Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(I Samuel 3:1-10; 19-20, Mark 1:29-39)
The other day on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Matthew’s gospel read that “the heavens were opened” for Jesus. The connotation is that such an occurrence did not often happen. In the first reading today we hear again that revelation is extraordinary. The First Book of Samuel relates that “a revelation from the Lord was uncommon and (a) vision infrequent.” If we wonder why God does not speak to us directly in contemporary times, we can console ourselves that people in biblical times probably asked the same question.
The narrative regarding Samuel and Eli begins the story of God’s plan to bring greatness to the people of Israel. Samuel will eventually anoint both Saul and David king. The latter will extend Israel’s fortunes to great heights. But David in all his glory will fail the Lord. He will keep a harem of women, commit adultery, and conspire to kill a noble soldier. The greatness of the kingdom of Israel will eventually dissolve through repeated abandonment of God’s ways.
We might compare the care taken to relate the origins of the kingdom of Israel to those of the evangelists telling of the coming of the kingdom of God. Of course, Jesus figures prominently in the latter story. Matthew and Luke weave the story of Jesus’ birth. They present him as the one who will establish the kingdom of God with such unsurpassable greatness that it will never end. In today’s gospel Mark indicates the makeup of Jesus’ accomplishment. Jesus cures disease and casts out demons – the effects of sin -- and also preaches the good news to all people. Jesus is showing himself is the fulfillment of God’s plan for Israel as well as of our deepest desires.
Homilette for January 15, 2008
You will find below homilettes for all weekdays since January 7. If you have a comment or suggestion about these works, please write me at cmeleop@yahoo.com. Many New Year blessings, cm
Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time
(Mark 1:21-28)
Every once in a while we see criticism of humanism from Christian groups. According to these people humanism is the archenemy of faith because it seeks to replace the primacy of God with that of humans. But certainly this criticism is short-sighted. There are great saints like Thomas More who were humanists. Even Pope John Paul II was considered a Christian humanist. Condemning humanism as anti-Christian would be like condemning radio with the same label. Just as there are quality radio programs – some that even promoting the gospel – so also are most forms of humanism beneficial.
Humanism endeavors to promote all men and women, not just the rich or the educated, but poor and simple people as well. It says that the value of any individual human should not be ignored. It is true that some humanists get carried away with these ideas. Secular humanists, for example, would say that God does not exist. Indeed, they make humans gods of themselves with the authority to make all laws as they see fit. But this is an aberration.
In the gospel Jesus shows how God Himself may be called a humanist. When a man who is possessed by a devil comes before him, he takes pity. Right away, he casts out the devil so the man may have his life back. The fact that he does this on the Sabbath doubly indicates God’s love for every human being. The Pharisees consider Saturday so holy that all regular activity must stop to give praise to God. For a healer, as Jesus certainly is, this would mean to stop healing. Jesus’ driving away the demon from the possessed man 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.
Tuesday of the First Week of Ordinary Time
(Mark 1:21-28)
Every once in a while we see criticism of humanism from Christian groups. According to these people humanism is the archenemy of faith because it seeks to replace the primacy of God with that of humans. But certainly this criticism is short-sighted. There are great saints like Thomas More who were humanists. Even Pope John Paul II was considered a Christian humanist. Condemning humanism as anti-Christian would be like condemning radio with the same label. Just as there are quality radio programs – some that even promoting the gospel – so also are most forms of humanism beneficial.
Humanism endeavors to promote all men and women, not just the rich or the educated, but poor and simple people as well. It says that the value of any individual human should not be ignored. It is true that some humanists get carried away with these ideas. Secular humanists, for example, would say that God does not exist. Indeed, they make humans gods of themselves with the authority to make all laws as they see fit. But this is an aberration.
In the gospel Jesus shows how God Himself may be called a humanist. When a man who is possessed by a devil comes before him, he takes pity. Right away, he casts out the devil so the man may have his life back. The fact that he does this on the Sabbath doubly indicates God’s love for every human being. The Pharisees consider Saturday so holy that all regular activity must stop to give praise to God. For a healer, as Jesus certainly is, this would mean to stop healing. Jesus’ driving away the demon from the possessed man 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 January 14, 2008
Monday of the First Week of Ordinary Time
(Mark 1:14-20)
In a recent book evaluating the great Catholics theologians of the twentieth century, the author reserves the highest praise for the Canadian Jesuit Bernard Lonergan. Fr. Lonergan’s Method in Theology not only contains keen theological insights; it also answers modern philosophy’s challenges to the theological enterprise. For Lonergan the concept of conversion that Jesus has in mind when he calls for repentance in the gospel today is as basic to writing theology as it is to living the Christian life.
We might hear the call to repentance as meant for other people. After all, we are already in church when the gospel passage is read. But, as Bernard Lonergan would say, conversion or repentance is a life-long process that every person must strive for in order to experience the Kingdom of God. All of us continually have to examine the principles by which we live, ask ourselves where we fail to measure up to the standards that God has set, ask forgiveness for any harm that living by the old principles has caused, and then amend our lives to incorporate the gospel. As extended as this list is, true conversion is even more challenging because it means going against established routine. But, of course, the happiness of the Kingdom provides the necessary incentive and the Spirit of Jesus, the extraordinary means to take up the quest.
To achieve full repentance religious have formed the habit of frequent participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They seriously look at their lives once a month or even once a week. They note where they have strayed from the gospel values that they have learned. And they confess these sins with the firm resolve not to fall again. This practice is not the reserve for those who have vowed themselves to a religious community. It is the model for all Christians who take their faith seriously.
(Mark 1:14-20)
In a recent book evaluating the great Catholics theologians of the twentieth century, the author reserves the highest praise for the Canadian Jesuit Bernard Lonergan. Fr. Lonergan’s Method in Theology not only contains keen theological insights; it also answers modern philosophy’s challenges to the theological enterprise. For Lonergan the concept of conversion that Jesus has in mind when he calls for repentance in the gospel today is as basic to writing theology as it is to living the Christian life.
We might hear the call to repentance as meant for other people. After all, we are already in church when the gospel passage is read. But, as Bernard Lonergan would say, conversion or repentance is a life-long process that every person must strive for in order to experience the Kingdom of God. All of us continually have to examine the principles by which we live, ask ourselves where we fail to measure up to the standards that God has set, ask forgiveness for any harm that living by the old principles has caused, and then amend our lives to incorporate the gospel. As extended as this list is, true conversion is even more challenging because it means going against established routine. But, of course, the happiness of the Kingdom provides the necessary incentive and the Spirit of Jesus, the extraordinary means to take up the quest.
To achieve full repentance religious have formed the habit of frequent participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They seriously look at their lives once a month or even once a week. They note where they have strayed from the gospel values that they have learned. And they confess these sins with the firm resolve not to fall again. This practice is not the reserve for those who have vowed themselves to a religious community. It is the model for all Christians who take their faith seriously.
Homilette for January 11, 2008
Friday after Epiphany
(I John 5:5-13)
In one of his books Stephen Jay Gould, the Harvard evolutionist, opines that humans may not be as superior as we think. He acknowledges that the human brain has unequaled mental powers, but offers as a comparable marvel the ability of certain bacteria to withstand temperatures of several thousands degrees. And so the academic debate rages: are we merely first cousins to other living things, with no kind of life having an essential priority? 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 created in the image of God, the creator, but also God has deigned to take on our flesh in Jesus Christ. This second truth has especially vaulted us far beyond all other plants and animals. Now humanness is no longer associated with fallibility but more appropriately 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 more like starving dogs fighting over food. Sin has so tarnished our image of ourselves 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)
In one of his books Stephen Jay Gould, the Harvard evolutionist, opines that humans may not be as superior as we think. He acknowledges that the human brain has unequaled mental powers, but offers as a comparable marvel the ability of certain bacteria to withstand temperatures of several thousands degrees. And so the academic debate rages: are we merely first cousins to other living things, with no kind of life having an essential priority? 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 created in the image of God, the creator, but also God has deigned to take on our flesh in Jesus Christ. This second truth has especially vaulted us far beyond all other plants and animals. Now humanness is no longer associated with fallibility but more appropriately 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 more like starving dogs fighting over food. Sin has so tarnished our image of ourselves 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 January 10, 2008
Thursday after Epiphany
(I John 4:19-5:4)
In a movie adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables, a prisoner writes a love letter to his wife. He is a largely unlettered man without grandiose ideas so he only repeats “I love you” over and over again. The first letter of John, from which we read today, may sound almost as simplistic. However, its meaning is as profound as its lesson is worth repeating.
The author of the letter knows from bitter experience how the world can corrupt a person. For this reason he underlines the need to keep God’s commandments. But, he says, this is not a difficult task because the essence of the commandments is love which brings its own delight. “Not necessarily true,” we might object from our own experience trying to please difficult persons. But John finds as the object of love the virtuous brothers and sisters of the faith community. In caring for these good people, he concludes, the person fulfills the natural desire to return God’s love shown in the gift of Christ.
As defrocked Christmas trees dot empty lots, Christmas becomes a flickering memory. Our resolve to live each day with the love we felt on Christmas may have become similarly vague. John’s persistent reminders that God has given us Christ keep us from forgetting about the desirability of loving.
(I John 4:19-5:4)
In a movie adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables, a prisoner writes a love letter to his wife. He is a largely unlettered man without grandiose ideas so he only repeats “I love you” over and over again. The first letter of John, from which we read today, may sound almost as simplistic. However, its meaning is as profound as its lesson is worth repeating.
The author of the letter knows from bitter experience how the world can corrupt a person. For this reason he underlines the need to keep God’s commandments. But, he says, this is not a difficult task because the essence of the commandments is love which brings its own delight. “Not necessarily true,” we might object from our own experience trying to please difficult persons. But John finds as the object of love the virtuous brothers and sisters of the faith community. In caring for these good people, he concludes, the person fulfills the natural desire to return God’s love shown in the gift of Christ.
As defrocked Christmas trees dot empty lots, Christmas becomes a flickering memory. Our resolve to live each day with the love we felt on Christmas may have become similarly vague. John’s persistent reminders that God has given us Christ keep us from forgetting about the desirability of loving.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)