Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C

HOMILY FOR THE 6TH Sunday OF ORDINARY TIME Cycle C

What ties together all our readings today is the promise of something wonderful for us in the after life if we choose to live in a way faithful to God and his teachings. We learn, for example, from the Gospel, what kind of a life we must lead now to merit the kingdom of heaven to come. We pray often: Thy kingdom come. Today we hear how that kingdom can come to us and what we must do to merit it.

In the first reading to day we look at the people who do not trust in God compared to those who do.  The beautiful simile is used by Isaiah of man and women as plants. The person without trust in God is like a plant in the desert that becomes barren because there is no water or source of life for it, no seasonal change to refresh it. But the person who trusts in God is like a plant growing near a stream who can deal with the seasonal changes or the times of famine and draught because it has stored up water in its roots. Similarly, if we trust in God, we will have a source of life during the bad times that will sustain us and bring us through. “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord” Isaiah says. Being blessed means to be favored and rewarded by God.

In the Gospel Jesus also uses the same term: Blessed are you…. Jesus, however, is more specific in terms of what brings about the blessing and what that blessing is. In his usual consistent manner, Jesus looks toward the outcasts of society, the downtrodden, the powerless. If they have hope in God, like the tree planted by the stream, though, they will find sustenance in their rough times – their times of poverty, their times of sorrow, their times of suffering and persecution. Because they have trust in God, they will be blest by God and their poverty of goods or spirit will be rewarded in the after-life, their hunger will satisfied, their tears will turn to laughter, and their persecution will result in their achieving the kingdom of heaven.

Since Jesus is so focused on the the kingdom of heaven as a reward, we need now to turn to St. Paul who picks up that theme.  Apparently some Christians were denying the resurrection of the dead – the whole idea of an afterlife. Paul sees a direct relationship between the bodily resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection. Having seen the resurrected Christ, Paul is sure of an after-life, is sure that the heavenly kingdom awaits and his thinking is this.  It is through direct experience that Paul knows of the kingdom of God. It is not something that can be argued by philosophy or logic, but only by experience. It is through Christ’s death and resurrection, and his forgiveness of our sins that we can merit the kingdom of heaven. In this way all three readings today then have been tied together.A few words now about the Beatitudes as written down by Luke, in comparison to Matthew’s presentation of them.  Beatitudes were used in ancient times to express moral sayings and encourage people to do good.  It was a long tradition and can be seen in the Old Testament as well. Both Matthew and Luke use the tradition though through Jesus’ words it is somewhat turned around and the unexpected is preached.

Matthew and Luke’s versions were somewhat different. The setting is different, first of all. Matthew’s was on a mountain, Luke’s is on level ground. There were crowds present for both sermons.  In Luke, however, the crowds don’t get to hear the Beatitudes – they are said to the disciples, those who already were following Christ. These disciples already had been called, already had trust and faith, and Jesus was preparing them for what was in store for his disciples. So it wasn’t meant in Luke as a general comment to all the crowds who came to hear Jesus, but for a select few, those who had been chosen. As far as the beatitudes themselves there is a differing number used.  Matthew has nine beatitudes, Luke only has four. Matthew’s seem to be more socially oriented while Luke’s seem to be directed at followers because actual persecutions were going on when he was writing it.

The people who Luke talks about as poor are the powerless in society. This would be part of the Mediterranean idea of poverty, not so much a lack of money but of significant power to do anything on their own. Notice that the poor is often combined with the widows and orphans, all lacking any power. John Pilch of Georgetown University, who writes about the early Christian culture, says that: The culturally more appropriate translation of “rich” and “poor” in the Bible, therefore, would be “greedy” and “socially unfortunate.” It is this socially unfortunate that Jesus gives hope to, those who most need to hear his good news. Their honor will be restored to them.

The second major difference in the Beatitudes of Luke from Matthew’s is the curses that follow. Woe to…. This and that. Luke reverses the Beatitudes and comes down hard on the greedy rich, the satisfied, the people without problems and those with power. Jesus seems to feel that these things cause us to forget God, and to forget our need of him. That is the exact reason that he sees poverty as better than wealth, poverty of spirit to attachment to goods.  The eyes of the poor and those unattached to wealth and what it can do remain open to God.  The eyes of those who are rich and attached to material things have eyes closed to God. They will get their appropriate rewards, here and after.

What can this mean for us today then.  I think very simply we need to think about how we need not to satisfy ourselves too much – too much material goods, too much food, too much drink, too much sex, too much power, too much beauty – these distract us! Instead of that we need to try to not fill ourselves up and leave a little room for God. If we do, we too will be blessed, because we will have the proper perspective on life and know how to behave and love others.  And this is the Good News I present to you today!

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said,

Honor your father and your mother, and whoever curses father or mother shall die.

Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”

Reflection on the gospel reading: There are many ways to read scripture. If we read this passage critically, that is, with a scholarly eye to what the author’s choices mean, it teaches us one set of facts. If we this passage for its inspiration, it teaches us another set of facts.

A critical reading of the text tells us something important about the Gospel of Mark. The author of the gospel appears to be Jewish because he is familiar with a Hebrew word and Jewish customs like the purification rituals. But because he is explaining a Hebrew term and Jewish practices to his readers, his audience logically does not seem to be Jewish, since if they were Jewish, there would be no reason to explain these things. Since first century Christians who were not Jews were Gentiles, passages like this one suggest to scholars that the audience of the Gospel of Mark was Gentile Christians.

Of course, the audience of the gospel evident in this passage is an interesting aside. The deeper point of this passage is about the difference between our actions and our hearts. Jesus makes clear that God does not value meaningless performances; God values what we mean by what we do. What we do is not unimportant, but unless we put our hearts into it, God does not esteem it. So love what you do, and do nothing religiously that has no meaning for you. If nothing you do religiously is meaningful for you, look for something that is, or find a way to fill your religious behaviors with meaning. Be transformed.

To illustrate this, let me relate a story about Abba Joseph of Panephysis, one of the desert fathers:

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame.”

You see, Abba Lot had many fine pious practices that were a part of his daily routine, but when he asked Abba Joseph what else he could do, Abba Joseph told him to throw his whole self into it. It’s good advice.

Saint of the day: Born in November, 1854 at Cuenca, Ecuador, Miguel Febres Cordero Muñoz, was a member of a prominent family. Born with an unknown disability, he was unable to stand until age five when he received a vision of Our Lady. At age eight, he was miraculously protected from being mauled by a wild bull. In 1863, at age nine, he enrolled in a school run by the Christian Brothers, a congregation that had only recently come to Ecuador. He joined the Brothers in 1868 at age 13.

A school teacher at El Cebollar School, Quito, a position he held for 32 years, Miguel was a gentle, dedicated, and enthusiastic teacher. He wrote his own textbooks, the first at age 17; some were adopted by the government, and used throughout the country. He wrote odes, hymns, discourses on teaching methods, plays, inspirational works, and retreat manuals. Elected to the Ecuadoran Academy of Letters in 1892, he soon after became a member of the Academies of Spain, France, and Venezuela. He conducted religious retreats and prepared children for their First Communion. He served as novice director for his house from 1901 to 1904.

Sent to Europe in 1905 to translate texts from French to Spanish for use by the Order, he worked primarily in Belgium. His health began to fail in 1908, and he was transferred to the school near Barcelona, Spain. He continued to work, but slowly, his health continued to fail, and he died there in 1910. In addition to being a religious role model, Miguel is considered a national hero in Ecuador for his success in so many worthwhile areas.

Spiritual reading: Teach us how to love, and here we come to the sixty-four thousand dollar question: Is loving an emotion? Is love a state? Or is it a Person? It is the person of the Carpenter who spent thirty years in a village of no account. Teach us how to love a Person, because love is a Person. (Catherine Doherty)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 6:53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

Reflection on the gospel reading: Whatever else one may want to say say or think about Jesus, it is indisputable based on the evidence we have that Jesus made a huge impression on the people who met him. Many are those who wish to deny him, and this is a God-given right, to embrace or reject Jesus, but if any among us is honest about the record that we have received, we have to ask what it was about this man that caused his fame to grow in his lifetime. And even in our own time, his life continues to challenge and change the lives of countless individuals who one by one encounter him. Could it be that then as now as many as touched him were healed?

Saint of the day: For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed. Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnaped at the age of seven, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. She was re-sold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan.

Two years later he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine.

When the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the Canossian sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine’s behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885.

Josephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said, “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”

Josephine died on February 8, 1947 in Italy.

Spiritual reading: Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see him, to know Him and to pay Him homage. (St. Josephine Bakhita)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Luke 5:1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Reflection on the gospel reading: Simon Peter had spent the night working hard to catch the fish that provided him a livelihood. Failing at a catch, he had despaired of the project. But it is in those moments of deepest doubt that God reaches into our lives and challenges us to put out into the deep and trust that God will save us. It is in those moments that God proves that God is God and in those moments that we learn where God is leading us. In just such a moment, Simon Peter came to understand that God called him to a vocation he apparently had not considered previously, to be a fisher of human beings. It is in our moments of doubt that God changes everything.

Spiritual reading: The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. (Frederick Buechner)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Reflection on the gospel reading: We are called to action. As the result of our baptisms, all of us receive a commission to carry the gospel with us in our daily lives. As Jesus instructed the disciples earlier in this chapter of Mark’s gospel, we are to go forth into the world with perfect trust to preach the good news, heal the sick, and calm the troubled.

But there exists in this life of apostleship that we have assumed as the result of our baptisms a great tension, for we are called not just to action but also to contemplation. If we do not take time to recharge our batteries, if we do not take time for prayer and reflection, we do not have anything to give. On various levels, the gospel we read today makes clear that Jesus understands the human condition. When the disciples return from their mission, Jesus invites them to go away with him to rest and reflect. Jesus understands that ministry without rest and reflection can become stale, empty, and even counterproductive.

The gospel, however, also points to the need for prayerful discernment. We have at the end of the passage an example of the “best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” When Jesus and the disciples arrive at their destination to make their retreat, the crowds await them. Jesus recognizes their need — “his heart was moved with pity” — and changes his plan. A commitment to the good news demands a discerning heart that understands that the moment provides a need and an opportunity that we may not have anticipated. A discerning heart looks into the moment to understand what God calls us to do in the circumstances that present themselves.

So ultimately, the commission we receive in our baptisms to carry the gospel with us is to cultivate a continual motion of the heart inward in reflection to understand what the Lord is doing in us and outward toward the moment to understand what the Lord is asking us to do. And in precisely this do we find the meaning of being contemplatives in action.

Saint of the day: Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, immediately killing over 37,000 people. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church.

Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: “The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”

When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.

Spiritual reading: The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason that I die. I believe that I am telling the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain. (St. Paul Miki)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 6:14-29

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.” Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Reflection on the gospel: The truth is a pesky thing. In our day-to-day lives, few of us ever encounter a need to give up our lives to defend the truth, but the history of the Church includes a long parade of people who laid down their lives in defense of the gospel and its principles. The contrast between a principled life and an undisciplined one is stark in today’s gospel. Herod foolishly promises more than he really is willing to pay to receive a transient pleasure, but John the Baptist is willing to die for the truth he has lived his life to defend. Neither Herod nor John suddenly arrived at the situation the gospel reading describes. Each man’s position resulted from a long series of choices. Herod lacked self-discipline because from day to day, he made undisciplined choices. Even when he recognized the foolishness of his promise, he was unprepared to make a disciplined choice to revoke his intemperate pledge. John, in contrast, practiced a disciplined life. His daily choices led to a way of being that was principled, so that when the time came, he was able to lay down his life in defense of his beliefs.

Aristotle long ago talked about habitus. That is a Latin word that means, “habit.” Aristotle observed that if a person wants to be something that she or he is not, that individual should imagine what characteristics such a person has and start to pretend to be that person. After a time of practicing a behavior, she or he actually will come to possess that behavior. In an age where science has revealed many of the complexities of the human brain, we know Aristotle was absolutely correct. In the language of science, if we build a neural circuit through repetitive behavior, much as an athlete practices a sport, we will have that neural circuit, and the related behavior will grow to be automatic.

There is a saying that has some cache in our time: “We are what we eat.” It is also true that we are what we do. Practice a disciplined life, and you will come to have a disciplined life.

Saint of the day: Little is known about Saint Agatha of Sicily. She was born at Catania and she was martyred in approximately 250. She is the patron saint of Catania and of the small country of San Marino. She is one of eight women, including the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass, that is, Eucharistic Prayer I. According to variations of her legend, having rejected the amorous advances of a Roman prefect, she was persecuted by him for her Christian faith. Among the tortures she underwent was the amputation of her breasts. For this reason, in recent years, she has been venerated as patron saint of breast cancer patients. Her scorned admirer eventually sentenced her to death by being burnt at the stake. However, she was saved from this fate by a mysterious earthquake. She later died in prison. She is considered the patron saint of Malta since her intercession is reported to have saved Malta from Turkish invasion in 1551.

Spiritual reading: To give, and not to count the cost to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labor, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do thy will. (Ignatius of Loyola)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Reflection on the gospel reading: Jesus in this narrative presents the proclamation of the kingdom of God as a twofold process. First, the passage from Mark’s gospel continues a theme we have seen in the last several days in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus calls upon his followers to rely on God as they conduct their ministries. When we tell the good news, we are to count on God to take care of us. We can sum this up in the old maxim, “God will provide.”

Secondly, when we go out, we are to preach and heal. As apostles, we are to proclaim the good news of repentance. And as we go our way and proclaim the Good News, we are to help people find or recover their freedom and cure their sicknesses, not just physical but psychological and emotional illnesses, as well.

Saint of the day: Today is the birthday of the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born in Breslau, Prussia (1906). He came from a family of Lutheran theologians and pastors and decided when he was 16 that he wanted to study for the ministry. He finished his first doctoral dissertation in theology by the time he was only 21 years old. He was a perfectionist in everything, from academics to sports. One of his friends said that he always gave the impression that he was savoring good food. His teachers thought he was a genius, and they expected him to become one of the foremost Christian theologians of his generation.

He thought the Lutheran religious community in Germany was too narrow in its focus, not engaged enough with the world at large, and so in 1930, he hopped a ship for New York City to study at the Union Theological Seminary. He had a maverick professor there who taught theology by way of the Harlem Renaissance, assigning books by Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, and James Weldon Johnson. Bonhoeffer was inspired to start attending a black church in Harlem, where he began to teach Sunday school, and he also witnessed his church’s struggle against racism.

In 1931, when Bonhoeffer returned to Berlin, he suddenly saw the anti-Semitism that had been brewing in his county with a new clarity. When Hitler took power in 1933, other pastors and theologians in Germany chose to ignore it, but Bonhoeffer made a speech on the radio denouncing fascism that was cut off by the authorities before he’d finished speaking. He became the head of an underground seminary, and published his book The Cost of Discipleship (1937), which became one of the most influential works on the theology of social justice.

Though he’d previously been a pacifist, Bonhoeffer decided to join a plot to assassinate Hitler. He said, “Will the church merely gather up those whom the wheel has crushed or will it prevent the wheel from crushing them?” The assassination plot was a failure, and Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943.

Just before he was arrested, he got engaged to a young woman named Maria von Wedemeyer. They’d met through each other’s families. Bonhoeffer had proposed to her through her grandmother. According to the social custom of the era, they had never been alone together. Maria later said she’s fallen in love with him because of the way his hand looked on the couch next to her. They began a correspondence while he was in prison, and it was to her that he wrote many of his final thoughts about theology and life.

Bonhoeffer and Maria also discussed ordinary things in their letters. She asked him if he liked dogs. He asked her if she liked skiing. They made plans for their wedding, and picked which flowers they might use at the ceremony. She told him that she had drawn a chalk line on the floor around her bed the size of his prison cell, so she could imagine she was with him.

In his final letter to her, Bonhoeffer wrote, “I have often found that the quieter my surroundings, the more vividly I sense my connection with you…” He was executed a few months later.

Spiritual reading: Love is not something in its own right, it is what people are and have become. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Mark 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Reflection on the gospel reading: It seems in Jesus’ nature to surprise people. Today’s gospel suggests that the people who knew him as he grew up never anticipated what it was that he was to become. His wisdom and mighty deeds caught them off guard. So too it is with us, that Jesus can catch us up short as we make our way through life: surprise us when we least expect it. The people who lived with him would have benefited from an openness to the possibilities in their encounter with Jesus. So also it is with us: remaining radically open to Jesus requires a prodigious effort, but we will do nothing other than benefit from the encounter is we remain open to the possibility of it.

Saint of the day: St. Blaise lived in the fourth century. Some say that he came from a rich family and received a Christian education. As a young man, Blaise thought about all the sufferings and troubles of the times. He began to realize that only spiritual joys can make a person really happy. He became a priest and then bishop of Sebaste in Armenia which is now modern Turkey. Blaise worked to make his people holy and happy. He prayed, preached, and served. When the governor, Licinius, began to persecute the Christians, Blaise was captured. He was sent to prison to be beheaded. On the way, people crowded the road to see their beloved bishop for the last time. He blessed them all, even the pagans. A poor mother rushed up to him. She begged him to save her child who was choking to death from a fish bone. The saint whispered a prayer and blessed the child. He worked a miracle that saved the child’s life. That is why Blaise is called upon by all who have throat diseases. He was beheaded in the year 316.

Spiritual reading: Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness. This is our Lord’s will . . . that our prayer and our trust alike be large. For if we do not trust as much as we pray, we fail in full worship to our Lord in our prayer; and also we hinder and hurt ourselves. The reason is that we do not know truly that our Lord is the ground from which our prayer springs; nor do we know that it is given us by his grace and his love. If we knew this, it would make us trust to have of our Lord’s gifts all that we desire. For I am sure that no one asks mercy and grace with sincerity, without mercy and grace being given first. (Juliana of Norwich)

Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

Luke 2:22-40

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ‘and you yourself a sword will pierce’ so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Reflection on the gospel reading: Today we celebrate the conclusion of the Christmas season with a festival of light. Today we bless candles and carry them in procession to welcome Christ, the Light that enlightens the Gentiles and the glory of his people. Forty days after the birth of Jesus, today’s celebration brings the Christmas season to a close. Today’s feast brings to an end a whole period which resonates with a sense of light. Christmas itself, taking place just after the winter solstice, is the celebration of the end of the darkness of winter and the coming of light into the world, especially the Light of the World. Twelve days later there is the feast of the Epiphany when the light of a star guides the Gentile outsiders to pay homage to the Light of the World. Then today, we bring the celebration to a close with this feast of light. For many centuries, it has been a day for processions as we remember the Lord’s entry into the Temple, the house of his Father, for the first time. These processions are identified with the blessing of candles carried in procession in honor of Christ, who as today gospel reminds us, is “the light to enlighten the Gentiles.”

Saint of the day: At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Egeria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unrivaled glimpse into the liturgical life of Jerusalem in that age, and students of liturgy study it with great care and attention in modern schools of Catholic theology. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany (January 6), the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later—February 15. (Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification.

The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

At the beginning of the eighth century, a candlelight procession began to celebrate the day; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas. In Luke’s account, Jesus was welcomed in the temple by two elderly people, Simeon and the widow Anna. They serve as archetypes who embody Israel in their patient expectation of the coming of the savior, and at the dawn of the new age, they acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited messiah. Early references to the Roman feast dub it the feast of St. Simeon, the old man who burst into a song of joy which the Church still sings at day’s end.

Spiritual reading: He that will believe only what he can fully comprehend must have a long head or a very short creed. (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.)

Homily for the 5th SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Year C

HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME C

The three readings today are unusually well-connected in theme. In the first reading Isaiah says: Woe is me. I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts! In his turn, St. Paul says: I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. And Peter, in our Gospel today says: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. All three of these men look at themselves in relationship to the Creator or the Christ, and recognize their own sinfulness and lowliness in the face of  a being that is awesome to them.

I guess that is true of all of us when faced with a person that we respect, admire or in awe of. The contrast of ourselves and that person makes us realize our own faults and inadequacies.  I think that is why it is often so upsetting to us when someone we have looked up to or we have been in awe of, does something wrong and falls off the pedestal we have created for them. I am sure that the disillusionment that comes through that can be overwhelming.  Just look at the cases of scandals involving priests and the damage that has done. Or how our respect for public figures like presidents, senators or political figures is diminished by some of the scandals surrounding them in the past.

The difference here is that the figure that causes the recognition of the sinfulness and faults of these three men is God. When we contrast ourselves to God, how can we come off well!  How can any of us come off well? But it is the resolution of each of these men’s fears and humility that is important here.

In Isaiah’s case we have this wonderful image of a seraphim, an angel of the highest order next to God, who flies down from heaven with an ember from the altar of God, touches Isaiah’s lips and purifies Isaiah, cleansing him of sin, allowing Isaiah to feel that he is now worthy to take up the call of the Lord.

In Paul’s case, despite his horrible persecutions of Jewish Christians in the past and his unworthiness in the sight of God, God has given him grace to purify him and make him worthy to take up the call of Christ and preach the gospel.

In Peter’s case, we have no need of angels from heaven or visions of the risen Christ, but Christ himself through his miracles, who changes Peter through his faith.  Because of Peter’s faith in Jesus, doing what Jesus asks even though Peter feels it would be worthless, having toiled the night and gotten no fish, Peter is raised up by Jesus. He is told not to be afraid, and that he too has been called by the Lord.  Jesus uses the image that would be closest to Peter as a fisherman.  “You will be catching people.”

Therefore, all three of these men who were humbled and felt sinful in the face of their God, are cleansed by God, and called to do God’s work.  Each Sunday, we go through the same process ourselves at Mass.  When I hold up the Eucharist to you each week and say “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper,”  your reply is “Lord, I am not worthy to receive, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” Just like Isaiah, Peter and Paul, we recognize our unworthiness in the face of God, but show faith that God can heal us and make us better. And like Isaiah, Peter and Paul we too are called to go out into the world and be ambassadors of Christ, living out the good News and making some sort of difference in the world.

The Good News today is that God can take a very human, fault-filled person and offer that person forgiveness and call them to holiness. All of us. Not just the apostles, not just the ones who have a special call, but all of us. Just as we are. Our modern culture today wants us to be  something different – it wants us to dress in a certain way, be a certain weight, follow certain trends.  But God takes us as we are. All we have to do is have some self-knowledge and respond. The response of Peter, James and John was to “leave everything” and follow Jesus.

What would it take for you to leave your own jobs? Peter and James and John seemed to be in some sort of partnership in the fishing boat. Although they were having trouble fishing that night, we can presume that they were making a decent living by fishing, and that fish was a popular food in that culture. Why would they leave their jobs and follow this man? In the Mediterranean world, it was common for people to band together, to create a type of family, for survival – political survival, financial survival, religious survival. Peter, James and John had already formed such a partnership. But oftentimes, there would be patrons who would collect people for a specific purpose. This type of patron might have too much food, or need a particular kind of help. And he could provide the people who join with him with things they could not have on their own. It was the way to survive in the hard times of Jesus’ time.

When Peter falls on his knees before Jesus, he recognizes Jesus as a patron who has given them something they had not been able to get themselves – a boat load of fish. Because of this miracle, Peter has faith in him and is willing to follow him and help him.

This is so opposite to our culture today where people feel it is a weakness to accept help from others. We take pride in doing something without help.  The Mediterranean culture was the opposite. So, Peter, James and John’s following of Jesus was an answer to a call that they felt would provide them with more than they already had. Are we as ready to give up our independence and rely on Christ in order to achieve something better?  That is what it means to be called.  Will we see our unworthiness before God? Will we see that God’s grace offers forgiveness and a clean slate before God?  Will we follow God’s call by letting go of ourselves and putting a more faith in him? These are the challenges offered by the Good News today!