Today's Readings
Jesus does not accept the testimony of a human, not even a human he himself sent to give testimony. For who sends the prophets? They are inspired by the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Jesus does not rely on human testimony. That would be a contradiction. The creature testifies to the greatness of the creator, indeed all creation shows forth the glory of God, but the glory of God is not limited to what is shown by creation. No one can make God greater or less than he is. He is not defined by the testimony of any creature. He transcends creation because he existed before it and it only exists by his will.
There can be no doubt about John the Baptist’s allegiance to the Jesus, but Jesus is not great because John prepared the way for him; John prepared the way because Jesus is great. Perhaps this is easy to see now, 2000 years later. I do not think that anyone today believes in Jesus Christ because John the Baptist says so, but at the time that was a very high endorsement. John the Baptist was a star in ancient Jerusalem; we could compare him to the stars of today. We might be tempted to point to a football player or a movie star who believes in Jesus. Yet what does it matter if Tim Tebow believes in Jesus? It matters for Tim but not for me. I do not think that Jesus is great because Tim says so. Perhaps someday he will change his mind. Then what? Should I stop following Jesus?
I am glad to see famous people following Jesus, but I am also glad to see normal people following Jesus. There are two billion Christians in the world, but Jesus Christ would still be Jesus Christ if every one of them abandoned him. We have seen some high profile Christians abandon the faith. It is their loss. It is a cause of sadness to lose a sister or brother, but our faith was not in them. Our faith is not in any athlete. Our faith is not in any movie star. Our faith is not in any priest. Our faith is not in any holy man or holy woman or visionary or healer or appearance. Our faith is in Jesus Christ, and he will never disappoint us.
Daily Homilies
December 8th, 2010 - The Immaculate Conception of Mary, Mother of God
How beautiful is the Gospel today! From this one reading we learn so much about our Mother. First we learn that she is greater than the angels. To whom else did an angel, a messenger of God, come and say "Hail, full of grace"? With these words Gabriel acknowledges that he is speaking to someone greater than himself. We also learn by those words that she is free from all sin, for what is sin but a denial of grace and how could someone who ever denied grace be full of grace. Sin is an emptiness, but Mary was full.
From this Gospel we also learn that Mary is betrothed to Joseph, but also vowed to a lifelong virginity. How else could she say "I have no relations with man" and not "I have not had relations with a man"? What woman, even though a virgin, would be unable to figure out the meaning of the angel's words? No woman before was promised a child without expecting to conceive that child in the normal way. Mary is betrothed to Joseph. Without a prior commitment to virginity, any reasonable girl would expect to conceive the child during her imminent marriage.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is the Mother of God. Gabriel calls her child the Son of God. The son of a dog is a dog. The son of a human is a human. The Son of God is God. If he were not, the title would be contradictory. We can be adopted sons and daughters of God, but the Son of God, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, can only be God, and the Mother of the Son of God must be therefore the Mother of God.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is courageous. St. Joseph was terrified at the prospect of having a role in raising the Son of God, so much so that he was going to divorce Mary quietly. Mary, however, asks only for the practical details before submitting to the will of God.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is humble. She, though courageous, is afraid. What frightens her who was not afraid either of the judgement of others or the terrible responsibility of being the Mother of God? She is frightened by a greeting. She is frightened to see an archangel bow before her. We sinners would rejoice to see an angel bow to serve us, and it would be Satan dressed as an angel of light to inflate our pride. Mary, who is destined to be Queen of Heaven, is too humble to understand the greeting.
From this Gospel we ought to learn to love Mary with a tiny portion of the great love by which God preserved her free from all sin from the moment of her creation. From this Gospel we ought to learn to love God with a tiny portion of the fearless, God-fearing love by which Mary said "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
From this Gospel we also learn that Mary is betrothed to Joseph, but also vowed to a lifelong virginity. How else could she say "I have no relations with man" and not "I have not had relations with a man"? What woman, even though a virgin, would be unable to figure out the meaning of the angel's words? No woman before was promised a child without expecting to conceive that child in the normal way. Mary is betrothed to Joseph. Without a prior commitment to virginity, any reasonable girl would expect to conceive the child during her imminent marriage.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is the Mother of God. Gabriel calls her child the Son of God. The son of a dog is a dog. The son of a human is a human. The Son of God is God. If he were not, the title would be contradictory. We can be adopted sons and daughters of God, but the Son of God, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, can only be God, and the Mother of the Son of God must be therefore the Mother of God.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is courageous. St. Joseph was terrified at the prospect of having a role in raising the Son of God, so much so that he was going to divorce Mary quietly. Mary, however, asks only for the practical details before submitting to the will of God.
From this Gospel we learn that Mary is humble. She, though courageous, is afraid. What frightens her who was not afraid either of the judgement of others or the terrible responsibility of being the Mother of God? She is frightened by a greeting. She is frightened to see an archangel bow before her. We sinners would rejoice to see an angel bow to serve us, and it would be Satan dressed as an angel of light to inflate our pride. Mary, who is destined to be Queen of Heaven, is too humble to understand the greeting.
From this Gospel we ought to learn to love Mary with a tiny portion of the great love by which God preserved her free from all sin from the moment of her creation. From this Gospel we ought to learn to love God with a tiny portion of the fearless, God-fearing love by which Mary said "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
December 5th, 2011 - Monday, Second Week of Advent
Today's Readings
Well, which is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven" or "rise and walk"? They seem about equally easy to say. Of course, Jesus did not speak English, so we cannot have a truly informed answer without comparing the original Aramaic phrases, which are lost to us. Even a scholar of Aramaic could only guess at what was originally said. Was one phrase more of a tongue twister? Neither will be many more syllables in any language. One includes a noun and a verb and the other two verbs and a conjunction. But whoever translated Jesus' words into Greek, whether Q or Matthew or a theoretical translator of Matthew, did not think that the original language had to be preserved for understanding the point, so we can comfortably answer the question then. Which is easier to say? It does not matter.
Since neither is easier to say, then Jesus' question implies that they mean the same thing. The Pharisees want to suggest that, while neither is easier to say, the healing is much easier to do. Jesus is telling them that he never heals except when he forgives sins. This bothers us modern people. We have rightly rejected the idea that sickness and sinfulness are correlated. Neither are the sickest the most sinful, nor are the most sinful always sick, and what of innocent children? However, just because sickness and sin are not strictly correlated does not mean that they are not related in some way. As our first reading and tradition agree, in heaven there is neither sickness and death nor sin.
Jesus looked at the man on the stretcher and knew that while his body was disfigured by sickness, his soul was more disfigured by sin, as all our souls are. Though the crowd saw a man who could not walk, Jesus saw a man who could not love God. Any doctor knows that to heal a lame man so that he can immediately stand up and walk would require many healings, of nerves and muscles and blood vessels. When Jesus heals, he does not name every healing individually but only the central healing, and, without doubt, the central healing that every one of us needs is the forgiveness of sins. No healing, be it ever so amazing, would be complete without it, and Jesus would never heal us incompletely.
Well, which is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven" or "rise and walk"? They seem about equally easy to say. Of course, Jesus did not speak English, so we cannot have a truly informed answer without comparing the original Aramaic phrases, which are lost to us. Even a scholar of Aramaic could only guess at what was originally said. Was one phrase more of a tongue twister? Neither will be many more syllables in any language. One includes a noun and a verb and the other two verbs and a conjunction. But whoever translated Jesus' words into Greek, whether Q or Matthew or a theoretical translator of Matthew, did not think that the original language had to be preserved for understanding the point, so we can comfortably answer the question then. Which is easier to say? It does not matter.
Since neither is easier to say, then Jesus' question implies that they mean the same thing. The Pharisees want to suggest that, while neither is easier to say, the healing is much easier to do. Jesus is telling them that he never heals except when he forgives sins. This bothers us modern people. We have rightly rejected the idea that sickness and sinfulness are correlated. Neither are the sickest the most sinful, nor are the most sinful always sick, and what of innocent children? However, just because sickness and sin are not strictly correlated does not mean that they are not related in some way. As our first reading and tradition agree, in heaven there is neither sickness and death nor sin.
Jesus looked at the man on the stretcher and knew that while his body was disfigured by sickness, his soul was more disfigured by sin, as all our souls are. Though the crowd saw a man who could not walk, Jesus saw a man who could not love God. Any doctor knows that to heal a lame man so that he can immediately stand up and walk would require many healings, of nerves and muscles and blood vessels. When Jesus heals, he does not name every healing individually but only the central healing, and, without doubt, the central healing that every one of us needs is the forgiveness of sins. No healing, be it ever so amazing, would be complete without it, and Jesus would never heal us incompletely.
December 4th, 2011 - Second Sunday of Advent (B)
Today's Readings
It is written in the Old Testament that nothing new ever happens and that is basically true. One of the essential steps to maturity is realizing that the world has been going on like this for thousands of years. You meet someone and get married, but billions of people have met and gotten married. You have your first child, but it is not the first child in the history of the world. Each person has many new experiences throughout their life, but Adam and Eve had those experiences too. A child has new experiences every day, but as we grow older these experiences are fewer and farther between, so it becomes easier to reflect and realize that life is just repetitive. Our life repeats itself, and certainly a very similar life has been lived before by some person in history.
Of course, this is difficult to believe in an era of rapidly expanding technology. Something better always seems to be around the corner. Ten years ago, it was difficult to watch movies on your phone. Twenty years ago, it was impossible. What will we be able to do in ten more years? This rapid progression of technology has changed our outlook on the world. It can seem as if something new is always just around the corner. In month or year, we will be able to buy happiness, or at least a small share in it.
Some people have begun speaking about what they call the singularity. It is the point when computers become more creative than humans. Then computers will invent the new computers, and the new computers will invent newer computers, and on and on, until we suddenly advance in one year as far as technology can be advanced. Then we will know how to prevent people from dying, so everyone alive when the singularity comes will not die until every star in the universe burns out. So there are people right now who are anxious to bring about the singularity as soon as possible, perhaps in fifty years or so.
And what if it did happen? What if we manage to not destroy ourselves with another world war before it comes? And if it all worked out, and the computers do not just take over, what then? Will a life have more meaning because it lasts a trillion years? Will we find something new if we can travel to distant planets? We might at first. We would be like children make new discoveries all the time. We might visit every planet in the universe, but then we would discover that some are just like the others. During the second trillion years, we would come to the same conclusion: there is nothing new under the sun, this sun and every other sun.
And if we follow this contemplation to its very extremes and consider ourselves to be weary travelers of the universe, or if we keep our feet on this planet, in life as we now know it and our years on this planet have been enough to produce a kind of world-weariness, then we are ready for the gospel today. We call it good news, and it truly is new. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” Here, finally, is something new. Even though it is 2000 years old, it is new, it is unique. It happened once.
A man appeared in the desert, clothed in camelhair and eating locusts. That is not new. It might be rare, but such men have appeared before. Yet this man is not a prophet, he is a messenger. He is preparing the way of the Lord. So it is something new because it is the prelude to the something new. It is, simultaneously, the last act in the old play and the first act in the new play. If any technological singularity is ever achieved, it will not be as important, as interesting, as the message that this man came to announce: “Someone is coming.”
Who is coming? John tells us that he is “mightier than I”, but that is nothing new. We have seen strong men before. Is there anything else? “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” Well, it must be God then. No matter how important a merely human person is, no one could literally be unworthy to untie their shoes. If someone asked you to be the official shoe untier of the pope or some emperor, you might take the job or leave it, but you would not say, “I am not worthy”, not seriously anyway.
But we knew God existed, and while it is interesting, and new, that he will have sandals, which means that he will have feet, which means that he will have a body, which means that he will be a human, what is in it for us? How does it affect our lives? Is God just going to stop by and visit? Surely that is exciting for anyone in that time and place, but how does it affect us 2000 years later? Is the world any different now than before he came? “Yes,” John says, “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Before, a human could be sorry for their sins; now, we can be forgiven. Before, humans could only love each other a little; now, we can love each other with the love of God. Before, every human lived and died; now, we can live, and die, and live again. Before, it was impossible to please God; now God dwells within us.
I am not sure if the technological singularity will ever come, but I am confident that if it does, we will just use the technology to commit old sins in new ways. No matter what powers we may discover in the universe, we will find a way to use them to be cruel and selfish and powerhungry. But in the Holy Spirit, there is something new. There is power beyond any technology that could ever be developed, and there is wisdom to use it well. And there is another advantage that the Holy Spirit has over any technology. Someday, Jesus is coming again, and when he comes this universe “will be dissolved in flames, and the elements melted by fire.” It says so right there in the second reading. No technology is going to work when that happens.
It is written in the Old Testament that nothing new ever happens and that is basically true. One of the essential steps to maturity is realizing that the world has been going on like this for thousands of years. You meet someone and get married, but billions of people have met and gotten married. You have your first child, but it is not the first child in the history of the world. Each person has many new experiences throughout their life, but Adam and Eve had those experiences too. A child has new experiences every day, but as we grow older these experiences are fewer and farther between, so it becomes easier to reflect and realize that life is just repetitive. Our life repeats itself, and certainly a very similar life has been lived before by some person in history.
Of course, this is difficult to believe in an era of rapidly expanding technology. Something better always seems to be around the corner. Ten years ago, it was difficult to watch movies on your phone. Twenty years ago, it was impossible. What will we be able to do in ten more years? This rapid progression of technology has changed our outlook on the world. It can seem as if something new is always just around the corner. In month or year, we will be able to buy happiness, or at least a small share in it.
Some people have begun speaking about what they call the singularity. It is the point when computers become more creative than humans. Then computers will invent the new computers, and the new computers will invent newer computers, and on and on, until we suddenly advance in one year as far as technology can be advanced. Then we will know how to prevent people from dying, so everyone alive when the singularity comes will not die until every star in the universe burns out. So there are people right now who are anxious to bring about the singularity as soon as possible, perhaps in fifty years or so.
And what if it did happen? What if we manage to not destroy ourselves with another world war before it comes? And if it all worked out, and the computers do not just take over, what then? Will a life have more meaning because it lasts a trillion years? Will we find something new if we can travel to distant planets? We might at first. We would be like children make new discoveries all the time. We might visit every planet in the universe, but then we would discover that some are just like the others. During the second trillion years, we would come to the same conclusion: there is nothing new under the sun, this sun and every other sun.
And if we follow this contemplation to its very extremes and consider ourselves to be weary travelers of the universe, or if we keep our feet on this planet, in life as we now know it and our years on this planet have been enough to produce a kind of world-weariness, then we are ready for the gospel today. We call it good news, and it truly is new. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” Here, finally, is something new. Even though it is 2000 years old, it is new, it is unique. It happened once.
A man appeared in the desert, clothed in camelhair and eating locusts. That is not new. It might be rare, but such men have appeared before. Yet this man is not a prophet, he is a messenger. He is preparing the way of the Lord. So it is something new because it is the prelude to the something new. It is, simultaneously, the last act in the old play and the first act in the new play. If any technological singularity is ever achieved, it will not be as important, as interesting, as the message that this man came to announce: “Someone is coming.”
Who is coming? John tells us that he is “mightier than I”, but that is nothing new. We have seen strong men before. Is there anything else? “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” Well, it must be God then. No matter how important a merely human person is, no one could literally be unworthy to untie their shoes. If someone asked you to be the official shoe untier of the pope or some emperor, you might take the job or leave it, but you would not say, “I am not worthy”, not seriously anyway.
But we knew God existed, and while it is interesting, and new, that he will have sandals, which means that he will have feet, which means that he will have a body, which means that he will be a human, what is in it for us? How does it affect our lives? Is God just going to stop by and visit? Surely that is exciting for anyone in that time and place, but how does it affect us 2000 years later? Is the world any different now than before he came? “Yes,” John says, “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Before, a human could be sorry for their sins; now, we can be forgiven. Before, humans could only love each other a little; now, we can love each other with the love of God. Before, every human lived and died; now, we can live, and die, and live again. Before, it was impossible to please God; now God dwells within us.
I am not sure if the technological singularity will ever come, but I am confident that if it does, we will just use the technology to commit old sins in new ways. No matter what powers we may discover in the universe, we will find a way to use them to be cruel and selfish and powerhungry. But in the Holy Spirit, there is something new. There is power beyond any technology that could ever be developed, and there is wisdom to use it well. And there is another advantage that the Holy Spirit has over any technology. Someday, Jesus is coming again, and when he comes this universe “will be dissolved in flames, and the elements melted by fire.” It says so right there in the second reading. No technology is going to work when that happens.
December 4th, 2010 - Saturday, 1st Week of Advent
Blessed John Paul the Great was the first to say that “we are the Easter people and ‘Alleluia’ is our song.” There is no cause to disagree with him, but I would like to expand the idea a bit. We are indeed the Easter people, but we are no less the Lenten people and the Christmas people. The seasons of the Church year give us an opportunity to concentrate on these various aspects of our relationship with God.
For the past week, and for the next three weeks, we are the Advent people and “Veni, Veni Emmanuel” is our song. The readings this past week have been building an atmosphere of expectation. We can see how the people of Israel were anxious for a savior. We have heard the promises that were extended throughout the Old Testament. We have seen their fulfillment each day in the Gospel. There will be food for all, and so there was. The lame will walk, and so they did. The blind will see, and so they have.
Today marks an important line. Up to this point Jesus has been like a great prophet, but nothing more. What has he done that Moses or Elijah did not do? Today, however, he does something new. He sends forth the twelve Apostles with power like his. This is truly a new power. Jesus does not simply have a special relationship with God, giving him power to work miracles. The power comes from within him, and he, himself, is able to give this power to anyone he wishes. When we consider that even Judas, a greedy thief who would be the betrayer, received power from Jesus for healing and casting out demons, we are assured that our own unworthiness is not an impediment to God using us as his instrument. It is also clear that when he does so use us, that will be no proof of our salvation.
We are the Advent people, and Advent does not mean "waiting" but "coming". Jesus Christ has come into the world. Jesus Christ will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead. Meanwhile, which is to say right now, Jesus is coming into the world. He is ever more and more present as he fulfills his extravagant promises, fulfills them through us, in spite of ourselves. Jesus is using us in this way, so we, the Advent people, ought to pray that we may be apt instruments in his hands, not obscuring his coming with our sins and pride, but being lampstands, so all the world may see that everything has changed, that the promised one is coming.
For the past week, and for the next three weeks, we are the Advent people and “Veni, Veni Emmanuel” is our song. The readings this past week have been building an atmosphere of expectation. We can see how the people of Israel were anxious for a savior. We have heard the promises that were extended throughout the Old Testament. We have seen their fulfillment each day in the Gospel. There will be food for all, and so there was. The lame will walk, and so they did. The blind will see, and so they have.
Today marks an important line. Up to this point Jesus has been like a great prophet, but nothing more. What has he done that Moses or Elijah did not do? Today, however, he does something new. He sends forth the twelve Apostles with power like his. This is truly a new power. Jesus does not simply have a special relationship with God, giving him power to work miracles. The power comes from within him, and he, himself, is able to give this power to anyone he wishes. When we consider that even Judas, a greedy thief who would be the betrayer, received power from Jesus for healing and casting out demons, we are assured that our own unworthiness is not an impediment to God using us as his instrument. It is also clear that when he does so use us, that will be no proof of our salvation.
We are the Advent people, and Advent does not mean "waiting" but "coming". Jesus Christ has come into the world. Jesus Christ will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead. Meanwhile, which is to say right now, Jesus is coming into the world. He is ever more and more present as he fulfills his extravagant promises, fulfills them through us, in spite of ourselves. Jesus is using us in this way, so we, the Advent people, ought to pray that we may be apt instruments in his hands, not obscuring his coming with our sins and pride, but being lampstands, so all the world may see that everything has changed, that the promised one is coming.
December 2nd, 2011 - Friday of the First Week of Advent
Today's Readings
Our Lord, in the Gospel today, says something surprising. Even though we are accustomed to it from years of familiarity with the Gospels, we should not forget how strange it is that, after healing two blind men, he instructs them to see that no one knows about the healing.
Various commentators have put forth explanations for this command and the others like it. Some we should reject: that it is a dramatic device introduced by the writers or that our Lord knew that his instruction would be disobeyed and was trying to encourage the stories to spread with a bit of reverse psychology. Of the other theories, to judge between them would require knowing the mind of God.
Why the Lord would tell them to keep the story quiet is unclear. That he told them is certain. Their duty, therefore, was just as certain. Their disobedience shows how very little faith they had in Jesus. They had faith that Jesus could make the blind see, but they did not have faith that his commands were good.
This partial faith is bad. A Christian should have complete faith in our Lord. The faith is incomplete in the simple believer who prays for miracles of healing but does not believe that morality can heal their life, not even morality taught by him from whom the healing is sought. We ought not put up with an incomplete faith. It is illogical. It is unreasonable. If God is God, why would we disobey him?
God is not trying to hurt us. His goal is not to make us unhappy, thwarted creatures. What he forbids is bad, and what he commands is good. Our God can divide the Red Sea, he can stop the sun in the sky, he can made this universe and everything in it, including us. We can trust him. Christ is powerful and wise. He knows what he is doing, and he is capable of doing anything. We can trust him. In Christ, we can, finally, let go of every defense and follow the advice of our Blessed Mother, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Our Lord, in the Gospel today, says something surprising. Even though we are accustomed to it from years of familiarity with the Gospels, we should not forget how strange it is that, after healing two blind men, he instructs them to see that no one knows about the healing.
Various commentators have put forth explanations for this command and the others like it. Some we should reject: that it is a dramatic device introduced by the writers or that our Lord knew that his instruction would be disobeyed and was trying to encourage the stories to spread with a bit of reverse psychology. Of the other theories, to judge between them would require knowing the mind of God.
Why the Lord would tell them to keep the story quiet is unclear. That he told them is certain. Their duty, therefore, was just as certain. Their disobedience shows how very little faith they had in Jesus. They had faith that Jesus could make the blind see, but they did not have faith that his commands were good.
This partial faith is bad. A Christian should have complete faith in our Lord. The faith is incomplete in the simple believer who prays for miracles of healing but does not believe that morality can heal their life, not even morality taught by him from whom the healing is sought. We ought not put up with an incomplete faith. It is illogical. It is unreasonable. If God is God, why would we disobey him?
God is not trying to hurt us. His goal is not to make us unhappy, thwarted creatures. What he forbids is bad, and what he commands is good. Our God can divide the Red Sea, he can stop the sun in the sky, he can made this universe and everything in it, including us. We can trust him. Christ is powerful and wise. He knows what he is doing, and he is capable of doing anything. We can trust him. In Christ, we can, finally, let go of every defense and follow the advice of our Blessed Mother, “Do whatever he tells you.”
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