25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on September 21, 2019September 20, 2019 by Deacon Joe

Am. 8:4-7; Ps. 111-2, 4-8; 1 Tim. 2:1-8; Lk. 16:1-13

Jesus entered the world into the poverty of a stable, grew up in the poverty of a carpenter’s son, walked and slept among the poor in his ministry, and died on the poverty of the cross, “he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” All the riches of the world are his yet the riches he offers are not material abundance but spiritual abundance in the graces of faith to believe, hope to trust, love to care, prudence to judge rightly, justice to be fair, fortitude to demonstrate courage, temperance for balance, knowledge to understand, and wisdom to know God.

Jesus chose solidarity among the poor to witness his love of humanity for we all enter the world poor and return to the dust of the world yet “He raises up the lowly from the dust”. In this we see the promise of being raised up from the dust to heaven with the riches we have received and not squandered. The Lord calls the poor in spirit blessed knowing our fallen nature brings us the poverty of sin yet his mercy endures forever.

We will all be asked to “prepare a full account of your stewardship” the graces we squandered and those we multiplied. Are we prudent as children of the light to recognize these gifts and invest them into the greater good of humanity? It is tempting to “fix our scales for cheating” as the steward trusted with the master’s wealth acting “prudently” in our own interest. The parable however was of a steward who was not prudent with the master’s property until he got caught for squandering his property. Lesson then is a “person trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones”.

If we serve the god of mammon, the material god then we are anxious to preserve our riches and least eager to share them, the scales are always tipped our way. Jesus is ready to share his riches with us, generous to those who “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you”. There is no limit to the degree of riches we can receive in Jesus. Unlike the megachurches who preach material wealth, look to Jesus and his witness on earth to see the fallacy of those false teachings.

Material goods are a blessing not as a reward for good behavior or a trophy of recognition as perceived in the Old Testament but a blessing for the purpose of doing a greater good in service to God. One of the criticisms of the Catholic church is the amount of wealth invested into some of its cathedrals and basilicas while people are walking on the streets hungry and poor. Those beautiful churches also feed the spiritual needs of the poor in comforting their lowliness as a visible sign of God’s presence closer to them than their suffering. The church, that is the people of God inside the building are called to respond to the physical needs of the poor.

In union both spiritual and physical needs are cared for as one body in Christ. With all the power of God and all the miracles Jesus manifested he never bestowed material wealth to the poor, to his parents, or his disciples. Instead he asked them to trust him and sent them out in poverty to minister to the world.

Today we are reminded one of our ministries to the world is for the “supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and all in authority.” As a society we choose sides and attack the authority in control when they don’t represent our views. They need the most prayer because their authority impacts the “quiet and tranquil life’ we seek. As we become more interdependent with the world in a global economy, a nuclear age, and the geopolitical tensions around the world no one is immune from the next global threat. There are wars of weapons, trade wars, virus attacks, environmental wars, and cultural wars. Our leadership needs our prayers and “This is good and pleasing to God our savior who wills everyone to be saved.”

The Lord pours out his riches into our souls to bring us the peace we seek in our homes, comfort in our suffering, forgiveness of sins, blessing for our work, joy in our hearts, the confidence to persevere in our challenges, help at the hour of death with the assurance that our names are written in the book of life for all eternity.

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Homily

Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Posted on September 15, 2018September 14, 2018 by Deacon Joe

Is. 50:5-9a; Jas. 2:14-18; Mk. 8:27-35

Last week we focused on the need for solidarity among the poor, rich, employee, employer, nations and people. Today Jesus calls for solidarity of faithful followers. His word is spoken boldly, “my face I did not shield…I have set my face like flint.” He invites confrontation, “if anyone wishes to oppose me let us appear together…Let that man confront me.”

Generally, we don’t like confrontation and most of us were not taught the art of debate. Think back to your childhood and arguments among your siblings how you were heard. Were you all cordial to each other or did everybody simply yell louder to each other from room to room or face to face. The idea of debate in our time as seen through media is like a rowdy group of siblings yelling to drown out the other person. Everyone needs to be heard but isn’t willing to listen. Today colleges promote “safe spaces” to avoid any debate or dialogue from opposing views.

In the gospel, Jesus has just finished naming Peter the “rock” for claiming “You are the Christ” and he places him as the head of the early church. He then begins explaining the coming Passion he will undergo. Peter’s response, not wanting to confront Jesus in public takes him aside to “rebuke him” quietly. Peter takes his new authority seriously. I picture Peter taking Jesus aside and whispering, “There is no way you are going to let them do that to you and I will not allow it.” Jesus turns to the disciples and makes a public rebuke, “Get behind me Satan”. In your face Peter so that all know clearly where Jesus stands. One moment Peter is having this high spirit of elation, the next he is deflated into shame. But there is more, Jesus also lets them know how to stand with him in solidarity or against him with Satan.

Solidarity of the faithful with Jesus is to “deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” These three principles in unison are the works of the faithful. The first principle, denial is self is the first work that we must do. To assist us in this work is not to focus on self but on Jesus, what is pleasing to him, what is acceptable in his eyes and as the youth would say WWJD, “what would Jesus do?” If the eyes of the soul are focused on him we realize, it is not about me, it is all about Him who I choose to abide in that we may be one as he is in the Father and in the Spirit. We seek the Lord God who “opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back” This is the first of our faith at work that is pleasing to him.

The second principle is to take up our cross. When we abide in him we take up our cross not with a sense of sorrow in our spirit because we feel denied of worldly pleasures but with a sense of joy to do his will for our life is in his will and “how good it is”. The cross we bear is to feed the hungry, shelter the poor, cover the naked. Solidarity is seen in the works of the faithful, doing the will of the Father. Unfortunately the call for solidarity is confused with the call for salvation by some separated Christian faithful. The argument is that we are saved by faith alone not by works. The intent of the argument implies that we cannot earn our salvation by merits it comes by faith in Jesus Christ. There is no meter reading to count our works and determine if we have been good enough or if our good works offset our bad works.

The Catholic Church would agree we cannot earn our salvation by works of merit but that is not the position of the church as some misinterpret. The church stands behind today’s reading, stresses the important relationship between faith and works. They go hand-in-hand as two sides of the same coin, “faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead.” Nowhere in scripture does it say that faith “alone” brings salvation. Scripture also says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21); “For I will render to every man according to his works…” (Rom. 2:6); “For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgments…?”(Heb. 10:26-27); and finally, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jam. 2:24). That is as clear an apologetic “rebuke” without being politically incorrect or pride fully “in your face” because it is the word of God.

The third principle to “follow me” calls upon our baptismal vows as priest, prophet, and king. Solidarity of the faithful is to stand behind the church as one body in Christ. The Mass is the summit of that solidarity in the Eucharist. To reach the summit we journey in life in the light provided by the sacraments to purify our lives and abide in holiness. We all receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we search the deep things of God. In the Mass “I confess” my sin, “I believe” in the Trinity in our personal confession of faith; then we celebrate, go forth and follow as one body in Christ.

When one part of the body of Christ suffers we all suffer and woe to those who desecrate the altar by their sin and cause scandal. That is the seriousness and the sorrow of the crisis within the church today. Failure of denial of self by priests breaking their vows of obedience and chastity willingly is a grave sin against God and in some cases a crime against humanity. “Follow me” in rebuking those responsible that the body of Christ in the church will know clearly the will of God. “Follow me” in purifying the church when it identifies those responsible who choose not to deny themselves and are no longer fit for the ministry of leading the faithful. “Follow me” in solidarity with prayer, penance, and good works in atonement calling for healing and mercy. The crisis in the church is beyond the sin of those responsible, it is a crisis of trust in the shepherd. The works of Satan in the church do not represent the voice of God, yet God remains faithful to his bride and will purify her but not without suffering denial of self, the cross, and works of purification. Faith without works is dead.

There is no fear in God in confrontation and we must fear not the confrontation with evil regardless of the source, at home, work, school, public square and in the church. We do not rebel against the church or turn back away from it we confront the evil with truth and seek mercy. The Lord is our help and we are not disgraced. We are also not alone in this battle. We have the Church Penitent and the Church Triumphant. The Church Penitent can be a source of penance for the sins of this world and the Church Triumphant can be a source of holiness for our purification. “Do not forget the works of the Lord”. When we abide in him we are the works of the Lord. He did not come to condemn the world but the world must remain faithful to the covenant and it begins with me abiding in the body of Christ. We hold a great treasure to be guarded, stay alert, keep watch, the hour is upon us and the redeemer comes in glory.

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Homily The Deacon Joe

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary time

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Deacon Joe

Is. 35: 4-7a; Jas. 2: 1-5; Mk. 7: 31-37

Ephphatha! “Be opened”. Isaiah’s prophesy in the first reading, “Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you” is fulfilled in Jesus. The healing of the deaf mute is one of many miracles performed by Jesus. Keep in mind to a deaf mute you cannot explain things so he alone with Jesus must be open to trust Jesus even if his heart is frightened he accepts what Jesus is doing to him. The crowd responds with “He has done all things well.” Scholars believe that while he was in a region with primarily Gentiles there were also Jews who knew the scriptures and recognized by this statement an awareness of the connection to Isaiah and the coming era of salvation. The miracle is a sign of the dawning of the messiah and this could be the One.

Historically, St. James letter comes after the gospel life of Jesus so we move forward from the coming of the messiah to the beginning of the early church. The early church was what we would refer to as an unsegregated group of Jews, Gentiles, rich and poor. The communities they were coming from however were very segregated in that Jews and Gentiles kept apart so the early church was faced not only with a concern for integration of two cultures but also the rich, poor, and slaves as one body in Christ to be truly Christian. Sociologist might say a social experiment in integration for the purpose of salvation with divine intervention.

The Jesus prayer to the Father for his disciples before his arrest is “Father keep them in your name…so that they may be one just as we are” (Jn. 17: 11). How united is our world, our country, our Church? The world never ceases in war, a country founded as “one nation under God” is battling to take God out of the nation, and a Church founded by Christ is in crisis failing to guard against the sin from within. Desegregation has come through changes in law not changes in hearts. Jesus prays for solidarity, that we may all be one.

St. James addresses in part one of these concerns with the human tendency to give deference to the wealthy and allow them to become “judges” over other Christians of less stature. He reminds them and all of us not to make these distinctions. We are all sinners in need of salvation.

The church addresses this concern in the call for solidarity: “solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples” (CCC 1941).

Solidarity among the poor themselves reminds me growing up in poor neighborhoods from the barrios of Houston to the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley. When we ran out of food such as eggs, potatoes, lard the kids were sent to the neighbor to ask if they could spare a little. It was repaid with the same kind offering when someone came knocking on your door. The man in the fruit truck would stop to sell his produce at the house and he always offered to keep a tab until payday. The poor look after each other. I remember the first time living in a middle class neighborhood around eight years old and nobody ever talked to their neighbors, everybody stayed indoors or in wood fenced backyards.

Solidarity between the rich and poor meant the landlord accepted partial payment for rent until payday and you could always buy on layaway without paying interest. The rich farmer provided shelter for the migrant workers and if necessary gave an advance to help in times of unforeseen circumstances. Now the poor turn to pawn shops and loan sharks in every poor neighborhood not to mention high interest rate credit cards.

Solidarity among workers themselves meant you learned from your peers as mentors to master a trade. The more skilled worker was the “Maestro” who may not necessarily be the “Jefe” boss man. It was the on the job school passing down a trade. Now we go to trade schools and often start in debt, get a license, and insurance before we earn a buck to pay it all back.

Solidarity between employers and employees means earning a living wage. The vision of the “American Dream” has changed over generations from opportunity to choice. Originally it was work that provided an opportunity to have a career, raise a family, own a home and serve your duty for pleasure. Over generations it has evolved to freedom of choice, upward mobility, doing better than your parents, and experiential “good life”, we all like the good life. However we define the American Dream success requires solidarity between the worker and the business community.

Finally, solidarity is needed between nations and peoples. For this we must give some credit to the Millennials generation, also called Gen Y. Gen Y defines the American Dream as “Living in an open society in which everyone has equal chance.” Their vision is family-centric with global peers. You can take an on-line course, buy merchandise, do business, and skype with family from anywhere in the world feeling connected, present, and responsible to others world-wide with a greater vision for world peace.

This is not saying the “Dream” is a return to the “good old days”. There is good, evil, and struggle in every generation from Adam and Eve on, just read the Bible. Only God is good all the time. We are a work in progress. The poor are as resourceful as the rich and the poor can be as wasteful as the rich. Solidarity is a shared responsibility for the resources God gives us to be blessed and be multiplied.

Wealth is a blessing but it can also lead to “evil designs” in the heart. As we were reminded in last Sunday’s gospel, “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” We lose the purity of heart to be servants of the Lord. Of the twelve Disciples who would have been the wealthiest? Mathew was a Jew and a tax collector who by profession was known for their oppression of the poor in their collections. God chose “those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith” not for their material poverty but for their humility and dependent faith on God.

In baptism is the “Ephphetha” prayer over the ears and mouth with these words, “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” We have been given a spiritual treasure from our baptism and we are to be in solidarity between the Church Militant on earth, the Church Penitent in purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in heaven. We are warriors for Christ and our solidarity is with our Blessed Mother, the Angels, and Saints in the call to holiness. Be opened to the work of the Holy Spirit that we may do all things well for the glory of God with us, in us, and through us that we may all be one.

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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

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