Wednesday, XXXI Week of Ordinary Time
(Romans 13:8-10, Luke 14:25-33)
Gospel commentators call Jesus’ saying that his followers are to hate their families a “Semiticism.” This term means a way of expressing oneself in the Semitic language that Jesus spoke. Evidently his language did not use comparatives. For Jesus to mean that his disciples have to love him more than their families, he has to say that they love him and hate their families. He does not mean that they are to scorn their loved ones. After all, how could Jesus, who taught about the primacy of love long before St. Paul wrote about it, mean that we are to literally hate those who mean the most to us?
But still some of us may have trouble with the idea of loving Jesus more than our children and our parents, to say nothing of our spouses. “How could we do that?” we might ask. The answer is both simple and promising. First, we can love Jesus above all because he is so good – really perfect. Then it is true that by loving Jesus above all, we actually love our children, our parents, and our spouses not less but more. Allegiance to Jesus means doing what is truly good for all. We will not confuse indulgence with care and give in to the whims of our children. We will not accept the prejudices that lived in our parents’ home but treat all people with respect. We will not allow communication with our spouses to shrivel when we become aware that they think differently but always make an effort to express our thoughts and feelings.
Homilette for Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tuesday, XXXI Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 14:15-24)
There is an old story about an African-American who meets God outside of a church. He apologizes to the Lord saying that he wants to enter the church but the people inside won’t let him in. God responds that He too has been trying to get inside that church for years but the same people won’t let Him in either.
The story represents a valid way to read today’s gospel parable. At one time, not that long ago, American churches were segregated. African-Americans were either prohibited from entering a white congregation or forced to sit apart from whites. This might not have but the pastor’s wish, but it was in many places a de facto practice. Jesus, of course, would never accept such a policy. We can rightly hear him comparing the segregationists to those who were invited to the great Eucharistic banquet at the end of time but who refuse to attend. Blacks and the poor will then take their places in heaven.
Today, however, we see the parable in a very different light. As everyone knows, church attendance has dwindled in the United States. People give various excuses that may sound similar to the ones in the parable – they are too busy; they are working; they are expecting company. Others then will receive the call to fill the churches. These people will also occupy places at the Eucharistic banquet in heaven. In American Catholic churches the newcomers are largely immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
(Luke 14:15-24)
There is an old story about an African-American who meets God outside of a church. He apologizes to the Lord saying that he wants to enter the church but the people inside won’t let him in. God responds that He too has been trying to get inside that church for years but the same people won’t let Him in either.
The story represents a valid way to read today’s gospel parable. At one time, not that long ago, American churches were segregated. African-Americans were either prohibited from entering a white congregation or forced to sit apart from whites. This might not have but the pastor’s wish, but it was in many places a de facto practice. Jesus, of course, would never accept such a policy. We can rightly hear him comparing the segregationists to those who were invited to the great Eucharistic banquet at the end of time but who refuse to attend. Blacks and the poor will then take their places in heaven.
Today, however, we see the parable in a very different light. As everyone knows, church attendance has dwindled in the United States. People give various excuses that may sound similar to the ones in the parable – they are too busy; they are working; they are expecting company. Others then will receive the call to fill the churches. These people will also occupy places at the Eucharistic banquet in heaven. In American Catholic churches the newcomers are largely immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
Homilette for Monday, November 5, 2007
You will find homilettes for weekdays since October 29 below.
Monday, XXXI Week of Ordinary Time
(Romans 11:29-36)
In the reading from Romans today St. Paul speaks quite optimistically about good coming from evil. The disobedience committed by Jews and Gentiles, he says, is bound to end in salvation for both groups. We may wonder if all evil has such happy endings. Perhaps everyone has at one time or another witnessed the proverbial “cloud with a silver lining”– maybe meeting one’s future spouse while sick in a hospital bed. But what about monumental catastrophes like the 9/11 hijackings; has any commensurate benefit developed from those horrors?
We are pondering the mystery of suffering which, by definition, will not yield a completely satisfactory answer. One approach to understanding human suffering is to recognize that we often do not view reality from a sufficiently distant perspective to see what good comes forth. If we lived in 2107, we might notice much human advancement as a result of 9/11. Another approach, which seems closer to the mark, is to accept suffering as part of the mystery of God. Just as we cannot understand the purpose of all the suffering humans endure so God will always remain incomprehensible to us. It is precisely in accepting suffering and not railing against God as unfair or unendurable for allowing it that that we show our love for God.
Acknowledging that the mystery is suffering is part of the mystery of God, however, does not mean God is capricious or evil. He still loves us beyond reckoning and provides us all we need for eternal life. We only need to cultivate trust in Him by faithfully listening to His word and responding attentively in both prayer and action.
Monday, XXXI Week of Ordinary Time
(Romans 11:29-36)
In the reading from Romans today St. Paul speaks quite optimistically about good coming from evil. The disobedience committed by Jews and Gentiles, he says, is bound to end in salvation for both groups. We may wonder if all evil has such happy endings. Perhaps everyone has at one time or another witnessed the proverbial “cloud with a silver lining”– maybe meeting one’s future spouse while sick in a hospital bed. But what about monumental catastrophes like the 9/11 hijackings; has any commensurate benefit developed from those horrors?
We are pondering the mystery of suffering which, by definition, will not yield a completely satisfactory answer. One approach to understanding human suffering is to recognize that we often do not view reality from a sufficiently distant perspective to see what good comes forth. If we lived in 2107, we might notice much human advancement as a result of 9/11. Another approach, which seems closer to the mark, is to accept suffering as part of the mystery of God. Just as we cannot understand the purpose of all the suffering humans endure so God will always remain incomprehensible to us. It is precisely in accepting suffering and not railing against God as unfair or unendurable for allowing it that that we show our love for God.
Acknowledging that the mystery is suffering is part of the mystery of God, however, does not mean God is capricious or evil. He still loves us beyond reckoning and provides us all we need for eternal life. We only need to cultivate trust in Him by faithfully listening to His word and responding attentively in both prayer and action.
Homilette for Saturday, November 3, 2007
You can find homilettes for weekedays between October 28 and November 2 below.
Saturday, XXX Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres
(Luke 14:1.7-11)
Sometimes in reading the gospels we may think that Jesus develops strategies for satisfying egotistical desires. When he says, “turn the other cheek,” for example, one commentator opines that he gives the formula for embarrassing one’s opponent and reasserting one’s dignity. Today’s gospel offers a more obvious example. We might wonder whether Jesus advises us to take a back seat in a banquet hall so that the host will escort us to a place of honor. This instant return would be the “good news” that preachers of worldly payoffs propagate.
But we must rid ourselves of such delusions. Jesus is not a financial consultant. He preaches true humility as a way to follow him. He turns the other cheek when his guards beat him after his arrest. In his becoming human, he humbles himself utterly in that he does not cling to his throne of power. The rewards which he brings do not follow as premiums from a bullish stocks. No, they are accrued in heaven where we might enjoy them forever.
Few saints demonstrate Jesus’ humility like Martin de Porres. With a sense of unworthiness, which we should see as a comparison to Christ rather than to his contemporaries, he did not believe himself fit for religious life. Fortunately, the Dominicans of Lima, Peru, convinced him to live with them. From their monastery Martin untiringly taught the poor better farming techniques, cured their sicknesses with self-developed remedies, and fed the famished among them. As Jesus might have predicted, when Martin died, the bishops and nobility of Peru carried his body to the cemetery. More wonderfully still, angels carried him into Paradise!
Saturday, XXX Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres
(Luke 14:1.7-11)
Sometimes in reading the gospels we may think that Jesus develops strategies for satisfying egotistical desires. When he says, “turn the other cheek,” for example, one commentator opines that he gives the formula for embarrassing one’s opponent and reasserting one’s dignity. Today’s gospel offers a more obvious example. We might wonder whether Jesus advises us to take a back seat in a banquet hall so that the host will escort us to a place of honor. This instant return would be the “good news” that preachers of worldly payoffs propagate.
But we must rid ourselves of such delusions. Jesus is not a financial consultant. He preaches true humility as a way to follow him. He turns the other cheek when his guards beat him after his arrest. In his becoming human, he humbles himself utterly in that he does not cling to his throne of power. The rewards which he brings do not follow as premiums from a bullish stocks. No, they are accrued in heaven where we might enjoy them forever.
Few saints demonstrate Jesus’ humility like Martin de Porres. With a sense of unworthiness, which we should see as a comparison to Christ rather than to his contemporaries, he did not believe himself fit for religious life. Fortunately, the Dominicans of Lima, Peru, convinced him to live with them. From their monastery Martin untiringly taught the poor better farming techniques, cured their sicknesses with self-developed remedies, and fed the famished among them. As Jesus might have predicted, when Martin died, the bishops and nobility of Peru carried his body to the cemetery. More wonderfully still, angels carried him into Paradise!
Homilette for Friday, November 2, 2007
You will find homilettes for all weekdays since October 29 below.
The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
(John 6:3-9)
Today we pray for those whom we traditionally call “the souls in purgatory.” With scientific terms such as DNA becoming part of household conversations, the word “soul” sounds passé. “Purgatory” also may seem out-of-date in these ecumenical times. It is not found in the Bible, and many Protestants may not appreciate its significance.
Yet are there any better terms to convey our hope for eternal life? The human being is certainly more than a complex of atoms. Our experiences, attitudes, and desires must register somehow to make us the persons we are. It may be ridiculous to say the soul weighs so many grams as some self-styled theologians claim. But it is as good a term as any to describe what makes us who we are beyond the raw components (which, it has been said, are worth only a little change money).
The more we know about ourselves and others, the more we realize that our hearts are not pure enough to look at God at death. For some the fault lines are long and deep. They may not have been fully responsible, but they made some poor choices. For others there may be no more than slight fissures on their souls, i.e., oversights or mistakes that need reckoning. We know ourselves as not ready for heaven yet believe ourselves too close to Christ to be damned to hell. “Purgatory” expresses our predicament as well as any term. It is not so much a place of punishment as of purgation. There we have the possibility to reconsider the ways in which we lived so that we might become loving like Christ. Our prayers for those already in this intermittent realm catalyzes the process of their perfection.
The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
(John 6:3-9)
Today we pray for those whom we traditionally call “the souls in purgatory.” With scientific terms such as DNA becoming part of household conversations, the word “soul” sounds passé. “Purgatory” also may seem out-of-date in these ecumenical times. It is not found in the Bible, and many Protestants may not appreciate its significance.
Yet are there any better terms to convey our hope for eternal life? The human being is certainly more than a complex of atoms. Our experiences, attitudes, and desires must register somehow to make us the persons we are. It may be ridiculous to say the soul weighs so many grams as some self-styled theologians claim. But it is as good a term as any to describe what makes us who we are beyond the raw components (which, it has been said, are worth only a little change money).
The more we know about ourselves and others, the more we realize that our hearts are not pure enough to look at God at death. For some the fault lines are long and deep. They may not have been fully responsible, but they made some poor choices. For others there may be no more than slight fissures on their souls, i.e., oversights or mistakes that need reckoning. We know ourselves as not ready for heaven yet believe ourselves too close to Christ to be damned to hell. “Purgatory” expresses our predicament as well as any term. It is not so much a place of punishment as of purgation. There we have the possibility to reconsider the ways in which we lived so that we might become loving like Christ. Our prayers for those already in this intermittent realm catalyzes the process of their perfection.
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