Monday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
(Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26-16:4)
Jews have been persecuted so much throughout history that it is hard to imagine them persecuting others. Yet this is the claim of Palestinians who say that Israelis occupied their land after World War II and continue taking it today on the West Bank. It is also the charge of Jesus in the gospel who foresees the eviction of Christians from Jewish synagogues in the latter part of the first century.
Christian Jews prayed alongside other Jews for almost forty years after the crucifixion. Evidently they looked on one another something like contemporary Charismatics from various Christian denominations praying in the churches of their childhood on Sunday morning but coming together at other times for meetings featuring the Holy Spirit. Regular Jews accepted the diversity of belief in the synagogues until the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. catalyzed a reform. Then they systematically expelled Christian Jews from their midst with the charge that Christians adulterated worship with teachings about Jesus. In today’s gospel Jesus refers to the expulsion proceedings when he says that he will send the Advocate to testify that Christians truly worship God.
This Advocate, more literally “the Paraclete,” is the Holy Spirit who remains with the Church always. Today we might discern its presence in the Church’s consistent sexual ethic despite society’s acceptance of immoral practices like premarital cohabitation.
Homilette for Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
There is no inherent contradiction in being both Christ’s slaves and his friends. A slave can win the confidence of his or her master to be treated as a friend or even as a relative. Bishop Edward Braxton once wrote an article about a slave in Georgia who labored for a Catholic family. There was such mutual love between slave and masters that the woman chose to stay with the family after Emancipation and was eventually buried in the family plot.
Being slaves to Christ means that we follow him unreservedly. If he tells us – as he does – that it is a sin to divorce one person in order to marry another, then we do not divorce, at least in the sense that the Church interprets the word. In calling his disciples “friends” Jesus underscores his confidence in us. He trusts us implicitly to listen to his words and to carry out his will.
The two terms – slaves and friends – should be seen as complimenting one another. At times we may have difficulty following what Jesus says. It is hard, for example, for the family of a murder victim to pray for the perpetrator of the crime. Yet it does so out of faithfulness to its master. Most of the time, however, we can reflect on and appreciate the wisdom of Jesus, our friend, as when he invites us to eat his flesh in the Eucharist.
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
There is no inherent contradiction in being both Christ’s slaves and his friends. A slave can win the confidence of his or her master to be treated as a friend or even as a relative. Bishop Edward Braxton once wrote an article about a slave in Georgia who labored for a Catholic family. There was such mutual love between slave and masters that the woman chose to stay with the family after Emancipation and was eventually buried in the family plot.
Being slaves to Christ means that we follow him unreservedly. If he tells us – as he does – that it is a sin to divorce one person in order to marry another, then we do not divorce, at least in the sense that the Church interprets the word. In calling his disciples “friends” Jesus underscores his confidence in us. He trusts us implicitly to listen to his words and to carry out his will.
The two terms – slaves and friends – should be seen as complimenting one another. At times we may have difficulty following what Jesus says. It is hard, for example, for the family of a murder victim to pray for the perpetrator of the crime. Yet it does so out of faithfulness to its master. Most of the time, however, we can reflect on and appreciate the wisdom of Jesus, our friend, as when he invites us to eat his flesh in the Eucharist.
Homilette for Thursday, May 14, 2009
Feast of St. Matthias, apostle
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would think of sending only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say not, but in the first reading today the whole community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one judge or leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Even more significantly, we -- her members -- have also been deliberately chosen by Jesus (as the gospel tells us).
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would think of sending only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say not, but in the first reading today the whole community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one judge or leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Even more significantly, we -- her members -- have also been deliberately chosen by Jesus (as the gospel tells us).
Homilette for Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
In one of her novels Anne Tyler writes of a misleading advertisement boasting “vine-grown tomatoes.” Her character criticizes the sign saying something like, “All tomatoes are vine grown, but juicy and tasty tomatoes are vine-ripened.” We know that too often tomatoes are harvested prematurely and taste as much like paper as food.
In today’s gospel Jesus exhorts us to remain close to his vine so that our lives may be fruitful. This means that we are to take his words to heart contemplating their meaning and judiciously putting them into action. Franciscan Friar of Renewal Benedict Groeschel describes how Mother Teresa once asked him if he wanted to be more productive. Of course, he did. Then Mother Teresa told him that he should make a holy hour everyday. When Fr. Benedict objected that he was too busy for that, Mother Teresa only chided him that he really did not want to do more. Fr. Benedict finally surrendered to the idea, and the outcome has been abundance in preaching, writing, and harvesting vocations.
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
In one of her novels Anne Tyler writes of a misleading advertisement boasting “vine-grown tomatoes.” Her character criticizes the sign saying something like, “All tomatoes are vine grown, but juicy and tasty tomatoes are vine-ripened.” We know that too often tomatoes are harvested prematurely and taste as much like paper as food.
In today’s gospel Jesus exhorts us to remain close to his vine so that our lives may be fruitful. This means that we are to take his words to heart contemplating their meaning and judiciously putting them into action. Franciscan Friar of Renewal Benedict Groeschel describes how Mother Teresa once asked him if he wanted to be more productive. Of course, he did. Then Mother Teresa told him that he should make a holy hour everyday. When Fr. Benedict objected that he was too busy for that, Mother Teresa only chided him that he really did not want to do more. Fr. Benedict finally surrendered to the idea, and the outcome has been abundance in preaching, writing, and harvesting vocations.
Homilette for Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 14:19-28; John 14:27-31a)
Jesus defies many of our hopes when he promises us his peace. We think of peace as the absence of conflict – a respite in the constant struggle to make ends meet or to please those around us. For our brand of peace we may take a cruise or find an apartment miles away from the helter-skelter of work.
But Jesus indicates in the gospel that peace is a condition of psychology not geography. As he is about to undergo the worse of human upheavals in the crucifixion and yet is undisturbed because of his relationship with the Father so he urges us not to worry about the predicament in which we find ourselves. Rather, we are to be confident of his love which conquers any and all of the troubles that the world slings at us. For sure, it is a tall order, but we have the assurance of his resurrection to show us that our trust is warranted.
(Acts 14:19-28; John 14:27-31a)
Jesus defies many of our hopes when he promises us his peace. We think of peace as the absence of conflict – a respite in the constant struggle to make ends meet or to please those around us. For our brand of peace we may take a cruise or find an apartment miles away from the helter-skelter of work.
But Jesus indicates in the gospel that peace is a condition of psychology not geography. As he is about to undergo the worse of human upheavals in the crucifixion and yet is undisturbed because of his relationship with the Father so he urges us not to worry about the predicament in which we find ourselves. Rather, we are to be confident of his love which conquers any and all of the troubles that the world slings at us. For sure, it is a tall order, but we have the assurance of his resurrection to show us that our trust is warranted.
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