The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Today's homily is dedicated to all of you who have shaken your head as you have watched the evening news the past several weeks, yet still come with head bowed to church every Sunday.  

THE CHILD IN OUR MIDST 

Numbers 11: 25-29; James 5: 1-6; Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48 

When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child* will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. (Mark 9: 13-16) 

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18: 3-4) 

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 18: 10) 

Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” (Mark 9: 36-37) 

“In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” (Matthew 18:14) 

From these passages gleaned from the gospels, it’s clearly evident the love that our Lord has for children and the special place he has for them in his heart. In addition, many of his miracles involved children: the nobleman's little son, the demonized son of the man at the Mount of Transfiguration, and restoring the life of the son of the widow on Nain and the daughter of Jairus. Jesus truly, as man and God, loves children! 

In addition to the passages I just cited, in our gospel today, Jesus says this: “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.” A literal translation of Jesus’ words is whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me . . . To scandalize someone is to cause them to stumble—to shake the faith that they have in something or someone. We may have come to know the word scandal in our culture to be nothing more than juicy gossip that gives newspapers their cover story day after day — usually about a famous person’s private life. But in the biblical sense, the concept of a scandal is much more sinister. Jesus doesn’t leave any room for his people to be flippant about their behavior toward others, the little ones in particular. 

Our Gospel passage today follows the events of the reading from last Sunday, in which Jesus took up a child in his arms and declared that whoever receives such a little one in his name receives him. This child is still in their midst today when Jesus warns against causing such a little one to sin. 

We begin to understand the danger of scandalizing a little one when we come to realize the nature of a child’s faith. It is a faith that has not yet been subjected to the temptations of the world. A child is sinful by nature but doesn’t yet receive reinforcement of sinful behavior from others. 

A little child receives God’s Word and trusts in him. He or she may not yet be able to understand the full meaning of all the words of the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed, but the faith of that child’s heart isn’t contingent on the ability of the mind to process it because that faith is of the heart and not of the mind. The faith of a little child is focused on Jesus and isn’t divided between him and other things. The little child believes and has not yet been taught to doubt. Thus, the faith of a little child is the strongest and purest of all. 

Woe, therefore, to anyone who would damage the faith of these little ones! Jesus isn’t being dramatic when he speaks of a millstone being hung around one’s neck, mob-style, and being thrown into the sea. It truly would be better for such a scandalous person to have that happen, because at least in the bottom of the sea one would never be able to scandalize a child again. 

Perhaps at this point, your thoughts might be focusing on the recent scandals involving individuals in the Church, priests and bishops, who sexually abused children and others or who orchestrated a coverup of these crimes against God and crimes against the innocent. 

The media has reported all the intimate, scandalous and criminal details. You don’t need to hear a rehashing of them from me. I certainly offer you no justification or explanation for these acts, both the sinful crimes themselves, nor the all too frequent coverup by the hierarchy of the Church.  Except to say this . . . Although the Church is a divine institution, founded by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, the problem is that this divine institution was left by our Lord to mere flawed mortals as its members and as its leaders. 

In the creed that we will profess in a few minutes, we will declare that we believe in the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC Church. By saying the Church is catholic, we mean that the Church is universal. There are no pre-requisites to Church membership – you don’t have to be of a certain gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status to be a member of the Church. But also, you don’t have to be a saint either. And so, despite the Church being a divine institution, it is a Church of sinners – sinners seeking to become saints. 

And the sinners in the church aren’t just those sitting starting with first pew in the front of the church and ending with the last pew in the back. Those that sit and stand before you three steps higher in a sanctuary of green marble are also sinners. Sanctity was never a prerequisite for acceptance into the seminary or diaconate studies, and not for ordination either. And so today, those of us up here, your priests and deacons, also acknowledge what we all did at the beginning of the mass in the penitential rite: “We confess to almighty God and to you, our brothers and sisters, that we have greatly sinned, in our thoughts and in our words, in what we have done and in what we have failed to do.” 

And so, as you in the past have come to us in with contrite hearts to confess your frailty and sin, in the name 0f the bishops, priests and deacons of your Church, I too now come before you to acknowledge our personal sins, as well as the sins of the Church - past and present - and humbly ask your understanding and your forgiveness. 

Unfortunately, as I look out from my lofty position here in the sanctuary, I notice a lot of empty seats, seats that used to be filled. And my fear is that they have become vacant over the last several weeks because good and faithful people have had enough and have given up on the church. To do so is a tragedy, because we are all more than our sins, and despite the embarrassing reports that make the evening news, there are many wonderful reasons to be proud of your Church. 

For me, I could list its theology, its sacraments, its liturgy and its law. Our priests and religious have been with us tirelessly 24/7 to share with us our deepest joys and our most profound tragedies. In addition, I could mention that the Catholic Church, more than any other institution, has tried to make sure that the sins of the past never happen again, and so we require all those who minister in any way to children to participate in the program “Protecting God’s Children,” to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check conducted on them. 

Did you know that the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students every day at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Our graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free. The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students. Did you also know that the Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today. 

The Catholic Church is certainly bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. But let’s walk with our shoulders high and our head higher. Let’s remember what Jeremiah the prophet said: "Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." Let’s be proud to speak up for our faith with pride and reverence. Be proud that you're a Catholic! And let’s pray that those millstones that Jesus talked about in today’s gospel can be cut, shaped and repurposed to become “living stones,” stones that lay the pathway toward becoming the Church, the People of God, that Jesus always intended us to be.

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

VELVET GLOVES & SPIT 

Isaiah 35: 4-7a; James 2: 1-5; Mark 7: 31-37 

I know what at least some of you are thinking in hearing today’s gospel: “That’s kind of gross!” 

We’d rather just focus on yet another encounter where Jesus does something incredibly remarkable - something miraculous, beyond explanation. So much so, that even on my end of things, I tend to skip over the means Jesus employs - putting his fingers in the guys ears; touching his tongue, spitting on it . . . It seems so - no offense Lord – disgusting, doesn’t it? And it’s not like it’s necessary. How many other times does Jesus simply perform miraculous deeds by his word? When he’s on the boat with the apostles asleep and the storms are about to sink them, with simply the words Be Still, they’re still. When he stands in front of the tomb of his friend Lazarus who’s been dead three days He cries out "Lazarus come out" and He does. 

But this one is done with a touch, giving something from within himself –saliva - it’s always been some details that I tried to ignore in light of the bigger miracle that a deaf man with a speech impediment is now freed and able to hear and able to speak. 

Yet, if we know that God can do amazing feats without these actions, perhaps there’s an important lesson in that or something for us to reflect on. Namely that: He doesn’t have to use those means but He does. Just like he chooses to use things other than spit, namely you and I to work miraculous things. And he does... EVERYDAY. 

Jesus’ touch, and his spit are details that shouldn’t be dismissed. But rather they are there to remind us that the creator of the Universe likes to use the things of this earth - the everyday, the ordinary - you and I more often than he does the inexplicable, outer-worldly to perform miracles on a regular basis. Real, bonafide miracles that make the deaf hear and speak; that can bring sight to the blind, that can bring the dead back to life. It’s just that maybe, just maybe, those experiences become too common, too ordinary and sometimes we can become too forgetful of the gifts, the talents, the abilities, the potentials, the opportunities that the Lord blesses us with that make them happen.

Pope Francis a few years ago said that often times "...miracles are performed with what little we have, with what we are, with what is at hand… and many times, it is not ideal, it is not what we dreamt of, nor what "should have been". (Mass for the Families - Ecuador - July 6, 2015) May you and I be attentive to the miracles that do happen in our life every day - to see how God doesn’t have to, but so often does choose to use you and I to complete them. Quite simply because He believes there’s no better way to unleash His Love, His care to a wounded, waiting world in desperate need of His attention then to utilize some his most precious, prized, handiwork - the special miracles he has already fashioned: you.

The Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

TRADITION!

Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8; James 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

“A fiddler on the roof ... Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous? Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word! Tradition! Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything. How to sleep. How to eat. How to work. How to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered, and always wear a little prayer shawl. This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, how did this tradition get started? I'll tell you. I don't know. But it's a tradition. And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” 

So begins the 1964 Tony Award winning musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Set at the turn of the Twentieth Century in an impoverished Jewish Russian village called Anatevka at the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution, the story focuses on Tevye the dairyman and his family and neighbors who live their lives governed strictly by their age-old traditions. 

Throughout the musical, three of Tevye’s daughters marry in turn, but each match poses a challenge to Tevye’s sense of tradition and how things are meant to be done. His oldest daughter, Tzeitel, asks her father to be let out of the arranged match for her, so that she can marry the man she truly loves, Motel, the tailor. Tevye groans and complains, but finally agrees that they can marry for love. Then his second daughter, Hodel, wants to marry revolutionary Perchik. When they approach Tevye, they tell him they are not asking for permission, only for his blessing. Again, Tevye refuses at first, but finally gives in. And then finally his youngest daughter Chava falls in love with a Christian man, Fyedka. She, too, seeks to change her father’s heart about her match, but Tevye says “enough” – he has bent enough and let go of too much tradition. Near the end of the story, he does, at least, pray God’s blessing on Chava and Fyedka, even if he cannot fully come to terms with the marriage. 

As enjoyable as Fiddler is as a musical, as lighthearted as it is at times, the questions asked are serious ones, important ones. How far should you change traditions to meet the demands of an ever-changing world? How far is too far to bend? When do the traditions hold us to what is good and important, and when do they keep us from moving forward, from growing and changing in healthy ways? What traditions are based on simple habits that have extended over generations, and when to they represent the unchanging truth? 

Like Tevye, the Pharisees in ancient Israel were concerned with tradition. Like Tevye, the Pharisees knew that without Israel’s traditions life would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof. Like Tevye, they knew the importance of knowing who they were and what God expected of them. And so in today’s our gospel, we hear a confrontation between Jesus and a group of scribes and Pharisees. The Pharisees, as you know, were the religious leaders of Israel, devout Jews, who tried very hard to follow the law of Moses carefully and interpret it for daily living. They emphasized upholding the rituals, the traditions. They insisted on using oral tradition as well as written tradition, and in that way were viewed as quite liberal by other Jewish sects. For example, they added qualifications to laws like "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" so that executions were less frequent. On the other hand, however, their additions to the law through oral code sometimes added many new requirements for people to follow, like around issues of observing the Sabbath, for instance. And their learning and education began to set them apart from the rest of the people, making them a kind of aristocracy. These kinds of practices, all these additional rules and looking down on those who didn’t follow them all, these were the practices of the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus most often criticized. 

So, from their perspective then, you understand why the scribes and the Pharisees were wondering why Jesus' disciples didn't wash in the prescribed manner. But Jesus in one sentence, in one breath does away with all these oral laws, for he saw in them that they were not worshiping God but the law itself. He says: "You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition.” Jesus saw that the law was being used to turn people away from God by being so exact, instead of it being used to bring people to God to see his love and mercy. Jesus goes on to say that it’s not what is outside of a person that makes that person unclean, but itis what is in his/her heart that matters. Jesus saw that religious tradition was being used to escape the true religion, the worship of God. The religious leaders were using the law of men to gain respect, position and wealth over the people instead of showing the people how the law can help them to find God in their lives. Jesus was freeing the people from the tyranny of the externals and giving them a freedom to live with the law of love in their hearts. 

You know that there are only two laws in the entire New Testament that Jesus tells us commands us to follow? They go together: "You should love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Notice Jesus doesn't go beyond the broad principle of the laws, he doesn't define in exact detail how one should love God and how one should love a neighbor. But in the rest of his teachings, in the way he lives, in how he acted, he showed us how one is to love God and one's neighbor. 

But he gives us the freedom to express our love for God and our love for our neighbor in our own way, in our own unique God given way. The religious leaders of Jesus day had lost the concept of the uniqueness of the human race. God has created each of us different, and in that difference, in that uniqueness we all have different talents, different ways, different abilities to worship God and to love our neighbor. We have been given the freedom to express our uniqueness as we live our Christian life. But notice the broad principle still stands: The command is to love God with our whole being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is a command. There is no freedom not to follow or live by that command. 

That is God's command to those of us who want to be his followers. It is God's command for those of us who have been called by him in love and mercy. That command is not something we might say: "Well God, today I will worship you because I don't have anything better to do, or today God l will be good to my neighbor because I feel good." NO, that command transcends all of life. That command is not something we can turn on and off, but it is a reality that the people of God must live with. But how I worship God, how I love my neighbor, is up to my own uniqueness. 

Now you see how radical Jesus' words are in our gospel lesson. 

He puts each person in an unique position to be of special importance to God. For God enjoys, I think, the way each of us use the resources he has given us to worship him and to serve him through our neighbor. In some ways, this freedom to live in the principle of the law is more difficult that living by the letter of the law. Living by the letter of the law is easier because it is all spelled out in black and white. I don't have to take any responsibility for my own actions, if I follow the law I can say it is good law, if I cannot follow the law I can say it is a bad law. 

But when I am given the freedom to express the principle of the law in my own way, then I have to take the full responsibility for my actions. I stand alone before God. I cannot blame anyone or anything for my failure to act, or for my failure for acting wrong. I have a greater responsibility, but I think it is in that very freedom to act and to fail that I am more confident of the grace of God in my life. For when I fail, I know his forgiveness is there for me, and when I succeed, I know it is by the grace of God, the love that God has for me that has seen me through. I stand alone and naked by myself in the freedom of the law to worship God in my uniqueness and the serve him by serving my neighbor. It is literary God and I in the world together.