. But there was already a king in Palestine, by the name of Herod who was suspicious of anyone who would try to take over. In fact, he had done away with his wife, her two sons, and his own son because he was afraid they would take over from him. Yet it would be natural for foreign visitors such as the Magi to go to the King to ask him if he knew of anything unusual that had taken place. So he ask that if they find Jesus they come back to tell him so that he might go to worship him -- which was a lie. Nevertheless, Herod ordered the killing of all young children so that he might include Jesus. The Magi’s search ended when they found "THE CHILD JESUS WITH MARY HIS MOTHER. When they found Jesus they had to separate science from the mystery of faith. As scientists they could explain the stars and planets; but as faith seekers, they had to depend on the mysteries of God. THE MAGI WERE SEARCHERS. THEY WERE NOT CONTENT WITH ROUTINE LIFE AS THEY FOUND IT. THEY WANTED MORE. THEY WERE WILLING TO BREAK WITH ROUTINE, AND TO SET OUT ON WHAT SEEMED TO BE A FOOL'S ERRAND. . WE TOO, LIKE THE MAGI, ARE SEARCHERS. WE SEEK ANSWERS TO THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE. IF THIS LIFE IS GOD'S PLAN WHY DOES HE PERMIT PAIN AND SUFFERING; WHY SO MUCH INJUSTICE IN THE WORLD; HOW CAN WE MASTER THE FORCES WITHIN US THAT AT TIMES PULL US DOWN AND DESTROY OUR INNER PEACE; FORCES SUCH AS ENVY, HATRED, RESENTMENTS, PRIDE. TOO OFTEN IN OUR SEARCH FOR ANSWERS WE FEEL THAT WE HAVE FOUND THE ANSWERS, BUT DISCOVER THAT THERE ARE STILL MORE QUESTIONS. THE MAGI WERE ALSO DISCOVERERS. THEY CONTINUED THEIR SEARCH DESPITE DISCOURAGEMENT AND SETBACKS. AND IN THE END THEY WERE REWARDED. THEY FOUND THE ONE THEY WERE LOOKING FOR. THEY REJOICED WHEN THEY FOUND HIM, AND LATER ON JESUS, THE ONE THEY FOUND, WOULD TALK ABOUT THE HAPPINESS IN FINDING SOMETHING, HE WOULD TELL ABOUT THE JOY OF THE SHEPHERD WHO FOUND THE LOST SHEEP; THE JOY OF THE WOMAN AT FINDING A LOST COIN; THE JOY OF THE LABORER FINDING IN THE FIELD AN UNSUSPECTING TREASURE; THE JOY OF FINDING A PEARL SO LARGE THAT IT MADE ALL THE OTHERS LOOK SMALL IN COMPARISON. IN ALL OF THESE CASES THE JOY OF DISCOVERY WAS THE RESULT OF LONG AND TIRING SEARCHES. AND THE MAGI WERE WORSHIPERS. WE ARE TOLD THAT THEY "GOT ON THEIR KNEES AND DID HIM HOMAGE. THEN THEY OPENED THEIR TRAVELING BAGS, THEY EACH PRESENTED JESUS WITH THE MOST PRECIOUS AND MOST COSTLY THING THEY POSSESSED. THEY BROUGHT THREE GIFTS -- GIFTS WHICH MOST PERSONS WOULD BRING IF THEY MET A KING. GOLD WAS FOR A KING; INCENSE WAS THE GIFT FOR A PRIEST, AND MYRRH WAS A SIGN OF SUFFERING AND DEATH SINCE IT WAS USED TO ANOINT THE DEAD THE END OF THE SEARCH IS NEITHER THE FINDING NOR THE JOY, BUT WORSHIP. IT MEANS FORGETTING OURSELVES, TO ENTRUST OURSELVES TO THE ONE WHO IS GREATER THAN THE GREATEST OUR MINDS CAN CONCEIVE, BUT YET WHO IS PRESENT IN THE SMALLEST AND WEAKEST OF US ALL. FOR MANY OF US OUR FIRST REAL ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS MAY BE A DISTANT MEMORY OF A FIRST COMMUNION, A CONFIRMATION, A READING OF A PART OF THE BIBLE THAT LEFT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITH CONVICTION. IS IT POSSIBLE TODAY, ANY DAY, TO RELIVE THAT HEARTFELT CONVICTION TELLING US THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE KNOWN JESUS NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME? SO WHO ARE THE MAGI? THEY ARE OUR FELLOW TRAVELERS ON THE ROAD OF LIFE. YOU AND I ARE WISE WHEN WE ARE NOT CONTENT WITH LIFE AS IT IS; WE ARE WILLING TO BREAK WITH ROUTINE TO SEARCH ANSWERS TO LIFE'S MYSTERIES; WE WHO REFUSE TO ADMIT THAT LIFE IS MEANINGLESS, BUT CONTINUE TO SEARCH DESPITE ALL DIFFICULTIES AND DISCOURAGEMENT'S. WISE MEN AND WOMEN ARE WE WHEN WE PERSEVERE IN OUR SEARCH UNTIL IT ENDS IN JOY, AND THAT JOY GIVES WAY TO WORSHIP.