Friday, December 5, 2014

Friday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 29:17-24, Matthew 9:27-31)

In explaining why random evolution cannot account for the complexity of human life, intelligent design advocates often point to the eye.  They say that such an intricate organ is not likely to come about by chance, no matter if it had a zillion years to develop.  The eye’s sight is not only wonderful, it is of course imminently useful.  For this reason the blind men in today’s gospel ask Jesus for mercy.

The two men lack physical sight, but they possess something more valuable -- faith which is a deeper way of seeing.  The men may have heard that Jesus is of David’s lineage.  But this is nothing especially original.  More significantly, they believe that he is the son of David who will restore the glory of Israel.  As Isaiah foretold, he is the one who will open the ears of the deaf, the eyes of the blind, and the cells of prisoners.  Jesus rewards their faith with a better kind of twenty-twenty vision.  They can now see as well with their eyes as they have all along with their souls.

This Advent those of us who see well enough with our eyes might ask Jesus for the enhanced vision which faith gives.  We want to see him as the one to save us from all that threatens us.  Also, we need faith to never lose sight of everyone's dignity, no matter the person's disability or condition. 

Friday, April 23, 2010

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59)

Every once in a while a report about intelligent design breaks into the news. Intelligent design is the theory of evolution claiming that the Creator has left some tracks in guiding the development of the species. Most scientists, seeing no evidence of God’s hand in the process, hold that random chance controlled evolutionary development.

Whether or not God reveals His hand in nature, does He do so in history? Secular historians will argue no. They likely see history meandering as aimlessly as elementary school students on the first day of vacation. On the other hand St. Luke, the New Testament’s most self-conscious historian, sees God’s design everywhere. He writes of Stephen’s martyrdom as the divine initiative to take the gospel outside Jerusalem. In today’s reading from Acts Luke narrates how Christ personally intervenes in Paul’s life directing him to the pagans.

Why, we may ask, does God have such an ambitious plan for Paul? The answer is contained in the basic gospel message. God loves each one of us – Jew and non-Jew alike -- more than we can ever appreciate. Out of this love He conscripts the sharp, strong, and zealous Paul to introduce us to His son.

Homilette for Friday, December 5, 2008

Friday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31)

In explaining why random evolution cannot account for the complexity of human life, intelligent design advocates often point to the eye. They say that such an intricate organ is not likely to come about by chance, no matter if it had a zillion years to develop. The eye’s sight is not only wonderful, it is also useful. For this reason the blind men in today’s gospel ask Jesus for mercy.

The two men lack physical sight, but they possess faith which is another way of seeing. The men may have heard that Jesus is in the line of David. But this is only a fact of heredity. More significantly, they believe that he is the son of David who will restore the glory of Israel. As Isaiah foretold, he is the one who will open the ears of the deaf, give sight to the blind, and bring release to prisoners. Jesus rewards their faith with a new kind of twenty-twenty vision; that is, they can now see as well with their eyes as they have all along with their souls.

This Advent those of us who see well enough with our eyes might ask Jesus for the enhanced vision which faith gives. We want to see him as the one to save us from all that threatens us. Also, we need faith so that we might never lose sight of everyone's dignity, no matter the person's disability or condition.

Homilette for Friday, December 7, 2007

Friday, The Memorial of St. Ambrose

(Isaiah 29:17-24, Matthew 9:27-31)

In explaining why they think random evolution is an adequate theory for explaining the complexity of life, intelligent design advocates often point to an eye. They say that such an intricate organ is not likely to come about by chance no matter if it had a zillion years to develop. The eye’s sight is not only wonderful, it is also useful. For this reason the blind men of the gospel passage are obviously asking Jesus to allow them to see when they cry for pity.

The two men lack physical sight, but they possess faith which is another way of seeing. The men may have heard that Jesus is in the line of David, which is only a fact of heredity. More significantly, they believe that he is the son of David whom God has chosen to restore His people to the glory that Isaiah predicts in the first reading. He is the one who will open the ears of the deaf, restore sight to the blind, and bring release to prisoners. Jesus rewards the men’s faith in him with a super twenty-twenty vision. They see as well with their eyes as with their souls.

This Advent those of us who see well enough with our eyes might, like the blind men, beg Jesus for increased sight of faith. We want to look to him as the one who will save us from all that threatens us. Also, we need faith so that we might never be blind to the inviolable dignity of every human being. We do not want anger or prejudice that rises in us at times against individuals and groups to ruin our respect for them.

Homilette for Friday, April 27, 2007

Friday, III Easter

(Acts 9)

Every once in a while a report about intelligent design breaks into the news. Intelligent design is the evolutionary theory that claims that the Creator has left His tracks on nature in guiding the development of the species. Most scientists claim that random chance controls evolutionary development with no evidence of the hand of God at work. Some Christian thinkers have taken a middle position -- God works through chance even if He doesn’t reveal Himself in nature.

Even if God doesn't reveal His hand in nature, does He do so in history? I suppose many historians would argue no. They would see the course of history as meandering as aimlessly as students the first hours after final exams end. Yet this is not how St. Luke, the New Testament writer most concerned about history, sees Salvation History. For Luke God’s work is evident everywhere. He turned the martyrdom of Stephen into the apostolic impetus to take the gospel to different lands. Today in the reading we listen to Luke narrating the story of how Christ personally intervenes in Saul’s life to direct him to preach to non-Jews.

Why, we can ask ourselves, does God have such an elaborate plan for Saul? The answer is contained in the gospel message itself. God loves each of us – most of us here are of non-Jewish lineage – more than we can ever appreciate. Out of this love He wants us to have the privilege of knowing His son Jesus Christ!