IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

June 20^th, 2020: Immaculate Heart of Mary. Luke 2:41-51.

          “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus asks his worried parents, worn out from a frantic three-day search for their twelve-year-old son. The question is Jesus’ first recorded utterance in Luke’s gospel. He speaks the words in the building which, for all believing Jews of that day, including Jesus himself, was the earthly dwelling place of God. The Temple at Jerusalem was the most sacred shrine of the people God had chosen to be especially his own.

With Jesus’ coming, however, God was creating a new dwelling place on earth: not a building of wood and stone, but the living flesh of the twelve-year-old boy who stood in that building and spoke of his need to be “in my Father’s house.” 

Here is what Pope Benedict says in his book on the infancy narratives about this exchange between mother and son:

Jesus’ reply to his mother’s question is astounding: How so? You were looking for me? Did you not know where a child must be? That he must be in his father’s house, literally ‘in the things of the Father,’ Jesus tells his parents: ‘I am in the very place where I belong – with the Father, in his house.’ There are two principal elements to note in this reply. Mary had said: ‘Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’ Jesus corrects her: I am with my father. My father is not Joseph, but another – God himself. It is to him that I belong, and here I am with him. Could Jesus’ divine sonship be presented any more clearly? (p. 123f)

Today’s gospel reading tells us that Jesus’ parents “did not grasp what he said to them.” As time went on, there would be much more that Mary and Joseph did not grasp and could not understand, at the time it was happening. They continued to trust in their Son, nonetheless, and to believe in him.

What better prayer could we offer, as the Church today celebrates Mary’s immaculate heart, than to ask that her trust and faith may be ours.

THE SACRED HEART

Homily for June 19^th, 2020: Deut. 7:6-11; 1 John 4:7-16. Matt. 11:25-30.

          There is single, golden theme running through all three readings for today’s feast of the Sacred Heart: love. “Not that we have loved God,” we heard in the second reading, from the apostle who in the gospel that bears his name is always called, “the one Jesus loved.” Rather “that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

          God’s love for his people is the theme of the first reading, from Deuteronomy. “It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you … that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.”

          In the gospel we hear the One whom God sent to us, out of love, “as expiation for our sins,” speaking words of thanksgiving to his heavenly Father for revealing his love to “little ones,” while hiding the message of love from “the wise and learned.” Who are these “wise and learned” today? They dominate the media and Hollywood. They run the great foundations, with names like Ford, Rockefeller, and Gates. They teach in our elite universities. They consider the killing of babies in the womb whose birth might be inconvenient or burdensome a sacred right. When we protest that abortion is a crime no less grave than slavery in a previous age, they treat us with disdain, or worse –they accuse us of waging a “war on women.” And why not? In their eyes we are only “little ones,” as ignorant and irresponsible as small children. When we say that marriage is possible only between a man and a woman, they call us bigots, homophobes, and enemies of equality.

          Refusing to be silent about such things is part of the burden Jesus speaks about in the gospel. He calls that burden light. We often experience it as heavy. It becomes light, however, once we accept the yoke placed on our shoulders to help us bear the burden. Then we find we can carry it easily, realizing that however heavy our burden may be, Jesus’ burden was heavier. He walks beside us, sharing with us the fire of love which burns brightly in his Sacred Heart. Once set on fire with that love, we can break down any barrier, leap over any wall, coming finally into the presence of the One who is love himself.    

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Homily for June 18^th, 2020: Matthew 6:7-15.

          With his gift of the Lord’s Prayer, the only prayer Jesus ever gave us, he offers us a pattern for all our prayer, starting with our private prayer. “Father,” Jesus begins. When we begin like that, we are acknowledging that we can’t make it on our own. From infancy to old age we are dependent on Another: the One whom Jesus addressed with the intimate word, Abba – akin to “Daddy” in English.

Three petitions follow, having to with our heavenly Father himself. “Hallowed be thy name” is the first. It means “may your name be kept holy.” God’s name is kept holy when we speak it with faith, not as a magical word to get his attention, or to con him into giving us what we want. We couldn’t do that even if we wanted to, for God acts in sovereign freedom.

          “Thy kingdom come” is a petition for the coming of God’s rule over us and the whole world. We are unhappy, and frustrated, because the world, and too often our own personal lives as well, do not reflect God’s rule. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” extends this petition. In heaven God’s will is done immediately, and gladly.

          Four petitions follow which have to do not only with own needs, but also with those of our brothers and sisters in God’s family: for bread, forgiveness, deliverance from temptation, and victory over evil.

          Here is a suggestion which can help you to appreciate the Lord’s Prayer more deeply. Rather than just rattling it off, as Catholics mostly do, take at least five or ten minutes to pray it slowly, phrase by phrase, even word by word. Start with the opening word: “Our.” Ponder the full meaning of that word. Pray that you may be mindful not only of your own needs, but also of the needs of others -- your brothers and sisters. That could be your whole prayer for five or ten minutes. Move on the next day to the word “Father,” and on the day following pray over the words “Hallowed be thy name.” Practiced faithfully, and with patience, this way of praying the one prayer Jesus has given us will help you realize that the words are not just a pious formula. Rightly prayed, they bring you close to Him who tells us in John’s gospel: “All this I tell you that my joy may be yours, and your joy may be complete” (15:11).

PRAYER, FASTING, ALMSGIVING

Homily for June 17^th, 2020: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.

          Continuing his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading about almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Traditionally associated with Lent, these religious practices are spiritually profitable at all times – provided (and this condition is essential) that they are done for God, and not to gain recognition and praise from others. The Roman stoic philosopher, Seneca, a contemporary of Jesus, makes this point when he writes: “Whoever wants to publicize his virtue labors not for virtue but for glory.” Jesus says the same with his thrice repeated statement, “they have received their reward.” The reward he is referring to is human recognition and glory – and beyond that, nothing. To receive a reward from God (and Jesus never tells us to be indifferent to rewards, provided they come from God) our almsgiving must be quiet, if possible anonymous. Then, Jesus says, “your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

          Similarly with prayer. Jesus is speaking here not about public worship; he himself took part in such worship in the Temple and in synagogues. He is speaking about private prayer when he says: “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.” The 4^th century bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, explains that Jesus is not talking about “a room with four walls separating you physically from others, but the room that is within you, where your thoughts are shut up, the place that contains your feelings. This room of prayer is with you at all times; wherever you go it is a secret place, and what happens there is witnessed by God alone.” (On Cain and Abel B 1:34)

          Fasting too should be secret, Jesus says. We fast for two reasons. First, to strengthen our wills. Voluntarily denying ourselves food and drink that we may legitimately enjoy helps us to say no to pleasures that God’s law forbids. And the sacrifice which fasting requires strengthens our prayer for the things, people, and causes for which we pray. When we fast, the Lord who sees in secret recognizes that the intentions for which we pray are so important to us that we are willing to forego hunger and thirst that they may be granted.

GOD IS NOT MOCKED

Homily for June 16^th, 2020: 1 Kings 21:17-29; Matthew 5:43-48.

          Today’s first reading gives the conclusion to yesterday’s account of Queen Jezebel engineering the judicial murder of the poor man, Naboth, because he refused to sell his vineyard to Jezebel’s weak husband King Ahab. God sends the prophet Elijah to Ahab to rebuke him for the evil he has done, “urged on by his wife Jezebel,” the text tells us.

         Elijah had already confronted the royal couple when he defeated the four hundred prophets of Baal (the false god of whom Jezebel was a fanatical worshiper) in the contest atop Mount Carmel over who could call down fire heaven. (1 Kings 18) Addressing both Ahab and Jezebel, Elijah tells them that the evil they have done will bring even greater ruin on their descendants. Cut to the heart by Elijah’s words, Ahab repents so sincerely that God relents – but only so far as to say that the punishment promised by Elijah will be postponed. Even when God has forgiven the guilt of our sins, the consequences of what we have done remain.

King David had discovered this after his adultery with Bathsheba. Rebuked by the prophet Nathan, David repented sincerely and at once. Nathan tells him that God has removed the guilt of his sin. But the consequences remain: death for the child David’s adultery has produced; and chaos in David’s family thereafter, starting with the attempt, years later, of David’s dearly loved son Absalom, to steal the kingdom from his father. (2 Samuel 12 & 18).

God is not mocked. Our sins have consequences, even after their guilt has been removed by sincere repentance. The college student who loafs and parties all semester and then, at exam time, goes to confession and repents, has the guilt of his sin removed. But not the consequences: ignorance of the subject matter, and a failing grade in the exam. These consequences are called by the theologians sin’s “temporal punishment,” because they extend over time.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Homily for June 15^th, 2020: 1 Kings 21:1-16; Matthew 5:38-42.

In today’s first reading we heard the story of an injustice which cries to heaven for vengeance. King Ahab of Samaria, a man with absolute power over his subjects and already rich, as all kings were in those days, would like to upgrade his property by taking over the adjoining vineyard of his poor neighbor, Naboth. He could have simply confiscated it. That is what kings did in those days. Instead he offers compensation: a vineyard elsewhere, or purchase at a reasonable price. When Naboth refuses to part with his vineyard at any price, Ahab is so frustrated that he takes to his bed and refuses to eat.  

Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, is made of sterner stuff than her husband. “What are you,” she asks him in disgust, “a wimp? Leave it to me. I’ll get that vineyard for you.” She then writes letters to the authorities, sealed with the king’s seal, accusing Naboth of high treason. Her frame-up, as we would call it, succeeds. After a public show trial, Naboth suffers death by stoning. As the story ends, King Ahab is on his way to take over the now ownerless vineyard. ‘What an outrage!’ we think. But that is not the end of the story – as we shall hear tomorrow.

          In the gospel Jesus speaks about the question of how to respond to injuries received. Jesus’ words, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” are a quotation from the Old Testament, where they were actually a limitation on vengeance: only an eye for an eye, no more. Vengeance must not exceed the injury received. (cf. Deut. 19:21) A later Old Testament passage states what is sometimes called the Silver Rule: “Do to no one what you yourself dislike” (Tobit 4:15). Later in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus changes this into the Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you would have them treat you” (Matt.7:12). When we take the initiative in doing good to those who have injured us, we elevate the moral level, creating an atmosphere of positive good will.

          Jesus’ words in today’s gospel, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil,” do not counsel indifference to injustice. They are a strategy for winning – by shaming our adversary into better behavior. In modern times this strategy of non-violence, as it is called, has been used successfully by Gandhi in India, and by Martin Luther King in our own country. St Paul, writing before any of the gospels existed, shows himself fully aware of Jesus’ teaching when he writes: “If possible, live peaceably with everyone. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves; leave that to God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:18f)