Who is my Neighbor

 

     

    Homily: Sunday 30th Week in Ordinary Time – You shall love God & Neighbor
    1st Reading: Exodus 22: 20-26 – You shall molest or oppress and alien
    2nd Reading: 1Thess. 1: 5C-10- And you became imitators of us & the Lord
    Gospel: Matt 22: 34-40 – What is the Greatest Commandment

    The Apostle John was the only apostle who did not die as a martyr. He was exiled to the island of Patmos and died of old age. It was while he was in exile there that he wrote the fourth Gospel and the Book of Revelation. And there is a story which says “while he was already very old, his disciples would carry him to Church every Sunday. During the Mass, he would say to the people: “My dear children: love one another.” This was his one and the same message. After some time, one disciple asked him, “Master, why do you always say the same thing: Love one another?” St. John answered, “Because it is the command of the Lord. And if only this is followed, it will be enough.”
    
    Today’s readings speak of love for God and love of neighbor, which have been part of Jewish/Christian tradition since Mt. Sinai. But the understanding of what it means to love as required in Old Testament was amplified and clarified by Jesus. It was Jesus who came to teach, and to model what it means to love God and neighbor.

    The verses we heard today in our First reading from the Book of Exodus were taken from a huge number of laws concerning how the people were to conduct themselves within the Jewish community. These “laws” were meant to preserve a religious spirit and order among the people. All of these laws were seen as being given by God and keeping them was the way they showed “love” or reverence for God. These “laws covered such areas as theft, compensation of someone for injuries, immoral or immodest behavior and violent actions done to others.

    What we hear are verses about not molesting or mistreating foreigners, orphans and widows. If one were to harm one of these and they cried out to God, it says that God would mercilessly kill the abuser. We hear about the prohibition of demanding high or unreasonable interest or payback from someone to whom a loan is made. Yes, requiring some amount of interest is reasonable, but compassion was to be shown to those in need. If not the one who made the loan could expect God’s compassion to be withheld from them.

    All of these laws were quite specific and seemed to cover every eventuality. And the Jewish man or woman would have no problem knowing exactly what it means to love God, if they obeyed each one exactly. Now for some, that might be just what they would need to make life easy. Keeping all of these “laws” was how one showed love for God. But this begs the question, “does keeping the “law” mean it is love?” For the answer to this question, we need to turn to the words and example Jesus gave us.

    In the Gospel, Jesus is confronted once again by the Pharisees in an attempt to trap him into saying something which contradicts the faith and traditions as they understood them. So, they ask him which law or commandment is the greatest? And Jesus recites back to them, the very law that they claim to live by. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 called the Shema “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is Lord alone; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart." Every faithful Jew had these words memorized. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say, there is a 2nd commandment which is like it. He then quotes Leviticus 19:18, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” and He says that the whole law and the prophets depend or hang on these two commandments. And in responding to them in this way He links the two commandments together. He’s making them interdependent on each other. He is telling them that you can’t profess to love God, if you do not show love for your neighbor.

    Now the biblical or Jewish understanding of neighbor was defined by the expression, "the children of my people." Here, and pretty much throughout the Old Testament, the term neighbor implies more than just someone who lived next to you. It meant one related by the bond of nationality, a fellow countryman, another Jew. But Jesus means to expand this definition as well.

    In fact, in Luke’s Gospel account the Pharisees respond by asking then, “Who is my neighbor?” So, Jesus goes on to tell them the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a non-Jew, despised by Jews, who shows more compassion to a man beaten and left on the road than the other two Jewish characters in the story. But in Matthew’s Gospel, he leaves it more to us to not only think about who our neighbor is, but what constitutes loving that person. Regardless, Jesus told us in words and in actions what our mindset should be.

    So, who is my neighbor and what constitutes loving them? Well every single person who is living and breathing on this earth is my neighbor. And I am required to love them, not with the love of a husband or wife, mother or father, sister or brother, or even as a friend. To love my neighbor is to will their good and to care about their immortal souls.

    And this command may seem more challenging today than perhaps at any other time in history given what is going on in our country, our church, and in our world. For if we are to take Jesus at his word, then we are called to care about the souls of those who have caused harmed to us, to our family, to our country. We are called to care about the souls of those who profess to be Catholic, Christian, Jewish, or have no religious or faith-based affiliation at all but by their words and actions have strayed from what God and their faith calls them to be and to do. And sadly, we may also encounter those have turned their back on God altogether. But, if we profess to be disciples of Christ, then according to Christ all of these are our neighbor. So, if that is the case how are we to respond? What is our obligation to them? First, as I said, we must care about their immortal souls and we must pray for God to change their hearts. Next with a well-formed conscience rooted in scripture and the sacred tradition and teaching of the Church, we are obligated to call them to accountability and show them where they are in error. And just as when our children have gone off the right path and we must show them tough love, so it is with all of these others who are our neighbor.

    Today there is an evil which has infiltrated our country and our church. There are those in political leadership, Church leadership, in the media, and people of social and economic prominence who claim to be Catholic, Christian, Jewish, or profess to believe in God in some other manner but have lost their way. By their words and their actions, they have gone against the tenets of the faith or church of which they claim membership. Today we are enduring a diabolical wave of behavior by those in positions of power and influence which places the respect, the dignity, the protection of all human life on the same or even a lower level of priority as other social issues, like climate change, the economy, and health care reform to name a few. We see societal acceptance of all sorts of immoral behavior and sins against purity. We see intentional and aggressive attacks on traditional marriage and the family. We see Catholics, Christians, and Jews being persecuted in the media and at the hands of our political leadership. We hear a deafening silence and lack of outrage by our political leaders as Churches are desecrated and burned. We see inaction by those to whom we entrusted our safety and protection as we see people lose their lives to violence and our cities and neighborhoods being destroyed. We see a Church membership, both clergy and laity which appears to be divided in its understanding of the most basic teachings and traditions of our faith. And yet, the Gospels tell us that every one of these people is also our neighbor and that we should love them; not agree with them, not sit down and break bread with them, though Jesus would have, and we are not to give them a free pass. Rather we are to hold them and ourselves accountable for actions which contradict who and what the Lord calls us to be as baptized members of the body of Christ. So how do we do this? Well for those in political leadership, if we cannot sway them from the positions or courses they have taken, we are obligated to make our voices heard in the voting booth. For those in the Church and Church leadership who seem to advocate for positions which contradict the scriptures and Church teaching, we are obligated to reach out to them in writing or in person and express our confusion and/or dissatisfaction. For those in the media, or in other areas of influence, we have the right to express our discontent, and refuse to support the institutions or causes they represent. But again, we must do all of these things with a well-formed conscience, rooted in Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of our Church. We must know what our faith teaches and why it teaches it, before we can call others to accountability.

    But, first and foremost, we are obligated to pray for them; to pray that the Lord will change their hearts and we are obligated to pray for their eternal souls which are in immortal danger. And we must do so from a position of love, not anger, not hate, not despair because love cannot exist where anger and hate are present. If we do so in anger or with hate, we will fail in our efforts to help change their minds and hearts.

    This the challenge of loving our neighbor because St. John tells us in his 1st letter, “If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

    So, who is my neighbor? Everyone born & unborn, young, and old, rich or poor, sinner or saint. All are our neighbors.

     What does it mean to be a Disciple of Christ    

     Homily: 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1^st Reading: 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16 – Elisha gives hope to the barren woman of Shunem

2^nd Reading: Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11 – think of yourselves as dead to sin & living for God

Gospel: Matthew 10: 37-42 –whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but rather that God will make us good because He loves us.”  – C. S. Lewis

       Today’s readings challenge us to reflect yet again on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to place God above everything else in our life.  And the challenge to be a disciple of Christ is not simply one of the will where we choose to follow Christ and everything is fine from then on. Because whether we like it or not, we must accept the fact that there is an evil which seeks to separate us from God’s love and convince us that  that God’s love is conditional; that he will only love us if we are good.  And this is a misconception that Jesus came to dispel.  Jesus did not place conditions on His love for others.  It was up to each person to accept his invitation, his message, his love. This was the choice of anyone who wanted to be His disciple.  Now having said this, there are still misconceptions about what it means to be a disciple.

You see to be a disciple in the time of Jesus was not to be a groupie who just followed a popular person around because they wanted to be seen with him.  The Apostles and disciples of Jesus were not his posse.  In those days, to be a disciple of a teacher, rabbi, or holy man meant that the disciple must take on the mind and the heart of the one he/she followed and to live and act as their Master did.  So being a disciple of Christ meant accepting God’s love by taking on the mind and heart of  Jesus; that is the mind and heart of God. And as is with most things in life, this is easier said than done.

       The events of the last few weeks, beginning with the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman, and the protests and violence that followed, caused me to reflect back to 1968.  I was 15 years old when Martin Luther King was assassinated, and I remember watching the rioting and looting of L.A., Washington D.C., and other cities on TV.  I also remember my father & I driving through Washington, DC while the protests and riots were still going on.  And the thing I remember feeling confused about was the actions of the rioters.  I remember being confused about how the rioters could think that looting, killing and destroying their neighborhood was a justifiable response to the death of a man who spent his life preaching that peace and non-violence was the only way of solving issues of injustice, racial or otherwise.  It didn’t make sense to me, that they could be true followers of this man.  How could they use the very means he spoke against to express their anger, fear, and disappointment.  Had they forgotten his words? Did they really not agree with what he stood for?  Had they given themselves over to feelings of despair?  It seems they had not taken on the mind and heart of the one they seemed to have so admired.

       And in reflecting on what is going on in our country right now, as well as the events of 52 years ago, I thought about the Apostles and disciples of Jesus who scattered when He was arrested and crucified.  They hid out in the upper room and waited.  They needed that time to reflect not just on the last 36 hours or so, but on what they had heard and seen over the last 3 years as they followed their Master. The words He had spoken, the things he had done.  They needed that time to remember all He had told them, and taught them.   But imagine what would have happened, if they had let their fear, their anger, their feelings of disappointment drive them to a different course of action? What if they had set aside or even forgotten the words and the teachings of their Lord, and took a different action? Imagine if Peter had sent word out to the zealots and other followers, that Jesus’ brutal torture and death would not go unanswered.  What if the followers of Jesus had risen up and responded to the Romans and maybe even the Jewish Sanhedrin with violence?   Not only would such actions been unwise not to mention dangerous, they would have invalidated everything Jesus had said and done, and it is very likely the Church would never have gotten off the ground.

       Jesus is telling us today that to be his follower; that is that to be worthy of Him, we must set ourselves apart from what the world would have us do.  All that Jesus said and modeled for us did not become invalid because he underwent suffering and death. He told his Apostles and disciples everything that would happen to him before it happened.  He knew the human heart, and He knew the weakness of the human spirit.  But despite knowing this, his message remained the same even to the point of forgiving those that tortured Him and put him to death.  Being a disciple of Jesus is not an easy road to walk.  And today we hear him use some pretty challenging language.  He’s telling us that to be his disciple means we have to buy in totally to his teaching.  We must love him, which means loving God over everything and everyone else including our parents, our wives, our siblings. And many have wrestled with this teaching because what they think or what they hear Jesus saying is not to love and honor our parents which goes directly against the 4^th commandment.  But that is not what He’s saying at all. In fact, there is a reason why the commandment to honor our Father and Mother is the 4^th commandment and not the 1^st.   You see the 1^st three commandments address how we are to love and reverence God. If we fail at these three, we will find it difficult to obey the other seven which teach us about how to relate to and love our parents, our neighbor, everyone.  What Jesus is telling us today is that the only way to truly love our families, our friends, and the stranger is to love God first.  And we are seeing the effect on our country when people don’t accept His words.  We see the effect on our county when God is banished from everywhere but our homes, and even there God is coming under attack.  The result is people don’t know how to love as God loves because they’ve lost touch with the one who loves them. No matter who we are or what our state in life is, we’re called to be loving in the same way that God loves us. Whether rich or poor, regardless of race or ethnic origin, we are all are called to love as God loves.

       In the first reading we hear of the woman of Shunem who showed hospitality and care to Elisha the prophet.  It says she was a woman of influence which can be interpreted as she was wealthy.  We also hear that she was an older woman who had not been able to give birth to a child.  And yet despite this void in her life she she does not curse or turn away from God.  Instead she recognizes Elisha as a holy man, one who is close to God, one who spoke for God, and she opens her home and her table to him whenever he came to town.  Despite her life experiences, she still chose to show reverence for God and for God’s messenger.  She did not turn away from God because life was unfair to her. 

       This is the choice we all have to make.  It is what St. Paul is trying to tell us in today’s 2^nd reading.  If we are to live out our baptismal call as disciples of Jesus, we must turn away from sin and turn toward God and live for Him.  It means he must be 1^st in our life.  Living as a disciple of Christ means to love as Christ loves and to follow His example of how to love others. Living as a disciple of Christ means taking His words and his life to heart and living our lives according to those words and example.  But this is not what the world would tell you.  It is counter-cultural to think that I should not respond with divisive language, anger, and violence when I have been wronged. But this is what being a disciple of Jesus requires. And if you think about it, in almost every age, to be a disciple of Jesus required going against the cultural norms.

       We’re living in very difficult times.  We are suffering the effects of failed leadership at all levels.  Those we entrusted with the responsibility to care for us have acted irresponsibly by their behavior.  By their divisive language and actions they have given license to speak and act in a divisive way to the people they’re supposed to serve..  By their words and actions they have validated the behavior we are seeing in our streets.  They have assigned people the right to do harm to their brothers and sisters.  We are in a cycle of anger and violence that must be broken and the only answer is to live out the Gospel of Jesus.  The only answer is for those who claim to be Christians, to act like Christians are supposed to act.  There are too many Christians and Catholics who are having a hard time with this.  The events in our country and in our world, have so consumed them, that they have lost their joy, they have lost their peace. And so they justify using divisive language and actions as a right response to injustice.  But in doing so they contribute to the lack of joy and peace in our country.  And the only way to get back that peace and joy is to make the Lord first in our lives and by loving God more than anything else.  Now this doesn’t mean we won’t experience rough times, but if we are truly trusting in God and seeking his guidance in all of these situations, He will give us the peace to know we are doing the right thing when we are doing it.

       But when we put God on a shelf; when we try to take matters into our own hands even in the name of justice; without God as the focus of our life, we will fail at whatever we do and we will lack the peace we so desire.

       The problems we face as a country will not begin to subside until all who claim to be Christian disciples of Christ, take on the mind and the heart of Jesus and respond as He would respond instead of how we think He should respond.

       

       

       

A House divided against itself cannot stand

        Homily:Monday, 3^rdWeek in Ordinary Time 2019                               

       Gospel:Mark 3: 22-30–A house divided against itself cannot    
       stand

            It is the threat to Christian unity that Jesus is speaking about in  today’s Gospel.  He said, “if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”  And this would certainly seem to apply to what is going on in our country and our church today.

         We are a nation divided on so many issues.  The loss of respect for all human life is one of the more grievous threats to the spiritual life of our country.  The slow and deliberate effort to divide the members of various faiths and religions, followed by legislation and legal action to erase any semblance of God from our country has put us on a path to spiritual and moral destruction. 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 diabolical plan to separate people from God.  This was the case when Jesus walked the earth and it is the case today.  By misinterpreting, and misrepresenting the words of Sacred Scripture and having total disregard 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 people, they have devalued all human life.  Additionally, the attack on our Church is a spiritual attack as well. One in which the evil one has targeted those he fears the most, the clergy.  By ramping up the temptations to give in to physical and emotional desires, and then confusing the minds of our Church leaders such that the fail to fulfill their role as shepherds, the plan to bring down the church is clear.  Now don’t get me wrong, choices were made due to the free will given to those who made errant choices are accountable.  But make no mistake, the devil is attacking those things that bind us together.  God’s word is being diluted, devalued, with the goal of making it irrelevant.  An attack on our priests is an attack on the Eucharist.  The more priests and Bishops he can take out, the less available the Eucharist is to the faithful and it is the Eucharist which unites us as Catholic Christians.  

         This why it is so important that we do not lose faith, that we do not lose hope. We must pray harder, and we must read and reflect on the Scriptures.  And finally we must receive and protect the Eucharist. 

         We are in a spiritual war and we must do everything we can to heal the divide in our church and in our country.  Otherwise our country will fall, and our church will suffer greatly before the final victory promised by Our Lord.

          

            

           

      Homily Sunday 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.
      1st Reading: Numbers 11:25-29 – Would that all the people of the Lord were Prophets.
      2nd Reading: James 5: 1-6 – You have live on earth in luxury & pleasure
      Gospel: Mark 9:38-43. 45, 47-48 – If any of you lead these little ones into sin, it would be better

The revelations about sinful and also criminal actions by Shepherds within the Church, over the last couple of months has left me troubled in spirit. The reports that have been coming out about those who were charged with the care of their flock have caused confusion, disappointment, and anger, lots of anger.

Tuesday evening, we had a listening session here in the Church with Bishop Parker and Msgr. Hannon here representing Archbishop Lori along with many of the priests and Deacons from the Frederick area. And I must tell you I walked out of this church deeply saddened by the level of pain and hurt expressed by so many who have been deeply wounded. I left this church feeling the anger of so many who have been let down by those in whom they had placed their trust to shepherd, to guide, and to care for them. I also witnessed a lot of anger which in some cases was masking the pain, while others were angry because they didn’t know how else to feel. So I walked out of this church wondering, what do I do? What do I say to those who have been so deeply injured physically and spiritually? What do I say to those whose faith has been shaken or to those who have already made the decision to leave the church? As all of this was going through my mind, I suddenly remembered that I had to preach on this weekend’s scriptures. And I have to tell you that it feels like the Lord has been shouting at me since the first time I read them a couple of weeks ago. But it’s not just this weekend’s scriptures. It seems like most of the Scripture over the last few months have been speaking to the current situation in the Church but it also feels like they have been speaking to me as well. So, when I read the Gospel for today, where Jesus says "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. When I read that, I looked up at the ceiling and said, “really Lord?” This is what you want me to preach on? It was obvious to me that this reading was calling bishops, priests, and deacons to accountability or at least to reflect on how well we are fulfilling the call we accepted at Holy Orders? And while this is true, the scriptures are saying so much more and they are saying it to all of you. It is saying it to all of us.

You see many of us when we hear the scriptures, particularly the ones that criticize those in leadership like the Pharisees, and Sadducees, or others in positions of power we may think that Jesus is speaking only to them. And yes the Lord is speaking to them in a powerful way because of the oaths they have taken. But the scriptures are like a mirror and when we hear them we should also be looking at ourselves. When we hear them, we should be saying, “Lord what are you saying to me? How do these words relate to me?” And today’s readings are no different.

In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, Moses has prayed over seventy elders as Yahweh commanded, so that they could receive the spirit and assume some of the responsibility for leading His people. As it turns out, two of those selected weren’t there during the prayer of commissioning, but the spirit fell on them anyway. And when the others heard these two prophesying they were offended. Those who were anointed or prayed over were offended that someone else might be called to do what they were charged to do. They had an elitist attitude that God’s spirit only fell on them and that they had a special privilege. And while we may think that this scripture is directed at bishops, priests, and deacons, we are challenged to think about how we too might at times have an elitist attitude regarding our faith. Whether we admit it or not, there are those today who believe if you are not Catholic, you are somehow deficient in God’s grace and therefore can’t speak the truth of the Gospel.

Then in the 2nd reading James is calling out the rich, those in high positions who have lived a life of luxury but have not taken care of those who harvested their fields. These are feelings I heard expressed last Tuesday night. And while these are valid and righteous feelings, again we must ask ourselves, is James speaking to us as well? Is there anything about James’s words that makes us cringe or at least uncomfortable?

Then in the Gospel, again the Apostles are upset because someone else is daring to perform the work that Jesus gave them to do? So Jesus calls them on it, and explains that what’s important is that his words and His love are being accurately proclaimed not necessarily whose doing it. But He also goes on to say that anyone who leads another astray, causing them to sin; or causing them harm, they are looking at a fate far worse than their physical death. And again, it would seem logical that the Lord is directing His words in particular to those in positions of authority in the Church. But He is not speaking just to them but to all the faithful. He is speaking to you and to me because by our baptismal call, we are commissioned to bring others to Christ. We are called to be the voice, the hands, the feet, the heart of Christ for others. So we need to ask ourselves, how am I representing Jesus to others? Am I accurately sharing with them the teachings of Jesus Christ, not the teaching of any particular Bishop, but of Jesus Christ? Because if I am not, if you are not, then we too can lead others astray, and maybe even into sin? We too are accountable for the souls of others.

So what do we tell those whose faith is shaken? What do we tell those who at one time were attracted to the Catholic Church, but now, maybe not so much? What do Ruth Huffer and Mia Marcellino who are on mission with Net Evangelization Teams; what do they tell those high schoolers they will be ministering to around the country?

We tell them the truth. The sacraments of Jesus Christ are still the sacraments which provide nourishment, grace, and healing. We tell them that Jesus is every bit as present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist today as before. We tell them that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church and that the Holy Spirit is still guiding the Church despite the efforts of people inside and outside the Church to bring it down. And because Jesus is still the head, we can trust that all who have had a hand in inflicting grave harm and suffering on the body of Christ, will be brought to accountability.

Jesus will not let his Church fall, but He has at times in the past, and seems to be doing so today; He does allow His Church to suffer, to be brought low, and to go through a period of penance and purification.

Our job is to continue to bring the love of Christ and the truth of his teaching to anyone and everyone He calls us to. But we will not be able to do this if we ourselves do not pray daily, and receive the Sacraments. We will not be able to do this if we don study our faith and know what it teaches and why. We will not be able to do this if we allow the anger and the disappointment to keep us from reaching out to others with the love of Christ. The Lord will sort out this mess in time. We just need to remain faithful for we too are accountable; for our own souls and the souls of others. The Lord will not abandon us. In fact He is speaking to us more loudly and more clearly than perhaps at any other time in our lives. We just need to listen, to learn, and to love and trust that the Lord sort this mess out.

       

Homily: Monday 16th Week Ordinary Time _July 23, 2018
1st Reading: Micah 6:1-4,6-8–Do the right, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God
Gospel: Matthew 12: 38 –42 – Demand for a Sign

With apologies to C.S.Lewis I submit the following Memo
From: Satan, Prince of Darkness
To: All demons working in the mission fields of earth.

There are generally three types of humans on which we must focus our attention. One group is those who do not believe in an all-powerful God, or in the One called His Son. Our job for them is easy as all we need do is keep them rooted in believing that all they have, that all that happens is within their control, because it is all that they choose to believe or reason could be possible and logical.

The second group are those on which we must focus more of our energy. It is those pathetic humans who have a tepid belief in a Creator, a lukewarm acceptance of the actions of Jesus, His Son, and whose teetering faith becomes stronger or weaker based on what their eyes can see, and how much they comprehend the evidence which is all around them. These are the ones to which we must be constantly attentive to convincing them that they must not only have proof but powerful, visible, undeniable proof that God exists and that He loves them.

Finally there is a third group whom we must also stay on top of; those who seem to be particularly vulnerable to their own human nature, because this God of theirs foolishly gave them free will, and because He did, they mistakenly believe they can do whatever they want because He will always be there to welcome them back if they have strayed from His desires for them. For these it is simply a matter of convincing them that there is no urgency to follow His commandments because they have more than enough time to return to Him.

So keep fighting the good fight of deceiving, and coddling these pitiful creatures for in the end if we do our jobs well, we will win this battle and our ranks will be swelled with those who waited till it was too late to realize what they truly had.

I hope you will pardon my attempts at playing C.S. Lewis but I wonder how many people today would say they believe in God or call themselves Christian, but would still require proof that God is there for them, or that God is listening to them. I wonder if Jesus came today, how many would want proof that it was really Him and would want to see a miracle for their faith to remain firm. And I wonder how many today profess a belief in God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but take for granted His unconditional love and infinite mercy by choosing their own path, following their own desires, satisfying their own cravings, simply because they think that God will always be there to take them back. I wonder how many wait too long or until it is too late.

And I also have to wonder does God get impatient with us? He would certainly be justified in getting frustrated with the hard-headed, self absorbed creatures who are His children.

In today’s 1st reading, God speaks through the prophet Micah seems to have had enough. And in the Gospel Jesus’ response to the Pharisees would make it seem like He is tired of their unbelief, which has once again been revealed in their demands for yet another sign.

In the 1st reading imagine a courtroom with the people of God on trial. In it the Lord has lodged a legal complaint against the nation of Judah. The witnesses are the mountains and hills which are part of God’s creation. There is evidence against God’s chosen people and He has summoned His people to listen to His accusations and prepare their defense. The evidence is all the injustices they have committed and their lack of gratitude for all that God has done for them. The evidence is so compelling that it causes God to cry out and say, “O my people, what have I done to you that you should respond to my love in this way?

Then the people, essentially attempt to plea bargain by asking what compensation they need to pay for their sins. Then Micah speaking the peoples part says “With what shall I come before the Lord?” They want to know what gifts they should bring to appease the Lord. They almost seem defensive and in an almost mocking way, seem to be saying, “Do you want more animal sacrifices, or do you want us to sacrifice our first born for our crimes? They’re trying to pay off God.

But God rejects all of these. It’s almost a slap in His face that his people would speak to Him in this way so He puts an end to the plea bargaining. He says, “I told you what I require. Do what is right and just, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God.” Everything is contained here. This is what God requires of all His people not just the people of Judah in the Old Testament, or those Jesus encountered when He walked the earth, but it is what he requires of us today.

Those who call themselves Christian, who truly live out a God centered life do not need to demand signs, because God is already with them making Himself known each and every day that they choose to humbly walk with Him, to love as He loves, and to advocate for others so that they are treated fairly and justly.

All who say they believe in God and in Jesus His Son, must continually ask themselves am I doing all that the Lord asks of me or am I living only for myself and what satisfies me today, because I will have the time later to do what the Lord asks.

Let’s not make the mistake of believing there is no urgency. We must not take God’s love and mercy for granted. This is what frustrates the Lord and this is exactly what the evil one is counting on.

       
       
        To Whom Shall we go?  What are we to do?

        The events of the last few months have left me troubled in Spirit.  As an ordained Deacon of the Catholic Church, I find myself wondering, "What do I tell them?  What do I tell my parishioners?  What do I tell any Catholic who faith has been shaken by the revelations of the past few months.  What do I say to them when they come to me and ask why the Shepherds of the Church who were charged with leading them closer to Christ, have let them down?  They are angry, and I am angry.  I have prayed about this and reflected on this daily since the news was broken that some of the  Shepherd's of our Church have abused their position and given in to sinful actions which have injured those they were supposed to care for.  And in my prayer and reflection, the words of St. Peter continue to come back to me after Jesus asks him,"Are you going to leave me too" Then Peter responds "To whom shall we go, you have the words of everlasting life."  It is these words that keep resonating in my ears.
         So in the midst of all of this mess that the Church is embroiled in, what am I to do? What are we to do?
          We do the only thing we can do.  We place our trust in Jesus Christ who established this Church to begin with.  It seems to me that if we believe that Jesus is the head of the Church and that the Holy Spirit continues to lead and guide the Church, it can not be be brought down by the actions of men. If we truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and that His words are truth and life, then we must we believe that the gates of hell can not prevail against the Church He established.  
         So what do we tell those whose faith has been shaken?  What do we tell those who want to leave the Church, Those who have lost hope?  We tell them that the Sacraments are still the Sacraments, established by Christ to give us grace, strength, and healing.  We tell them that the Eucharist is still the Eucharist, the real presence of Jesus who feeds us and remains with us.  We tell them that it is Jesus who is the head of the Church, not mortal men, and that despite the failures of humans,  the Church is still under God's protection.  
         We tell them that God loves them, and God will not abandon them.  But we don't simply tell them, we walk with them.  We continue to show the love of Jesus to them.  We continue to show them the compassion and mercy of Jesus.  
          The Body of Christ is not just a theoretical concept, or a nice image.  The Body of Christ is the living, breathing presence of Jesus in the world, and we are connected to one another with Jesus as our head, heart, and soul.  Jesus lives and breathes in this world through us, and it is up to us to be Jesus in a world that has lost hope, that can't see Him, that can't feel His love.

       

Homily: Sunday 15th Week Ordinary Time _July 16, 2017 -- Parable of the Sower

 

       

Unless you haven’t had your coffee yet, or your mind was on something else, it would be a normal response to today’s readings, particularly the Gospel, for you to say I’ve heard this 20 or 30 times before.  Maybe you’ve even read it to your children a number of times.  So why does the church continue to proclaim the same readings over and over again?  Well it’s because these readings are about you, about me and because most people need to hear something at least six or seven times before it sticks in their brains.  The church also proclaims the scriptures over and over again because they are the word of God, and they are alive, and if we are willing listeners, we might learn something new about ourselves, maybe even something new about God.  So let me tell you some things about today’s Gospel that you may already know.

     When Jesus tells the parable of the Sower, the focus is on God as the sower and us as the soil.  In today’s reading, Jesus first talks about the sower spreading the seed all over the place and then He goes on to explain what the parable means.  The parable is intended to challenge us to think about what type of soil we are and whether or not we will allow the seed, God’s words to take root in us. 

    Jesus explains to us that the Sower casts the seed all around and on to different types of soil.   Depending on where it falls, it may or may not take root, grow, and bear fruit. 

    You see first century farmers didn’t have John Deere machinery or even a Scott’s lawn spreader to broadcast seed.  They tossed it by hand.  They would usually walk in a straight line and swing their arms across their bodies casting the seed to the left, in front of them, and to the right.  If they were walking near a foot path or road, the seed would fall on to the hard ground.  And because the dirt on the path was packed down and hard, the seeds falling there didn’t have time to take root, before the birds would quickly come along and either eat them or carry them off.  Jesus says this represents the unreceptive hearer, the person whose heart is packed down or has become so hardened that it doesn’t even occur to them that this is God speaking to them and they don’t even try to understand it.  People whose hearts and minds are like this might even respond with hostility, though more often than not their response is one of indifference.   And with these types of attitudes, the devil easily enters in to neutralize the message using deception and lies, and distracting the hearer from seriously considering it.  In the recesses of the person’s mind they hear, “It’s not important”.  “It won’t make any difference in your life”.  “You need to look out for #1”.

Then there is the seed that falls on soil that is rocky.  This symbolizes the insincere listener.  The seed is planted, the message is received joyfully at first, but it doesn’t take root deep in the heart. This type of person may have a positive response to what they’ve heard, but doesn’t really accept it as truth to be followed, rather it may be just a means to get other things they want.  People with hearts and minds like rocky soil want the emotional experience that will entertain them without having to change the direction of their lives.  Then when the buzz wears off, or when an experience which is more stimulating comes along, Jesus is pushed to the side.  This happens sometimes to people who have a powerful experience while on retreat, but can’t sustain what they felt after they get home.  Others may appear to be open and receive the word because they want to please their family, or hang on to friends or lovers whom they sense they are losing to Jesus.  But when this doesn’t work, their faith in Jesus evaporates.

    The seed among the thorns represents the hearer who is compromised.  Seed sown among the thorns or weeds will germinate and remain alive, but the weeds or thorns suck the life giving nutrients out of the plant so it can no longer produce fruit.    This is the compromised hearer.  They’ve sincerely received the word, accepted Jesus, and know they are genuinely believe that, they are a Christian.   They seemed to have a close relationship with Jesus and for a while He was changing their life and was working through them to bring others closer to Christ?  But now it is just a faded memory.  Yea, they may still say a prayer daily, attend church fairly regularly, even have a Christian bumper sticker on their car, but if they are honest with themselves, they know that the experience of closeness with God and his power to transform their life has withered.  Why?  Jesus says that his word in our hearts can wither when there are worldly things competing for our hearts.  Things like an over emphasis on pleasure and comfort;  getting overloaded with time consuming things like spending too many hours at work, or an over the top devotion to sports and hobbies, all to the exclusion of feeding and nurturing their relationship with God.  Sadly, the world offers any number of opportunities to take us away from God or to keep us from thinking about Him.

    And of course then there is the good soil which represents the hearts and minds of those who have heard God’s word, have reflected on it and understand it.  They let it take deep root inside them where the outside world can’t touch it and cause it to wilt or wither.  This is the person who constantly tills the soil of their heart with prayer, sacraments, and good works.

    So the seed of God’s word falls in many different types of soil, and many people will fall into of the categories of listeners we described.  And while we would like to think that our hearts and minds are in the good soil category, if we are truly honest with ourselves, there have been different times in our lives when our hearts could be compared to any of the soils or soil conditions I’ve described.  We don’t always listen as we should. We need to be constantly working to keep our hearts as fertile ground where God can plant his word in us so that it will be able to sink deep roots.  So this is the meaning of the parable, and it may be that you are saying to yourself, I’ve heard this all before.   But the message of the parable does not stop here. 

    What’s interesting is that the sower cast or broadcasted the seed all over the place.  He didn’t toss it only on the good soil but purposely and intentionally he also tossed it on the rocks, thorns, and weeds.  So why is this important? Well the Gospel is not just for those who are receptive, those who are ready, those that are easy to witness to.  What Jesus is telling us today is that we too are called to be sowers and not just to those who are ready to listen.  We are called to sow the seed of the Gospel to everyone regardless of whether they are ready to receive the message or not, because God can work the soil of people’s hearts, watering it and tilling it so that it becomes fertile ground where his word can take root even in those we would think unlikely to accept it. 

    This past week, our youth and adult volunteers along with Fr. Jason, Deacon Jerry, and our Youth Minister, Cat, got the opportunity to be sowers of God’s word and God’s love by repairing and renovating the homes of the poor in Appalachia.  And one fact I remember about the area where we served and where our youth this week served is that only about 3% of the population in that area was Catholic.  Most if not all of the people who were helped this week and in years past were not Catholic, and I couldn’t tell you if they were even Christian.  But what a wonderful witness of the love and caring of the Catholic Church.  What a wonderful seedbed in which to sow the love and caring of God.  And you know it doesn’t matter what type of soil our youth were casting seed on this week.  Because of their willingness to invest their energy and their joy in helping those in need, the Lord’s word was planted there and I have no doubt that it made a big difference the lives of the people they met because God has told us so.

    Remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah from our first reading; Thus says the LORD: “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

    We are soil and we are sowers.  It’s up to each of us to work daily to prepare our own hearts to be fertile soil where the seed of God’s word can take root and grow so that we in turn can be sowers, casting the seed of God’s word about, confident that wherever it lands, God can cultivate it, fertilize it, and nurture it so that it produces much fruit.