I just did another presentation last night. This one is called “The Journey to Jesus.” I begin with talking about what “journey” means along with “desert” and “Lent” before discussing the necessity of silence. You can view the video at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/video—the-journey-to-jesus.html
Hope you enjoy it. It’s about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B
Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 (9)
Romans 8:31b-34
Mark 9:2-10
February 25, 2018
I remember back almost twenty years ago before I started seminary. I was preparing to do a Communion Service and was looking at the readings. The gospel reading was the same as today, the story of the Transfiguration.
As I read it, I was deeply moved by the thought of seeing Jesus transfigured. I knew that the presence of Elijah and Moses had to signify something important but I didn’t know what that was.
So, here I was deeply moved by this passage that I had to give a reflection on yet I had no idea what to say. I did the only thing I could. I read the footnotes in my Bible. In those few sentences in the footnotes gave me the material I needed to preach. That’s why it is important to have a Bible that includes footnotes!
Since then, I took seven classes on Scripture in seminary and earned a Master of Divinity degree. I know a lot more but I still check the footnotes.
To understand the Transfiguration and why it happened at this point in the gospel, we need to look at the passages leading up to the Transfiguration.
Starting in Mark 8:27, we hear Jesus ask the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds, “You are the Messiah.” Good for Peter for, indeed Jesus is the Messiah.
However, Peter and the others did not yet know what it really meant for Jesus to be the Messiah. They expected an earthly king to defeat the Romans. Jesus is king but not on earth but in Heaven.
Jesus knows they don’t understand this yet. To help prepare them for what is to come, (beginning in verse 8:31), he told them for the first time of his coming Passion, how he will be rejected by the elders, killed, and rise on the third day.
Peter is astonished. There is no way he is going to let Jesus be killed. Peter, having just called Jesus the Messiah, rebukes him. Amazing! Jesus scolds Peter.
So, the disciples are now troubled by Jesus’ prediction of his Passion. This doesn’t make sense to them and it isn’t what they expected. They are greatly troubled by this.
Now we come to today’s passage. Jesus goes off to pray. Most often, when Jesus goes off to pray, he does so alone. This time he takes Peter, James, and John up on the mountain with him.
Why? Because he knows they are troubled by what he has said. He also knows they will need reason for hope when his Passion begins. He knows they need reassurance.
So, Jesus deliberately brings Peter, James, and John with him to allow them to see him transfigured. He becomes dazzling white, white symbolizing purity. They see Elijah there signifying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the what the prophets foretold. Moses appears signifying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.
Peter is amazed by this. “He hardly knew what to say.” He says, “Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter may not understand all that is happening but he knows it is an awesome experience and he wants it to last.
On top of all this, they hear the divine voice say, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Jesus is not just “messiah”. He is the Son of God!
Truly an awesome experience. Peter, James, and John were pleased to have been there. We are blessed that this experience of Jesus’ transfiguration has been writing down for us.
Experiences like this don’t last forever but they are always important to us. They sustain us in the difficult times. The Transfiguration is an important image for us as we look forward to eternal life where we too will see Jesus in his glory.
For me personally, this image of the Transfiguration is important in my prayers. It ranks right up there with Jesus on the Cross. Looking at the Crucifix symbolizes God’s love, that he sent his Son to redeem us.
It is our goal, our desire, to one day be in Heaven. We are not there yet. We still have work to do. We need to prepare ourselves. This means following Jesus. This means giving our whole lives over to him. This means letting Jesus change us.
Is there anything we are holding back on? Is there something we don’t want to give up?
We need to be willing to give up everything for Jesus. I mean everything. Look at our first reading. Abraham had waited a long time for a son. Now that he has Isaac as his son, God tells him to offer Isaac as a holocaust, a sacrifice.
I’m never sure what is more amazing, that God tells Abraham to do this or that Abraham is willing to do it. Yet, Abraham has absolute faith in God. He holds nothing back.
When we suffer, we turn to God for help. We rely on the images of the Transfiguration and the Cross to give us hope. Is there anything you are holding back on? Are you ready to let Jesus change you entirely?
Homily for February 2018 Holy Hour
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Luke 23:18-25
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
Have you ever felt so abandoned that you cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
If you have you, you would not be the first. These words come to us from Psalm 22, written a few centuries before Jesus came. Whatever suffering led the psalmist to utter these words, the psalm prophesized about what will happen to Jesus. He will be mocked. His hands and feet will be pierced by the nails on the Cross. They will divide his garments between them.
Jesus’ Passion should not have surprised anyone. He himself told his disciples three times that he would be arrested and crucified. This suffering was long foretold in scripture like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 52-53, one of four suffering servant oracles.
This passage provides vivid imagery of the suffering that Jesus will endure, “marred was his look beyond human semblance and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man.”
Why? Why did Jesus suffer?
Crucifixion was considered the most humiliating form of execution, reserved only for the worst of criminals yet Pilate himself said to the people regarding Jesus, “What evil has this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime.”
Jesus was innocent. Isaiah even prophecies about the suffering servant’s innocence, saying, “though he had done no wrong.”
Then why?
Again, Isaiah provides an answer, six hundred years before Jesus. “We had all gone astray like sheep.” “It was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured….pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins.”
What Jesus did, he did for us.
His suffering was so great that he cried out on the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me.” Yet, he knew this had to be. After he celebrated the Last Supper, he went into the garden to pray, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus accepted his Cross.
I want to turn now to our Stations of the Cross. We can see them depicted on the walls of our church. There are a total of fourteen stations depicting what Jesus went through in his Passion for us. What I said was prophesized in Psalm 22 and the suffering servant oracles in Isaiah is found in the Stations.
In the first station Jesus is condemned to death. I’ve already talked about his innocence compared to our guilt.
In the second station Jesus accepts his Cross. He knows what is coming but he accepts it for us.
In stations three, seven, and nine, Jesus falls three times under the weight of the Cross. It is a great weight to bear but he does it for us.
How many times do we fall? The fall we need to be concerned about is our fall from grace to sin. Our falls are the sins for which Jesus is condemned.
Do we accept our own cross even when it seems too heavy to bear?
If Jesus struggled on the Cross, how are we supposed to survive our sufferings?
With Jesus’ help. First, because of Jesus’ suffering, we have a God who knows what it is like to suffer. Jesus walks hand in hand with us through our sufferings.
Secondly, right before his arrest, Jesus gave us a gift that nourishes our souls so that we can have the strength we need. That gift is the bread and wine that he transubstantiated into his Body and Blood. He feeds us with the Bread of Life.
This is the Eucharist before us in the monstrance on the altar. It is Jesus.
So, in a moment, we will turn to silence. It’s Lent, a time to think about our sins and what we need to change in our lives. Listen to what Jesus tells us in the silence.
Think about your sufferings. How can you offer them up as Jesus offered up his own suffering for us? The Journey to Jesus comes with suffering. May we be lead on our way by our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
1st Sunday of Lent, Year B
Genesis 9:8-15
Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (10)
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:12-15
February 18, 2018
Our readings today begin by taking us back to the time of Noah. The world had given into sin. Noah and his family were the last of the faithful. Because of so much sin, God made it rain for forty days and forty nights till the whole world was flooded. Only Noah and those in the ark with him were saved.
Once the flood was over God established a covenant with his people, “that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood, there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.”
As a reminder of his promise God provides a sign of this covenant, the “bow in the clouds.” We like to see rainbows for their beauty. People will also talk about a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The rainbow does indeed signify a great treasure to us but not gold. The treasure shown in the rainbow is God’s love.
The world had become a place of sin leading to the great flood. What does God think of the world today?
What does God think of the political bickering while people suffer?
What does God think of the change in morals? Actually, I shouldn’t say “change in morals” because God hasn’t changed the morals. Many just don’t listen to what God teaches. We give into temptation. Some don’t even see it as a sin, so it isn’t temptation.
What does God think of the distance between the rich and poor?
What does God think of the violence in the world?
What does God think of the shooting at the high school in Parkland, Florida?
I believe God cries when these things happen.
God and his angels were there when the shooting happened. God is with all those involved right now. Jesus knows what it is like to suffer. Jesus is walking hand in hand with all those who suffer because of this shooting.
Of course, people immediately began talking about gun control and what could have been done to stop this before it happened.
Unfortunately, it looks like the FBI was alerted of a possible threat but the response was not enough.
There are students talking now about how the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was troubled.
While this shooting was going this week, there was another case where a grandmother found her grandson’s writings that were very disturbed and planned violence. She called the police and they arrested him before anything happened. This week is a lesson in the importance of telling the police when we feel someone is going astray.
It can be very tempting to rush to put the blame all on the shooter. The FBI will have to answer for the failure to follow up on some tips.
It can be tempting to push the blame away and say that will never happen here. We think we don’t need to worry. That’s what Satan wants us to think. That way we don’t watch for warning signs. If we see things that should serve as a warning, we don’t really pay attention because we think it won’t happen here.
I plead with you that if you see behaviors, whether it be actions or just words on social media, that raise concern, please tell the authorities.
This is a very difficult time for the people of Parkland in Florida. There are 3,000 students at that school. How many lives are forever affected by what happened?
It’s not just the students. There are the teachers and all the school staff. There are the families. There are all the emergency responders. There are many people directly affected by this. Indirectly, this affects many more in other schools and communities who once again wonder if this could ever happen in their school.
For us, our worry may pass soon. Parkland is over 1,300 miles from here. Will we remember or will we quickly forget?
We need to pray for the people of Parkland. We pray that God’s angels be ministering to them. We pray that they know God’s presence among them.
I hope you all agree with me on our need to pray for these people. There is one more person we need to pray for, Nikolas Cruz. He is the 19-year-old boy who committed this shooting. Often in mass shootings, it seems like the perpetuator ends up being killed too. Not this time.
In this case, Nikolas survives. There will be those who will call for harsh punishment, perhaps even the death penalty. They will do so in the name of “justice” but what many will really want is “revenge.”
We must pray for “justice” but as the Lord sees it. Those seeking revenge may try to dehumanize Nikolas. I know what I am about say may not be popular but Nikolas is a child of God. I don’t know if he was ever told about God and his love for us. Was he ever taught the commandments? If so, why didn’t he follow them?
I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. It will probably never make sense. He was a troubled youth. His father died when he was young. His mother died just three months ago. That does NOT excuse what he did but it reveals him as one who suffered. Did he have anyone who loved him. Even if Nikolas doesn’t know Jesus, Jesus knows him and loves him.
Here, I just want to mention that I am grateful for the small group of men in our parish who lead a Bible study at our county jail for the male prisoners to help them know Jesus.
There must be consequences for Nikolas’ actions. There can be little doubt that he will spend a long time either in prison and/or a mental facility. This is part of justice.
That being said, we need to pray for Nikolas. That is a response of love. Love must be our response for if we respond with hate, the hate will only grow.
We need to pray for his conversion. We need to pray that he “repent, and believe in the gospel.” If he does, then, while knowing he needs to accept the consequences of his actions in this world, we need to let the mercy of God fall upon him.
Pray for all those involved. Please pray for Nikolas and you will find God.
Today’s first reading begins “Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.” We each have a choice. We can choose “life and prosperity” or “death and gloom“. We would think everyone would want to choose life, life with God, but we see people make bad choices.
Yesterday, (February 14, 2016, which happened to be Ash Wednesday), 19 year old Nikolas Cruz went into Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, killed 17 people with another 14 injured with 5 of them having life-threatening injuries.
We are bewildered by such acts. Why would someone do such a thing? We can’t make sense of it. That’s because it doesn’t make sense.
Fellow students have since talked about how he was troubled and how they kept their distance from him. Did anyone do anything about his behavior? He had been expelled from the school for fighting.
So, Nikolas, and I use his name deliberately here for he is a person, had a bad history but before we rush to condemn him and his acts, while nothing excuses what he did, we need to think about him as a person. In reading the news reports this morning, his mother just died in November and I read someplace that his father died a few years ago. His “bad history” started before his mother’s death (I don’t know when his father died in relation to his behavior) but could his own suffering in his mother’s death been what put him over the top? It would not excuse what he did yesterday but it does remind us that he too is a child of God.
So, we need to pray for all involved. We pray for those killed and their families. We pray for those injured, most especially those with life-threatening injuries, and their families. We pray for all the school students, staff, families, and the community. We pray for all the emergency responders. Let us also pray that, in this season Lent leading us to the Cross, Nikolas repent of his sins and turn his heart to God.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11 (7)
1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Mark 1:40-45
February 11, 2018
This leper came to Jesus in need of healing. He knelt before Jesus and begged for help. He expressed faith that Jesus can make him clean.
We are told Jesus was “moved with pity”. Why? Jesus has already healed many people but we have not heard of him being “moved with pity”. What makes this time different?
Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever that Jesus healed her of. For others, we are simply told they were ill. Today the man’s illness is named. He is a leper.
In biblical terms, leprosy is a broad illness covering skin diseases. The whole thirteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus is dedicated to these diseases.
If a person had a skin disease, they were brought to the priest who would examine them in accord with Leviticus and, if appropriate, declared them unclean.
Why would you go to the priest for a physical illness? We go to see medical doctors for physical illnesses. Yet, for leprosy a person would be declared unclean. They were to keep their garments rent and head bare. If anyone tried to come near them, they had to shout out, “Unclean, unclean!”
They had to “dwell apart..outside the camp.” This was not punishment. It was to isolate them so that others would not become ill. They were separated from the community. I think this is why they were sent to the priest, not for medical treatment, but realizing the significance of the lepers being separated from the community.
This isolation suffered by the leper is at the heart of why Jesus was moved with pity for the leper. He had been separated from the community. He was alone. The “aloneness”, the lack of community, could be worse than the disease.
Left alone, we can feel like no one cares.
Isolation is something we still do today. When we are ill, we are told to stay home to not spread germs. Even in church, we take precautions by not holding hands if we might be sick. At the Sign of Peace, we refrain from shaking heads if one might be ill. These are smart medical practices.
When we are the one who is ill, we know these are the right things to do but it can be hard. Most illnesses are just for a few days and so we get by. Leprosy could go on and on. Who knows how long the man might have been alone, never touched.
Jesus touched the man. The man was healed of leprosy but that touch was so important. It was Jesus loving him. Think of someone coming to you when you are in bed sick. Who might touch you without using a gown and gloves? Think of a time when you were sick as a child. Who came to you? Perhaps a parent who loved you. Think of what their touch meant in that moment.
How does being “alone” make us feel? As I ask this question, I want to move away from being physically alone to something more. You might think of an immigrant/migrant who comes to a new place. They might be near other people but no one they know. Even in a crowd, they feel alone. They feel like no one cares.
Chances are you have sat in the same pew for a long time. Do you know the people around you? What do you do when you see a new face? Do you make them feel welcome? Do you show concern for them?
Or are you more concerned for yourself? Imagine yourself sitting in your pew and you see a new face come in with young children. What is your reaction? Are you worried that the children won’t keep quiet during Mass or are you glad to see new children at Mass? Jesus would be glad.
If the children begin to make noise, do you grumble at the parents or tell them they have to take the children out? How does that make them feel? Unwanted? Unloved? Do you think they would ever come back? (Then, do you complain that young families don’t come anymore?)
Children should be taught to behave in church. This is a must. For this to happen they have to come to church. Welcome these families. Help them to feel loved. AFTER you show them love, maybe you can offer some support or guidance on helping their children to embrace being in church. But you can’t do this if you don’t make them feel welcome.
The families with children are just one example. Look around you. How many faces do you see that you don’t know. What can you do to help make sure no one feels alone?
Almost two weeks ago I did a presentation here at St. Michael’s. I had planned my calendar around being able to edit and caption the video the day after the presentation so I could get it online as soon as possible. Then I realized I had gotten a new computer since the last video I did. So, I went to download the video editing program I used in the past only to discover it is no longer available. That meant finding a new program, downloading it, and learning how to use it. After all that, I am very happy to say it is now available on my website at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/video—what-it-means-to-be-a-church.html along with the handouts. In it I explore what it means to be a church. Is it about the building, community, mission, or faith?
Please note this is one of my longer videos at 1 hour 20 minutes. I hope you enjoy it. My next presentation will be done at St. Michael’s on February 26th and will be geared towards Lent.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (3a)
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Mark 1:29-39
February 4, 2018
Jesus helped many people. He healed Simon’s mother-in-law of her fever. “He cured many who were sick with various diseases and he drove out many demons,” but is this the purpose for which he has come?
Our responsorial verse today speaks of a different kind of healing. The verse calls us to “Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.”
On the surface we face fevers and other illnesses. We fail in the battle of temptation from evil spirits and need healing of our sins. In his mercy, Jesus offers us healing but it isn’t always physical healing. Jesus is most concerned with what is going in our hearts and our souls. He wants to heal our broken hearts.
In our first reading today, we hear just six verses from the Book of Job. To appreciate what is said in these verses we need to know the whole story that is told in about thirty pages in the Book of Job.
In the six verses we hear today Job speaks of our lives as a “drudgery”. He speaks of having been “assigned months of misery and troubled nights.” As Job spoke these words, his life was not going well. He had lost everything, his family, his wealth, and his health. To lose something means we must first have something.
As the Book of Job begins, Job is a wealthy man. He has a huge farm and livestock and a great family. He is praised for his faith. The devil comes to tempt him, arguing that Job’s faith only appears strong because he has so much. The devil believes that if Job were to lose everything, he would abandon his faith.
So, the devil strikes against Job and everything is lost. At first, Job remains very strong in his faith. His friends think he must have sinned in some way to be punished so harshly. Job tells them he had not sinned but they won’t believe him.
As Job continues to suffer, he questions what is going on. He seeks an answering as to why he is suffering. This shouldn’t surprise us. Don’t we do the same thing? If we must suffer (and we don’t want to! We think we shouldn’t have to!), then we want to know why.
Some will say we must suffer because we are made stronger by our suffering. I absolutely believe this can be true. It is in suffering that we find out what our faith really means to us.
As Job goes on to question God, God responds by reminding Job of all God has done since the creation of the world. Reminded of God’s greatness, Job realizes he can’t expect to understand all that happens but he can trust in God.
For the atheist, this might sound like we are given God an out. They want proof! They can’t accept the fact that God would allow suffering. If God is all good, all knowing, and all powerful, he would get rid of evil.
Their line of thinking is based on the premise that all suffering is bad and must be ended. Our faith gives us a different perspective. We see a divine purpose in Jesus’ suffering on the Cross. If Jesus had not gone through his Passion, we would still owe a penalty for our sins. In his Passion, Jesus suffered for us.
Do we make ourselves slaves to our suffering?
Paul tells the Corinthians, “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all.” What does Paul mean by “free” and “slave”?
Paul is free from suffering but not in the way we might wish. He still faces suffering. He is put on trial multiple times for his faith. They try to stone him at times. Paul suffers but he does not let the suffering control him or his life. In faith, he knows if he dies, he will go to be with Jesus (and that’s what he wants) and if he lives, he gets to continue to proclaim the gospel so that more people will believe. He accepts either as God’s divine will.
If this is what it means to be free, what does Paul mean when he says he has made himself “a slave to all”?
He is willing to give his life to serve all. Paul goes on to say, “I have become all things to all.” This verse troubles me personally because it leads me to think about all the things I can’t do. But Paul does not say he does all things himself. He had co-disciples. We know he specifically appointed Timothy and Titus to be bishops in communities he founded. What he did do was to try and meet everyone where they were at to be able “to save at least some.”
We don’t like suffering. I don’t think we should ever seek suffering. Some suffering shouldn’t happen. Suffering can happen because people choose to do evil but not all suffering comes from evil. People are still suffering from the Hurricanes in Texas and Puerto Rico last Fall. I don’t believe that someone did something evil to cause those hurricanes.
What about the wildfires? Some may have been intentionally set but many are accidents which we need to avoid but are not evil.
Sometimes we cause our own suffering. For my mother, in her final years, she complained about her emphysema and lung cancer. She smoked for years, which lead to the illnesses. At least she had a cause. Others get cancer without ever knowing why.
What makes us Christian is not whether we suffer or not. Our faith is revealed not in the amount we suffer but in our response to the suffering. Giving into the suffering says the suffering is stronger than God. In keeping our faith and being the stronger for it proves that God is present and helping us through whatever comes our way.
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28
January 28, 2018
As Jesus began to teach for the first time following his baptism we hear that, “The people were astonished as his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.”
First, we should realize that the scribes did have some authority. As the scribes, they held positions that came with some authority in the same way that I have some authority as pastor. We have government officials who are elected or appointed who have authority by the nature of their election or appointment. Unless one works alone, normally, wherever we work, somebody holds a position that puts them in charge. The same is true in school for the staff and students. Even in families with young children, the parents are supposed to be in charge.
The scribes also had an implied authority that came from the fact that they could read and most of the people in those days couldn’t. If they said they read something in scripture or ancient writing, those who couldn’t read were not in a position to argue.
While the scribes had authority by position and their ability to read, it seems that authority didn’t seem to be worth much. On the other hand, Jesus is immediately recognized as “one having authority.”
Besides holding a “position”, what qualities do we look for in a person to say they speak with authority?
On a surface level, it might begin with how much we agree with what they say. For example, our “respect” for government officials can be significantly influenced by how much they agree with us. However, we shouldn’t really use this as a criteria for authority because it assumes we are always right and have all the information to make the right decision.
Other criteria might include their background in the field and how what they say matches up with available information. In the church, this would mean does what the person is speaking match with what’s in the Bible and/or the teaching of the church over time or does it seem brand new? Jesus himself says (Matthew 5:17) that he comes not to abolish the law but to fulfill it.
Another criteria for people we have heard before is to see if what they have said before prove true? This criteria would definitely be something to check into before investing with a new stock broker. If their predictions about which stocks and funds will go up in value have always been wrong, then we should NOT place future investments based on what they say.
Looking at Jesus today, we can see the fulfillment of his own words in his passion when he suffered for us.
Still other criteria might include is the person consistent in what they say. If they speak to different crowds, do they change what they are saying to make the people happy?
How about do they practice what they preach? Do they speak with confidence, like they believe it themselves?
Jesus would have spoken with confidence but as to seeing his words fulfilled as a basis of authority, the people were recognizing his authority before he had said much. We see the power of God at work through Jesus as he drives out the unclean spirit but they recognized his authority before he drove out that unclean spirit.
What did they see in Jesus that led to their astonishment at his teaching” as “one having authority?”
Certainly, Jesus would have spoken with confidence from his unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He would have also spoken with compassion, peace, and justice.
Do we not embrace authority that shows compassion for us? At times like the feeding of the 5,000, we hear how Jesus was moved with pity for the people?
And peace? While what Jesus says at times upsets people, Jesus never spoke to rile people up. Remember when Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death, his first words were “Peace be with you.” Jesus brings us the peace that comes with true faith.
Truth (including consistency with scripture), compassion, and peace are among what Jesus offers us. He offers a renewed sense of justice that comes with the forgiveness of sins that makes salvation possible for us. These qualities of Jesus lead us to place our trust in him.
As pastor, I try to follow Jesus’ example in the way he leads. How about you? Do you show compassion, peace, and justice to others based on God’s teachings? Or do you use a position of authority to get what you want?
Let us all use whatever authority we have as parents, bosses, teachers, or government position to help people know that they are loved and to help them become who Christ calls them to be.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
January 21, 2018
Back at the start of December we began a new liturgical year. Our readings as found in the Lectionary for Sunday are based on a three-year cycle. Each of the three years features one of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel of John is used during Lent, Easter, and Christmas in each of the three years.
This year we are in Year B. That means we read predominantly from Mark’s Gospel. However, during Advent and Christmas we did not hear much from Mark as the familiar Christmas stories are found mainly in Matthew and Luke.
So, having entered into Ordinary Time, we now begin a semi-continuous reading of Mark’s Gospel until Lent. Our gospel today picks up at the point where Jesus is beginning his public ministry.
While it is the beginning of his public ministry, his message is not entirely new. As he begins proclaiming the gospel he says, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” This continues what John the Baptist had been saying as he called for a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John came to “prepare the way of the Lord” and Jesus picks up from where John left off.
Ultimately, Jesus makes possible the forgiveness of our sins by his death on the Cross (proof that suffering has value). However, repentance was not something new with the coming of Jesus.
We need to look no further than our first reading today. The people of Nineveh had embraced a life of sin. God sends Jonah to proclaim the destruction of Nineveh. How did the people respond to Jonah’s words? They repented, proclaiming a fast and putting on sackcloth. Because of their repentance, God stopped the destruction he had threatened.
They had turned away from God’s ways. The same still happens today. Instead of focusing on God’s ways, we do what we want. We learn a little about our faith as children and then stop but being a disciple is a lifelong experience. What we learn about our faith as little children is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to constantly ask God to teach us his ways, to show us the path, and to guide us in his Truth.
God summons all of us to be his disciples. He calls us forth to follow him. The second part of our gospel today tells us the story of Jesus calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John to be his disciples.
They responded immediately and whole heartedly. Simon and Andrew abandoned their nets. James and John left their father. We might think, “If only our response could be as strong.”
However, their response was not perfect and absolute. Simon Peter will rebuke Jesus the first time Jesus tells them of his coming passion. James and John will seek places of honor. They will all scatter when Jesus is arrested.
Likewise, if all we ever read from the story of Jonah is today’s passage we simply hear that God told Jonah to announce the message that God will give him and Jonah’s response seems to be perfect as he does it.
However, if you look at the verses of today’s first reading, you will see it comes from the third chapter of Jonah. Going back to the first chapter, God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh but Jonah refused and fled. He didn’t want to go. Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish for three days. He repented and did what God says. However, if you read the rest of the Book of Jonah, you will see that Jonah is not happy. He wanted God to destroy Nineveh. Jonah had done as God directed but he still needed to work on what was in his own heart.
It takes time to fully turn our hearts to God and “time is running out.” Sooner or later we will die and then we will be judged. How will we fair?
I ask this in the context of each of us thinking about it as individuals. Are we individually following God’s ways?
However, we also need to think about it as a society. Our second reading ends today with Paul’s words, “For the world in its present form is passing away.” Paul writes these words in the context of the Second Coming of Jesus that will bring the end of this world. This is still true today as we await the Second Coming. However, I also look at Paul’s words “passing away” in the context of where our values as a society are going. Are we following God’s way or are we passing away into sin?
There are people who will talk about the wonderful freedoms of today. They say we are free to choose whatever we want. We can choose whatever we want but are we truly free to choose what we want?
I am afraid many are not as free as they think. It is true that God gives us the freedom to choose our actions. The problem comes when those who talk about the great freedoms of society today insist that we not talk about what our faith teaches.
If people do not hear about God’s ways, both in the context of commandments and the reason behind the commandments, they are not truly free. One is only truly free when they hear both sides. God allows evil to have its say. We need to make sure God’s ways are heard.
When we face decisions, we need to ask what God has to say about what choices we have. To make an informed choose we need to ask why God commands as he does so that we understand what his way truly is. For instance, we all know the commandment thou shall not kill. Do we also hear Jesus’ words that the commandment centers on not being angry?
We are not perfect. God knows that but we have to try and do our best. If we fall short (and we do), then we know we can repent and believe in the gospel that tells us that Jesus dies for the forgiveness of sins.
May we always see to know and live in God’s way.
