Monday, Lent Week 2
(Luke 6)
Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998. Shepard’s killers assaulted him because he was a homosexual. After the guilty verdict Shepard’s parents agreed with the state not to seek the death penalty. Shepard’s father told one of the killers, “I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney, but now is the time to heal.” Although this may sound like half-hearted forgiveness, it probably took real courage to utter.
In the gospel today Jesus calls us to be merciful. It has been pointed out that where in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls his disciples to be perfect, Luke shows him emphasizing mercy as if mercy is the perfection of God. When we are called upon to forgive a really serious offense, it certainly seems like a superhuman task. As one poet put it, “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
What’s critical is that we don’t dwell on how we feel in such situations. Naturally we are upset. Many times anger will remain as a residue in us like the smoke marks around a fire place. We should imitate Matthew Shepard’s father and not let what we would like to see rule over what we think. No, as Jesus’ disciples, we must decide to forgive those who offend us.
Homily for Sunday, March 4, 2007
II Sunday of Lent
(Luke 9)
Context is critical. If we yell “fire” in a theatre where there is no fire, we might be convicted of manslaughter. But if, in fact, a fire has broken out, we might be rewarded as heroes. There is a significant context to Jesus’ going up the mountain to pray. He has just made the realization that he will suffer and be killed on behalf of the people. He shares this prediction with his disciples. And he tells them that they will have to take up their crosses behind him.
Mountains are places of visions. The night before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “mountaintop” speech. He said that he had received a letter from a little girl after he had been stabbed in the chest. The knife blade had lodged itself a fraction of an inch from his heart so that if he had sneezed it would have killed him. The girl wrote that she was glad he hadn’t sneezed. Dr. King admitted that he too was glad he hadn’t sneezed. He said that if he had, he could not have been to the mountaintop. From the mountaintop he saw African-Americans in Selma, Alabama, and Albany, Georgia, standing up for their rights. From the mountaintop he saw hundreds of thousands of people – black and white – endorse his dream of equality in Washington, D.C. That was is a great vision of liberation, but there is a vision of even greater liberation on the mountaintop with Jesus.
Jesus is being “changed in appearance” with his clothing becoming “dazzling white.” No doubt, this transfiguration consoles him after becoming aware that he will be crucified. Now he is assured that his death will end in glory. We can appreciate Jesus’ new confidence. As we saw in the gospel about the temptations last week, Jesus is human like us. No one wants to suffer. But if we can be guaranteed that our pain has purpose, we might bear it. So marathon runners undergo grueling conditioning in order to compete at Boston or New York. So teachers forsake large salaries in order to assist children learn. So parents sacrifice meals and rest in order to care of a sick infant.
The conversation with Moses and Elijah is also encouraging. The two prophets inform Jesus that his “exodus” or death in Jerusalem is not incidental. Rather, he will die there to fulfill what God his Father has planned for His people from the beginning. Moses led the original exodus freeing the Israelites from slavery and bringing them to the Promised Land. Elijah waged the winless battle of keeping Israel faithful to God’s law. Now Christ will bring the work of freedom and faithfulness to completion. Liberation will begin in Jerusalem and go out to the whole world. Jesus will free us from our sins and send his Spirit to keep us faithful to his new law of love.
With the disciples we should be waking from our sleep. That is, we should become aware of how we have been held captive. Slave masters do not bind us. But distorted values of our contemporaries do. There is a saying, “In America one cannot be either too rich or too thin.” America esteems money and sex, the drive behind its obsession with thinness. Even people who come to church talk of wealth as if it were their greatest hope. Many hold sexual pleasure as a natural right like voting or education. All the attention given to Anne Nicole Smith’s demise last month illustrates this reality.
From the cloud God claims Jesus as His son. He urges the disciples, “...listen to him.” The ordeal he will undergo will unbind them. His teachings will point them in the direction of heaven, their true goal. Jesus teaches us not to despise money but to help the poor with it so that our treasure may accrue in heaven. He tells us that sex is to be treated with utmost regard. We are not to lust after one another but to love everyone as a brother or sister. This coming week in the mission we will listen to more of Jesus’ teaching. I think that you will find it interesting and hope that you can attend.
The movie “Flags of Our Fathers” shows what we might call the liberation of Iwo Jima. Japanese soldiers are dug into the rocks like ants. U.S. marines must fight them hand-to-hand in cases. For awhile it’s a winless battle. But at last there’s the vision of the American flag raised on the mountaintop. We can think of Jesus liberating us from the distorted contemporary values of money and sex with even greater effort. He has to suffer and be killed. But he makes the sacrifice out of love for us, his brothers and sisters. He loves us.
(Luke 9)
Context is critical. If we yell “fire” in a theatre where there is no fire, we might be convicted of manslaughter. But if, in fact, a fire has broken out, we might be rewarded as heroes. There is a significant context to Jesus’ going up the mountain to pray. He has just made the realization that he will suffer and be killed on behalf of the people. He shares this prediction with his disciples. And he tells them that they will have to take up their crosses behind him.
Mountains are places of visions. The night before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “mountaintop” speech. He said that he had received a letter from a little girl after he had been stabbed in the chest. The knife blade had lodged itself a fraction of an inch from his heart so that if he had sneezed it would have killed him. The girl wrote that she was glad he hadn’t sneezed. Dr. King admitted that he too was glad he hadn’t sneezed. He said that if he had, he could not have been to the mountaintop. From the mountaintop he saw African-Americans in Selma, Alabama, and Albany, Georgia, standing up for their rights. From the mountaintop he saw hundreds of thousands of people – black and white – endorse his dream of equality in Washington, D.C. That was is a great vision of liberation, but there is a vision of even greater liberation on the mountaintop with Jesus.
Jesus is being “changed in appearance” with his clothing becoming “dazzling white.” No doubt, this transfiguration consoles him after becoming aware that he will be crucified. Now he is assured that his death will end in glory. We can appreciate Jesus’ new confidence. As we saw in the gospel about the temptations last week, Jesus is human like us. No one wants to suffer. But if we can be guaranteed that our pain has purpose, we might bear it. So marathon runners undergo grueling conditioning in order to compete at Boston or New York. So teachers forsake large salaries in order to assist children learn. So parents sacrifice meals and rest in order to care of a sick infant.
The conversation with Moses and Elijah is also encouraging. The two prophets inform Jesus that his “exodus” or death in Jerusalem is not incidental. Rather, he will die there to fulfill what God his Father has planned for His people from the beginning. Moses led the original exodus freeing the Israelites from slavery and bringing them to the Promised Land. Elijah waged the winless battle of keeping Israel faithful to God’s law. Now Christ will bring the work of freedom and faithfulness to completion. Liberation will begin in Jerusalem and go out to the whole world. Jesus will free us from our sins and send his Spirit to keep us faithful to his new law of love.
With the disciples we should be waking from our sleep. That is, we should become aware of how we have been held captive. Slave masters do not bind us. But distorted values of our contemporaries do. There is a saying, “In America one cannot be either too rich or too thin.” America esteems money and sex, the drive behind its obsession with thinness. Even people who come to church talk of wealth as if it were their greatest hope. Many hold sexual pleasure as a natural right like voting or education. All the attention given to Anne Nicole Smith’s demise last month illustrates this reality.
From the cloud God claims Jesus as His son. He urges the disciples, “...listen to him.” The ordeal he will undergo will unbind them. His teachings will point them in the direction of heaven, their true goal. Jesus teaches us not to despise money but to help the poor with it so that our treasure may accrue in heaven. He tells us that sex is to be treated with utmost regard. We are not to lust after one another but to love everyone as a brother or sister. This coming week in the mission we will listen to more of Jesus’ teaching. I think that you will find it interesting and hope that you can attend.
The movie “Flags of Our Fathers” shows what we might call the liberation of Iwo Jima. Japanese soldiers are dug into the rocks like ants. U.S. marines must fight them hand-to-hand in cases. For awhile it’s a winless battle. But at last there’s the vision of the American flag raised on the mountaintop. We can think of Jesus liberating us from the distorted contemporary values of money and sex with even greater effort. He has to suffer and be killed. But he makes the sacrifice out of love for us, his brothers and sisters. He loves us.
Homilette for thursday, March 1, 2007
Thursday, I Lent
(Matthew 7)
A man commented last week that it is useless to pray that God end a war. He thinks that war involves so many people that God could not have much say regarding its outcome. The man did not say that God couldn’t answer prayers of personal needs, but many believe that is so. In fact, a whole theological movement known as “process theology” believes that God is powerless over events in people’s lives. Then why pray at all, we might ask?
Process theology adherents might answer that prayer at least lifts a person’s thought from worrying about a problem to imagining a solution. Psychologically, prayer facilitates positive thinking. Such reasoning, however, hardly convinces us. If we needed to think about solutions, we could do that without directing our hearts to God in prayer. In the gospel, of course, Jesus does not seem to doubt that prayers will be answered. “Ask and it will be given to you,” he says confidently.
Those who doubt the value of prayer to achieve its purpose have an inadequate conception of God. God knows what we need before we express our need, even before we exist. He wants us to pray, however, so that our relationship of faith may strengthen. He will respond to our prayer by providing for our need. His answer may not conform exactly to what we ask for, but it will see us through the difficulty. Once a mother brought her son who was dying of a brain tumor to Lourdes for healing. Shortly after their return, the boy died shortly. When the mother was asked if she felt God had let her down, she said, no, the experience of praying with so many faith-filled people at Lourdes strengthened her to accept her son’s death. The boy died in God’s grace and the family lives in assurance of God’s love for them.
(Matthew 7)
A man commented last week that it is useless to pray that God end a war. He thinks that war involves so many people that God could not have much say regarding its outcome. The man did not say that God couldn’t answer prayers of personal needs, but many believe that is so. In fact, a whole theological movement known as “process theology” believes that God is powerless over events in people’s lives. Then why pray at all, we might ask?
Process theology adherents might answer that prayer at least lifts a person’s thought from worrying about a problem to imagining a solution. Psychologically, prayer facilitates positive thinking. Such reasoning, however, hardly convinces us. If we needed to think about solutions, we could do that without directing our hearts to God in prayer. In the gospel, of course, Jesus does not seem to doubt that prayers will be answered. “Ask and it will be given to you,” he says confidently.
Those who doubt the value of prayer to achieve its purpose have an inadequate conception of God. God knows what we need before we express our need, even before we exist. He wants us to pray, however, so that our relationship of faith may strengthen. He will respond to our prayer by providing for our need. His answer may not conform exactly to what we ask for, but it will see us through the difficulty. Once a mother brought her son who was dying of a brain tumor to Lourdes for healing. Shortly after their return, the boy died shortly. When the mother was asked if she felt God had let her down, she said, no, the experience of praying with so many faith-filled people at Lourdes strengthened her to accept her son’s death. The boy died in God’s grace and the family lives in assurance of God’s love for them.
Homilette for Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Wednesday, I Lent
(Jonah 3 and Luke 11)
The other day the news reported that someone has petitioned Congress to award posthumous citizenship to Anne Frank. She was the Jewish girl whose diary moved the world to condemn the Holocaust. Before her family’s hiding place in Holland was discovered, her father had requested relatives in the United States to seek his family’s admittance. Since the request was denied, supporters of the Congressional petition say that granting her citizenship would be a sign of repentance of complicity in the Holocaust. Critics of the measure argue that it would be a cheap gesture since it requires no sacrifice on the part of the American people.
Other good reasons are being put forward on both sides of this debate. It will be interesting to see how it is played out. But for now we can note how it illustrates the call for repentance of the Scripture readings today. Jonah announces God’s wrath with Nineveh’s evil ways, and the people repent. The author emphasizes how it is a sincere, communal effort. Not only the people but the king and even the animals of the city fast and change heart. In the gospel Jesus calls his generation “evil,” but it refuses to repent of its sins as Nineveh does.
We too must repent of our sins, not just symbolically but wholeheartedly. This means that we don’t just say we are sorry or we don’t just go to confession. No, these would be empty gestures if they are not accompanied by a sincere attempt to change our sinful ways. A young woman once confessed of having sex with her boyfriend. “Are you going to promise not to have sex with him again?” the priest asked her. “No,” she answered, she couldn’t promise that. Then, she couldn’t receive absolution. Just so, unless we promise with all our heart to stop taking God’s name in vain or talking about others, we have not really repented of our sins.
(Jonah 3 and Luke 11)
The other day the news reported that someone has petitioned Congress to award posthumous citizenship to Anne Frank. She was the Jewish girl whose diary moved the world to condemn the Holocaust. Before her family’s hiding place in Holland was discovered, her father had requested relatives in the United States to seek his family’s admittance. Since the request was denied, supporters of the Congressional petition say that granting her citizenship would be a sign of repentance of complicity in the Holocaust. Critics of the measure argue that it would be a cheap gesture since it requires no sacrifice on the part of the American people.
Other good reasons are being put forward on both sides of this debate. It will be interesting to see how it is played out. But for now we can note how it illustrates the call for repentance of the Scripture readings today. Jonah announces God’s wrath with Nineveh’s evil ways, and the people repent. The author emphasizes how it is a sincere, communal effort. Not only the people but the king and even the animals of the city fast and change heart. In the gospel Jesus calls his generation “evil,” but it refuses to repent of its sins as Nineveh does.
We too must repent of our sins, not just symbolically but wholeheartedly. This means that we don’t just say we are sorry or we don’t just go to confession. No, these would be empty gestures if they are not accompanied by a sincere attempt to change our sinful ways. A young woman once confessed of having sex with her boyfriend. “Are you going to promise not to have sex with him again?” the priest asked her. “No,” she answered, she couldn’t promise that. Then, she couldn’t receive absolution. Just so, unless we promise with all our heart to stop taking God’s name in vain or talking about others, we have not really repented of our sins.
Homilette for Tuesday, February 27, 2007
(Matthew 6)
I’ve heard it said that while Charles Lindberg first flew across the Atlantic, he began to doubt his instruments. Worrying that his compass was off, he wanted to change course. But he doggedly stuck to his instruments, thank God, and successfully landed in Paris.
Like a navigator trusts in his instruments so we put our trust in the word of God. Isaiah in the first reading tells us God’s word always accomplishes its purpose. Because Jesus utters it, the prayer “Our Father” of the gospel is the word of God. We can utterly rely on it. We might take note of the prayer’s splendid balance. It praises God and thereby implicitly thanks Him. It also pleads for our spiritual and material needs. Finally, it commits ourselves to act like God.
The “Our Father” has been called the Christian “Shema.’” Shema’ is a Hebrew word meaning hear. The Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy proclaims, “Shema, Israel,” “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God ... you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words.... Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.” So we should pray the “Our Father” as our first words in the morning, our last words at night, and throughout the day. Doing so we will find not only our needs met but also ourselves becoming more like Christ, who taught it to us.
I’ve heard it said that while Charles Lindberg first flew across the Atlantic, he began to doubt his instruments. Worrying that his compass was off, he wanted to change course. But he doggedly stuck to his instruments, thank God, and successfully landed in Paris.
Like a navigator trusts in his instruments so we put our trust in the word of God. Isaiah in the first reading tells us God’s word always accomplishes its purpose. Because Jesus utters it, the prayer “Our Father” of the gospel is the word of God. We can utterly rely on it. We might take note of the prayer’s splendid balance. It praises God and thereby implicitly thanks Him. It also pleads for our spiritual and material needs. Finally, it commits ourselves to act like God.
The “Our Father” has been called the Christian “Shema.’” Shema’ is a Hebrew word meaning hear. The Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy proclaims, “Shema, Israel,” “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God ... you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words.... Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.” So we should pray the “Our Father” as our first words in the morning, our last words at night, and throughout the day. Doing so we will find not only our needs met but also ourselves becoming more like Christ, who taught it to us.
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