Monday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time
(John 14:21-26)
“’Heart of my heart’ meant friends were dearer then.” This is a line from an old song that we may still hear in barbershop quartet ensembles. Is it true? Were friends dearer, was life better, back then? Or is this kind of talk just nostalgia? Does time purify our memories of the rancor and bitterness of life without bachelor apartments, personal computers, and cellular telephones?
In the gospel Jesus promises that he and his Father will make a dwelling place with those who keep his word. His word, of course, is the commandment to love one another as he loves us. We find an answer to our question here. As much as friends truly loved one another back then, times were better. I suppose that many people really did love better when they were not so independent. All the conveniences at our disposal now tend to make us think more of ourselves than of one another.
Then what are we to do? Should we dump our computers and cell phones and move back to our parents’ home? Perhaps some simplifying of lifestyle is in order. But more helpful might be the formation of small groups or communities dedicated to spiritual reflection. One writer claims that he has lunched with the same three men every Friday for twenty-five years. They listen to one another explain how each has met Christ in study, prayer, and fellow humans during the past week. Could there be any doubt that these men grow in love for Christ and for one another?
Homilette for Friday, April 18, 2008
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(John 14:1-6)
A university co-ed told her roommates in the middle of a blizzard that her father was coming to pick her up. “How could you be so sure?” the roommates marveled, “It’s impossible driving outside.” “Because he said so,” the young woman only replied. In the gospel today Jesus means to instill such confidence in his disciples.
The passage is taken from the beginning of the second part of John’s gospel, the so-called Book of Signs. Jesus is giving a kind of farewell speech to his disciples among whom we should see ourselves. He does not want us to worry that he is leaving or has left us. Rather, we should trust in him. “Why?” we may ask, with the same uncertainty as Thomas displays in the passage. He answers: because “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus is the way, the one whose imitation will bring us to God. He is the truth whose words we can rely on because he knows the Father. And he is the life of which we partake in the Eucharist for strength on the journey.
We sometimes find ourselves in bleak situations. Perhaps we face job termination, mortgage foreclosure, or even terminal disease. We are not to cower but to be confident. Jesus sublimely demonstrates this trust on the cross. In John’s crucifixion Jesus reigns like a king over his court. He has drawn the whole world – friends, foes, even the Roman governor to the scene. He completes his work on earth by instituting the church with his mother and beloved disciple. And he dies when he is ready. We can face our trials with the same tranquility of spirit.
(John 14:1-6)
A university co-ed told her roommates in the middle of a blizzard that her father was coming to pick her up. “How could you be so sure?” the roommates marveled, “It’s impossible driving outside.” “Because he said so,” the young woman only replied. In the gospel today Jesus means to instill such confidence in his disciples.
The passage is taken from the beginning of the second part of John’s gospel, the so-called Book of Signs. Jesus is giving a kind of farewell speech to his disciples among whom we should see ourselves. He does not want us to worry that he is leaving or has left us. Rather, we should trust in him. “Why?” we may ask, with the same uncertainty as Thomas displays in the passage. He answers: because “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus is the way, the one whose imitation will bring us to God. He is the truth whose words we can rely on because he knows the Father. And he is the life of which we partake in the Eucharist for strength on the journey.
We sometimes find ourselves in bleak situations. Perhaps we face job termination, mortgage foreclosure, or even terminal disease. We are not to cower but to be confident. Jesus sublimely demonstrates this trust on the cross. In John’s crucifixion Jesus reigns like a king over his court. He has drawn the whole world – friends, foes, even the Roman governor to the scene. He completes his work on earth by instituting the church with his mother and beloved disciple. And he dies when he is ready. We can face our trials with the same tranquility of spirit.
Homilette for Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(Acts 13:13-25)
Biblical students find three distinct “missionary journeys” of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Although the apostle himself did not likely divide his preaching so neatly, the three-journey arrangement helps us appreciate his great accomplishment. The section from Acts that we read today shows Paul shortly after commencing his first missionary expedition.
In the reading Paul typically goes to the Jewish synagogue of the town where he finds himself. When he has an opportunity to say something, he does not hesitate to stand up. His message conveys what is often called the kerygma, a Greek word meaning the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. Today’s kerygmatic message summarizes the story of salvation from the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt to the preaching of John the Baptist. It continues tomorrow with Jesus’ death and resurrection as the fulfillment of God’s promise.
As Paul proclaims the kerygma on his missionary journeys, the Church calls us to be missionaries. Last year the bishops of Latin America assembled in Aparecida, Brazil, issued a document formally describing Catholic Christians as “missionary disciples.” As disciples, we allow ourselves to be formed according to the word of God. As missionaries, we put that word into action. Some will have the role of proclaiming the word orally like Paul. All of us, however, are to proclaim it by loving service to family, neighbor, and world.
(Acts 13:13-25)
Biblical students find three distinct “missionary journeys” of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Although the apostle himself did not likely divide his preaching so neatly, the three-journey arrangement helps us appreciate his great accomplishment. The section from Acts that we read today shows Paul shortly after commencing his first missionary expedition.
In the reading Paul typically goes to the Jewish synagogue of the town where he finds himself. When he has an opportunity to say something, he does not hesitate to stand up. His message conveys what is often called the kerygma, a Greek word meaning the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. Today’s kerygmatic message summarizes the story of salvation from the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt to the preaching of John the Baptist. It continues tomorrow with Jesus’ death and resurrection as the fulfillment of God’s promise.
As Paul proclaims the kerygma on his missionary journeys, the Church calls us to be missionaries. Last year the bishops of Latin America assembled in Aparecida, Brazil, issued a document formally describing Catholic Christians as “missionary disciples.” As disciples, we allow ourselves to be formed according to the word of God. As missionaries, we put that word into action. Some will have the role of proclaiming the word orally like Paul. All of us, however, are to proclaim it by loving service to family, neighbor, and world.
Homilette for Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(John 12: 44-50)
Words are cheap, we say, because they are often mixed, like tainted water supplies, with falsehood. Really true words, on the other hand, are treasures to be heeded and savored. In the gospel Jesus claims that the words he speaks could not be truer because they come from the Father.
This week Pope Benedict XVI is preaching in the United States and at the United Nations. He is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. Different people will hear that message in different ways. For Christians Jesus is, above all, the hope of eternal life. Embracing him, as he urges in this gospel, we receive a share in the glory of his resurrection.
For people of other faiths or of no faith, Jesus is still part of the patrimony of history. His words convey the promise of fuller cooperation among peoples and nations. More than anything else, the pope will reiterate Jesus as saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” These words provide the key to human progress. Treating one another as we want to be treated assures personal freedom, provides the basis of justice, and advances the journey to peace.
(John 12: 44-50)
Words are cheap, we say, because they are often mixed, like tainted water supplies, with falsehood. Really true words, on the other hand, are treasures to be heeded and savored. In the gospel Jesus claims that the words he speaks could not be truer because they come from the Father.
This week Pope Benedict XVI is preaching in the United States and at the United Nations. He is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. Different people will hear that message in different ways. For Christians Jesus is, above all, the hope of eternal life. Embracing him, as he urges in this gospel, we receive a share in the glory of his resurrection.
For people of other faiths or of no faith, Jesus is still part of the patrimony of history. His words convey the promise of fuller cooperation among peoples and nations. More than anything else, the pope will reiterate Jesus as saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” These words provide the key to human progress. Treating one another as we want to be treated assures personal freedom, provides the basis of justice, and advances the journey to peace.
Homilette for April 15, 2008
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(John 10:22-30)
Experts tell people unused to publicity never to joke with the press. In today’s media when journalists often make the news themselves, they are inclined to give the most controversial interpretation possible to anything a public person says. For this reason people of responsibility, if they talk with reporters at all, are very cautious and exact. In a similar way Jesus deftly answers his interrogators in the gospel today.
The Jews ask Jesus to state clearly whether or not he is the long-awaited Christ or Messiah. We may notice how this question is the exact one put to Jesus during his interrogation by the high priest in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke which the Gospel of John treats very differently. Jesus gives a similarly indirect answer in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as he does here. He implies that he is the Christ and his works testify to it, but the Jews still do not believe.
Prudent and intelligent, Jesus outwits his enemies again. But his accomplishment just begins here. More importantly, the Father has given him the power not to lose any of his sheep. We can rest assured, therefore, that as long as we stay close to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, nothing will ever really harm us. Come cancer, fire, even murder, Jesus will save us from disaster.
(John 10:22-30)
Experts tell people unused to publicity never to joke with the press. In today’s media when journalists often make the news themselves, they are inclined to give the most controversial interpretation possible to anything a public person says. For this reason people of responsibility, if they talk with reporters at all, are very cautious and exact. In a similar way Jesus deftly answers his interrogators in the gospel today.
The Jews ask Jesus to state clearly whether or not he is the long-awaited Christ or Messiah. We may notice how this question is the exact one put to Jesus during his interrogation by the high priest in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke which the Gospel of John treats very differently. Jesus gives a similarly indirect answer in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as he does here. He implies that he is the Christ and his works testify to it, but the Jews still do not believe.
Prudent and intelligent, Jesus outwits his enemies again. But his accomplishment just begins here. More importantly, the Father has given him the power not to lose any of his sheep. We can rest assured, therefore, that as long as we stay close to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, nothing will ever really harm us. Come cancer, fire, even murder, Jesus will save us from disaster.
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