Homily Outline for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Today the details of God’s call to us are made more specific and more challenging. Before Christ, the prophet Zephaniah reminded the people of Israel to seek God, “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” Judgment will come, we will stand before the Lord who sees all things, and Zephaniah encourages us to seek justice and humility. Notice that he directs himself to those who have observed the law… Having obeyed the Law, the journey is not complete.
In our second reading, Paul speaks to the Corinthians who have already been called by Jesus Christ. He reminds them that Jesus didn’t call them because of their worldly status, but in sheer generosity. He even emphasizes rhetorically that those who have been called are precisely the weak, the foolish, the lowly and despised. That’s us! Are we comfortable with that… do we see that about ourselves? God didn’t call us because we’re so great, but because He’s so great! Having called us, He wants to do beautiful things in us and through us, all in His mercy! We are not to boast in ourselves, but in the Lord.
So this is the pattern… having signed on, so to speak, with God, the journey is just begun, not finished. This brings us to the Gospel, the Beatitudes. These are poetic, familiar, but let’s listen to them very clearly and hear how paradoxical they are. Here are two examples: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land… Blessed are the merciful for they will be show mercy.” Is this true empirically? Do we see these promises fulfilled clearly in this world? I don’t know… often it seems that the meek and the merciful get trampled, left in the dust. Quite a few of those who are meek and merciful seem to get the short straw! What is Jesus talking about?
These invitations and promises are being made not just in light of this world, but also in light of the world to come. To be part of Christ’s Body is not to guarantee worldly blessings in our lives, or worldly success. It is, however, to open ourselves up to eternal mercy and grace. We don’t see God’s justice played out completely in this life, but we are assured that His justice reigns in eternity. All that is hidden and unseen will come into the light. This is very clear in the last two promises: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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.” This is not the “so-called” prosperity gospel… follow God and everything in this life will go smoothly! This is the truth. God will reward us, and if our fidelity leads us into persecution, God will be faithful to us eternally.
Think of it this way… the Ten Commandments lay out for us the boundaries… that which must not be done, that which we must do. Surprisingly, this is the minimum. Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments” “What must I do to gain eternal life” says the young man, Jesus says, “Keep the commandments.” But that’s not the whole project, just the beginning, and that’s already pretty tough. That’s why our Mother the Church offers us the beautiful gift of confession, entrusted to Her by Jesus. Our breaking of the commandments need not burden us perpetually – our sins can be forgiven.
However, to have avoided and turned away from flagrant sin is only the beginning. The Beatitudes chart the course from there… Not only do we reject sin, but we embrace poverty of spirit, we surrender our sorrow to the Lord, we seek to be meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, and clean of heart. This is not a path calculated to bring worldly success, but rather eternal joy.
Jesus is very realistic… to walk this path will often bring opposition, a lack of understanding, even persecution. Do parents who really guide their children and place faith first meet with praise and adulation from other parents? Do medical professionals who are faithful to moral truth necessarily advance quickly? Does someone in business always get ahead the quickest by being scrupulously honest and fair? Is the most popular student in high school or college the one who avoids sin and seeks humility? There are many other examples. To seek Christ faithfully, to receive His teaching with joy and to use it to configure our lives will bring us blessings now… chiefly a peaceful conscience, the riches of divine grace, the peace of knowing we are seeking the Truth Himself. These blessings can sustain us in world that may or may not recognize and honor virtue and faithfulness. This is what Jesus calls us to… May we hear His call, and with the constant help of His grace, may we respond courageously and generously. We are offered eternal life, eternal joy, eternal blessings. May we have the courage to accept this gift!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
Homily Outline for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
The essential mission given to Jesus Christ by the Father is to save us. He is the Light coming into darkness, casting aside the shadows and gloom. Matthew cites the promise made through the prophet that is fulfilled in Christ, “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”
In every age, people have been overshadowed by sin and death. This had taken many forms, some of them common to every age. However, this weekend, we remember a particular shadow of death that has long covered our land.
Since 1973, abortion has been legal with few or no limitations in every state in the Union. The raw statistics, collected by the very people promoting abortion, are alarming, shocking, difficult to comprehend: At least 50 million abortions total… this past year, something on the order of 1.2 million abortions. That is about 3300 abortions a day, or over 2 abortions a minute, every minute, every day, every week, all year long. Shockingly, this is close to 30% of live births every year. And for every abortion, there is a mother who carries that knowledge with her for the rest of her life. In many cases the father also knows. There are doctors and nurses who are involved in the business. The impact spreads.
The numbers are so immense; there is no question that some of us here have been affected very directly by abortion. The point of preaching about this is not to condemn, not to pour salt into an already painful wound. Jesus came to save us, He offers us infinite mercy and healing. Notice what He did as soon as He called the apostles, “He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” If we’ve had an abortion or helped someone have an abortion, if we’ve voted or promoted abortion or stood silent while others promoted abortion, we need the Lord’s mercy, and He offers it to us. It’s not automatic; we need to ask, especially, we need to seek that mercy in confession. There is no wound the Lord cannot heal if we but ask for His healing!
I am called to preach this not just because it has always and everywhere been the Church’s teaching. I am called to speak to you clearly and honestly about this not just because we need to be healed and we need to end the abortion regime in our country. This question is personal. From the moment abortion became legal, it skyrocketed. In the year I was born, 1978, there were at least 1.5 million abortions. My generation was thinned and mowed down by abortion. There are boys and girls I should have been in kindergarten with, friends I should have known in high school, hundreds of people who should have been at Purdue when I was there who never had a chance to be born. Why did God let me be born when so many were killed? Why did my parents choose life when so many chose abortion?
I don’t think it is inappropriate to liken the current situation to the Holocaust, on multiple levels. Every 3 or 4 years, the number of abortions in our country is similar to the number killed in Germany’s death camps. Like the death camps, those killed are defenseless and largely without a voice. Like the death camps, these deaths are largely hidden. However, there is a very great difference, an essential difference. For all the vaunted rhetoric about choice in our country, I strongly suspect that the average woman walking into an abortion clinic does not feel she has much choice. Unlike a powerful army, I suspect she feels powerless before a situation she doesn’t know how to navigate. Rather than being a member of a powerful army, she must often feel completely alone.
Most German citizens were not involved directly in the death camps, and neither are most of us directly involved in providing abortions. History, however, has not been gentle on Germany, and it WILL NOT BE GENTLE WITH US if we, like many of them, stand silent.
So, what are we to do? There are some simple steps open to everyone here this morning. On the national and state level, how do we vote? I’m glad there is no election looming. I’m not here to promote a particular candidate or party. What values inform our vote? Abortion is NOT the only issue. However, what balances 3300 abortions a day? What consideration can allow us to support someone who supports and promotes that death toll? We have a voice, if we will use it. Nationally, Catholics DO NOT vote in an overwhelmingly pro-life fashion. This is a scandal, and it needs to change.
Locally, we need to do our best to provide men and women with real choices. So many couples desperately desire to have a child, and cannot. Adoption is a real choice, a real option. The CareClinic just across the street does a marvelous job of helping young men and women get the support and help they need to make a choice for life rather than death. The need our prayers, our financial support, our involvement.
In our own families the situation of an unwanted pregnancy may well arise. How will we respond? Will we stand with the man and woman and encourage them to choose life? Will we spend our time and emotional energy in a way that is in keeping with our convictions?
Finally, we need to reconsider the way we have separated sexual intimacy and children. The two are intimately connected. We have ignored the clear teaching of the Church in every age by becoming a contraceptive culture. Not only are most chemical contraceptives potentially abortion-causing, but they help us to build lives and families where children are not welcome. When we are more and more sexually active with no intention of conceiving a child, we will more and more often be pregnant and vulnerable to abortion.
This is the challenge of our time. Will we be divided and silent, or will we speak for life? We come to the Eucharist this morning in need of healing and strength. Like Paul, Christ has sent us to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. God can do this good work in us, in our families, and in our society, if we will cooperate. May we open our hearts to the grace we need today.
The essential mission given to Jesus Christ by the Father is to save us. He is the Light coming into darkness, casting aside the shadows and gloom. Matthew cites the promise made through the prophet that is fulfilled in Christ, “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”
In every age, people have been overshadowed by sin and death. This had taken many forms, some of them common to every age. However, this weekend, we remember a particular shadow of death that has long covered our land.
Since 1973, abortion has been legal with few or no limitations in every state in the Union. The raw statistics, collected by the very people promoting abortion, are alarming, shocking, difficult to comprehend: At least 50 million abortions total… this past year, something on the order of 1.2 million abortions. That is about 3300 abortions a day, or over 2 abortions a minute, every minute, every day, every week, all year long. Shockingly, this is close to 30% of live births every year. And for every abortion, there is a mother who carries that knowledge with her for the rest of her life. In many cases the father also knows. There are doctors and nurses who are involved in the business. The impact spreads.
The numbers are so immense; there is no question that some of us here have been affected very directly by abortion. The point of preaching about this is not to condemn, not to pour salt into an already painful wound. Jesus came to save us, He offers us infinite mercy and healing. Notice what He did as soon as He called the apostles, “He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.” If we’ve had an abortion or helped someone have an abortion, if we’ve voted or promoted abortion or stood silent while others promoted abortion, we need the Lord’s mercy, and He offers it to us. It’s not automatic; we need to ask, especially, we need to seek that mercy in confession. There is no wound the Lord cannot heal if we but ask for His healing!
I am called to preach this not just because it has always and everywhere been the Church’s teaching. I am called to speak to you clearly and honestly about this not just because we need to be healed and we need to end the abortion regime in our country. This question is personal. From the moment abortion became legal, it skyrocketed. In the year I was born, 1978, there were at least 1.5 million abortions. My generation was thinned and mowed down by abortion. There are boys and girls I should have been in kindergarten with, friends I should have known in high school, hundreds of people who should have been at Purdue when I was there who never had a chance to be born. Why did God let me be born when so many were killed? Why did my parents choose life when so many chose abortion?
I don’t think it is inappropriate to liken the current situation to the Holocaust, on multiple levels. Every 3 or 4 years, the number of abortions in our country is similar to the number killed in Germany’s death camps. Like the death camps, those killed are defenseless and largely without a voice. Like the death camps, these deaths are largely hidden. However, there is a very great difference, an essential difference. For all the vaunted rhetoric about choice in our country, I strongly suspect that the average woman walking into an abortion clinic does not feel she has much choice. Unlike a powerful army, I suspect she feels powerless before a situation she doesn’t know how to navigate. Rather than being a member of a powerful army, she must often feel completely alone.
Most German citizens were not involved directly in the death camps, and neither are most of us directly involved in providing abortions. History, however, has not been gentle on Germany, and it WILL NOT BE GENTLE WITH US if we, like many of them, stand silent.
So, what are we to do? There are some simple steps open to everyone here this morning. On the national and state level, how do we vote? I’m glad there is no election looming. I’m not here to promote a particular candidate or party. What values inform our vote? Abortion is NOT the only issue. However, what balances 3300 abortions a day? What consideration can allow us to support someone who supports and promotes that death toll? We have a voice, if we will use it. Nationally, Catholics DO NOT vote in an overwhelmingly pro-life fashion. This is a scandal, and it needs to change.
Locally, we need to do our best to provide men and women with real choices. So many couples desperately desire to have a child, and cannot. Adoption is a real choice, a real option. The CareClinic just across the street does a marvelous job of helping young men and women get the support and help they need to make a choice for life rather than death. The need our prayers, our financial support, our involvement.
In our own families the situation of an unwanted pregnancy may well arise. How will we respond? Will we stand with the man and woman and encourage them to choose life? Will we spend our time and emotional energy in a way that is in keeping with our convictions?
Finally, we need to reconsider the way we have separated sexual intimacy and children. The two are intimately connected. We have ignored the clear teaching of the Church in every age by becoming a contraceptive culture. Not only are most chemical contraceptives potentially abortion-causing, but they help us to build lives and families where children are not welcome. When we are more and more sexually active with no intention of conceiving a child, we will more and more often be pregnant and vulnerable to abortion.
This is the challenge of our time. Will we be divided and silent, or will we speak for life? We come to the Eucharist this morning in need of healing and strength. Like Paul, Christ has sent us to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. God can do this good work in us, in our families, and in our society, if we will cooperate. May we open our hearts to the grace we need today.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Busy Person's Retreat!
So, please keep these young people and their directors in your prayers in the coming week.... what might God do in our hearts!?!?
Retreatants:
Alisa, Taylor, Matthew, Erin, Renee, Megan, Courtney, Erin, Amy, Lauren, Brittany, Phil, Emily, Jake, Dominic, Jamie, Ashley.
Directors:
Msgr. Michael, Sr. Colleen, Fr. John, Dcn. Dennis, Fr. Larry, Catherine, Fr. Ben
Thank you!
God Bless,
Fr. Ben Hasse
Monday, January 17, 2011
Who me? How? Prayer
Homily outline for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
In the Old Testament, we hear a lot about the people of Israel, their journey of being called by the Lord, of turning away from the Lord. They are obedient at times, and also idolatrous. They are sent into exile weeping, and brought home rejoicing.
The Old Testament tells us of this journey, and we see it fulfilled in Christ. It gives us Salvation History… the history of God bringing about our Salvation. This is one way of reading it. However, there is another way of reading the Old Testament… we can look beyond the history, and in the people of Israel we can see God’s Church, and even our own soul. If you’re reading a passage of the Old Testament, try interpreting it this way!
Let’s look at our reading from Isaiah in this light: “The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” These aren’t just words to a Jewish Prophet 2500 years ago! These words are spoken to each one of us… God desires to show His Glory through us! “Now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb….and I am made gloriosu in the sight of the LORD, and my god is now my strength!” From before our birth God has loved each one of us personally, chosen us brought us into existence. We have been given so much… the very breath of life, our families, the Word of God, the Sacraments. This parish family is a gift to us, this church started by our grandparents and parents. Some of you, like me, have no family connection to this parish, at least by blood, but are given this gift by the family of faith. The very liturgy we celebrate is a precious gift handed down to us through many generations, often at a great price.
The formation and call God gave to Isaiah was not just to build up those already part of the family of God… it wasn’t just repair and maintenance! Listen to the last verse: “It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel: I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Here is the big step, the challenge… here I think every one of us here tonight should get a little uncomfortable, a little unsure of ourselves! Our plans for ourselves are almost always too small, to limited. God has a big beautiful plan for each of us, just as He had for the prophet Isaiah, and it’s not just about the status quo, treading water, maintenance.
What is our mission as sons and daughters of God? It is just this mission of Christ, of Isaiah: to be a light to the nations, to bring Jesus’ salvation to the ENDS OF THE EARTH… or even to the ends of Marquette. There is a LOT of work to be done! On any given Sunday, here at St. Michael’s, and at most of the parishes in our country, less than 30% of the registered parisioners make it to Mass… That’s not a good figure! And that’s just the people who are still signed up! As Catholics, we’re the biggest organized denomination in the country… the next biggest group is former Catholics! I haven’t even mentioned all the folks who are relatively unafiliated!
Now, part of the job is mine as a priest… part of the job is for our wonderful parish staff. BUT… we can’t do even a small fraction of the inviting that needs to be done. Start making a list in your head… how many spouses, children, parents, aunts and uncles, grandchildren, neighbors, co-workers should be with us here right now? This IS NOT SOMEONE ELSES RESPONSIBILITY! LET ME REPEAT!
John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus comes to us not because we’re perfect, not because we’re worthy, but because we need his help. In that light, everyone of us can speak of Jesus, precisely because we need him too! Paul addresses the Christians of the parish in Corinth: “to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy… Notice he doesn’t say, you who are ALREADY HOLY! Called to be Holy!… Again, that’s us!
So how are we to hear this call? It’s very simple, but hard for us to do… we have to pray, and ask God to guide us. I suspect most of us are busy, and at the same time, have felt a little nudge from time to time inviting us to deeper prayer. I want to give you one very practical, very achievable challenge tonight. When you leave Mass you’ll find a little prayer sheet on the marble font with a short prayer called a Morning Offering… it’s a way of consecrating and offering the joys and sorrows of each day to the Lord as it begins. If you dare, try praying that every morning! I know God is calling each one of us to be apostles, to bring the Light of Christ to all nations… and if we speak to the Lord each day… He will begin to guide us!
This is simple, but it’s also dangerous! What might God ask of me, of you? But it is clearly what the Lord is calling us to. The Gospel is not a secret berry patch, it’s not the special spot where we find morel mushrooms… we don’t lose it if we share it… quite the contrary… we lose it if we don’t share it! May we share it with joy today!
my work, my prayers, my apostolic efforts;
my time with family and friends;
my hours of relaxation; my difficulties, problems, distress,
which I shall try to bear with patience.
Join these, my gifts, to the unique offering which Jesus Christ, Your Son,
renews today in the Eucharist.
Grant, I pray, that, vivified by the Holy Spirit
and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
my life this day may be of service to you
and your children and help consecrate the world to you. Amen.
More on this spirituality:
A Simple, Profound, Way of Life: The Apostleship of Prayer
In the Old Testament, we hear a lot about the people of Israel, their journey of being called by the Lord, of turning away from the Lord. They are obedient at times, and also idolatrous. They are sent into exile weeping, and brought home rejoicing.
The Old Testament tells us of this journey, and we see it fulfilled in Christ. It gives us Salvation History… the history of God bringing about our Salvation. This is one way of reading it. However, there is another way of reading the Old Testament… we can look beyond the history, and in the people of Israel we can see God’s Church, and even our own soul. If you’re reading a passage of the Old Testament, try interpreting it this way!
Let’s look at our reading from Isaiah in this light: “The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” These aren’t just words to a Jewish Prophet 2500 years ago! These words are spoken to each one of us… God desires to show His Glory through us! “Now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb….and I am made gloriosu in the sight of the LORD, and my god is now my strength!” From before our birth God has loved each one of us personally, chosen us brought us into existence. We have been given so much… the very breath of life, our families, the Word of God, the Sacraments. This parish family is a gift to us, this church started by our grandparents and parents. Some of you, like me, have no family connection to this parish, at least by blood, but are given this gift by the family of faith. The very liturgy we celebrate is a precious gift handed down to us through many generations, often at a great price.The formation and call God gave to Isaiah was not just to build up those already part of the family of God… it wasn’t just repair and maintenance! Listen to the last verse: “It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel: I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Here is the big step, the challenge… here I think every one of us here tonight should get a little uncomfortable, a little unsure of ourselves! Our plans for ourselves are almost always too small, to limited. God has a big beautiful plan for each of us, just as He had for the prophet Isaiah, and it’s not just about the status quo, treading water, maintenance.
What is our mission as sons and daughters of God? It is just this mission of Christ, of Isaiah: to be a light to the nations, to bring Jesus’ salvation to the ENDS OF THE EARTH… or even to the ends of Marquette. There is a LOT of work to be done! On any given Sunday, here at St. Michael’s, and at most of the parishes in our country, less than 30% of the registered parisioners make it to Mass… That’s not a good figure! And that’s just the people who are still signed up! As Catholics, we’re the biggest organized denomination in the country… the next biggest group is former Catholics! I haven’t even mentioned all the folks who are relatively unafiliated!
Now, part of the job is mine as a priest… part of the job is for our wonderful parish staff. BUT… we can’t do even a small fraction of the inviting that needs to be done. Start making a list in your head… how many spouses, children, parents, aunts and uncles, grandchildren, neighbors, co-workers should be with us here right now? This IS NOT SOMEONE ELSES RESPONSIBILITY! LET ME REPEAT!
John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus comes to us not because we’re perfect, not because we’re worthy, but because we need his help. In that light, everyone of us can speak of Jesus, precisely because we need him too! Paul addresses the Christians of the parish in Corinth: “to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy… Notice he doesn’t say, you who are ALREADY HOLY! Called to be Holy!… Again, that’s us!
So how are we to hear this call? It’s very simple, but hard for us to do… we have to pray, and ask God to guide us. I suspect most of us are busy, and at the same time, have felt a little nudge from time to time inviting us to deeper prayer. I want to give you one very practical, very achievable challenge tonight. When you leave Mass you’ll find a little prayer sheet on the marble font with a short prayer called a Morning Offering… it’s a way of consecrating and offering the joys and sorrows of each day to the Lord as it begins. If you dare, try praying that every morning! I know God is calling each one of us to be apostles, to bring the Light of Christ to all nations… and if we speak to the Lord each day… He will begin to guide us!
This is simple, but it’s also dangerous! What might God ask of me, of you? But it is clearly what the Lord is calling us to. The Gospel is not a secret berry patch, it’s not the special spot where we find morel mushrooms… we don’t lose it if we share it… quite the contrary… we lose it if we don’t share it! May we share it with joy today!
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Morning Offering Prayer:
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day:
my work, my prayers, my apostolic efforts;
my time with family and friends;
my hours of relaxation; my difficulties, problems, distress,
which I shall try to bear with patience.
Join these, my gifts, to the unique offering which Jesus Christ, Your Son,
renews today in the Eucharist.
Grant, I pray, that, vivified by the Holy Spirit
and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
my life this day may be of service to you
and your children and help consecrate the world to you. Amen.
More on this spirituality:
A Simple, Profound, Way of Life: The Apostleship of Prayer
Snowshoeing with the Middle Schoolers!
This Sunday we had a snowshoe outing with the middle-schoolers! It was cold and windy, but good clean fun! We put down a significant quantity of hot cocoa when we got back to the vehicle.
The rest of the photos are up here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=612239&id=789055155&l=ad00a88b39
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| Our motley crew! |
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
Homily Outline for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory.”
Our feast today, Epiphany, celebrates the Manifestation, the showing, the revealing, of Jesus to the world. God didn’t just come in a hidden way. He came to reveal Himself, to show Himself to us. The Arrival of the Magi at the manger is the first fruit of this. Isaiah’s promise begins to be fulfilled. Jesus is the Light who has come, the Glory of the Lord who shone upon those present at His Birth. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, has entered into the world, born of Mary, the Mother of God. His name, Jesus, means “God Saves.” He is Emmanuel, God with us.
Throughout the Old Testament there are small hints and clues that God would call all people to Himself. Even Abraham is promised that he will be a blessing to ALL nations. But, those hints and clues where largely overridden by the People of Israel’s strong awareness that THEY in particular were called by God. It was not always so clear that they were called precisely to bring forth the Messiah for ALL nations.
So, these three wise men have been seeking God, and they find Him. The acknowledge Christ, they fall down in worship, they pay him homage. To prostrate ourselves before the Lord, to bow or to kneel, is to imitate their good example! Jesus is God for us, for every nation, for the Gentiles. You can almost hear the surprise in Paul’s voice, “The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Although I suppose some of us here may have some Jewish heritage, for the most part, that’s us! Even we are coheirs with our elder siblings, the children of Abraham!
In another place, Paul speaks of Jesus Christ and Him crucified as a stumbling block. For a long time, even after I began to pray and read the Bible more, I didn’t really understand that. How could our Lord and Savior who came to us so humbly and saved us at such a price be a stumbling block?!? It came into focus during my third or fourth year in college.
I’d been to some kind of debate, I don’t remember the exact topic, but I remember very vividly a conversation I had with a friend afterwards. He came to Mass regularly, and was an upright guy. We discussed the way Jesus brought salvation, but he balked at the idea that Jesus was the only way to God. I had encountered this idea from people who didn’t practice any faith, and, fairly or unfairly, it had always seemed like a weak excuse for their own laziness. I had never encountered it from someone who was regular, and even devout in their prayer. But, as our discussion continued, and as I reflected on it later on, I began to see the connections. To believe, and live and proclaim Jesus Christ, God’s unique self-revelation, the same Christ who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through me,” this requires us to reject some of the false assumptions that circulate around us. For instance, relativism… that there’s no truth, just your truth and my truth! Or the idea that religion is just opinion, that it’s enough to be spiritual, but not religious. Of course that’s a problem, because Jesus Christ taught something very clearly – HE is the path to the Father, the Way to everlasting life. This is precisely why it is such a big deal that these foreigners showed up at the manger! Jesus didn’t come just for one race or language or nation, but for ALL races, languages, and nations, and the Magi are the beginning of that!
 | |
| C.S. Lewis |
I mentioned C.S. Lewis last night in reference to the Narnia books, so let me mention a very helpful discussion from his wonderful book Mere Christianity. In it, he addresses the idea that Jesus is just another noble teacher or philosopher. Well, says Lewis, that’s pretty hard to square with what Jesus actually said and did! He claimed to be God, He forgave sins, He healed and cast out demons. If He did those things, and knew he wasn’t God, then he was a liar, a charlatan. If he didn’t realize it was lie, then he was a lunatic, delusional. Or, He was in fact the Eternal Son of the Father, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So, is Jesus a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord? It is not plausible or reasonable to claim that He was just another figure, another teacher, another guide.
So that’s the challenge for us tonight! Like the Magi, we come to the manger, we come to this altar, and we encounter Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified. Will He be a stumbling block to us? Or will we embrace Him and walk another way, like the Magi? Will we simply cooperate with common opinion and go with the flow, or will we take up our cross and follow Him? May we not to try to muddle along some middle path, neither denying or accepting Jesus completely. We are called and challenged to accept Him with joy, to be transformed, and to bring His love and mercy to all those we meet. He guided those Magi, and like the star His light will guide us to truth and joy. Jesus is neither liar nor lunatic, He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
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| "God so Loved the World" |
On the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God
Homily Outline for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God
Merry Christmas! This greeting is just as appropriate today as it was 7 days ago! January 1st is the octave day, the 8th day of Christmas. We gather tonight on New Year’s Eve, and we celebrate the Solemnity of Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. It is still Christmas, and we pause again to marvel at our Heavenly Father’s great love and mercy in sending us His only begotten Son through Mary.
This is how God works! He doesn’t force His way into our lives; He doesn’t barge into our problems, our joys, our sorrows. He knocks, He offers, He invites. 9 months before Christmas, we celebrate the Annunciation of the Lord, when the Angel Gabriel brought God startling offer to Mary. We remember Christ’s Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He prayed, “Father, may this cup pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done.”
Because of God’s great deference and respect for our freedom, He came to redeem us not at the head of conquering armies, not as a king filled with worldly power. Rather, He came as a baby, defenseless, in need of protection and nurture. That is what we believe, profess… has it lost it’s mystery to us? God, Creator of all things, was nursed and wiped and burped by His Mother Mary, and by his Foster Father, Joseph.
All this in the title of our feast today: Mary, Mother of God. It may seem unremarkable, we are accustomed to the idea of Mary being Jesus’ mother… but this title, in Greek Theotokos, literally, God-bearer, was the cause of great strife in the early centuries of the Church. Except for the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of Christmas, this title would be a contradiction, an oxymoron, a phrase without meaning. But, in Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh, fully human and fully divine, it is entirely true to say that God who has no beginning or end, God who created all things, had a Mother.
This is not just theological precision… Listen to our short but intense second reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.”
By our baptism, we have become the adopted sons and daughters of God! We are not just God’s creatures, His slaves, His possession… we are now His sons and daughters, heirs to His Kingdom, part of His family, the Church. We have been born again into a great dignity, a great beauty, a great joy. And, if God is our Father, if Jesus is our brother, then Mary is our Mother. If we will not have Mary as our Mother, then we have cut ourselves off from the Trinity, because God Himself chose to bring about our redemption through Mary.
How does God break into our lives? The words of blessing from our first reading speak thusly, “The LORD let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!” How did Mary conceive Jesus? She was overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s Love shining upon her. How do we know we are God’s children? According to Paul, God sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts… we too are to be overshadowed by the Spirit, so that the Life of Christ might be conceived in our hearts and brought to birth in our lives.
If you happen to see any of the Narnia movies, or far better, if you happen to read one of the books, notice how Aslan interacts with the characters, good and bad. The movies don’t entirely miss it, but in the books especially, C.S. Lewis depicts beautifully the way God waits on our freedom. He’s a good storyteller, but also a good theologian!
This is our dignity, our joy, our hope! We are worthwhile not because of what we have, what we earn, what we buy. We are, each one of us, immensely precious and valuable, but it is not first of all because of our own efforts, but because God first loved us. Mary is worthy of our praise, She is a powerful intercessor on our behalf because of what God did for her! She said it herself in response to Elizabeth’s praise, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, we enter this New Year of the Lord, 2011. God has sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, who is rightly called the Mother of God. May we enter this new year with thanksgiving in our hearts, with praise and adoration for God who had done great things for us, and may we keep all these things, reflecting on them in our hearts just as Mary did. The Lord calls us no less than Mary. May we respond with similar generosity. May we too surrender all into the Father’s hands.
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.