Homily for the Week of January 26, 2014

HOMILY: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2014

Isaiah 8:23..9:3

Psalm 27:1, 4, 13.14

1 Corinthians 1:10.13, 17

Matthew 4:12.23 or 4:12-17

         There are few things that feel better than being chosen. Making the honor roll, landing the perfect job, being chosen to marry each other, choosing to give birth to your child. Very often we are dependent on others choosing us. Very often our happiness rests on others’ choices. Starting something new is easy, but sustaining it is difficult. What becomes even more obvious is how difficult it is to make changes in lifestyle.

        

         Today St. Matthew tells us a little about Jesus choosing his closest associates.  He had been praying for a few days. Instead of going to his hometown of Nazareth, a sleepy village of a few hundred families, he goes to Capernaum, a bustling fishing town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  When Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum following the death of John the Baptist, He did a rare thing. We must understand how unusual it was then for someone to leave their home and family. To leave your family was to leave everything! Few people had the courage to literally abandon their family, their lifeblood, and their source of identity and status. Today Americans move from one part of our country to another because of certain situations or needs.

         Capernaum was oppressively hot, its land rocky and difficult to farm. There were few if any permanent structures. Despite fishing being its main livelihood and men fished only to survive, there were no docks or wharfs. The total size of the village was about 25 acres.  Jesus knew that he could reach a lot more people here by teaching and healing them. But first of all he needs helpers to do his work. So Jesus starts inviting. Jesus meets four residents of Capernaum: Peter and Andrew, and James and John., all of them fishermen.

         Jesus walked right into the midst of these fishermen and said, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Without question they did. These four Galileans not only followed, they left behind secure and stable lives. I am sure that their neighbors would have found in their willingness to leave everything behind to follow a stranger nothing short of craziness,

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         However St. Matthew tells us that it was a divine event. He reaches back thousands of years to a man by the name of Isaiah who made it clear that from this region that one day a king would come and once again a light would shine, That is most likely why Jesus left Nazareth and came to Capernaum by the sea.

         Finally Jesus choses 12  followers which we call disciples or apostles. All of them leave their occupation and family. There were probably many others who he invited but did not agree to follow him.  We do not know. Or I am sure that there were many in the crowd that Jesus did not ask. Two thousand years later, Jesus extends that same invitation to each of us. Today’s Bible reading is a reminder that we don’t need to be perfect to be a follower of Jesus.  We should be honest and bring our entire self to the table and offer our lives to God, however God wants to work through us.

         We believe that every person has some unique call which God cries out to their heart. Sometimes it is not the call we want, and disappointment can blind us to the true opportunities which God places before us. It says in the gospel that Jesus “summoned those whom he wanted.”

         There is an old saying which states: “When God closes a door, He opens a window.” Whether in the quiet of prayer or the gentle prodding of a beloved friend or even in rejection, in some way God is trying to point us in the right direction.

         Our first reading today is by Isaiah. Isaiah tells us that THE PEOPLE WHO WALKED IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT; UPON THOSE WHO DWELT IN THE LAND OF GLOOM A LIGHT HAS SHONE.  I imagine most of us can think of somebody, some person who has come through our life at some point and to this very day, has left his or her mark on us. Perhaps it was a teacher or a friend or just someone who seemed to understand us better than most others. It could be a person who took time to listen to us when we needed it, and we were not judged by that person.  I think that Facebook can often be place where persons can give to one another an expression of appreciation, especially when you can’t do it face to face.

         I think it would also be true to say that there are certain experiences that happen in our lives that change us for ever. If we had not been in this place at this particular moment in our life, met this person, accepted this job, decided to go to this particular school, would we be where we are today? There are just so many arbitrary things that happen to us in life, that we cannot predict what we will turn out to be, or what will happen to us. In one way or the other we are all controlled by the unknown. 

         The question given for us today is how are we to respond to Jesus? 26 days into the New Year, if necessary we offered a chance to start over to improve our life and our spirituality. We see Jesus completely start over as he begins His public ministry. We see four disciples completely start over in order to respond to His call. How can we start over? What are we willing to abandon this year to be better disciples?

Homily for the Week of January 19, 2014

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2014

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6, Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, John 1:29-34        

         Each time that you come to weekend Mass you hear three readings from the Bible. One of these is always from the Old Testament or the Jewish Bible, and the other two are from the New Testament for about the life of Jesus and all of us who call ourselves Christians. These readings are always at the beginning of the Mass and are intended to prepare ourselves spiritually for Holy Communion. These three readings are always in the Missalette in front of you in the pew. If you get here a little early you can read them and then might wonder what you would say if you were here in the pulpit.

         One of Bible’s amazing insights revolves around the message that God simply expects us to commit to carrying out God's will in our lives, even if we seem to fail in the process. God's definition of success and failure is always different from our definition. When we do what God asks, the results are out of our control. But instead of letting us mope and fret over our failures, our God is constantly leading us further down the road of faith, always pointing out the open doors lying far beyond the closed doors we have already passed. No matter what kind of week we have had, no matter whether it  has been filled with joy or sadness, God always has a suggestion for us of how to deal with it. But first we must go to God and trust him.

         Our second reading today gives us an example of this.  It is from a letter written by St. Paul to the Catholics who lived in a city in Greece call Corinth. Paul is forced to deal with problems he didn't foresee while he was preaching to this Greek community. Though he seems to have left the people  in fairly good shape months before, it's now split into factions. They have forgotten or ignored some of the most basic Christian truths, they disrespect the body of Christ and are using its gifts of the Spirit for selfish purposes instead of for the common good. Some of its members are even convinced that they're never going to rise from the dead.

         So what does Paul  do? Paul starts from the beginning. He tells the people that they have been called to be holy. The Bible word "holy" has nothing to do with being pious. It can simply be translated as "other" or different and unique. Though they don't necessarily look different, Christian holy people have a unique value system, a way of looking at people and things that are at right angles to how the majority of people look at those same people and things. Because of their holy viewpoint, holy people are expected to do holy things, actions that apparently end in failure. It seems that Paul failed at creating a holy Corinthian community.

         As you listened to the Gospel you may have also thought that a man by the name of John the Baptist was also a failure. After he had finished baptizing his cousin Jesus in the river Jordan he had decided to bring people together to prepare the way for Jesus as the light of the world. Jesus started preaching.  Many did follow him,  But he annoyed a lot of the Jewish and Roman rulers who finally got Jesus killed. Very few people changed their lives because of his preaching.  His success was only known after he had died. If we fast forward to ourselves in 2014 we might find some similarities with these Bible readings.

         Our life is very much conditioned on how we have been raised as kids.  It is difficult for us to feel free to do something other than what we have observed as little children.  If we are brought up in a family where violence, abuse, bad language, poor example, lack of religion is an every day event,  we may well become an adult whose life is the same.  If we are brought up in a family where respect for self and others, where daily prayer and participating in Church every week is expected, we will accept this as part of our life.  Little children can often be pawns in the life of their parents.

         Because of this it is easy for children, and later as adults, to think that we live in two worlds -- in the spiritual and secular world.  These two worlds are completely different, but we can easily cross from one to the other. As Catholics we should live our life in the spiritual world while being in the secular world.  Our spiritual life lives itself out in the physical world.  God expects us to manage that world.  It is the world of our shopping, our work, our school, our vacations,  but we must manage it according to our religious faith.

         For example some may think that our Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation are once in a lifetime events like items on a list of things to do, like vaccinations.  And because of this, some may never come back to church after they have received these sacraments thinking that they have made their spiritual graduation. 

         A few minutes ago we were invited to respond:  Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.  Today’s psalm responses gives us words to respond to God’s called offered in Jesus. We are told today that John the Baptist and other disciples were near Jesus when he was baptized.  In one way or the other they repeated: Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.  Here I am may sound like an ordinary response of those who believe in God.   But even those close to Jesus had a hard time saying it.

Homily for the Week of January 12, 2014

Baptism of the Lord, 2014

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

         There is a great time-shift in the Gospel.  Today is the official conclusion of the Christmas season. Thirty years have passed in the life of Jesus since last-Sunday’s Gospel when the Magi were visiting the Holy Family at Bethlehem.  Today we celebrate that day when Jesus’ cousin John baptized him in the Jordan River.   Like you and I Jesus was baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. 

         The feast of the Baptism of the Lord gives us an opportunity to reflect on our own baptism and what it means to us and for us. Our Baptism was the day in which we became a Catholic. We officially were given a name by our parents. Our parents and godparents promised for us that they would do all they could to help us be practicing members of the Catholic church.  All of this was completed with water.

         Just reflect, for instance, on the natural and symbolic power of water, that earthly substance we use in so many ways every day with a simple formula: H2O. Looking at water, we might think that it's the most simple thing around. Pure water is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Water is vital for all life on Earth. NASA has spent billions of dollars to determine if there is water on Mars. Where there is water there is life, and where water is scarce, life has to struggle. Our human body literally baths in water. Up to 60 percent of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70 percent water, blood is 82 percent water, and the lungs are nearly 90 percent water.

          We drink water when we are hot and thirsty and we immediately feel strengthened. We take a shower after a hard workout and feel refreshed. We water the plant on our window sill and suddenly it perks up again. We toss our dirty clothes into the washer and out they come, clean again. Without drinking water none of us would be here today. We need it for survival. Imagine a day without water. Thousands of persons in West Virginia right now are struggling to find pure water.

         But water has another side.  Without proper care we could die from drowning. We also see the power of water when a gentle river like the Saranac suddenly becomes a roaring torrent, overflowing its banks in the Spring. We have seen another aspect of water such as when an earthquake creates ocean waves that travel faster than a jet plane, and kills thousands of persons. In all of these examples water speaks to us of comfort, soothing warmth, but it also naturally warns us of the deadly power contained within it.

         It is not unlikely then, that over many centuries we humans have also discovered a certain religious or spiritual meaning in water.  In the Bible water has been both a symbol of death and of rebirth.  The book of Genesis portrays a great flood which destroyed all human life except Noah’s family.  The Jewish people had dozens of different washings which they observed practically every day, mainly to be ritually purified,  They would wash when they came in contact with blood, or a dead body, or eating some forbidden food. Many of you took a small bottle of Holy Water after the Easter Vigil last year.

          Jesus is no longer a baby or a child but is ready to take on his mission as an adult.  Jesus had no need for baptism, and initially he objected. But Jesus insisted that it was important “to fulfil all righteousness.” and to prepare for his the work which God had intended for him.

         While Jesus was being baptized by John the Baptist, he experienced a mysterious call from God, telling him that he should consider himself, an anointed one, a specially called Son. In other words, it was at Jesus' baptism that he first learned what God wanted him to do with his life. Jesus came to this event by free choice and it was for him the beginning of the rest of his adult preaching and healing ministry.

         Because Catholics are usually baptized as young babies, it is often many years before we begin to understand the fuller meaning of what happened to us at our Baptism. Unfortunately, if parents and godparents do not teach and recall the Baptism of their children many grow up without any understanding and appreciation of what Baptism was for them.

         So then, this feast of the Baptism of Jesus is a good time for us to consider our own baptism, the time when we too became beloved children of God. Baptism is the most precious gift we have received.   Parents and godparents might again renew their commitment to raise their children to be aware of their baptism.  At Baptism the priest prays these words: with your family and friends to help you...bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven. Baptism is also a sacrament that allows us to receive all the other sacraments of our Catholic church.

         Our Baptism was both an event and a process. This brief Baptism ceremony began a lifelong process. We began to live as the beloved daughters and sons of God. The water poured over our heads at Baptism was a sign that all our life we need to be aware of the spiritually drowning waters of sin, and refreshing waters of goodness.  Our baptismal certificate may be old, but we need to live our baptism every day.

Homily for the Week of January 5, 2014

HOMILY:  EPIPHANY,2014  (little Christmas)

Isaiah 60: 1-6, Ephesians 3: 2-3, 5-6,Matthew 2: 1-12        

         From the beginning of time or history men and women have been travellers and walkers on the earth. For as far back as we can determine we have had the desire to go to another place, whether for food, for protection, for a home, for adventure, for shopping, or just to find out what lies beyond the next hill. We seem to be explorers by nature. We have a vision that we want to make real and a hope that we want to fulfill. 

         Think, for instance, of some of the classic travellers of our own times: like Lewis and Clark making their way across the vast wilderness of the United States reaching the Pacific Ocean. They travelled a total of about 8,000 miles across the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbia and other rivers to the Pacific coast. Or 160 years ago the Irish coming across the ocean to settle in what is now Cadyville and built this Church with their own hands.  Think even of the astronauts of our own day, risking their lives in order to put a foot mark in the dust of the moon or Mars. All these people were visionaries. They had no idea whether they would ever reach their destination, but they were willing to travel in order to find out whether their hopes could be satisfied.

         So, today we just heard of some men from Persia who saw a star and decided to follow it. They travelled over a thousand miles over rugged desert.  The story contains something of what I have just been describing. It is a story of some individuals whom we call Magi, who saw a star and decided to follow it. While we do not know how many Magi there were, there were at least three since they gave three gifts to Jesus. The magi were a type of astrologer. Chinese astronomers have verified that on the day and month of the birth of Jesus a long tailed comet hung in the region of Bethlehem for more than 70 days. This comet would have been visible in the skies over Persia, home of the Magi in the hours just before dawn. Its light would have been directly in front of the Magi as they travelled towards Bethlehem. So they truly followed the star.

         When they got to Bethlehem where the star led them it was normal that they would stop by the home of the local leader to find out exactly where this birth had taken place. Herod was the Roman ruler. The jealous and furious Herod calls together his religious advisors to find out where this new born Jesus was. They tell him that 700 hundred years before there was a prediction that in Bethlehem of Judea would be born a person who would be the shepherd of the Jewish people. The magi got no information from Herod other than to come back and tell him where they found the baby so he could come to worship him. The magic saw through Herod’s hypocrisy and never returned.

         The magi are important, but the gifts they presented are more important for teaching us about Jesus.  Amazingly, the Magi carry treasure chests filled with gold and the sweet smelling tree resins myrrh and frankincense.

         The Magi are surely symbols of ourselves. They were clearly seeking after something. And their persistence led them to find just what they were seeking. They could have done nothing about their great longing. They could have tried to just ignore this painful desire. But instead they set-out on their journey. It was to be a journey full of uncertainty and danger. Finally, they found the Lord.  God’s plan always has the unexpected/

         Our journey towards God can often be very difficult. For many of us it is not on a well paved road.  It has detours, bumps, holes, low shoulders.  It is a road that is often filled with garbage and left overs. Sometimes it takes a person many years to even find the right road. There is a saying that says: IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING ANY ROAD WILL TAKE YOU THERE.  Why would we want to find God or Jesus if we have never heard of God or Jesus? 

         Because God has written on our heart a desire to see him and to know him. There is a built in longing for God.  There is a built in longing for love and for happiness. That desire is there even when we ignore it. In each one of us here is a thirst for God and for happiness. So often we try to satisfy that thirst for happiness and love by loading ourselves with possessions and clutter. It is not that possessions are bad. The problem is that they are not good enough to give us love and happiness.

         Silence and prayer are two sure paths for finding God within. There can never be an excuse for not making the journey within ourselves. A certain place to always find God without ourselves is in the poor and in the weak -- an elderly parent, a sick friend, a depressed neighbor. Our own weakness, is the very place where God can most powerfully enter our lives.

         Like the Magi, our road to God is or change and a willingness to strike out into unknown territory. The star of Bethlehem is the light that will light up the road for us and guide us home.

         The Magi did not just visit, but they also brought gifts. We too have the opportunity to offer God some gifts of our own. Are the gifts we give God because that is what we are supposed to do?  Do we give God what seems sufficient, or do we give a loving sacrifice?  There are gifts we value not so much because they are appropriate for us but because the one who gave us the gift has put so much love into it. Think of a young child offering his or her mother a dandelion, or an older child who carved their initials in a wooden paperweight. In the same way God is delighted when we offer God what no one else can give; when we offer God ourselves. Friends often tell each other: I love you with all my heart. Let us often tell God that same expression of love and affection.