SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

23 JULY 2023

 

          We have seen the realities of these parables over the centuries.  In the mid nineteenth century, a young page in Uganda was baptized and grew in his relationship with Jesus Christ.  With a group of other young pages, Charles Lwanga was sent to a chief of the most powerful tribe.  That tribal chief saw Christianity as a threat and was intent on eliminating Christians.  He was also a pedophile.  Not only did Charles Lwanga resist his immoral actions, but he protected the other pages from the chief’s advances.  As wheat within the midst of weeds, they were executed in brutal ways.  But like the mustard seed, the deaths of these martyrs caused an enormous growth in Christianity in Uganda.  Instead of frightening people by murdering these young men, the chief’s brutal murders caused an opposite reaction.  People were impressed with the heroic witness of their faith and their willingness to shed their blood.  The Church grew because of the witness of these martyrs.  The Church thrived and became a leaven increasing the numbers of the faithful and affecting the life of Uganda.  When I was there for the dedication of Father Larry’s church, I was greatly impressed by the faith of his people.  On our triumphal arch is the image of Saint Charles Lwanga, interceding for us.

            Faith continues to grow in Uganda.  That is why Father Larry is our mission preacher this year.  He is pastor of a large parish of 10,000 people (about the same size as Saint Pius).  With three Parochial Vicars, he serves a parish that includes eight outstations to make it easier for people to walk to Mass on Sunday.  The Archbishop has decided to form a new parish out of one of those outstations.  He has given Father Larry the task of forming that parish, which includes building a church and a rectory.

            Over the years, we have helped him build his parish.  Our generosity has built his main parish church, a health care center, a rectory for the priests, a renovated school, and a number of other projects that have benefitted his people.  Having been there myself, I can attest to Father Larry’s careful use of our funds.  He was on the front page of the local newspaper on the Sunday of the dedication.  The article praised him for giving all his funds to his parishioners.  It drew a sharp contrast with the politicians who used first world donations to enrich themselves.  It pointed to his old shoes and worn out vehicle.

I can also attest to the gratitude of his parishioners.  When we visited the health care facility, the Sisters gave us two chickens to thank us for all the improvements they were able to make.  We decided that they would not fit in our luggage.  So, we gave them to the driver of the van which the Archbishop had given to us.  We received many handwritten notes of thanks.  We felt like rock stars and received a standing ovation when we arrived for the four-hour Mass.

Father Larry appreciates our generosity.  There are envelopes at the end of the pews for your contributions.  You can donate online.  You can bring your check, addressed to Saint Pius, to Mass next weekend.  Now, Father Larry will express his own thanks.

           

 

 

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

16 JULY 2023

 

          The crowd on the shore listening to Jesus tell this parable from the boat would have understood the dynamics of this parable.  They were Palestinian farmers who worked the fertile fields around the Sea of Galilee.  They would have identified with the a farmer sowing his seed.  But as they listened, Jesus would have surprised them and widened their understanding of how God works in their midst.

            No Palestinian farmer would have flung seed so freely.  They know how expensive the seed is and would carefully sow it only on rich soil.  However, God sows his word freely and generously and with great joy.  God spreads his extravagant love  everywhere, knowing that some will accept it and others will reject it.  God sows with anticipation that even those who reject the word or ignore it can have a change of heart and become open to his gracious love.           As precious as seed may have been at that time, God’s word is even more precious.  In telling this parable, Jesus echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah, who compares God’s word to rain that waters the earth and makes it fertile and fruitful.  Isaiah speaks to his people in exile and tells them that God has forgiven their infidelity.  Words have consequences.  Like rain that falls from the heaven, God’s word forgives and returns them to their homeland.  God’s word is active.  The first chapter of Genesis reminds us that God created everything by speaking his word.

            God’s word has incredible power.  But its effect depends on the openness of those who hear it.  Palestinian farmers knew that seed fallen on paths had no chance.  The ground was too hard.  Seed that fell on rocky ground may have sprouted at first, but could not endure due to the lack of good soil.  The seed that fell on thorns showed signs of growth.  But in time, it was choked off and withered.  Palestinian farmers knew that seed sown on rich soil would have a good chance of producing fruit.  They would have hoped for a yield of tenfold.  But they would have been amazed at a yield of a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

            By the time Saint Matthew wrote this Gospel, those who read it would have experienced the reality of this parable.  They would have known those who rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the beginning.  They would have been saddened when others abandoned the Gospel and their hope for the kingdom of heaven because of persecution.  Loved embraced the Gospel at first.  But, consumed by their desires for wealth and prosperity, they left the community of the Church and pursued more comfortable ways of life.  However, those who opened their hearts and minds and souls to the Gospel would have already understood its power to transform them.

            Jesus speaks this parable directly to us, who gather to hear the Word of God.  Each of us has experienced these four reactions to God’s Word in our individual lives.  We may come to Mass with anger and resentment.  If our hearts remain hardened and we hold on to that bitterness when we leave Mass, the Word has no effect.  Sometimes, difficult problems cause us to wonder whether God is in our midst or not, and the power of the Word withers.  At other times, we are so busy climbing the ladder of success or working to provide a lot of stuff that we do not devote time to experience the Lord’s presence in our families.  There are even other times when we become like that rich soil and allow the word of God to take hold of us and transform us.      

            Saint Paul points out that we already have the first fruits of the Spirit.  Those first fruits of the Spirit are given through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Word of God can allow those first fruits to grow and flourish, even as creation groans with eager expectation.

 

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

9 JULY 2023

 

          Today’s passage from the Gospel of Saint Matthew comes at the end of a chapter filled with doubt and disbelief.  At the beginning of the chapter, John the Baptist sends a message through his disciples to ask if Jesus is the Messiah.  Or should he look for someone else.  His  question is remarkable, especially given the fact that John had leapt in his mother’s womb at the Visitation.  John had baptized Jesus in the Jordan and pointed to him as the Messiah.  In his dark place in a cell, facing execution, John has his doubts.  Jesus responds by telling his disciples to look around to see the signs.  Blind people are regaining their sight.  The lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.

            Jesus then praises John the Baptist, in the face of his doubts.  He points out how fickle people can be.  First, they criticize John for his austerity.  Then they accuse Jesus of being a drunkard and eating and drinking.  The villages of Chorazin and Bethsaida see the signs and refuse to believe in him.  They are proud, arrogant, and self-absorbed.  They may be considered the “wise and learned.”  But they refuse to believe.  So, Jesus gives credit to “little ones,” who put their faith in him.  The “little ones” are the people of the land.  The religious leaders have written them off, because they accuse them of being incapable of living the demands of the law, which is like a yoke bearing them down.  Jesus invites us, his disciples today, to be the little ones and bear his easy yoke and his light burden.

            We became his disciples when we passed through the waters of Baptism.  Saint Paul insists that we are no longer in the flesh.  In other words, we no longer have a human nature that is centered on ourselves.  We are in the spirit, where our human nature is centered on God.  If we live our baptismal promises, if we remain in the spirit, then we can take the yoke of Jesus Christ and learn from him.  We who are disciples have our share of yokes which we carry that make life burdensome.  Yokes come in different sizes and weights.  They can be as heavy as bearing a serious illness or suffering through a difficult breakup.  Yokes can include working in a job that is oppressive or grieving the loss of a loved ones.  The yoke of Jesus was hardly easy or light.  The yoke of the cross caused horrible pain, suffering, and death.  And yet his death was not the end, because the yoke was broken by his resurrection.  In accepting his yoke, we do not shoulder our burdens alone.  We are yoked to him, much as a beast of burden is yoked to another animal to make the task of bearing a heavy plow or wagon much easier.

            Jesus says that he is meek and humble of heart.  We tend to think of the word “meek” in negative terms.  In those negative terms, a meek person becomes a weak individual who cannot stand on his or her two feet.  That is not what Jesus means.  Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah when he comes down the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday riding on the back of a donkey.  He does not enter Jerusalem as a fierce warrior on the back of a powerful horse.  He enters with humility and peace.  He is meek in the sense that he acts out of a controlled power.  He is obedient and open to the Father’s will.  He is not easily provoked.

            As the Lord’s “little ones,” we too can imitate his meekness.  We can discern the Lord’s will for us as we continue to live our baptismal promises and remain open to what the Lord has in store for us, no matter how old or how young we may be.  Like Martin Luther King, we can use non-violent means to stand up to hate, hostility, and division.  We can continue to get to know Jesus better in our daily lives.  When we know Jesus better, then we know what it means to be meek.  We can accept his yoke as we continue to bear our own yokes and burdens.

 

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 JULY 2023

 

          Saint Paul reminds us today of the critical importance of our baptism.  Most of us were baptized as infants.  Parents and sponsors made baptismal promises for us, renouncing three times the power of the evil one and professing faith three times in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Some of you were baptized as teens or adults, making those promises on your own.  No matter what were the circumstances, we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.  We entered into the waters of baptism as Christ was buried into his tomb.  We emerged one with Christ to live a new life with him.  As baptized Christians, we must think of ourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

            In the course of these last few Sundays, we have been listening to the Gospel of Saint Matthew to follow Jesus forming his first disciples.  Through his teaching and miracles, he has been revealing that the kingdom of heaven has arrived.  He chooses twelve of his disciples to be apostles and sends them out to proclaim this message.  He tells them to do what he has been doing:  cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons.

            He sends us out to proclaim the same message.  He teaches us in the Word proclaimed at every Mass.  We can deepen our understanding of his Word through the offerings of our parish adult faith formation and appreciate the richness of Catholic doctrine and social teaching.   We can evangelize when we attend to the sick.  We can raise those who have lost all hope to new life.  We can welcome back those who have been pushed out of our community.  We can bridge those divisions in our culture that cause demons great joy.

            However, Jesus warns the twelve that their message will not always be accepted.  In fact, they will most likely be rejected.  He gives us the same warning.  When we make efforts to share our faith, especially with members of our families who are alienated from or angry with the Church, we might face rejection.  When we speak from the richness of Catholic doctrine and social teaching, we are confronted with a deep polarization.  Too many cling to their political positions.  But Jesus assures us that he is with us and will not abandon us.

            In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to put him first in all our relationships.  Ironically, we enjoy a much more profound relationship with members of our own family if we put our relationship with him first.  Rooted in that relationship, we do not have to perform dramatic actions to be recognized as his disciples. He tells us that we can proclaim the kingdom of heaven by doing something as simple as giving a cup of cold water to one of his little ones. 

Our small acts of kindness can make a dramatic difference today.  We can give a smile to someone who is discouraged.  We can listen to someone with whom we disagree.  We can show authentic love to someone who insists on pursuing a life style that contradicts what our faith professes.  In our church, Ministers of Hospitality open the doors and welcome all who come to join us at Mass.  Even an action as simple as moving to the center of the pew when someone is trying to find a seat can make a difference.

Through the centuries, disciples of Jesus Christ have proclaimed the presence of the kingdom of heaven in dramatic ways.  Some of them are portrayed on our triumphant arch.  Saint Gianni Mola gave her life so that her child could have life.  Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions planted the seed of faith in Uganda by refusing to cooperate with a brutal tribal chief.  Saint Angela Merici founded a religious order to serve the needs of the marginalized.  Blessed Basil Moreau founded the Holy Cross congregation that continues to serve the Church today.  We make a difference in quiet ways by engaging in simple acts of charity.