From a blood feud to a balanced scale to a rushing river of mercy!

+ J. M. J. +

Homily Outline for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
We continue this week to hear from the Sermon of the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, for the third Sunday in a row. Just to set the stage, remember that two weeks ago Jesus spoke of the need to be salt and light, and I focused on making that concrete in service to those in need, whether materially or spiritually. Then last week Jesus made it very clear that His Good News, the Gospel, is about the fulfillment of the Law, not the elimination of the Law. To summarize, following Christ necessarily involves concrete witness in our words and actions, as well as an ongoing and deep conversion whereby we fight sin both exteriorly, but also in our hearts.

I hope my words were challenging to you, I know they challenge me to live out of them, to follow my own advice so-to-speak! I pause for silence after each homily first because the Church tell me to do this in the rubrics, but I also do it for you, so if I’ve succeeded by God’s grace in saying something true, it can sink into your hearts. But I also pause so that I can allow the truth I’ve tried to express to sink into my own heart! I am just as much in need of conversion as you are, and that moment of silence helps me to embrace it. I also normally apologize to the Lord for my homily!

If the last two weeks are challenging, to serve those in need, to seek constant and interior conversion, then this week’s serving of the Gospel ups the ante considerably! Jesus’ teaching here would have gone considerably against the common Jewish understanding, and it goes against the deep structure of our fallen human nature. A desire for justice and fairness is a gift from God, but our typical pattern of fighting fire with fire is not!

Jesus begins with the so-called lex talionis: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This phrase is a direct quotation of from Exodus and Leviticus. It’s often held up as a barbaric practice, but in fact it’s a major improvement on actual human behavior… think of blood feuds or vendettas or mafia and drug cartel behavior, where the violence continually escalates. Think of the Cold War arms race, where each round meant that Soviets and Americans were facing each other with ever greater capacity to destroy. Mired in sin, if someone insults us we punch them in the face, they take out a gun and shoot back, and then our family rapes and burns their entire village. This is the human pattern under the reign of sin, and requiring that retaliation be similar in kind and scale is a major step in the right direction. However, it’s not the whole journey… and this is where once again Jesus’ intensifies the call of the God to us. The Jews were called to love the members of their own tribe, other Jews, and to treat Gentiles with justice. The Law limited them to fair and balanced retaliation. As Christians, we are called to forgiveness, and even to generosity towards those who harm us. We are called not merely to reject destroying our enemies, but we are called to love them.

To love our enemies… we’ve all heard the phrase many times, but if we’re honest, have we ever even tried? Remember… love is to choose the good of the other. It’s not primarily or essentially feeling warm and fuzzy towards them. At times we feel warm tenderness and affection for those we love, but not all the time. If loving our enemies meant feeling warm and fuzzy towards them, it would be an irrational and impossible teaching, but love is most fundamentally a choice, not only a feeling. With God’s grace we can choose to love our enemies, we can choose to seek their good.

Just pause and call to mind your enemies, or those you struggle to love: is it your spouse, your parent, a sibling, or a child? Is it a co-worker or your boss or your roommate? Is it the professor who gave you a failing grade or the student who ignores you and treats you with disrespect? Is it connected to a wound buried deep in the past, or from something that happened yesterday? Not infrequently we bury hurt and anger and bitterness deep in our hearts and try to pretend it’s not there… but that venom hurts us first and most of all. Holding onto a grudge, holding onto anger…. it’s like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies!

Concretely, how do we follow this call from our Lord, this teaching that He modeled for us perfectly on the Cross? First, ask for God’s help… “Lord, help me to want to forgive… fill in the blank.” If we can ask for God’s grace we have begun the journey. Forgiving and loving doesn’t mean that what happened wasn’t bad, or that we want it to happen again. It doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten or that the wound is perfectly healed. Forgiving a thief doesn’t necessarily mean we leave the door unlocked, and loving someone who has hurt us doesn’t necessarily mean we step back into the place where we were hurt. But it does mean beginning to give God our hurt and pain and anger, and it does mean praying for the person, the enemy, who has hurt us, and it does mean trusting that God can do in us that which we cannot accomplish alone.

St. Paul tells us that we are temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in us. Will we open all the doors, all the cupboards, all the nooks and crannies in our hearts to the Holy Spirit? As we receive Jesus’ Body and Blood, poured out on the Cross from which He forgave His executioners… will we allow His saving Blood to flood into those places? If we can make this choice today, and then again tomorrow, truly God’s light will shine in us and through us! In our silence now, let us ask God for the courage to welcome Him into all the places that have been boarded up.

+ A. M. D. G. +

What God has prepared for those who love Him: a choice for authentice Christian freedom.

+ J. M. J +

Homily Template for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

This Sunday, we hear of a choice we are invited to make, and we hear of it from various angles! Our first reading, from the Book of Sirach, echoes language used in Deuteronomy… before us we have fire and water, life and death, good and evil! If we keep the commandments, they will save us, if we trust God and choose that which is good, and true, and beautiful, we shall live!

We all know that the choice isn’t quite that simple… our conscience knows imperfectly on its own, it is often persuaded by ignorance or advantage, or comfort. And even when we know clearly what is right, as we often do, it can be devilishly hard to reach for the good, when the evil is so attractive and easy! To choose God, and truth, and right, is a mystery… only God sees perfectly all the labyrinths and layers of our hearts, and yet He still calls us to choose.

What choice, then, brings us joy and freedom? Mysteriously, it is often the same choice that brings us struggle and challenge but also growth. When we choose truth, when we turn from darkness into light, with all that it costs, peace grows on the deepest level of our hearts, and a light dawns in the shadows of this world. Our psalm refrain states something that we know is not completely true in this life, “Blessed are those who follow the law of the Lord.” The Book of Job is the test case… following God and His Law often embroils us in every sort of difficulty, and then we see those who play along to get along, those who go with the flow, those who ignore God’s law… they often seem to flourish. But, then, there is a bigger scale, a bigger horizon… not just this mortal life with its creature comforts, but even eternity. Our Psalm today is Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the bible, and each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet… first aleph, the bethel, then gimmel, and so on, all the letters, each in turn, praising God’s law. We just hear a few of them, and I want to read you two verses that immediately precede the final verses we heard:

I cling to your decrees;
Lord God, do not disappoint me.
I run the way of your commandments
since you have set me free. (Jerusalem Bible)

What is freedom? It is not merely the absence of restraints, the absences of limits. Imagine a hockey game without the boards, imagine a basketball game without the rules? You would have nothing, just a mess. What happens if I ignore the instructions of Volkswagen to put only diesel in my diesel engine? What happens to your bread if you decide that you’d rather not add yeast? Every day we encounter the life and structure and growth and creativity that come from limits and boundaries. These aren’t perfect analogies, but they point us to the truth… authentic freedom comes not when we are completely unrestricted, but rather freedom grows and deepens when we choose the good, the true, and the beautiful, and most mysteriously, freedom comes when we follow what Blessed John Paul the Great called “The Mystery of the Gift:” the deepest fulfillment and the fullest freedom come to the human person in the total gift of self. Who is the freest man in history? Jesus Christ, on the Cross, held there only by the bond of love… no nails could have restrained The Second Person of the Trinity! Who is the freest woman in history? Not Eve, who ignored God’s simple command, but rather Mary, our Blessed Mother, who said Yes to God, Fiat Volunta Tua, may it be done to me according to your word! By her free choice to empty her life into the Father’s hands, infinite fullness and joy burst into the world, hidden in the tiny child in her womb!

This brings us to our Gospel… Jesus came to set us free, but because He came to draw us towards true freedom, that doesn’t mean no rules, no law… rather it means the law is brought to fulfillment in us… not only do we avoid outright murder, but even hatred. Not only do we avoid sleeping with someone who is not our husband or wife, but we even fight against lust in our minds and hearts. Rather than carefully following the procedure for divorce, we struggle to be faithful to our vows even unto death. Not only do we avoid formally making false oaths, but we avoid taking the Lord’s name in vain and all vulgarity. This is a daunting teaching to anyone who carefully examines his or her heart, but it is the invitation from the God who wants to set us free… not free from exterior restraint, but free for that which is best, truest, and most beautiful, free for God and His Law, free to follow Christ, free to imitate the Blessed Mother and say yes to God.

The Enemy has lied to us about freedom from the very beginning, and that lie has never been shouted more loudly or gussied up to seem more attractive than in our own time. Every sort of sin is presented as desirable and even necessary, even as a right in many cases. But no matter how many movies glorify and justify and gild hatred and lust and infidelity and lies, they are still death dealing, and they still bear bitter fruit. But, in Christ, with His grace, no matter how challenging, no matter how counter-cultural, no matter how disparaged or ignored, the battle to live true freedom in virtue, in truth, bears rich fruit, and plants the seed of deep peace in our hearts.

We come to this altar, now, and if we’re honest, if we know our own hearts, we know that we ALL come as beggars, that we come desiring and hoping to receive Him who we have not always served, Him who we have not always honored. We began with the penitential rite, remembering our need for God’s mercy, and before we receive we will say with one voice, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” It is true, and yet still the Lord comes to us, and still He offers us healing and mercy in confession, healing and nourishment in the Eucharist, where we begin to taste the joy Paul spoke of in our 2nd reading:

What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

May we know our poverty now, may we cry out to God for mercy, may we be filled with hope and courage as we know that He offers us Himself, and with Him in our hearts, we can choose life and live the joy that flows from authentic Christian freedom.

+ A. M. D. G. +

God working in our hearts... not what we expect!

+ J. M. J. +

 Draft Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

We celebrate today this beautiful Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple. God who is Incarnate in the world becomes known on this feast to two more who have been waiting for him, Simeon and Anna. In Jewish practice, the Holy Family is at the Temple for a sacrifice and purification. As with the Lord’s Baptism which takes place some 30 years later, Jesus doesn’t need to be redeemed by a sacrifice, nor does Mary need to be purified. Jesus continues to humbly take upon Himself our need for expiation, not needing it Himself, and Mary participates in this. Our 2nd Reading form the Letter to the Hebrews echoes this mystery:

Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them… he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way… because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Jesus takes upon Himself our whole condition, He is with us in radical solidarity in all human experience, except He never Himself sinned. Free from sin, though, He still bore all the consequences of sin for us.

Simeon and Anna have both mysteriously been moved by God to wait and recognize the Messiah. God enters His own Temple, and only these two very humble old people recognize Him! What faith and trust it must have taken for them to wait, to hope in God’s promise, to be available to the movement of the Holy Spirit when He moved their hearts. They see the Holy Family come in, a simple humble family, and yet they had the eyes of faith to recognize that here was the Messiah! Simeon affirms the fulfillment of the prophets when he says:

…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

God has entered His Temple, His world, His creation… God has come Himself with light and glory, for the People of Israel, and for ALL people! This is why today’s feast came to be known as Candlemas, and why we bless our candles today… the candle is always a symbol of Jesus, Light of the World! Simeon and Anna’s hearts must have been full to the bursting with praise and thanksgiving… and very likely the people around them must have thought they were batty!

It would have been hard for the people there in the Temple to believe or understand, not because they were ignorant of the prophecies, but precisely because they knew the prophecies and constantly discussed them.  The Jews of Jesus' time were in ferment, longing for the Messiah who would deliver them from the Romans, constantly discussing the prophecies, and many false Messiahs arose and were killed.. God fulfilled the prophecies, He DID come, but not as people had expected! Listen again to what the Prophet Malachi had foretold, 

And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek,…But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

The prophet and those who heard him were expecting God to come with force and power, sifting through the people, burning away the impurity. When gold or silver are purified, they are heated until they are molten hot, and all that is impure is burned away or it floats to the surface as dross to be discarded... it's not gentle!

Didn’t God fulfill His promise? Did the prophet or people misunderstand? I would propose to you that God DID keep His promise, but not the way His people expected! Jesus did sift the hearts and lives of those who encountered Him… but quietly, sweetly, gently… Those who encountered Him did have to make a decision… will I follow Him, will I receive Him? However, that choice wasn’t forced upon them with an outward show of force or power, and yet they had to make a choice. Those whose hearts were small and humble, like Mary, like Joseph, like Simeon, like Anna… they were able to receive Him, they were able to respond, they were able to notice God at work and present, a baby child.

So what about you and me? Are we looking for God, paying attention? Do we desire to know His will and work in our midst? Do we desire to cooperate? It is easy for me to be full of my own thoughts and plans and values, such that I don’t even seek God. And if we do seek God, are we only open to His work if it fits our template? Must He strike down the person who disturbs us, or could we let Him soften our hearts? Must the person who has hurt us grovel at our feet, or could we hear an invitation to recognize that we too need to ask forgiveness? Must He eliminate our suffering, or might we recognize an invitation to walk with Christ who walks with us to Calvary? Must God wave His hand and eliminate sickness and sin instantly, or can we hear Him inviting us to be His hands and voice and feet?

In the midst of all the crazy claims about what Pope Francis is doing, listen to his own words from Evangelii Gaudium, the Joy of the Gospel, because I think they fit with our readings today!

3. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. // No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. // The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. // Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. // Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. // How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! // Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. // Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. // Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. // No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. // With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. // Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. // May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!

Simeon and Anna were invited to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, and they held the Baby Jesus in their arms. You and I are invited now to a renewed personal encounter with Christ, and in moments we will receive Him into our hands and onto our tongues. God NEVER tires of forgiving us… No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love! Hearing this beautiful invitation, may we respond with generous love!

 + A. M. D. G. +