The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

MARK TAKES A VACATION:

WEEK TWO 

Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6: 24-35 

Do you ever watch soap operas? My mom did. And although she would occasionally tune in to watch such soaps as “Days of Our Lives” and “The Guiding Light,” there was one that was her favorite that she would never miss – “As the World Turns.” As you know, soap operas air five days a week so, at least back then, if an actor was ill or off shooting a movie, and the storyline needed to go on without them, another actor would be hired to temporarily replace them. The announcer for “As the World Turns” was named Dan Region, and I remember his smooth calming voice informing the viewers that “Today the role of Lisa Miller, Hughes, Eldridge, Shea, Colman, McColl, Mitchell, Chedwyn, Grimaldi” (that’s how many times she was married) “usually portrayed by Eileen Fulton will be played by Betty von Furstenberg.” 

I thought of “As the World Turns” this week as I was preparing my homily. And I imagined the silky voice of Dan Region emanating from our speakers this morning announcing, “The role of the evangelist, usually performed this year by Mark will today be played by John.” Yes, Mark has been given a five-week vacation by the liturgists of the Church, and in his place, the Apostle John has been brought in to share with us a key portion of his Gospel called the “Bread of Life Discourse.” It began last week with the miracle of the loaves and fish, and continues today with Jesus telling those that were fed and searched him out the next day, “You think multiplying loaves and fish to satisfy your hunger pains was great? You know what? I’m going to give a bread that if you eat it, you’ll never die.” Next week he’ll reveal that HE himself is this BREAD of LIFE, the bread that has come down from heaven that gives life to the world. The following week he’ll push the envelope even further and tell them that UNLESS they eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, they CANNOT have life within them. And then finally, the week after, we see the result of such talk – the crowd, who the day before wanted to carry him off and crown him king, will desert him; they just cannot accept what he’s saying. Can we? 

Recent reports from the medical profession tell us that we’re a society that likes to over-indulge. We’ve gotten fat. An estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. But on the other hand, we’re also warned that there exists a “hidden hunger” in our country. That we’re consuming the wrong types of foods – foods that are calorie dense, but nutritionally poor. And as a result, some 85% of Americans lack essential vitamins. 

The truth is, many are suffering from a spiritual malnutrition as well. We live in a world that has become obese with insatiable desires, and the things we feed on to try to satisfy those desires are harming us spiritually. I’m talking about a spiritual malnutrition that’s caused by people over-indulging on a diet of power, prestige and possessions, things that offer the quick fix to our hunger, but always fail to satisfy. I’m talking about those who exist on a regular junk food diet of drugs and alcohol, sexual promiscuity and false religions and ideologies - things that only deliver easy solutions to all of life’s complexities, but in the end, they fall short. And I’m talking about those who have a steady intake of the bread of hatred and envy and whose only drink is the drink of bitterness and cynicism, and they become what they eat. But what about us? Might we who come here faithfully every Sunday also be suffering from spiritual malnutrition? It could very well be. 

In our Gospel today, Jesus invites the crowds to recognize the hungers beneath their hungers. He asks the crowds to probe the deeper soul hungers that only the “bread that has come down from heaven” can satisfy. And he asks us to do the same. What are your hidden hungers? A hunger for meaning and purpose? A longing for acceptance, intimacy, and love? A desire to be recognized and appreciated? A hunger for delight and joy? A need for healing, wholeness, and steady courage in the face of fear? That’s my list. What’s yours? 

Of course, it’s one thing to name our hungers, but quite another to trust that Jesus will satisfy them. After all, we’re so good at finding substitutes for the soul food that Jesus offers - things like perpetual busyness, social media, books, movies, the 24-hour-news-cycle, exercise, chocolate, and other people. Do we really trust that Jesus is our bread . . . our essential sustenance? Very often, the answer is no. Very often, Jesus is only an abstraction. A creed. A set of Sunday rituals we consider pleasant but optional. We don’t come to him ravenous because we seek satisfaction elsewhere. We don’t recognize our daily, hourly, dependence on his generosity. We partake of the Bread of Life through both Word and Sacrament every Sunday, but we fail to chew on it and digest it. We keep our relationship with Jesus on a superficial level and fail to grow and mature in our faith, which absolutely, positively requires a total purging of ourselves of everything and anything that’s not him. 

There’s only one cure for the condition of spiritual malnutrition. Jesus offers us the one thing that will satisfy all our cravings and keep us healthy – HIMSELF! He is the Wonder Bread, who not only helps to build strong bodies in twelve ways but is the spiritual food that feeds the heart, nourishes soul and gives life to the spirit. There’s no substitution. Through Him comes life . . . life now and life eternally . . . a full and abundant and rich life in which sin and suffering, despair and death are conquered. 

So watch your diet! Be careful of the calories of excess. Stay away from the fatty lusts and appetites that the world offers. Avoid the spicy prejudices and hatreds that could give your spirit heartburn. Stay away from the junk food of materialism that will clog your spiritual arteries and damage the health of your heart and soul. Instead, try a diet high in the fiber of Jesus. Let Jesus into your heart and soul. Allow him to clean out the plaque of self-complacency and self-satisfaction. And begin an exercise program that includes prayer and ministering to the needy. I know this is a difficult diet. Many won’t stick to it. But the rewards are great for those who do: health of the mind and heart, fitness of the soul, strength to deal with all the difficulties which we face in life, and the greatest benefit of all . . . eternal life. 

Jesus – the living bread that has come down from heaven. May we absorb it. May we share it. May we desire it above all things. May its nourishment permeate us through and through until we become what we have eaten, life-saving bread for the whole world.

The Mysterious Stranger

THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER

Did I ever tell you . . . On the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker (May 1st) a few years ago I asked St. Joseph to give me a sign. Not necessarily to grant, through his intercession, what I had been praying for, but just a sign that he had heard my prayers, that he was with me, that he hadn't abandoned me. As I left for work that morning, I felt embarrassed about my request. And as I drove to In The Spirit Gifts, where I was working, I prayed, "I'm sorry, St. Joseph. You don't have to do that. I shouldn't have asked you for a sign. I know you've heard, haven't abandoned, and are with me. 

The month of May is a very busy season at the store as First Communions near. In the midst of a store full of shoppers that morning, in came a man. He was not a regular customer - I had never seen him before and never saw him after. He stood staring at me and engaged me in brief moments of conversation as I helped other customers. What I was immediately struck with, however, was that this stranger was a faith-filled man, who seemed to know his theology. 

Somehow the busy store emptied out and I was alone with this man - just him, just me. He never told me why he was there . . . never told me what he wanted. But in the midst of our conversation, having nothing at all to do with anything we were talking about, he announced to me, "I'm married to a virgin." I ignored what he said, but remember thinking to myself, "What a strange thing to say! Why would this man reveal to a total stranger that his wife was a virgin when he married her?" As if he read my thoughts, he added, "My wife and I love each other very much, but we've decided to live our married life as virgins." 

Soon after, as mysteriously as he came into the store, he left, never buying anything, never even browsing at the merchandise. Minutes after he left, alone in the store, as I tried to make sense of this strange encounter, I was filled with wonder! What other man, I thought, had married a virgin? What other couple had decided to live their married love virginally? Suddenly I was filled with awe, and joy, and peace. Although I told St. Joseph that I wasn't looking for it, anticipating it or expecting it, I realized I had received my sign.

2018 Mission Trip Cross

THE HEART OF A SERVANT

The 2018 Mission Trip Cross

His feet moved throughout Galilee and Judea 

Seeking the poor and the sick, 

The outcast and the forgotten, 

The saint and the sinner. 

His eyes looked compassion on the world 

And conveyed things that mere words lacked. 

Things like gentleness and grace 

Love and mercy, 

Respect and self-worth. 

His ears were attuned 

To cries and to laughter, 

To prayers and to pleas 

To praise and to rejection. 

His voice spoke 

Against oppression and for inclusion, 

Against self-righteousness and for Godliness, 

Against the arrogant and for the meek. 

His hands reached out 

To feed and to forgive, 

To heal and to bless, 

To wash feet and to wipe away tears. 

But . . . 

His feet were able to journey, 

His eyes were able to see, 

His ears were able to hear, 

His voice was able to speak 

And his hands were able to touch, 

Because within this carpenter, 

Within this wanderer, 

Within this teacher, 

Within this healer 

Was a heart. 

The heart of a servant. 

Today we bless and commission the twenty-five teenagers and fourteen adults who will leave tomorrow morning and minister in our name to the people of Dunlow, West Virginia. Each year at this mass, we bestow upon them their mission trip cross, a symbol of who they are, of why they minister, and in whose name they minister. Each year I try to choose a cross which will symbolize a theme, a thought, which I hope each of those going on the mission trip will be reminded of each time they see the cross, touch the cross, wear the cross. 

And so, missionaries of St. Therese, in the middle of this year’s cross is a heart with four rays pointing outward from it. Through this cross and throughout the next week may you, like Jesus, possess the heart of a servant - a heart which opens itself without hesitation, gives of itself without reserve, and loves without condition. And along with tools like hammers and saws, drills and screwdrivers, may you use your feet and your eyes, your ears and your voice, your hands and your heart to serve the people in Dunlow. May you take as your model and inspiration he who said:

“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) 

He who said: 

“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) 

And he who said: 

“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:15)

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

JUST A BOY FROM NAZARETH 

Ezekiel 2: 2-5; 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10; Mark 6: 1-6 

He'd grown up there. And now he goes back home again. He goes back to Nazareth . . . and it is just as important an event for him as it would be for you and me. We see it at homecomings every year. And we see it at family reunions - the folks who come back to share . . . not just in the food . . . and not just to sit in the shade and catch up, though that might be part of the sharing . . . but the ones who come back to share a portion of their hearts . . . a part of their lives with the people they love. This is why he goes back home. To give back something to those people in Nazareth who had given him so very much. 

There’s the rabbi who first taught him the Torah. There are the boys - the friends of his childhood - the ones he had run with through the streets, dust splaying between their toes, laughing and playing. There are the older men and women who remember how he had started at age 12 to learn his father's trade, and how there was hardly a home in Nazareth that didn't have baskets, chests, or some kind of furniture that Joseph or Jesus had made, or maybe ceiling beams that they had installed. And there too, his mother and his family. They’re all here in Nazareth. These are the people who shaped him. These are the people who taught him. These are the people who made his ministry possible. They are the people he loves most in the world. And he comes back to give them the gift closest to his heart - the only gift of real value he can give. He comes back home to share the Word of God with them. He comes back to bring them salvation and eternal life. 

Oh, they listen politely enough. No one gets up and walks out. There isn't even very much shifting around on the benches . . . or coughing . . . or nodding off while he's speaking. They hear the beauty of his words, but that's all they hear - and words that in Cana or Capernaum would have brought folks to their knees and changed lives on the spot . . . well, here those words just seemed to fall flat. Where was this coming from? This kind of wisdom couldn't come from a man they were acquainted with, a boy who had grown up right here and whose family they all knew. It just wasn't possible! When all was said and done, he was just a boy from Nazareth. 

That day in the synagogue, the people of Nazareth had quite an opportunity. They could open their minds and hearts. They could accept that God was at work, right there in Nazareth, in the person of this man, Jesus, whom they knew so well. But they “took offense at him." Who did he think he was? After all, when all was said and done, he was just a boy from Nazareth? . . . But “a prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” 

Most of us think of prophets as sort of religious soothsayers. But prophesy isn’t about predicting the future. It more has to do with the here and now. . . and then maybe how the here and now might affect the future. Prophets are messengers of God, sent to announce God’s will for a particular person or community at a particular time. More simply, a prophet is one who speaks on behalf of God. 

We often assume God ‘speaking’ means hearing an audible voice thundering down from heaven in a boisterous, “Thus sayeth the Lord!” kind of way. Though a few people have claimed to have heard God audibly, he usually speaks through other ‘modes’ of communication. Just like learning a new language, when one has to train their ear to hear certain sounds and syllables of the foreign words, so it is with hearing God’s voice. We have to train ourselves to know and discern the distinct sounds and syllables of God’s voice in order to hear him clearly. Don’t forget, God is a mystery and so the way he communicates with us is going to be mysterious. Don’t forget too, that God is a pure Spirit. And so, we have to learn how and to accept how a spirit communicates. And that’s necessarily going to be different than human to human, face to face communication. So, if God physically appears to you and speaks to you, either call the pope or call Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, because normally that’s not the way it works. And if that’s what you’re waiting for, you’re going to have a long and disappointing wait. 

So who or what are the prophets in your life? How does God visit you, inspire you, motivate you, challenge you, change you, speak to you? Here are five ways, some of which may surprise you.  And probably none of which you ever thought of as prophetic:

1. Through the Bible: The Bible is the living Word of God. Everything in it, though written by humans, is inspired by him in some way. If we rely on God’s Word and believe the words we read are directly from God’s mouth, we will hear him speaking directly to us through them. 
2. Through the ‘Still Small Voice’: When we accept Christ into our hearts, we are immediately given a gift from God in the form of the Holy Spirit. While Jesus was still living among the disciples, he told them, “…when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” ( John 16:13). Indeed, the Spirit of the Lord that resides within us, will tell us the truth. The question is, are we listening? 
3. Through Life Circumstances: Never take life’s circumstances at face value. No matter how bad or confusing or hopeless they may look, God often uses the ordinary to communicate the extraordinary. Lose a job? Flight get delayed? A project fail to get the results you hoped for? Don’t fret. God is at work through every circumstance in our lives, even when we don’t fully understand. We need to try to discern what He might be saying through it all. 
4. Through Dreams: If God spoke through to King Abimelech, Jacob, Laban, Joseph, Pharaoh, King Solomon, King Nebuchadnezzar, and the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament and St. Joseph in the New Testament through dreams, why not also us? Pay attention to your dreams; they might mean more than you realize. 
5. Through Other People: Have you ever been talking to someone and they suddenly say the exact thing you needed to hear? Or you’re sitting in church and the sermon tackles an exact struggle you have been facing? It’s likely that God was speaking to you through other people–even without them even knowing it. It can come through books, songs on the radio, TV programs, or complete strangers on the street, but when it comes, with its uncanny precision and accuracy, you know when you hear it, it's not coincidence, it's a "God-instance."  

The problem is, often times we dismiss all of these as fantasy, wishful thinking, coincidence or reading into something the way we want it to be and not the way it actually is. And we, like the people of Nazareth, take offense: “This isn’t the way God acts! This isn’t the way I want God to act! For me, God is complex and dramatic, and this is all too simple!” But in reality, if you’re listening for the voice of God in your life, this is where you’re going to find it. 

How can we know when we’ve received the prophetic word of God? Five ways, all of which must be present. We need to ask ourselves:

• Is it Important? Is it meaningful to my life? Remember, God doesn’t deal in trivia. 
• Is it Good? Is what is revealed good in itself and good in what it asks of me? 
• Is it Loving? Does it make me a better person? Does it respect and promote what is good, holy, true and beneficial for myself and for others? 
• Does it work? Does what is revealed answer my question or lead to a resolution of my situation? Remember, God is perfect. He doesn’t make mistakes. Therefore, he doesn’t offer bad advice. But be prepared, God reveals to us what is true, not necessarily what we want. 
• Does it Conform to Other Traditional Forms of Revelation? In other words, is it in sync with Scripture and the teaching of the Church? God NEVER contradicts himself! 

That day, in Nazareth, the hometown crowd couldn’t accept that God’s prophetic voice could come through one of their own. Can we accept the voice of God when it comes through one of our own: inspirations, intuitions, circumstances, dreams, family members and friends? The people of Nazareth lost a great opportunity by not listening more carefully to their neighbor and relative -- who they knew only as Jesus, the boy from Nazareth. But we know differently. We know him as Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let’s pray that we know not to reject the God that might often seem all too familiar to us.

Graduation Homily for the Class of 2018

LIVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS 

FOREVER 

A Graduation Homily for the Class of 2018 

St. Therese School, Succasunna, NJ 

June 13, 2018 

Isaiah 44: 6-8, 24; Philippians 1: 3-11; 4: 8-9; Matthew 7: 24-29 

There once was a man who had a dream. He was often criticized for having this dream. People thought his dream was unrealistic, and that he didn’t have what it would take to accomplish it. But he wouldn’t give up. Those in authority often found fault with him because his ways were unconventional, but he refused to go with the flow, to be like everyone else, to live up to their expectations. Eventually, he met a group of young people, and although they were intelligent and talented, they lacked direction and purpose in their lives. But slowly, he impacts their lives. Although they are reluctant at first, his dream becomes their dream. And in the process of ultimately fulfilling the dream for himself and for them, he instills meaning, self-confidence, and a sense of direction into their lives. 

Graduates, does this story sound familiar? It should. Because if you add, music, dancing and an electric guitar to it, it’s the plot of the Broadway musical that you saw two weeks ago on your class trip to New York: it’s the story of Dewey Finn and how he formed “The School of Rock.” 

But his story might also remind you of another dreamer, one who lived 2,000 years ago and the impact he had on a group of twelve students, and the sense of purpose and meaning he instilled into their lives and all lives ever since. In a real sense, he too established a School of Rock, and that is the school from which you graduate today. 

In our gospel this morning, Jesus tells us that a foolish man builds his house on sand, but a wise one builds it on ROCK. And in our first reading, we heard God speak through the prophet Isaiah, and he tells us that HE is the ROCK, that there is no other. And so, St. Therese’s School is the true School of Rock because it’s built on Jesus Christ. He is the reason why St. Therese’s School exists. He is the unseen but ever-present teacher in all its classes. He is the model of its faculty. He has been the inspiration for you, its students. 

Graduates, each of you is built on a strong, sturdy foundation – the ROCK that is Jesus Christ. The evidence that you are isn’t found in the awards you’ll receive in a few minutes or the diploma you’ll get this evening. The proof is found in who you are, how you live your life, the virtues you possess, and the positive impact you bring to the world around you. Things like this: 

• Riley: You always demonstrate sensitivity, compassion and concern for everyone – your friends, but also anyone who might be in need. You’re a true and loyal friend who can always be counted on in the good times and in the bad. 
• Clay: You have an incredible sense of humor. And your humor is never caustic or hurtful to anyone, but is self-deprecating, always making yourself the butt of your jokes, never anyone else. Through your sense of humor, you dedicate so much of yourself to making other people happy, to lifting their spirits when they’re low, to bringing joy to their hearts. 
• Jillian: You have the biggest heart that anyone could possibly have. You love constantly, completely, unselfishly and without reserve and make everyone’s life better just from you being a part of it. 
• Marco: You constantly give one hundred percent of yourself and are completely dedicated and devoted to everything and everyone in your life, whether that be school, or basketball, or your friends. You possess an amazing degree of leadership and self-assuredness that gives everyone peace of mind and the sense that all is well, because you’ve got everything under control; you’ve got everybody’s back. 
• Alyssa: You have such incredible inner beauty. You possess some of the greatest virtues that a person can possibly have - grace, integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. 
• Alex: To know you is to know a person of deep faith, profound love of God and unwavering respect for every man, woman and child. You are precisely what Jesus praised in the Beatitudes when he said, “Blessed are the pure of heart.” 
• Peter: You have a quiet strength that everyone depends upon. You’re steadfast, loyal, dependable. Just by your personality, and probably unknowingly, you provide in every situation a sense of peace and calm that everyone needs and on which everyone relies. 
• Christina: Your sense of joy just radiates from you. Your kindness, courtesy and ability to see the beauty in life is unwavering and uplifting to all. 
• Megna: You possess one of the greatest virtues, and one that is sorely lacking in our world today – humility. You never show off, never seek to be the center of attention, but simply, quietly and humbly excel in every area of your life. 
• Connor: You are the most sensitive, thoughtful and kind person I think I’ve ever met in my entire life. Your eyes are constantly focused outward on other people to anticipate their needs. And you unselfishly respond immediately to them without even being asked. 
• Kevin: You are truly an honorable person – generous, positive and always the epitome of what it means to be both gentle and a gentleman. 
• Dominic: Warmth, sensitivity, innocence and inquisitiveness are the hallmarks of your personality which make you immediately likeable and loveable to everyone who meets you. 
• Andrew: You care so much for people and are so warm and charitable. I’ve never heard you say one unkind word about anyone because you always see the good in people and never the bad. Your smile and your optimism just makes everyone’s day. 
• Diego: You possess the virtue that is considered the greatest virtue in the Bible, one credited to very few in Scripture and one that few people demonstrate today – righteousness, pure goodness. Your personal goodness, coupled with the enthusiasm with which you live your life, is like an aura that surrounds you which is evident the moment anyone meets you and every time you just simply walk into a room. 

But graduates, all these are not the things that the world recognizes, much less gives awards for. They won’t bring you a medal, a plaque, a certificate or a check. But they are the things that God sees and rewards. And the award for them is called Heaven. 

The past few weeks, I’ve had a difficult task. I’ve been trying to figure out what my final words to you as a class would be. I wanted them to be something that would hopefully inspire you and something that you would remember. But ultimately, I came to realize that the most important thing I want to leave with you on this most important day is something you’ve already heard from me twice a week, for ten months out of the year, for two years; it’s the way we would end our prayers every morning at the beginning of class: “Live Jesus in our hearts – Forever!” Since the heart is the center of your being, these words express your desire that Jesus be the center of your life, that his words be your words, his thoughts be your thoughts, his heart be your heart. FOREVER. 

Graduates, live Jesus in YOUR hearts forever. It’s not enough to know Jesus, nor even to love Jesus. You must live Jesus. How do you do that? It all has to do with the cross I gave you on your retreat last Friday. If you look at it, you’ll see on the left and on the right of the cross are two Greek letters –the Alpha and the Omega. They’re the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and are symbolic of the eternity of God, the One who is the beginning and end of all things. Intertwined at the center of the cross are two more Greek letters: The Chi and the Rho. These are the first two letters of the Greek word CHRIST and is one of the earliest Christian symbols. And so, by this cross, may you be reminded daily that Christ must be the center of your lives. From the time you wake up each morning, until you close your eyes at night: CHRIST! From the beginning of the week every Sunday morning, to its close every Saturday night: CHRIST! From the first day of high school to the day you again graduate: CHRIST! And from the beginning of your life to the end of your life: CHRIST! 

Class of 2018, please stand, take off your cross and look at it. Make this the most sincere prayer you’ve ever said. Repeat after me: 

Christ with me, 

Christ before me, 

Christ behind me, 

Christ in me, 

Christ beneath me, 

Christ above me, 

Christ on my right, 

Christ on my left, 

Christ when I lie down, 

Christ when I sit down, 

Christ when I arise, 

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, 

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, 

Christ in every eye that sees me, 

Christ in every ear that hears me. 

Live Jesus in my heart. 

Live Jesus in my heart. 

Live Jesus in my heart forever. 

You may be seated and put the cross back on. 

Dear hearts, Class of 2018, congratulations on all you have accomplished. And thank you. Thank you for who you are and thank you for loving me. I wish I had the words that could adequately let you know how much you mean to me, how much I will miss you, and how much I love you. I can only hope you already know. 

Live Jesus in our hearts . . . FOREVER!

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

PERSPECTIVE

Genesis 3: 9-15; 2 Corinthians 4: 13 – 5:1; Mark 3: 20-25

Perspective: 

Just who does this Jesus think he is? A CARPENTER trying to teach US, pointing the finger at us Pharisees and Scribes for not living the Law of Moses as it should be lived? A NAZAREAN? Can anything good come from Nazareth? 

He welcomes sinners and eats with them and makes the poor, the sick, women, the downtrodden, all those who exist on the fringe of society, even SAMARITANS, the focus of his ministry, making them feel beloved and blessed by God. He declares that salvation is no longer just for the Jews, but is for all who believes in Him, even outcasts, sinners, pagans, and Gentiles. All this is just too much for any devout Jew to take! 

He subverts our authority. He criticizes our strict observance of the law. And he dares to claim that tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before us! US - the Pharisees, the “pious ones!” Yet it is he who brakes the laws of ritual cleanliness, he who violates the Sabbath, he who speaks openly of a kingdom not of this world, he who claims he communicates directly and intimately with God. SINNER! He dares to claim that he is from God, that he is the equal of God, that he IS God! BLASPHEMER! 

Son of God? NO! More like Son of Satan! After all, Satan is the Father of Lies, the Master of Deception. And that is all that this is – lies and deceit and trickery - pure evil capable from only the Evil One Himself. 

Perspective: 

What has happened to him? Is this the same Jesus with whom we grew up? The same good, introspective man we knew? Where is he getting all this? He’s just one of us, the same as us – a simple carpenter, a Jew – nothing more - no worse and certainly no better. We are his neighbors, his friends. We know his family . . . We ARE his family. In fact, his mother is over there in our group. 

What has happened to good Jesus? Now he has become a troublemaker, a religious fanatic. His behavior has become bizarre, his words disturbing. Heads are shaking, fingers are pointing, and most of the time in our direction. “Do something,” people are saying. “Speak to him. Control him! Stop him! He is becoming an embarrassment to us. He is causing trouble for us with the Romans and even with our own leaders.” 

Apparently, he believes the fantasies his mother has been claiming about him all his life – virgin birth, a new star rising at his birth, angels serenading him, dignitaries and scholars from the East worshiping him. And now, look where all of this has led – to this. He’s crazy! He’s insane! He’s delusional! 

Bread that will give eternal life? The poor, those that mourn, the meek, those desiring righteousness, the merciful, the peacemakers, the persecuted are BLESSED? Come on . . . GET REAL! Turn the other cheek, give your cloak also when someone asks for your shirt, forgive seventy times seven times, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, the greatest in the Kingdom of God is the one who serves? YEAH RIGHT! You’re CRAZY! Jesus, this needs to stop, right here and right now. Enough is enough. Come home with us; we’ll take care of you. (Poor guy . . . He’s lost it.) 

Do you understand what’s going on in today’s gospel? The religious authorities, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Priests, the Scribes are all condemning Jesus – yes as a blasphemer, but even more – as EVIL. And Jesus’ neighbors and friends, and yes, even some of the members of his own family, the folks back in Nazareth, are convinced that Jesus is CRAZY! There’s no more powerful way to discredit someone and diminish their affect than to convince everyone that who that person is, what that person does, and what that person says is either pure evil or total insanity. THEN and NOW. 

Perspective: 

How dare you Catholics! How dare you try to impose your morality on the rest of us! You Catholics think you’re SO good, when all you do is inflict harm and guilt on everyone who doesn’t agree with your point of view. You force people to bear burdens that a good and gracious God would never expect. You treat your laws as if they are unchanging, as if they were carved in stone. Get with it! Your laws aren’t God-given. They’re man-made and the papyrus on which they’re written has become yellowed and decayed with age. 

You say you act out of love, yet you point your finger at all who hold a different point of view than yours and label them “sinner.” Yet maybe it is you who is the sinner, and perhaps even worse – evil. Old celibate men dictate sexual morality. Whether it be sex outside of marriage, birth control, gay rights, same sex marriage, your laws are rigid and antiquated. Even some of your own members don’t even believe this – and certainly aren’t living it out. You have become like the very Pharisees that Jesus criticized for and tying up heavy burdens, hard to carry, and laying them on people’s shoulders, but not lifting a finger to lighten their load. You say everyone is equal in the eyes of God, I guess unless you're a woman or gay. You quote bible passages about love and forgiveness and “judge not lest you yourself be judged,” except I guess if you're divorced. 

Your Jesus said, “Be not afraid,” but you are afraid – afraid to let go of control, afraid of anything new, afraid of advances in science and medicine that might benefit humankind - like stem cell research, genetic engineering and invitro fertilization. And you heartlessly further the physical, psychological and emotional torment of those who seek to end an unwanted pregnancy or the life of those who live in the agony of terminal illness or dementia. You brand contemporary society as “evil.” Well, Catholics, look in the mirror and tell me who really is the evil one! 

Perspective: 

So let me get this right . . . You Catholics believe that there’s one God, right? But this one God is made up of three divine persons? Hmm . . . And you believe that a virgin conceived a child without having sexual relations with a man and this child is the Son of God? And this child, who you call Jesus, was both totally God and totally man? And this Jesus died a horrific death by being crucified, but three days later he rose from the dead? And that the human body may die, but there’s something called a soul that is immortal and lives on for all eternity? And umm the bread and the wine at your mass, like one minute it’s just bread and wine and the next minute it isn’t, it’s the body and blood of this guy Jesus who died 2,000 years ago who you think is God? And eh when your pope speaks, sometimes what he says about faith or morals is infallible? (How convenient!) Man! You Catholics really are crazy! 

People of faith are called to have different values, because they see this world through God’s eyes. Our value system is going to sometimes run against the grain of this world. Believing in a God of love and grace will sometimes make us look “crazy” to others. Acting on those beliefs, caring for the least of these, will make us look even more crazy. Let us be sure that we're seeing our world as God sees it, then let us act in God’s love, even though it may look as if we're out of touch with reality. The truth is, we will be in touch with the most real reality there is. 

Perspective: 

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you (Jn 15:18) . . . Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt 5: 11-12).

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year B)

THE APOSTLESHIP LOTTERY

Acts 1: 15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4: 11-16; John 7: 11b-19 

Today we celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Well . . . in New Jersey and nine other states we celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The rest of the country today celebrates what we did last Thursday, the Ascension of the Lord. But for us and those nine other states, today is the Sunday after the Ascension and the Sunday before Pentecost. And so, we find ourselves experiencing what the Apostles must have two thousand years ago: a period of completion and a period of transition. 

It’s a period of completion. For the Apostles, the forty days that the risen Jesus appeared to them and many others in his resurrection body, during which he explained the meaning of his coming to earth, his dying and rising again, commissioned them to establish his Church and prepared them for the coming of the Holy Spirit came to an end. And for us too, the season of Easter, our celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, also comes to an end. 

And for us, like the Apostles, this is a time to transition, to shift our focus – from what our Lord has done for us through his passion, death and resurrection, to now, what we are called, empowered and commissioned to do through the Holy Spirit – to LIVE the Good News and to SPREAD the Good News. 

And in our First Reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear of the Apostles first steps to do just that. Jesus had chosen twelve Apostles - twelve to represent, in part, the twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve was a symbolic number in Jewish culture, one that represented authority, perfection and completeness. But after Judas betrayed Jesus, his absence created a lack that Peter was determined to fill. One person had to be added to restore, not only the sense of completion to what Jesus established, but to restore fullness to the mission. 

The community of believers then set the criteria. This person had to be someone who was a faithful follower from beginning to end – from when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist through to his Ascension. In such a position of leadership, this person had to be a reliable source for passing along the Good News. So, an intimate knowledge of the person and ministry of Jesus was essential. And so, they identified two worthy candidates: One was named Judas Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and the other was Matthias. If we read between the lines of all four gospels, they were two unnamed nobodies, part of the seventy emissaries that Jesus sent out two by two to every city and place he was about to go. Justus and Matthias had accompanied Jesus and the Apostles faithfully over the dusty roads that brought them to the towns, villages and cities of Galilee and Judea. For three years, these two men had been there through it all, heard it all, seen it all – the parables, the miracles, the adulation of the crowds, the criticism and rejection of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Priests and the Scribes - but all from behind the scene. 

We’re told that the assembly prayed over these two, then, they cast lots, the equivalent of drawing straws, rolling the dice, or tossing a coin. And Matthias won and took his place among the Apostles. Can you imagine leaving such a monumental decision as that one to chance? But for the Apostles, to cast lots wasn't just a way to let God reach down from heaven and make the decision for them. It meant trusting that no matter what decision was made, God will lead it to good. 

Do you know what happened to Matthias after the moment when he is chosen to take Judas' place? Neither do I. Neither does anyone. Do you know how many times Matthias' name is mentioned in the Bible? Three. All three are in this story. There's no further mention of him. After all of that, the formerly unknown Matthias takes the place of the betrayer, and then we don't hear anything else about him. Tradition has it that Matthias preached the gospel to the Ethiopians. Another tradition has it that he was stoned in Jerusalem. Others say he made it to the region of present-day Georgia (the country not the state). But the bottom line is that we don't know. We don’t know what happened to the man whom the Holy Spirit led to be chosen to reconstitute the Twelve. Yes, Matthias was chosen and sent . . . but it seems, in his case, sent into relative obscurity. 

But although we hear more about Apostles like Peter, Andrew, James and John in the gospels and know more about what happened to them after the gospels, even though more people pray to them as their patron saints and more Catholic churches are named for them, the Apostle Matthias should be remembered and honored by each one of us. Why? Because he teaches us what it means to be faithful. To be faithful means following Jesus through thick and thin, never asking for recognition. It means taking the worst setback imaginable and trusting that God will somehow get you through it. It means believing that your decisions aren't as important as God's love for you - that no matter what you choose, God still chooses good for you and for this world. It means laboring for a lifetime for the sake of the gospel and not worrying whether anyone will notice. THAT’S faithfulness. 

Who was Matthias? He is each of us. He is all of us. He is the innumerable saints who follow Jesus wherever Jesus leads, trusting that God will use them in ways that transcend their understanding or imagination. Because we too have been given the truth; we too have won the Apostleship Lottery; we too have been sent. Maybe not to Jerusalem, or Macedonia, or Damascus – but certainly to Succasunna and Ledgewood, Kenvil and Landing, Port Morris and Lower Berkshire Valley; to places as near as the soup kitchen in Dover, and as far away as Dunlow, West Virginia and Kenya, Africa; and to the nameless and faceless who are in need of our prayer and in need of our charity. 

Most Christians down through the life of the Church have been a lot more like Matthias than they have been like Peter or Paul. Yes, we are all Matthias. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things for God. But each of us can do small things with great love.” We have all had our names called, our number come up in God’s grand mission and ministry lottery. God has chosen us. God has blessed us. God has taught us the truth. God fills us with the Holy Spirit and sends us out into the world so that all the world will know that He is love.

The Third Sunday of Easter (Year B)

ALIVE! RISEN! HERE! 

Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2: 1-5a; Luke 24: 35-48 

“Why are you troubled and why do questions arise in your hearts?” Lord, how could their hearts NOT be troubled and how could their minds NOT be cluttered with questions? So much has happened in just one week’s time and they have experienced a full spectrum of emotions. Just one week before, you triumphantly came to Jerusalem, hailed with hosannas, proclaimed as the messiah, the Son of David, the King of the Jews. Everything they had pinned their hopes on for three years seemed to finally be within their grasp. On Thursday, you shared the yearly Passover meal with them, yet somehow very different this year: the unleavened bread you told them was your body and the cup of wine your blood. You gave them a model of service by washing their feet and you proclaimed your deep and abiding love for them and called them, no longer servants, but friends. Then pandemonium and chaos! In the garden after the meal, one of them, handpicked by you, betrays you by handing you over to the Jewish authorities. They fight, they struggle, they scatter, they abandon. They hide behind locked doors, as they still do, hearing others describe the unthinkable - Arrest. Trial. Torture. Condemnation. Crucifixion. Death. Entombment. Their hearts shatter into a million pieces, as do their hopes and their dreams. And then, with the Sunday sunrise, come reports that the grave is empty, your body is gone, no longer held captive by the tomb. Some claim it has been stolen. Others claim you are resurrected, come back to life. Some claim they have even seen you . . . at the tomb . . . on the road to Emmaus. And now, despite locked doors, like the tomb, doors and stone walls cannot hold you! You invade their cells of despair and grief and confusion and stand in their midst. Are you a ghost? Are you an hallucination? Are you a memory? Are you just a dream for things to be as they once were just a few short days ago? “Why are you troubled and why do questions arise in your hearts?” Lord, how could their minds and their hearts be anything but? 

Have you come to haunt them? Have you come to condemn them? Have you come to seek revenge on those who should have stood courageous, but ran away; should have remained faithful, but abandoned you; should have loved you as you loved them but who loved themselves more? NO! Instead, you stand before them and wish them PEACE. “Peace be with you,” you say. Shalom Aleichem. Your last words to them on Thursday night at the Last Supper become your first words to them tonight: “Peace be with you!” Shalom Aleichem. You show them your nail-pierced hands and your spear-punctured side. It is YOU! No ghost! No hallucination! No memory! No dream! But YOU alive again, yet somehow radically different. “Peace be with you.” And with that peace comes joy to their broken hearts. With that peace comes reassurance to their shattered faith. You are there, alive, present . . . because you have a love that stays . . . beyond death, despite infidelity, 

But Lord, perhaps your question is more directed to me than to your Apostles. “Why are you troubled and why do questions arise in your heart?” Lord, how can my heart be anything but consumed with worries and my mind not cluttered with questions? Did you not hear the diagnosis? Do you not know of my self-doubts? Have you not seen my alienated relationships? Did you not see what I did that I don’t know if you, or anyone else can forgive, or if even I can forgive myself? Do you not know how I worry if I will be able to pay the bills and provide for my family? Did you not know that my feeling of self-worth has been destroyed by my unemployment? Have you not sensed that I am tired . . . so very tired? Tired that today is the same as yesterday, that yesterday was the same as the day before, and that there is no hope for my tomorrows? Tired that my life is aimless and seems to have no meaning? Tired that, no matter how much I try, no one seems to need me, appreciate me, love me? “Why are you troubled and why do questions arise in your heart?” Lord, how can my mind and my heart be anything but? And so, like the Apostles, I hide in a locked room, a room of fear, of hurt, of anger, of alienation, of doubt, of guilt, of grudges; locked behind doors that I hope will keep me from danger, from pain, from hurt, or maybe just from being too challenged. 

But . . . can it be that, like the walls in the upper room, the walls that I have constructed are penetrable too? Can it be that, as death and a tomb could not hold you back, the locked doors to my rooms cannot hold you back either? 

My Lord and my God! You stand before me in this season of renewal and rebirth, and you speak the word “peace” to ME! Shalom Aleichem! Peace to my mind! Peace to my heart! Peace to my soul! PEACE! Not the overused, contrived, insincere word that is part of our daily vocabulary, but Shalom Aleichem. Shalom is God’s peace. Shalom is order restored where there was once chaos. Shalom is harmony and well-being. Shalom is rest for a troubled spirit. Shalom is reunion where once there was alienation. Shalom is God’s salvation, God’s healing and liberating work of grace in the whole world. THAT’S the peace that you wish me . . . No, that’s the peace you offer me. 

And like you did in that upper room with your Apostles, you stretch forth your scarred hands and bid me to examine them. And you take my hand and guide it as I probe the wound in your side and trace with my finger the depth of your love for me. You are ALIVE! You are RISEN! You are HERE! You are not forever nailed to a cross. Your body has not decayed in the dark dampness of a borrowed tomb. You are ALIVE! You are RISEN! You are HERE – for all eternity - to wipe away every tear, to give joy to every broken heart, to give consolation to every crushed spirit, to give reconciliation to every bruised soul, to give hope to everyone who lives in the shadow of darkness! 

And so fellow freed captives of locked and seemingly impenetrable rooms, let us sing our Alleluias! Let us proclaim him to the ends of the earth! He commissioned his Apostles to preach his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. Let us do the same, but beginning here, in Roxbury - in our homes, in our places of employment, in our schools. We proclaim what we know to be true. We have seen him with our own eyes, we have felt his love, we have experienced his mercy. We have felt his healing hands on our broken bodies, on our bruised hearts, on our crestfallen spirits. We have heard his gentle voice echoed in scripture and in prayer. He has fed and nourished us with the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation, his own body and blood. He has opened our blind eyes to see what continues to be done to this day in his name. He has opened our ears to eternal truths. He has promised us that what happened to him will happen to us - We will arise from graves of death and despair and hopelessness, and lovelessness, and rise to new life, eternal life. We are His witnesses. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song. So, let us sing that joyful anthem, for the tomb has failed to hold him back, nor have the locked doors that we and the world place in his way. He is ALIVE! HE is RISEN! He is HERE! 

For ME. For YOU.

First Sunday of Lent (Year B)

CTRL + ALT + DELETE

Genesis 9: 8-15; 1 Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15 

Well, here we are on the First Sunday of Lent. Lent always seems to sneak up on us and catch us by surprise, doesn’t it? No matter if Ash Wednesday is early or late, we always seem to have the same reaction: “Oh my goodness! I can’t believe it’s Lent already!” While Christmas is something that we eagerly anticipate, I can’t ever remember hearing anyone saying: “Oh man, I can’t wait for Lent! Prayer, fasting, abstinence, sacrifice, mortification of the body! YES!!!”

The word lent comes from the Latin word lento, which means “slow down.” And maybe that word fits most, or at least some of us this morning. We’ve slowed down, perhaps even come to a standstill. Physically, because of the cold, the snow, less sunlight, our lives have become more sedentary, less active. We don’t want to go out and face the cold so we stay in. And all the activities that we normally enjoy - outdoor sports like golf, tennis, soccer, baseball, and even some of the work that we enjoy, like gardening, go on a temporary hiatus until the warmth of the spring and summer sudden tell us it’s safe to come out of our winter hibernation. And, other than big events like Christmas, New Year’s and Super Bowl Sunday, even our social lives take a hit, as we prefer a quiet night by the fireplace than the cold trek through the frozen tundra to visit relatives and friends.

And unfortunately, our spiritual lives can also slow down or come to a standstill as well, not just in winter but in any season of our lives. The fervor that coincided with the reception of a Sacrament, a retreat experience, a moving homily or a prayer answered can quickly be cooled off by the problems and tragedies that confront us, or simply (and most often) through lack of effort – we simply become too busy, too tired, too overwhelmed, too distracted, too bored to do what’s necessary to maintain our spiritual lives (or more importantly, for it to grow deeper). And so, our spiritual lives slow down, get stuck. 

I know what to do when my computer slows down, freezes or gets stuck. It needs to reboot. And I know I can do that by hitting three keys on my computer simultaneously: CTRL + ALT + DELETE. And maybe Lent is the time for us to do the same thing - not with our computers but with our lives. 

What do I mean? During Lent, we’re asked to CONTROL . . . to control ourselves, to control our appetites, to control our habits, to control the things we over-indulge in, to control those things that we like and which give us some degree of pleasure. And so, Lent is a time of SACRIFICE, of giving up . . . as a Church, giving up meat on Fridays . . . but as individuals, giving up those things that might cost us a little bit – not money, but pleasure: the cookies, the candy, the chips, the soda, Facebook or Instagram, online gaming, the alcohol, the cigarettes, the drugs, the gossip, the foul language, the porno. By its nature, a sacrifice is not meant to be easy; it hurts a little bit. Why sacrifice? Well we only need to look at the cross for the answer to that one. Jesus sacrificed his life for us. It wasn’t easy. It hurt a lot. And anything that we sacrifice, and any pain or inconvenience associated with it, is far less than the supreme sacrifice Jesus made FOR US on the cross. 

Lent is also the time when we should hit the ALT key in our lives . . . to ALTERNATE, to shake things up, to change what we normally do, to live life a little bit differently. And so during Lent we’re invited to add something to our daily routine, something that will put demands on us – something that demands our time and something that demands our effort. Maybe it means spending more time with your family . . . or . . . more time with God. Maybe it means daily prayer if that’s not your routine . . . or more time in prayer if it is . . . maybe praying the Rosary every day and reciting the Sorrowful Mysteries, since all of them focus on the suffering and death of our Lord. Maybe it means coming to Mass every Sunday if you don’t . . . or coming to daily Mass if you already do. Maybe it means attending the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Maybe it means finding the copy of the Bible that’s somewhere in your house, dusting it off, and reading a little bit of it every day so that you complete one book over the course of the forty days of Lent. (Maybe the Gospel of Mark; it’s the shortest Gospel and the one that’s proclaimed on the Sunday’s of our current liturgical year). Or maybe it means performing one not so random, but deliberate and well thought out, act of kindness every day. 

And hitting the DELETE key in our lives, well that’s what Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel. Today’s Gospel was the shortest one you’ll hear all year - just three brief verses. But three very important verses, for in them we hear Jesus’ first words as he begins his public ministry: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

First words can be important and memorable. I bet those of you who are married can recall the first words you said to the one who would ultimately become your spouse or the first words that he or she said to you. Those of you who are parents, I bet you can recall the first words that your child said, whether it be “Mama,” “Dada,” “yes”, “no”, And the first words of a politician in his inaugural address become the words that set the tone of his term in office and are often referred back to in assessing his success.  

In Jesus’ inaugural address he tells us, “REPENT!” Do we believe Jesus? Do we take him at his word? Do we see a need within ourselves to repent, or do we treat Jesus’ words merely as a joke that he tells at the beginning of a speech. 

“Repent!” Sometimes, I think a lot of us are, what I call, “Christian Nihilists.” Nihilism is a philosophy that believes that nothing we do, whether right or wrong, makes any difference since there’s no God and life ends at death and therefore has no ultimate meaning. The Christian version of this is to believe that nothing we do, whether right or wrong, makes any difference because in the end, God is so loving and so forgiving that, no matter what, He will forgive us.

Is God loving? ABSOLUTELY! Is God forgiving? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! But we tend to forget that God is also just and that all of God’s attributes are in perfect harmony with each other. One never dominates the others. And so, God’s justice demands that we get what we deserve. But because God is loving and forgiving and just, God calls us to repentance. We can’t just sit back and expect God to do everything. Repentance requires initiative on our part.

And so, during Lent we’re called to DELETE . . . to repent, to recognize and get rid of our sinful ways. Perhaps to focus on our most serious sin, or the one we find ourselves most frequently committing, and working on it, conquering it, allowing it to no longer have a hold on us . . . deleting it from our minds, our hearts, our words, our actions, our souls, our lives. And the perfect way for us to DELETE is to go to Confession . . . to not only be forgiven by God but reconciled to God . . . to have our status as his sons and daughters restored – fully, totally, nothing held back, no lingering feelings of ill will on the part of God. 

So here we are, on the threshold of the season of Lent. During this season we’re challenged to CTRL + ALT + DELETE – three keys when pressed simultaneously on our computers allows it to reboot, to get unstuck, to perform better - the way that it’s meant to. Same thing for us. During these forty days, sacrificing, devoting ourselves more to our spiritual lives, and repenting are the three keys which, when pressed simultaneously will reboot our lives, give us a fresh start, and allow us to be the people God created us to be. 

CTRL + ALT + DELETE . . . Sounds like enough to keep us busy this Lent. Sounds like enough to keep us busy for a lifetime!

The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

SOME SAID NO

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14-20 

It was a journey of twenty-six miles from Nazareth to Bethsaida on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a journey of perhaps eight or nine hours by foot. He had probably been there many times before. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote of the region that it was “wonderful in its characteristics and beauty.” And ancient rabbis had said of it, “Although God has created seven seas, yet He has chosen this one as His special delight.” But whereas I’m sure he was refreshed and energized by the calm, sun-glistened serenity and beauty of the lake and refreshed as its warm water bathed his tired feet, this was no holiday he had embarked upon. He had work to do – important work. And so, as he took in the scenery, he also observed the people. Among them, four fishermen: Peter, Andrew, James and John. What was it in these four that Jesus took note of? We’re not told, but it is to them that he gives an invitation, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” In our Gospel today, we see their response. They abandon their nets, and the wealth, success and way of life that those nets represent, and follow Jesus. 

As I reflected this past week on today’s Gospel, a question came to mind that I had never thought of before. A question that I think it’s important to consider. A question that I think has implications for us. And the question is this: What other roads did Jesus travel before he came to Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee and how many others did he bid to come follow him before Peter, Andrew, James and John said yes? 

Was there, perhaps, someone from his hometown of Nazareth that caught his attention? Someone that he had known all of his life and had admired for his sense of loyalty to family and friends. “I can use that!” Jesus might have said. “There are rough times ahead. Many will not accept what I have to say. I will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. Your loyalty to me and those who will believe in me will be so appreciated. Come follow me and I will make you a friend of the friendless!” But the man responded, “Thank you, Jesus, but no. I am indeed loyal, but my loyalty to my family and to myself comes first. They and I deserve a secure life and what you have just described to me seems anything but. This talk of rejection and death are all too unsettling to me. 

And surely the roads that Jesus walked led him past farms and vineyards. Was there perhaps someone there that Jesus admired and said, “I have observed that you are a hard worker. You work tirelessly in the hot sun from sunrise to sunset. Your hands are strong and dirty, your brow bears the sweat of your labor. I can use you! There is much work to be done. Day in and day out we will travel throughout Israel preaching the good news of salvation. There are the sick to heal, the hungry to feed, the poor and the outcasts to minister to. Come follow me and I will make you a harvester of souls.” But the man said, “Thank you, my friend, but no. I am indeed a hard worker. But what I sow, I reap. I see the results of my long hours of work and I benefit from the work of my hands. What you describe seems to benefit everyone but me. And, after all, don’t I deserve to reap the reward of my own labor? 

Another road led Jesus through a pasture where he observed a shepherd tending his flock. He said to the shepherd, “I see the care and concern that you show to every sheep in your flock. I see how you protect them from wolves and thieves and how you go after the ones who stray. I can use someone like you! I have come to shepherd the lost sheep among the people of Israel. I have come to lead them along right paths to verdant pastures and to give them rest. Come follow me and I will make you a shepherd of the flock of God.” But the shepherd said, “Thank you, sir, but no. I am a simple man and just don’t think I’m good enough for your noble mission. For you see, it is one thing to lead sheep; it is another thing to lead people. I just don’t know if I have what it takes. I am a quiet man, I just don’t know if I possess what it would take to do what you want me to do.”

And finally, the path took Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. There he observed men of commerce, merchants, buyers and sellers, and those involved with foreign trade. To one he said, “I admire your wisdom and your ingenuity. You’re well organized and creative, and your personality is such that you work well with all people, not just Jews, but Romans and Greeks alike. I can use someone like you. I can use your mind, your wit, your sense of organization to take my message to the ends of the earth. Come follow me and I will make your business the business of God’s people. But the merchant said, “Thank you, but no. I just don’t think I have the time to devote myself to your pursuits. Although my success is measured in silver and gold, it is the frenetic pace of my life and the art of wheeling and dealing that are my passion. I just can’t risk leaving what I know I’m so good at to traipse around the world promoting someone who seems so countercultural and something that isn’t measured by profit margins.

And so the road led Jesus to Bethsaida, to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and there he saw four fishermen and in them too he saw something special, something he could use. And to them he beckoned “I will make you fishers of men.” And these four abandoned their nets and followed him. Other roads would lead Jesus to a tax collector named Matthew and to seven others whose birthplaces and occupations have been lost in the sands of time: Philip, Jude, Bartholomew, Thomas, James, Simon and Judas. 

But the thing is, Jesus still walks pathways and he still invites those whom he meets to come follow him. And like the Twelve, he doesn’t just call them to discipleship, to be mere followers and students, he calls them to be APOSTLES. The word apostle means “one who is sent. And so he seeks individuals whom he can send in his name to heal bodies and broken hearts, to feed hungry stomachs and souls, and to teach the ignorant and the know-it-all. 

And guess what? The road Jesus walks comes right down Main Street, across Route 10, up Hillside Avenue, down Eyland Avenue and around the shores of Horseshoe Lake. And the ones he stops and greets and invites to come fellow him . . . well, they’re you and they’re me. And he looks at YOU and he looks at ME and he sees something special in each one of us, and he says with delight, “I can use that!” What is that special thing Jesus sees in you and what is it that he calls you to do? Only you can discover that within yourself. But the question is not, “Does Jesus call me?” Absolutely HE DOES! The question is, “Do I hear? Do I respond? Do I make excuses for myself?” 

What prevents you from recognizing your special gifts and allowing Jesus to use them to build up his kingdom? Are you like the friend in Nazareth who is too overwhelmed by family obligations and expectations? Are you like the farmer who needs to have the tangible fruit of your time and your talents? Are you like the shepherd who is unconvinced that you really possess anything worthwhile that God can use? Or are you like the merchant who is just simply too busy with the things of this world to work toward the things of the next.

All I know is this . . . when we say no to what God asks us to do, God’s will is not done, the good that God desires is delayed, and both human history and salvation history are impeded towards the destiny that God intends for them.

Yes . . . I believe that Jesus walked many roads before the one that led him to Peter, Andrew, James and John. Many received the invitation to come follow him. Some said no. What’s your response?

The Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year B)

THE POWER OF “YES”
2 Samuel 7: 1-5; 8b-12, 14a; Romans 16:25-27;Luke 1: 26-38 

One simple, three letter, one syllable word – “YES.” And despite it being a simple, three letter, one syllable word, “YES” is one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. “YES” can make things happen. “YES” can change lives. A man and woman say "YES" to their marriage vows and the two become one. A man and woman say "YES" to life and they become a father and mother and their lives are never the same. Elected officials vote "YES" and nations go to war and countless lives are affected. A man says "YES" on the day of his ordination and his words are able to transform simple bread and wine into the presence of Christ. "YES” – simple, three letters, one syllable, but oh so powerful!

Across the heavens an angel races to Nazareth. “Do not be afraid . . . All things are possible with God,” he announces to a virgin. And sweeter than the song of an angel is her response: “YES . . . Let it be.” And this “YES,” uttered by a girl no older than fourteen years of age, living in a nondescript village in Galilee, was one of the most powerful words ever spoken in all of history. Her “YES” brought forth something truly marvelous. So marvelous, in fact, that we have been celebrating what happened because of her "YES" for more than 2,000 years. 

In today’s Gospel we hear how the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce she had been chosen to give birth to the long awaited Messiah. In response, Mary proclaimed “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary said “YES” and Christmas happened. 

Today, God asks things of us. God asks us to live lives of mercy, when it’s so much easier to harbor grudges. God asks us to love, when it’s so much easier to put a wall of indifference around ourselves to protect us from being hurt. God asks us to feed the hungry and thirsty, to clothe the naked, to welcome the stranger, to look after the needs of the ill, when it is so much easier to look out for our own self-interests. God asks us to live simply, when the American dream is one of material success and pleasure. God asks us to be counter-cultural and live the values of the Gospel, when it’s so much easier just to go with the flow. God asks us to be peacemakers, when revenge is oh so satisfying. Saying “YES” to God? Easier said than done. 

So what do we need to do to be able to open ourselves say “YES” to God? We need to do what Mary did.

1. We need to BE READY & PREPARED. What are we doing to prepare ourselves for when God calls? Are we serving others, are we praying daily, are we reading the Bible, are we surrounding ourselves with faith-filled people?
2. We need to BE LISTENING. Our lives can get so noisy. We can get so distracted. Are we making time and space for quiet and solitude so that we can hear God when he speaks?
3. ]We need to BE OPEN TO WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY. If we look at all of those in Scripture that God asked things of, whether it be Noah, Abraham, Moses, Kind David, Samuel, Mary, the Disciples, St. Paul, to name only a few, I think we can conclude three things about saying YES to God:  

• IT MAY BE HARD.
• IT MAY BE UNPOPULAR.
• IT MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE. 

BUT if we say “YES” to what God asks of us, then good things happen. God’s kingdom grows a little bit more visible in our world. God’s compassion and love touch the hurting. Jesus Christ takes on flesh in us and continues to walk this earth. 

Our “YES” to God in things both big and small makes good things happen. Our “YES” to God, makes Christmas happen today. It allows us to share Mary’s vocation in bringing to birth Emmanuel, “God with us.” For like Mary, our “YES” allows Jesus to be born into our world anew, not for one moment in history, but every day and for all time. 

Simple. Three letters. One syllable. "YES.” A powerful word indeed!

Second Sunday of Advent (Year B)

DO YOUR HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3: 8-14; Mark 1: 1-8 

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,

“Do you hear what I hear?

Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,

Do you hear what I hear?

A song, a song, high above the trees

With a voice as big as the sea

With a voice as big as the sea

A voice cries out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight his paths.” Do you hear what I hear?

The Roman authorities didn’t. They were too interested in keeping the “Peace of Rome” by force than to take seriously the challenge to prepare for the “Prince of Peace” who would come to establish his kingdom on love. 

Herod didn’t. He was an unpopular, cruel and power-hungry king. He was too busy trying to work deals with the competing factions.

The Pharisees and teachers of the Law didn’t. They knew the Bible backwards, but unfortunately didn’t know it “forwards.” In theory they were looking for the Messiah to come sometime in the future. But in reality they didn’t want anyone to disturb their control on the highly structured, all-encompassing rules that dictated how they lived their lives, and which they expected everyone else to live by, as well.

The ordinary people . . . they didn’t either – most of them. They were poor and life was hard. They had to pay close to sixty percent of their wages to pay the Temple tax, as well as the tax imposed by Rome. Life was a struggle. They were simply too busy to realize that the very ancient prophesies that they knew by heart and longed to become a reality for their nation, had been fulfilled in their midst. 

Do YOU hear what I hear? 

In today’s gospel, we hear a voice imploring us to get ready. It’s a familiar voice, one that we hear every year at this time. But it’s a voice that often gets drowned out by other voices: a voice chuckling “Ho, Ho, Ho;” a voice crooning dreams of a White Christmas, or a voice reminding us on TV or radio that there are only 14 shopping left days ‘til Christmas.

For nearly 2000 years, the voice of the Baptist has echoed out from the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight his paths.” It’s a voice that must be heard before we can hear about angel’s songs and humble shepherds’ surprise, and “Silent Night, Holy Night.” His voice is the voice of a herald who challenges us to get ready. For preparing for Christmas cannot simply be a matter of making sure the Christmas lights work, or of putting up the Christmas tree, or of making enough gingerbread cookies for company. All of those things are fine, but the real preparation for Christmas takes place not on the outside, but on the inside, through radical self-examination, and yes, even though making changes in our life. John the Baptist cries out to us from the wilderness to look at our lives and re-examine our priorities; to ask ourselves where we are investing our time, our energy, our money; to get rid of whatever is hindering us from having deeper faith, or from loving and being loved, or from living in the ways of justice and peace.” 

John the Baptist's call to preparation through benevolence to the poor, honesty and integrity in business, and contentment with one’s lot in life is just as real today as it was when he first proclaimed it in the wilderness. Now all of that may not be the kind of Good News we want to hear. But it is the Good News that will enable God’s love to be born among us in Jesus Christ in a way that is truly transformational, that changes us and our world. John reminds us that each of us needs to repent – to turn around and go in another direction, the direction of Bethlehem and the birth of God’s love in Christ Jesus. 

So here we are on December 10th beginning the second week of Advent. How are you doing with your Christmas preparations? This past week one of the women where I work told me that she’s almost finished her Christmas shopping . . . FOR NEXT YEAR!!! I’m not that prepared, and I imagine most of you aren’t either. But along with the shopping and decorating and card writing and baking, how are your spiritual preparations for Christmas coming? Let’s not make our spiritual preparations be like New Year’s Resolutions – things that are well intended . . . things that we really want to do . . . things we promise ourselves that we’re going to do, but in the end, time slips past us and the busyness of life gets the better of us, and our good intentions get shifted to our “to do” list for next year. 

So, if you need a little help, here are six suggestions to help spiritually get ready for Christmas this year:

1. Give God one very special gift – just from you to Him. Let this gift be something personal, that no one else need know about, and let it be something that “costs,” not your money, but you personally, a sacrifice. Perhaps your gift to God will be to forgive someone you’ve needed to forgive for a longtime. Or maybe your gift will be to commit yourself to spending time with God daily in prayer, maybe praying the rosary and focusing on the Joyful Mysteries, since most of them are connected with the birth of our Lord.

2. Set aside a special time to read Scripture. Perhaps this would be a good year to read the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, and recall some of the ancient prophesies that were fulfilled by Jesus. Or, read the Gospel of Matthew or Luke. I recommend either of them because they contain what we call the “Infancy Narratives,” the accounts of Jesus’ conception and birth. 

3. Set up a Nativity scene in your home. Set it up in a prominent place, and don’t let it be just another Christmas decoration, but something you visit every day, which you allow to help you transcend time and space and bring you back 2,000 years to Bethlehem.

4. Send Christmas cards that convey a spiritual message. This is an easy way to share your faith at Christmastime. If you've already bought the snowman cards -- no problem! Just write a Bible verse and include a personal message with each card.

5. Plan a project of good will this Christmas. The idea of giving the gift of service to someone in need demonstrates Christ-like love and service. It could be volunteering in a soup kitchen, caroling at a nursing home, baking cookies for an elderly neighbor, or running an errand for a friend. Oh, and don’t forget, charity really does begin at home, so maybe look around to those who live under the same roof as you and the special needs that they might have. 

6. Go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There's no better way to prepare yourself spiritually for the coming of our Lord at Christmas than to go to confession. Do some spiritual housekeeping in your heart, mind, and soul, to prepare a place worthy of Jesus being born anew this Christmas. 

Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent. Christmas is two weeks and one day from today. And today a voice cries out from the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Do you hear what I hear?