Monday, January 6, 2020

Monday after Epiphany

(I John 3:22-4:6; Matthew 4: 12-17.23-25)

A biblical commentary points out that Jesus does not really “withdraw to Galilee.”  Rather he, more or less, charges there to take up the torch John the Baptist left upon being arrested.  He preaches the same message as John, “’The Kingdom of heaven is at hand,...’”.  Because Herod Antipas, who arrested John, is still king, Jesus risks a similar fate.

Galilee may be part of old Israel, but it is hardly all-Jewish.  It has been termed a “shadowland.” Gentiles inhabit the land in probably about equal numbers.  Jesus does not preach to them, however, but concentrates on shoring up the faith of the Jews.  He proclaims the kingdom not just with words but with cures and exorcisms as well.  The Jews of Galilee, cut off from the source of their spiritual life in Jerusalem, experience in Jesus a light of hope.

Western culture has become a kind of Galilee, a “shadowland.” Remnants of Christianity exist but the culture is more secular than Christian.  Public schools, for example, do not promote Christian belief nor does entertainment exhibit Christian practice.  In this environment the Church must strive to shore up Christian faith.  It does so by a coherent and compelling explanation of gospel values and by an open practice of its customs.  The Church will then serve, as Jesus, called it, a “the light of the world.”

Homilette for Monday, January 5, 2009

Memorial of St. John Neumann, bishop

(I John 3:22-4:6; Matthew 4:12-17; 23-25)

The gospel passage says that Jesus “withdrew to Galilee.” We should not think, however, that Jesus is beating a retreat. Actually, he is charging to the battlefront. Herod Antipas has just arrested John the Baptist for criticizing his unlawful marriage. Jesus leaves the solitude of the Jordan desert to take up John’s banner in Galilee. His message is even the same as John’s, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” Herod Antipas, the Baptist’s nemesis, can hardly ignore it.

Like Jesus we are sometimes called to show courage. A shouting match turns into a fist fight where someone is going to get hurt. We should intervene or, at least, call for help. More often we exhibit courage by facing difficult tasks with calmness and determination. “When the going gets tough,” an adage declares, “the tough get going.” Courage is the operative virtue here.

St. John Neumann obviously demonstrated courage many times in his life. As a young man, he came to the United States from his native Bohemia. Newly ordained, his territorial parish included all of western New York State! Ordained a bishop, he started the first system of parochial schools and inaugurated eighty parishes in the Diocese of Philadelphia. Courage allows soldiers to conquer fear in battle. It also enables saints to overcome desire for comfort and weariness in daily life.

Homilette for January 7, 2008

Monday after Epiphany

(Matthew 4:12-17; 23-25)

The gospel passage says that Jesus “withdrew to Galilee.” We should not think, however, that Jesus is beating a retreat. Actually, he is charging to the battlefront. Herod Antipas has just arrested John the Baptist for criticizing his unlawful marriage. Jesus leaves hometown comforts to take up John’s banner in Galilee. His message is even the same as John’s, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” Herod Antipas can hardly ignore it. Will he manhandle Jesus as he did John?

Like Jesus we are sometimes – not often, gratefully -- called to show courage. A shouting match turns into a fist fight where someone is going to get hurt. We should intervene. A minority person is accused of wrongdoing, but we know that another – one like us -- did the dirty deed. We must speak up.

Courage is a natural virtue that the love of God poured into our hearts can magnify for supernatural ends. Certainly St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) showed this elevated courage when the Gestapo came to take her, as a Jewish convert, from her Carmelite monastery. Her sister, who had come to stay with her, was deeply shaken. St. Theresa, however, did not resist or seek to hide. She took her sister by the hand saying, “Come, Rosa, we are going for our people.” She meant that she would die, as Christ did, giving testimony to God’s love first for Jews and then for all people.