THANK GOODNESS!

A Thanksgiving Day Homily

November 25, 2021

How good is God?

Did you ever take time to reflect on that question? If you’re like me, probably not. Of course, we acknowledge it enough. If you’ve received a promotion, a raise, a new car, a bigger home, a good report from the doctor, a healthy baby delivered, or that job you’ve always wanted . . . you’ve probably said these words: “God is SO good!” And you’re absolutely right . . . He is. The words just find their voice without much thought. And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s the way it should be. We know God is good. We take it for granted, because . . . He IS!

At some times in our lives, we might question the goodness of God, especially at times of national or international calamity and, most especially, at times of personal despair, hardship, loss, tragedy or illness. We might look towards heaven with tears in our eyes and ask “why.” Why God this dreadful and deadly coronavirus? Why God do I hurt so much when I give so much of myself to others and all I want back is a little love? Why God do I work so hard but I’m having such a tough time making ends meet? Why God did you take my beloved one? My heart is breaking. How can I go on? Why God am I suffering so horribly? I’ve tried to be good all my life, go to Mass every Sunday, pray so hard. How can this be happening to me?

Yet, even in these most difficult times, I think we know that God is good. It’s just that we don’t understand how these things can be happening, and our pain hinders us from realizing what we know down to the deepest recesses of our hearts and with true and sincere faith, that God IS good.

The goodness of God speaks to His personal character - who He is in relationship to us. In all ways and in all things, God is good. He is never absent, disinterested, careless, ill-tempered, petty, spiteful, or mean. He always does what is right, faithful, kind, and true. He doesn’t just do good - He is good. It’s His DNA (if God had DNA). God’s goodness is based on His character. He is good and He is good all the time. He does good because He is good.

God’s goodness is seen in his justice. "He makes his sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust." (Mt 5:45). He is “a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity, continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless but bringing punishment upon them.” (Exodus 34: 6-7)

God’s goodness is seen in his mercy. Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Pope Francis said, “Jesus Christ is the face of God’s mercy.” He shows us what it means to be merciful: He healed the sick, welcomed the stranger and pardoned those who persecuted and killed him.

God’s goodness is seen in his bountiful benevolence. Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, ask and the door will be open. For anyone who asks receives, anyone who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks the door will be open” (Matthew 7: 7-8). And in the Gospel stories of the wedding feast at Cana and the multiplication of the loaves and fish, we see the extent to which God gives – always the best and always more than we need. God is never outdone in generosity.

Today is Thanksgiving Day. But shouldn’t every day be a thanksgiving day? Unfortunately, our society has an uncanny knack for taking something good, beautiful, noble and worthwhile and slowly transforming it to something “other.” Nice . . . but less than what it originally was and still should be. So somewhere in the midst of the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pie . . . some time before, during or after the parade and the football games, let’s not forget what it’s all about: “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.”

And so, I’ll ask again, “Have you ever reflected on how good is God?” If you’re like me, probably not. And if we did, I don’t think we would ever be off our knees thanking Him.”

In 1998, before I was ordained, I was asked to write a Thanksgiving reflection for the Thanksgiving Day Mass at St. Therese. I said “yes” but later wished I hadn’t. You see, my mother had died earlier that year, and as I struggled to write that reflection, I was stymied by my feeling, “What do I have to be thankful for this year.” After hours, days and weeks staring at a blank computer screen, I decided the day before Thanksgiving to offer my apologies to the pastor the next day for letting him and the parish down. But at 4:00 AM Thanksgiving morning, I woke with a start, jumped out of bed and rushed to my computer. I had somehow discovered that I had a lot to be thankful for:

Lord, how quickly the pages of the calendar have turned and another Thanksgiving Day is upon us. And so, as I pause and reflect, a mind full of memories rush to find expression as a heart full of gratitude wells up within me.

Thank you, Lord, for the splendor of your creation; for the beauty of the world around me, for green pastures and still waters and for tall trees that bow their heads prayerfully in the wind. I thank you for the colors with which you paint the seasons and for the passing of those seasons that has brought us to this day: for the snow glistened winter and the dogwood spring, for the watermelon summer and the russet and gold autumn.

Thank you, Lord, for this great land, for its bounty and its liberty, for the privilege of democracy and the gift of peace. Thank you for the goodness of our people and for the spirit of justice that fills this nation. I thank you today for the brave people of our land who are more interested in being right than in being popular, and for those who are willing to support a good cause publicly even though they know that the cause may not succeed.

I offer you my thanks today for the gift of family - for all those who will gather around my Thanksgiving table, and for those who break bread at other tables this year. I thank you too for those who share with you in the heavenly banquet, those who you have called home and into your embrace. Thank you for relieving their pain and suffering and thank you for all the memories that keep them alive in my mind and in my heart.

I’m grateful, Lord, for friends who continue to be friends even after they have known me well. For those whose nods, winks, and smiles celebrated my joys and triumphs, and whose broad shoulders bore my burdens and lifted me with their compassion. Thank you for all those who have come into my life this year, for older people who have shared with me the wisdom of their yesterdays, and for the young whose enthusiasm and zest for life give me hope for tomorrow.

I’m thankful for the talents of others and for those who share them so generously with us, and for advances in technology and medicine that promise us a better day in the future. And I thank you for work which challenges the talents with which I have been blessed, and for weekends and holidays and holy days which refresh my spirit. For days of pomp and pageantry and parade, and for moments of quiet solitude, I thank you.

I give thanks to you today for the wonder of life, the mystery of love, and the gift of faith. For the sound of music that fills my soul, for the sound of laughter that lifts my spirit, and for the sound of crying that moves my heart with compassion.

I thank you for cloudy days which help me appreciate the sunshine; for tears, which help me appreciate laughter; for pain which helps me appreciate health; for weakness through which I’ve discovered my strength; for sorrow, hurt, and loss through which I have discovered the depth of my own heart; and for failure which has led me to discover my dependence on you.

I thank you for the Church, for its teaching which informs me, and for its saints that inspire me. For the priests, deacons, brothers and sisters who proclaim the gospel, not merely by word but through their tireless dedication to you and your people. For my fellow parishioners who fold their hands in prayer on Sunday morning and who extend their hands in service and generosity throughout the week.

But most of all Lord, I thank you for you! I thank you for simply being God and for loving me with a Father’s love. For sending your Son to us - for the example of his life and for the redemption that his death and resurrection has won. And for the gift of your Spirit, who guides me along the path which I pray someday will lead me home to you.

For all of this Lord I offer my thanks to you on this Thanksgiving Day.

Solemnity of Christ the King

TESTIFYING TO THE TRUTH

The Solemnity of Christ the King (Year B)

Deuteronomy 7: 13-14; Revelation 1: 5-8; John 18: 33b-37

In today’s Gospel, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the culmination of the Liturgical Year of the Church, Jesus is confronted by Pilate regarding His kingship. In the end, He revealed Himself as the one who will testify to the truth. He is the King of Truth. When Jesus was hanged on the cross, Pilate placed the inscription INRI above His head. It stands for Isus Nazarenus Rex Iudareum, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Maybe, for Pilate, Jesus was King of the Jews. But he was mistaken. Jesus was the King of the Universe, the King of Kings.

This shouldn’t be hard for us to believe. For us, Christians, this should be an obvious fact. Throughout this year, beginning with Advent, to Easter, and the rest of the year, Jesus has been depicted as a good prophet, priest and king. Jesus loved us, His flock, Jesus would always defend us, His people. Jesus will never forsake us, His beloved. Jesus is King.

As I prepared my homily this past week, I did some Google searches for recent headlines featuring the word “truth.” Here are the lines that popped up most often: “The Death of Truth.” “The Assault on Truth.” “Notes on Falsehood.” “Our Post-Truth World.”

Though the articles focused (unsurprisingly) on contemporary American politics, their concerns reached beyond the political to engage a more sinister and existential reality: we live in an Age of Untruth. Politics notwithstanding, we are steeped in a culture of blatant lies, sly exaggerations, doctored images, wild conspiracy theories, and fake news. Objective facts, for all intents and purposes, no longer exist or matter. The true is false, the false is true, and anything can mean anything.

I didn’t just rely on Google to search for the word “truth” in the headlines this week. I also used it to research its use in Scripture. And I found the word “truth” is mentioned 164 times in the Bible, and that the notion of “truth” was a major theme for the evangelist John, the author of our Gospel this morning, where the word appears a whopping ninety-nine times. As a matter of fact, “truth” is the bookends of John’s Gospel. In the Prologue that begins his Gospel he tells us that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and TRUTH . . . (and) grace and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ.” And then, towards the end of his Gospel, we hear the words Jesus spoke to Pontius Pilate that were recalled in today’s passage, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the TRUTH. Everyone who belongs to the TRUTH listens to my voice."

What is truth? It’s defined as that which conforms with fact or reality. It is genuineness, veracity, or actuality. In a word, truth is reality. It is how things actually are.

What are the characteristics of truth? What are its distinguishing properties? What’s the truth about truth?

First, TRUTH IS DIVINE. Ultimately, all truth is God’s truth. Truth is from above. It is not of this world. It’s not determined by opinion polls, nor is it discovered by public surveys. God is the one Source and sole Author of truth. Sin is whatever God says it is. Judgment is whatever God says it is. Salvation is what God says it is. Heaven and hell are what God says they are.

Second, TRUTH IS ABSOLUTE. Many people say truth is whatever they want it to be. They claim that what you believe is “true for you” and what I believe is “true for me,” even when the two are worlds apart. Something cannot be both true and not true. Truth is absolute because it is derived from the one God. Absolute truth depends on God.

Third, TRUTH IS SINGULAR. That is to say, truth is a single entity. It does not exist in bits and pieces of unrelated ideas or disconnected data. Because truth is one body of truth, it is always internally consistent. It never contradicts itself. Truth always speaks with one voice and is always in perfect agreement with itself.

Fourth, TRUTH IS OBJECTIVE. Truth is black and white. It is definite, definitive, and conclusive. Truth is not abstract, vague, or nebulous. Because truth is objective, it is impartial, unbiased, unprejudiced, and non-partisan. It speaks to all people in all places the same.

Fifth, TRUTH IS IMMUTABLE. God does not change and neither does His truth, which cannot be true today but not true tomorrow. Truth is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, truth is always current, always contemporary, always relevant. It is never outdated, never obsolete, never expired. Truth never ceases to be true.

Sixth, TRUTH IS AUTHORITATIVE. Truth does not stammer or stutter. It speaks with the supreme authority of God Himself. It always makes demands upon us and never offers mere suggestions. Truth is commanding, arresting, and directional. It summons us and mandates our complete compliance. Truth is binding upon our lives. Truth demands our response.

For us as Christians truth has been revealed in Jesus Christ. We’ve heard that truth proclaimed in the Scriptures during this liturgical year of 2021 and we’ve seen that truth lived out and embodied in the actions of Jesus. Today, Jesus tells Pilate he is not a king with armies and territories. “My kingdom is not here.” Rather Jesus is the king who reigns in the hearts of all those who see life as he saw life and who live life according to his Gospel. Truth is not relative, truth is found in Jesus Christ.

As I reflected on today’s Gospel passage it occurred to me that if Jesus came to testify to the truth, if he is the truth, if he is the King of truth, then what do we, his subjects, owe our king? What does loyalty to truth look like, here and now? Well, if Truth is king, then “fake news” is not. If Truth is king, then self-deception is not. If Truth is king, then lazy relativism is not. If Truth is king, then distorting inconvenient facts for our own political, racial, social, cultural, religious, or economic comfort, is not.

Not only was Jesus born to testify to the truth, so were you. Truth needs a voice. God wants to use you to speak truth. Can we stand for the truth as Jesus does? Can we belong to the truth as he does? Can we tell and keep telling the beautiful, hard, cutting, joy-filled, pain-filled, powerfully undeniable stories we know to be true about this Jesus, this Jesus whose very identity is Truth, and whose best expression of power is surrender? This is what it means to be a subject of Christ the King. This is what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom not of this world. To live in any other way is treason!

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords has created you for a very special purpose. He means to establish his reign in the throne of your heart, and from there, to rule the universe. May his kingdom come in you, and his will be done through you, until it is completed both on earth and in heaven. And may his truth set you free . . . the truth about who He is and what He taught . . . the truth about what is right and good, beautiful, moral, blameless, faultless and beyond reproach.

WHAT GOD CREATES, GOD LOVES,

AND WHAT GOD LOVES,

GOD LOVES EVERLASTINGLY

A Bereavement Service Homily

All Souls Day

“What God creates, God loves, and what God loves, God loves everlastingly.”

Today we pause to remember our loved ones who have parted from our midst in the course of the last year, as well as those whose passing occurred at an earlier time but whose loss is still so keenly felt by us as if it were just yesterday. We stop and contemplate their lives as they lived among us. And we acknowledge our pain and our need for God's grace and comfort.

“If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.” That quote is from the opening paragraph of the first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The author, who writes dark tales for children under the pen name “Lemony Snicket,” explains that this is how the Baudelaire children felt when they became the Baudelaire orphans after both their parents died in a house fire.

Those words of how difficult it is to convey a sense of loss fit with today’s gospel reading. Martha is hurt when she sees Jesus. She says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Then she calls for her sister Mary who repeats that same accusation, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

If I had continued reading our Gospel further, we would have heard John tells us that, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’”

Then, in that shortest verse in the Bible, we are told that “Jesus wept.”

Jesus, the Son of God, weeps at the grave of his friend. We too weep over the graves of those we love. This evening, at this bereavement service, we remember those we love who have died. That remembrance comes with love and joy-filled memories, but it also comes with sorrow.

It is a sorrow that doesn’t go away. Real grief stays with you. In fact, not only can one not expect grief to go away completely, we also shouldn’t want it to because grief reflects our sense of commitment and love that we had for the person. And so, we pray - not for an end to the grief - but for an unbearable sense of loss to be replaced by a sorrow we can bear. And in this, we are helped by the hope of the resurrection.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” As we approach the death of a loved one, our faith informs and transforms our view of it. They are not gone . . . only the body dies, the spirit lives with God and goes home to be with Jesus. They have gone home, home to where they are welcomed and forgiven and loved . . . loved more than we could ever imagine. Grief is NOT a lack of trust or faith. We can and do experience profound grief and still believe deeply that our loved ones are at home with God. They are two different things. One is our response to our loss . . . the other to their gain.

As I mentioned earlier, the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, writes, “If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.” That’s so true, but scripture tells us that in Jesus, God knows how it feels because Jesus experienced real grief. “Jesus wept.” The shortest line in Scripture, but also perhaps the most profound, because it reminds us that God can identify with our experience, that in becoming human, God was and is with us in Jesus in a way that caused him to experience the depths of human pain and loss. God can readily imagine grief because he himself has known that pain firsthand.

God is not distant and reserved. God is close, caring, and compassionate. Scripture tells us that the time is coming when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and when even death itself will be defeated. Yet, in the here and now, there are many tragedies, personal and even national or international, which cause people to question their faith.

In all these cases one hears people ask, “Where is God?” And the answer is “with us.” God was there when the towers fell on September 11, 2001. God was there when wildfires recently torched our western states. God was there with the people of Afghanistan in the midst of their sufferings at the hands of the Taliban. God is with us as we still deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. God is there in the tragedies, large and small that have us wondering why. God is there in the midst of suffering, present with those in pain, as one who learned the depths of human suffering while living among us.

Knowing that Christ knows how it feels to experience the death of a loved one, we can hear more clearly Jesus call to put away the fear of death. Jesus calls “Come Out!” Come out from the grave. Grief is real, but that loss is not the end. Don’t let grief overwhelm you. Grab hold of the sure and certain hope of the resurrection that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “Unbind him and let him go” to those around Lazarus, and he says the same to us. We are to be unbound, set free from the power of death. For even as we find death in life, we find life in death. We know that Jesus is resurrection and life, and those of us who believe in him, even if we die, we will live.

“What God creates, God loves, and what God loves, God loves everlastingly.”

If you remember nothing else from this evening, remember that. “What God creates, God loves, and what God loves, God loves everlastingly.” I hope you will listen closely to those words, cling to them, and let them sink deeply into your life and into your heart. Let them echo through this evening and carry you into the next. They speak an eternal truth: that the love of God is a love that extends beyond the grave and transcends time and space. It is the love of the Creator who looked upon what he had created at the beginning of time and saw that it was good. It is the abundant and merciful love of the Father for his children. It is the profound love of the redeemer – the love whose depth was proven by his self-sacrifice on the cross. It is the love that now envelops our loved ones who now are embraced by the love, joy, peace, healing and mercy of the God they worshipped, loved, adored and served in this earthly life. It is the love that enfolds around each of us tonight and every night – the love of the God who hears our cries, sees our tears and knows the heartbreak in our hearts . . . the God whose goodness, kindness, love, mercy and compassion for us are without measure.

“What God creates, God loves, and what God loves, God loves everlastingly.”