Good Friday Homily

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Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 (Luke 23:46)
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1-19:42
March 30, 2018

Every time we celebrate Mass, we are celebrating the sacrifice of Jesus giving his life on the Cross for us but today, …today we listen to the story of what Jesus went through for us.

It is a familiar story to us.  There’s the betrayal of Judas Iscariot.  We remember how Peter denies Jesus three times. We might ask ourselves, do we turn away from Jesus in sin?  Do we deny the truth that Jesus offers?

He is scourged.  He is mocked with a crown of thorns and purple cloak.    There are the false accusations against him.  In fact, when they bring Jesus to Pilate who asks, “What charge do you bring against this man?,” their response is “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”  It seems they have no real charge to bring against him.

Pilate gets a lot of the blame for crucifying Jesus but three times Pilate says, “I find no guilt in him.”  Pilate’s only fault in what happened is giving into the crowd.

Jesus is innocent.  Why must an innocent man be crucified?

Last night our first reading was from Exodus and told of the Passover.  In the Passover celebration, a lamb “without blemish” was to be offered.  Jesus is without blemish.  He is without sin and he becomes the lamb that God offers as the sacrifice for our sins.

Those who want Jesus crucified try to act “innocent”.  When Pilate tells them to judge him according to their law, they say, “we do not have the right to execute anymore.”  They are trying to look like law-abiding citizens but really, they just don’t want to be blamed for Jesus’ death.

They try to look like friends of Caesar.  They cover up their true feelings.  They lie.  They are full of pride.  They are sinners.  Of course, we too are sinners.

Ultimately, Jesus is crucified but his life is not taken from him.  God is in control.  Jesus never tries to hide.  As his Passion begins, he goes to the same garden where he often met with his disciples so Judas knows where to find him.

When Judas and a band of soldiers come looking for him, he actually goes to them and tells them that he is the one they are looking for.  When questioned by the high priest, Jesus stands by what he said all along.

Do we stand up against adversity or do we run and hide?  Do we stand by what we have always said or do we try to twist our own words to save our skin?

Jesus is not afraid.  He offers no defense.

His final words?  “It is finished.”

What is finished?  Visibly his earthly life is finished.  But “it is finished” has a much deeper meaning.

Many of the people were looking for a messiah who would become an earthly king and defeat their enemy the Romans.  This is what they expected from the line of David but it was not God’s plan.

We see God’s plan in what we hear today from the prophet Isaiah.  We hear of a suffering servant who will be marred “beyond human semblance.”  Isaiah speaks of the servant as one who “had done no wrong” and that “it was our infirmities that he bore…he was pierced for our offenses.”

Jesus’ purpose for coming is our salvation.  This means he must die for our sins.  This is his mission which is finished in his death on the Cross.

Jesus died for us.  In John 15:13, Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  Look at Jesus on the Cross and you can see God’s love.

Knowing how much Jesus loves us, we should listen to him.  We know he is motivated by absolute love.  He has laid down his life for us and so we know we can trust him.  We can give our lives to Jesus.

Based on the love we see from God, may we say “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

 

Holy Thursday Homily

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Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15
March 29, 2018

In recent weeks we have heard Jesus speak of “his hour.”  Today we hear this hour identified as the hour where he passes “from this world to the Father.”

This verse referring to Jesus’ passing occurs at the Last Supper so it is not simply the exact time of his death.  It is more than that.

Let us begin by looking at when God chooses this to happen.  It is not just a random date.  He chooses the time of the Passover that was placed at the head of the calendar from the time of the first Passover.  The Passover is a “memorial feast”, “a perpetual institution.”

The Passover is an event that defines the Jews as a people.  It is the event where God sets his people free from slavery in Egypt.  This showed that God was not just a local god with power only in his own land but that He is the one true God and is God everywhere.

The Passover was celebrated from the time of the Exodus to the time of Jesus with the sacrifice of a lamb “without blemish.”

The Passover is the time God chooses to be Jesus’ hour.

Like the Passover, Jesus’ hour is not simply an hour in history.  It is the time of our salvation.  In the Passover God set his people free from slavery in Egypt.  In Jesus’ hour, we are set free from slavery to our sins.

As much as the Jews were defined by the Passover, we are shaped by what we celebrate as Jesus’ hour.

Yet, it is not just one hour.  What we celebrate as Jesus’ hour takes place over three days, what we call the “Easter Triduum.”  It begins with the Eucharist.  What Jesus did at the Last Supper and what he tells us to do “in remembrance” of him is the Eucharist.

So, we call what we Jesus did then “the Institution of the Eucharist.”  It is Jesus’ Body and Blood.  To celebrate the Eucharist as a liturgy we need a priest to preside.  Hence, tonight is also seen as “the Institution of the Priesthood.”

This leads us to the washing of the feet.  By his example, Jesus shows us what it means to serve others.  He is the master.  The washing of feet was the role of a servant.  Jesus is our king but he does not come that we might serve him.  He comes to serve us.  This is an example for all of us but in a special way for priests.

In the Passover celebration a lamb was sacrificed.  A priest is one who offers sacrifice.  We call the Eucharist a sacrifice.  What is sacrificed?  Jesus.

This leads back to how I said that Jesus’ hour was not just one hour in time but an event spread over three days.  The sacrifice offered in the Eucharist is Jesus’ giving of his life on the Cross.  It is in this context that he speaks of the bread and wine as his Body and Blood given up for us, given up on the Cross.

So, as Paul writes, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”  Every time we celebrate Mass, we are celebrating the Eucharist as the sacrifice of the Crucifixion.

So, that is two days.  Day 3 is the Resurrection.  We will hear of Jesus’ Crucifixion tomorrow and his Resurrection at Easter but as we proceed into our Triduum and reflect on the Eucharist, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, we must realize they are not three different events.  They are one event and can only be fully understand when they tied together.

We will celebrate this gift of the Eucharist in a few minutes but first we will celebrate “The Washing of the Feet.”  I will take off my chasuble just as Jesus took off his outer garment.  The outer garment can be a sign of status but being a priest is not about status.  It is about serving.

Twelve people will come forward.  They are not chosen because of some great thing they do.  They are chosen to represent all our parishioners.

As I get down on my knees, I will wash one foot of each person.  This washing is not for physical cleaning.  It reminds us of our need for God to cleanse our souls.

For me, it is a very humbly experience.  It is not about me.  As I go from person to person, I don’t see just twelve individuals.  I see all the people of the parish whom I have been called to serve.  I have been called to help make Jesus’ presence visible in your lives.

The Eucharist is key.  It is the Real Presence of Jesus.  I can’t say this enough.  Because of grace I receive in presiding I have NO DOUBT that it is Jesus.  It is Jesus giving his life for us.  It is the sacrifice of Jesus.  It is his Body and Blood.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B – Homily

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Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B
Mark 11:1-10
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 (2a)
Philippians 2:6-11
Mark 14:1-15:47
March 25, 2018

We have two gospel readings today which show two very different responses to Jesus.

In our gospel at the beginning of Mass for the blessing of the palms we see the people in Jerusalem offer Jesus a royal welcome.  We see it in the way they “spread their cloaks on the road” while others “spread leafy branches.”  They cried out “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Clearly, they recognize Jesus as the Messiah!

Or do they?

They clearly give Jesus a royal welcome but do they really seem as the Messiah he is meant to be?

I ask because within just a few days of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem we see the people treating Jesus in a very different way.

In our Passion reading, Jesus is no longer given a royal welcome.  If fact, “the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death.”

We should not be surprised at what the chief priests and scribes were plotting because this is not the first time the gospels tell us of those who plot against Jesus.

But now it is even worse!

He is betrayed!  And not by one of the chief priests or scribes but by Judas Iscariot who was one of the Twelve Apostles.  Can you imagine being in Jesus’ place knowing that one of your closest companions is going to betray you and to do so with a kiss, turning what is normally a sign of affection into a sign of betrayal?

Judas was willing to do this for money.  What is your price to sell out Jesus?  A thousand dollars?  A million?  A billion?  What about a promotion?  What about playing on a sports team?  A round of golf?  The chance to sleep in?

Of course, Judas is not the only one who turns against Jesus.  There are those who will mock him as a “king” because they don’t understand that his kingdom is not of this world.

There are those who will strip him of his garments to humiliate him and scourge him.  There is the crowd that is overcome with a “mob mentality” and repeatedly call for him to be crucified.

Even his own Apostles scattered when Jesus, the shepherd is struck.  Peter himself, while watching from afar will deny Jesus three times.

Mind you what Jesus goes through himself is awful.  Even Jesus himself cries out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” but his disciples flee long before that.  They flee as soon as Jesus is arrested.

While what Jesus went through Jesus was awful, it is essential to know what Jesus did for us.  This year we are reading mainly from Mark’s Gospel on Sundays.  Mark’s is the shortest of the gospels but when it comes to the telling of Jesus’ Passion, Mark slows down and includes all the details for this is the hour when we truly discover who Jesus is for us.  As Jesus dies on the Cross, even the Gentile centurion recognizes Jesus as he says, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

There is a price to be paid for our sins and Jesus has paid the bill.  His life was not taken from him, he freely handed it over for us.

What are you willing to do for Jesus?  Will you make time for Jesus during this Holy Week?  Will you “keep watch for one hour?”

Or will you betray Jesus?  What would be your price?

Throughout our Lenten season, we are called to give something up as a sacrifice for Jesus.  As Jesus sacrificed his life, what have you sacrificed?

Jesus received a royal welcome entering Jerusalem.  Do you welcome him into your life?

Jesus handed his life over for you.  Are you willing to hand your life over to Jesus?

Stations #10-12 – Homily for March 2018 Holy Hour

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Homily for March 2018 Holy Hour
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Matthew 27:27-31

On Sunday we heard Jesus say, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23).  As I said on Sunday, “the hour” where his glorification starts in his Passion and leads to his resurrection.

God did not pick just any hour for Jesus’ Passion.  He picked the time of the Passover.  As our first reading states, God placed the Passover at the head of the Jewish calendar.  In the Passover, the story of God leading them out from Egypt is celebrated with the sacrifice of lambs. Now, our sacrifice is not the sacrifice of animals but that of Jesus himself.

Tonight, we are just eight days from the beginning of the Easter Triduum.  In less than four days we will become our celebration of Holy Week with the blessing of the Palms and the reading of the story of Jesus’ Passion.

On Sunday, we will hear Mark’s version of the Passion.  Then, on Good Friday, we will hear John’s version.  So, rather than read the whole Passion tonight, I selected these five verses from Matthew’s telling of the Passion to lead us into a discussion of what is depicted in the Stations of the Cross.  Tonight, I want to look specifically at stations #10-12.

In what I just read, Jesus is stripped of his garments.  This is depicted in the 10th station.  The stripping is part of the mockery they show to Jesus.  Imagine standing naked for all to see.  It would have also made the scourging worse as the cords hit bare flesh.  It was humiliating and painful.  Yet, Jesus endured it for us.  He did it so we would not have to bear the punishment for our sins.

I want to take this image of Jesus naked and reflect on what it is that we wish to cover up.  On the surface level, I don’t imagine any of us want to stand unclothed before a crowd.  That would be humiliating and/or defy all modesty but that is not the “exposing” that I want to look at now.

Picture yourself standing before God.  He is looking at you but not at your physical body but at your soul.  Your soul is fully exposed for God to see.  He can see the love you hold in your soul.  He can also see your sin.  Your sins are fully exposed before God.  How embarrassing!  But we do not need to fear this!  Jesus comes to take away the sin of the world!

Next, let us turn to the 11th Station where Jesus is nailed to the Cross.  Nails are driving into his hands and feet as he is hung upon the Cross.  Imagine the pain of the nails being driven through your flesh and bone.  Imagine the weight of your body on the Cross pulling against the nails.  How terrible!

Who is it that drives the nails in?  We generally blame the Romans and/or the Jewish officials for this.  If this was strictly a human activity the blame would fall to them. Yet, we know that Jesus’ life wasn’t really taken from him.  He freely handed it over.  He did so for our sins.

Some of you are probably familiar with Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ.  In an interview, Mel Gibson talked about the scene where the nails were driven into Jesus.  In making the movie, Mel Gibson made sure he was the one who drove the nails in as he knew it was because of his sin that Jesus gave his life.  Are we any different?

Now we turn to the 12th Station where Jesus dies on the Cross.  Jesus endured so much for us.  How can we call it Good Friday?  Because of the “good” it accomplishes, our salvation.  This is the purpose for which Jesus came.

If you read the latter part of chapter 11 in John’s Gospel (verses 45-53), you hear about the Sanhedrin plotting to kill Jesus.  In that conversation Caiaphas said, “It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (John 11:50).  He said this to justify their plot against Jesus.  He was right but not in the way he thought.

Now, I hope I haven’t depressed you too much talking about how badly Jesus was treated.  Jesus did this willingly because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16).  The love Jesus shows is what we need to focus on.

God sent Jesus to die for our sins out of love.  It was out of his love that God set his people free from slavery in Egypt.  It is out of his love that Jesus sets our free from our sins.  This action of Jesus’ love is what makes Good Friday “good.”

We must never forget the sacrifice that Jesus makes for us.  It is not solely an action of the past.

Look at the altar!

What do you see?

Do you see a piece of bread on display?  Stop looking with your earthly eyes!

What is upon the altar?

Jesus!

There have been those who think Catholics make a false idol of the bread in the monstrance but our adoration tonight flows from Jesus’ own words at the Last Supper.  He held the bread and proclaimed, “This is my body that is for you…This cup in the new covenant in my blood” given up for us.

The belief in the Real Presence of Jesus is not a human invention.  It is from Jesus’ own words.

What does this have to do with Good Friday?  At the Last Supper Jesus speaks of his body and blood being given up for us.  When are they given up?  On the Cross.  So, hearing Jesus’ words, “do this in memory of me” every time we celebrate Mass, we celebrate the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  As we gaze upon the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance tonight, we see God’s love.

 

The Truth Will Set You Free

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In the gospel reading for today (3/21/18, Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent), Jesus says, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

People think freedom means being able to do whatever we want.  We do have free will and we can choose to do whatever we want.  However, do our choices really leave us free?

For instance, look at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the first reading today from the Book of Daniel.  King Nebuchadnezzar tells them to worship the golden statue he has set up or he will have them thrown into the fiery furnace.  They will not worship the golden statue (it would break the commandment against idolatry and false gods).  They know this might mean death but they also know that they are not making a choice for one day.  If they bow down and worship this golden statue, it will be a sin not for just that one day but something that they will probably be forced to do for the rest of their lives.

Sin makes us slaves.  Even when our sin is hidden, it can make slaves of us.  To cover up the first sin, we begin to lie, thus adding to our sins, to cover up our first sin.

What about the seven deadly sins?  How do they make us slaves?  The sin of lust (Sixth Commandment – adultery) can make us slaves in covering up our behavior.  Anger can consume us and keep us from loving others or feeling loved ourselves.  Gluttony can lead us to wanting more which can lead us to greed and envy, or stealing (Seventh Commandment).  One sin can lead to another and so we become a slave to our sins.

Some of the people who argue for absolute freedom also believe there is no absolute truth (we call this “relativism”).  As Christians, we know there is a truth.  It comes to us from God.  We find it in the Bible.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church helps us understand God’s truth as it applies to do.  As individuals, we receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism with the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to guide us in God’s way.  Our Church has been guided for 2,000 years by the Holy Spirit.

God does not give us commandments to suit his needs.  God is all-knowing and the commandments are what is good for us.  What God teaches us is “Truth.”  Let us always listen to the Holy Spirit to know this Truth and pray that all come to do the same.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

5th Sunday of Lent, Year B – Homily

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5th Sunday of Lent, Year B
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15
Hebrews 5:7-9
John 12:20-33
March 18, 2018

When Mary came to Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana to ask him to help, his response was “My hour has not yet come.”  Now, some three years later, some Greeks came to see Jesus.  When Jesus hears this, his response this time is “The hour has come.”

The “hour” has come for what?  Jesus continues, “for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  Of course, “the Son of Man” is a reference to Jesus.  How is he glorified? By being lifted up on the Cross.

How is being lifted up on a cross a way of being “glorified”?  Crucifixion was considered to be the worst and most humiliating form of execution.  His life was taken from him, or was it?

Jesus’ life was not taken from him.  He freely gave it up in obedience to his Father.  Jesus knew “it was for this purpose” that he came “to this hour.”  Jesus came because, as we heard last week, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  Jesus came to die for our sins so that we might have eternal life.

While he knew it was his purpose, it was not easy.  As Hebrews tells us, Jesus “offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears.”  Jesus prayed in agony in the garden knowing what was to come.  He suffered greatly as he was mocked, beaten, and crucified.

As he did this, “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” In accepting this suffering in obedience to his Father, he showed us the value of “obedience” and “suffering.”

He showed us that life comes from death.

In strictly human terms, this makes no sense.  How can life come from death?  Here Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

A seed must give up its existence as a seed to bear fruit, to realize its full potential.  In the same way, a caterpillar must enter a cocoon to begin the next stage of its life as a butterfly.  A caterpillar crawls around on the ground but a butterfly can fly.

We need to be willing to let go of the things of this world to receive eternal life.  We need to let go of our attachments, not just possessions, but everything like our favorite activities.

We need to let go of everything to become all that God calls us to be.  It’s not enough just to fit God into our schedule once in a while.

Some people say they don’t come to church much because they don’t get much out of it.  Sometimes we don’t get much out of church because we don’t understand what we do or why we do it.  That’s why we need to be willing to put some effort into learning about what we do and why.  Why do we genuflect?  How are the readings selected?  What does the color of the vestments represent?  (You can find some of these answers in my article “The Roman Catholic Mass Explained”).

I said before it isn’t enough to come to church once in a while.  When we are tempted to come less because we don’t get much out of it, what we actually need to do is come more often.  Yet, it isn’t about the tabulating the number of hours we spend in church.  It’s about giving our whole life to Jesus.  After all, that is what Jesus did for us on the Cross.  He gained nothing by his Crucifixion but through his suffering and Crucifixion we get eternal life.

In his pastoral letter calling for our current Year of the Eucharist that continues until June, Bishop Matano spoke of our obligation to attend Mass each week (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2181) except for serious reason such as illness or the care of infants (I’ll add deep snow).  We need to put God first in our lives.

To get more out of coming to Mass, we need to realize it isn’t all about “me.”  The first purpose of Mass is to praise God.  In doing so, through the prayers, readings, and the Eucharist, we open ourselves to all that God offers us.

This can require a little preparation time.  Are you able to get here before Mass and offer a prayer to open yourself to God’s action in your life?  How quickly do you leave at the end (or even before the end)?

How about the rest of the week?  Do you give God time each day to keep yourself aware of his loving presence?

Are you willing to give up the things and activities of this world to know Jesus in the next?

this world to know Jesus in the next?

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B – Homily

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4th Sunday of Lent, Year B
2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (6ab)
Ephesians 2:4-10
John 3:14-21
March 11, 2018

Our first reading today comes from the Second Book of Chronicles.  We don’t hear a lot from the first or second book of Chronicles in our regular lectionary cycle.  So, they may not seem familiar.

That being said, what we hear today should be familiar.  It talks about how the princes, priests, and people of Judah add to their infidelities and abominations.  I say “add” because, unfortunately, these behaviors are nothing new.  The Jews are a chosen people but they often fall short of their election.

Despite their failings, God never stops loving his people.  Chronicles tells us that “early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people.”  God kept sending prophets as his messengers to warn and teach them.  They did not heed the prophets and instead mocked, despised, and scoffed at them.

Sin continues today.  We hear God’s Word over and over in our three-year cycle of readings for Sunday Mass (two-year cycle for daily Mass) but we still sin.  We can’t find our way out of the darkness.

What are we to do?

We turn to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

God loves us.  That’s what we are to see when we look at Jesus on the Cross.  That’s why we, as Catholics, use Crucifixes.  We know that Jesus is no longer bound to the Cross but it is the image of Jesus lifted up on the Cross that reveals God’s unlimited love for us.  If we look at an empty cross, we see what God used as an instrument of salvation.  If we look at Jesus on the Cross, we see salvation itself.  We see God’s love.

Jesus is our light, the light that reveals our salvation.  Yet, there are those who hate the light.  The gospel speaks of them preferring darkness.  I am not sure they “prefer” the darkness.  Rather, perhaps they don’t even realize they are in the darkness.  We need to be explicit and say that the darkness we are talking about is “sin”.

How could one not realize their sin?  Shouldn’t darkness be obvious?

Picture yourself standing in the middle of a large room.  The lights are all on.  You can see everything clearly.  Suddenly, because of the 12 inches of fresh snow and wind, the power goes out.  You go from bright light to complete darkness in an instant.  The darkness is obvious.  At that moment, you cannot see anything.  If you stand there, over time your eyes will adjust and you begin to see basic images.  You can walk around in the darkness.

Now, put yourself back in the brightly light room.  There is one difference this time.  There is a dimmer switch on the light.  Every few minutes, someone turns the dimmer down just a little bit, one notch at a time.  The change of each notch is so subtle that you don’t even notice it but the darkness comes and you cannot see as you think.

So it is with sin.  Sometimes our sin is big and we see the darkness.  Other times, it is a slippery slope.  Either way, we end up in darkness.  What are we to do?  How do we get out of the darkness?

God, “who is rich in mercy,” is the answer.  In sin, we have become “dead in our transgressions” and it is only “by grace” that we can be saved.

What must we do to receive this grace?

You cannot earn it from works.  “It is the gift of God.”  It is freely given by God.  If we desire the gift, we must strive to follow Jesus as the way and the truth and the life but we cannot save ourselves.

To be saved, we must come to Jesus with contrite hearts to ask for forgiveness.  God eagerly waits to forgive us.  There is only one thing that stops God from forgiving us.

Us.

We are the only thing that can stop God from forgiving us.  We have to admit our sins.  We have to ask him for forgiveness.  The way we do this is the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession).

Going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation isn’t easy.  We don’t like to admit our faults.  We don’t even like admitting them to ourselves, let alone others but it is how we hand them over to God.

So, we have our annual diocesan Day of Penance this Wednesday.  When was the last time you went?  Do you think you need to?  Maybe, maybe not.  Then, make a good examination of conscience such as one found on the pamphlets we put out last week and this week.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see your sins so you can hand them over to Jesus.

God is rich in mercy and ready to forgive you.  You just have to ask with a contrite heart.

 

 

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B – Homily

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3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11 (John 6:68c)
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
John 2:13-25
March 4, 2018

Jesus is, of course, a faithful Jew.  That means going to the Temple in Jerusalem for important feasts like the Passover.  We generally believe that Jesus’ public ministry lasted about three years because John’s Gospel tells us of Jesus going to the Temple for the Passover three times.  This is the first of those three times.

Jesus is not pleased with what he finds.

There are people selling oxen, sheep, and doves as well as people there working as money changers.  Now, one can justify their presence in the vicinity for the benefit of those traveling to the Temple.  While at the temple, the travelers would need to pay their temple tax but may not have come with correct form of currency so they went to the money changers.

Likewise, coming to the temple, they would be offering sacrifice of sheep or doves.  It was easier to travel without living animals and then purchase them at the temple.

So, animal sellers and money changers were providing a service but they didn’t need to be right in the temple.  They could have set up shop in the regular marketplaces of Jerusalem where people could have stopped for what they needed.

Instead, they set up right at the temple area.  How much of a distraction would this be to what the temple was meant for, to give praise and worship to God?

The temple was not to be a place of business.  The same is true of our churches today.  We build churches to have a place to worship, not to do business.

Today is a good time to talk about what it means to be a church.  This weekend (specifically Saturday, March 3rd) we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of our diocese.

Our diocese has changed a lot in 150 years.  We are now on our ninth bishop.  In 1868, there were fewer people and a lower percentage of Catholics.  As Catholic immigrants came, parishes grew.  More and bigger churches were built.  Schools were built.  Now, we are shrinking.

We need to work to rebuild the Church.  In saying “rebuild” I am reminded of when St. Francis of Assisi first heard God tell him to “rebuild his church”, Francis took it to mean the physical church building in his town which was in bad shape.  So, Francis rebuilt that church but then came to realize God was referring not just to the physical church building but to restore and build up our faith.

When I say we need to rebuild the church, I am not talking about our physical building.  Our church building needs some work but is in fair shape.  Rather, when I say, “rebuild the Church,” I am talking about the work of Evangelization and Apologetics.

We need to learn more ourselves and help others understand what it means to be Catholic.  This is the work of Evangelization and Apologetics.

For instance, our first reading today presents us with The Ten Commandments.  First among these are “You shall not have other gods besides me.  You shall not carve idols for yourselves.”

The Ten Commandments were written in a time when many people believed in numerous gods.  Today we say we believe in one god but do we make money and wealth out to be a false god that we put before the one true God?

What about idols?  Today, we do not make golden calves to worship but what about money?  What will we do for money?  As Catholics we also get accused of worshipping statues, paintings, and windows as false idols.  It is true that we have statues and paintings but they are not idols.  Most often they depict saints.  However, they are not idols no more than a selfie you take on your smartphone.  These images are not to be worshipped as idols.  They are only reminders of the examples of the saints who have gone before us as Christian disciples.

It is important for us to know these things and so much more that our faith offers us.  This is part of following Jesus and to be a true Church, we need to follow Jesus.

This isn’t easy.  It takes effort.  That’s why we have a staff.  I can’t do it all myself.  Neither can the staff.  That’s why we need parishioners who volunteer.  In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “thy kingdom come.”  This is our goal.

I want to back up to the beginning for a moment now.  I started with the money changers in the Temple and how they didn’t belong there.  I won’t be surprised if someone then wondered why I talk about money in church at times.

I know many people don’t like to hear about money in church.  That’s okay.  I don’t like to talk about it either.  But it is your church.  You need to hear how we are doing.  We try to walk a fine line.  That’s why we mail out the annual reports and try only to offer highlights in church.  That’s why when we are selling stuff, we do it in the hall and not in the church worship space and not during Mass.  These things are necessary to raise the money we need but they are not what we are here for.

We are here to make God’s kingdom known.  The gospel first came to the natives here in the days when the United States were just a colony.  Missionaries came.  Our diocese was established to continue the work started by the early missionaries.  We need to continue today to proclaim the gospel to each and every person as children of God.

Freedom and The Prodigal Son

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The gospel reading for Mass this morning (3/3/18 – Saturday of the Second Week of Lent) is the story of the prodigal son from Luke’s Gospel.  There are three people in this story, all with the freedom to choose how they live their life.

First is the younger son.  He chooses to take his share of his father’s estate and to go off and live a life of dissipation.  He is free to make this choice.  At first, he enjoys life, doing whatever he wants but he quickly goes through all his money.  He ends up working taking care of swine (pigs) and finds himself wishing he ate as good as the pigs.  He then chooses to go back to his father, not to ask for forgiveness – he would have no right to expect that.  He only seeks to become one of his workers who he knows are better off than he.

There is also the older son.  He has always chosen in his freedom to obey his father.  Yet, I ask what he based his choice on.  Did he choose to obey his father to enjoy his father’s wealth?  Did he do it out of a sense of obligation?  Or did he really freely choose to obey his father?  When his younger brother returns, he is angry that the father has welcomed his brother back. He refuses to enter his father’s house because he holds a grudge against his brother.

Then there is the father.  He freely chose to give his younger son his share of the estate when he asked.  When this son returns he freely chose to forgive him and welcome him back.  He was under no obligation or expectation to welcome him back.  In fact, social expectations of the time said the son had no right to come back.  The father didn’t care.  He chose to forgive.  He chose to love.

Each of us has the freedom to choose.  Do we choose to live in an immoral and unfaithful way, divorcing ourselves from God like the younger son at the beginning of the story?  Do we choose to be like the older son, following out of obedience?  Or do we choose to be like the father, loving and forgiving?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff