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Homily

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Sam. 5:1-3; Ps. 122:1-5; 2 Col. 1:12-20; Lk. 23:35-43

“This is the King of the Jews”.  The sign on the cross intended as a mockery was the fulfillment of the prophesy “the chosen one”.  “He is the image of the invisible God.”  How many representations of Jesus are made in picture, statue, woven yet regardless of the difference in image they give testimony to the one reality “the image of the invisible God” came in human condition into our history, the uncreated shares in the created humanity to be one with us. 

“For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth”.  This gives testimony to the Trinity, one God in three persons who “is before all things…and in him all things hold together.”  All “things” exist by his will created for a purpose, a divine purpose.  Are we living our divine purpose?  This is where our joy lies. 

“He is the beginning, the first born from the dead.”  The God of the living for those living in Christ where death is but a rite of passage from our mortal bodies into the eternal state…but not all.  Not everyone accepts the gift of life in Christ.  Just as in times past some still believe there is no resurrection for the dead while others believe there is no hell and all inherit the kingdom.  Free will means there is a choice.  Just as scriptures speaks to the fallen angels from grace so is the fallen humanity by choice.  Choose wisely!

His desire is “that in all things he himself might be preeminent.”  Christ the King first in our lives.  In his death and resurrection his kingship in the world “all the fullness was pleased to dwell.”  Jesus dwells in us halleluiah!  The King of Glory comes into our being to be one with us as he is in the Father and the Spirit.  It is an invitation of transformation.  Sometimes this is described as “less of me and more of Christ in me” as a giving up of our existence a “dying to self”.  The God of the living is not asking for our death but to come and give us the fullness of life in him.  Imagine if we allow him in every moment of life to transform us into being the greatest he created us to be “all the fullness” of life, love, and liberty is ours, free in Christ the King.

“It is through him to reconcile all things for him.”  Our sins are forgiven through him as he promises the criminal “today you will be with me in Paradise”.  Did he steal heaven or did Jesus snatch him out of the grasp of the devil because he turned to Jesus for mercy?  Jesus saves!  The wait for his kingdom has passed.  Have we passed into the kingdom already present for us or is it passing us by as we reject the call to reconciliation?  Jesus have mercy on us.

Jesus invites us into his love “making peace by the blood of his cross.”  Many criticize the Church for keeping the image of Christ on the cross when he has resurrected.  His presence on the cross is for the unrepentant sinner and today we have many in this world.  He is the sacrifice on the altar to continue his suffering for our sins.  When will we accept the fullness of his love and why the resistance to such an invitation? 

I would call this a modern version of a parable.  There were three men being offered a choice between a rock and a diamond.  One was Jew, one Catholic, and one Protestant.  Each man chooses the rock and rejects the perfect diamond.  The Jewish man says he chooses the rock because of his sense of unworthiness.  The Catholic man says he chooses the rock out of fear of responsibility for the diamond.  The Protestant man says he chooses the rock to make it into its own diamond according to his image.   Finally, a child playing passes by and grabs the diamond with no self-awareness, no fear, no intent but to enjoy its beauty.  Grab the diamond, what are we waiting for? 

The fullness of the diamond is in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity.  The kingdom is present and it comes into our bodies, soul, and spirit.  Diamonds make laser cuts to root out the imperfect.  The Eucharist is the diamond to receive this day and allow the fullness of Jesus to work in our being transforming us into his image, a diamond of holiness.  All are invited to come and receive in this sacrament his love.  The Church sets a process in Baptism and Reconciliation as our testimony of faith to give visible signs of our love of God.  Receive and rejoice in Christ the King of Glory.  Remember diamonds are forever! 

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Homily

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Mal. 3:19-20a; Ps. 98:5-9; 2 Thes. 3:7-12; Lk. 21:5-19

“Lo, the day is coming”, this day “The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.”  Jesus speaks of a later date from a historical position since his time had not come to pass through his passion, death, and resurrection.  The temple of Jerusalem “adorned with costly stones and votive offerings” was yet to be destroyed.  The early church martyrdom when “they will seize and persecute you” was still to come.  Finally, “awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky”.  What greater awesome sight and sign than Jesus ascension into heaven?  What about now? 

The mystery of faith is seen in the passage “they will put some of you to death…but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.”  Almost a contradiction in the eyes of humanity to be put to death without being destroyed speaks to the revelation of the resurrection.  Just as in last week’s readings directed to the resurrection of the dead, it is a confirmation that God is a God of the living not of the dead.  All the suffering of this world remains for us to battle but “by your perseverance you will secure your lives”.  We persevere in our daily work of holiness.  Bringing our faith into our day produces the holiness of our work and multiplies the fruit of our work so every day is a miracle of life for greater good. 

Human history is filled from the beginning of time with the rise of one people against another be it in the family such as Cain and Abel or among Kingdoms or Nations with World Wars.  Natural disasters can be traced to the “Flood”, Ice-Age, “earthquakes, famines, and plagues”.  Now some speak to the end times with the destruction of the environment in another decade.  They preach against having more children as a moral wrong to give new birth into the world.  Jesus answers these voices, “see that you not be deceived.  Do not follow them!”. 

St. Paul’s warns against anyone who is “conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way”.  He says “if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.”  Are we to be concerned with the environment?  Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si” on the care to the common home makes the affirmative response.  We have a responsibility to be prudent in our use of nature for our resources.  Do we not cut down a tree to build a shelter, warm our bodies or cook a meal?  The answer is we are created to have dominion over the earth not to worship nature.  Care for the environment is prudent use of these resources.  

We have gone through decades in the fight for life from conception to natural death.  The new fight interconnected to the past is the care of the environment.  The environment is a gift to humanity to be protected let it not become the new religion to replace the worship of nature for God.  In a secular world that seeks to take God out of the common square nature easily steps in as the greatest good and humanity must be sacrificed to the new secular gods of earth, water, air, and fire.  Again, “see that you not be deceived” by these voices.  We follow Jesus, his Word, the teaching of the church and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to discern truth. 

According to the catechism of the church, “earthly progress…is of vital concern to the kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human society” (CCC 1049).  Progress is right judgment in the use of our human resources for the greater good.  If a tree is rotted and falls is it removed to prevent the dry bark from becoming fuel for a wild fire or it allowed to remain part of the natural habitat for nature to dispose.  If it is near a neighborhood there may be one action and if in the middle of a forest another appropriate action.  We are familiar with the expression, “don’t throw out the baby with the bath water”.  Spiritually, don’t dispose of humanity to save the earth. 

The earth belongs to God and we belong to God but the earth is a gift to humanity and we value the gift with love.  Let us persevere in our work in an ordered view of nature and humanity.  We work quietly for the kingdom of God and he produces the fruit of our labor when we allow him to work in us as instruments of his love. 

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Homily

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

2 Mac. 7:1-2, 9-14; Ps. 17: 1, 5-6, 8, 15; 2 Thes. 2:16-3:5; Lk. 20:27-38

“…he is not God of the dead, but of the living”.  The Sadducees denied the resurrection and today the world is full of deniers in the resurrection “for not all have faith” placing their trust in themselves for this time only.  No faith in the resurrection is no hope for a future and without hope the darkness of despair covers the light of truth in the present.  “If this is all there is” as some proclaim then the present is but an experience in search of a purpose.  Where is the meaning of life beyond the emotions of the moment?  It becomes a search for the “feel good” pleasure principle.  Sacrifice and suffering for a greater good is meaningless.  It is all about “me and now”. 

Contrast the belief in denying the resurrection with the story of the seven brothers and their mother from Maccabees. The conviction of these boys in the resurrection shows great courage to accept the evil of their world for the greater good of life eternal.  In the gospel today the Sadducees challenge the belief in the resurrection with their own story of seven brothers with one wife questioning whose wife will she be after death.  Both stories profess a God of the living after mortal death.  In each story there are seven brothers and one woman.  The woman has a different role as mother or spouse.  The seven brothers and the women in each story are a sign of salvation history. 

In Catholic study there is more than the literal understanding of scripture there is also the spiritual sense.  These include the historical context, language and prophetic meaning in what is called the “exegesis” the fullness of truth.  The fact that there are seven brothers in both stories has its own significance.  Seven is a sign of perfection thus the seven brothers who surrender their life for their faith is the perfection of love of God and a foretelling of the perfect sacrifice to come in Jesus Christ. 

For the seven brothers it is “with the hope God gives of being raised up by him” and in Jesus that hope becomes fulfilled.  The seven along with their mother are tortured “with whips and scourges” as Jesus is to suffer for our sin.  There is also the proclamation of one brother, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men” and it is Jesus proclamation to lay down his life freely as he tells Pontius Pilate he has no power if not given by God himself.  Then we have the mother of these brothers in the story.  She is not only a silent witness but a participant in the suffering and death “for the laws of our ancestors”.  In Jesus he also has his mother at his side as a witness to his passion and death suffering in body and soul until the day of her ascension.  In her ascension she becomes our universal mother, mother of the Church, at our side in our sacrifice for her son. 

In Luke’s story we have seven brothers and one woman given in marriage.  Who is the bride of Christ?  It is the Church united to our High Priest and to all the brothers of the priesthood in persona Christi.  Each brother takes in marriage the woman as Christ gives his bride the Church to the priesthood to continue into perpetuity his bride to the world.   Christ through the woman, that is the church gives birth to her sons in the priesthood to remain as signs of Christ to the world in sacrifice of themselves for Christ’s bride, the church. 

These stories speak to the truth of Jesus in the resurrection already “to him all are alive”.  The only question left is in what state of living.  Is it before the glory of God, in purgatory, or in hell?  In the glory of God “my joy will be full…I shall be content in your presence”.  In purgatory we suffer our purification awaiting the glory to come longing for atonement especially through the prayers of the church.  In hell “there will be no resurrection to life” only a continuous agony of pain.  The great mercy of God is waiting.  What is our response to him today?  Lord “keep me as the apple of your eye.” 

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Homily

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Wis. 11:22-12:2; Ps. 145: 1-2, 8-11, 13-14; 2 Thes. 1:11-2:2; Lk. 19:1-10

Jesus our Great Soulmate!  Who understands you so well that sometimes even as you speak, they seem to know your thoughts, understand your feelings, and care for you so much as to challenge you?  We say “we connect” and there is a joy and peace at just being together.  This is a soul mate and our Great Soulmate is Jesus Christ.  He knows us and loves us so much he does not leave us alone but is working in us to be the best we were created to be, saints for heaven. 

John 3: 16 is a favorite passage from the bible for most Christian believers.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life”.  You see it on everything from coffee cups to bill boards.  It speaks to the heart of God and his love for us universally and individually.  This love of God is directed to the cross, a living sacrifice for me and you.  Our thoughts look at the world, the history of mankind, the generations of people who have lived and gone and then we look at ourselves in the midst of so many people and question “Does God know me, hello anybody up there paying attention?”  If the universe is but a “grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew” then who is God that the Lord eternal knows me and loves me?  This God is “the lover of souls” and we are souls created in his image that carries his “imperishable spirit”, God’s soul mate.  I in him and he in me so I may believe and have eternal life. 

St. Paul in Thessalonians forewarns us “do not be alarmed either by a ‘spirit’, or an oral statement, or by a letter from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.”  What is the day of the Lord?  It is the day in which we enter into eternal love in spirit and in truth.  That is the day we die to ourselves and live in Christ.  We do not have to wait for our mortal death, this day is today.  Being made in his image the Lord is and has been working in us “little by little” warning us and reminding us of our sins.  In his mercy he overlooks sins of the repentant soul and we exist because he wills it until the day when either we choose life in Christ or death apart from him. 

Life in Christ means we respond to our “calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him.” This is how we will know we are Christian, by his love glorified in us.  The good purpose he has called us into this life is being fulfilled and you know that you know it to be true because the soul finds its love, peace, joy and rest in living the good calling.  Our response to his love is entering into the eternal now, the day is at hand now, and “Today salvation has come to this house.”  Who is the descendent of Abraham?  It is the believer who repents and atones for his sins. 

In today’s gospel, Zacchaeus didn’t just repent he understood the source of his sin and made a commitment to atone for his sins.   He immediately offered half of his possessions to the poor.  He was a “chief tax collector and also a wealthy man” thus his sin and wealth is confessed in his own words, “if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.”  What caused this sinner to make such a dramatic transformation?  He was awakened to the spirit already given by God in his soul and in his own personal “fiat” came to believe in Jesus Christ. 

If we consider the source of our sins in what manner of atonement would our actions be directed?  Do we simply ask God for forgiveness and move on?  Consider the seven capital sins and then look to the seven cardinal virtues as a means of seeking atonement.  Each sin has an opposing virtue to counter the sin.  If we have been greedy and made wealth our sin then seek charity, if prideful then seek humility, if prone to wrath then seek patience, chastity counters lust, temperance counters gluttony, if envious seek kindness and finally diligence overcomes the laziness of a sloth.  Even though we cannot undo the past we can search for the virtue that overcomes our past sins as an act of atonement and by doing so we guard against this weakness and strengthen our spirit.  This is what Zacchaeus did, inspired by the spirit he responded to his past sins with a promise of future virtue. 

We live in a time where “sin” is minimized if not altogether denied.  We cling on to our “rights” to be, do and justify all our actions.  Even if the spirit within recognizes in itself the “problem” of imperfection it is justified as “I am me, get over it!”  Where is the growth in spirit or union with the spirit of God?  Hopefully it is not operating at a 2-year-old level driven by concupiscence, our human passions.  Often “little by little” God is working in us for our conversion into a mature faith and sometimes we just get “knocked of our horse” as Paul was to realize our sin and respond to our true calling. 

Our Great Soulmate came down from heaven to be our visible presence in this world and his calling is personal ready to awaken the power of the spirit within us.  Not I but Christ in me, in you, in the believer.  In Jesus Christ “we connect” to the eternal. This weekend as we remember all Souls Day let us remember the souls of loved ones who have entered into the glory of God and pray for those in purgatory being purified by the fire of love.

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