Tuesday, II Week of Advent
(Isaiah 40:1-11; Matthew 18:12-14)
The other day public radio advertised an upcoming interview with an evangelical pastor who has parted from the Church’s tradition. The pastor believes that God could not send anyone to hell because, he says, if God condemned one person for infidelity or lawlessness, then He would have to condemn billions and that would make him a mass murderer worse than Hitler. Believing God to be all-merciful, we have compelling reason to agree with the renegade pastor. However, we should first examine the Church’s teachings.
The readings today reveal God not as an executioner but, quite the contrary, as a savior. He tells the prophet to comfort His people Judah by informing them that their punishment has ended. By now they have learned that “all flesh is grass”; that is, that the opulent nations that Judah once emulated, have withered like the grass in winter. Judah can see the futility of following those nations and the need to return to God’s ways. Likewise in the gospel, Jesus pictures God as a worried shepherd seeking one lost sheep even though he has ninety-nine others to support his needs.
It would be blasphemy to characterize God as a mass murderer. We rightly see Him as one who seeks out the lost and comforts the bewildered. Because some seem to scorn His message, we cannot say for certain that they ever return to his fold. Still we can pray that every person turns to God in his or her heart and heeds His words of reform and comfort.
Homilette for Monday, December 8, 2008
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Genesis 3:9-15.20; Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12; Luke 1:26-38)
Once in a while in newspapers, Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is referred to as her “Luke 1:26-38.” Both events are mysteries of faith, but we must be careful not to confuse the two.
We believe that Mary, by virtue of a special grace anticipating her being the mother of Jesus, was immaculately conceived. This means that from her conception in her mother’s womb she suffered none of the effects of the sin committed by Adam and Eve. We remember that the first humans disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. Actually concupiscence – the desire to be like God – caused Adam and Eve to disobey. What to them was a radical decision, to their descendants has become an innate defect. Mary alone, except for Jesus, the “God-man,” was spared of this fate.
The gospel today demonstrates Mary’s innocent nature. Addressed by God’s messenger as “full of grace,” Mary has difficulty understanding that the angel is referring to her. And when told that she will conceive of the long-awaited Messiah, Mary expresses no desire for illicit sexual relations. We can say that Mary possesses neither pride nor lust, two of the graver manifestations of the sin inherited from Adam and Eve. Rather her disposition is one of submission to God’s authority. She responds, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Of course, Mary gives birth to Jesus who eventually gives himself over to death so that humans might overcome their inclination to disobey God’s commands. We are not conceived, like Mary, with a completely innocent nature. But through Christ’s efforts, we can conquer pride, lust and other forms of sin.
(Genesis 3:9-15.20; Ephesians 1:3-6.11-12; Luke 1:26-38)
Once in a while in newspapers, Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is referred to as her “Luke 1:26-38.” Both events are mysteries of faith, but we must be careful not to confuse the two.
We believe that Mary, by virtue of a special grace anticipating her being the mother of Jesus, was immaculately conceived. This means that from her conception in her mother’s womb she suffered none of the effects of the sin committed by Adam and Eve. We remember that the first humans disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. Actually concupiscence – the desire to be like God – caused Adam and Eve to disobey. What to them was a radical decision, to their descendants has become an innate defect. Mary alone, except for Jesus, the “God-man,” was spared of this fate.
The gospel today demonstrates Mary’s innocent nature. Addressed by God’s messenger as “full of grace,” Mary has difficulty understanding that the angel is referring to her. And when told that she will conceive of the long-awaited Messiah, Mary expresses no desire for illicit sexual relations. We can say that Mary possesses neither pride nor lust, two of the graver manifestations of the sin inherited from Adam and Eve. Rather her disposition is one of submission to God’s authority. She responds, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Of course, Mary gives birth to Jesus who eventually gives himself over to death so that humans might overcome their inclination to disobey God’s commands. We are not conceived, like Mary, with a completely innocent nature. But through Christ’s efforts, we can conquer pride, lust and other forms of sin.
Homilette for Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday of the First Week of Advent
(Isaiah 29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31)
In explaining why random evolution cannot account for the complexity of human life, intelligent design advocates often point to the eye. They say that such an intricate organ is not likely to come about by chance, no matter if it had a zillion years to develop. The eye’s sight is not only wonderful, it is also useful. For this reason the blind men in today’s gospel ask Jesus for mercy.
The two men lack physical sight, but they possess faith which is another way of seeing. The men may have heard that Jesus is in the line of David. But this is only a fact of heredity. More significantly, they believe that he is the son of David who will restore the glory of Israel. As Isaiah foretold, he is the one who will open the ears of the deaf, give sight to the blind, and bring release to prisoners. Jesus rewards their faith with a new kind of twenty-twenty vision; that is, they can now see as well with their eyes as they have all along with their souls.
This Advent those of us who see well enough with our eyes might ask Jesus for the enhanced vision which faith gives. We want to see him as the one to save us from all that threatens us. Also, we need faith so that we might never lose sight of everyone's dignity, no matter the person's disability or condition.
(Isaiah 29:17-24; Matthew 9:27-31)
In explaining why random evolution cannot account for the complexity of human life, intelligent design advocates often point to the eye. They say that such an intricate organ is not likely to come about by chance, no matter if it had a zillion years to develop. The eye’s sight is not only wonderful, it is also useful. For this reason the blind men in today’s gospel ask Jesus for mercy.
The two men lack physical sight, but they possess faith which is another way of seeing. The men may have heard that Jesus is in the line of David. But this is only a fact of heredity. More significantly, they believe that he is the son of David who will restore the glory of Israel. As Isaiah foretold, he is the one who will open the ears of the deaf, give sight to the blind, and bring release to prisoners. Jesus rewards their faith with a new kind of twenty-twenty vision; that is, they can now see as well with their eyes as they have all along with their souls.
This Advent those of us who see well enough with our eyes might ask Jesus for the enhanced vision which faith gives. We want to see him as the one to save us from all that threatens us. Also, we need faith so that we might never lose sight of everyone's dignity, no matter the person's disability or condition.
Homilette for Thursday, December 4, 2009
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
(Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 5:21.24-27)
The gospel today is taken from the ending of the famous “Sermon on the Mount.” The evangelist Matthew has portrayed Jesus as the supreme lawgiver surpassing even Moses. The new morality, which Jesus has just outlined, enables a people to shine with righteousness as brightly as a city at night.
Jesus’ moral teaching does not negate the Old Law, but it does point to its deficiency. Simply trying to conform to the ideals prescribed in the Pentateuch, the people will always fall short of the mark. They need internal support even more than external norms if they are to stand out as a righteous society. To supply what is lacking Jesus will infuse them with the Holy Spirit. St. Thomas Aquinas calls the Holy Spirit, who is God, the chief component of Jesus’ New Law. We might compare this development to the building of modern skyscrapers. Previous ages knew multi-storied buildings but only with the use of a steel framework could the super-tall high rises that characterize constructions of the twentieth century be built.
Some of us may recoil at the words righteous and righteousness. We hear them as self-righteous which is not what Jesus has in mind. Once again, it is Jesus’ Spirit infused within that provides the difference. It tunes up our antennas to the world around us. Then it moves us to reject vice and to practice virtue. We can rest assured that our righteous efforts will meet with Jesus’ approval when he comes in glory.
(Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 5:21.24-27)
The gospel today is taken from the ending of the famous “Sermon on the Mount.” The evangelist Matthew has portrayed Jesus as the supreme lawgiver surpassing even Moses. The new morality, which Jesus has just outlined, enables a people to shine with righteousness as brightly as a city at night.
Jesus’ moral teaching does not negate the Old Law, but it does point to its deficiency. Simply trying to conform to the ideals prescribed in the Pentateuch, the people will always fall short of the mark. They need internal support even more than external norms if they are to stand out as a righteous society. To supply what is lacking Jesus will infuse them with the Holy Spirit. St. Thomas Aquinas calls the Holy Spirit, who is God, the chief component of Jesus’ New Law. We might compare this development to the building of modern skyscrapers. Previous ages knew multi-storied buildings but only with the use of a steel framework could the super-tall high rises that characterize constructions of the twentieth century be built.
Some of us may recoil at the words righteous and righteousness. We hear them as self-righteous which is not what Jesus has in mind. Once again, it is Jesus’ Spirit infused within that provides the difference. It tunes up our antennas to the world around us. Then it moves us to reject vice and to practice virtue. We can rest assured that our righteous efforts will meet with Jesus’ approval when he comes in glory.
Homilette for Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Memorial of St. Francis Xavier, priest
(Isaiah 25:6-10, Matthew 15:29-37)
During what the Church calls “Ordinary Time” weekday mass readings are not coordinated. In this long period she assigns a first reading and a gospel passage with different themes in order to give mass-goers maximum exposure to Scripture. During Advent, however, she selects a first reading from the Old Testament and a gospel to show how Jesus fulfills the anticipation of the people of Israel. Today, for example, the prophet Isaiah tells how God will prepare a banquet for all peoples in honor of lowly Israel who preserved faith in Him. In the gospel passage Jesus, a descendant of Israel, does just that. First, he assists those who are usually left out – the blind and the lame – as he addresses the masses. Then he feeds everyone large portions of bread and fish.
Because we can count on God to keep His promises, we ready ourselves for Christ’s return during Advent. But the preparations themselves convey special blessings. It is like the story Garrison Keillor tells of wintertime in rural Minnesota where he grew up. His school principal once matched children from the country with “snow parents” who would give them shelter in case a winter storm prevented their return home after school. Keillor remembers being assigned to a family whose house had a statue of the Blessed Virgin in its front yard. One afternoon when school was dismissed early and he was waiting for the school bus, he went to the house to meet the family. He introduced himself to the woman at the door simply as her “snow child.” The woman invited him in and told him to sit down while she called her husband. In the meantime, she brought him cookies and milk.
As Minnesotans in winter are sure to get heavy snowfalls, we can be sure of Christ’s eventual return in glory. Also, like Minnesotans preparing for snow, we ready ourselves for that climatic day during Advent. Finally, like the young Garrison Keillor, in our preparations we experience moments of grace.
(Isaiah 25:6-10, Matthew 15:29-37)
During what the Church calls “Ordinary Time” weekday mass readings are not coordinated. In this long period she assigns a first reading and a gospel passage with different themes in order to give mass-goers maximum exposure to Scripture. During Advent, however, she selects a first reading from the Old Testament and a gospel to show how Jesus fulfills the anticipation of the people of Israel. Today, for example, the prophet Isaiah tells how God will prepare a banquet for all peoples in honor of lowly Israel who preserved faith in Him. In the gospel passage Jesus, a descendant of Israel, does just that. First, he assists those who are usually left out – the blind and the lame – as he addresses the masses. Then he feeds everyone large portions of bread and fish.
Because we can count on God to keep His promises, we ready ourselves for Christ’s return during Advent. But the preparations themselves convey special blessings. It is like the story Garrison Keillor tells of wintertime in rural Minnesota where he grew up. His school principal once matched children from the country with “snow parents” who would give them shelter in case a winter storm prevented their return home after school. Keillor remembers being assigned to a family whose house had a statue of the Blessed Virgin in its front yard. One afternoon when school was dismissed early and he was waiting for the school bus, he went to the house to meet the family. He introduced himself to the woman at the door simply as her “snow child.” The woman invited him in and told him to sit down while she called her husband. In the meantime, she brought him cookies and milk.
As Minnesotans in winter are sure to get heavy snowfalls, we can be sure of Christ’s eventual return in glory. Also, like Minnesotans preparing for snow, we ready ourselves for that climatic day during Advent. Finally, like the young Garrison Keillor, in our preparations we experience moments of grace.
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