TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FEAST OF SAINT PIUS X

27 AUGUST 2017

          Jesus leads his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a regional center of the Roman Empire.  The city was built beside a dramatic cliff face.  A famous spring emerged from the base of the cliff.  Before Roman occupation, the spring had been known as Panias, because it was the center of worship of pagan gods, especially the god Pan.  To this day, visitors can see carved niches which held the images of the pagan gods.  The city also had political significance.  Herod the Great named it after his patron, Caesar, who regarded himself as a god.  Herod’s son, Philip, changed the name to Caesarea Philippi, to bring attention to his power and control over the area.

            It is here, where civil governments and pagan gods competed for attention that Jesus asks his disciples his famous question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  They give him their Gallup Poll findings, each one identifying him with a dead prophet from the past.  But Jesus is more interested in their opinion, who they think he is. Simon Peter blurts out the correct answer, identifying him as the Christ, which literally means “the anointed one.”  In other words, Peter asserts that they cannot depend on the pagan gods to save them.  Nor will Caesar or any of his regional allies save them.  When Simon Peter adds to that title “the Son of the living God,” he identifies the true nature of the teacher to whom he has dedicated his life.

            Jesus points out that Peter could never have figured out his identity on his own.  He says that his heavenly Father has revealed his identity to Peter.  And so, he changes his name.  He is no longer Simon, but Peter (Petrus – rock).  On this rock (Petra), he will build his church.  And he gives to Peter the keys to the kingdom.  Peter will use those keys for the good of the Church. We see those keys pictured in the image of Saint Peter on our triumphal arch.  Those keys will open the gates to eternity.  The way to eternity will not be through the cave at Caesarea Philippi, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

            Today we celebrate our patronal feast, who was one of the successors of Saint Peter (pictured on the other side).  Unlike Shebna, who used the keys to the king’s palace for his own good, Pope Saint Pius X used the keys of his office for the good of the Church over a hundred years ago.  In fact, he complained to his friends about how they fussed over him and dressed him up with finery after he was elected Pope.  Today we ask his intercession, as we answer that same question of Jesus, which is addressed to us.  Like the disciples who gathered at Caesarea Philippi, we also live with forces competing for our allegiance.  The false gods today are more subtle than the pagan god, Pan.  Those gods might be wealth, or fame, or glamour, or pleasure.  All pagan gods promise ultimate happiness or success.  Political leaders make all kinds of promises, telling us that our complete allegiance to them will bring happiness or success.

            Just by gathering here at Mass on our feast day, we are acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Some of us had a great time at Casino Night, and we will enjoy each other’s company at the picnic this afternoon.  The real challenge for us is to proclaim the identity of Jesus Christ outside of this church building.  We don’t have to carry signs or stand on street corners and harangue people.  All we have to do is to live our faith – to show others by our actions that love is stronger than hate, that putting ourselves last is the way to become first, and that dying to ourselves will give us a share in the rising of Jesus Christ.  Now that we are becoming accustomed to our new church, now is the time for us to realize our status as the Church of Jesus Christ and engage people to join us.  We remain as members of his Church, because we trust his promise that the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against us.

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

20 AUGUST 2017

            A careful reading of the Sacred Scriptures reveals God’s habit of calling certain people over others.  God chose Abel instead of Cain, and Abraham instead of Lot.  God chose David instead of Saul.  God chose the Israelites instead of the Egyptians.  The history of those choices is seen in the mosaics in the center aisle.  God made the first covenant with Adam, promising our first parents that he would never abandon them, even though they had abandoned him.  God promised Noah that he would never again flood the earth, and Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands on the shores of the earth.  God promised Moses that he would remain faithful to his people, no matter what.  To David he promised that the messiah would come from his house, and he entered into the New Covenant with us through his Son, the Lamb of God pictured on the mosaic on the Altar.

            God did not choose any of these people because they deserved it or earned it.  In fact, all who have been chosen by God have sinned and not kept the covenant.  That is why Matthew begins his Gospel with Jesus calling the chosen people to repent.  Jesus calls them to conversion, so that they can respond better to God’s choice and be part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

            That is also why Jesus responds to this Canaanite woman in such a shocking and rude way.  After arguing with the Pharisees about what is clean and unclean, Jesus travels to an unclean territory – Tyre and Sidon.  God’s chosen people considered these pagan residents as dogs because of their cruel treatment.  When this pagan woman approaches him and begs him to help her daughter, she addresses him with the words any good Jew would have understood, calling him Lord, Son of David.  Not only does he ignore her, but he insists that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  When she persists, he says that it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.  With her sense of humor intact, she points out that even dogs get scraps.  Finally, Jesus responds with compassion and heals her daughter. 

            In healing this woman’s daughter, Jesus follows the insights of the prophet, Isaiah.  Isaiah had spoken to his people in Babylon centuries earlier.  In their captivity, members of God’s chosen people had interacted with their pagan neighbors, and some of those neighbors accepted their faith and joined them.  Isaiah points out that God did not choose people so they could be better than anyone else.  Instead, God chose people to be instruments of his mercy, to share God’s love with people different from them.  That is what Jesus does in the Gospel.  He recognizes the woman’s deep faith.  He admires her perseverance and her humility to admit that she did not deserve to be chosen, any more than God’s chosen people had deserved to be chosen.

            We hear this message at time of great division in our country.  Instead of promoting hate, racism, and division, Jesus provides a very different message.  Instead of isolating ourselves from those who are different from us, he pushes us to look at those of different races or ethnic backgrounds as people created in the image of God.  Instead of acting out of fear, he challenges us to get to know them.  Instead of yelling and screaming at each other, he wants us to enter into an honest dialogue.  That is what Saint Paul did.  As a Pharisee, he regarded all non-Jews as dogs.  But after he had encountered Jesus Christ and was rejected by his own people, he got to know the Gentiles on a personal level.  Instead of condemning them, he proclaimed the Gospel to them and welcomed them as God’s chosen people in the New Covenant.  God has chosen us, not because we have earned his choice or deserved it.  He has chosen us to move beyond our comfort zone, to get to know those different from ourselves, and to enter into a personal dialogue inviting conversion and the Kingdom of heaven.  

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13 AUGUST 2017

          The 14^th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel gives us some valuable lessons about faith.  The chapter begins with Jesus hearing the news of the murder of John the Baptist.  Trusting in his Father and knowing that he will meet the same fate, Jesus triesto go off by himself to mourn the loss of his cousin and pray for strength.  But, he encounters a vast crowd, and he takes pity on them.  He leads them to a deserted place, proclaims the Good News to them, and feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish.  Resuming his original intention to pray by himself, he retreats to a mountain and sends his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat.  That is where we meet them today.  The disciples are caught in a raging storm.  Jesus waits until the fourth watch of the night to walk toward them on the water.  Peter wants to walk on the same watery surface, only to sink into the sea.  Jesus pulls him up, and calms the waters.

            In his unwavering trust in his Father’s presence, Jesus provides a model for our faith.  But we need to look at the faith of others in this chapter.  The crowd must have had some degree of faith, because they followed him into the deserted place, trusting that he would not leave them to starve.  The disciples had already committed themselves to following him.  But their faith wavers in the raging storm, causing them to think that Jesus is a ghost.  Peter demands further proof, only to sink into the water when fear causes him to take his eyes off Jesus.  After chiding them for their lack of faith, he accepts their profession of faith that he is truly the Son of God, the message that had been announced at the Baptism of Jesus and on the Mount of Transfiguration.

            We want to model our faith on that of Jesus Christ.  However, our lived faith is closer to of the rest of the people in chapter 14.  Like them, we follow him into deserted places, because we have a basic trust that he will not leave us to starve.  But like the Israelites who had followed Moses into the desert for forty years, we often complain and look for signs of his presence.  Like the disciples, we have committed ourselves to Jesus Christ.  But like them, we can easily despair when stormy waters toss us about – either the stormy waters of our personal lives or the stormy waters that toss the barque of Peter (the Church) about.  Like Peter, we think that we can walk on any surface that the Lord Jesus walked on.  But, we become terrified very easily, take our eyes off the Lord, and sink into the waters of doubt and despair.

            More than likely, the disciples thought that Jesus had abandoned them.  Why did he make them enter the boat, especially when there was always a chance of a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee?  Why did he wait so long before walking on the water to save them?  Why did he allow Peter to take those wary steps outside the boat, even when he knew the weakness of his faith?

            Centuries before, Elijah the Prophet asked those same questions.  After most of his people had abandoned their faith, Elijah proved God’s power when he defeated the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel.  His expression of faith in God caused Queen Jezebel to send her soldiers to kill him.  After walking forty days to Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai), he expected to find God in the spectacular signs that Moses and his people had experienced.  But God was not in any of those spectacular signs.  Instead, Elijah encountered God in a tiny, whispering sound (in silence).

            We too have our own expectations of how we can encounter God, especially when life tosses us about like that boat on the Sea of Galilee.  Our Scripture readings invite us to be open to the many ways in which we encounter the Risen Christ.  They also invite us to spend time in silence.  Jesus Christ will not abandon us, any more than he abandoned those people the 14^th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.  Instead, he will calm the storms of life and raise us from the depths of our despair and doubt.  We have to be patient and keep our faith.

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

30 JULY 2017

          Jesus uses two different parables to make the same point.  In the first parable, a poor farmer working on someone else’s farm stumbles upon a buried treasure by accident.  In the second parable, a rich merchant who had been looking for jewels finally finds the pearl of great price.  Both the farmer and the merchant realize the importance of what they have found.  Both sacrifice everything to purchase the treasure and the pearl.

            Jesus uses these parables to teach us about the kingdom of heaven.  We often think of the kingdom of heaven in terms of that happy experience which hopefully awaits all of us after we die.  But in these parables, Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as God dwelling in our midst now.  Whether we have stumbled upon God’s presence or have been searching for it for a long time, Jesus invites us to sacrifice to make sure that the kingdom of heaven is ours.

            In order to embrace God’s presence in this kingdom of heaven, we need the gift that Solomon requested when God offered him anything he wanted:  an understanding heart.  With the gift of an understanding heart, Solomon had the wisdom to serve as God’s anointed one in the kingdom he inherited from his father, David.     

We need that same understanding heart, that same wisdom, when we make our decision to embrace God’s dwelling, the kingdom of heaven, in our day.  There are many competing voices today pulling us into many different directions.  We live in a consumer-oriented society that promises happiness if we make the right sacrifices.  Whether the commodity is the flashiest car, or the latest improvement in skin care, or the biggest house, or the latest video game, the advertising industry promises that these things will make us happy.  But, once we have sacrificed some cash to obtain them, we look for the next great thing that will bring us happiness.  These things can easily distract us from entering more fully into the kingdom of heaven and enjoying a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

            We are gathered at this Mass today, because we are wise enough to know that developing our relationship with Jesus Christ is important.  Our Scripture readings challenge us to be wise enough to sacrifice those things that distract us from having a more intimate relationship.  If we spend all our time and energy chasing after possessions and values that do not last, the third parable in today’s Gospel provides a warning for us.  The fishermen separate the good fish from the bad fish at the end of their catch.  The fish do not have any choice.  But, we can make choices.  We have already sacrificed one hour to enter into the real presence of Christ at this Mass.  We pray for the wisdom to choose Christ’s presence in our families, in our service of the poor, and in the many ways the kingdom of heaven is already present.  A friend of mine, who is a recovering alcoholic, told me about the way he stumbled upon the kingdom of heaven.  All of a sudden, he woke up to the fact that what was causing him momentary pleasure was ruining his family and his life.  In embracing his recovery, he had the wisdom to sacrifice an old way of living for a way of participating in the kingdom of heaven.  Sadly, Solomon did not use his gift of wisdom.  He put so many things above his commitment to God that he made many bad choices, resulting in the division of his kingdom after his death. 

It is good for us to hear these parables during these summer months, when we have more time to spend with our families.  Saint Paul shares the wisdom he has received when he insists that all things work for good for those who love God.  Christ invites us to use that wisdom and make the kingdom a priority.  If we make wise choices to be part of the kingdom of heaven now, we will not be separated from that kingdom after our death.

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

16 JULY 2017

          The parables of Jesus are incredible teaching tools, because they tell stories which people readily understand.  In today’s parable of the sower and the seed, he speaks to those who are familiar with agricultural methods in his day.  They know the dynamic of sowing seed into the ground.  But there is always a twist in his parables to get their undivided attention.  The twist in this parable involves the sower scattering seed everywhere.  Seed was precious, and no farmer would risk throwing seed on hardened footpaths, or on rocky ground, or among thorn bushes.

            But God’s Word is spread everywhere, and I’ve seen various reactions of people to that Word over my 43 years as a priest.  Some people cannot accept God’s Word, because their hearts are so hardened that the Word cannot penetrate.  Others accept God’s Word initially with joy.  We see this in RCIA.  Newly baptized and newly received Catholics are enthused about their faith.  But unless there is a spouse, a closely related sponsor, or some kind of connection to the parish, odds are good that they will not pursue the faith.  Others begin as committed Catholics.  But, engaged in travel teams or other priorities, they stop coming to Sunday Mass, and they drop off.  But I have also seen lots of people who have the open hearts of rich soil and have allowed that Word to take root in their lives.  A farmer at the time of Jesus would have been delighted with a yield of tenfold.  Jesus promises a yield of a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

            Through my long friendship with Father Larry Kanyike, I have seen the incredible yield of faith in the people of Uganda.  Beginning with the martyrdom of Saint Charles Lwanga (pictured on our Triumphal Arch) and his companions in the 19^th century, the faith in Uganda has definitely taken root.  When we traveled to Father Larry’s parish five years ago, Mike Wargo, Eric King, my nephew Ben, and I witnessed the vitality of that faith.  Thousands of parishioners waited for hours for the dedication of their new church, and most of them stood in the hot sun and listened to the Liturgy from loud speakers set outside.  In addition to the new church at the center of the parish, there are four outstations where Mass is celebrated every Sunday, since most parishioners must walk to Mass.  His parishioners were profoundly grateful for the assistance we gave in building their church.  The soil of their hearts is very rich, and the yield is obvious.

            But they live in a Third World country, and they are very poor in material possessions.  A recent drought has caused starvation in a country normally verdant with vegetation.  That is why Father Larry has sought our help so often.  Through our generosity, he has constructed a health clinic for his parishioners.  We helped build his church, restored his rectory, and paved the road in front of the church and school.  Father Larry would have been here this weekend, but he could not get a visa.  So, I am asking for your help on his behalf.

            When we were there five years ago, the poor condition of his parish school was evident.  You can check out the pictures in today’s bulletin and investigate the display in the back of church.  There is also a video on our website.  With our help, Father Larry can provide a much healthier facility for his school children.  Buildings in Uganda are very simple and utilitarian.  Labor and material costs are much less than what we have here.  Because of the climate, there is no need for heating or air conditioning.  They still use outhouses. 

            There are envelopes at the ends of all the pews.  If you are prepared, you can take one now, make a contribution, and place it in the basket with your sacrificial gift.  If you need more time or information, take the envelope home, study the materials, and bring it back next Sunday.  In Father Larry’s name, thank you!  Hopefully, he will receive his visa and be here to thank all of us in person before the end of the summer.

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

9 JULY 2017

          To understand the words of Jesus in today’ Gospel, we need to consider the context. In this part of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been proclaiming the Good News in Galilee.  However, the religious leaders and the “important” members of the communities have rejected him.  In rejecting him, they complained that John the Baptist fasted, avoiding food and drink.  They accused Jesus of eating and drinking, hanging out with “drunkards” and sinners. 

            That is why Jesus addresses his words today to the “little ones”.  The little ones have welcomed him and accepted his message.  So, he invites them to come to him and take rest.  But, the rest that he recommends seems strange.  He invites them to accept his yoke upon their shoulders and learn from him, because his yoke is easy, and his burden light. 

            As the stepson of a carpenter, Jesus knows something about yokes.  A yoke united a pair of oxen together to allow them to share the load of plowing or hauling a loaded wagon.  The yoke rests on the necks and distributes the work load, not necessarily evenly, but in a way that capabilities are shared.  Each member of the yoked pair can contribute to his/her maximum capability, the stronger contributing more energy than the weaker, to accomplish the common task. Jesus' yoke is light, because it is Jesus who is yoked to each of us, and in every task he bears the heavier part of the burden. He is carrying the yoke of rejection.  Important people have judged him to be a fraud.  Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he gives thanks for his close relationship with his heavenly Father.  He continues his journey to the hill of Golgotha, where the yoke of the cross will take his life.  In carrying the heavier load, he helps us to carry our burdens, maintaining our faith in the mystery of his death and resurrection.

            We are his disciples, the “little ones” today.  We have come to Mass to give praise and thanks to God, who slowly reveals himself to us as we continue our pilgrimage together through life.  Each of us comes with our own set of circumstances.  Many of us are taking rest in these summer days following the 4^th of July.  For many of us, life is going well, and it is easy to give thanks to God as we gather to worship.  But, some of us are carrying heavy burdens or yokes.  Some are struggling with difficulties in relationships, or even breakups in families.  Others are shouldering economic difficulties, with job losses or unexpected expenses.  Others are carrying the heavy yokes health issues or life changing cancers or other diseases.  Many are burdened with the difficulties of the aging process or loss of memory.

            Whatever yoke we may be carrying, Jesus invites us to rest and carry his yoke.  Instead of allowing the yokes of our lives to separate us from the love of the Father, Jesus invites us to imitate his example in the face of hatred and rejection.  He invites us to yoke ourselves with him, allowing him to carry the heavier load of our burdens.  He invites us to give thanks for his Father’s care for us and to trust that his Father is not abandoning us when we carry heavy yokes.  He does not take away those burdens.  Instead, he promises to yoke himself with us in facing those difficulties and renewing our trust in the power of his death and resurrection.

            Saint Paul expresses this truth in a different way.  He reminds us that we are no longer in the flesh but in the spirit of God.  Saint Paul is not telling us to hate our bodies and regard our bodies as obstacles to being holy. Those who live only in the flesh cannot see beyond what we perceive with our senses.  Those who live only in the flesh will do anything to avoid pain and the cross of Jesus Christ.  Those who live in the spirit can carry those yokes, because we are yoked to Jesus Christ.  If we renew our faith in his death and resurrection, his strength allows us, in our weakness, to keep carrying the lighter portion of the load.

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

25 JUNE 2017

After completing the Easter Season and reflecting on the Mystery of the Trinity and the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ, our readings this Sunday slam us back into Ordinary Time with a thud!  The Prophet Jeremiah finds himself persecuted by the authorities for speaking the truth to his own people.  Jesus speaks to his disciples about the dangers of proclaiming his name and his message.  By the time Saint Matthew has written this Gospel, his disciples had been thrown out of the Synagogues by their neighbors for their faith in Jesus Christ.  Considered no longer authentic Jews by the Romans, some of them had been hauled into court and executed.  In response, they express their fear and ask the same question which Jeremiah had asked centuries before:  Why is God allowing all these things to happen, especially to believers?

Jesus answers this valid question by telling them not to be afraid.  They need not fear, because they no longer live in darkness.  They now live in the bright light of a Messiah whose suffering and death will be transformed by the light of the resurrection.  They no longer have to keep the message secret!  They can tell everyone.  In telling everyone, they have already experienced rejection and a share in the passion of Christ.

So, he tells them to stop being afraid.  He reminds them of the fate of Jeremiah.  His enemies may have killed his body and sowed it in the earth.  But, they could not kill his soul and separate him from God.  They could not stop the truth of his message, which lives on to encourage those who continue to speak the truth to leaders who live in darkness. They can stop being afraid, because the Father cares for them even more than he cares for the sparrows of his creation.  He promises that the Father puts so much value on them and their witness to the truth that they will see the light of his presence face to face in all eternity.

Jesus speaks this same message to his disciples in every age.  When Karol Wojtyla was elected as Pope John Paul II in 1978, his first words were:  do not be afraid, open wide the doors to Christ!  John Paul II had seen many things that caused fear.  He saw the Nazis invade Poland and kill priests who resisted them.  He watched in horror as his Jewish neighbors were sent to prison camps to be murdered.  After the war, he lived under Communist control of his country and defended the Church against state control.  As Pope, he would return to Poland and see the collapse of Communism.  As Pope, he would be shot in Saint Peter’s Square and eventually sit down to forgive his murderer.  As Pope, he set aside all fear to travel the world to proclaim the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He is one of the saints pictured on the triumphal arch, and he is interceding for us as we face our own fears.  If anything keeps us from living the light of faith, it is fear.  Those of you who are very young might hesitate to speak openly of your faith, because you fear that you will be rejected by your friends.  Those of us who have been blessed with material wealth may be afraid to share our treasure out of fear that if we are too generous, there will not be enough for us to live comfortably.  Those of you who face life threatening diseases might be afraid of what the future holds once your health is gone.  In each of these situations, Jesus says the same thing.  Do not allow fear to keep you from living the Gospel!  God knows everything about us, even how many hairs are on our heads.  (For some of us, that is easier to count these days!)  God also knows the dangers we face.  God will not protect us from those dangers.  But, echoing Jeremiah, God will be our mighty champion.  God will be with us.  Precisely because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can squarely face our fears and live the Gospel!