{"id":902,"date":"2012-12-16T12:57:17","date_gmt":"2012-12-16T17:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=902"},"modified":"2012-12-19T18:50:15","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T23:50:15","slug":"sunday-homily-december-16-2012-with-reference-to-sandy-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/sunday-homily-december-16-2012-with-reference-to-sandy-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Homily – December 16, 2012 – With Reference to Sandy Hook"},"content":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C\u00a0<\/a>
\nZephaniah 3:14-18a
\nPhilippians 4:4-7
\nLuke 3:10-18
\nDecember 16, 2012<\/p>\n

Zephaniah calls us upon the people to shout for joy, be glad, and exult.\u00a0 He writes before the Babylonian Exile when the Kingdom of Israel was about to fall and the people are lamenting. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are in fear but Zephaniah tells them not to fear and not to be discouraged.\u00a0 One might ask why not?\u00a0 Given the circumstances didn\u2019t they have every reason to fear and be discouraged?<\/p>\n

We might be feeling the same way right now about the school shooting in Newtown Connecticut, sadness, grief, and lament.<\/p>\n

Again, Zephaniah calls for them to shout for joy and be glad.\u00a0 How can they do this when things look so grim?<\/p>\n

Zephaniah seeks to remind them that God is in their midst.\u00a0 In the Old Testament the common thought was that if things were going well, you had pleased God and were receiving his blessings.\u00a0 If things were going badly, then you must have sinned and angered God.<\/p>\n

Zephaniah tells them that even though they have sinned and things are not going the way they want, that God is still in their midst and will renew them in his love.\u00a0 So, they do not need to fear.\u00a0 Even as the kingdom of Israel collapses God is with them.<\/p>\n

In the same way, we know in faith that God was and is present at Sandy Hook Elementary.\u00a0 God was there during the shootings.\u00a0 God was there with the emergency responders.\u00a0 God was and is present at every one of the prayer vigils.\u00a0 God is present in every tear that is shed over this.<\/p>\n

Some say God causes bad things to happen to punish us.\u00a0 God did NOT<\/em> <\/strong>cause this shooting to happen.\u00a0 Sometimes bad things happen because of choices we make.\u00a0 This time something terrible happened because of the choice of one person.\u00a0 Sometimes we have no idea why bad things happen.\u00a0 Sometimes only God knows.\u00a0 All we can do is put our faith in God<\/p>\n

Moving forward, Paul continues to call the Philippians to rejoice.\u00a0 He calls them to \u201chave no anxiety.\u201d\u00a0 Anxiety can separate us from God.\u00a0 Anxiety can be very real.<\/p>\n

The Israelites probably had anxiety over the fall of Israel.\u00a0 The Philippians probably had anxiety over Paul\u2019s arrest and the persecution of Christians around them.<\/p>\n

What causes you anxiety?<\/p>\n

Is it worries about having a good job or even a job all?<\/p>\n

Is there a family illness causing anxiety?<\/p>\n

Repairs on the car or home?<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that there are things that go on in our lives that cause us anxiety.\u00a0 What effect does the anxiety have on us?\u00a0 What can be do about it? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These are real problems that need to be dealt with.\u00a0 We need to think about solutions to problems we have control over.\u00a0 We need to realize what is ours to fix, what we cannot fix, and where in the midst of our anxieties do we need God\u2019s help.\u00a0 Then we turn it over to God.<\/p>\n

We need to trust in God.\u00a0 For some, trusting in God means believing that he is going to make everything the way we think it should be. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s not trust in God if what we seek is his way.\u00a0 Trusting in God means recognizing he is the one who knows what is best.\u00a0 Remember what we say in the Lord\u2019s Prayer, thy will be done?<\/p>\n

For me, trusting in God also means realizing that everything isn\u2019t the way God wants to be.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because God gives us and everyone else free will.\u00a0 When bad things happen, it isn\u2019t God who causes them.\u00a0 Bad things are often the results of our own decisions or the decisions of others.<\/p>\n

Trusting in God does include us asking God to take away our problems but if that is not his will, then to trust that God will lead us through our sufferings.\u00a0 Remember Jesus praying in the garden, Father if this cup could pass from me but not my will but yours be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to hand it all over to God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The crowds ask John the Baptist, \u201cwhat must we do?\u201d\u00a0 He tells them to share what they have been given.<\/p>\n

The tax collectors ask John \u201cWhat should we do?\u201d\u00a0 He tells them to stop extorting money from the people as they collect the taxes, meaning their faith must be part of their work.<\/p>\n

The soldiers ask the same question and John tells them to stop abusing their position for their own gain. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John the Baptist made the coming of the Messiah his whole life.\u00a0 If we want God to help us, we can\u2019t just hand over part of our lives.\u00a0 We have to hand over our whole lives to let Jesus truly come into our lives.<\/p>\n

Only when we trust in God in all things can we know his peace.\u00a0 What are you holding back on?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C\u00a0 Zephaniah 3:14-18a Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18 December 16, 2012 Zephaniah calls us upon the people to shout for joy, be glad, and exult.\u00a0 He writes before the Babylonian Exile when the Kingdom of Israel was about to fall and the people are lamenting. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are in fear …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Sunday Homily – December 16, 2012 – With Reference to Sandy Hook’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-ey","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":904,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions\/904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}