Dwelling Place of God (4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle B)

There is a pious saying about scripture that contains a lot of truth. It says, “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.” In fact, there is so much truth in this axiom, that the Church tries to show us this connection in the liturgy. That is why, at every mass, except during the Easter season, we have our first reading from the Old testament, followed by the gospel from the New Testament. If we pay close attention to both, it is amazing to see how the first reading constantly prepares the way for the gospel message. This concept in scripture, where something from the old testament prepares us for something in the New, is called foreshadowing. Over and over again, some person or event in the Old Testament foreshadows something or someone that will happen in the New testament. Something or someone that will be perfected by God’s hand and exceed all human expectation.

Today is no exception to this rule. In our first reading from 2^nd Sammuel, we hear that King David has finally settled down. He finally gets to enjoy the hard work and sacrifices that have been made. But there is a problem. David realizes that he is living in a nice house of cedar while the Ark of the covenant rests in a simple tent. In other words, he is living a life of luxury while the Lord is sheltered in the dwelling of a wandering traveller. David tells the prophet Nathan that he is going to make things right and build a magnificent temple for the Lord. 

However, God has other plans. During the night, the Lord commands Nathan to go to David and tell the king that it will not be him who builds the Temple but his son Solomon. David has already done great things but the Lord wants to remind him that everything that has been accomplished is God’s doing. It is not David who will provide a home for the Lord but the Lord who will provide a home for David and the people of Israel. Indeed there is a wonderful irony involved here. David does not build a house for the Lord but instead the Lord provides a house for David—a great family of descendants: the House of David, a house that will last forever and bring forth the savior of the world. 

Today we hear about the fulfillment of that promise in the Gospel. For generations, the descendants of David had tried to build a suitable home for the Lord. Again and again, that home had been delayed, destroyed, or desecrated by corruption both within and outside God’s Chosen People. They focused on a physical building, a structure of brick and mortar. But God was not content to simply dwell in a magnificent temple made by a king. God showed the world that the temple is just a foreshadowing of something greater. He perfected his dwelling place by choosing one that was not made by human hands. He sent his angel Gabriel to a young maiden, born of the house of David. Her name was Mary and she was full of faith and trust in God. The angel greeted her as one “full of grace” and told her that she would become the mother of God. All she had to do was say yes. And as we know, she did. She took that leap of faith and trusted that God would provide for whatever she was lacking. In the end, the house of David did provide the dwelling place of God through the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was the New temple, the eternal ark of the covenant.  

But even here, God is not content to make his dwelling simply the immaculate and sinless womb of the virgin Mary. In his mysterious and infinite wisdom, God now wants to dwell in the souls of each and every person. He offers to enter into our hearts by the sacrament of baptism and deepen that presence within us through the other sacraments and by prayer and good works. This mystery of God’s goodness is called sanctifying grace. Each of us received it at baptism, when original sin was wiped away. And this sanctifying grace is the very life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwelling within us. As long as we are in the state of grace, God lives within us and we become dwelling places of God, temples of divine life. 

This is an awesome privilege and an even greater mystery. Look at how God’s love has been revealed to us little by little, like the opening of a beautiful flower, from bud to full bloom. In the Old testament, God simply dwelt with His people through the Ark of Covenant. Then His presence was expanded to include the magnificent temple, which every Jew would visit once a year. In the fulness of time, God’s presence became flesh in Jesus Christ and he become one of us as he carried out his saving ministry. Finally, through the merits of Jesus, God’s presence became available to all, through the Eucharist, found in every Catholic Church and the indwelling of God in every person’s soul who has sanctifying grace. Notice the movement of God! In the beginning it is isolated, removed, and inaccessible. In the fullness of time is becomes personal, imminent, and accessible to all.

With this great gift comes great responsibility. Even though God gives us his life so freely, because of our sinfulness, it is very easy to lose. Any mortal sin will take away sanctifying grace and drive away God’s life from our soul. This grace can only be restored in our souls by going to the sacrament of confession and receiving absolution from the priest. So what is a mortal sin? It is a serious offense against the law of God that destroys the life of God in a person’s soul. A mortal sin requires three things to be present (listen carefully, these are important!) 1) the sin must be serious in nature, 2) the person must have full knowledge of the evil he or she is committing, 3) there must be full consent of the will. 

Practically speaking, what do these sort of sins look like? Allow me to list a few common ones that I run into as a priest and confessor. This is by no means an exhaustive list! Mortal sins include sins against purity like: viewing pornography, self-abuse, fornication, the use of artificial contraception and willfully entertaining impure thoughts and desires. Sins against our body like drunkenness, drug use, and gluttony. Sins against charity like destroying the reputation of others by malicious speech, lying under oath or about other serious things, stealing or cheating in significant amount (the threshold used to be $50). Sins against God like a deliberate and hateful use of his Holy Name or the name of Mary, missing of Mass without a truly serious or valid reason, and the unworthy reception of Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin, which is a sacrilege.

I don’t mention this teaching on mortal sin to scare or discourage you. Rather, I think it is important for us to realize the great gift we have been given through our baptism, the fact that God dwells within our souls through sanctifying grace. We should thank him daily for this incredible privilege of serving as his temple. But we also need to be aware of how easily that gift can be lost through weakness and temptation. As we approach this final week of advent and prepare to celebrate Christ’s birthday, let us renew our efforts to protect and deepen the sanctifying grace within our souls. And, if we have been unfortunate enough to lose this treasure, let us make use of the sacrament of reconciliation which will be offered here freely this week, so that we can welcome Christ back into our hearts for the Christmas season. Above all, may we have hope, knowing from our gospel that “nothing is impossible with God.”

Rejoice in the Light (3rd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B)

I can’t exactly tell you why, but I have always had a fascination with flashlights. Perhaps it was due to the incredible variety and selection. You could find lights powered by many different batteries, with various types of bulbs, with or without the option to focus the beam. They could be heavy or lightweight, rechargeable or disposable, halogen or LED, massive or compact. Growing up, I would constantly ask for one for birthdays and Christmas, and always for lots of extra batteries. One of my all-time favorites was the venerable Maglite. Made of aircraft-quality aluminum that was both rugged and resistant to the elements and the abuse of daily use, the maglite was the constant object of my obsession. You could find them ranging in size from the handy mini-mag which used two AA batteries to the Maglite white star, which used 6 D batteries and stretched nearly two feet long. Let’s just all be honest, a good flashlight is handy...and cool, and really comforting to have around just in case the power goes out or you have to look around in the dark.

But while my enthusiasm for flashlights has not lessened, my affection has shifted. My new favorite flashlight is the Surefire E2D defender. Measuring just under 6 inches long and weighing a mere 3.5 ounces, this little baby is ten times brighter than your standard 2D Maglite. In fact, it is so bright, that if you shine it in your eyes in the dark, you will be blinded and disoriented for a few moments. Trust me, I have tried it on a number of unsuspecting friends. This little gem will light up a room and illuminate a path several hundred feet long. It is truly remarkable!

Perhaps you don’t share my passion for flashlights; that is regrettable but forgivable! However, all of us are drawn to light. We need it for so many aspects of daily life and we appreciate the safety and security that it brings. Light is a good thing! I have yet to see advertising for a flashlight that says “our product produces the least amount of light and lasts the shortest amount of time.” No, we all want to have light that is both bright and long-lasting. 

The surefire flashlight is a modern marvel which showcases our advancement in understanding and producing light. Despite its man-made luminescence it pales in comparison to the brightness of the sun. The flashlight, which is blinding in the darkness is virtually undetectable when the sun is out.

Now I mention all of this about flashlights because this same theme of light can be found everywhere in the Advent season. Isaiah tells us that the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. Today, in the gospel, the theme of light comes to the forefront as we hear that “a man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

As crazy as this sounds, there is a connection here between the flashlights and witness of John the Baptist. You see, John was the greatest prophet that ever lived. He was the brightest light that would point to the messiah. He was the crown of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. He inspired and captivated huge crowds and some of them even wondered if he might be the messiah or Elijah back from the dead. But John’s brilliance, as good as he was, was dazzling mostly because he came at a time of great darkness. His light, preparing the way of the Lord, was only bright in the absence of the One who was light from light, true God from true God. Compared to Christ, John paled, much like my flashlight, which is so bright in the darkness but no match for the sunlight. 

The beautiful thing is that John knew this and embraced it. When asked by the crowds who he was, he made it clear that he was not the Christ, nor Elijah but simply “the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'make straight the way of the Lord.'" As a sign of his great humility, John said: “there is one coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." John’s role as a prophet was simply to be a light leading others to Christ; his purpose was not to try and outshine Christ or to confuse people on where the true light can be found. How easy it could have been for him to take credit for what he was saying and doing, to promote himself and try to take the glory. 

This lesson of humility is really important for us as modern day people. It is far too easy in the world we live to get caught up in being number one and competing with our rivals in business, school, social circles, and even church. So much energy can be spent on trying to outshine others that we forget that there is only one true light that gives meaning to our lives and peace to our souls.  

As followers of Christ, you and I are called to be lights in the midst of darkness. Like John the baptist, the Lord wants us to live lives of joy and courage, witnessing to him and preparing his way as he enters our world.  

On this third Sunday of Advent, the Church tells us to rejoice because the saving light of Christ’s birth is drawing near. If we have the attitude of John, it will be easy to rejoice because we know that the victory has already been won, that sin and death have no more power over us, and that all the good we do is not because of us but through Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a great freedom in living, loving, and thinking this way. It is no longer up to us to make everything work; the glory and the worry are God’s. So let us quietly and humbly prepare the way of the Lord, pointing others to that one true light, Jesus Christ. And may we use well the remainder of our advent season so that in two weeks, we might echo the joy of our psalm in saying, “My Soul rejoices in my God.”    

Sheep Go to Heaven, Goats Go to Hell (34th SUnday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

One of the responsibilities I treasure most at St. Joseph’s is my work with the RCIA program. RCIA is the class where people, who are not catholic, or perhaps have not received all of their sacraments, come into the Church. Now, this is a lot of work! It is 8-9 months of teaching classes, arranging presenters, filing paperwork, answering questions, straightening out personal situations, and gaining people’s trust. The final lesson we teach people is simply titled: “The Last Things.” In this class, we talk about what happens when we die, what our options are, and, most importantly, how do we prepare for the best possible outcome. We teach these last things to our soon-to-be Catholics, not to scare them, but to remind them of the purpose and goal of what they will be living for in their new faith.

The Church, with her 2000 years of wisdom, does a similar thing each year with us seasoned Catholics. As we come to the end of the Church’s liturgical year this Sunday, the Church wants us to reflect on the last things for ourselves. We’ve been preparing for this over the past few weeks as we have listened to readings of judgment and parables of masters leaving and returning and holding their servants accountable. 

Today, St. Matthew gives us a glimpse of what is called the general judgment. The general judgment is the final judgment, where everyone who has ever lived, even for the shortest moment, will be brought together before Christ the King. Every thought, every word, every action ever committed by each person will be brought forward for all to see. After this is finished, each person will be reunited with their body and live forever the result of their life’s choices; those who loved God and kept his commandments and the teachings of his Church will enjoy eternal happiness and peace in heaven. Those who spent a lifetime living for themselves, thinking mainly of what they wanted and what made them comfortable and happy will spend eternity living that way with people of the same selfish mindset; that is the place we call hell.

But while the general judgement is the final judgment, it is isn’t the first. At the moment of our death, we will enter into something called the particular judgment, which is just between God and ourselves. Here, we will see our life and our choices in the light of Christ. We will be judged by the same standards as the final judgment but there are three possible outcomes: 

Possibility one: Jesus will look at our life and see that we tried our best to live as he did. In other words, we made God the number one priority and we died in the state of grace. Also, he would see that we thought of others before ourself, we made sacrifices to feed the hungry, care for the sick and dying, clothe the naked, and so on. In this case he will see that we were faithful in prayer, kept the commandments, and stayed obedient to the Church’s teaching on faith and morals. After seeing all of this, Christ will recognize the life of his son within us and we will hear those saving words: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Possibility #2: Jesus will look at our life and see that we spent most of our time and energy on ourselves and our own interests. In other words, we gave God time only when it was convenient or we felt like it, and we did not die in the state of grace. As a result, he would see that we thought of ourselves first, that we were stingy in making sacrifices to feed the hungry, care for the sick and dying, clothe the naked, and so on. In this scenario, Jesus will see and know this soul but this person will ultimately have failed to recognize and care for Christ, especially in others, throughout his or her life. Christ will see someone who was disobedient or defiant of him, of his Church, and ultimately most concerned with themselves. To these, Jesus will say:Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Possibility #3: Jesus will look at our life and see that we did pretty well in living as he taught us to. He will see that we died in the state of grace and that we kept all of the major commandments and laws of the Church, or at least if we broke them, we confessed them in the sacrament of reconciliation. He will notice that we have some vices and attachment to sin and things of this world but he will also notice that we consistently opened our hearts to his grace and mercy. As a result we often recognized him in others and tried to ease the sufferings of those around us. To be honest, most of will probably fit in this group. And since we aren’t completely free from sin and unholy attachments to people and things, we can’t enter into heaven. Only those who are perfect in their love of God can be in the presence of God and live. But on the other hand, we died in the state of grace and therefore won’t be sent to hell. This is where purgatory comes in. We still believe in Purgatory and we should be happy about it because it is another expression of God’s mercy. Here, we are purified from our sins, the temporal punishment due to them, and any unholy attachments we might have died with. When the person is completely purified, they go to heaven for an eternity of rest and happiness. 

Its not easy for us to think about this topic of the last things. It can be frightening to consider our meeting with Christ and the fact that nothing will be hidden from him or from humanity at the end of time. But the Church understands that we must be aware of what happens at the end of life, so that we can know how to live right now. The choices we have made and will make, determine where we will end up for eternity. Getting to heaven is difficult, it’s nowhere near easy. The good news is that God gives us everything we need to avoid hell and make it to heaven. He promises to be with us every step of the way. He gives us saints and angels to strengthen and encourage us. Even purgatory will not last forever and all those who are there will eventually reach heaven. The bad news is that there is a hell and people are in it. They are there because they decided to reject God and put themselves first. And because God respects our free will, he allows us to live for eternity what we chose to live during our time on earth. 

So what can we do now to make sure that we are on the side of the sheep rather than the goats? Which steps do we take to ensure that our judgment will be more of a vindication rather than a condemnation? Consider the following short list:

Make sure that you have a daily habit of prayer. This means more than asking God for what you need but also, and more importantly, listening to what he has to say to you and how he wants to transform your life. Reading the bible, going to Mass regularly, praying the rosary, and going to adoration (which we are encouraging you to consider this weekend) are tried and true practices that make saints out of sinner.

Immerse yourself in charitable works. Ask yourself what you can do for other people rather than simply wondering what you can get out of them. Remembering that each and every person is loved and created by God, helps us to recognize Jesus’ presence within them. Fostering an attitude of charity will help you to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, and welcome the stranger.

Stay close to the Church and seek to be obedient to her. Realize that the Church is part of Christ promising to be with us always until the end of time. See her and her teachings as the very things that will help you get to heaven, not something oppressive, to be avoided. Stay close to the Church and the sacraments and you will stay close to Christ.

If we do these things, we will have nothing to fear from death and judgment. The last things will be the beginning of our new life in Christ and we will hear those wonderful words: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” 

The Most Important Talent Show! (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

Today’s parable is a familiar one. A man prepares to go away on a journey and entrusts his possessions to his servants. To one, he gives five talents, to another, two, and to the last, one, each according to their abilities. Then he leaves for a while and we know what happens. The servant with five talents makes five more, the man with two doubles those, but the fellow with one, well, he gets cold feet and buries the talent he was given in the ground. Sounds like a good strategy for times like these, nothing lost, nothing gained. Or so it seems. When the master returns, he is thrilled with the performance of the first two and invites them to share in his joy. But with the one who buried the talent, he is furious. He calls him wicked, lazy and even useless! He takes the one talent away from him, gives it to the one with ten, and rejects this servant forever! Seems kinda harsh! Or at least I always thought so, as someone who is fiscally conservative when it comes to money and investing.

However, there is so much more to this parable than what we first hear! For one thing, this parable, and also this homily, is not primarily about money or material things. Jesus uses the example of wealth here because it is something we readily understand. But he is inviting us to look even deeper than simply what we do with our material treasures. They are important, but there is a spiritual dimension here that is even more crucial. The number of the servants in today's story isn't important, but the fact that the master entrusts them with his enormous wealth is.  All that the master owns is in their hands - each in a different amount. And that pretty much matches our experience of life. The good things of this earth - the wealth - the  power - the ease and comfort - are distributed widely - and unevenly. The same could be said of the personal gifts, strengths, and abilities that we see in every person. 

 

But that is not what this parable is about when it speaks of talents. This parable is about the unique wealth that God distributes to those who follow him - to his servants - to you and me: the wealth of the scriptures, the gift of his Son, the abundance of his grace and love. God has given to each of us a measure of all that he has!  Some have more, some less -- but each has more than enough and more than is deserved, in fact, an incredible abundance!

     It is helpful for us to know what the talent was in the biblical world. In Jesus’ time, a talent was a measure of silver equal to about 15 years of income for your average worker. To put this in perspective for us, one talent today would be worth between $600,000 and $700,000, depending on what you considered the average wage to be! The first servant receives five talents, which was equivalent to 75 years worth of wages or 3 million dollars. The second received two talents, equal to about 30 years pay or about 1.2 million dollars. And the third servant, the person we often think of has having very little, is given one talent which is still worth 15 years of work or $600,000 freely given to him! 

     

     If we apply this part of the parable to our own lives, we see the same thing at work in us. God has entrusted some of us with more, some of us with less. But each of us has more than enough given to us by God! More than enough faith, more than enough love, more than enough forgiveness. We have been given everything - we have been given the gospel of God's love and mercy, of his divine life in grace, and even the gift of his Son’s Body and Blood; each according to what God knows we can do with it.  God knows our abilities and God knows that even the one with the least has been given an incredible amount. 

Now, as soon as the master was gone - the first and second servants take action. The first two seem to know exactly what the master wants them to do. They immediately invest the money in the hope of receiving even more than they first had. In other words, they take a chance and engage in some sort of venture, a risk in which there is always a chance of losing everything. Notice how they don't delay about this. They immediately leap into action. 

Then there is the third servant, the one who has been entrusted with 15 years’ wages. He takes his precious treasure and does what the rules of the day suggest that he should do; he carefully buries it, keeping it safe until the day of his master's return. We might ask: What's so wrong with being cautious? Discretion and prudence are virtues, right?

When the master returns, he calls in his servants and asks them to give an account of their stewardship. The first two demonstrate their goodness, their willingness to stick their neck out by showing that they have in fact doubled what they were given. And the master is clearly pleased by this as he calls them good and faithful and promises to entrust even more of his wealth to them in the future. But with the third, we have a whole other situation. The first thing this servant does is to make excuses, he describes how afraid he is of the master, that he feels he is a harsh man who reaps where he does not sow, and so on and so forth. Because of this, the servant explains, “I buried your talent, I did nothing with it.” For this attitude, of fear and inaction, the third servant is condemned, cast out, and the one talent he had is taken away.     

    If we apply this part of the parable to our own life, we might find that we resemble the third servant more than the first two. We have been entrusted with all that we need to accomplish God's will and become saints. We have been given great riches, more than what we need, infinitely more than we deserve, so that we can produce spiritual fruit pleasing to God. God will not judge us for trying and failing to produce that fruit - he will only judge us if we do not try. The faithful servants were active, allowing faith to assist them in making choices of being reverent and receptive to all of God’s other gifts. They responded. The third servant was afraid of the master and doubted. He allowed fear to decide how he would act rather than letting his faith show him how to overcome that fear of failure. He buried his faith and did not allow the gift to grow or permeate all areas of his life.

So, take a moment and think about it! Is God’s gift of faith bearing fruit in your soul? Is it growing and spreading to every aspect of your life? Is it stronger, deeper, and better informed than when you first received it? Or has it been buried because times are tough, schedules are busy, or others make fun of it? Has our fear of failure or growing closer to God or the possible rejection of others caused us to hide what God has given us? What sort of return are you making on the spiritual gifts God has entrusted to you? And the material ones as well? 

May we take this parable to heart and allow it to challenge us so that when Jesus returns, we may hear those happy words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master's joy.'

Watching and Waiting (32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C)

One of the worst things a priest can say to his people is: “Do as I say, not as I do!” To say this shows that he is ok with living at odds with the gospel, and that he expects something from his people that he is not willing to do himself. As I start the homily today, I am not going to utter those shameful words. But I am going to let you know that I struggle with what I am about to talk on. I think it is only fair that you know that it is not easy for me to live out the lessons of our readings. And I suspect that if I struggle with these things, more than likely, some of you do as well.

In the readings today, we might summarize their message with two concepts: watching and waiting. And these two things are not separate but are inextricably bound together. On one hand, the readings tell us to watch for the Lord and his wisdom. I love that line from the first reading that says, “Whoever watches for her(meaning wisdom) at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate.” To watch is to be alert, on guard, ready for the first hints of the Lord as he prepares to pass our way. But along with the need to be watchful, you and I are also encouraged to be patient. It is only by our patience that we will be truly in the right place at the right time, when the King of heaven and earth shows up. And so it appears that this one-two combo, watching and waiting, is the key to our eternal happiness.

Which is where I struggle. I am not, by nature, a patient person. Watching and waiting is not one of my strengths. Which probably explains why I am so bad at fishing! It seems so much easier to get a stick of dynamite and a net. When I am anticipating a delivery from FedEx or UPS, I check their package tracking system neurotically. I notice how impatient I get when the internet here at the parish or on my phone bogs down. Or when someone in front of me is going 5 under the speed limit! My mouth drops in disbelief when I go to the store only to find that the product I wanted is out of stock or backordered. Didn’t they know that I wanted it now?

But Fr. Schroeder isn’t the only impatient person out there! We, as a society, are not big fans of watching and waiting either. We clamor for high-speed internet so that we can more quickly download our favorite songs and videos. Netflix makes it easy on us with online streaming of our favorite shows and movies, so that we don’t have to waste time driving to red box or blockbuster. We use the microwave so that we don’t have to wait forever for the oven to heat up. Instant messaging and email allow us to communicate quickly so that we can always be on top of things and not have to wait for the Postal service to do their thing. Where we would we be without Amazon Prime, which allows to find almost anything on their website and then receive it O-so-quickly with their next-day shipping? Thank goodness for instant oatmeal, fast food, and mobil quickpass so that we find a little more time in our day. Some of us even leave Mass a little early so that we don’t have to sit in the parking lot gridlock. No, we Americans are not very good at the whole watching and waiting thing.

And if we, as a society and as individuals, seem to have lost the ability to watch and wait, then we are at risk of missing out on that spiritual wisdom described to us in the first reading. A wisdom which is resplendent and unfading. A gift which eases our cares and turns our minds to the things of God. It was this wisdom that five of the virgins possessed in today’s gospel. 

Reflecting on this quality, might help us to ask the difficult question: Where am I today—among the wise or among the foolish?

If the Lord were to call me now what would he find? Would I be ready to face him? Would I survive the judgement process? Would the verdict be guilty or innocent?

But those foolish virgins were not bad, were they? They were just unprepared; foolish not wicked. So what is Christ saying? I think that the message is that this alertness, this watching and waiting, helps us to keep us on the right track. And the opposite is also true: impatience and lack of spiritual readiness will cause us to drift away from the true path.

It is not easy for us to keep ourselves on the road to the Kingdom; there are all sorts of traps and pitfalls. Daily concerns and worldly worries seem more important and demand our immediate attention. But Jesus is telling us to keep ourselves ready --- for the coming of His Kingdom is near. By fostering an attitude of watching and waiting, then we will keep ourselves in line. By having that vision before us of Christ’s second coming we will not so easily be seduced by the pleasures and distractions of this world—not so easily led in another direction.

That joyful image of the friends of the bridegroom standing in the street with their lamps waiting for their Lord gives us a real picture of the second coming. When the Lord comes, will we have to do a lot of running around to get ourselves ready? Or will he find us faithfully waiting and watching and longing for his arrival?

The temptation that we need to be on guard against is the thought that all of this is a long way away and that we can deal with it later. Christ is very near. He is closer to us that we are to ourselves. And he visits us in little ways, each and every day, to see if we are awake and ready to meet him. 

So where is your soul right now? Watching and waiting for the King of kings? Or comfortable and sleeping, impatiently distracted by worldly concerns? May God’s wisdom come upon us all and help us to anticipate the Lord’s return by the way we live our lives. May we say with the psalmist, “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God,” as we watch and wait for him.

Simple Things are Best (30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

There are a lot of things out there that promise to simplify our lives. Many of these items also claim to make us happier, more efficient, more productive members of society. Electronics are common offenders in this area. For example, the computer, supposed to add hours to the day often drains us as we try to keep up with waves of emails, Facebook friends, and word-processing. Something that was intended to help us often needs our help with frequent debugging, defragging, anti-virus updates, and spyware maintenance. The same might be said of the smartphone. Touted as a mobile office, it rarely gives us more free time as we are beholden to every text, new email, and incoming phone call. But the strangest claims of efficiency and simplicity can be found on tv, especially the shopping channel, and tend to deal with exercise and personal fitness. Perhaps you remember the treacherous thighmaster or the bizarre shakeweight?! My favorite is the ab-belt, a modern marvel of laziness and strange science. According to the commercial, this gizmo punishes the user’s abdominal muscles better than sit-ups by sending intense electrical signals throughout the stomach region. According to the commercials, you just strap this baby on and then do whatever you like, even watch a movie, as it sculpts your midsection into perfectly defined abs that would shame a bodybuilder. 

We humans desire simplicity; we crave it. We are constantly searching for that magical thing that will make our lives easier, happier, and more efficient. That’s why we fall for these products that so often promise to simplify but rarely deliver on that pledge. That’s why we so often have garages and basements that are stuffed with junk, ..... yet we are still searching. 

Today, in the gospel, Jesus does the very thing we are looking for. He simplifies the 613 laws of the Jewish faith into two basic commandments. “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

You and I have heard these commandments since we were very little, so we might not think they are such a big deal. But think again to what Jesus just did. He gives the key to living the good life, a happy, wholesome, fulfilling life in terms of our relationship with God and with other people, and does so in two commandments that are so simple that any young child can remember them. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. In fact, it can’t get any more simple than that. These two things are the very least we must do to be truly joyful in this life and forever happy with God in the life to come. And these two commandments are all you have to do in order to reach heaven.

It seems too good to be true, too simple to work. Why would this be any different than the million other things that claim to simplify but then end up disappointing? The answer, of course, is found in who it is that gives us these two great commandments. Jesus is completely trustworthy; he is God, he cannot lie. And he has nothing to gain from his wise words; there is no gimmick involved, simply his desire to unite us with each other and our heavenly Father. 

But I think it is important to make one clarification. Just because Christ simplifies the whole moral code doesn’t mean that it suddenly becomes easy. In fact, its simplicity makes it more demanding! You see, the more complicated something is, the greater the chance for some leeway or loophole. Just think of our nation’s tax laws, for example. But the simpler it becomes, the less wiggle room. What you see is what you get, without nuances, qualifications, or conditions. The same is true of the two great commandments that Jesus gives to you and me. He really means that we are to love God above all things with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. And he is dead serious when he says we must love our neighbor as ourself.”

So how do we apply this to ourselves? How do these simple commandments make demands on us? Consider some of the following examples which are not in any way, an exhaustive list:

When it comes to loving God above all things, do I love him enough to get my family to Mass every weekend? Even when we have 7 games or a late night or are out of town? Or is it always God who gets the short end of the stick? Do I give generously of my income to God or do I mostly give him what I have left over after I have taken care of what I want? Do I give freely of my time and talent to God? Do I take some quality time each and every day to spend in prayer or does he simply get some time here or there when I am distracted, tired, and complaining? Do I respect the Church and seek to be obedient to her teaching? Even difficult teachings about marriage, birth control, and sexuality? Or do I think I always know best? Do I do as God has commanded me and pray for my government leaders? Do I seek his wisdom in trying to decide who to vote for - or do I vote for those who encourage me to live as if my concerns are the only ones that matter?

How about loving our neighbor as ourself? Do I have true respect for others without exception? Am I kind in the way I talk about others, including those that are different than me or who drive me crazy? Am I patient with those I interact with, even when they are annoying, needy, or downright rude? Christ’s command to love did not include any exceptions, even for these types of people! Do I allow others to have their dignity, even when I don’t feel like they deserve it? Do I in fact give myself to others out of love - or offer them only a show of courtesy concealing some other agenda? Do I further the social work of the Church by caring for the poor, the neglected, the sick and the unborn? Do I pay my taxes and accept my responsibilities towards my fellow citizen or do I lie and cheat to get ahead? Do I truly love my neighbor as myself, always and everywhere, or do only do so when it is pleasant, beneficial to me, or fits into my schedule and plans?  

The way we get to heaven is utterly simple: “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” But it is not easy. We need God’s help every step of the way, through prayer, the sacraments, and the teaching and support of His Church. May we recommit ourselves to the two great commandments and then trust that in keeping them, we will find eternal love, peace, and happiness. 

29th Sunday in Ordinary TIme, Cycle A

If you’ve ever played the game of chess, you know the great joy and excitement that comes from planning moves for your various board pieces. You know the difficulty that is involved, as you balance deliberation, planning, and timing. You want to see at least one or two moves ahead but you don’t want to spend so much time staring at the pieces that your opponent sees your strategy. Sooner or later, when you have executed your plan and made your moves, you will experience one of two feelings. 1) you will know the exhilaration of removing key pieces of your opponents and see them grimace as their ability to defeat you dwindles, or 2) the disappointment of realizing some angle or consequence that you didn’t see and the sinking feeling that comes with the loss of some of your most powerful pieces. By far the most devastating experience is when you think you have your opponent trapped, when you believe their queen or some other crucial piece is yours, and then they not only slip out of your grasp, but they take something from you as well. The emotion can only be described as a sloppy mess of shock, disappointment, anger, and disbelief, similar to what Red Sox, Phillies, and Braves fans experienced in last couple of weeks.

This same dynamic can be seen in the gospel today. The pharisees and religious leaders of Israel are out to get Jesus. He has been driving them crazy by defying their view of God, extending forgiveness to public sinners, and challenging their view of the religion they thought they knew so well. He has called them hypocrites, liars, and challenged their authority in ways they never imagined. Jesus is becoming immensely popular and some are even thinking that he is the Chosen One of God. So they adopted a strategy and laid the perfect trap. This was a true catch-22 if one ever existed: get Jesus to answer a question where, no matter what, his answer would either offend the ruling government authority or insult the religious Jewish sensibilities of his most loyal followers. There was no escape and either way he was going to lose and lose big! Well, you just heard the question, and it was incredibly ingenious: 

“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"

Jesus knew their evil intentions and said to them; “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." The scripture then goes on to tell us that the coin is produced and Jesus asks them "WHOSE IMAGE AND INSCRIPTION IS ON THE COIN"

They reply - Caesar's

And Jesus replies with that awesome answer that leaves them speechless: "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

What really strikes me is the strong language Jesus uses to address those who were trying to trick him. “You hypocrites !”

Hypocrisy is defined in dictionaries as the act of claiming a virtue one does not have. It comes from a word in the Greek, which had to do with theater: to play a part or to act on the stage.

In this case, the part, or role, that the Pharisees were playing was the role of the holy, and Jesus, by calling them hypocrites, suggests that they are not really people who know God, or understand his law. Rather they only know it in their heads, and act the part, rather than having it come from their hearts.

Which should lead us to ask ourselves: “Is our faith a matter of the head? The head that analyzes and categorizes and judges things? Or is our faith a matter of the heart? The heart that understands why Jesus wept, because it has experienced the joy of love and the sadness of condemnation?

         

The Pharisees are called hypocrites by Jesus, not simply because they were trying to trap him, nor because they were unloving and uncaring. No, they are called hypocrites by Jesus because they refused to go beyond what they already knew of God. You cannot really know God if you refuse to move beyond what you already know about him.

So what do we know about God? Do we know anymore about him than we did when we finished grade school, or PSR, or high school? Some of us know God hates sin and so we feel lousy all the time because we know we are sinners and do not believe that God, or anyone else for that matter, can or should love us. Others of us know that God loves and forgives sinners, and so we feel confident and never really question our actions because we believe that God will overlook any so-called "small" mistakes we make now that we are his followers.

The first group tries to traps God in a box of judgement, the second attempts to trap Him in a box of forgiveness. Neither group, unless their minds and hearts are open, can let the real God both judge and forgive them. Neither group really experiences the fullness of God. They trap God by their own understandings and therefore end up with only a shadow of what they should have. Sadly, they play a spiritual role, rather than live a spiritual life.

Now, we might not think that we lay the same sort of trap for Christ as the pharisees did, but is this entirely true? Haven’t we all played the game where we present God with a similar ultimatum: if you love me, grant my prayer. If you are truly God, find me a job, or save my marriage, or fix my troublesome child? Lord, if you expect me to believe you and follow you, then arrange things the way I think they should be.

So many of us, in fact, all of us in one way or another, want to divide God and the world God has made into easy-to-grasp categories. We take Jesus' answer to the question about the census tax, for example, and try to figure out what is Caesar's and what is God's. Most of us look at it in terms of what is the least I can do to get by. This simply isn’t enough. Instead, we should be asking “what can I do to show my love?”  We have to do more, otherwise we will lose each and every time.

In conclusion, I think it is good for us to go back to the chess analogy. Our final goal is to get to the King. We have to be realistic and patient in that pursuit. We can’t rush in and expect to win the game in three moves. We have to take everything in stride adapting to the moves of our opponent. We also know that there will be losses. If we expect to reach the king without any sacrifices, then we will quickly lose our courage as the losses accumulate. The same can be said for us as followers of Christ. Our final goal is to reach the King of heaven and earth, the one who guides us in our relationship to both God and Caesar. We must be patient and trust that he will guide us to where we need to be, when we need to be there. There will be losses, sometimes significant and mysterious ones. But we can’t allow these to discourage us or make us lose heart. Any sacrifice suffered for Christ, pales in comparison to the glory of reaching him. So let us take heart, knowing that we are playing for God, who always has our best interests in mind. Let us be vigilant that we never make God our adversary like the pharisees. May this gospel insight encourage us to move beyond our limited view of God to a fuller, more-loving embrace of his command to “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

Life is not Fair!! (25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

How many of you in church this morning happen to be the oldest child in your family? Go ahead and raise your hand, so I can see how many sympathizers I have! As a matter of fact, those of you who are higher up in the birth order might also agree with me. I believe, as a general rule, and I am being completely biased here, that the oldest child has life a little bit harder than the youngest. Why? Well, our parents were experiencing parenthood for the first time and they wanted to do everything just right. Prior to our arrival, many of them read books and listened to experts explain about how to dialogue with baby, how to prepare him or her for a bright future from the instant of birth, and what procedures to put in place so that this bundle of joy could be healthy, wealthy, and wise. The truth is, most of our parents learned on the fly and we essentially served as very talkative and often irritating guinea pigs. By the time, our younger siblings came along, they had things somewhat figured out, important things like “don’t sweat the small stuff” and “they will be fine.”  

I still watch in disbelief at the liberties of my younger siblings. Did you know that you can get your driving permit before the age of 17? I can’t imagine having Facebook in grade-school? Or my own room! Or cable TV in the house! Only in my dreams would I have asked about staying out with friends past midnight! Having a cell phone to begin high school wasn’t even an option! These things, which would have been grounds for capital punishment in my youth are now tolerated and even approved by my parents! One of the first reactions that comes to my mind often as the oldest is: “That’s not fair! I had to work a lot harder and wait longer for those same privileges!”

But you don’t have to be high in the birth order to feel that life isn’t fair. We humans have a pretty good sense of that. We see good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. We see some people labour for hours for a morsel of bread, and others make hundreds of thousands of dollars with a simple phone call. We see some who are physically fit and look after themselves die suddenly and others who abuse their health and still live to a ripe old age. We could go on and on with examples, but the simple truth is: “Life is often unfair.”

At first glance, the gospel appears to be one more example of this truth. Jesus describes the kingdom of God with a parable, a story where a landowner hires workers to toil in his vineyard. Some he hires early in the morning, others, around noon, and even a group at the end of the day. To all of them he promises to pay them what is just. At the end of the day, when all of the workers are lined up to receive compensation, the master starts with the last to arrive. He gives them a full day’s wage for their hour’s work. When the laborers, who toiled the entire day are paid the same amount, they grumble in disappointment. 

I don’t know about you, but I tend to sympathize with the guys who put in a whole day’s work. Something about the whole thing just doesn’t sit right. How can a person who worked an hour receive the same amount as one who worked the whole day? And this is what the kingdom of heaven is supposed to be like?  

But if we take a moment to shed our indignation and outrage, if we humbly reflect on the final words words of the master, then we see that this parable is not about fairness at all. No, it is all about generosity! The same Divine generosity that moved Christ to eat with tax collectors, and hang around with prostitutes and known criminals, and heal people on the Sabbath day, and tell sinners that they were forgiven simply because they had faith in him, simply because they repented and trusted him. If we choose to see life only in terms of fair or unfair, if we view God’s generous love and forgiveness as something to be earned, we will quickly be upset at how merciful He is and how freely He shares his life with the sinful and imperfect. It won’t be long before this mindset makes us blind to our own need for God’s grace and how imperfect we ourselves truly are. This is the attitude that led the Scribes and Pharisees to reject Christ. This is the attitude that blinded them to their own need for salvation. This is the attitude that prevented them from receiving the many good things Jesus desired to give them.

As we reflect on this parable today, this story which teaches us so much about the kingdom of God and how He loves us, we should thank God that he doesn’t deal with us according to what we believe is fair and unfair. No, even though we have a God who is infinitely fair and just, he doesn’t deal with us simply in those terms. If he did, we would not be forgiven, we would not have the sacraments, we would not be capable of eternal life. Thankfully, we have a God who always treats us with overwhelming generosity and mercy. All of us, even the best of us, has received immeasurably more than we earned from God, the master of the vineyard. 

So let us thank God, right here and right now in this Eucharist, for his extravagant generosity. Let us show him our gratitude for the countless ways he enriches our lives, even though we have done nothing to deserve such kindness. Let us be joyful when we see God pouring his love and blessing on others rather than focusing on whether or not it is fair or deserved. We are all his children and we all need his love; we all need his forgiveness. And praise God, that is what we receive when we turn to God, when we receive Christ into our lives and do the work that he has set before us to do.

My friends - we don't earn God's love; we respond to it. God loves you.  End of story. God loves you. Beginning of brand new story. May we live that new story.  May we come to God in gratitude for what he has done for us, and in thanksgiving for what he does for everyone who turns to him.  

Glory be to God

Today we celebrate the life and preaching of an exceptional man, St. John Chrysostom. Born in 344 in Antioch and educated by some of the best masters, both spiritual and academic, learned how to explain the Scriptures in a profound yet practical way. Due to his eloquent homilies and skillful rhetoric, he was nicknamed "Chrysostom" which means Golden-mouthed. He was made the patriarch of Constantinople and dedicated himself to preaching, reforming the clergy, and caring for the poor. Because of his outspoken style, this saint made enemies, especially among the powerful ruling elite, who felt threatened by his call to conversion. Exiled three times, he died far from home due the rough conditions of his exile and his advanced age. His last words, even in the midst of great injustice and suffering were: "Glory be to God in all things." St. John Chrysostom is an outstanding example of someone dedicated to the truth of the Jesus Christ, not for personal gain or vindication, but because of his love for his people and desire to lead others closer to Christ. On his feast, we might ask ourselves if we share his dedication to proclaiming the truth and if we are courageous enough to suffer for it.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (10th Anniversary of 9/11)

This weekend our nation commemorates the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on our country. September 11, 2001 truly was a horrific day that changed the life of each and every one of us. And as I reflect back on the events that transpired on that awful September morning I am struck that even though ten years have passed, those memories and emotions are still so strong, so vivid within me. Do you remember how surreal that whole day was? Do you remember the sense of helplessness and disbelief as you witnessed the catastrophic events unfolding? You can probably recall exactly where you were when you heard the news. I'm certain you remember the sense of anger, shock, and sadness as you watched the Twin Towers fall. I'm sure you, like me, felt numb, angry and helpless as you recall the first images of the Manhattan skyline without the Twin Towers.

Yes, I remember that day as though it was yesterday. The weather was beautiful the morning of September 11 2001. I was a sophomore at St. Louis University and I was headed to my philosophy class when I heard our nation had been attacked. As the news of the attacks spread across campus I was struck by the reactions of the faculty and students. You could see the horror on everyone's face and the disbelief in their eyes as people realized what was happening. We were all painfully aware of the human suffering and carnage that was unfolding right before our eyes. That day, September 11, we all witnessed a terrible and senseless loss of innocent human life. 

  If there was one good thing that happened in the days and weeks that followed September 11th, it was an increased appreciation for the beauty of human life and the realization that life was indeed fragile. There was a palpable sense of solidarity among Americans; even strangers treated each other more kindly. I also remember the resolve of our nation to reach out to the people of New York and to all of those who had lost loved ones in the attacks. Some people lined up to donate blood while others donated money or their time to help with recovery and cleanup. In the face of great evil, the people of our country rose to the occasion and resolved that this senseless massacre of 2976 innocent human lives would never happen again.

As we gather here this weekend, I am sad to say that innocent life is still under attack in our country. On this day (weekend), which has been dedicated to the memory of those victims of the terrorists’ attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., the Church calls us to unite in prayer for peace in our country and for all our brothers and sisters whose lives and dignity are compromised by violence. But what are some of these offenses against the dignity of human life? If you open a newspaper or turn on the TV, you will see many of them. There are growing numbers of people who are suffering and dying because of war, power-hungry rulers, and insufficient food. Others are oppressed by torture, unjust imprisonment, and unnecessary death sentences. Still others are crushed by poverty, violence in their neighborhoods and families, and the lack of proper healthcare. Some of these things are experienced by men, women, and children right here in our country, right here in our own city.

 However, there is another attack on innocent human life which is even more serious than the atrocities I have mentioned and only serves to perpetuate the cycle of violence that afflicts so many in our world today. This moral issue is the single most important problem of our time and yet there are many who would rather not talk about it. I am speaking of the taking of innocent human lives through the intrinsically immoral actions of abortion, destruction of human embryos for research, and euthanasia. These issues trump all other moral issues because they involve the fundamental right from which all of our other rights flow, and that is the right to life itself.

 In a particular way, on this anniversary of 9/11, we should reflect on the scourge of abortion in our country. Never in the history of the world has such a sustained attack on innocent human life been tolerated, much less legally sanctioned. Since its legalization in 1973, abortion has claimed the lives of nearly 50 million children in our country alone! 50 million children! Around 1.3 million abortions are carried out each year in our country alone! That works out to 3300 babies every day, or about one child every 28 seconds. In the time it takes to deliver this homily some 20 babies will die. Frankly, these numbers take my breath away. 50 million is over four times the number of victims murdered in the Nazi Holocaust. These children could have filled six cities, each the size of New York. One third of my generation has disappeared because of abortion. In our country the death toll of Sept. 11 has been repeated each and every day for 38 years!

 Far too many innocent lives have been taken in the past 38 years by abortion. And untold numbers of our brothers and sisters have been lost by destructive embryonic stem cell research as well as euthanasia. And while this pro-life message is often unwelcome, unpopular, and difficult, we, as members of Christ’s faithful cannot fail to be a voice for those who have no voice of their own. We cannot hope for peace and justice in our country without first tackling one of the greatest injustices in human history! 

 But I don’t stand here preaching to you without hope. Our greatest hope is in the inexhaustible mercy of God. Despite the fact that our country has allowed the destruction of so much innocent life, I am certain that deep down America still values the gift of life.  This was proven in our nation’s response to the September 11^th attacks. Deep down we still believe that life is truly precious, life is beautiful, life is the fundamental right of every person and the very foundation of our country. But we must do more to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We must work to ensure that every person has the right to live regardless of whether or not their life is convenient, expected, wanted, or productive. And we must allow this pro-life mentality to transform the way we think, the way we vote, the way we live out our faith.

 Finally, let me make it clear; these offenses against human life in our country make victims of the living as well. If any of you have been involved in an abortion and are hurting please know that you can find healing, peace, and forgiveness from Christ in his Church, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation. It is important for each of us to remember that there is no sin, no offense too great for God’s mercy. There are ministries in our Church like Project Rachael and Project Joseph to help men and women who have been hurt by their decision to choose abortion as a solution to an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy.  

 As we come here to this Eucharist, let us renew our efforts on behalf of life. Are we doing enough? Are we willing to be a witness to life? Are we ready to challenge the institutions and opinions that support the ongoing slaughter of the innocent? May we honor the victims of 9/11 in the best possible way by building up a culture that respects and protects life in every stage, from conception until death.