Nobody likes a Jeremiah

Homily: Friday, 5th Week in Lent -- March 30, 2012
1^st Reading: Jeremiah 20: 10-13 – Denounce! Let us denounce him
Gospel Reading: John 10: 31-42 – If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me.

Nobody likes a Jeremiah!  And even if God should send His Son, people still would not believe.   With statements like this we can wonder why would anyone want to be a prophet or a disciple, much less a Christian?

Jeremiah is one of the prophets whom many of us can identify with because of his very human struggle with his calling to bring God’s message to a people who for the most part were not too receptive to what he had to say.   In Jeremiah 20: 9 we feel his internal struggle to live up to God’s call. He says “If I say I will not mention him or speak any more in his name then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary of holding it in and I cannot.”  These words speak to the very real challenge of faithfully carrying God’s message, God’s promise to those He sends us to.  It can be ecstasy but can also be agony.  While we have the joy of receiving and accepting the Lord’s words as our own it seems that when we try to share them with others we are met with resistance.  And after repeatedly being rebuffed, scorned, ridiculed, abused and attacked, we can get tired and we don’t want to take it anymore.  But God’s words and promise are so full of life they can be like a volcano ready to erupt inside of those who have come to know the true meaning of the message.  And it seems that our only consolation when people reject us and turn their backs on us is that we are not alone. We know that there have been many before us who have felt and experienced the same things.

So today we have Jeremiah a very unpopular figure in his day.  In fact most of the prophets were unpopular figures.   Let’s face it, they have a terrible job.  Nobody likes having their shortcomings, their faults, and their failings which need correction pointed out in public or private.  But a prophet like Jeremiah who seemed to be constantly forecasting gloom and doom simply got on peoples nerves.  He was preaching at a time when the Kingdom of Judah and especially Jerusalem were constantly under attack and siege, by the Assyrians, the Egyptians, and the Babylonians.  One weak ruler in Judah after another sought to compromise with the pagan invaders.  They forgot the Covenant they had made with God.   So Jeremiah continued to warn them that such compromise would only lead to further compromise, to unending hardship, and subject them to captivity with no end in sight.  And the more He called them to accountability, the more hardhearted they got, locking him in the stocks, throwing him into cisterns, and subjecting him to all manner of punishments. 

So today we hear Jeremiah at first seeming to be feeling sorry for himself by verbalizing the rejection of his message by the people.  He is feeling mocked by words such as “Terror on every side!”  He says even his friends are saying to denounce him.  And because he has set himself up as a moral compass, he feels the pressure of them waiting for him to trip up, or fall into temptation so they can prevail and take vengeance on him.  But Jeremiah does not give in to their refutes and He does not give up on them.  Rather he loves his people and says, “for you I have entrusted my cause.  Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked.   So Jeremiah stands firm on his commitment to be God’s messenger, though he endures the same feelings of fear, loneliness, and dejection that anyone might feel when trying to live out God’s will and answer God’s call in an unreceptive and sinful world.  

Then when all of the prophets had done all they could, God sends his Son to get our attention, to provide an even clearer message, and ultimately to stand in the gap between the Father and us, a gap caused by our sinfulness.  But as we hear in today’s Gospel, sin had such a strong hold on the world, that there were still many who rejected the Son, the message and the miracles.   And eventually He would go to the Cross taking our sins with Him, but not our sinfulness.  Yes Jesus gained our salvation for us but we still have the choice to accept that salvation.  We are still subject to, liable to, vulnerable to sin.  And it is because we can still be tempted and we can still fall, that God still sends prophets.  By virtue of our Baptisms, we are not only anointed priests and kings, but also prophets.  We are called to be the Samuels, the Nathans, the Isaiah’s, and the Jeremiah’s of today.  And guess what.  People are no more going to like the message we bring today, than they did when Jeremiah prophesied.  Because the message we have to speak requires sacrifice, repentance, turning away from selfishness, pride, envy, greed, and sin.  

As Prophets today we are called to defend and uphold the sanctity of marriage as being between one man and one woman.  We are called to defend the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception till natural death.  This means regardless of politics, regardless of where people were born or how they got here, every person’s life is sacred and must be protected.   As Prophets we are called to bring the revelation of the dignity and sanctity of the human body as expressed to us by John Paul II to everyone who can not understand why its not okay to have pre-marital relations, to use artificial contraception, or condone the harvesting of embryonic stem cells.  And even though we are called to deliver these messages without condemnation but rather with love and compassion, we are and we will continue to be met with rejection, abusive language, and hatred.  

However this is nothing new.  It has been happening since the time of Jeremiah, Jesus, and throughout the centuries up to today.  And while we may feel the struggle of Jeremiah or be met with the rejection that Jesus felt, we are still called to remain faithful remembering that God is with us. that He is guiding us and that His Son has won the final victory for us if only we can stand firm in proclaiming the truth, being compassionate in our message, and forgiving to those who can not or will not yet accept the truth.

Nobody likes a Jeremiah.  It is not a pleasant job, but it is the work of the disciple, it is the job description of our Baptism, and it the call of the God who loves us.

God's Love & Light Dispel the Darkness

Homily: Sunday, 4th Week in Lent -- March 18, 2012
1^st Reading: 2 Chron. 36: 14-16, 19-23 – Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers send messengers to them.
2^nd Reading: Ephesians 2: 4-10 – God who is rich in mercy because of the great love He has for us.
Gospel Reading: John 3: 14-21 – For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son so that all who believe might not perish but might have eternal life.
 
  Love – Light – Life    or   Darkness – Deception – Dispair – Death

Today is Laetare Sunday.  We are a just a little more than half way through our journey in Lent and it’s time to take a break from all of the work we hopefully have been doing to prepare ourselves for Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.   Now all of you chocoholics that have given up Hershey bars and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups for Lent, this doesn’t mean you can eat yourself into a chocolate coma.  The word Laetare means joyful and today we are reminded that even though what we are about to celebrate in a couple of weeks will require us to confront the sadness, horror, and feelings of despair, as we follow our Lord through His passion, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Why? (Show John 3:16 Poster.)   This may well be the most popular Scripture verse in the world, or at least in our country.   There was a time when you couldn’t go to a sporting event or a concert, without seeing at least one person holding up poster like this.  And wouldn’t it be great if everyone in the stadium or arena took these words to heart, but in all honesty we have to ask ourselves do they or we really understand the depth of what these words mean.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that we might not perish, but that we might have eternal life”  How can we even begin to understand what this means?  How can we know that God loves us?  How can I know that God loves me?  How can anyone know especially when we live in a world filled with so much darkness some of our own making, but also darkness thrust upon us through no fault of our own?  Well in order to know we are loved, we must first come to know the Lover.  And second, being able to hold on to this feeling, this belief that we are loved will depend on what we do in the darkness.

Today’s readings remind us that even when God calls out to his people, then and now and sends messengers then and now to light the path for us, there have been and still are times when His people turn away from him, and choose the darkness.  And sometimes when people have fallen into darkness whether by their choice or not, they can get lost, and stumble around, and can’t seem to find their way out, unless they turn back to or are brought back to God.  It may be that God will use another person to help guide us out of the darkness or call us to bring someone else out of darkness.  

The 1^st reading is a mini-history of the Israelites people.  It reminds them of how their choices to turn from God, and toward temptations, evil allurements, selfish acts, and worshiping false idols resulted in their being dragged off into captivity as slaves.  Then in their darkest moments they cried out to God to save them, and after enough of them had repented God moves the heart of a Persian king Cyrus who grants them their freedom and allows them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, they and their ancestors had desecrated by their sinful acts years before.  So God shows His love for them and He uses a pagan King to lead them out of darkness.  Now it was up to them to get reacquainted with the God who loves them, and not end up falling into darkness again.  But as we know God’s people all of us continue to backslide, and to fall into darkness and in this darkness we forget or find it hard to see or feel God’s love for us.  It is especially during these times that we need to return to the words of today’s Gospel.  It is in these words that we come to know the lover.    How can we know we are loved?  How can we know it’s going to be okay?   Because the Son of God was lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 

We are being told today to pick up our heads and look up at the crucifix, to meditate on it, and reflect on what it means.   For God so loved the world, you, me, everyone that he gave his only begotten Son that we might not perish, but that we might have life.  Look at the cross and see the extremes to which the darkness has taken hold of us.  Meditate on the extremes to which God would go to save us, and to bring us back into His light.  It is in the crucified Son that we come to know how much Father God loves us.   So coming to know the lover is how we come to know we are loved.  But knowing we are loved by God does not guarantee we will not fall into darkness.   In fact we are reminded that even when there is light, even when Jesus came, the gospel tells us that the people preferred the darkness to the light.   Think about when you wake up in the dark, and someone turn’s on a light.   It hurts your eyes and you say “turn it off.”   Well the nature of evil and sin is that it seeks to keep the one it has captured in the dark, because evil itself can not stand the light.   It is evil that seeks to deceive us into believing that the light is not good for us, that we are safe in the darkness.  And there is a lot of darkness in the world today.  And what has been its effect?   

As a society we haven’t just taken God who is the perfect light and put him under a bushel basket, we have locked him away in a closet and said He has no place in our public lives.    And without His light to guide us, the darkness of selfishness, greed, impurity, and worship of all sorts of idols and gods continues to spread throughout our world.   In this darkness we see many who have made the choice that they don’t need God.  Also in this darkness we find those who in some cases through no fault of their own must endure severe physical, emotional, and spiritual pain every day.   Most of us know people who suffer physical pain so great and prolonged that it would be understandable if they found it difficult to feel God’s love for them.   There are those who can not find their way out of the darkness of addiction to drugs, alcohol, porn, and power.   How are they to believe God that loves them?   There are those whose darkness comes from being a victim of all manner of abuse and whose scars are so deep and so numerous, that their pain keeps them in darkness.  How are they to find God’s love in all of this?  It may require someone else, like you or me to help them find their way back to the foot of the Cross.  God may require you or me to be the messenger who carries His love letter to the person in darkness.  We may have to be the ones who say the words, God loves you so much that He gave his only Son to suffer with you and for you so that one day you can be relieved of your pain.   It may be you or I who are called to convince a person, trapped in their addiction, their pain, their darkness, that they don’t have to remain there, that you or I will help them find their way out.  We may have to become the light of Christ to those who have despaired of ever finding their way out of their darkness.  

So today we have taken a break in our Lenten journey to hear some Good News.   We have heard just how much God loves us.  So much so that He would give over to suffering and death that which is most precious to Him, so that in what ever we are called to suffer or endure, we will know that He suffers along with us.   We are reminded today that the darkness we choose, or the darkness that is thrust upon us will not last forever.  But because darkness hates the light, it will not give up without a fight.   We must first choose and then to work at bringing ourselves and then others out of the darkness and into that perfect light which is God’s love.   It doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes repentance, transforming ourselves, changing our lives, making better choices, and answering the call to help others so that we can all find our way out of the darkness.  And as our eyes slowly adjust, we have the hope that one day we will be able to stand in the fullness of God’s light without hurting our eyes.

But it all begins with the Cross and the one who hung upon it.   We must make it our constant practice to look upon the Crucifix, and the crucified Jesus and appreciate what He freely went through for us.   Only in this way can we enter into the celebration of Easter with joy and a grateful heart for all that God has done for us.

Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable for judgment.

Homily: Friday, 1^st Week in Lent -- March 2, 20121^st Reading: Ezekiel 18: 21-28 – None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 20-26 – Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable for judgment.

We can only be enslaved if we allow ourselves to be.  I would like to share this story I came across on the web because it speaks so simply and clearly to our human condition.  It is called:

The Duck and the Devil.
 

            “There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.  He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.  Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved.  In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

             After lunch the next day Grandma said, " Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck ?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, " I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make Supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help. " She whispered again, " Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

              After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Our readings today remind us that God is a God of compassion, mercy, and justice.  In the 1^st reading from Ezekiel, the Lord offers hope to those who have sinned, and a warning to those who know better but choose to sin anyway.  It says that if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and if he repents and keeps God’s commandments and does what is right and just, he shall surely live.  He shall not die.  So in these words there is hope for everyone no matter how they have lived their life in the past.  God wants us to turn back to him but we also have the choice to do so or not.  There is also a warning for those who are virtuous, those who know what is right.   We are warned that a virtuous person who knows what is the right thing to do but chooses to turn away from God anyway, that person is accountable for their actions and they risk spiritual death.  We do have a choice.  But sometimes we act on impulse or without thinking, like the little boy in today’s story.  And once we have acted, it sometimes becomes hard to turn back.  We become paralyzed by what we have done, and it requires humility, courage, and fortitude to admit that we have done wrong and to say we are sorry.

             Then in the Gospel, Jesus raises the bar higher with respect to the behavior that is expected of us.   Our righteousness must extend beyond just obeying the commandments and following the rules.  We must be consciously and constantly asking ourselves “what are those things which are getting in the way of me hearing the Lord, following His commands, and being moved by His spirit.  It’s not enough for us to not kill someone.  Jesus tells us to not allow ourselves to get angry and if we do, we need reconcile with the one with whom we are angry.  We need to forgive those who have been unjust, unfair, unfeeling towards us or someone we care about.  It’s not enough to not steal.  We shouldn’t allow ourselves to feel envious of what other’s have.  The envy will blind us to what God has already given us.  In all these things, we must be ready to forgive, to forget, and to let go of anger, envy, lust, greed, or whatever it is that has a hold on us. 

            The lesson from the scriptures today and from the story is important for us to hear, but it is more important that we believe.

           “ Whatever is in our past, whatever we have done the devil likes to keep throwing it up in our face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ....whatever it is....we need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing..... He has seen our whole life. He wants us to know that He loves us and that we are forgiven.  He's just wondering how long we will let the devil make a slave of us.   The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives us, but He forgets what we have done.  It is by God's grace and mercy that we are forgiven.  It is through God’s love that we are saved. And we need to always remember that God is standing at the window.”

3rd Monday Ordinary Time -- A nation divided cannot stand

Homily: Jan. 23, 2012—Monday, 3^rd Week in Ordinary Time                                

1^st Reading: 2 Samuel 5: 1-7, 10 – David becomes King of all of both kingdoms.

Gospel: Mark 3: 22-30 – A kingdom divided cannot stand.

       If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

             A busload of our parishioners is returning this evening from Washington, where they spent the day marching for, witnessing to, and defending the most precious gift God has given us, the right to live.   And just as Jesus was met with opposition on so many occasions from religious leaders and the general public, our brothers and sisters who traveled to the Nation’s capitol today were likely to encounter opposition from protestors and lawmakers. 

            We are a nation divided on so many issues, but none more critical to the spiritual life of our country than those which threaten the sanctity of life.    And there was a time when we as a nation could not or would never have imagined that abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research would be not only legal but acceptable to a large portion of society.   It didn’t happen overnight.  The devil has been working slowly, methodically, and deceptively to change the minds and hearts of people.   It has been the execution of a slow and methodical plan to separate people from God.    It was so when Jesus walked the earth and it is same today.     By misinterpreting, and misrepresenting the words of Sacred Scripture and having disdain for Sacred Tradition, those in power and those seeking power have led people astray.   They have determined that they know the mind and heart of God, and have crafted a message disguised as one of compassion when in reality it is self serving.   Rather than showing care for human life, they have devalued human life. 

            Make no mistake it is a faith-filled Christian who strives to live out the words of the Gospel in all humility and seeks to defend the sanctity of all human life that is compassionate.    A true pro-life Christian cares for the health and welfare of the woman in crisis as well as her unborn child.  A true pro-life Christian cares about the family who suffers watching their elderly loved one’s health deteriorate at the end of life as well as for the elderly person.    But just as Jesus was accused of being possessed by the devil for the good works he performed and the truth he spoke, so it is for those today who work to protect life.  But to also be clear, there are those whose zeal and passion for the Pro-Live cause have driven them to acts of violence which contradict the very essence of what it means to be Pro-Life.  This is also the work of the evil one who deceives and confuses people by convincing them that this is what God calls them to do.

             So while it is a fact that today our nation is divided, we must continue to be faithful witnesses of the truth.  We must continue to show love and compassion to all in need and forgiveness to those who would persecute with words and actions.  We must peacefully and tirelessly work to bring our nation back to God, and under God’s protection.   This is what spiritual warfare is all about.   This is the heritage of the Disciples of Christ.