Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:14-18; Mark 1:29-39)
For centuries the Church believed that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. There were a few dissenters in early times, but only in the sixteenth century did the great Erasmus begin to persuade the majority of scholars that Paul could not have authored the document. As a preeminent theologian of the third century put it, “everyone who is able to discern differences in style” would know that the letter did not come directly from the pen of Paul. The identity of the author remains unknown today.
Determining authorship is only one of the difficulties in studying the Letter to the Hebrews. It is also full of obscure terms that challenge the modern mind. In today’s passage, for example, we scratch our heads trying to interpret the meaning of how humans “through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.” Is the letter trying to say, like Prince Hamlet in his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, that humans are not free to do what they want because they fear death?
No, it is not that. Such a fear would at least have us doing what is right. The fear to which the letter refers is a deeper anxiety that would paralyze us from doing any good at all. It is a fear that would so preoccupy us with the terror of death that we could not love God or neighbor. The letter tells us, however, that Christ has eliminated this kind of fear by his resurrection from the dead. Now we can, in the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “befriend death” because it only unites us securely with God, the object of our living.
Homilette for Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:5-12; Mark 1:21-28)
Once in a while we see criticism of humanism from Christian groups. According to them humanism is the archenemy of faith because it seeks to replace the primacy of God with that of humans. But certainly this criticism is both wrong-headed and short-sighted. There are great saints like Thomas More who were humanists. Even Pope John Paul II was considered a Christian humanist. Calling humanism anti-Christian is like calling an athlete anti-intellectual. Such a label does not account for humanism’s possibilities.
Humanism endeavors to promote all men and women, not just the rich or the educated, but the poor and simple as well. It says that the value of the individual human must not be ignored. It is true that some humanists get carried away with these ideas. Secular humanists try to exalt humanity by denying the existence of God. Indeed, they attempt to turn humans into gods with the authority to make laws that are contrary to nature.
In the gospel Jesus shows himself to be a humanist. When a man who is possessed by an unclean spirit comes before him on the sabbath, he takes pity. Right away, he casts out the demon so the man may have his life back. The Pharisees consider the sabbath so holy that all regular activity must stop to give praise to God. But Jesus’ expelling the demon on the sabbath indicates that God is honored more by restoring humans to their full senses than by compliance with a narrow interpretation of the Law.
(Hebrews 2:5-12; Mark 1:21-28)
Once in a while we see criticism of humanism from Christian groups. According to them humanism is the archenemy of faith because it seeks to replace the primacy of God with that of humans. But certainly this criticism is both wrong-headed and short-sighted. There are great saints like Thomas More who were humanists. Even Pope John Paul II was considered a Christian humanist. Calling humanism anti-Christian is like calling an athlete anti-intellectual. Such a label does not account for humanism’s possibilities.
Humanism endeavors to promote all men and women, not just the rich or the educated, but the poor and simple as well. It says that the value of the individual human must not be ignored. It is true that some humanists get carried away with these ideas. Secular humanists try to exalt humanity by denying the existence of God. Indeed, they attempt to turn humans into gods with the authority to make laws that are contrary to nature.
In the gospel Jesus shows himself to be a humanist. When a man who is possessed by an unclean spirit comes before him on the sabbath, he takes pity. Right away, he casts out the demon so the man may have his life back. The Pharisees consider the sabbath so holy that all regular activity must stop to give praise to God. But Jesus’ expelling the demon on the sabbath indicates that God is honored more by restoring humans to their full senses than by compliance with a narrow interpretation of the Law.
Homilette for Monday, January 12, 2009
Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 1:1-6; Mark 1:14-20)
PayPal is an Internet service that allows its users to pay bills without giving financial information. For example, PayPal users do not give their credit card numbers to Amazon or other companies doing business on the Internet. PayPal’s website features a service, which it names “Sarah,” to answer users’ questions. Although Sarah is pictured as a robust young woman, the website admits that she is not a real person. If you type in a question for Sarah, you will probably not receive an answer but only another question like, “What precisely are you looking for?” or “Could you simplify your question please?”
Most people by now have felt frustrated with computer websites like PayPal’s or answering devices that do not provide the information they are seeking. “If there only was a person I could talk with...,” we say. In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the writer is expressing a similar dissatisfaction with God’s revelation in times past. It is “partial” and indirect as it comes in “various ways.” But now, the author says, God has spoken through a human person who understands our needs. The writer goes on to tell us that this person, Jesus Christ, has a message more reliable than an angel’s because he is God’s own Son.
The Letter to the Hebrews was written to keep early Christians from bolting Christ to follow strictly Old Testament beliefs and rituals. We face similar challenges today. Friends and relatives may be leaving the Church to join new religious cults. More typical are the choices of associates that accept only a sampling of what the Church teaches. The Letter to the Hebrews is warning us not to do likewise. It exhorts us to faithfully follow all Church teachings as the surest way to experience eternal happiness.
(Hebrews 1:1-6; Mark 1:14-20)
PayPal is an Internet service that allows its users to pay bills without giving financial information. For example, PayPal users do not give their credit card numbers to Amazon or other companies doing business on the Internet. PayPal’s website features a service, which it names “Sarah,” to answer users’ questions. Although Sarah is pictured as a robust young woman, the website admits that she is not a real person. If you type in a question for Sarah, you will probably not receive an answer but only another question like, “What precisely are you looking for?” or “Could you simplify your question please?”
Most people by now have felt frustrated with computer websites like PayPal’s or answering devices that do not provide the information they are seeking. “If there only was a person I could talk with...,” we say. In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the writer is expressing a similar dissatisfaction with God’s revelation in times past. It is “partial” and indirect as it comes in “various ways.” But now, the author says, God has spoken through a human person who understands our needs. The writer goes on to tell us that this person, Jesus Christ, has a message more reliable than an angel’s because he is God’s own Son.
The Letter to the Hebrews was written to keep early Christians from bolting Christ to follow strictly Old Testament beliefs and rituals. We face similar challenges today. Friends and relatives may be leaving the Church to join new religious cults. More typical are the choices of associates that accept only a sampling of what the Church teaches. The Letter to the Hebrews is warning us not to do likewise. It exhorts us to faithfully follow all Church teachings as the surest way to experience eternal happiness.
Homilette for Friday, January 9, 2009
Friday after Epiphany
(I John 5:5-13; Luke 5:12-16)
Stephen Jay Gould, the late Harvard evolutionist, opined that humans may not be as superior as we think. He acknowledged that the human brain has unequaled mental powers but offered as a comparable marvel the ability of certain bacteria to withstand temperatures of several thousands degrees. And so the academic debate continues. Are we merely cousins to other living things without a claim to priority in standing? Or are humans innately superior to all other kinds of earthly creatures?
Christians should have no doubt about the answer. We believe not only that we have been made in the image of God, but also that the Creator has deigned to take on our flesh in Jesus Christ. This second truth has especially vaulted us far beyond other kinds of plants and animals. Now humanness is no longer associated so much with fallibility but with decency, respect, and love. This is the import of Christmas, the feast that still commands our attention two weeks after its celebration.
Although humans are capable of the heights of heaven, we often act like starving dogs. Sin has so tarnished our self-perception that some of us do not recognize our potential for goodness. As the reading from the First Letter of John states, we must turn to Christ as the witness of the glory which is within our reach.
(I John 5:5-13; Luke 5:12-16)
Stephen Jay Gould, the late Harvard evolutionist, opined that humans may not be as superior as we think. He acknowledged that the human brain has unequaled mental powers but offered as a comparable marvel the ability of certain bacteria to withstand temperatures of several thousands degrees. And so the academic debate continues. Are we merely cousins to other living things without a claim to priority in standing? Or are humans innately superior to all other kinds of earthly creatures?
Christians should have no doubt about the answer. We believe not only that we have been made in the image of God, but also that the Creator has deigned to take on our flesh in Jesus Christ. This second truth has especially vaulted us far beyond other kinds of plants and animals. Now humanness is no longer associated so much with fallibility but with decency, respect, and love. This is the import of Christmas, the feast that still commands our attention two weeks after its celebration.
Although humans are capable of the heights of heaven, we often act like starving dogs. Sin has so tarnished our self-perception that some of us do not recognize our potential for goodness. As the reading from the First Letter of John states, we must turn to Christ as the witness of the glory which is within our reach.
Homilette for Thursday, January 8, 2009
Christmas Weekday
(I John 4:19-5:4; Luke 4:14-22)
In 1961 when John Kennedy was inaugurated, he delivered one of the most inspiring speeches in history. “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,” the young president said, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage....” Now the United States awaits the inauguration of another young president with a claim to newness every bit as significant as that of his predecessor forty-eight years ago. But neither John Kennedy nor Barack Obama can match the anticipation that accompanies Jesus in the gospel today.
Jesus returns to his home town to deliver his first public address in Luke’s gospel. He enters the synagogue, takes the scroll with a passage from Isaiah, reads about someone being anointed by the Spirit to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, and finally announces that he has come to fulfill this prophecy. Humanity can sigh in relief. Women and men will have not only sound teaching to guide them to peace but also the strengthening of will to make it happen.
For all the great expectations that Barack Obama engenders, many are rightfully skeptical of his presidency because of his support of abortion. In any case, we must not place ultimate hope in political messiahs. They may improve the conditions of earthly life, but they cannot bring about a totally just society. For that we still look only to Jesus, the anointed one, who has long ascended to his throne to secure for us the deepest desires of our hearts.
(I John 4:19-5:4; Luke 4:14-22)
In 1961 when John Kennedy was inaugurated, he delivered one of the most inspiring speeches in history. “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,” the young president said, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage....” Now the United States awaits the inauguration of another young president with a claim to newness every bit as significant as that of his predecessor forty-eight years ago. But neither John Kennedy nor Barack Obama can match the anticipation that accompanies Jesus in the gospel today.
Jesus returns to his home town to deliver his first public address in Luke’s gospel. He enters the synagogue, takes the scroll with a passage from Isaiah, reads about someone being anointed by the Spirit to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, and finally announces that he has come to fulfill this prophecy. Humanity can sigh in relief. Women and men will have not only sound teaching to guide them to peace but also the strengthening of will to make it happen.
For all the great expectations that Barack Obama engenders, many are rightfully skeptical of his presidency because of his support of abortion. In any case, we must not place ultimate hope in political messiahs. They may improve the conditions of earthly life, but they cannot bring about a totally just society. For that we still look only to Jesus, the anointed one, who has long ascended to his throne to secure for us the deepest desires of our hearts.
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