Thursday, December 5, 2024

 

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

 (Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21.24-27)

The poor often come to parish offices looking for handouts.  Not untypically, they beg for cash to pay rent or purchase gasoline.  The requests are sometimes denied partly because of limited resources but also because staff members frequently are not sure whether the petitioners are telling the truth.  If the needy were members of the congregation, the staff would likely make every effort to secure assistance.  Today’s Scripture readings indicate why this is so.

The passage from Isaiah and the gospel today are related by the mention of the “Rock” which is the one God on whom the people can rely.  The reading from Isaiah is also connected to the basic gospel message proclaimed by Mary in her canticle praising God’s goodness.  As it says, God comes to upend the arrogant and to lift up of the lowly.  It also says that God provides a strong city with high walls to protect the humble.  The city here can refer to the Church, the community of faithful, who look out for one another.

We remember the poor, especially at this time of year.  Whether or not they are members of our parish, we help them meet their needs so that they too find joy in God’s coming.  But if they are people who kneel with us in prayer, we will naturally exert greater energy.  They would have a prior, although not an exclusive, claim on both our hearts and our bounty.

 

Monday, May 31, 2010

The Feast of the Visitation

(Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Luke 1:39-56)

Forty years ago two Peace Corps volunteers went on an expedition upriver in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. They wanted to meet the area’s native Iban people who lived with extended families in longhouses. Ibans at one point in history had been notorious headhunters but became pacified long before the Peace Corps volunteers arrived. Many converted to Christianity. The volunteers were advised to take gifts of canned food to the people who often ate little beyond a daily ration of rice. They were also told that they could expect hospitality. As it turned out, they were more than graciously received, but the Ibans would not accept the food for their own use. Rather they served it to their guests whom they seemed delighted to host so that their children might know some foreigners.

The meeting of the Peace Corps volunteers with the Ibans mirrors in a way Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Mary is poor as she implies with the words, “He has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” Yet the lack of material wealth is not a curse for her because she possesses God’s blessing. We should see Mary as representing the faithful poor or anawim of Israel who long awaited the Messiah. Now he has arrived and Mary, his mother, is the first to feel the excitement of his presence. Knowing that he is there fills Mary and Elizabeth with a joy that the treasures of Egypt could not provide. He is going to bring justice to the people, freedom to the oppressed, health to sick. The fidelity of the thousands like these two women is vindicated.

The promise of the Messiah has been fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, especially in his paschal victory. Now stirred by that triumph, Christians eagerly await his return in glory. Like the Ibans of Sarawak, we show kindness to neighbors and make every effort possible for the development of our children. We know that God will bless us when he comes again. Indeed, He blesses us continually with graces that far exceed the luxuries that money can buy.

Homilette for Monday, February 26, 2007

(Matthew 25)

Not very long ago an old, blind man in Africa spent the first night of his life under a mosquito net. The net can no longer protect him from mosquitoes carrying elephantitis, the disease which blinded him, but at least he might sleep more comfortably. He received the mosquito net from a campaign against malaria and elephantitis being spearheaded by former President Jimmy Carter. The campaign does not have a lot of money; nevertheless, it works to relieve the suffering of the world’s poorest people.

The Scripture readings today call us to help our neighbor. Jesus extends the concept of neighbor beyond those who live next store and beyond one’s country. He intends that his followers assist the poorest of people on his account. He says that on the last day, he will judge us according to the standard: “Whatever you did for one of least of these least brothers of mine, you did to me.”

During Lent we want to give special attention to assisting the poor. Some parishes promote the use of “rice bowls” in homes to collect money for aid to impoverished nations. Toward the end of Lent there will be a special collection for the Bishops’ Overseas Appeal. Contributing generously will surely assist us in gaining a favorable judgment on the last day.