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Homily

4th Sunday of Lent – Taste and see!

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Josh. 5:9a, 10-13; Ps. 34:2-7; 2Cor. 5:17-21; Lk. 15:11-32

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”  In Christ we are a “new creation; the old things have passed away” and we are called to be “ambassadors for Christ”. As baptized Christians we all have a calling to reconciliation.  From the ministry of the priesthood and the sacrament of reconciliation to the baptized faithful we carry a message from Christ “as if God were appealing through us”.  The message is to seek reconciliation with God and with each other so we may taste and see, through reconciliation the goodness of the Lord.  We are to pray for our enemies, bring peace into our homes, and spread the good news of reconciliation to our neighbors.

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” in our neighbor.  It is not that hard to love thy neighbor in the abstract until they move into our neighborhood living close enough, we hear their music outdoors, their dog poops in our yard, and their yard starts to look like a jungle.  We’re suppose to love “that”?  We’re suppose to love “them” not “that”.  We’re suppose to seek reconciliation to support the peace and the God of peace will work through us so we may taste and see how something negative can be transformed into the goodness of the Lord.  Ambassadors speak for the one they represent and we represent Christ first before it becomes about “us” and not all about us.

Our Protestant brothers and sisters are much more accustomed to asking others “are you a Christian?”  In asking it seeks to find common ground as a believer with what unites us before we ever look at what separates us.  Then as ambassadors for Christ they will refer to bible passages to share their faith and their love of God as an invite to join in a faith discussion.  If you have ever been asked the question what was the response?  Hopefully it was “yes, I am Catholic” and able to speak for the faith we carry as One, Catholic and Apostolic Church.  We are ambassadors of the Church and we can bring reconciliation to our separated brothers and sisters by the message we deliver of faith, hope, and love through an understanding of our Catholic faith with others.  We want others to taste and see the goodness of the Lord by spreading the faith in God under his church. 

One of the blessings out of media resources is Catholic programming in radio, television, podcasts, social media, internet, and even audio books.  Programs specifically targeting either a return to the Catholic church or the apologetics of the church in understanding our faith are having a great impact.  I hear callers say they are not Catholic but enjoy listening in or by “chance” they tuned in and began to listen.  Often it is Catholics who are being catechized further in understanding our faith through media.  Every week I post the Sunday homily to the webpage www.thedeacon.net to share the gospel message because it may be the word that someone needed to hear to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”.   

Catholic media can be a bridge to spiritual direction.  The Church supports and believes in the value of a spiritual director but how many of us have a spiritual director?  I suspect not many and one reason is there are few available to provide that one-on-one guidance on a regular basis.  Pastors are generally “fire fighters” for crisis situations.  I met with a priest for spiritual direction recently and he informed me he would probably be leaving the diocese.  Given the reality that there are few priests available to meet with he suggested using Catholic reading material as a form of reflection, prayer, and guidance.  If you give me a book, I’m good and happy.  We need to grow deeper roots into our faith and media resources is one form of feeding the soul so we can have a well-informed conscience. 

Taste and see the healing power of God.  In the gospel, Jesus gives us a parable of the mercy of God in the Father and the fallen nature of humanity in the two sons.  The son who squanders his inheritance in a life of corruption “was dead” says his father, an indication of living in mortal sin.  By his return to his father, he “has come to life again”.  In our day we have many sons and daughters being lost in corruption of addictions of all types, alcohol, drugs, sex, money, even to power.  They live in the culture of death dependent on what is evil and separated by mortal sin rejecting the love of God.  Their inheritance of heaven has been lost but hope is the last to die for their return home through the mercy of God.  God’s love heals the broken, sick, and lost when our senses recognize only a power greater than us can heal us, lift us from the pit of sin, and restore us in right relationship with our God, our family, and our friends.

Taste and see in the “older son” the danger of the sin of self-righteousness.  When we judge ourselves better than others, more deserving, and entitled we fall into the pit of pride slowly eroding the image of God by the denial of all our venial sins creating separation not unity.  What is the “taste” the older son had?  It was a taste of “bitterness”, bitter that his brother had returned and was being welcomed back with love by his father.  The bitterness of pride creates a false sense of self-righteousness. 

The older son believed by his obedience he had earned his entitlement and was never even given “a young goat to feast” with his friends.  His error in judgment was in comparing himself to his brother and expecting a reward based on his merits.  Perhaps the older son may have even felt there was favoritism by the father if you recall the story of Cain and Abel.  The jealousy of Cain for his brother Abel caused him to shed the blood of his brother, just like the jealousy of Joseph’s brothers caused them to want to kill him.  Do we celebrate the success and blessings of others or do we taste and see with bitterness their joy? 

Let us compare ourself to no one else but if we are tempted to compare ourself then let us look to Jesus and ask ourself “are we living the life example and message he gave us?”  We take a tea cup and fill it to the top and we take a beer mug and fill it to the top, both are 100% full but each has a different capacity and purpose for what it is capable of holding.  Each of us is given a gift and possibly more than one gift that we can taste and see what good our gift can produce.  For example, my gift as a deacon is a great blessing but it is not the gift of priesthood.  So much more is expected from a priest that is not my calling.   Pray for our priests because they will give account of all the lives they served or failed to serve.  Let us be humble and thankful for what God is asking of us in our state of life for to who more is given more will be demanded.  We may only have one talent but one talent can move mountains when it comes from God. 

This Lent let us “taste and see the goodness of the Lord…in the land of the living” by faith and action to our calling.  Let us be among the living in the presence of God and pray for those among the dead in the darkness of sin.  This is our time to bring reconciliation into our lives by taking the first step towards mercy…that is to God himself in the act of penance for our sins. 

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” in the Holy Father’s consecration of Russia and the Ukraine and of all humanity this week on the day of “The Annunciation of the Lord” what miracles the Lord can bring to these nations and for all of us as we pray for peace and an end to war.  It is our calling to join in with our prayers asking God to reveal to us his goodness and by his mercy and love bring also our conversion.  Amen.

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Homily

3rd Sunday of Lent – “Here I am”

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Ex. 3:1-8a, 13-15; Ps. 103:1-4, 6-8, 11; 1Cor. 10:1-6, 10:12; Lk. 13:1-9

“Here I am” called by the great “I Am”.  God reveals himself to Moses as “I am the God of your fathers.”  God is “I am who am” the God of all creation.  God is in the spiritual rock and spiritual food the Israelites ate and drank from “and the rock was the Christ”.  Here I am this day coming to receive him as we eat and drink from the bread and wine of the Eucharist and the rock is the same Christ.  This Lent is our call to respond “Here I am” as we tend to the flock of our daily lives.  The place we stand in our church is holy ground and we give reverence not by removing our “sandals” but by removing our sins.  Lent is our call to say “Here I am ready to remove my sins with the help of your grace and the love of your kindness and mercy”. 

Sin is the “destroyer” as it destroyed a generation of Israelites in the desert.  It is far more common for our generation to identify as “being good” than as a sinner as the world defines what is “good”.  If we accept the world’s view of “good” then we are standing on shaky ground.     “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall” as St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians. 

Lent is a time to put ourselves to the test by identifying with the discipline of Lent in the spiritual battle with the flesh.  Too often the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and we fall back into our sins.  If we cannot succeed in the small battles of Lent, how will we survive the major attack from the destroyer?  “Here I am” to take on the battle of what I can control this Lent in order to build up the spiritual muscle for the battle of what I may not have control over in a world where the evil one “prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls”. 

In overcoming ourselves in the spirit of Lent we become open to receive the graces to overcome the enemy.  In the gospel, Jesus reminds the people and us that tragedy is not a sign of our sins “By no means!” We are not greater sinners when tragedy comes our way and in the same manner, we are no less a sinner justified by our good fortune.  Tragedy is not a punishment from God.  Evil comes upon the just and unjust just as the rain fall upon all.  Our purpose is to be ready and repent of our sins so that we may not perish “as they (Galileans) did”.  Lent is our call to redemption by our confession as sinners and the mercy of God.  Here I am ready to repent and be saved! 

The Israelites were “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea”.  We are baptized into Jesus by water and the Holy Spirit.  The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years coming to the promise land a journey that only required eleven days to make but by their sins a generation died in the desert.  We are called not to wander but to carry the discipline of the cross for forty days to arrive at the promise land of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that in Jesus we may never die but live for all eternity.  Here I am ready to believe and be saved!

St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians warns his followers of the things that happened to the Israelites as examples “so that we might not desire evil things”.  What evil things do we desire that compare to the Israelites?  We desire to make of this world our God, our idolatry from the worship of power, profit, prestige.  We desire the power to control not only our lives but often the lives of others.  Try this Lenten exercise for one day, try to accept the freedom of will of another person, husband, wife, your adult child and realize just how much we desire control.  We desire the profit beyond our needs to have the pleasure of indulgence.  The indulgence of our bellies ready to supersize our orders; the indulgence of our eyes stuck to the screen of our phone, television, and computer; the indulgence of our passions because “its all about me” and make it all about the other.  We desire the prestige of being “first” not “least”, leader not servant, and proud not humble.  Here I am ready to be challenged in our desire for power, profit and prestige by learning to let go, abstain, and be among the least this Lent. 

Lent is call to enter into the passion of Christ, to take each day as a walk through the Stations of the Cross in all our struggles without the “grumble” of the Israelites and not perish.  We are to look on the parable of the fig tree as a sign of our own life.  We are the fig tree and God has planted us for a time on this earth to give fruit.  “Three years” for the fig tree represents our fullness of time on this earth and God is waiting to receive the fruit we were destined to produce.  If by our own freewill we seek another path and wander in our own desert, the day is coming when we will be on the receiving of the word “cut it down”. 

We have however our redeemer ready to cultivate the ground of our souls and fertilize it with the word of truth that we may repent and begin to produce the fruit for the purpose we came into this world.  The gardener of our souls and redeemer is Jesus Christ.  Lent is our renewal of this personal relationship with Jesus.  It is an invitation to say “Jesus, I trust in you” and let go and let God work to change our hearts, mind and will according to his love, a love that is everlasting.  Here I am ready to be cultivated by faith, hope, and love and we shall be saved.

“The Lord is kind and merciful…slow to anger and abounding in kindness.”  We look at the world and see darkness, war, violence, and death.  This is not from God but from the sin within the heart of humanity.  It is our self-destruction while the Lord suffers the pain of our sinfulness.  We pray for a miracle to end this madness but evil has entered into the world to do its damage.  Once God is removed from our institutions the structure of society will collapse from within.  The last institution to fall is the family and it begins by removing the “father” from the home through separation, divorce or even by conception without a father. 

Recently a caller on Catholic radio asked the host why do Catholics call a priest “Father” if the bible says to call no one “Father” except our heavenly Father.  The host asked “Do you sin with your eyes?”  She responded “yes”.  He then asked “have you plucked your eyes out since the bible says if you sin with your eyes pluck them out?”  She responded “Ok, I get it!” and went on to imply that the church will turn things into however it chooses and hung up.  The host by his response implied not everything said in scripture is taken literally. 

In reflecting on the caller’s question and the response by the host two thoughts came to me.  The first was that if our eyes sin then we are to “pluck them out” by removing the sin from our eyes and receive the vision of God through the eyes of holiness.  Sin is what we “pluck out, cut off, take out” of our lives.  The second was the understanding that we call a priest “Father” from the authority given by Jesus to Peter and the church to be in the person of Christ as Father to his people.  As “Father” a priest is given the authority of our Father in heaven to provide us the sacraments that we may come to receive forgiveness, healing, virtues and graces to live holy lives and resist the temptation to sin.  “Father” implies the authority of God to shepherd his people. 

In the same way we also have by our calling as fathers in the home a divine purpose with authority to be Fathers of God’s love just as women have their divine purpose to be Mothers of God’s love each a complement of the other.  If we surrender our children to be “children of the state” by allowing other institutions to determine what is right and wrong, when should the right to life begin and end, who determines sexual identity God or self then the last standing hope for truth will end and confusion, chaos, and tyranny will prevail.  Let us not surrender our God given authority to proclaim the word of God with freedom, to teach our children the truth of our faith, and to be witnesses to our faith when challenged to deny or be cancelled by the voices of anger and hate.  Here I am Lord ready to profess what we believe and to proclaim it that is to claim it by our actions. 

Here I am Lord, ready to be a warrior in the battle for truth, goodness, beauty, and unity in the one body of Christ.  Here I am ready to carry the cross that comes from the sacrificial gift of love of God, neighbor, and self.  Here I am come to do your will.  Amen.

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Homily

2nd Sunday of Lent – The Transfiguration

Posted on by Deacon Joe

Gen. 15:5-12, 17-18; Ps. 27:1, 7-9, 13-14; Phil. 3:17—4:1; Lk. 9:28b-36

The Transfiguration of Jesus is a revelation of the glory of God in the person of Jesus true God and true man “listen to Him”.  It is also a revelation that not only is Elijah and Moses alive in heaven but all those called to sainthood who responded in this life by giving up their mortal life in this world for the eternal one to come at the end of life.  When the Holy Spirit comes, we enter into the transfiguration to be holy as priest, prophet and king.  Today we are the ones being called to holiness, to be transformed into the image of Christ, to walk transfigured as the light in the darkness of the world. 

The transfiguration of Abram began as he put “his faith in the Lord…as an act of righteousness.”  Abram’s transfiguration came as he obeyed the Lord bringing forth the sacrificial gifts commanded of him.  Abram fell into a “trance” and in the darkness of the night “there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” and God made “a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”  If we desire the same change in our lives to receive the promise then it begins with our obedience to the sacraments of the church to who the keys to the kingdom were given.  In them we bring the gift of ourselves as the sacrifice just as Jesus gave witness by his obedience and sacrifice of himself on the cross.  We are to take up our cross and follow in his footsteps and be transformed into his image.

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians reminds us that many “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their end is destruction.”  He invites us to be “imitators” of him who is the imitator of Christ.  The transfiguration of our mortal self from death to life will never come from “being occupied with earthly things.”  It can only give testimony to our “shame”.  Jesus will “change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body” and we will be like him transfigured into the glorified state of heaven.  Our call this day is to enter into the discipline of Lent with the goal of transforming our minds, hearts and bodies.  The Lord provides the channel of grace through fasting, abstinence and alms giving. 

The transfiguration of our bodies through fasting is a purging of the habit of indulgence of the flesh to rule our bodies and not be ruled by the hunger of the body.  The transfiguration of our heart is through abstinence from sin and the near temptation to sin that our eyes may gaze upon the passion of the Lord and not on our earthly passions.  The transfiguration of the mind is through our almsgiving that we may focus on the needs of others and by our generosity receive the reward of heaven.  We are invited to be transfigured by transforming our very self into the image of Christ as we offer our very self up to him and pray “let thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

The transfiguration of Jesus came prior to his death and resurrection as a sign of hope and a calling that we are not to wait for death to enter holiness.  Holiness is to be our walk with Jesus this day.  Holiness manifests itself as a “servant” of Jesus willing to take up our cross and follow to the land of “milk and honey”, the promise land into the kingdom of God.  This comes to us when we do as God the Father says to Peter, John and James “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”  Are we listening?  Lent is a call to increase our listening by prayer, study of the Word, and worship in fellowship as the body of Christ in the celebration of the Mass.  We listen to the voice of God in the liturgy and the word of knowledge sends us forth to do the works of the Lord. 

Jesus speaks to our soul as our mind is stilled to listen, our heart burns with understanding, and we are moved to right action.  By the Lord’s grace we come to know him, love him and serve him.  Let us call upon Jesus Christ to receive his grace and be transformed into his image and we will join in the chorus of the saints “The Lord is my light and my salvation” in him do I live, move, and celebrate with the angels and the saints.  Our transfiguration is a deepening of our faith, hope and love.  By deepening ourselves in Christ we become detached to the offering of the world that is transient and we are focused on what is salvific and eternal.  Jesus saves!  Our destiny is eternal.  Lent calls us to examine ourselves, our priorities, and our purpose in living and see where are we headed. 

The path of righteousness is a choice.  Choose life, choose love, choose Jesus and all other gifts will follow.  Lent is a time to prepare our “toolbox” for overcoming this world.  Jesus comes in the transfiguration from the old self to the redeemed self.  In him we are saved! Listen to him and be saved.

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Homily

1st Sunday of Lent – Jesus is Lord

Posted on by Deacon Joe

“Jesus is Lord” believe and be saved!  This is our Lenten journey to be “led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days” and overcome the temptations of the devil to hunger for this world when we are called to hunger for God alone.  It is when we are without that we learn that “One does not live on bread alone.”  The power and glory of this world from the devil cannot compare to the power and glory of God when we confess with our mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in our heart in the resurrection of Jesus.  We “will not be put to shame”.    

Moses was led by the Spirit for forty years to arrive at the “land flowing with milk and honey”.  This journey by the most direct means would have taken only eleven days something to be grasped and understood.  Why forty years for an eleven-day journey?  We ask was the Spirit misguiding the people or were the people’s spirit misguided by the temptations of the devil in their hunger for an earthly kingdom in this world?  By their actions and stubbornness of heart a generation would be lost in the desert.  The Lord’s promise to us of a land filled with milk and honey is a heavenly kingdom just beyond our sight but we may find ourselves wandering for years trying to create our own little kingdom of earthly riches and a lasting legacy of bricks and mortar that will return to dust.  The lasting legacy of life is a faith that endures in the lives we impacted during our time that continue to give testimony to our personhood in the image of God. 

In tribulation and times of distress do we cling to the Lord or in despair “dash your foot against a stone” in fear of this world.  “Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble” that I may not stand in your way of delivering me against the enemy.  In the name of Jesus, we will “trample down the lion and the dragon” because we cling to the Lord.  Now is a time of tribulation with war on the horizon and the evil one taking possession of weak souls.  Be strong in our confession of faith that the angels be commanded to guard God’s people in all our ways.  Pray for those whose lives are already in danger as they battle the enemy and call upon the Blessed Mother, the army of angels and saints for the miracle that will bring to an end war and deliver peace. 

Jesus is Lord of the heavens and earth, Jesus is Lord of the people who are ordered to bear arms against their brothers and sisters for an unjust cause, and Jesus is Lord of the persecuted fighting for freedom and peace.  Only Jesus can deliver us from the enemy who has already been defeated and is only trying to take others with him into the pit of hell.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for peace in the midst of war and evil.  Blessed are the sorrowful who suffer the unjust cruelty of war theirs is the promise of the land of milk and honey. 

When the Israelites went into the desert, they were saved from the Egyptians but they lacked in faith to be saved from their sin.  They desired to control their destiny rather than trust in the Lord.  They confessed their lack of faith with their lips and their actions and were put to shame.  Let us not be put to shame but rise in our faith that Jesus is Lord. 

The Lord was tempted and each time he outwitted the devil but he only “departed from him for a time”.  We must meet the persistence of evil with our confession of faith and have a well-trained soul in the Word of God for the evil one departs only for a time to return with a greater legion of demons in hopes of defeating us in our faith.  The army of Jesus must always be ready for the enemy with the weapons of spiritual warfare, prayer, fasting, a well-trained mind and body in communion with the Lord.  Even the body and perhaps most especially the body can be a source of weakness accustomed to the indulgencies of the world unaccustomed to being denied its passions.  Fasting and abstinence is a test for us that even our bodies belong to the Lord and to be kept holy as a temple to the Lord. 

In past times the battle was fought face-to-face with a breastplate to protect yourself from enemy’s weapon.  In order to protect your back-side the warriors stood back-to-back.  Our breastplate of prayer and the Word of God defends us in the battle but it is when we come together standing side by side and back-to-back “where to or three are gathered together” in the name of Jesus with the Church that we are protected from the blind side.  The sacramental life of the Church is our blind side protection against the enemy.  Alone the enemy will find our weakness but together with the Church the enemy can only flee from the power he cannot defeat. 

Lent is our time to immerse ourselves into building up our weapons for battle as the militant church on earth.  It is a call to put ourselves to the readiness test by training of our minds in the knowledge of the Word, our bodies in the discipline of the flesh, and our spirit in the love of other.  If God is with us who can be against us?  We must not become the one who is against his very self by remaining in the darkness of sin.  We are called to be the light of truth, goodness, beauty and unity.  We are called to be living in the image of God.  We are called to be the best God created us to be.  Authentic disciples who walk in faith, not in fear of the enemy but in the power of God’s love and mercy.  When we proclaim “Jesus is Lord” all the angels and saints rise up and join us in the battle already won. 

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