MUSINGS

Second Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12

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      “He shall judge the poor with justice.”

      Justice is a funny thing. When we are wronged, we want justice. When we do wrong, we want mercy. The Scriptures talk a lot this week about the justice of God, but are we ready to receive His justice?

      In the first reading, it says that the “shoot of Jesse” which we take to mean Christ, “shall come to judge the poor with justice.” In the psalm response, it says that God will endow the king’s son—again we believe this to mean the Christ—with justice. In fact, “justice will flourish in his time.”

      Now we come to the Gospel. John the Baptist does not mince words. He addresses those who were leaders in the church, who performed acts of goodwill for appearance sake rather than doing them from the heart. “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?’ he says. In other words, who warned you to try to avoid God’s justice?

      John’s message is clear. God’s justice demands punishment. Christ will come to “clear the threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” We cannot presume that we are the wheat unless we have done what John says: repent, which means to turn away from sin in our lives. We too easily rationalize our sins and let ourselves “off the hook” rather than repenting and turning our lives around. Now is the time to repent; to change the direction of our lives; to live fully for Christ.

      Christ is coming soon. Yes, at Christmastime as a baby, and yes, at the end of time as King of kings and Lord of lords, but none of us knows the day or hour when He will come for us individually. Now is the time to get ready; now is the day of salvation.

      In the Prayer over the Offerings, we pray: “since we have no merits to plead our cause, come, we pray, to our rescue with the protection of your mercy.” With that confidence, we can pray this Advent, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

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First Sunday of Advent

Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48

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      “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

      Thus begins Advent, the head of the church’s liturgical year. The time of year that reminds us of the coming of our Lord—not only His first coming on that Christmas night 2,000 years ago and His second coming at the end of the world, but also, for many of us, His coming personally to take us home.

      Jesus’ words tell us to be ready “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” How do we prepare ourselves? How do we get ready?

      One of the ways the church helps to prepare us is to remind us of Christ’s coming during this season of Advent. Unfortunately, in our culture, we want Christmas to be earlier and earlier each year. The lights are up, trees are decorated, carols are played, and of course, there is the shopping and cards to be sent and Christmas parties to plan. Everything is bright and cheerful and full of hustle and bustle. That is the world at this time of year.

      The Church, on the other hand, tells us that now is the time to quiet our hearts and minds and focus on our longing for Christ. It is reminiscent of the Hebrews and their anticipation over the coming of Messiah the first time, but it also focuses on the anticipation of Christ’s final coming. Now is the time we should enter into the silence more deeply, like the snow covers the landscape, and make sure our hearts are ready to receive the Christ when He should come to us.

      St. Paul tells us, “the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us throw off the works of darkness and…conduct ourselves properly as in the day.”

      Jesus tells us something similar when he talks about the coming of the Son of Man. “In those days…they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” In other words, it’s business as usual.

      Will we be prepared? Or, in these days, are we too busy doing our business as usual—buying our gifts and decorating our homes and attending parties—to realize that we have forgotten to prepare our hearts and souls to receive the King of kings? Will He come at an hour we do not expect and find us not ready to receive Him?

      Sometime during this busy season, take time to stop and quiet yourself and turn to God and ask Him to prepare your heart. That is the most important preparation you can do for Christmas. Don’t delay another minute. Make the time, and then see the fruit in your life of a true joy this coming Christmas.

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Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Psalm 122; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43

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      “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” These words of the criminal on the cross with Jesus really stood out to me today. But the key part that struck me was “when you come into your kingdom.”

      Jesus had preached about the kingdom of God from the beginning of his ministry. This was a central part of His message, yet so many misunderstood what He meant. Even the day of the crucifixion, the rulers, the soldiers, and even the other criminal that hung with Him on the cross did not understood what it meant that Jesus was the Christ, the King. Each of them had their own idea of what the Christ should be and what the coming of His kingdom should mean. Only the “good thief” actually understood what the coming of the kingdom really meant.

      Jesus acknowledged that. He tells the man, “…today you will be with me in Paradise.”

      Do we understand the meaning of the coming of Jesus’ kingdom? Do we understand that “He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”?

      This is not an earthly kingdom of wealth, or fame, or prestige, or power. This is a heavenly kingdom of holiness and righteousness which He is calling us to. He desires to “reconcile all things…making peace by the blood of his cross” so that we can become God’s children, heirs to all that is His.

      The price to become part of this kingdom is costly: we must die to ourselves, our sinful ways, even our ideas of what might make us happy, and accept Him as our king, our ruler. As such, we must accept His plan for our lives, His way of living.

      Do you want to be part of His kingdom? Are you willing to accept His call to live in His kingdom as He sees fit? In the battle for your soul, surrender yourself to the King and let Him adopt you into His family, that you would become part of the “kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace,” as it proclaims in today’s Preface.

      God is calling. Set down your weapons of warfare—your sin, your self will, your preconceived notions—and surrender to the King of kings and the Lord of lords, that you might experience new life in His kingdom today.

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Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Malachi 3:19-20a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

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      “You are not to prepare your defense beforehand.”

      The temple in Jerusalem was considered at the time of King Herod to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It must have been a magnificent edifice! It’s no wonder that people who came to visit it would marvel at its grandeur.

      Yet, Jesus reminds them that earthly things and earthly accomplishments will all end some day. That is not what is important. Even in His answer, His listeners take the wrong cues and continue to ask the wrong questions. They now want to know how to look for signs of the end: when will this happen?

      Jesus tells them that persecution will come first. That is what they need to be prepared for. How should they prepare? He says, “you are not to prepare your defense beforehand.” He says, “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.”

      I have read so often of martyrs for the faith who spoke incredibly courageous words before their deaths that often turned their executioners’ lives around and they then became believers. What is the secret of what they had that we need? How will we be ready when the day comes “blazing like an oven”? Will we experience its destructive power and become stubble, or will it come for us like “the sun of justice with its healing rays?”

      Our hope lies in our relationship with Jesus. Are we growing daily in our relationship through prayer and acts of service, or are we too busy “minding the business of others” and making ourselves busybodies?

      Christ wants His followers to be prepared. Our instruction manual is the Word of God and the lives of those who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith.” St. Paul tells us that we must imitate him and the other apostles. Read the Scriptures, study the Word, receive the sacraments, grow in virtue through acts of faith and kindness. Deepen your relationship with God so that you can feel confident that when “they hand you over” and you are “led before kings and governors because of” His name, God will give you the words of testimony to speak that will turn hearts to Him.

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Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Psalm 46; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22

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      “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?”

      Today we celebrate the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. This church has a long history, having been dedicated in A. D. 324 as the first basilica of the newly legal Catholic Church. So, if this is a celebration of a building that we call church, why do all the Scriptures talk about people as the church?

      Both are true. The people are the church; St. Paul specifically says, “You are God’s building.” Yet the physical building is also the church, and perhaps almost as significant as the people in being called that.

      In the first reading, Ezekiel sees a vision of the temple (the Hebrew version of “church”) and from it are flowing the life-giving waters that make the sea fresh, and “along the banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow.”

      The psalm today talks about the “city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High,” and because God is there, “it shall not be disturbed.”

      St. Paul begins to turn our understanding from a physical building as the source of God’s presence, telling us that we “are the temple of God, and …the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Yet, Jesus in the Gospel takes us right back to the physical temple as a holy place, calling it “my Father’s house.” Then immediately, He confuses His listeners by telling them about raising up His body, which He calls “this temple.” Jesus sees no disparity between calling His body the church and calling the building a church. It is all the same to Him.

      The Preface helps to clarify this unity by telling us “you are pleased to dwell in this house of prayer in order to perfect us as the temple of the Holy Spirit.” It goes on to say, “you sanctify the Church, the Bride of Christ, foreshadowed in visible buildings.”

      Unlike our Protestant brothers and sisters, who recognize the people as the Body of Christ while they can be anywhere, we Catholics understand that the physical building is also holy, and very much connected to our understanding of who we are as the Body of Christ, the church. That’s why so many of our churches at one time were such beautiful spaces, with reminders everywhere—the stained glass windows, the holy water fonts, the great marble altars and altarpieces—that this is a holy place meant to draw us closer to our God.

      So, let us today, as we commemorate this church building dedication, look around at our churches and recognize the Body of Christ in our fellow believers, but also the signs of God’s presence and His calling to us through the very building we worship in.

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The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day)

Readings: Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23; Romans 5:5-11 (or Romans 6:3-9); John 6:37-40

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      “We shall also be united with him in the resurrection.”

      This is the promise of our faith. St. Paul goes on to say in the Letter to the Romans, “If then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” In Baptism, “we were baptized into his death” and, in the end, when we breathe our last breath, Christ promises in the Gospel that, “I shall raise him on the last day.”

      We—whose lives are steeped in sin—how can we expect to stand before a holy God? We have made our confession of faith, but our lives have witnessed to how fickle is our love for God, how short we fall off the mark of His high calling. Praise God that He has promised us a purgation of our sins that we might be made holy to be able to stand before Him in eternity.

      The book of Wisdom tells us, “yet is their hope full or immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.”

      The psalm today tells us, “Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.” With His rod, God disciplines us; with His staff, He guides us in the right path.

      St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, tells us, “We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” He makes it clear that the reconciliation with God through Christ’s death is the beginning of our journey to salvation. It is not the end. St. Paul explains this process a little more when he tells us “that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.”

      God’s promise is that He will complete the work He has started in us. Wisdom tells us that “in the time of visitation they shall shine…and the Lord shall be their King forever.” The psalm tells us that “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” And St. Paul tells us, “How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.”

      Finally, Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.”

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Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

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      “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.”

      In the Gospel today, Jesus in His parable wants to make very clear the difference between the two men who came to the Temple. First, the Pharisee, the one who follows the law down to the smallest letter, “took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself…,” telling God how worthy he was. The tax collector, the man who was despised by all because of his usually unfair business practices, “would not even raise his eyes to heaven,” but then prayed a sincere prayer from his heart.

      God sees our actions, but more importantly, He knows our hearts. Why we do what we do is as important as what we do, maybe more so. St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, makes this clear when he tells us that if we do things without love, we are nothing more than a “resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.” We may get noticed, but there is no lasting result, no fruit.

      Our hearts must be right with God if we are to truly serve Him, and, if we truly serve Him, as the reading from Sirach says, our “petition reaches the heavens,” our prayer “pierces the clouds” … “until the Most High responds.”

      Psalm 34 echoes that sentiment when it says, “When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress He rescues them.”

      How are we right with God? How are we just? Only in recognizing our sins and confessing them to the Father, even as the tax collector does in the Gospel. We are poor—our sinfulness causes our poverty. It is only in recognizing this that we can come to the realization that we are very much like that tax collector. We can only beat our breasts before God and pray, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

      It is too easy to become caught up in our own righteousness, to count off all the wonderful things we have done for God. Even to look down on those who are not as holy and righteous as we are, those who obviously are sinners, which we can recognize by their lifestyle choices. Do we allow them the opportunity to receive God’s mercy, or have we already judged them as not worthy of it?

      Do we instead look at our own righteousness as “so much rubbish,” as St. Paul declares in his letter to the Philippians, so that we “may gain Christ?”

      God is waiting for us to acknowledge our sinfulness, to show Him our brokenness. Whether we want to admit it or not, all of us are broken and sinful, poor and in need of God’s mercy. If we reach out to Him, we will find out as the psalmist declared, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.”

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Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8

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      “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always.”

      I am always intrigued by the story of the defeat of Amalek in the seventeenth chapter of Exodus. I looked at the passages before verse 8 and they tell nothing additional about this story. They don’t say that God gave Moses specific instructions of what to do to win the battle, but nonetheless, Moses does have some very specific instructions that he gives to Joshua. It also never mentions why Moses took both Aaron and Hur with him to the hilltop. Still, Moses knows what needs to be done to win the battle.

      What I find intriguing about this reading is that God later told Moses that He would wipe out Amalek, yet Moses had a very specific task to perform, Joshua had his part to play, as did Aaron and Hur. If any of them had not been obedient to their task, God’s victory would not have occurred.

      Looking at Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow, I get some sense of why the battle against Amalek played out the way it did. Jesus starts out the parable by telling his disciples “about the NECESSITY for them to pray always without becoming weary.” Not the importance, not the best practice, not the good idea, but the necessity.

      Why is it necessary? Does God need our prayers to act? Can we somehow influence God by our prayers so that He acts just so we will stop bothering Him, like the judge determines about the widow? No.

      I’ve heard it said that prayer is not about changing God, but that prayer changes us. The more we pray, the more we should take on the mind of God. If we pray the Scriptures, Saint Paul tells us in his letter to Timothy that the Scriptures are “capable of giving us wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” As we pray the Scriptures, God draws us closer to Himself and we begin to take on the mind of Christ, which leads us to salvation.

      Proclaim the Word in your prayer. Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Let your prayer rise up to God continuously like fragrant incense. And then watch the changes happen. Maybe not in the circumstances around you, but in yourself as you become the new creation that God desires you to be. The part you play in the mystery of salvation is not to change God’s heart, but to change yours. Play your part and don’t grow weary. You will see the salvation of God in your life.

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Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

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      “In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.”

      I have always liked the story of Naaman, though I’m not sure why. Here is a man who is not an Israelite, who does not practice the ways of Judaism, nor perhaps even understands them, yet God heals him through the prophet Elisha. His response, I expect, stems from his paganism. He wants to take back to his home some of the earth of Israel so that he can worship the God of Israel. Even in his healing, he has barely begun to understand what it means to worship and serve the true God.

      The same is probably true of the Samaritan in the Gospel. Jesus, at another time in the Gospels, tells a Samaritan woman that the Samaritans do not understand Who they worship. In this Gospel story today, we have a Samaritan who does not practice the faith of his Hebrew brethren in the same way as they do. In those times, if a leper was healed, he would show himself to the priest and the priest would declare that he could now return to his people since he was clean. I assume the other nine lepers did exactly as Jesus had told them, thinking that was enough. “Show yourselves to the priests.” But one, who was not as observant as the others, stopped when he realized he was healed and returned to the source of his healing, and thanked Him.

      What is our takeaway from all this? I think that the leprosy in the stories allegorically represents sin in our lives. When we ask for cleansing from our sins, do we do only that which is expected of us and then go our way? Or do we really realize the magnitude of what it means that God has cleansed us of our sins, and we are now free to follow Him? Paul, in his letter to Timothy, says that if we are unfaithful, Christ will remain faithful to us. If we sin, God is still there to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us. He also says that if we deny Christ, then He will deny us. Being unfaithful—sinning—is not the same as denying Christ. It is certainly not good; it makes us sick spiritually, and we know that if one remains sick for a long time or gets worse, they eventually die. The same is true in our spiritual lives.

      We have a remedy for our sickness. It is the forgiveness of Jesus! He remains faithful to us if we sin and then repent. We must come to Him for our healing, and when we receive that healing, we should return to Him in gratitude and thanksgiving.

      The priest at Mass reminded us that “Eucharist” in Greek means “thanksgiving.” What better way to return to Christ in thanksgiving for healing from our sins than to receive the Eucharist? We are thankful for His forgiveness, and He, in turn, gives us more of Himself! He gives and we receive. Even in our thankfulness, God outgives us! Oh, what love He has for us.

      I still long for the day when I will see people coming forward to receive the Eucharist who will be weeping for the knowledge that they are indeed not worthy to receive Him, but that God makes them worthy through His love and forgiveness.

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Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10

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      “The just one, because of his faith, shall live.”

      It seems whenever the disciples of Jesus ask him a question, he rarely answers it directly. They ask, “Increase our faith.” His response would tend to make one think that he does not believe they have any faith at all! “If you had even the tiniest bit of faith,” he appears to say, “you could make miracles happen!” Then he goes on to tell them that if they are obedient and do all that is expected of them, don’t expect to be congratulated for it; that’s what you’re supposed to be doing!

      In the reading from Timothy, Paul tells Timothy to stir into flame the gift of God he received, the gift of faith, so that he is able to bear the hardships that follow from preaching the Gospel.

      In the psalm, God calls us not to harden our hearts as the ancient Israelites had done even though they saw the miracles of God in the desert. Finally, in Habakkuk, the writer asks God to intervene and help him, and God answers by saying he should wait! “The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” He shall live BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH!

      What is faith? The Scriptures tell us that “faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” It is knowing the truth regardless of what circumstances look like. How do we know the truth? We find it in Scripture and in the teaching of the Church. Do you believe that God loves you and has a plan for your life? If so, that is true whether you are walking now in that plan or whether you sit now in darkness, unsure of what to do next.

      God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, says the Scripture. If we look to Him instead of our circumstances, we can walk through any situation knowing that God is taking us where we need to go. We can listen more attentively in prayer to hear God’s voice and discern our next steps. We can be confident that when we begin to move, we are moving in His will rather than our own impatient rashness.

      God will increase our faith, but it’s not going to be in a waving of His magic wand and we suddenly have more faith. It will be in the darkness, in the uncertainty, in the daily slogging forward to do his will, being those unprofitable servants who are doing no more than what they are obliged to do.

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Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

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      “Compete well for the faith.”

      In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he tells him—and us—exactly how to compete well for the faith: pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

      We, as American Christians, are too easily caught up in the “me first” mentality, where it’s all about what God can do for us. The whole concept of the “selfie” I think shows just how far we have gone to put “me” first. We want God to bless us and provide for us, and rightly we should be asking for that, but that should not be our priority. Our priority should be self-giving, as Jesus did on the cross. One of the two choices for Communion Antiphon listed in my Magnificat prayer book is from 1 John 3: “By this we come to know the love of God: that Christ laid down His life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”

      When I have practiced Lectio Divina or done a guided Scripture meditation, one of the things they suggest is that you put yourself in the story so that it becomes more alive to you. How many of us looking at the Gospel today would put ourselves in the place of the rich man? How many of us see ourselves taking care of our needs and pampering ourselves while ignoring the poor that are right at our doorstep? I think not many, and yet that is also the charge that Amos brings before the chosen people of God in his time. We have become complacent in our lack of want and we forget to share our gifts with those who do not have what we have.

      Perhaps we are really Lazarus in this story. He understood his poverty. I don’t believe we do. We are indeed poor; poor in the things that matter, as my priest said in his homily. We have not pursued the things that St. Paul tells us will help us “compete for the faith.” We have pursued material things: fame, wealth, prestige; things that will pass away. God desires so much more for us, but until we see our poverty, we cannot ask God for His riches. We pray in the Collect, “O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven.”

      Where you treasure is, there your heart will be also. I pray this week that we strive after the treasures of heaven, instead of those of this world.

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Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

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      “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”

      When I hear the parable of the dishonest servant, this line stands out to me. I looked up “prudent” in the dictionary and here is the first meaning listed: “shrewd in the management of practical affairs.” I have always considered “shrewd” to have a negative connotation, but all it really means is “clever, astute.” In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples when He is sending them out to preach the Good News that they are to be “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” So “shrewd” is not a bad thing if our hearts are innocent.

      So, how can we as Christians be clever when dealing with the world around us? In his homily, my pastor talked about being entrepreneurial Christians; reaching past our comfort zones and doing something different or fresh to grow our relationship with the Lord. I like that. What can we do that will help us grow closer to God and help us to fulfill His great commission to make disciples of all men? St. Paul in his letter to Timothy said that it is God’s will that everyone be saved. Now, I know that not everyone follows God’s will, which is why not all men will be saved, but we can still do our part to reach our world with the Good News of Jesus so that some may be saved.

      Father suggested that even if you are homebound and cannot do anything physical, you can pray. As St. Paul says at the opening of the passage of his letter to Timothy that we read today, “First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone.” Prayer comes first. Then the activity can follow for those who have the capability.

      I’ve heard those who say they’d like to get rich so they can use the money to further the kingdom. Pious thought, but flawed. This passage clearly shows that you can’t serve two masters. You focus on getting rich then you don’t focus on following Christ. God can certainly use your wealth to further His kingdom, but mostly He wants to use YOU, whether you have riches or you have nothing. God is bigger than our ideas and plans.

      Surrender yourself to God in prayer. Ask Him how He wants to use you. Then listen in the quiet of your heart for your marching orders. It is only then that you’ll be able to answer the call to be “prudent in dealing with” this generation.

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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Readings: Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17

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      “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up…”

      In the Gospel reading, Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus why He must die on the cross, and He uses the story we read from the book of Numbers today to make His point. Just as the Israelites had sinned against God and they were now receiving death as their punishment, so too it is with us. Our death is not a physical death, but a spiritual one. St. Paul tells us in Romans that “the wages of sin is death.”

      Our only remedy is the One Who is now lifted up before us “on a tree.” The Preface today tells us that “the evil one, who conquered on a tree, might likewise on a tree be conquered.” Through Jesus’ death on the cross, He becomes victorious over Satan and death.

      Jesus goes on to tell Nicodemus that “everyone who believes in him [this Son on Man who is lifted up] may have eternal life.” Death for Jesus becomes life for us! His suffering becomes our freedom. So we look at this traditional instrument of torture and today proclaim it exalted!

      In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he tells them, “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

      Our faith rests on a paradox the world cannot understand or accept. When we do accept it, we become children of God, His beloved sons and daughters.

      Jesus goes on to tell Nicodemus that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world…” He continues beyond this passage we read today to say that those who do not accept the message “have already been condemned” because they “prefer darkness to light because their works are evil.” If they do not turn to the light, they are lost.

      We pray for those in darkness, that they would open their eyes to the wonder of the cross and recognize why we would be so foolish as to exalt it. We pray, as in the Collect, that all “who have known his mystery on earth [the mystery of the cross], may merit the grace of his redemption in heaven.”

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Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Psalm 90; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

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      “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

      What the homilist said today and what I’ve read about this Gospel passage make clear what Jesus meant when he said to “hate” family and even self. It is not the emotion, the passion of our feelings, but rather an exaggerated way of expressing the need to leave all else behind and make Christ the true object of all our longings. The final sentence of the Gospel pretty much sums that up when Jesus says, “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

      I think this is a hard thing to do. In our culture, our faith is one part of who we are, like our family, our career, our leisure pursuits, etc. But that is not what Jesus calls us to. He calls us to put Him above everything, and if we truly desire to follow Him—to be His disciple—then we must be willing to let go of any of these things if He should ask us to. That kind of radical living is a far cry from what I see most Christians, myself included, actually doing.

      The one sentence I find most perplexing in the Gospel today is this: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” We understand the idea of “carrying our crosses;” it has become almost cliché for us. Yet, can you imagine what his listeners at that time thought? Jesus had not yet gone to Calvary when He spoke these words. In what way would they have understood what He was saying? The Scriptures from Wisdom and the psalm both talk about how much beyond our understanding is God’s way of thinking and acting. The reading from Philemon where Paul is sending an escaped slave—who has now become a Christian—back to his master and asking him to treat him like a brother tells us that walking with the Lord requires an entirely different way of thinking. We can only acquire that kind of thinking as God transforms us in our relationship with Him through the Spirit that He sends to us, as the reading in Wisdom declares.

      God is asking us to renounce our very lives, and to embrace our burdens and struggles as the way we can truly become His followers, His disciples. But we must count the cost, lay the groundwork in our hearts, because once we say “yes” to Him, there’s no turning back.

      I pray we hear His call and answer wholeheartedly.

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Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68;  Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

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      “Conduct your affairs with humility.”

      There were a couple of things that initially stood out to me in these readings. First, from Sirach: “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.”

      I wonder sometimes if people give each other gifts more out of obligation than just for the joy of giving; and, of course, everybody loves getting gifts. Then comes the inevitable: well, now I have to get them something in return. Thank God that He is not that way with us. On the other hand, maybe we treat Him as if He is, and feel like we need to give back to Him now that He has given to us. We owe God and we’ve got to work at being holy to somehow pay Him back for His generosity to us. I guess that’s kind of a way to be the opposite of humble; it shows a kind of pride of self that isn’t very pretty.

      If we are humble, people will like us more than if we gave them gifts. What is humility? Knowing your limitations, but also knowing your strengths. It means not “seeking things beyond your strength” as Sirach says, and when God gives you a gift, rejoicing in His love for you without feeling like you have to do something in return. God’s grace is gift; it is not bought by your effort. Stop trying to prove yourself to God.

      I like the entire Gospel reading, but I think there are many who would consider the action of taking the lower place not so much as being humble, but being strategic so you get what you want and maybe even better. It can be done completely with the wrong motives, but still could have the same results. Then comes the kicker: When you have a dinner, don’t invite those who will invite you back. Invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and you’ll be blessed because they can’t repay you. You can’t fake that. It would take true humility to be gracious to someone who you find distasteful or disagreeable and yet you invite them into your world to share with them, even something as simple as a meal. There you will learn humility and maybe find that other isn’t so disagreeable after all.

      Today’s reading from the Letter of the Hebrews is a favorite of mine. There is a worship song, written by Jim Cowan at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, that I first heard in 1985, that is based on this Scripture. It is one of my favorite worship songs. What is this passage about and what does it have to do with the theme of humility that seems to run through the other Scriptures? I always felt the first part of the passage was referring to when the Israelites reached Mount Sinai and were given the Ten Commandments: the Old Covenant. The latter part of the passage talks about Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the sprinkled blood of Christ: the New Covenant. God is calling us to approach Him differently than we have in the past. No more fear or basing our relationship on following the rules of law. We can now come with confidence and learn about the law of grace, but we can only do that if we are humble, knowing that we can provide nothing in this covenant relationship with God except ourselves. He is the giver, we the receivers, and He says that’s worth celebrating.

      Bottom line: if we can embrace humility in our lives, true humility, there is no limit to what God can do in us and through us. Thank you, Lord!

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Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

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      “My Son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by Him; for whom the Father loves, he disciplines…”

      Today’s readings are disturbing, to say the least. In our culture, with its materialism and entitlement, we expect a parent to dote on their children, to give them whatever they want. God as Father becomes more like a divine Santa Claus or a cosmic sugar daddy. We ask; He gives. But this Scripture tells us something different about the Father/child relationship that God has in mind.

      “Whom the Father loves, he disciplines.” What does this mean? According to Webster, the verb “discipline” means the following: to train or develop by instruction and exercise, especially in self-control. Think of an athlete preparing for an event. They have to discipline themselves in order to be thoroughly prepared to face the challenge in front of them. They change their diet, eliminating things that could hamper their performance, they get more rest, they train hard, using obstacles and tests to improve areas where they are weak.

      This Scripture tells us that our Father in heaven disciplines us because He loves us. When He asks us to give up things that are harmful to our spiritual growth, or when He challenges us with obstacles and tests, or even when He asks us to take time to rest in Him, do we see that as Him working for our good to make us stronger in our faith? Or do we look at it as punishment; God is mean because He didn’t give us what we wanted as soon as we asked for it?

      Jesus says in the Gospel that many will attempt to enter the narrow gate that leads to salvation, but they will not be strong enough. What does He mean? What kind of strength do we need? Spiritual strength, the kind that comes from spiritual discipline. The kind that comes from bending our will to His will and allowing Him to lead us every day. In the morning, we make a Morning Offering, dedicating our day to the Lord. Do we believe that He hears us and believes us when we tell Him that we are surrendering ourselves to Him today? Maybe it is we who do not believe it.

      God is waiting for us to release ourselves to Him so that He can mold us into the image of His son. He is the potter; we are the clay. We need to allow Him to work through every circumstance we encounter in our day. St. Paul says in Romans that all things work together for good for those who love God. Can you see that in your life? Can you trust God that He is working everything for your good, no matter how it looks to you? Can you thank Him and praise Him in the midst of it all? God wants you to begin to see things from His perspective; it will give you hope.

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