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Gospel Reflection 20070128

Let go of your fear!
We have so many fears—the fear of failure, the fear of others' opinions, the fear of being disliked, misunderstood or rejected, the fear of disease, injury or death. Fear hides from us our potential for love. Fear restricts us and makes us feel small and excessively cautious. It poisons our relationships. Driven by fear we seek to prove other people wrong. We justify revenge. We make other people feel inferior to ourselves. Fear causes us to see the world only in terms of division, separateness and fractured relationships.

Jesus invites us to see the world in a new and exciting way. It is like being born again. Our first step is to let go of our fear. Drop it in the nearest imaginary stream and let the water take it away. The Spirit breathes new life into us.

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I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
January 28, 2007


Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 4:21-30
Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, "Isn´t this the son of Joseph?" He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb, ´Physician, cure yourself,´ and say, ´Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.´" And he said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Our Gospel passage this morning describes the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. In the passage preceding today’s text, Jesus has emerged from his 40-day fast in the desert. We are told: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.” Initially, the reaction to Jesus preaching in Nazareth is also very positive. The Gospel states: “And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”
Then a doubt emerges. We are only told that the people asked: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” Evidently, much is summarized in this very cryptic passage. Jesus attempts to answer questions about his authority by citing the evidence in the Old Testament of the prophets not being appreciated by their own people. Jesus offers the examples of Elijah and Elisha finding more faith in gentiles than in Israel.
Again, we can look back to the author of today’s first reading, Jeremiah, and discover the price for speaking the truth to God’s people. Jeremiah was flogged, put in stocks, and thrown into a dungeon, and eventually exiled. The life of a prophet was not easy.
The Gospel today relates that the people in the Nazareth Synagogue became “filled with fury” at Jesus’ words and message. We are told that they “drove him [Jesus] out of town” and they were preparing to hurl him over a cliff, when Jesus was able to stop this angry mob by the sheer power of his gaze.
This incident, of course, was not the last encounter of Jesus with hostility. As we read on in the gospels, we discover that the conflicts between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel intensify. It would finally end with another angry mob shouting their desire for Jesus’ fate with the words: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Jesus would be led to another hill – the hill of Calvary. This time, Jesus would not walk away, but would allow himself to be submitted to a cruel, painful, and humiliating death—death on the cross.
The disciple of Jesus cannot reflect on Jesus’ fate dispassionately. What happened to Jesus is personalized for us as we recall Jesus’ own sober warning, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first….. `No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” The good news is that we share in the mission of Jesus. The challenging news is that Jesus promised us that following him would not be a “rose garden.”

Last Sunday the Gospel Reading showed us that Jesus had just started to preach in the synagogues. Saint Luke, this Sunday, tells us that when Jesus preached in Nazaret, his hometown, he picked up on the reaction of several of his neighbors who received his words poorly and, in some cases, with hostility. His preaching was well liked and some even admired it, recognizing that his words were wise and that every word that came out of his mouth was the pure truth. Nevertheless, he also observed that many of them, looked at each other and derisively said, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph?”
To many people this will not seem strange. Surely, many have experienced the same type of welcome from others. Not only among friends but possibly even from members of their own families who obstinately refuse to recognize successes gained. When others who are possibly more industrious, more willing to work, or more willing to sacrifice or who have been given special talents by the Lord because they are more willing to follow him, triumph in life, they can see around them the looks of envy. They can see with that others are not happy to see a brother or sister do well, as God asks us to do. Thos how have to suffer through this should do so as Our Lord did. We saw in the Gospel Reading that he had a sense of humor. Surely he did not like the reaction of his neighbors. It was, after all, his hometown. But, even so, he took things generously and said to the, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he added more. He told them that he knew that no prophet is admired and accepted in his own land.

In today’s gospel we read of as incident that gets very little emphasis .... the crowd threatened to kill Jesus! What could so incite a group of people that they would consider such a violent action? The cause was not indicated but Jesus may have been questioning their commitment. He tells His audience that during the drought the prophet Elijah did not go to a widow in Israel but instead went to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Also, He indicated that while there were many lepers in Israel the prophet Elisha chose to cleanse Naaman, a Syrian.
Why would Jesus comments so enrage the crowd? I would assume they were angry because Jesus was indicating the people of Israel were not worthy to be the beneficiaries of these miracles. He was criticizing them for their lack of faith. Those listening to Him did not accept his comments with a feeling of remorse or even with a conscious acceptance of His criticism. Rather, their attitude seemed to be, “How dare you talk to us in this manner? You are only the son of a humble carpenter. We don’t have to listen to you.”
The crowd was angry and did not issue an empty threat. Listen once again. “They rose up, drove Him out of the town and led him to the brow of a hill to hurl Him down headlong.” They weren’t kidding. They meant to kill Him. Can you imagine the feeling of awe they had when He looked them right in the eye and, with no fear, simply walked away from them. They were powerless to stop Him.
Does this remind us of any other society that seems to have the same reaction to the teachings of Jesus Christ? Could it remind us of our society here in the United States? If so, do we have the courage of Jesus that would strengthen our will to oppose many of the evils in our society?

Who was He? Listen to His words at the beginning of the gospel. “Today, the Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” He was saying, “I am the Messiah. I am the son of God. I bring salvation to those who will follow Me.” But ... they didn’t want to follow Him, they wanted to kill Him. I believe that many rich, important people in the United States might well react as did His Jewish audience.
So, what does this mean to us assembled here in His church? Well, first of all, instead of threatening to throw Him off the brow of the hill, we have all come here of our own free will to hear His words. We believe. In our society we are probably in the minority just as Jesus was in the minority as He faced the Jewish congregation that had assembled to hear Him.
Some may be thinking, “It’s not really that big a deal. Coming to Mass one day a week isn’t that difficult.” That’s true but when you read the statistics of the recent survey of the United States bishops and learn that of those in this country who claim to be Catholic, only 29% regularly attend Sunday Mass, we can conclude we are following the teachings of Jesus Christ by being here this morning (evening).
However, is there the possibility that we too can take our faith for granted? After all, the Jews who heard Jesus speak were initially very supportive of Him. The gospel tells us, “All spoke highly of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His mouth.” But when, He challenged them their attitudes changes drastically. And isn’t that the same attitude we must fear? If He would speak to us of how we are living our lives, would we continue to agree with His teachings? This is His challenge.
In particular, I think this is His challenge to the young people among us. You are the targets of many different people trying to convince you that His way should not be your way. They well tell you, “Don’t follow His instructions about sinning against the 6th commandment.” They will also try to convince you that abortion is a solution to a problem rather than the cause of additional problems. Society may tell you that drugs and alcohol are merely instruments by which you show your individuality and that it’s fun to go along with the crowd. But ... they are lying. By your presence here today you are professing that only Jesus has the real secret to your happiness, here and in the hereafter.
Those of us who are older also face the problem of following Jesus and not being tempted be a society that tells us, “Get rich .. have fun ... don’t spend your precious time in prayer and in helping others.” Is that what Jesus teaches us? In this gospel, when those who heard Him realized He was talking to them about their lack of faith they suddenly became hostile, didn’t they? “Don’t listen to the words of that Man. After all, isn’t He the son of Joseph? Isn’t He just a carpenter? He’s no rock star, He’s no powerful politician, He’s no economic wizard?” No, he wasn’t. He was just the Son of God, sent to save the world from sin. He was sent to save all of us from the very excesses prevalent in our present society. No wonder there are others who would preach against Him.
The teenagers, the young adults, the married and the senior citizens here this morning have been promised by the God of Moses and by Jesus Christ that we need not throw away our lives just to “be popular and join the crowd”. If we will truly recognize what is happening, if we see how our modern society preaches destruction while our God promises us salvation, peace and love with Him, He will give us the courage to continue following His words.
As we come to communion this morning consider the words of today’s psalm,
“For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth,
On you I depend from birth from my mother’s womb,
you are my strength.”
His grace will be there to strengthen us so that we can follow His example, today. If we follow Him, we too will be able “to pass through the midst of those who would kill our faith and we, too, will be strong enough to walk away from the false promises of this society.

We Share the Mission of the Crucified
Each one of us in church today has been called in some way to share in the mission of Jesus. We have been called by God, since before our birth, to receive the life of Christ but also to give the life of Christ to others. The Lord is depending on us to be the instruments in announcing in words, but even more so by our deeds, the good news of His love to others. There are others who are depending on our acceptance of Jesus’ mission for their own opportunity to understand and experience the love of God for them revealed in Jesus Christ.
If we share in the mission of Jesus, then we must inevitably share in His cross. We should not be surprised when the world does not praise us or does not accept us or is even openly hostile to us. Jesus–in the Beatitudes–warns those of us who would follow Him: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” How can we hear these words of Jesus and not expect to suffer if we are true to our mission? How can we be surprised when we find ourselves rejected and ridiculed by our culture and society?

Pray for the Grace to Welcome the Cross
In light of acts of great Christian heroism in the last century and thousands upon thousands more through the two millennia of Christianity, can we ever complain about the small ways we are permitted to share in the cross of Jesus? It is bearing these hardships—whatever they may be—with joy and love, that God can use us most powerfully to change hearts and enlighten minds with the truth of the Gospel.
Conclusion
Let us give thanks that each one of us has been given a wonderful life; a life filled with meaning and purpose. Let us ask for the grace to follow Jesus with fidelity and joy, even when that leads us to share in His passion and His cross. It is at these moments particularly that Jesus desires to use our courage and perseverance to open the hearts of others to the truth and beauty of the Gospel. In the Eucharist today, let us renew our gratitude for the privilege of sharing in Jesus’ life and mission. Let us pray for the grace to follow Him faithfully as He leads us through the mysterious events of our lives to the threshold of eternal life and joy.




Using the beautiful words of Isaiah, Jesus identified Himself to His home-town folks as the Messiah who had come to proclaim a “year of favor from the Lord.” The folks were delighted by His lovely words, but clearly had little intention of accepting “the son of Joseph” as the Messiah. At most, they felt, He might be a good speaker and perform some miracles; He should stay in Nazareth and have the decency to cure His own folks and make His home-town famous, and maybe even rich, by attracting strangers. Jesus, of course, had no intention of being domesticated by the narrow-mindedness and faithlessness of the Nazarenes. He tells them as much by reminding them of two other men sent to Israel by God who were also confronted with a lack of faith, viz. Elijah and Elisha. The Nazarenes react to this reminder with furious disdain and mob violence. Jesus’ only course of action was to leave Nazareth in hurried dismay. Apparently, His first experience of preaching had been, as Cardinal Martini once pointed out, a total disaster: no-one listened, no-one believed and no-one wanted Him any more.
We might ask: was Jesus unnecessarily provocative? Shouldn’t He have “done what Jesus would do”, understanding here by “Jesus” our oft too comfortable caricature of the real Jesus? “Now, now, Jesus –we might say- be nice! Be understanding! Have patience … and … well, never mind that little sin of theirs! Don’t be harsh, Jesus dear: remember what good St. Paul writes about love not being pompous or inflated or rude or quick-tempered.” So, was Jesus lacking in love the way He spoke and acted in Nazareth? Was He acting like an Old Testament prophet, like Jeremiah, thinking only in terms of being a “fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass against the whole land”? Was He looking for a fight? Was He suffering from an inferiority complex and just trying to prove Himself some kind of biblical macho?
We could take this even further and suggest that, again using the words of St. Paul, Jesus was being short-sighted in the way He handled Himself at Nazareth. St. Paul makes it clear that prophecy will one day fail, and only love will remain. “What’s the point, then, dearest Jesus, of all your prophesying when, at the end, God’s love will prevail and everyone will be happy ever after . . .?”
With this, I hope to have stirred you to focus on what is really at stake in the almost tragic episode of Jesus’ visit to Nazareth.
Undoubtedly it was the hope of Jesus that He would be accepted by the people of His own home town, but He was not looking for the kind of acceptance we associate with an Olympic gold-medallist. Jesus did not seek acclaim. Nor did He seek the kind of acceptance that would require of Him to fit the preconceived notions of the Nazarenes. Remember, He declared fulfilled in Himself the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah, and it was as the Messiah, or the Christ, that He sought acceptance. He therefore sought acceptance by faith. When, however, He heard the people say, “this is Joseph’s son, surely?”, He knew that their hearts had remained closed in the realm of human appearances and human respect, and He told them: “just as Elijah and Elisha found no faith in Yahweh among the Israelites, so I find among you Nazarenes no faith in me as the divine Messiah.” That is why they desire to kill Him: He was guilty of blasphemy, equating Himself with Yahweh.
You might still object: “why could He not have gone about giving His reprimand more lovingly? Do we not speak of Him as gentle and humble of Heart?”
Here we touch upon one of the most difficult aspects of our experience as human beings and as believers in Jesus Christ. One of the major problems is our use and our understanding of the word “love”. Today, this word has, to some extent, been hijacked and reduced to meaning a commodity that has been privatized and commercialized. By commodity, I mean an object of self-satisfying consumption: “I need to get my love, I need to feel my share of love.” By privatized, I mean love is treated much the same way as morality and religion are mischaracterized today: “keep it to yourself, it’s merely your private business.” By commercialized, I mean advertised, bought and sold and, if needs be, discarded. Now, I am not saying that there is no genuine love around in our time. But this kind of watered-down understanding of love has become an umbrella to justify everything from casual sex to divorce and from pornography to so-called reality TV. Of course, when the true wine of love is so watered-down that it itself becomes water, then people begin to believe that the water is wine. Should someone then insist on seeking real wine, they are considered as being too demanding, too hard to please, yes, and even too provocative.
A significant reason, if not the reason, behind this dilution of love is the separation of love from truth. Again, truth is also a word that has suffered a sort of kidnapping and dilution, to the point of meaning almost anything anyone wants it to mean. Most disturbing is that positive science has sought to reserve for itself a monopoly on the meaning of truth. If something cannot be verified scientifically, i.e. proven by science’s own standards, then it is often dismissed as fable, speculation, opinion, illusion or some other such word. A truth that is not scientific is thought, at best, to be pleasantly irrelevant. Yet in Sacred Scripture, and therefore in the mind, heart and usage of Jesus, the words love and truth mean so much more and are, in fact, inseparable.
Ultimately, truth and love are the reality of God Himself. No love can be love if God is not present: any love, for all that it may call itself love, but which cannot stand in the presence of God, is a fake love, is an untrue love. Love is by definition the profoundest bond between persons, and thus cannot be a commodity for sale or for greedy consumption; nor can it therefore be private in the sense of a solitary, individualistic self-satisfaction. This is because God is present in any true love, and by that very fact unites us to Himself and to one another, even to those whom we do not know. Love is a free and sincere gift of one’s own self, and so cannot be commercialized. To commercialize love is to usurp the power to sell God, something Judas did cynically with nothing less than a kiss.
Similarly, truth in its deepest and biblical sense refers to God’s fidelity to the love He has shown us in creating and redeeming us in His Beloved Son, who is the Truth itself. Scientific truth is, of course, a wonderful thing: it shows forth the beauty of God’s creation in the insight and inventions it discovers. But you cannot put Christ, the Truth of the Gospel, under a microscope; Einstein himself can say nothing about the Eucharist or the Resurrection. Hence, scientific truth must remain at the service of the truth about the human person, and that truth is fully revealed only by Christ and in Christ. When science oversteps that service, for example, in human cloning, it encroaches upon the Kingdom of Christ. Scientific truth is but one reflection of the fullness of God’s truth; so is political truth (when it is actually true), legal truth (both in its constitution and interpretation), aesthetic truth and every other truth that is truth. They all form part of the manifold fidelity of God to Himself and to mankind, although that fidelity far surpasses the sum of all these different dimensions of the truth.
Therefore, Jesus did not fail to love the Nazarenes when He proclaimed the truth about Himself and about them. Rather, He would have failed to love them had He not done so. When someone who truly loves speaks a truth to the beloved that is difficult for the beloved to accept, because it is perceived by the beloved as criticism or rejection, then that love and truth are themselves declared suspect or false by that same beloved. In fact, of course, they are neither false nor suspect. Rather, both are authentic, for it is a genuine love, a true love, which seeks to free the beloved from the sin or evil which afflicts them. How can my love be true if I fail to save my beloved from their affliction, especially when they do not see it or do not want to see it? It is the sin in the beloved which seeks to convince the same beloved that the lover who challenges them to be rid of sin is himself evil. The old deception is: “if you loved me, you wouldn’t tell me I’m not living the truth, you’d tell me what I want to hear.” The older truth is, however: “because I love you, love impels me to tell you where the lack of truth in you is destroying you, and so, I will tell you precisely what you do not want to hear.”
This is what motivates the prophets to speak, because it motivates God who sent them. More radically still, it motivates Jesus of Nazareth since the very reason for His coming among us was to free us, who are His beloved, from sin. It also motivates the Church in Her prophetic mission to denounce evil in any and all its forms irrespective of the reaction of the world or, indeed, of Her own sons and daughters. Sensitivity to modern living and thinking must surely be present in Her, but it cannot silence Her voice to proclaim that the truth of the human person and the true love of the human person is revealed only and fully in Jesus Christ. To some that may seem provocative, to others obsolete, to yet others politically imprudent, to others still, hypocritical or simply irrelevant. So be it. The Church and Her prophets may suffer the same fate in the modern city that the Nazarenes wished to foist upon Jesus by hurling Him headlong out of their town. The Church may be misunderstood for the motivation of Her clear teaching on what is right and what is wrong. Yet, irrespective of that, Her love for all the children of mankind will remain steadfast because Her fidelity to the truth of Christ will not, cannot, fail. And, at the threshold of heaven, She will be there to assist all who seek Her help to enter upon the eternal year of favor from the Lord, in the truth and the love of Heaven.

posted by Mike Young @ 5:41 PM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20070121

Examine your actions and attitudes.
Holiness has to do with relationships. And good relationships require attentiveness and self-control. Jesus warns us against acts of anger and destructive attitudes, such as contempt. He urges us to forgive readily and to seek forgiveness for our faults. Does anyone hold anything against you? To grow in holiness is to attend to that.

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Bringing Good News
January 21, 2007


Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."


During this liturgical year we will be listening to the Gospel according to Saint Luke. The author tells us that in his Gospel he wrote everything that he already knew, and everything that he could collect, about the life of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, using information, great and small, that the Christian community gave him. Everything that he collected he placed in one book, describing all that was true about the life, passion and death of our Redeemer. We do not know what Saint Luke’s ability as a writer was before he began this great task. What we can say is that writing had not been his profession. Tradition has always told us that Saint Luke was a doctor. Nevertheless, we can see that he wrote a great and marvelous book. He works as a historian investigating conscientiously so that we can know the truth.
The first part or the first paragraph is taken from the opening words of Luke’s gospel story, chapter one. Luke is of course an evangelist, but here he acts and writes like a historian. He wants his readers to know that his story is not only true but that he can personally vouch for it. He himself has gathered all the pertinent information, and has investigated and uncovered the truth. It is like he is saying: “Look, I am writing the greatest story in the world, and nothing but the best is good enough for it.”

In the Gospel today, Saint Luke begins to narrate to us how Our Lord’s public life began. He tells us that at that time, Jesus had returned from Galilee with much strength and filled with the Holy Spirit. His fame was beginning to spread around the area. When he spoke in synagogues people listened attentively and praised what he said. But we also see in the Gospel that at that time, just as today, there were people who do not want to recognize the qualities that others have, even though these may be great and their words are undoubtedly wise.
For three short years Jesus walked among the people of Palestine. How many people really discovered him for who he was? I too only have a short time to come to know the Lord. Our human existence is short. Jesus gives me many ways to come into contact with him: his word in Scripture, the sacraments, the good example of other Christians, the providential circumstances of my life, etc. Christ is present for the asking. Do I attempt to discover him more deeply each day?

The reading that day (read by Jesus in today’s Gospel) was an important one. It came from Isaiah, Chapter 61, in the Old Testament. It told of the “presence of the Spirit”, it spoke of “glad tidings”, of “liberty” and “release of prisoners”, and “recovery of sight to the blind”, as well as a “year of favor”.. All these were good things, all of them big blessings from God. It was not the old message of doom and scolding and fright that often came from the mouth of John the Baptist; no, this was something that uplifted the listeners, filled them with cheer and courage and hope…After listening to Jesus they could truly hope, because when Jesus finished reading he sat down and began to teach and to confirm the message. He made this wonderful promise: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, all the good things they longed for and wished for would and could come from him to them.
What kind of reaction did Jesus get from his hearers? What kind of reaction does he get from us? One thing seems sure to me. Our reaction should be the same as the signs we sometimes see in baseball stadiums: “You gotta believe!” We can’t react like the people of Nazareth. They heard this proclamation from Jesus and did not believe in him. Read the rest of chapter 4 in Luke’s gospel, and you will learn their reaction. Not only did they not believe, they wanted to get rid of Jesus. They were ready to throw him off the cliff on which Nazareth is built, get him out of town. No, we can’t be like them.
Rather, our reaction must be to take him at his word. His promises of joy and liberty, his glad tidings and announcements to the poor, are meant to give us courage and guidance. We must CELEBRATE life with him. The passage from Isaiah is applicable to our own life: because of Jesus our life should be joyful and serene. We can be sure that, because of Jesus, there are glad tidings for us, there is liberty from sin and hell, there is new sight and new beauty for us to see and enjoy, there are years of favor for us in the sight of God. Our life is meant to be a joy, not a sorrow.
Really, our faith makes is very simple. When we live our life according to God’s word and God’s promise, when we live our life in God’s presence, when we try to know, love and serve God in this world, we will truly be happy with him here on earth, and happier forever with him in heaven. What more do we need? What more could we ask?


“ Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,” … a Scripture passage about good news for the poor, liberty for captives, recovery of sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. Yet next week, when we take up where today’s reading leaves off, we will hear that the people who were listening to him, his own friends and neighbors, forcibly took Jesus to the brow of the hill on which the town was built. They were ready to throw him off because he condemned them for hesitating to accept his authority. He was, after all, just one of them. Of course, they had reason for their reluctance to believe his of message. There was little sign that Roman power was lessening, and it was Rome that stood in the way of the independence and a return to their own political leadership. That was what many Jews saw as the real fulfillment of Scriptural promises of freedom. Yet, knowing their reluctance to accept what he said, Jesus announced that God’s promises of liberty and release were for the people of his time and place. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus continued his mission of proclaiming release and freedom for several years in Galilee and in neighboring pagan areas. Finally in Jerusalem opposition to his message and to his rising popularity grew to the point that those in authority convicted him on baseless charges and insisted that he be crucified. Yet, at the beginning of his career, Jesus announced that he came to bring release, freedom, and liberty. Crucifixion did not stop the mission Jesus began at that time and place. Associates who witnessed his resurrection from the dead carried the message of freedom that Jesus spoke throughout what we call the Middle East and even into Europe, but opposition continued. Of the twelve originally appointed by Jesus to continue announcing his message of liberty only one escaped being killed for their work in spreading the gospel. Hundreds, if not thousands, continued to announce the good news of God’s will to save humanity from the binding power of the sins of some who in every age want power over others. They followed the apostles as martyrs to Christ’s message of release. Yet, from the very beginning Christ insisted that his message was one of release and healing. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

There are reasons that make us reluctant to believe that a Scripture passage of release and freedom is fulfilled in our hearing. There is the ongoing “war” against terrorism. Members of our military have lost their lives in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Most families now have or know of men and women risking their lives for our freedom. Many people fear to travel by air. At home we know that our schools are far less safe than they used to be. There always were school bullies, but now gangs, drug dealers, and armed students are real fears for many parents. Corporation scandals and rip-offs have shaken our confidence the industrial giants that seem to control our economic well being including our investments and our retirement funds. Large numbers of people in this country cannot afford medical insurance and do not have it as an employment benefit. Without insurance emergency services is the only possible source for medical care. There are so many reasons that it is difficult for us to believe that Christ’s message of liberation is being fulfilled in our hearing today.


Jesus went to Nazareth, the small town in which he was raised. It was Saturday, and since he was a Jew, he went to the synagogue. When he was there, he arose with the intention of reading from scripture. Someone gave him the scroll that contained the book of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling it, he found the passage that we heard in the Gospel Reading. He read the same words that the prophet Isaiah had used when he spoke to the Jews who were oppressed and enslaved in Babylon during the exile. After the end of the reading, Jesus spoke to the Jews of Nazareth and its surroundings who had congregated in the synagogue. He explained to them that he had come to this world to end the slavery of the oppressed, referring to the slavery of souls, which because of sin we all suffer. The reading that the Lord read, talks about the mercy of God and how the liberation of the oppressed Jewish people would take place. God had listened to the cries of the people. Taking pity on then because of their suffering, God sent the Messiah, his own Son. Some people ask: why did the Messiah have to be the Son of God? The answer is simple and easy to answer. Our sins are the cause of our enslavement. And only God can free us from them because only God can pardon sins.

I am aware that this teaching is either not known, not understood or is simply ignored by many today, including Catholics. It is even dismissed as obsolete and contrary to human freedom and human rights. Some will deny that this is the teaching of Christ, and say it is only a biased, culturally limited interpretation of Christ. The underlying crisis in question here is, I believe, not a crisis about the content of Church doctrine, but about the very authority of the Church to teach at all in Christ's Name. It is a crisis of faith, a radical doubting about the means Christ Himself chose to keep his Bride, the Church, faithful and infallible in His Truth. It is also a crisis of faith in the sense that many people no longer consider Christ and His Church as relevant to their life choices. When human freedom is exalted as needing no justification other than itself, any authority that would set limits or define boundaries dictated by divine truth is regarded with suspicion, if not hostility. When people are accountable only to themselves, anything they choose is by that fact good, anything they say is by that fact true. No authority, human or divine, dare contradict them. For them, there is no dogma other than their own freedoms and rights, there is no sin other than to try and limit that freedom and those rights.
Yet this is so unrealistic. Freedom needs to be educated so as to be free. It can only be educated by the authority of the truth for, as Jesus teaches, "anyone who keeps my word will know the truth and the truth will set them free." The Church of Jesus, by the will and power of Jesus, teaches His truth, not to limit freedom, but to prevent freedom from seeking fulfillment in falsity. Lies enslave and destroy; the Church would fail to save us from such destruction if She failed to preach the truth, in season and out of season. Obedience to the truth is not contrary to freedom but anchors and defines freedom in that truth, thus making it truly free.

posted by Mike Young @ 9:50 AM 0 comments

My Postings of Gospel Reflections

I've just posted my archives of recent Gospel Reflections. Here's a little bit of information concerning the Reflections:

Each file has that Sunday's Gospel reading 1st, then following the reading are many homilies that I find on the Internet and paste into a long document. I started out in Summer by noting the important parts of the homilies in large type, then, as time went by, I started adding highlighting, and, since the beginning of October, I've started multi colored highlighting combined with large type to quickly access homily points that relate to the same colored area of the Gospel Reading.

The postings are copies of each Sunday's Word file. Unfortunately, the different text sizes and highlighting does not show up at all in this blog format. If you'd like my original files, please supply your email address and I'll send them.

Please note that almost all text in these Reflections is not written by me, but is my final edited version of Homilies I find on the Internet. As time goes by, I seem to be getting better at condensing the final Reflection into a short, concise file. I've also been adding short statements at the top that hopefully make you stop and thing about your individual life... These statements are not necessarily related to the Gospel Reading.

Please post your comments and suggestions for improvement.

Thanks!



Mike

posted by Mike Young @ 6:55 AM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20070114

Learn to pray.Life isn't easy. For one thing, the daily struggle between good and evil is real. To help us cope, Jesus taught us a brief prayer. The Lord's Prayer assumes that temptation is part of life and that dependence on God is the remedy. We ask God to "forgive our trespasses," "lead us not into temptation" and "deliver us from evil." In struggling, we are never alone.

Aspire to be perfect.Jesus ups the ante, We must love not only our neighbor, but also our enemy! Such perfection may seem unattainable, but it is reached the same way as any lesser goal. Proceed one step at a time.

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January 14, 2007
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
John 2:1-11On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.





In Cana of Galilee Jesus worked the first of His signs and throughout his public ministry He would continue to work and perform miracles. For the most part what He did was either ignored or rejected.

In the Gospel Reading, Saint John tells us about what occurred at the wedding feast in Cana in Galilee. The Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus, were invited to this celebration. The wine ran out and there were many people at the banquet. The newly wed couple needed help. Mary, a sensitive and intuitive woman, saw the problem, understood the need, and spoke to her son, saying, “They have no more wine.” Obviously, Jesus was surprised to hear these simple words from his mother. That is why he said, “Woman, how does this concern of yours involve me? My hour has not yet come.” But the Virgin Mary knew that her son would not stand by idly when someone was in need so she told those waiting at the table, “Do whatever he tells you.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that by his presence at this marriage feast, the Lord confirmed the goodness of matrimony and blessed married love. With this, his first miracle, Our Lord shows that God supports and blesses this sacrament.

Mary notes that the wine is about to run out and she is concerned. How embarrassing it would be for this young couple to begin their lives together if they could not provide sufficient food and drink for their guests. Mary brings her concern to Jesus and water is turned into wine in abundance. The wedding reception continues and the party goes on.

In the Mediterranean region, wine is a very important part of every meal. And at this wedding feast, the wine was about to give out. We do not know how things got to this point. But it was an opportune moment for Jesus, at this wedding feast, to perform his first miracle, showing his glory and, at the same time, helping his disciples to grow in faith. Although this miracle was his first one, it was not a small one. The “jars” that the servants filled, at the Lord’s command, were large, Jewish in style and made of stone, of the type that were used in those days for their purification ceremonies. The Gospel Reading tells us that each one held one hundred liters. And they filled several. And Jesus did not content himself with just pleasing his mother and helping the family and the newlywed couple. He did all of this by giving them a wine of excellent quality.
The Gospel reading this Sunday teaches us that when we pray to the Most Holy Virgin asking her to help us, we will always find her ready to intercede with her Son for us. And, if we ask for something that is good for us, and we pray with faith, Christ will certainly perform a small miracle for us, first to please his mother, and then to help us in our need.
The Lord himself told us that whatever we ask for in his name would be given to us. He always gives much more than we ask for and much more than we deserve. At the wedding feast of Cana the importance of the intercession of the Virgin Mary is highlighted. There may be some people in our Church who have doubts when we talk about the Virgin Mary being our Mediatrix. It could be that some do not understand what this means. It is a term that we Catholics use to describe the singular role that the Mother of Jesus has in the mission of her Son as Mediator. There are also many non Catholics who, when we call the Virgin, “Mediatrix,” think that this is in conflict with the Bible in which her Son is called the sole Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Yet, we Catholics are sure that when we call the Most Holy Virgin by that title we do not belittle Christ’s mediation.
The Bible calls on all of us to offer prayers, petitions, intercessions and acts of thanksgiving to God (1 Timothy 2:1). In reality, whenever we pray for someone else we act as mediators for them before Our Lord. And that is what the Virgin Mary does when she asks her Son to help us. The Virgin Mary, because she is the Mother of God, because she lived a life of total dedication and faith, and because she is closely united with her Son in heaven, is the Mediatrix, par excellence, between Him and humanity.

Jesus continues to work His saving acts in our midst occasionally in extraordinary ways. Most often they were in the quiet events of mundane, everyday living. Maybe that’s why we call it “ordinary time”. Day in and day out Jesus is there for us. Without fanfare and in the quiet of our souls He works with us. The trick is to see these saving acts and to know of His presence so that we can believe even more fully that Jesus is the very center of our being and, then to publicly avow this.

posted by Mike Young @ 6:38 AM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20070107

Compare your actions with your intentions.Temptations come our way so often that we may fail to notice them. Few are clear-cut choices between good and evil. Most concern little things, daily decisions about time, energy and money. We surprise ourselves when we don't have time or energy to help someone, to pray or to study a justice issue. Perhaps we have already given in to more tempting activities.

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January 7, 2007
The Epiphany of the Lord


GospelMt 2:1-12When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?We saw his star at its risingand have come to do him homage.”When King Herod heard this,he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;since from you shall come a ruler,who is to shepherd my people Israel.”Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child.When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”After their audience with the king they set out.And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the housethey saw the child with Mary his mother.They prostrated themselves and did him homage.Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.


Epiphany is a composite of two words: “epi” and “phano” meaning to shine forth, to let your light “bump up against” the world.

Today we celebrate Epiphany. Epiphany means to reveal, to show, or to make known. The enduring insight from the earliest days of Israel to our own modern Christianity is that God is not remote from us; God is actively involved…God cares…God is concerned.
On those mornings when we wake up, sit on the edge of the bed, rub our eyes, think of the problems we face, worry whether our life has any real meaning, and wonder if there is even really a God…God is present.
God is with us. Sometimes all we have to do is take the time to open our eyes and see…open our ears and hear…open our hearts and feel the presence. May we all see and hear and feel the epiphanies of God in our lives this day and in each day to come.
The visit of the Magi to the Holy Family is one of the most beautiful of the Christmas traditions. There is intrigue as the 3 Wise men foil Herod’s attempt to find and kill the child Jesus. Three powerful men travel many miles to pay homage to this babe and then offer him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They also bring the warning that this young family must once again alter their plans. Finally, it is suggested they flee to Egypt to foil the plot of King Herod.
Matthew relates for us the story of the Magi that come to visit Jesus. This story has been embellished over the years. We normally think of them in terms of three wise men. We may even remember the names that tradition has given them: Melchior, Balthasar and Caspar. Scripture doesn't tell us that there were three men, nor does it reveal their names. We presume there were three based upon the presence of the three gifts.
Opportunities to Change
Basically, most people do not like change. We get really comfortable doing the same old thing.
In today’s gospel reading, we hear about Magi who left their familiar surroundings and journeyed to a new and foreign place where they found the Christ child. They were called to change, to leave the comfort of home, and be guided by a “star” or “light,” something beyond themselves. The Magi could be our patron saints. They didn’t have to travel but chose to do so. Their journey wasn’t just a physical one, but required a lot of inner change as well. What had been comfortable and “home” was no longer.
As a contrast, Herod is also in the gospel reading. And he wasn’t about to change. He was in charge and was planning to stay in charge. As king of the Jewish state, someone called the “newborn king of the Jews” threatened him and he wanted to find out where this Christ child was.
Like Herod, we can go through the motions, look like we are interested in doing what is right and seem to be discerning what God wants for us. But in reality, we like our situation quite nicely. It is hard to move out of the comfortable and make significant changes in our life patterns. However, like the Magi we must make changes and move on into the life ahead.
We must go with the calling of the Holy Spirit. Once we get comfortable in our new calling, he will be calling us to something new. We can’t be our old unchangeable self because life changes around us. God is calling us to somehow build up his kingdom. What is he asking of us right now?
King Herod is “greatly troubled” at the prospect of competition in his life. A jealous person fears a competitor whom they suspect will take away a good possessed. Envy desires the good that I lack but that another person possesses. If we are not attentive, this same sentiment can begin to grow in our hearts. Roots of envy and jealousy towards others grow silently and begin to grip our will while strangling our capacity to love unconditionally. Rather than unity, it sows discord and suspicion. We can even begin to look for ways to “bring them down,” not necessarily physically, but verbally, by assailing their character and exploiting their weaknesses when speaking to others. It eventually enters into our relationship with God: we become less and less generous with God to the point of being threatened by what he may ask me to do or to give up. Because of Original Sin, attitudes like Herod’s assail the heart of each one of us. Yet we do not need to consent to such temptations.
Matthew’s gospel explains how the prophecy of Isaiah comes to fulfillment through Jesus Christ. Wise men come from a distance to offer precious gifts to a new-born King of the Jews as a sign of their reverence for Him. In this new-born babe God is manifesting His glory in an act of power. But this act of power is, paradoxically, an act in which the new-born King presents Himself as being concerned with those who have no power. God’s providential control of events is manifested through the extraordinary means of the star and the dream.

Jesus leads strangers into our lives in many ways. Let us pray that we realize His mysterious plan for each of us, that we will recognize the goodness in other, that we will not be blinded by race, culture, skin color or different ways of praising God, but that we will have humble, open hearts to receive the gifts of others as we all journey to salvation.
The willingness of the Magi to follow the star should show us that we should also be willing to show that we are obedient to the call of God. We also have been called so that, within our possibilities, we can become faithful followers of Christ. The Magi traveled from afar just to be able to prostrate themselves before our King, our Savior, and the Hope of all nations. The Magi were guided by a star. We should be guided by the Church and by what the Church teaches since she will help us to obtain, through our own loyalty and strength, the grace to follow Christ.
Vatican Council II pictures us as a pilgrim people, wanderers and sojourners, people whose life is essentially a journey in quest of a holy place.
I like that picture of the Church because it seems to describe accurately what our life is all about. We never stay in one place. We cannot be complacent, thinking we have arrived. We are always on the move. Journeys of course are tiring and so we often become weary in our search. But journeys can also be exciting. Journeys require us to read the signs, to have a vision of where we are going.
Christmas has not come to an end yet, it continues until Sunday. Ordinary Time does not start until after mass next Sunday. Epiphany marks the end of Christmas season and the beginning of a renewed effort to “show forth,” for the entire world to see and witness, what it means to be a Christian.

The Epiphany comes through the star. And what comes from the star, of course, is light. We read in the Gospel today, “After the audience with the king they set out and behold the star that they had seen in its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the Child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star.” They followed the star. The star symbolizes truth. We never have to be afraid of truth. “The search for truth is the search for God,” said a great saint, Edith Stein. The constant search for truth leads to God. Truth by truth leads to the ultimate truth, Jesus Christ.
Edith Stein has beautiful words of wisdom for all of us: “The kings at the manger represent seekers from all lands and peoples…There lived in them a pure longing for truth that did not stop at the boundaries of native doctrines and traditions. Because God is truth and because he wants to be found by those who seek him with their whole hearts, sooner or later the star had to appear to show these wise men the way to truth. And so they now stand before the Incarnate Truth, bow down and worship it, and place their crowns at its feet, because all the treasures of the world are but a little dust compared to it.”
We, brothers and sisters, are called to stand before the truth, and reincarnate in our daily lives the living and incarnate truth, Jesus Christ. We may think that only saints have the grace to make God reappear. Epiphany invites us to reflect on the call to sanctity, to union with God, to translate Christmas epiphany into the other fifty-one weeks of the year.
The original Epiphany event introduced gift-giving to the Nativity story, not necessarily to the celebration of Christmas as we know it today. With the Wise Men comes the suggestion that we are called to a balance in our lives between matter and spirit. The material side is surely represented in their gifts, particularly the gold. The spiritual is also there. It is manifested first in their readiness to respond to divine direction, to follow the star.
It is also contained in the symbolism of the gift of incense (prayer, homage, respect) and myrrh (a gum resin with a bitter taste, prefiguring the bitter death this child would suffer). Perhaps through a better balance between what is material and spiritual in our contemporary Christian living, sanctity can become more evident in the world, thus allowing God to be seen a bit more clearly, to “reappear,” in a manner of speaking, in our community.

We now have the job of letting Him shine through us to others. That is saint’s work, and that is what we, as Christians, are called to do.
Christ, the light of our life, is “out there,” of course, in the world. But he is also within us. We have always been called to be setting out, as the Wise Men did, to find him. Ours is both an exterior and interior journey. We have been given a star to follow. The star is our vocation; it is visible in the circumstances of our lives, the circumstances that help us define or describe ourselves—as husband and wife, father or mother, son or daughter, single person, or consecrated person—whatever the circumstances of our calling; that’s our star, our vocation. It is a moving star because the God who calls never stops calling. We are invited to follow that call, that star, to find Christ our light, as the Wise Men did. And we find him only to pass him on, by word and example, to others.
As Christmas turns into Epiphany, and Epiphany reopens the door to “ordinary time” and ordinary life, we can consider once again our opportunity to be a saint, to let that little light of ours shine and brighten the many corners of our troubled world. “It is the saint who makes God reappear.”
In the incarnation, he became flesh. In the Eucharist, it is his risen flesh which becomes bread and wine by what is called transubstantiation, so that his flesh might be united with our flesh and ours with his. The Epiphany we recall today is but a foreshadowing of the true epiphany of the Holy Eucharist.
It is, then, to the Holy Eucharist that men and women of all times have, shall and must look to see the wonderful presence of Christ among us.
The question is whether or not we Catholics, to whom this treasure has been entrusted, do ourselves believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

How will the world enjoy Christ’s light if we are not its witnesses in and to the world? His light today comes through our witness.
Witness is not so much about dramatic actions or words.
Witness, rather, is about the dramatic revolution in our own hearts and consciences joyfully to accept that, unlike Herod, we are neither our own present nor our own future: we exist because of Christ and for Christ.
Witness is to draw others into the awareness of Christ alive and shining within us.
Witness is to have realized that Christ’s vision of who I am is the only real one, and that my own obscure and self-concerned vision of myself is little more than a shadow.
Witness draws dark hearts into the circle of the light and life of Jesus Christ.
Witness renders loneliness impossible because I live in the loving communion of Jesus and with all others who are one with him.
Please, do not think that this is impossible for you: not only is it possible, it has already begun in your baptism. Not only is it possible: without it, you cannot inherit the Kingdom of light.

Today’s Gospel gives us a blue-print of the differing reactions of the world to the Church, just as there appeared differing reactions to the new-born Christ-Child.
First, it shows us that, not only Israel, but the whole world in some profound way was awaiting the coming of the Messiah.
Second, it shows that God was faithful to His promises to Israel, despite Israel’s long history of alternate fidelity and infidelity.
Third, the Gospel highlights the contrast between worldly authority which submits to Christ and worldly authority which does not.

Today's homily is one that is so familiar, the setting so well known, that sometimes we don't look at what is there. Let's step back for a moment from the familiar and take a look at what the Church offers us for consideration.This Gospel is actually a summary of most of our Catholic teachings with regard to Christ. The wise men represent the Gentiles who are called to a relationship with Jesus just as the Magi were called by the star. The gifts they bring show an awareness of the person of Jesus. The gold is a gift to the king, the frankincense is a gift to God, and the myrrh is a recognition of the death and burial of Jesus.
The magi worshipped Jesus and gave him their most valuable gifts. What would be our most valuable gift that we could give to the newborn Jesus? I’m not sure that there’s a right answer, but I think that there is no greater gift we could give than the gift of ourselves. By giving ourselves, we become disciples of Jesus.
God reveals himself to us so we will be epiphanies for others! Like God revealed Jesus to the magi from other countries, we must reveal Jesus to people who do not know him. We must also reveal Jesus to other people who need to know him better, like our families, friends, and neighbors. I’m sure that all of us can think of people who are the face of Christ to us. We, in turn, must be the face of Christ to others.
Sometimes God reveals himself to us in the midst of the ordinary things we do.
Each of us has epiphanies. When we have one and God reveals something to us, we will have to make a choice to take a different road, like the maji did when they returned home. God is calling us to change our ways. Change is not easy, but God will continue to call us to change during our entire lives. He continues to call me to change. He never gives up on us. He wants us to say “yes.”

posted by Mike Young @ 6:36 AM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20061231

We are not saved from this world by ourselves but in the world for others.We enter the world to transform it rather than to make a speedy and solitary escape, having earned it for ourselves. This communal and sacramental dimension of Catholicism makes it easier to understand why Catholics see the work for justice as essential to following Jesus.

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A Joy for the Whole Family December 31, 2006Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Luke 2:41-52Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father´s house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.



This translation doesn’t even begin to give us a sense of what Mary and Joseph must have been experiencing. How many of you have ever lost track of one of your children at the mall, or a ball game, or some other public event – even just for a split second? I have, and I panicked. I suspect that the kind of feelings and emotions that I experienced are the same kind of feelings and emotions that Mary and Joseph were feeling during those long three days while they were searching for their son. This was a real, human family.

Look at the story in the Gospel today. We’re given a rather bland description of Mary and Joseph’s reaction when they finally find Jesus after searching for him for three days. Luke says, “When his parents saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? You see your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.”

The story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph going to Jerusalem is a short yet powerful story of family life with its joys, celebrations, tensions, expectations, and heart aches all rolled up together and covered with a blanket of love. We don’t hear the dialogue between Mary and Joseph when they are searching frantically for Jesus in the caravan. Somehow I have to believe it was peppered with words that we would consider less than tranquil. The gospel writer records Mary’s words to Jesus after finding him “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Anxiety to say the least when parents lose their only child whom happens to be the Messiah. And so Jesus “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them…and Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.” All the tension, anxiety and uncertainty was completely dispelled by the love that all three had for each other. Jesus was truly marked by God for something special, as Mary and Joseph too had been.

At the heart of all of this lie two virtues which go hand-in-glove and which guarantee the proper functioning of any family. They are the virtues of humility and obedience, which run counter to the arrogance and self-will exalted by so many today. Humility is Christian realism: it recognizes and accepts God as the source of all true good, and it embraces with joyful love the limited and created reality of self. Obedience is Christian pragmatism: what humility recognizes and accepts, obedience puts into practice in love. A virtue is by definition a strength; hence neither humility nor obedience should be construed as weaknesses. We find those strengths in Mary and in Joseph; but we find them also, and to an infinite degree, in Jesus. As God, Jesus is obviously not a limited self; yet it was as God that He showed the greatest “realism” possible by accepting lovingly His Father’s plan for our salvation. As man, Jesus was limited, and yet He showed His divine pragmatism, the extremity of His obedient love, within the confines of being human. Herein lies a great and wonderful mystery before which we can only adore. As God and man, Jesus was obedient, a loving doer of the Father’s will to the most extreme consequences; these included death, but also Resurrection. In their own ways, both Mary and Joseph also lived out fully these two virtues; and by doing so, they enabled the Son of God to save the world.
In our families, we need to rediscover or reinforce humility and obedience. This does not mean subjecting all members of the family to the whims of one or other parent. Parents can only claim obedience and humility from their children if they show them first, by constant, concrete example, what it means for themselves to obey God and to be humble before God. If the search for and the love of God’s truths do not shine forth in a parent’s life, their calls for obedience and humility from their children will be correspondingly sham. The teaching of virtue is only effective if it first proceeds from actions, not words. To act virtuously is, however, sincere only if it is done for love’s sake, not just to impress. If we seek to impress our children rather than teach them through loving example, we will gain only their contempt. Christ left us an example that we should follow in His steps. The Gospel itself would mean nothing if Christ had not actually died and risen for us. That’s why it is tragic self-deception to say we embrace the Gospel and yet, in fact, reject the Cross.
Order, discipline and unity in the home will be more likely if the father and mother themselves love and respect one another as Christ has shown us. If St. Paul asks “wives to be subordinate to their husbands”, he does so only by enjoining on husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, that is by sacrificing Himself completely for Her. In the Christian dispensation, husbands and wives are not intended to live parallel existences which can easily become defensive and offensive. Rather, mutual complementarity in unity is the rule, a rule which is certainly more costly but which, if observed aright in humility and obedience, bears greater fruits of happiness and holiness. When children see such commitment in their parents, they will feel loved, deeply secure, at peace and happy, and they will spontaneously show obedience and respect to them, to other adults and to legitimate authority in the Church and in society. They are also more likely to remain faithful to Christ and seek Him out as the source of their parents’ happiness.
There is no family without its problems, but that does not mean we should dissolve the family as the basic cell of society and of the Church. It means rather that the task of humility and obedience is always before us so that forgiveness and reconciliation can at least soothe, if not heal, the wounds of our problems. The Holy Family remains active from heaven to help all families in trouble for, like Mary and Joseph, all parents are but stewards of their children, charged with preparing them for the mission God gives them in life. Society may laugh at us, but the best way to respond to it and help it, is by ourselves embracing all the more fully the humility and obedience of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Perhaps then society will see in us the picture of Christian realism and pragmatism and be drawn, as was Jesus, to the Father House.

Christians are really members of two families: the family of their human father and mother, and the family of their heavenly Father, His Son, and their Holy Spirit.

Historically, the Church has given us the Holy Family as a model for Christian living. Yet, this model doesn’t work for some of us because we reason, “Jesus was God, Mary was born without original sin, and Joseph had to be a saint to be able to deal with everything thrown at him. How can we possibility be like them?”

Our celebration today calls us to follow the model of the Holy Family. It calls us to stop focusing on our own interests and feelings and self-fulfillment, and focus on those who God has given to us as a family.

One of the most pressing needs of our times is for families to deliberately and intentionally strive toward being a holy family. Holy families don’t just happen. They are something we consciously create by every person working together and persisting in tough times.

My brothers and sisters, God gave you your family as a gift and a legacy. You are called to love it, cherish it, and to constantly build it up, even if it is imperfect and messy.
Sacred Scripture gives us a message for today’s families. This message is different from the one that society in which we live gives. Scripture shows us the importance of sanctifying the home every day, ignoring the sacrifices and hardships that might come up. If the love of Christ is not in our homes, above all of the things that this world has to offer, we could easily fall into the error of thinking that marriage in which everyone looks out for themselves can survive. Another of the great errors which, unfortunately is popular everywhere today, is the idea that marriage between a woman and a man, lived out in mutual respect, dignity and order, is out of date. Let us be prudent and form a home following the teachings of Our Lord because society every day is more and more hostile to marriage and to the family.
Families can be the most nurturing relationships we ever experience. Unfortunately, some of us may not have those kind of happy memories. The holidays can become times of stress and strife. Things said or unsaid, done or not done may bring hurt, discord, even estrangement between family members. Today the Church holds up for us the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the Holy Family.
Each and every one of us is a member of God’s Holy Family. We are called to live out our lives as God has planned them just as Jesus, Mary and Joseph did. We have a choice to live according to the wishes of our Father or to break from our Holy Family and do our own thing. Just as John says at the end of today’s reading, “the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” If the Spirit of God is alive and active in our lives, we know that we are united to God’s Holy Family. It is a family marked by the everyday tensions of life, yes, but it must also be permeated with the love of God the Father each of us has received.
We are called to live lives as planned by God and not as we would selfishly want. This is easier said than done in a world of great selfishness, pressure, and uncertainty. That is why Jesus left us his very Body and Blood to nourish us with his strength, his peace, his love. As we come forward to receive Communion let us, like Jesus, be obedient to OUR FATHER so we too can “advance in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”
Recognize that family life is a life filled with holiness if we allow for it to happen. This in itself presents a dilemma. I refer specifically to some who may feel awkward or ill prepared in recognizing the holiness of their family. After all they live with them…they see the imperfections.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph…in their struggles, fear and anguish recorded in the Gospel…is a model for our own families that the light of God shines in our midst as we confront the same tensions and crisis’ in our lives.
The Holy Family shows us that any Christian home, in order to be happy, within the happiness that one can find on this earth, should be founded in mutual love, giving, prudence and, above all, love of God.
These days can be an ideal time to ask ourselves: how is my home doing? Is there peace in it? Understanding? Love? Do we place God above all? Or do we live as if God did not exist?

posted by Mike Young @ 6:35 AM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20061224

God is waiting...The Christmas story is the climax of a tale that weaves in and out of life after life. The whole invitation of Advent is to remember, to see again the presence of God among us, here from the beginning.

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A Journey of Faith and LoveDecember 24, 2006Fourth Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:39-45During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Saint Luke tells us, in the Gospel Reading today, that the Virgin Mary, when she learned that her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, was with child, immediately set out on the road to the mountains, to a town in Judah, so that she could visit with and take care of her cousin, who awaited, even though she was elderly, the birth of the last prophet who would come to this earth, John the Baptist. The Virgin was also with child, awaiting the birth of the Messiah, our Savior. Two major events brought about by these two extraordinary women.
Saint Elizabeth, when her cousin arrived, recognizing the gifts that Mary had received from the Holy Spirit, greeted her saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Grateful for Mary’s visit, she humbly said, “Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This encounter, narrated by Saint Luke, shows us that the Virgin, in God’s eyes, was a privileged and very special person, contrary to what some people think when they say that the Virgin was not important in the history of humanity. It also reveals Mary’s faith, her courage and her care for others.
Our longing and our goal should be to obtain, with the help of the Most Blessed Virgin, the only truly important thing in our existence: encountering Christ and getting to know him well, just as he is. Our Most Beloved Mother, if we ask her to help us, will show us how to find the way to do this, so that our life can be lived honestly and generously, so that we can turn away from sin and turn our hearts towards Jesus. Mary will help us to get closer to her son, since she is the road over which we get to him.
The Gospel from Luke presents the scene of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth during the pregnancy of each woman. Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, leaps in his mother’s womb when he hears Mary greet her relative. Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, praises Mary and refers to her as the mother of her “Lord”. And she praises Mary’s faith in the promise made to her by the “Lord”. The same word is used in the Greek for “Lord”. The first use, in which Elizabeth refers to Mary as the mother of her “Lord”, refers to Christ who is viewed by Elizabeth as her master. But the use of the same word, “Lord”, for God, suggests a special relation between Christ and God. Here, in the first appearance of Christ in Luke’s Gospel, He appears in a context which speaks of God and of the Holy Spirit. And Mary’s distinctive role is viewed as being the most blessed of all women because she is the mother of one who is blessed. Further, she is blessed because she believed in the promises made to her by God.
To bring joy to others this Christmas, we really have to bring them Christ. He is the greatest gift we could ever bring to someone we love — all the material goods in the world fall flat in comparison. Without sharing Jesus, we are not giving our loved ones anything that is truly lasting. Bring Christ and you bring everything.

posted by Mike Young @ 6:33 AM 0 comments

Gospel Reflection 20061217

Media pressures us to be the same, to fall in line.The point of media is to persuade, send a message, move you to do or believe something. Compliance is an important element in any advertisement. Do this, wear that, buy this and you'll be accepted. Since this is a built-in desire most of us have, it’s a powerful hook that teens and adults find difficult to resist. The more you can accept yourself, like yourself and be comfortable with who you are, the less these media will be able to influence you to go with the crowd. Try to find what the real, deep-down reasons are for your choices. When your answers relate back to what the media hype tells you—"it would be cool; it will make you part of the in crowd"—it's time to make other choices.

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Charity for All
GaudeteDecember 17, 2006Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:10-18The crowds asked John the Baptist, "What then should we do?" He said to them in reply, "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He answered them, "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed." Soldiers also asked him, "And what is it that we should do?" He told them, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages." Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.


Advent, a time of patient waiting, preparation, and joyful anticipation often degenerates into a hectic round of making lists, pushing through stores, pretending enjoyment and consuming conspicuously.
In this Advent season our thoughts naturally turn to generous impulses. This is the one period of the year when the sentiments of the liturgy closely match those of the culture. Yes, many complain about the commercialization of Christmas. That is the sorry side of things. But we must also look at the good side which dwells on the noble impulses of people. Above all we are called to contemplate the generosity of God who sends us a Savior who delivers us from sin and offers us a share of divine life.
The Gospel reports the excitement aroused by the charismatic preaching of John the Baptist. People who speak with conviction will attract attention. John’s powerful moral voice drew crowds to the banks of the Jordan. His fiery sermons spoke to something very real in their lives. He motivated them to change their lives. “What shall we do,” asked the crowds. John challenged them to acts of charity and social concern. They should clothe the poor and feed the hungry. Nothing will bring greater joy to those they serve and those who do the loving.
Tax collectors asked him for instruction and guidance. They knew that people hated them for collaborating with the Roman government. They exploited their own people, increasing their take by adding hidden costs for their services as tax agents. John did not tell them to give up their jobs, but he did command them to stop cheating people. They should not use their authority to take more money than was allowed by the law.
Soldiers asked John for moral instruction. As troops of occupation, they found numerous ways to intimidate and bleed the local people. John confronted them with their well-known crimes of violently robbing farmers and villagers and of using false witnesses to extort money from small businesses. He snapped the spell of their greed by telling them, “Be satisfied with your wages.”
"Teacher, what should we do?" What he tells them is simple, very uncomplicated, and very direct…change. He challenges them to change the way they treat people. "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed" "Do not practice extortion…or falsely accuse anyone." "Be satisfied with your wage."
The evangelist could have probably gone on with other examples: priests, be holy and humble of heart; husbands and wives, be faithful, open to God’s will and self-sacrificing for your children; public servants, respect the law of God and serve the common good, etc..
To know true joy in one’s heart, spirit, body, relationships and work, freedom from sin, from ambiguity, double motives, mundane habits of thinking and acting, are all necessary. We all like clean clothes, but nobody likes to do the laundry. John the Baptist and all the prophets before him, as well as all the apostles and pastors after him, must point out where we are in need of cleansing so that we can be truly free to rejoice in purity of heart. The Messiah came to dwell with sinners, but in order to cleanse them of the defilement of sin, not to bless their sin. The Baptist heralds that coming precisely by calling for repentance, a profound and willing change of heart whereby the sinner desires to surrender his sin to the cleansing fires of the Holy Spirit of the Messiah.
If John appears to be a prophet of doom and gloom, we must ask ourselves if that is because we are unwilling to exchange our “worldly jollity” for heavenly joy. Sin has such a knack of fooling us into thinking that things are the opposite of what they are, that words mean the opposite of what they mean, that sin is not sin but having a “jolly good time”. Surely this is why so many today justify their sin and have the naivety, or the audacity, to expect Jesus simply to accept them as if they were without sin. They expect the Church to change Her teaching, the catechism to be rewritten and the Scriptures to be edited by someone from the “in-crowd” of modern liberal thinking. But contrary to such a self-deceptive approach, the John the Baptists of history speak up about what is and what is not sin, and they do so, not to leave us groveling in abject guilt, but in order to lead us forth to the joy of repentance and salvation. The Baptist embodies tough evangelical love and therefore tough evangelical joy. A priest, prophet or pastor who leaves his people in their sin is culpably blind, culpably lazy or culpably cowardly. If a parent sees a child do what is harmful and does nothing, he or she is failing in the fundamental responsibility to love that child. But how much that child will love their parent, at least later on, when they understand that discipline and correction put love before popularity! True joy is like the spiritual energy which is born from the warmth of true love, and true love cannot coexist with sin, although it madly loves the sinner. Joy does not exist in a vacuum, whereas sin is very much at home in it.
All you have to remember is how to spell J O Y, what each letter stands for, and the order of the letters. ‘J’ stands for ‘Jesus’, and just as ‘J’ is the first letter of JOY, so Jesus should always be ‘first’ in our lives. ‘O’ stands for ‘others’, and just as ‘O’ is the second letter of JOY, we should always think of others ‘second’ in our lives. The ‘Y’ stands for ‘you’, and just as ‘Y’ is the last letter of JOY, we should always think of ourselves ‘last’. Therefore, to bring true JOY into your life, always think of Jesus first, others second and yourself last.
John the Baptist in today’s gospel was a good example of this.
One of the important things that we can do to live more peacefully, happier and closer to God, is to have a spirit of sharing. We should be people who give freely. Just like that, as if instead of giving, someone was giving something to you. We should be poor in spirit, even when we have more than enough money to get by.
Saint John also shows us that we should be honest in our way of life, that we should not try to take advantage of others. And he tells us that even if we see that someone is trying to take advantage of us, even when by doing good we will be thought of as fools, we should still share, we should not be discouraged, we should always be willing to continue to help others.
What state of mind and soul am I in?
This is a matter of being truly in touch with what is going on in my own heart and soul.
In other words, being aware as fully as I can of what it is I am bringing to the Mass in all its profundity, so that I might be helped, healed, renewed, encouraged.
We ought to take time to make an examination of conscience.
What in me is not compatible with God?
What attitudes are not worthy of one who has been baptized into Christ and the Church?
What is my life-style saying about my faith?
Is my morality truly Christian or is it secularized or pagan?
So, in other words, we should be taking a look not just at the rights and wrongs of specific behaviors.
In some sense, that is easy.
But we should also be looking at what winds are blowing in our conscious life.
What path am I plotting for myself by the way I live, the attitudes, the impulses and the preferences I show?
"The crowds asked John, ‘What should we do?'" John told them to share their clothing and food with those who had none. He told tax collectors to "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed." He told soldiers to stop extortion, false accusation and be satisfied with their wages. He told the crowd to change their lives by sharing the goods and gifts they had with others who had none, to be fair with others and to be satisfied with their wages. Most of them were poor and, today, would probably fall below the poverty level. The vocation to holiness was a radical conversion in their lives. It was tough. It meant self-denial, sacrifice and service to others. It would have been easier if John was the Messiah but John denied he was the Christ. He eased their disappointment by saying someone mightier than he was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John’s preaching of the good news has two principal components: (a) the invitation to live a Godly life, and (b) the invitation to believe in Jesus the Messiah.
The Invitation to Live a Godly Life
This appears to be the emphasis in John’s preaching. Various groups of people who heard John preach responded by asking, “What then should we do?” (Luke 3:10, 12, 14). To the crowds or the masses his answer was: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (verse 11). Accepting the gospel demands a change in one’s personal conduct. One becomes a person who loves to share, rather than a person who loves to accumulate the good things of life. To the tax collectors he answered: “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (verse 13). And to the soldiers he answered: “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (verse 14). To them he enjoined honesty and fairness in their business dealings and professional conduct. The gospel is a leaven that affects every aspect of our personal, business and social life. To repent is to turn from evil and do good. “Only believe, and you will be saved” is at best a half-truth.
The tendency among us Christians today is to emphasize the belief aspect at the expense of moral behaviour. For John, however, change of behaviour came first, before change of belief. The synthesis of John’s preaching was, “the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). For him repentance, turning away from selfishness to a Godly behaviour, precedes and accompanies belief.
As we prepare to celebrate the coming of God to His people in the birth of Jesus, let us call to mind that the basic problem with Christian faith today is that we profess to believe but do not match it with practical behaviour. This self-contradiction constitutes a stumbling block for would-be believers, who are often attracted by the person and teachings of Christ but are turned away by the behaviour of those who claim to be his followers. John prepared his people for the coming of Jesus by challenging them to mend their ways and believe his message. We cannot do better than that. The best preparation we can make for the birth of the Lord is to repent and guide our behaviour by the selfless teachings of the gospel. This is what is needed today to make our faith perfect so that we can stand with heads raised high in joy at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Invitation to Believe in Jesus the Messiah
To accept the gospel, however, does not mean simply to strive to be a good person. It means above all to be a person of faith, a person who believes in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. The people to whom John preached were beginning to mistake him for the Messiah. If they did so, they would be mistaken in their belief, their zeal and goodwill notwithstanding. It is possible for a believer to be full of goodwill and zeal for the Lord, to be blameless in both personal and professional behaviour, yet be in error in his or her beliefs. An essential part of imparting the good news is to point out possible errors in belief and help the believer to move from an imperfect and naive to a more perfect and mature knowledge of the doctrine of Christ. This is what John the Baptizer did.
John touched a great many of his listeners. He converted their hearts and watched with joy as they waded into the Jordan for his baptism. Songs of praise arose from Jordan’s banks as the stream of penitents let the waters wash them with a ritual cleansing and give them a new sense of how to live before God.
So exciting was John that many people wondered if he were the expected messiah. John quickly disabused them of this misconception. He approved their expectation, but denied that he was the messiah. He told them that one “mightier than I” was coming. Cupping the river water in his hands, he said he only baptized with water. The Messiah would baptize with water and the Holy Spirit.
Despite his tough, moral talk, John the Baptist filled his hearers with great expectation. They wondered: could this be the Messiah? They intuited in John not just a moral teacher, but a man so filled with personal integrity, so inspiring, that his very presence stirred the depths of their longing for the presence of the Christ. But John is no impostor: he makes it clear he is not the Christ. He also makes it clear that the Christ whose coming is very near will also have some tough talking to do, and tougher action to take. He will rid the world of its chaff, those incapable, because unwilling, of accepting baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit. But He will also gather unto Himself those who have longed for His coming with expectation, whose lives may not be perfect, but whose hearts seek the consolation of His mercy in that same fire of the Holy Spirit.

Most of us have reason, sometimes overwhelming, to live with a nagging sense of pain, sadness and even depression: a difficult childhood, abuse of any kind, a broken marriage, a betrayal in love, an invincible sense of worthlessness sometimes made worse by a failure in work or in love. There are perhaps moments or periods where we can escape from this inner plague, but, when the party is over and the lights are out, it returns relentlessly and without pity. People try to cheer us up, offer diversions and distractions of one kind or another, some healthy, some unhealthy. Yet for many it is almost impossible to be rid of that radical anxiety which sounds deep within us like an alarm bell that never stops. Do not our addictions, mental illnesses, compulsive behaviors and awkward characters all speak of that hidden pain we are unable to face?
But what if there were Someone whose presence in our lives were capable of turning off that alarm-bell? Probably for must of us, there is indeed some-one or even some-two who can help greatly to bring us peace. Yet very quickly the noise within can start turning them away, even a spouse, and we can find ourselves repeating that most tragic of antiphons: “no-one can really understand my pain.” It is so easy, alas, to get sucked down into a whirlpool of existential Angst, an experience that cannot be far from hell itself in the sense that we get lost in self-concern and self-pity. The Gospel proclaims that Christ, the Messiah, can reach down and set in counter-motion that whirlpool. Christ alone can live your pain with you and, indeed, feel it more deeply than you do yourself. To believe and trust in Him as the silent guest of your deepest heart is already to know the hope of healing and freedom from whatever plague afflicts the foundations of your being. Essentially, that trust and faith in Him is nothing other than the act of repentance, that which the Baptist cries out for in the inner desert of your heart when he urges: prepare the way of the Lord! And what is the way of the Lord if not the highways of the human heart? Why else does He come if it is not to fill the valley and canyons and potholes left by the sufferings of life, and lay low the mountains of our pride and illusory self-exaltation?
Neither the Baptist nor the Messiah he heralds comes with a magic formula to transform the inner landscape of our spirits. The Baptist rather cries out: stop! Look this way for the One who desires to come into your life in its past, present and future, and make yourself ready to welcome Him! Jesus comes to establish an eternal relationship of love with each one of us: to walk our walk that we might walk His walk. He comes to engage us in an intimate, wordless dialogue, in a profound spiritual embrace that we may learn to forgive ourselves, forgive those who have deeply pained us and so be healed in surrendering our personal history to Him. Many of you have probably already begun the journey of that deep and absorbing relationship with Christ. Gaudete Sunday for you is thus a celebration of what has been and what is yet to come. To those who still feel He is far, I say: behold, He is near, at the door of your heart; listen for His knock, and open, not fearing your own confusion or dishevelment. He comes not to condemn, but to save you, and if you would but open and trust Him, He will bring you the unfading joy of His divine love.
This deep encounter with the Messiah is the meaning of Holy Communion. All the sacraments, our Sunday Mass attendance, our prayers and works of charity and our sufferings are all intended to deepen our knowledge, love and profound awareness of the presence of Christ within us, in others, in the Church and in the world around us. Like any relationship, it requires work and perseverance, commitment and time. Unlike any other relationship, only the Messiah can liberate us definitively from the grief of our sin and of our human experience, for He alone can cleanse us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. In Him is the final and definitive well-spring of true joy: we need only press our lips against His wounded side to know the power of His healing love and divine joy. John the Baptist’s own joy was full when, as the Bridegroom’s friend, He heard the voice of the Bridegroom Himself come and claim His Bride. My brothers and sisters, it seems almost impossible to believe, but that Bride are we, and Christ the Messiah will not rest until He holds us in the eternal joy of His arms. So, rejoice! Be not anxious, be not afraid, be not dismayed. Rather: be Christ’s!
We can take time to focus on the Lord. Jesus said the first great commandment is to love your God. There is no way to build a relationship of love with someone without spending time with them. God takes no lunch breaks – God always “is” for us – this hour that we spend here is not enough. Schedule prayer time in your Palm Pilot if that’s what it takes – just take time to be aware of your God.
We can take time to focus on the needs of those around us. Jesus said the second great commandment to love of neighbor. The sign of the presence of God, as Jesus says in Matthews gospel today, is that healing and love and care of those in need is happening. Whenever we take time for another, to listen to them, to help them, to love them, to forgive them, to heal them, to touch them…whenever we do these things we are using time as our divine gift.

In the words of St. Paul, “It is not ourselves that we preach, but Jesus Christ, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
This statement holds true also for parents, school teachers and anyone else who imparts the Gospel to others.
We are all “John the Baptists”; we are all, in our own way, supposed to prepare the way for those we teach to meet the living Jesus, to experience the power of his fire and of his Holy Spirit.
We step forward to proclaim him; then we must step back so that he may come and take center stage.
Lord, for you, charity is the highest value. You even spoke about it the night before your death. "I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you, so you also should love one another" (John 13:34). Christmas should enkindle charity in my heart. Let me see you in every person I meet today.
In the joyous urgency of Advent may we feel moved to the core of our being to ask as once the people at the Jordan asked, “What must I do?”

posted by Mike Young @ 6:31 AM 0 comments