22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Doers of the Word!

Posted on August 31, 2024August 30, 2024 by Deacon Joe

Dt. 4: 1-2, 6-8; Ps. 15:2-5; Jas. 1:17-18, 21b-22,27; Mk. 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Called to be “doers of the word and not hearers only” give true testimony of our faith by taking right action. Doers of the word are united to the heart of Jesus to receive every good gift from above. The good gifts from above lead us to the service of others that we may taste and see the goodness of the Lord. A doer of the word does justice and justice is to care for the sick, the suffering, and the poor. We give without counting the cost because in the end if we belong to God then all we have and all we are is his blessing upon our life.

Moses gave the statues and decrees to go along with the commandments with a word of warning not to add or subtract from them. Over a thousand years later Jesus is calling out the Pharisees for “teaching as doctrines human precepts” meaning they raise their own traditions as a doctrine from God while disregarding the commandments from God. They not only added so many rules but they have raised their rules to be equal to God’s teaching. In doing so they make of themselves the god of authority and not the servant of the God of authority. They have become empty vessels of the truth of God filling themselves with evil thought, unchastity, theft, murder and every kind of sin including blasphemy.

In being a “doer of the word”, it begins with recognizing it is all about God and not about us. It is a surrender to the will of God. We empty ourselves of ourselves to receive the graces necessary to live the word of God. This is hard to do. It demands great trust in God and trust is not something that comes easy unless we have a deep relationship with the one, whom we trust.

Who do we trust? All our relationships of trust are based on conditional experience. We learn to trust and distrust as we grow in relationship with others. How much have we grown in our relationship with God? We may be a ship out in the deep waters waiting for the wind to send us in some direction without purpose or destiny. God is our destiny and he provides us our purpose in life as a doer of the word so let us be as people of action, doing what is right, just, and guided by our Lord and savior.

How good are we as doers of the word, that is living the word of God? To keep oneself “unstained by the world” is not easy when we want to belong to the world and receive every good gift from the world. We see what others have and we are tempted to desire it for ourselves. We enter into what the world offers and soon learn that there is a cost to what is described as a “rat race” to be first and a “dog eat dog” culture that in order to get ahead there will be a cost that demands we compromise our values, accept the world on its terms, and “play by their rules”. It does not have to be this way. When we trust in the Lord, he will provide the means and the way to remain in him and his righteousness.

It all begins with what is in the heart, the good and the evil that are constantly at battle. When the heart is burdened by every kind of evil temptation it does little good to simply ponder our weakness. Overcoming our weakness comes from taking right action and doing an act of justice, charity, humility and sacrifice. The act can be transformative to the heart giving life to the heart of love and God is love. Just “do it” and let God give birth to the virtues of love. A doer of the word is doing the will of God and it pleases our Lord to see the soul surrender in obedience to his word.

The Lord comes in glory to lift up the soul who is faithful to his word, not waiting for a sign, not waiting to receive the gift or a special calling. God does not send an email, a letter, or a messenger to move us into action. He has already sent us Jesus and given us the word to follow so now its up to us to respond.

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Homily

21st Sunday Ordinary Time – This is the day!

Posted on August 24, 2024August 23, 2024 by Deacon Joe

1 Jos. 24:1-2a, 17-18b; Ps. 34:2-3, 16-21; Eph. 5:21-32; Jn. 6:60-69

This is the day to decide “whom you will serve”. Joshua called together all the tribes of Israel and their leaders in order to make the decision of their priority. He was witness to how the people were being influenced by the “gods” where they were dwelling. We could say they were becoming a “fallen away” nation and it was time to bring them to account for their actions. The people remembered their past and recommitted to the Lord. This is the day the Lord gives us in the same way to recommit to the practice of our faith. It is enough to say “I believe” but when our actions say our priority is not the Lord then this is day to recommit to the Lord.

In the same way, Jesus has been leading his disciples to recognize he is the bread of life to eat and drink but “this saying is hard; who can accept it?” Many did not and left him but the twelve he chose remained convinced he was “the Holy One of God”. This was the day to choose to follow the way of the Lord or return to their former way of life. The same is true for our times when many are leaving the practice of the faith of their childhood or choose only to identify as Catholic without following the practice of faith the Church teaches. It is a compromised faith that lives not by the word of God but by personal ideology. Personal ideology is to be our own god.

Many say “I believe in God but do not accept what the church teaches.” The church is the bride of Christ who he has given us to follow as his teaching authority. The church guards against false teachers who rise and fall in every generation. If Jesus is the fullness of revelation, then everyone who claims to teach the word of God must accept the foundation of faith that goes back to Jesus and his disciples passed on from generation to generation. To claim “God has revealed to me something new” is a false teacher and we have a long history of false teachers. There is only one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that Jesus established and this is the day to decide who do we follow.

Simon Peter was wise when he answered Jesus, “Master, to who shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter was willing to put aside all of his own ideas, beliefs, thinking and be open to receive the revelation from Jesus even if it did not make human sense at the time. Peter quickly came to the realization that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God who he either accepted completely or not at all. With Jesus there is no compromise to the truth. In a world that teaches to each their own truth they are deceived by the evil one. Peter surrendered his mind, heart, and will to Jesus and he became the rock on which Jesus built his church.

Jesus uses the example of the marriage between a man and a woman to describe his love and commitment to the Church. The Church becomes one with Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus is the head of the Church and the Church is to remain obedient to Christ. The bond between Christ and his Church is a covenant of love, sacrificial love for each other, a love that keep on giving.

Jesus gives us the image of an ideal marriage where love of the other is love of self. In marriage preparation, I remind couples that this is the person they have chosen to live and die for. Most couples don’t have this image of love or marriage. It is more probable that their love is a conditional love not subordinate to each other but challenging each other for control. Who controls the bank account, the credit cards, the remote control, the family time, the leisure time? Letting go is hard to do. We are called to let go and let God be the Master of our life but we can’t even let our marriage partner have authority. This is the day God gives us to decide while there is still time. There will be no time for regrets in heaven or hell.

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Homily

20th Sunday Ordinary Time – The catch

Posted on August 16, 2024August 13, 2024 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 19:4-8; Ps. 34:2-9; Eph. 4:30—5:2; Jn. 6:41-51

Jesus is both the fisherman and the catch. Jesus has been telling the people that he is “the living bread that came down from heaven.” As a good fisherman he is reeling in the people with his word providing wisdom for the ages by revealing who he is. He is not only the Son of God who came down from heaven but the food we are to eat in order to have eternal life. This is the catch for those who believe, caught in the net of salvation. Jesus goes from being the fisherman of our souls to becoming the catch that we will eat in order to live.

This is the mystery of faith is how the fisherman becomes the catch. Many refused this teaching then and even to this day. Even now for many the question remains, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat? The answer is because he is God the Son who took on human flesh in order to be the sacrificial lamb of atonement for our sins. More deeply is because he is love, the beginning and the end of the eternal who desires to transform us with his own body and blood becoming united as one in a spirit of love. Love is the purpose, journey, and the catch.

Are we caught up in the net of God’s love tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord? The heart of love gives thanks always and for everything, for everything is a gift from God when we remain in him, he promises to remain in us. How good it is to be caught up in the net of Jesus. It is the net of freedom, the promise of salvation and way of justice. How is it that in a world of information technology makes access to the revelation from God so available so few seek and find the way? Being part of the catch of coming to Jesus also has a “catch”.

The catch of coming to Jesus has a “catch” in all of the history of salvation. From the time of Moses and the giving of the Commandments to the teaching of Jesus “faith alone” does not fulfill the requirement. Faith is a movement in which we act, love, and live beyond simply a belief. Many can say “I believe’ but not live the faith that is given to us by the Father, by Jesus and by the Spirit. Faith is a movement, we are moved by faith to give of ourself in a way in which we empty ourselves of “self” in order to serve a greater good, a higher purpose, a divine calling. The catch is an obedience to the faith and this is where we stray away to our own misery. The well-known expression is “Jesus cannot save us without us.”

Everyone is not going to heaven and it is not Jesus’ fault. He gives us his own body and blood to eat and drink every time we come to Mass that we may live and so many value it so little. This is the bread to live forever. So, I invite everyone this day with the question “what is holding you back from receiving this bread?” “I am not Catholic.” There is a way to become Catholic. “I am not married in the church”. There is a process of convalidating a marriage. “I was married before this marriage.” There is a juridical process to examine the validity of a marriage and resolve the issue. “I haven’t gone to confession in years.” There are confessions every week or you can schedule an appointment with a priest. There is a way and God provides the way through his church. Come to the way and enjoy the catch!

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Homily

19th Sunday Ordinary Time – The living bread

Posted on August 10, 2024August 7, 2024 by Deacon Joe

1 Kgs. 19:4-8; Ps. 34:2-9; Eph. 4:30—5:2; Jn. 6:41-51

Jesus confirms today he is the living bread from heaven. The past few weeks the gospel readings are building up to understand Jesus’ teaching on who he is. We have heard him say “I am the bread of life”. While many Christian denominations take his teaching to imply that scripture is the word that is the bread of life, today he makes it clear that he is the living bread he gives and it is his “flesh for the life of the world”. He gave his flesh on the cross of cavalry to save us and he does it today in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. This flesh we can only receive by coming to receive him in the Eucharist. End of story or should we say the beginning of eternal life.

Jesus reminds us about the manna the Israelites ate in the desert like “flakes” and they died but the living bread today we receive is a host that resembles a flake “so that one may eat it and not die.” Not only does Jesus offer us himself as the living bread but he also fulfills the prophesy “They shall all be taught by God” because he is God the Son of the Father in heaven. The people see only “Jesus the son of Joseph” and they are filled with “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling the son of God. They see with the eyes of humanity without faith and cannot believe.

Unless we come to Jesus, the living bread for healing of our sins, our weaknesses, our concupiscence, and our attachments to this world we cannot “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”. In the words of an old cliché “oil and water don’t mix”. In the freedom to choose we cannot have both the desires of the flesh and the goodness of the Lord. This is not to say we cannot have good things in this world. Good things are a blessing to serve our needs that we may fulfill a higher purpose in our lives. They are a means to climbing our own mountain of Horeb as we see in Elijah.

After only one day’s journey into the desert, Elijah was ready to quit praying “This is enough, O Lord!”. Without God he would have never made it but he prayed and God answered him. So often we encounter our own hardship in life and in our weakness want to give up or we do give up without calling on God’s help and mercy. Elijah was beyond his human capacity to live and ready to die until an angel touched him. Death was not God’s purpose for Elijah who we also encounter in the Transfiguration of the Lord next to Jesus. By trusting in God, Elijah fulfilled his destiny. Elijah surrendered to God and there began his victory over death. Have we surrendered to the will of God in our lives?

Elijah was rescued by the angel of God who provided for him the food and drink to strengthen his resolve and continue on his journey to serve God’s purpose. There used to be a very popular television series called “Touched by an Angel” in the 1990’s. The core of each episode was to bring “guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives” (Wikipedia). In the television world this was a genre of fantasy and drama but in God’s world Elijah was touched by a real angel and messenger from God. We also can be touched by an angel who watches over us. We belong by our baptism to the communion of saints and angels when we choose God in our lives and live for a higher purpose.

God is calling us each by name and he has a mountain for us to climb. We were born for a greater purpose just like the many lives we read in the scriptures who lived and died not knowing how their lives added to the history of salvation. It is our turn now to do our part, to answer the call.

What is our mountain today? It may be to be a voice and bring comfort to the suffering or a word of Godly truth to someone who needs to her it and is on the wrong path; it may be at act of charity to feed his sheep or persevering during difficult times as God fashions us to be more into his image. It may be a steady stream of challenges or one huge event that transforms our lives. To each God provides both the call and the living bread. Jesus gives himself to us today. Are we ready to give ourselves to him?

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Homily

18th Sunday Ordinary Time – The work of God!

Posted on August 4, 2024August 4, 2024 by Deacon Joe

Ex. 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps. 78:3-4, 23-25, 54; Eph. 4:17, 20-24; Jn. 6:24-35

The work of God is believing in Jesus. Jesus is the I am who gives us the bread of life. Our readings are a continuation from last week as the bread of life in which all things point to Jesus.

Jesus captures the human condition when he says, “you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” We see it in the grumbling of the Israelites who hunger for food that is perishable and forget the God who set them free. The lesson from Jesus is simple, to hunger first for righteousness and God will provide all that we need.

Imagine taking Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy of needs and turning it upside down. Instead of the primary need being our physiological needs, our primary need is our self-actualization as a child of God, coming to know ourselves as God created us to be. Our esteem comes from being in the image of God, putting on the mind of God, the passion of God, and the will of God. In his image we can follow the way of the Lord by loving and belonging in relationship of giving of ourselves as we have received from the Lord. The Lord provides us our safety knowing we are protected by our guardian angel and all the angels and saints. Finally, our hunger and thirst is satisfied not with more for the bodily needs but with more food for the spirit.

The Israelites asked “What is this? It is described as “fine flakes” which Moses claims is the bread that the Lord has provided for them to eat. The host we receive in the Eucharist also resemble fine flakes made with unleavened bread. It is our food for the spirit coming as the body and blood of Jesus. We have the blessing of being able to look back at salvation history and connect the story across time in a way the Israelites of the Old Testament and in Jesus’ time could not. We can worship Jesus in the Eucharist and receive him as the bread of life. This is our time to fulfill the work of God by believing and allowing him to transform our lives.

Jesus is ready to do the work of God in us and through us if we allow him. Be open to the will of God and he will reveal himself in our lives by the work that we are called to accomplish in his name. This is the testimony we see as Jesus’ disciples are transformed into apostles with the power of the word in their hearts and minds. This same word is given to us each time we come to Mass to not only transform us but to call us to the work of God by believing and trusting in his love to lead us in the more perfect way.

Jesus came from heaven to give life to a world that is dying in secularism and agnosticism rejecting the one true God for a personalized ideological god. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians calls the faithful to “no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds”. He is also speaking to us today in a world that considers the “mind” as the ultimate reality unto itself. Whatever the mind can reimagine itself to be is a reality others must accept. The mind has the capacity to be delusional, paranoid, fearful, exaggerated, of living in fantasy while being seriously sincere yet seriously wrong. The mind is a gift for the purpose of living in search of the truth. The truth lies outside of the mind. The truth lies in God.

God is the source of all creation and all creation serves the creator. Anything that comes between this link is a lie from the evil one who is here to cause division and confusion. The world is filled with division and confusion. It is our turn now to be the light of truth, not my truth or your truth but God’s truth. It is the truth that sets us free and gives us our joy and peace. Let us live it and we will be doing the work of God.

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22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Doers of the Word!

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21st Sunday Ordinary Time – This is the day!

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20th Sunday Ordinary Time – The catch

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19th Sunday Ordinary Time – The living bread

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18th Sunday Ordinary Time – The work of God!

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