"COME AFTER ME."

Homily for November 30^th, 2016: Matthew 4:18-22.

Simon and his brother Andrew were fishermen. Yet at Jesus’ call, they immediately leave their nets and boat and follow him. Their nets and boat were their livelihood, their security. They were burning their bridges behind them. Why? If we could have asked them, I think they might have said something like this: “You would have to have known this man Jesus. There was something about him that made it impossible to say No.”

God still calls today. He called each one of us when we were still in our mothers’ wombs. He calls us to walk with him, to be so full of his love that others will see the joy on our faces and want what we have. Christianity, it has been said, cannot be taught.  It must be caught.

          Perhaps you’re thinking: “I could never do that.” You’re wrong. Here is a list that came to me in an e-mail, years ago, of some of the great people in the Bible. Every one of them had a reason for thinking God could not use them. So the next time you feel like God can’t use you, remember: 

“Noah was a drunk. Abraham was too old. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Leah was ugly. Joseph was abused by his brothers. Moses had a stuttering problem.  Gideon was afraid. Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute.  Jeremiah and Timothy thought they were too young. David had an extra-marital affair and was a murderer. Elijah was suicidal. Isaiah thought himself unworthy. Jonah ran away from God’s call. Naomi was a widow. Job went bankrupt. Martha was a perpetual worrier. The Samaritan woman who spoke with Jesus at the well was five times divorced. Zaccheus was too small. Peter denied Christ. The disciples fell asleep while praying. At Jesus’ arrest, they all forsook him and fled. Paul was too religious. Timothy had an ulcer. And Lazarus was dead!” 

          So what’s your excuse? Whatever it may be, God can still use you to your full potential. Besides, you aren’t the message. You’re only the messenger.

          When you were born, you were crying, and everyone around you was smiling. Start today (if you haven’t started already) living your life so that when you die, you’re the only one smiling, and everyone around you is crying.

THINGS HIDDDEN FROM THE WISE AND LEARNED.

Homily for November 29^th, 2016: Luke 10:21-24.

          The seventy-two have just returned from their missionary journeys to tell Jesus: “Even the demons are subject to us” (Luke 10:17). Jesus responds with the spontaneous hymn of praise to his heavenly Father which we have just heard: “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” The wise and learned are those who fail to respond to Jesus, because they feel no need for God. Jesus’ disciples are the childlike, whose hearts and minds are open to the Lord.

          Who are today's wise and learned? They teach in our elite universities; they run the great foundations, with names like Ford, Rockefeller, and Gates. They dominate Hollywood and the media. With few exceptions they consider the killing of unborn children whose birth might be an inconvenience to be a wonderful advance in humanity’s ascent from ignorance and superstition to enlightenment and freedom. They charge those of us who consider abortion for any reason a crime and a grave sin with waging a “war on women.” They look down with patronizing scorn, disbelief, and hatred on those who insist that life is precious at every stage: in the womb, but also in old age, when Grandma’s mind has gone ahead of her, and her meaningful life is over. When we contend that marriage is the union of one man and one woman; and that re-defining marriage is an injustice to children, who have a right to a father and a mother, they denounce us as bigots.

          Who, on the other hand, are today’s childlike? We are! We pray in this Mass that our merciful and loving Lord may keep us always so: aware that we can never make it on our own; that we are dependent every day, every hour, and every minute on the One who came to show us what the invisible God is like; who always walks with us on the journey of life; and who is waiting for each one of us at the end of the road – to welcome us home!

 

"LORD, I AM NOT WORTHY . . . "

Homily for Nov. 28^th, 2016. Matt. 8:5-11.

          Immediately before the healing story we have just heard, Jesus has healed a leper by reaching out and touching him. Obedient to the law of his people, Jesus sends the man to the priests in the Jerusalem Temple. Jewish priests were also quarantine officials. With a priestly certificate of good health the leper, previously bound to live apart from others, lest they too become infected, could enter society again. There is irony here: later it would be Jewish priests who would conspire the arrest Jesus.

          The centurion who asks Jesus to heal his servant is a Gentile military officer. This is clear from his response when Jesus says he will come to heal the servant. The officer shows both courtesy to Jesus and respect for the Jewish law by saying: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.” He knows that in entering a Gentile house Jesus could become ritually unclean. So he suggests an alternative: “Only say the word and my servant will be healed.” I do that all the time, he says. I give orders to those under my authority, and they do what I command.

          Upon hearing these words, Matthew tells us, Jesus “was amazed.” Normally it is the witnesses who are amazed at Jesus’ healings. Here it is the Lord himself who shows amazement. I have not found faith like this from my own people, Jesus says. This outsider, who has neither our divine law, nor our prophets, he tells the people, shows greater faith than you do. The words which follow about people coming from east and west to take seats at God’s heavenly banquet alongside Israel’s heroes are a prophecy of the Church. Originally a sect within Judaism, the Church would break out of its Jewish womb to become the worldwide community of Gentiles as well.

          The centurion’s words continue to resound two millennia later. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,” we say before we approach the Lord’s table to receive his Body and Blood, “but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” Even after a good confession, we are still unworthy of the Lord’s gift. He gives himself to us for one reason: not because we are good enough; but because he is so good that he longs to share his love with us.   

         

 

"PRAY ALWAYS."

Homily for November 26^th, 2016: Luke 21:34-36.

          On this last day of the year in the Church’s calendar she gives us this short gospel reading from Luke’s gospel, just two verses. It contains Jesus’ command: “Be vigilant at all times and pray.” What wonderful advice to take with us, as we cross the threshold of a new year. 

          But is it realistic? Can we pray always? I asked that question myself sixty-seven years ago, as a 21-year-old seminarian. The question forced itself on me through the reading a spiritual classic: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. He was a Carmelite lay brother who worked in the kitchen of his monastery in Paris, where he died in 1691. The book tells on how Brother Lawrence was constantly thinking of God, and praying to him, as he worked all day in the kitchen.

Could I do that? I asked myself. What if I decided to think of God during some daily recurring activity? After several false starts I resolved to think of God every time I went up or downstairs. I resolved to turn to the Lord God whenever I went up or downstairs. I would repeat the holy name of Jesus at each step. I’ve been working on this now for 67 years. I could never tell you how much it has helped me and how much joy it has put into my heart.

Why not try doing something like that yourself? If prayer of the stairs doesn’t appeal to you, what about resolving to turn to God whenever, during the day, you must wait? Every day offers us many such times. We wait in line at the post office or bank, at the supermarket, at the doctor, in traffic – when we walk to or from our cars. Why not turn these empty times into times for prayer? Short prayers are best: “Jesus, help me;” “Thank you, Lord;” “Lord, have mercy.” Or simply the Holy Names, “Jesus, Mary, Joseph” – or the name of Jesus alone – repeated with every step, every breath, or every heartbeat. These are perfect prayers which take us straight into presence of Him who loves us more than we can ever imagine, and who is close to us always, even when we stray far from Him.

I leave you with two quotations from Brother Lawrence: “In order to know God we must often think of him; and when we come to love him, we shall then think of him often, for our heart will be where our treasure is.”

To which Brother Lawrence adds: “You need not cry very loud. God is closer to us than we think.”

 

"MY WORDS SHALL NOT PASS AWAY."

Homily for November 25^th, 2016: Luke 21:29-33.

          On the next to last day of the year in the Church’s calendar, she gives us Jesus’ words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Remembering the boy Samuel’s words in the Jerusalem Temple, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:10), we listen to some of Jesus’ words.

-  To Mary and Joseph, thankful to have found their Son in the Temple after a frantic search, the 12-year-old boy speaks his first recorded words: “Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49) Already, at age 12, Jesus knows that God was his Father, not Joseph.

-  What gospel reader does not recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die, but may have eternal life”? (Jn. 3:16)

-  Which of us has not found comfort in the words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt. 11:28ff)?

-  Unforgettable too are Jesus’ words of the terrified young girl just delivered from death by stoning for adultery: “Nor do I condemn you. You may go. But from now on avoid this sin.” (Jn. 8:11)

-  Jesus’ seven last words from the cross have provided inspiration for uncounted thousands of preachers on Good Friday.

     AFather, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.@ (Lk 23:34)

      To the penitent thief, crucified next to him: AToday you shall be with me
            in paradise (Lk 23:43).

     AWoman, there is your son …son, there is your mother.@ (Jn. 26: 19f).

     AMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?@ ( Mk. 15:34)

      AI thirst.@ (Jn. 19:28)

      “It is finished.” (Jn. 19:30);

      “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

-  Finally Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene in the garden of the resurrection: “Do not cling to me … Rather, go to my brothers …( Jn. 20:17).

          Jesus is saying the same to us, right now. 

 

"THE NIGHT IS ADVANCED, THE DAY IS AT HAND."

Nov. 27, 2016: Advent 1,Year A. Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44.

AIM: To proclaim the Advent summons: to live in the light of history=s last hour, and of eternity.

 

I invite you to embark with me on a flight of the imagination. You won=t have to take off your shoes, or undergo a full body scan or pat down. But I ask you to fasten your seat belt, and bring you seat back to the full upright position.    

Imagine yourself sitting at home watching your favorite evening program on television. Suddenly the screen goes blank. An unseen announcer says: AWe interrupt this program for a special announcement. We take you to the White House in Washington.@ In a moment you are watching the President. Sitting at his desk in the Oval Office he announces an international agreement between the governments of all the major states in the Middle East: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinians, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Guaranteed by the governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, the agreement provides for swift settlement of all conflicts in that area: an end to hostilities in Afghanistan; cancellation of Iran’s nuclear program, the establishment of a Palestinian state living at peace with its neighbor Israel. The guarantor governments, the President says, have formed a consortium to rebuild Iraq=s shattered infrastructure and provide education for the millions of young Arab people in the area, including girls, embittered up to now by lack of opportunity to live the good life they see daily on television from outside their region.

What a sensation such an announcement would be! How people all over the world would rejoice to know that the fear of war and terrorism was banished, and that the vast sums spent on arms could be devoted to constructive, peaceful purposes.

Is that a dream? Sadly, it is. Yet we find a description of just such a dream in our first reading today. There the prophet Isaiah speaks of all nations coming to Jerusalem. There, in the holy city, the Lord himself will settle all their quarrels and conflicts: AThey shall beat their swords into plowshares ...one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.@

For Isaiah that was not a dream. It was reality. But it was a reality which he knew would be fulfilled only at the end of history. Nowhere in the Bible do we find any reason to expect that time will come within history when there will be no more wars. This should not discourage us from working to limit and, as far as possible, to banish all wars and conflicts B in our communities, in our nation, in the world. At the same time, we are not to entertain unrealistic hopes which can only be disappointed. The abolition of all conflict, and all war, will come only at the end of time. And it will come about not though human planning, but through God=s intervention from without.

When will God intervene? In today=s gospel Jesus tells us that we cannot know. We can be sure of one thing only: that God=s intervention will catch many people unprepared: ATwo men will be out in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.@ 

How can we prepare? Not by speculation about when the world will end, but by living now in the light of that crucial future event; by living in this world according to the standards of another world. That is what Paul means when he writes in our second reading: ALet us throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.@ 

What are today=s works of darkness? To name them all I=d have to stand here far longer than you would like. Let me give just three small examples. It is a work of darkness when we accept the popular slogan: ADon=t get mad, get even.@  How many conflicts in our world are due to people acting on those words? Had Jesus accepted them, there would have been no Calvary B and hence no empty tomb. If we are his followers, we need to seek not vengeance, but forgiveness.

It is a work of darkness to believe what we are told by the advertising industry: that to be happy we need a never ending supply of the goods and services portrayed daily on television and in the glossy magazines. That is false. Happiness comes not through getting; it comes through giving. People who have never discovered that are poor B no matter how large their houses, or their bank accounts.

Yes, and it is a work of darkness when we tell women in unwanted pregnancies that there is a quick fix. Get rid of it, Honey, and then all your troubles will be over. Every year thousands of women discover, to their sorrow, that after an abortion their troubles have only begun. Shame, guilt, and bitter regrets often continue for months, not seldom for years. Putting away this work of darkness means compassion for women in problem pregnancies: costing, caring support which helps them do what every mother knows, deep in her heart, is right: protect and nourish the human life within them, even and especially when this is costly.

Throwing off those works of darkness, and countless others, means accepting the ridicule of people who call darkness light. Remember Noah, Jesus tells us in the gospel B ridiculed by the people of his day for building a boat hundreds of miles from water. >Building an ark, are you, Noah?= his friends taunted him. >What on earth for? Expecting it to rain?= Oh, they had a good time with old Noah, you may be sure of that. AIn those days before the flood,@ Jesus says in the gospel, Athey were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage ...until the day when the flood came and carried them all away. So will it also be at the coming of the Son of Man.@

For those who are unprepared B for people who live according to the standards of this world, calling darkness light, and light darkness B the coming of the Son of Man will be a shock. They will be like the homeowner, Jesus warns in the gospel, who sleeps soundly while the burglar taps on the mud brick wall of the man=s Palestinian house, to discover the hollowed out place inside where the family=s savings are kept. When the burglar finds the spot, he digs through and takes everything. Too late the homeowner discovers that he has been picked clean.

For those who are prepared, however, God=s final intervention will be a day of joy and fulfillment. These are the people who live in the darkness of this world with their faces turned toward the light of Jesus Christ. AThe night is advanced,@ Paul tells us in our second reading, Athe day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.@

That is the Advent message. We are living in history=s final age. How long this final age will yet last, we cannot know B any more than we can know now long our own personal lives will last. What we can and do know is that this age will end when Christ comes again: not in obscurity, as he came to Mary and Joseph and the shepherds; but dramatically, in an event so momentous that no one will doubt that history=s last hour has struck. 

For those who ignore the Advent message and live for themselves, Christ=s coming will be a day of fear and disaster. For those, however, who are trying to live not for themselves but for Jesus Christ, and for others, his coming will be a joyful encounter with a dearly loved friend B whether this encounter be at our own personal death, or at the end of history. They will be able to say the words of our responsorial psalm: AI rejoiced because they said to me, >We will go up to the house of the Lord.=@

Will you be able to say that when the final hour strikes? Will you be ready when Jesus Christ comes?

THANKSGVING DAY

Homily for November 24^th, 2016. Thanksgiving Day.

          On this Thanksgiving Day I’d like to tell you about something the Lord moved me to do on my 13^th birthday, in May 1941. It has been a source of great blessing to me ever since. I visited the chapel of the small and very spartan Connecticut boarding school where I was being educated. Kneeling, or perhaps sitting, in the presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle, I wrote down a list of all the things I was thankful for. I continued this practice on my birthday for a number of years thereafter. The list was always a long one. And it was never difficult to compile. It always brought me joy.

It is decades since I have used my birthday to compile that list of blessings. But that boyhood practice has made thanksgiving central in my life, and in my prayer. If you are looking right now at a happy man, and a happy priest -- and I can assure you that you are – it is because I have trained myself to say every day, more times than I could ever tell you: “Lord, you’re so good to me. And I’m so grateful.”

And now I have a suggestion for you. Before you start to eat your Thanksgiving dinner today, go round the table and ask each person, young or old, to say at least one thing that he or she is thankful for. You may hear some surprises. Whether you do or not, I promise you one thing that a richly blessed life of more than 86 years has taught me. Thankful people are happy people – no exceptions!

"THE WILL SEIZE AND PERSECUTE YOU."

Homily or November 23^rd, 2016: Luke 21:12-19.

Was that just in ancient times? No. The persecution of which Jesus speaks in today’s gospel continues today. Here is just one example.

On the 4^th of November, 2015, a Muslim mob in eastern Pakistan severely beat a Christian couple accused of burning pages of the Koran and then incinerated them in a brick kiln. Shama Bibi, who was four months pregnant, and her husband Shahbaz Masih were bonded laborers at a brick factory. They had 4 children at home. Their brutal murder followed in the wake of a court decision a month previously that condemned a Christian woman to death, Asia Bibi, who was convicted of blasphemy in 2010. Since the 1990s, a number of Christians have been charged with desecrating the Koran or of committing blasphemy. While some sentences have been overturned due to lack of evidence, even a mere accusation of blasphemy can incite mob violence.

Dominican Father James Channan, O.P., Director of the Peace Center in Pakistan commented: “The barbaric act by fanatic Pakistani Muslims of burning alive a poor Christian couple was triggered by the false accusation of the burning of some pages of the Koran. Muslims and Christians alike are victimized by controversial blasphemy laws that stipulate life imprisonment for desecrating the Koran and the death sentence for defaming or insulting the Prophet of Islam. These laws are often used to settle personal scores. In any case, who in their sound mind would burn pages of the Koran or insult the dignity of the Prophet Mohammed?

“Most problematic is that these laws are very vague; plus most Pakistanis are illiterate—hence, the application of the law is very easily abused, with people taking matters into their own hands. Extremist Muslims, incited by mere accusations, have murdered other Muslims as well as Christians. But the Christian community is most vulnerable, since an accusation leveled against a single individual can provoke violence aimed at his or her family as well as the entire local community. Homes are seized, churches are burned down, and people are killed. Once a person is accused, his or her life in Pakistan has become impossible. Even if the courts eventually declare an individual innocent, radical Muslims may still murder the person, which is considered an act worthy of praise.”

Seldom do we hear of these atrocities in this land of the free. Our media, already hostile to Christian faith, are not interested. All the more reason, therefore, to pray for our fellow Christians in a world which has become, once again, and age of martyrs.