FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

29 JANUARY 2017

          The prophet Zephaniah addresses his people in exile in Babylon.  He encourages them to continue to observe the Lord’s law, to seek justice and humility, and to trust that the Lord has not abandoned them.  In fact, he assures them that their detachment from Jerusalem will have a positive result, when the faithful remnant will return to their homeland.

            At one level, we cannot begin to imagine what it is like for refugees all over the world, exiled from their homeland because of violence.  But we are in exile, because we no longer have a church building.  The Lord speaks to us through Zephaniah and gives us the same message. 

The Lord is preparing us for a new reality in our new church in this detachment.  First, we are already detached from our seating.  Most of us have camped out in the same places every week.  People are not sitting in their usual places anymore.  That will help us to adapt to a new configuration at the end of March.  Second, most of us go to the same Mass each week.  None of those Masses will remain the same, and we will have to choose a new time.  This time of exile will prepare us for a new physical reality.

            In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord is preparing us for much more than a beautiful new physical reality.  He is preparing us for membership in the Kingdom of Heaven.  He is teaching us how to be truly happy, because that is what “blessed” means.  Four of the Beatitudes are positive.  At the heart of true happiness lies God’s mercy.  God loves us in his mercy, no matter how many bad choices we make.  If we truly live God’s mercy, then we can give it away to others.  Merciful people realize that only God can satisfy their ultimate hungers and thirsts.  When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we want to live in right relationship with God.  Merciful people know how to be clean of heart, because putting God first will purify other desires for those things that do not satisfy.  Merciful people are happy when they reject all kinds of violence and strive to solve problems with peaceful means.

            The other four beatitudes teach us the value of detachment.  Saint Thomas Aquinas pointed out that there are four desires which can easily replace our desire for God:  money, pleasure, power, and honor.  Jesus says that we must learn to detach ourselves from these desires if we are to be truly happy.  Truly happy people are poor in spirit, because they have learned that bigger cars or homes or bank accounts do not make them happy in the end.  If the poor in spirit are blessed with wealth, they know how to use it wisely.  Truly happy people allow themselves to mourn in times of difficulty and sadness.  They have learned that chasing after pleasure all the time cannot satisfy.  Truly happy people are meek, not in the sense that they lie down and allow everyone to walk over them.  They are meek, in the sense that they know that always striving for power and control will not fulfill them.  They have learned to trust that God is in charge.  Truly happy people are sometimes persecuted or talked about behind their backs, because they have learned that their wellbeing does not depend on what other people think about them.  They follow their consciences with a peace that the world cannot give.

            We only have two months to allow the Lord to teach us how to detach ourselves from the physical realities that we have known and prepare ourselves to adapt to the realities of a new physical space.  But the Lord has given us the rest of our lives to learn how to embrace those four beatitudes which bring us happiness, and how to detach ourselves from the traps of money, pleasure, power, and honor.  He wants us to know those things are not bad in themselves, and that using them in correctly can guide us as we walk together in this pilgrimage of faith to the new and eternal Jerusalem. 

THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

15 JANUARY 2017

     

          On this weekend of the NFL playoffs, coaches use an interesting phrase:  “next one up.”  The Season is long and brutal, taking a toll on the physical wellbeing of players.  When a player is hurt, the coach calls for the next one up to replace the injured player.  It makes no difference whether that player is a star or a little known lineman.  The next one up must know the unique role of each player.  The next one up steps in to perform a vital task for the sake of the team.

            Saint Matthew tells us that John the Baptist had been arrested.  Unlike the religious leaders of his day, he had the courage to deliver to King Herod Antipas the same message he had preached to the common folk.  He tells the king:  it is wrong for you to live with your brother’s wife!  Turn away from your sin!  Just as his father had eliminated all his “rivals” in the area of Bethlehem at the birth of Christ, Herod Antipas arrested John, threw him in prison, beheaded him, and then served his head on a platter to the daughter of his wife, who wanted revenge.

            Now Jesus is the next one up.  Instead of being afraid of what happened to John, he continues to proclaim the same message:  Repent!  As the next one up, he makes two significant changes.  The first change involves his message.  John the Baptist had preached repentance to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.  Now, Jesus (the Messiah) calls for repentance, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  The second change is where he preaches:  in Zebulun and Naphtali.  Eight centuries before, the prophet Isaiah addressed the people living there.  King Ahaz had refused to trust in God alone, he had ignored Isaiah’s advice and put his trust in an alliance with the king of Assyria.  That alliance led to the destruction of the northern kingdom, the enslavement of the people, and the resettlement of gentiles who renamed the area.  Isaiah told his people not to repeat the mistake of King Ahaz.  Trust in God, he had said, do not be afraid, and walk from the darkness of enslavement into the bright light of freedom.

            This is the message of Jesus.  Through his preaching and miracles, he gives people an insight into the kingdom of heaven.  In calling them to repentance and trust in him, he promises membership in a kingdom that is not about a physical place, but a profound relationship with him.  He makes this promise not only to the gentiles who live in this area, but also to the two sets of Jewish brothers.  Peter and Andrew and James and John become the next ones up when they drop their nets and decide to follow Jesus Christ.  They become the next ones up not because they are impressed with the teaching of a great rabbi, but because they have encountered the person of Jesus Christ and trust in his promise to make them members of the kingdom of heaven.

            Today, Jesus is calling each one of us to be the next ones up.  He has already joined us to him through the waters of Baptism.  Now, he invites us to take another step in faith.  Just as he called the two sets of brothers to abandon their nets and trust in him, he calls us to abandon whatever nets keep us from being more intentional disciples.  Those nets might be a fear of casting aside ambitions to spend more time with family or investing in relationships at the cost of financial gain.  They might even include a fear of getting more involved in the parish or a habit of coming to Mass just to fulfill an obligation.  To quote Saint Paul, we are not here because our children were baptized by FB1 or FB2.  We do not practice our faith because we liked Saint John Paul II, or Pope Benedict, or even Pope Francis.  We are here, because we have encountered the person of Jesus Christ.  If that encounter remains our focus, then we can trust that Jesus Christ can heal any divisions among us.  That is good news, especially as we endure the hardships of celebrating Mass in a gym for the next three months.  That is good news, especially as we begin the work of healing the deep divisions so evident in our country these days.

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

8 JANUARY 2017

          There is an old joke that explains why it is easy to tell that the wise men were not wise women.  Wise women would have arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts – like formula or diapers or a stroller!  Instead, the magi brought gifts which reveal the true nature of this child.  They gave the gift of gold, because he is a King.  They gave the gift of frankincense, because he is God.  They gave the gift of myrrh, because he would suffer and die as the Suffering Servant.  These gifts set the tone for the Gospel of Saint Matthew, which we will hear on most Sundays during this Liturgical Year.  In reflecting on Matthew’s Gospel, we will come to understand better how Jesus Christ manifests his kingship, his divine nature, and his suffering and death in our individual lives.

            That work of manifesting the person of Jesus Christ has been conducted in this church building since it was dedicated by Bishop D’Arcy in September of 1992.  In the last 24 years, the Word of God has been proclaimed, and the Sacraments have been celebrated many times.  Lots of people, both infants and adults, have been baptized here.  Many have been confirmed and received their First Communion here.  Couples have been professed their vows in front of this Altar and received the Sacrament of Matrimony.  Newly ordained priests have celebrated their Masses of Thanksgiving at this Altar.  Families have brought their loved ones to celebrate their funeral Masses here.  Countless individuals have entered these Reconciliation Rooms and have emerged with their sins forgiven.  People facing surgery and serious illnesses have received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick here.  Those of us who have been around for a while have special memories of sacred events celebrated in this Church.  My father’s casket was placed right here.  Not long after that, a couple entering into the Sacrament of Marriage sat in that very spot where the caskets of both of their spouses had rested.         

            This church building has provided many stories.  It is no secret that this church was too small on the day it was dedicated.  At that time, the plan was to form another parish on the corner of Cleveland and County Line Roads.  But as time went on and the priest shortage worsened, Bishop D’Arcy decided that Saint Pius should remain here, and Bishop Rhoades has agreed.  Ironically, Bishop D’Arcy left my mother’s funeral to come to the dedication of this church.  I have always blamed her for my being named pastor here.

            As we designed the new church, where these same mysteries will be celebrated for many years to come, we knew that we had to preserve the sacredness of this space.  Not only will we use as many sacred items from this church as we can in the new church, but this space will be used for other sacred events.  We will baptize infants, teens, and adults in the new Baptismal Font on the north side of this space.  The panels containing the baptismal meditation by Pope Saint Leo will be placed on the new Font.  We will wake the dead near the Font and begin Funeral Masses there.  The parish library will be located here, and the rest of this space will be used for gathering, building community, and sharing food.  The three larger Holy Cross Rooms will be used for meetings, funeral lunches, and expanded space for getting together.

            We will celebrate the final Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord tomorrow morning at 8:15.  After that, this church will become a construction area, and we will celebrate Mass in the gyms until we dedicate the new church on March 25.  As we leave the Christmas Season, we trust that the Lord will not leave us.  We will continue to praise and worship him, who is King, God, and Suffering Servant, much as the people of ancient Israel praised and worshiped God in their journey through the desert of Sinai to the Promised Land.