Fourth of July
(Genesis 21)
Above all the Fourth of July is time to celebrate. Some may want to listen to the music of marching bands. With no less civic pride we have chosen a more subdued celebration in the confines of church. Here we praise God for blessing our country with so much opportunity and no small amount of equality. Yes, we know that not all opportunity has been parceled out fairly. For this reason our celebration begins on a note of contrition.
The story of Hagar and Ishmael wandering in the desert mirrors an experience of contemporary America. Many immigrants are trying to enter this country via the southwestern desert. Frequently they, like the biblical desert wanderers, become lost and sometimes are found dying or dead. Their plight cries out for attention just as Ishmael weeps from thirst. Solutions, however, are not easily found as the report from Washington this past week shows. So we join our voices with the contemporary Ishmaels and Hagars in prayer to God for their well-being.
A sage law professor has observed that the United States is both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. A nation so large and promising as we are needs both to continue to prosper. Not today but tomorrow we should ponder what changes in laws are workable to fulfill the hopes of immigrants. With them in our midst, with all abiding by the rule of law, and with the blessing of the Most High the future will see an even greater America.
Homilette for Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle
(John 20)
Like Thomas sometimes we may prefer not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We may think that life would be neater if the end were the end. We would congratulate those who accomplished their goals – be they earning a million dollars, helping the poor, or raising a large family. We would not have to consider whether they (or ourselves for that matter) conform to Christ’s love and thereby merit eternal life.
But all that is wishful thinking. The gospel today asserts that Jesus has risen from the dead. He appears to a man who did not give credibility to the word of witnesses but insisted on touching the wounds of the crucified Christ. The doubter even turns into the person expressing the deepest faith in all the gospels. Thomas’ final words “my Lord and my God” mirror the statement of belief at the beginning of the gospel, “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God.”
Of course, we can deny the truth of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. We can say that it is just a pious story fabricated to get simple people to believe. But such a stance denies our experience. It is not only that people of faith seem to live fuller, happier lives – that they face hardship with less turmoil and recover more easily from setback. It is also that when we call on Jesus in distress, “my Lord and my God,” we also experience the steadiness of his guiding hand.
(John 20)
Like Thomas sometimes we may prefer not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We may think that life would be neater if the end were the end. We would congratulate those who accomplished their goals – be they earning a million dollars, helping the poor, or raising a large family. We would not have to consider whether they (or ourselves for that matter) conform to Christ’s love and thereby merit eternal life.
But all that is wishful thinking. The gospel today asserts that Jesus has risen from the dead. He appears to a man who did not give credibility to the word of witnesses but insisted on touching the wounds of the crucified Christ. The doubter even turns into the person expressing the deepest faith in all the gospels. Thomas’ final words “my Lord and my God” mirror the statement of belief at the beginning of the gospel, “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God.”
Of course, we can deny the truth of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. We can say that it is just a pious story fabricated to get simple people to believe. But such a stance denies our experience. It is not only that people of faith seem to live fuller, happier lives – that they face hardship with less turmoil and recover more easily from setback. It is also that when we call on Jesus in distress, “my Lord and my God,” we also experience the steadiness of his guiding hand.
Homilette for Friday, June 29, 2007
The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Did the Son of God have to become human? This question sounds academic but is worthy of everyone’s thought. Might God have led humans out of sin by a way other than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The doctors of the Church answer “no.” Human disobedience sin was so egregious that only someone commensurate with God but like us in nature could atone for it. Some of these doctors go on to say that God may also have become human just out of goodness. He wanted to express His love for us in the most intimate way.
In the same way we might speculate whether it was necessary for Sts. Peter and Paul to come to Rome. Although there is not the same necessity for establishing the church in Rome as in having the Incarnation, there is a parallel reason. In the first century Rome was the center of much of the world. If the message of Christ was to proceed to all nations, it would have its greatest bounce from Rome. Indeed, Rome gave impetus for the evangelization of the world as the blood of the two greatest apostles was shed there.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. It is the patronal feast of Rome where most everyone takes a holiday. The rest of the world sees the feast as a way to contemplate the authority of the pope, the bishop of Rome. Like Peter he is the symbol of unity of the Church. Like Paul he has the commission to assure the spread of the gospel. In the United States we will wait until next week for a holiday. Today, however, we joyfully thank God for these two saints.
Did the Son of God have to become human? This question sounds academic but is worthy of everyone’s thought. Might God have led humans out of sin by a way other than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The doctors of the Church answer “no.” Human disobedience sin was so egregious that only someone commensurate with God but like us in nature could atone for it. Some of these doctors go on to say that God may also have become human just out of goodness. He wanted to express His love for us in the most intimate way.
In the same way we might speculate whether it was necessary for Sts. Peter and Paul to come to Rome. Although there is not the same necessity for establishing the church in Rome as in having the Incarnation, there is a parallel reason. In the first century Rome was the center of much of the world. If the message of Christ was to proceed to all nations, it would have its greatest bounce from Rome. Indeed, Rome gave impetus for the evangelization of the world as the blood of the two greatest apostles was shed there.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. It is the patronal feast of Rome where most everyone takes a holiday. The rest of the world sees the feast as a way to contemplate the authority of the pope, the bishop of Rome. Like Peter he is the symbol of unity of the Church. Like Paul he has the commission to assure the spread of the gospel. In the United States we will wait until next week for a holiday. Today, however, we joyfully thank God for these two saints.
Homilette for Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, XII Ordinary Time
(Matthew 7)
In a movie depicting life in the Bronx during the 1960s a man of experience advises a teenage boy how to determine if his date would be a worthy girl friend. He says that the boy should open the car door for the girl to let her in. Then if she doesn’t reach over to unlock the door on the driver’s side, she is self-centered and should be dropped therewith. The advice is not unlike the test that Jesus provides in the gospel for those worthy of heaven.
Jesus warns about praying a lot -- saying “Lord, Lord” -- but doing nothing to indicate fidelity. He is critical also of striving to accomplish remarkable feats but lacking humility and innocence. On judgment day Jesus says that he will be looking for those who have each day practiced his standards of perfection. It’s a tall order, of course, but Jesus will send us the Holy Spirit so that we might fill it.
This gospel passage ends the Sermon on the Mount, the so-called blueprint of the Christian life. It has introduced a new kind of morality – one not based exclusively on outward acts or only on inner prayer. No, for Jesus thought, word, and deed all have to be beyond reproach. In outlining the new morality Jesus has shown himself to be a greater lawgiver than Moses. The latter only brought God’s law on tablets from the mountaintop. Jesus, on the other hand, shows himself to be the actual lawgiver -- the one who speaks as God with his own authority.
(Matthew 7)
In a movie depicting life in the Bronx during the 1960s a man of experience advises a teenage boy how to determine if his date would be a worthy girl friend. He says that the boy should open the car door for the girl to let her in. Then if she doesn’t reach over to unlock the door on the driver’s side, she is self-centered and should be dropped therewith. The advice is not unlike the test that Jesus provides in the gospel for those worthy of heaven.
Jesus warns about praying a lot -- saying “Lord, Lord” -- but doing nothing to indicate fidelity. He is critical also of striving to accomplish remarkable feats but lacking humility and innocence. On judgment day Jesus says that he will be looking for those who have each day practiced his standards of perfection. It’s a tall order, of course, but Jesus will send us the Holy Spirit so that we might fill it.
This gospel passage ends the Sermon on the Mount, the so-called blueprint of the Christian life. It has introduced a new kind of morality – one not based exclusively on outward acts or only on inner prayer. No, for Jesus thought, word, and deed all have to be beyond reproach. In outlining the new morality Jesus has shown himself to be a greater lawgiver than Moses. The latter only brought God’s law on tablets from the mountaintop. Jesus, on the other hand, shows himself to be the actual lawgiver -- the one who speaks as God with his own authority.
Homilette for Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, XII Ordinary Time
(Genesis 15)
People say that sex sells. Just noting all the attention given to Paris Hilton, who could deny that truth? But fear also makes a successful salesman. Remember Karl Malden warning us a generation ago not to “leave home without them”? No doubt, American Express sold a treasury of travelers’ checks on that note of fear. In the first reading we see Abram exasperated by the fear of having to leave the virtual empire God promises him to an unrelated heir.
Fear often blinds us to our responsibilities. At one time fear drove people to seek quarantine, not assistance, for people with AIDS. Fearing the judgment of others, we can likewise falter in tasks that we normally accomplish with ease. How many times have we become tongue-tied when speaking to an authority figure when words normally flow out of our mouths like water from a tap?
God assures Abram that there is no need for fear. What is essential is that he have faith and then to do what is required of him. Faith provides the margin of accomplishment because it links us with the Almighty. It enables Abram to leave behind his homeland and then to let go of his complaint that he has no child heir. God calls on undreamt powers – the fire in the midst of darkness – to accomplish His will on Abram's behalf. Trusting in God we too cannot lose in the long run despite the setbacks we face. Jesus Christ – by far the brightest star in the firmament of Abraham’s descendents – has assured us of victory over death itself. But first, we have to put our faith in him through prayer.
(Genesis 15)
People say that sex sells. Just noting all the attention given to Paris Hilton, who could deny that truth? But fear also makes a successful salesman. Remember Karl Malden warning us a generation ago not to “leave home without them”? No doubt, American Express sold a treasury of travelers’ checks on that note of fear. In the first reading we see Abram exasperated by the fear of having to leave the virtual empire God promises him to an unrelated heir.
Fear often blinds us to our responsibilities. At one time fear drove people to seek quarantine, not assistance, for people with AIDS. Fearing the judgment of others, we can likewise falter in tasks that we normally accomplish with ease. How many times have we become tongue-tied when speaking to an authority figure when words normally flow out of our mouths like water from a tap?
God assures Abram that there is no need for fear. What is essential is that he have faith and then to do what is required of him. Faith provides the margin of accomplishment because it links us with the Almighty. It enables Abram to leave behind his homeland and then to let go of his complaint that he has no child heir. God calls on undreamt powers – the fire in the midst of darkness – to accomplish His will on Abram's behalf. Trusting in God we too cannot lose in the long run despite the setbacks we face. Jesus Christ – by far the brightest star in the firmament of Abraham’s descendents – has assured us of victory over death itself. But first, we have to put our faith in him through prayer.
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