TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

10 SEPTEMBER 20

 

          In the passage just before today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep.  He asks the question:  “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?”  The answer, of course, is that no human shepherd would leave ninety-nine of his flock to search for one irresponsible sheep gone astray.  However, that is not God’s attitude.  Jesus continues with his parable:  “And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine.  In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

            Today, Jesus applies that same principle of the Father’s love to Church.  Jesus knows that conflict is an unavoidable part of life, even among disciples who share the community life of the church.  In dealing with conflict, we need to approach anyone who has strayed away with the same love and mercy as we have experienced from the Lord when we have strayed away. 

            The first step, Jesus says, is to approach the member who has sinned against you.  The Greek word for sin is hamartia, which is a term from archery indicating that the person has missed the mark.  The person who takes the first step in reconciliation is not the one who has missed the mark.  It is the one who has been offended.  The fault may be something trivial, which the offending person may not even be aware of.  Or it can be something more serious, like gossip or character assassination.  The offended person needs to lay open or uncover the offense in private.  If that person listens, then we have won him or her over.  Our mercy has carried the lost sheep back into a full relationship.

            If that does not work, Jesus urges us to take the next step.  Bring one or two others from the community and present the facts.  Many of us have experienced this next step when we bring a loved one with a serious addiction to other people who loves that person.  We know this as an intervention.  Together, we present the facts as clearly and lovingly as possible.  With witnesses who truly care about the person, there can be a negotiation.  Sometimes this process works.

            However, this process of negotiation is not always successful.  So, Jesus tells us to take the matter to the church.  A couple of weeks ago, we heard Jesus give to Simon Peter the ultimate authority to bind and or loose in the universal church.   In a parish, that authority rests with the pastor.  If this third step does not work, then Jesus tells us to treat the person like a
Gentile or a tax collector.  Even in those cases, we need to imitate the example of Jesus, who continued to love and reach out to Gentiles and tax collectors. 

            Dealing with conflict is never easy, whether that conflict is within a human family or the family of this parish.  The two years of the pandemic produced the most conflict I have ever had to deal with as a priest.  We were accused by some of being too strict, and by others of being too lenient.  People left the parish because they disagreed with the way we were handling directives from the county health department.  They may be gone, but we treat them with respect.

Avoiding all conflict makes matters worse.  As difficult as dealing with conflict may be, we need to take the steps outlined by Jesus.  It is much easier to complain about someone who has offended us.  It is much more difficult to deal with that person directly with love and truth.  That is why Jesus assures us that he is present wherever two or three are gathered in his name, even in the midst of our conflict.  His promise is especially comforting  as we face the divisions and polarizations in both our Church and in our society as a whole.  There are quite a few of us in this assembly who number more than two or three.  The Lord is in our midst, giving us the grace to deal with the conflicts that come our way.

 

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

3 SEPTEMBER 2023

 

          Last Sunday, Simon Peter correctly identified the identity of Jesus of Nazareth:  “The Christ, the Son of the living God”.  Jesus affirmed his answer and stated that Simon Peter had not made a good guess.  He has received this revelation from the Father.  In response, Jesus named Simon the “Rock,” and promised that he would build his Church on the rock of Peter’s faith.  He gave to Peter the keys of the kingdom, signifying the authority over the Church.  He promised that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against it.

            Today, Jesus begins to clarify his mission as the messiah.  Jesus knows that his disciples share the popular vision that the messiah would be a new David who would be victorious in battle and restore the ancient kingdom of Israel.  He tells them plainly that he would not be using force or violence to expel the Roman occupiers.  That cycle of force and violence would repeat itself when other major powers came to occupy their land.  Instead, he is committed to his Father’s plan of salvation a plan of forgiveness and sacrifice and mercy and love.  As a result, he will go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the religious leaders of the people.  He will be killed on a cruel Roman cross.  But in three days, he will be raised.

            Peter takes him aside and rebukes him.  He cannot imagine that these horrible things could happen to a promised messiah, especially to the one whom Peter has loved.  He tells him that no such thing could happen to him.  Jesus is very blunt with him:  “Get behind me, Satan.”  The Rock foundation of the Church has become a stumbling block.  Satan had tempted Jesus in the desert with the same argument.  Satan wanted to convince him that he could have all the comforts, all the power, and all the authority without the scandal of the cross.  It is the same temptation.  Only, there is a difference.  In the desert, Jesus had commanded Satan, “Get away with you.”  To Peter, he commands, “Get behind me.”  In other words, he has resisted Peter’s temptation, because Peter has been speaking from a human perspective.  Despite this obstacle, Jesus wants Peter to continue to get behind him and follow him to learn the truth.

            Then Jesus turns to the rest of his disciples and tells them that they will have to follow the same path.  They will have to deny themselves.  In other words, they must love themselves less and give higher priority to others.  They will have to take up their own crosses, as he will do.  They will follow after him through their crosses and eventual resurrection with him.

            This is a very challenging message, not only for those original disciples, but also for us.  Saint Paul tells us that we cannot conform ourselves to this age.  Instead of carefully planning the best steps and avenues for our success and wealth, we must lose ourselves for the sake of others and trust that the Lord knows what he is doing in our lives.  Instead of doing everything possible to avoid pain or suffering, we need to embrace the crosses that cause us humiliation and pain.  Instead of choosing a political party or a particular ideology that might seem to save us, we need to recommit ourselves to being disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            When we make these choices, we might find ourselves in doubt and self-pity.  That is what happens when we endure ridicule and hostility from those who reject God.  That is what happened to the Prophet Jeremiah.  God had commissioned him to speak the truth to his people.  He had to tell the people that their infidelity to the Covenant would bring them to ruin.  They hated him for telling the truth.  But in spite of all of that hatred, he could not refrain from saying the trust.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the same is true for us. 

 

 

TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

27 AUGUST 2023

SOLEMNITY OF POPE SAINT PIUS X

 

          Jesus has fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish.  He has healed many people.  He has become popular and has raised the expectations of people looking for a messiah to a fever pitch.  A politician or a military leader would have used this popularity for his own advantage and whipped the crowd’s enthusiasm into action.  However, that is not what Jesus does.

            Jesus takes his disciples to an isolated place away from the crowds.  In front of a huge rock foundation with a source of lush water believed to be the gate to the netherworld, he asks them what the gossip is about him.  Their answers indicate that he is seen as the long-awaited messiah.  So, he asks them who they think he is.  Peter blurts out the correct answer:  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus affirms his answer.  It is not a correct guess.  His heavenly Father has revealed this truth to him.  Then Jesus calls Peter the “Rock” and promises to build his Church on the foundation of Peter’s confession of faith.  He assures his disciples that the powers of the netherworld will never prevail.  He gives Peter the keys, the symbol of ultimate authority.  Then he orders his disciples not to tell anyone about this.

            The crowds expect the messiah to be a military leader sent to expel the Romans who are oppressing them.  He would be a son of David.  But their expectations are wrong.  He is not just a descendent of David.  He is the incarnate Son of the living God.  His mission is not to conquer the Romans.  It is to conquer the powers of evil and death by entering into death itself.  Peter objects and tries to talk Jesus out of this idea.  It will take time for his disciples to understand the true identity of Jesus and embrace his saving mission.  They will not understand fully until after they experience the horror of his death and the joy of his resurrection.  Even Peter, the rock of the Church, will fail.  He will deny knowing Jesus three times on the eve of his death. 

            Jesus asks each one of us that same question today.  Who do we think he is?  If we agree with Peter’s answer, then we need to embrace him when things are going well.  We must keep our faith in him, even in the midst of terrible tragedies and difficult times.  He invites us to renew our faith in him as members of his Body, the Church.  Sometimes our membership in the Church is life giving and hopeful.  That is certainly true today as we celebrate our patronal feast.  At other times, we struggle with our identity, especially when scandals in the Church cause us to question.  That can happen when religious leaders behave like Shebna in the first reading.  They have not been stewards of the Church, but stewards of their own interests.

            But Jesus assures us that our Church will prevail.  No matter how many evils may press upon us, the Church will eventually overcome.  His promise is grounded on Peter’s profession of faith.  He entrusted the keys to Peter, who would fail and sometimes be a stumbling block. 

            Today, we celebrate the feast of one of Peter’s successors, Pope Saint Pius X.  Born in northern Italy as Giuseppe Sarto, he was the oldest of eight living children in a very poor family.  As a priest and later as bishop and finally as Pope, he always maintained a humility that enabled him to serve the poor and work for social justice.  As Pope, he encouraged people to be more engaged at Mass and embrace liturgical music.  He permitted children who had reached the age of reason to receive the Lord in the Eucharist.  He was a faithful steward of Christ’s Church.

            The theme for his papacy was “to renew all things in Christ.”  One hundred years later, we ask his intercession as we continue to renew all things at Saint Pius.  As we begin this year dedicated to the Eucharist, we renew our faith in recognizing the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist and trusting that the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against us.

 

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

20 AUGUST 2023

 

          We know Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the healer of illnesses, the gentle giver of mercy, and the Son of God who selflessly gave himself for the salvation of all.  For those reasons, the interaction between Jesus and this Canaanite woman may be shocking.  Jesus and his disciples are in the region of Tyre and Sidon, deep within pagan territory.  The Canaanite woman calls Jesus Lord and Son of David and begs him to heal her daughter who is tormented by a demon.  Jesus, the Good Shepherd, ignores her.  When his disciples ask him to send her away, he says that he is sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  When she does him homage and throws herself on the ground and asks for help again, the Son of God calls her a dog.  He says that it is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs.  But the woman comes up with a great reply.  “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  Then, Jesus relents and heals her daughter.

            In his interaction with the Canaanite woman,  Jesus is neither cruel nor uncaring.  He is  emphasizing the divine faithfulness.  God had entered into a series of Covenants with his people and promised to keep them.  We see those covenants displayed in the center aisle.  The Covenant with Adam assures his faithfulness, even when humans reject his love.  The Covenant with Noah promises that God’s care for creation.  The Covenant with Abraham says that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands on the seashore.   The Covenant with Moses is the central Covenant, establishing God’s permanent relationship to his Chosen People.  The final covenant with David promises that the Messiah will come from his house. 

            Jesus is reiterating God’s faithfulness to his Chosen People.  They may have been the first people God has chosen.  But they are not the only ones.  God loves everyone, even the enemies of his Chosen People.  The prophet Isaiah understands God’s love for everyone.  In today’s first reading from Isaiah, God’s Chosen People have just returned from their exile in Babylon.  Many have intermarried with pagans.  Isaiah welcomes them to the rebuilt temple on Mount Zion, because they have come to love the name of the Lord and have become his servants.  They honor the sabbath and hold to the covenant.

The Canaanites may have been bitter enemies of God’s people.  They may have deserved to be treated like dogs.  But Jesus sees the deep faith of this woman and heals her daughter.  He is already anticipating what he will tell his disciples at the end of the Gospel of Saint Matthew after he had been raised from the dead.  He will tell them to go out to all nations and proclaim the Good News.  They are to welcome all in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus loves us, who have become his disciples through the waters of Baptism.  But he does not love us exclusively.  He challenges us to reach out to those with whom we disagree and with those who are not followers.  Especially in our divided and polarized society, moving out to others who are different from us is extremely important and potentially healing.

In addition, the Canaanite woman teaches us how to make prayers of petition.  She comes to Jesus with a deep faith.  In fact, her faith is deeper than the disciples who have been following him.  She teaches us to pray with perseverance. Even when Jesus seems to ignore her, she keeps asking.  She teaches us to be humble.  In humility, she trusts the goodness of Jesus and is open to whatever way he expresses his goodness and love.  Our persistent prayer does not change God.  God is always good and loving.  It has the power to change us and to accept the Lord’s goodness and love in the way he chooses to give it. 

 

 

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13 AUGUST 2023

 

            Jesus has just fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish.  This miracle boosts the faith of the disciples, who see that Jesus is greater than Moses, who had trusted that God would feed his  ancestors with manna in the desert.  Jesus dismisses the crowds and makes his disciples get into the boat to precede him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Then he goes up to the mountain to pray.  As the disciples encounter a fierce storm on the water, they are frightened.

            However, they are not alone.  United with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus is praying for them.  To show that his prayer is not some spiritual abstraction, Jesus walks toward them on the water during the fourth watch of the night (between 3 and six o’clock in the morning).  In fear, they think that he is a ghost.  But Jesus responds with the words that Moses heard from the burning bush:  “It is I,” or “I am who am.”  Peter wants proof.  Jesus invites him to walk toward him.  As long as Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he defies all the rules of gravity.  But when he is distracted by the raging storm, he begins to sink.  Jesus grabs him by the hand, pulls him to safety, and calms the storm.  The disciples put their faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

            We who are the Lord’s disciples have all been rocked by storms in our lives.  Today’s readings remind us that fear is a normal reaction.  Elijah was afraid when Queen Jezebel sent her armies to kill him.  He ran into the desert and asked for death.  Instead, the Lord sent an angel to give him water and hearth cakes to sustain him in his journey to Mount Horeb (the northern kingdom’s name for Mount Sinai).  Peter and the other disciples are afraid as the storm tosses their boat about on the waves.  Jesus proves that he is not a ghost when he invites Peter to get out of the boat and walk on the water. 

            Doubt is also part of faith.  After winning an incredible victory over the prophets of Baal, Elijah doubts whether the Lord is really with him.  When he reaches Mount Horeb, he expects to experience God in the ways that God had revealed himself to Moses and the Israelites with fire, wind, and earthquake.  Instead, he experiences the Lord’s presence in a tiny whispering sound.  When Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and feels the wind, he begins to sink into the water.  Jesus responds to his cry for help by grasping him by the hand and pulling him up.

            On Mount Horeb, Elijah’s faith is renewed, and the Lord sends him back to continue his mission.  Once the storm is calmed, the disciples realize that only God has power over storms, and they profess their faith in Jesus as the Son of God.  When we express our fear and work through our doubts, we too can become more convinced that the Lord is with us and will not abandon us.  At different times in our lives, the Lord invites us to leave the familiar and safe ground on which we have been walking and walk toward him on unfamiliar territory.  Young people need to reflect on how the Lord is calling them to live out their baptismal promises.  It is frightening, but maybe the Lord is calling some of you to a vocation of religious life, marriage, or priesthood.  Mason Bailey is getting out of this familiar boat of Saint Pius to walk toward him as a seminarian at Saint Meinrad.  In the course of all of our lives, we encounter thresholds that force us to leave the familiar and safe ways of living and walk through a new threshold to begin new chapters in life. 

In these threshold moments, we may be afraid.  We may even doubt.  But, if we work through our fears and doubts, we can be convinced that the Lord is with us and will sustain us, as the Lord did for Elijah and Peter.  Sometimes we will experience the Lord’s presence in dramatic ways.  More often, we experience his presence in the silence of our prayers, in the midst of a noisy and distracting world.

 

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

6 AUGUST 2023

 

          Six days before Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain, he had gathered his disciples in front of a huge rock formation at the temple of a pagan god.  He asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” His disciples gave him a few examples.  Then he asked, “Who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus affirmed his answer and named him the rock, the foundation of his Church.  Then Jesus clarified his mission.  He will not be a messiah who will defeat the Roman occupiers.  Instead, he will be rejected, suffer, die on a cross, and be raised from the dead.  When Peter objects, Jesus calls him “Satan” and tells him to get behind him.

            On this mountain, the true nature of Jesus is revealed to these three chosen disciples.  Transfigured, he is clothed with brilliant light.  Surrounded by Moses and Elijah, the giver of the Law and the greatest of the prophets, he is shown fulfilling all the Scriptural prophesies.  Peter speaks again, wanting to build three tents to make sure that this moment will continue.  Instead, they hear the voice from the bright cloud repeating what was said at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River:  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.  Listen to him.”

            Heeding the words of Jesus that they tell no one about this vision, they continue to follow him to another mountain.  On Mount Calvary, on a horribly dark day, Jesus will be stripped of his clothing and die in a cross, surrounded by two thieves.  On that day, there will be no radiant glory.  They will have to wait another three days to see the bright glory of the resurrection.

            As disciples, we have had our transfiguring moments when the glory of the Lord has shone through our lives.  Perhaps it was on the day of marriage or ordination.  Maybe the clarity of God’s presence was revealed in the birth of a child.  Many have experienced those moments on Christ Renews His Parish retreats.  At every Mass, the Lord reveals his transforming love for us.  That love is expressed in the rituals of the Mass.  It is most powerfully revealed in the Lord’s humble presence in bread and wine.  Instead of building tents to prolong our encounter with the risen Lord here, we are sent out to ponder the Word spoken to us at every Mass.

            We have also have experienced the darkness of Good Friday.  We have faced the horror of death, robbing us of those we love.  We have suffered breakups with those who have been closest to us.  We have born the crosses of pain and disease.   We know the bitter taste of disappointment and sorrow.  On this anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, we see the terrifying light of our human potential to destroy and kill.  We do not have to look far to see the crosses all of us must carry.

            The most important cross each of us must carry is the cross of selfless love.  We carry that cross every time we die to ourselves, trusting that our sacrificial acts will give the love of Jesus Christ to other people.  Carrying those crosses of selfless love is not always easy.  Parents who sacrifice everything for their children understand this.  Middle aged children who spend hours caring for their aging parents carry the cross of sacrificial love.  When we give themselves in humble service, we do not experience the bright light of transfiguring glory.

            After they experienced the resurrection and received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter, James, and John will finally understand the connection between the cross of Jesus Christ on Mount Calvary and his transfiguration on Mount Tabor.  The same can happen to us.   We recall those transfiguring moments in our lives.  As we move forward, those moments can help us to connect our crosses of selfless giving to the transfiguring glory of the resurrection.

 

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.