Ezekiel 18:21-28
Psalm 130:1-8
Matthew 5:20-26
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” We have just repeated this verse several times, but it really does need to be hammered into our heads. We are not good enough; no one is. The world is not divided between the virtuous and the wicked, between the good and the bad. We are all bad. We might not have killed anyone, or committed a crime that would send us to prison. We might be what the world calls “a basically good person”. This does not matter. We know the reality behind the façade we show the world. We not only make mistakes, doing or saying something before thinking about it, but we consciously make bad decisions. We are not perfect and anything less than perfect is not good enough.
The first reading demonstrates the problems we face. The wicked man can easily convert, and his whole life is forgotten in favor of his new attitude. Likewise, the virtuous man can easily fall and do something wicked and his whole life is forgotten because of his sin. These are not two different men but one man. We should each recognize ourselves in these portraits, how easily we go from wickedness to virtue and back. A person can, in the course of an hour, sin and convert and sin again.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. These were people who tried as hard as they could to be good, to follow every law. We are not going to beat the Pharisees at their own game. We need something different. We have something different in humble repentance. In the first reading, the wicked man who repents is saved but the virtuous man who falls is condemned. If we see ourselves as “basically good”, we are going to fall. Pride comes before the fall.
If we acknowledge our wickedness, if we admit that we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors nearly as much as ourselves, we are on the path to repentance. Humility comes before the conversion. The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are rooted in Christian spirituality. The first step, “We admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable”, is not some special status of alcoholics. This is the attitude that we all must have in the face of sin.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Conversion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conversion. Show all posts
July 4, 2014 - Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
Matthew 9:9-13
In the first reading we hear about people who are consumed with desire. Even during the day of rest, all they can think of is the object of their desire. “When will this feast or Sabbath be over”, they wonder, “so that we can get back to business.” And what business? Their desire for profit is so great that they cheat and steal and lie.
Oh that we would have a desire for God like their desire! The children of this world are always wiser in their ways than the children of the kingdom. If only I could be as motivated to serve God as some people are to make a million dollars. There are people who will sacrifice every good thing for money and fame. How is it then that I find it so difficult to give up mediocre things in order to follow God?
Perhaps this is what Jesus means when he says that he wishes we were hot or cold rather than lukewarm. If we were cold, like these merchants who have a great desire to get back to cheating and stealing, who can barely contain themselves through one day off, then we could turn this desire to something good. Which is easier, to work up a desire that we do not have or to redirect a strong desire in the wrong direction? There are many examples of saints who redirected misguided desires. St. Ignatius was a soldier who loved glory in battle, and he became a soldier of Christ. St. Matthew, as we read in the Gospel today, went from collecting taxes, being so in love with money that he collaborated with the Roman government, to being in love with Jesus Christ.
I do not know if it is easier to redirect a desire or create a desire. The point is to have the right desire. If your desire is weak, the thing is to strengthen it. If you have a strong desire for something inferior to God, consider how you can turn it to him. I need to desire God more, and I need to turn my desires to him. I do not have the strong desire for God that the saints had, but I can take comfort in my desire to have a desire for God. So long as I do not let go of this desire for a desire, there is a chance for me.
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
Matthew 9:9-13
In the first reading we hear about people who are consumed with desire. Even during the day of rest, all they can think of is the object of their desire. “When will this feast or Sabbath be over”, they wonder, “so that we can get back to business.” And what business? Their desire for profit is so great that they cheat and steal and lie.
Oh that we would have a desire for God like their desire! The children of this world are always wiser in their ways than the children of the kingdom. If only I could be as motivated to serve God as some people are to make a million dollars. There are people who will sacrifice every good thing for money and fame. How is it then that I find it so difficult to give up mediocre things in order to follow God?
Perhaps this is what Jesus means when he says that he wishes we were hot or cold rather than lukewarm. If we were cold, like these merchants who have a great desire to get back to cheating and stealing, who can barely contain themselves through one day off, then we could turn this desire to something good. Which is easier, to work up a desire that we do not have or to redirect a strong desire in the wrong direction? There are many examples of saints who redirected misguided desires. St. Ignatius was a soldier who loved glory in battle, and he became a soldier of Christ. St. Matthew, as we read in the Gospel today, went from collecting taxes, being so in love with money that he collaborated with the Roman government, to being in love with Jesus Christ.
I do not know if it is easier to redirect a desire or create a desire. The point is to have the right desire. If your desire is weak, the thing is to strengthen it. If you have a strong desire for something inferior to God, consider how you can turn it to him. I need to desire God more, and I need to turn my desires to him. I do not have the strong desire for God that the saints had, but I can take comfort in my desire to have a desire for God. So long as I do not let go of this desire for a desire, there is a chance for me.
March 14, 2014 - Friday of the First Week of Lent
Ezekiel 18:21-28
Psalm 130:1-8
Matthew 5:20-26
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” We have just repeated this verse several times, but it really does need to be hammered into our heads. We are not good enough; no one is. The world is not divided between the virtuous and the wicked, between the good and the bad. We are all bad. We might not have killed anyone, or committed a crime that would send us to prison. We might be what the world calls “a basically good person”. This does not matter. We know the reality behind the façade we show the world. We not only make mistakes, doing or saying something before thinking about it, but we consciously make bad decisions. We are not perfect and anything less than perfect is not good enough.
The first reading demonstrates the problems we face. The wicked man can easily convert, and his whole life is forgotten in favor of his new attitude. Likewise, the virtuous man can easily fall and do something wicked and his whole life is forgotten because of his sin. These are not two different men but one man. We should each recognize ourselves in these portraits, how easily we go from wickedness to virtue and back. A person can, in the course of an hour, sin and convert and sin again.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. These were people who tried as hard as they could to be good, to follow every law. We are not going to beat the Pharisees at their own game. We need something different. We have something different in humble repentance. In the first reading, the wicked man who repents is saved but the virtuous man who falls is condemned. If we see ourselves as “basically good”, we are going to fall. Pride comes before the fall.
If we acknowledge our wickedness, if we admit that we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors nearly as much as ourselves, we are on the path to repentance. Humility comes before the conversion. The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are rooted in Christian spirituality. The first step, “We admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable”, is not some special status of alcoholics. This is the attitude that we all must have in the face of sin.
Psalm 130:1-8
Matthew 5:20-26
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” We have just repeated this verse several times, but it really does need to be hammered into our heads. We are not good enough; no one is. The world is not divided between the virtuous and the wicked, between the good and the bad. We are all bad. We might not have killed anyone, or committed a crime that would send us to prison. We might be what the world calls “a basically good person”. This does not matter. We know the reality behind the façade we show the world. We not only make mistakes, doing or saying something before thinking about it, but we consciously make bad decisions. We are not perfect and anything less than perfect is not good enough.
The first reading demonstrates the problems we face. The wicked man can easily convert, and his whole life is forgotten in favor of his new attitude. Likewise, the virtuous man can easily fall and do something wicked and his whole life is forgotten because of his sin. These are not two different men but one man. We should each recognize ourselves in these portraits, how easily we go from wickedness to virtue and back. A person can, in the course of an hour, sin and convert and sin again.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. These were people who tried as hard as they could to be good, to follow every law. We are not going to beat the Pharisees at their own game. We need something different. We have something different in humble repentance. In the first reading, the wicked man who repents is saved but the virtuous man who falls is condemned. If we see ourselves as “basically good”, we are going to fall. Pride comes before the fall.
If we acknowledge our wickedness, if we admit that we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors nearly as much as ourselves, we are on the path to repentance. Humility comes before the conversion. The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are rooted in Christian spirituality. The first step, “We admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable”, is not some special status of alcoholics. This is the attitude that we all must have in the face of sin.
January 25, 2014 - Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Acts 22:3-16 or 9:1-22
Psalm 117:1-2
Mark 16:15-18
The conversion of St. Paul proves that anyone can be converted. St. Paul hated Christianity. He was not merely ambivalent: his life’s purpose was killing and arresting Christians. He helped kill St. Stephen the deacon, who prayed for his persecutors as he was dying, and we believe in the power of those prayers. Sometimes it seems impossible that mere prayers will change someone’s heart, but St. Paul could not have been converted by anything less than the appearance of Jesus Christ, who came in response to the prayers. In those days, praying for Saul would have seemed as pointless as anything. So our prayers today can seem weak, even though they are the strongest weapon we have. If we want to bring about the end of abortion in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want to have peace and prosperity in this country, we need to pray. If we want the makers of television and movies to stop showing pornography and start preaching the Gospel, we need to pray. We might wish that God would change the world in one fell swoop, but his actions are more like, as he says, yeast working in the dough, imperceptibly yet inexorably changing the world.
If we wish that God would hurry up the changes we pray for, there is one area of conversion in this world that we can speed up: ourselves. As we look outward at those hardened hearts which seem impossible to convert, we must also look inward at our own hearts. If we do not have any need for conversion, then Jesus has nothing to offer us. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Someone said that. No one knows who, though people often attribute it to one famous person or another. Regardless, it is a very Christian concept: revolution through conversion. How much good can be traced back to the conversion we celebrate today! What if we had a conversion like that? What is stopping us? Must we wait until Jesus appears to us as a blinding light? Why not change today rather than wait for a sign? The appearance might not be there, but the grace is. The same powerful God who turned Saul into Paul can turn me into who he wants me to be, can turn you into who he wants you to be; he can turn us into the people whom we always wanted to be.
Psalm 117:1-2
Mark 16:15-18
The conversion of St. Paul proves that anyone can be converted. St. Paul hated Christianity. He was not merely ambivalent: his life’s purpose was killing and arresting Christians. He helped kill St. Stephen the deacon, who prayed for his persecutors as he was dying, and we believe in the power of those prayers. Sometimes it seems impossible that mere prayers will change someone’s heart, but St. Paul could not have been converted by anything less than the appearance of Jesus Christ, who came in response to the prayers. In those days, praying for Saul would have seemed as pointless as anything. So our prayers today can seem weak, even though they are the strongest weapon we have. If we want to bring about the end of abortion in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want to have peace and prosperity in this country, we need to pray. If we want the makers of television and movies to stop showing pornography and start preaching the Gospel, we need to pray. We might wish that God would change the world in one fell swoop, but his actions are more like, as he says, yeast working in the dough, imperceptibly yet inexorably changing the world.
If we wish that God would hurry up the changes we pray for, there is one area of conversion in this world that we can speed up: ourselves. As we look outward at those hardened hearts which seem impossible to convert, we must also look inward at our own hearts. If we do not have any need for conversion, then Jesus has nothing to offer us. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Someone said that. No one knows who, though people often attribute it to one famous person or another. Regardless, it is a very Christian concept: revolution through conversion. How much good can be traced back to the conversion we celebrate today! What if we had a conversion like that? What is stopping us? Must we wait until Jesus appears to us as a blinding light? Why not change today rather than wait for a sign? The appearance might not be there, but the grace is. The same powerful God who turned Saul into Paul can turn me into who he wants me to be, can turn you into who he wants you to be; he can turn us into the people whom we always wanted to be.
May 23, 2013 - Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Sirach 5:1-8
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Mark 9:41-50
Jesus suggests a kind of surgery that is repulsive to us, and not us alone. The words of Jesus today, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out” are probably those which have less often been followed literally than any other. The historical examples of people maiming themselves in hopes of greater holiness are few and not admired. Our eyes do not cause us to sin. Our hands do not cause us to sin. It seems cruel that we should attack a part of our bodies when the cause of the sin lies elsewhere.
If the examples that Jesus gives here are nauseous, the principle is absolutely solid. We should look at our lives and find the causes of sin. We are naïve if we think that we can leave the causes of sin lying around and avoid sin nevertheless. Jesus is saying that even if the cause of sin is as beloved to us as our own right hand, we should cut it off, even if the removal would be as painful as plucking out an eye, we should not hesitate.
If a person is causing you to sin, cut them off. Better to enter heaven alone than to go to hell with friends. If your television is causing you to sin, pluck it out of your home. Better to enter heaven without knowing how the show ended than to enter hell having watched everything. If the internet or a kind of website is causing you to sin, sever the connection. Better to enter heaven crippled in this digital world than to enter hell well-informed.
Surely the removal of these or many other causes of sin would be hard, but not as painful as plucking out your eye. To live without television or internet in this modern age would be a serious disability, but not as bad as having a foot cut off. In other words, even if we are severe with ourselves, we will never exceed the examples that Jesus gave. If we need any encouragement in all this plucking and cutting off, our first reading from Sirach provides the words we need: “Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day.” We do not exist for the sake of entertainment or sin! What are we here for except to follow the Lord? Do not put it off. Begin today. Begin again today. Every day. Begin again.
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Mark 9:41-50
Jesus suggests a kind of surgery that is repulsive to us, and not us alone. The words of Jesus today, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out” are probably those which have less often been followed literally than any other. The historical examples of people maiming themselves in hopes of greater holiness are few and not admired. Our eyes do not cause us to sin. Our hands do not cause us to sin. It seems cruel that we should attack a part of our bodies when the cause of the sin lies elsewhere.
If the examples that Jesus gives here are nauseous, the principle is absolutely solid. We should look at our lives and find the causes of sin. We are naïve if we think that we can leave the causes of sin lying around and avoid sin nevertheless. Jesus is saying that even if the cause of sin is as beloved to us as our own right hand, we should cut it off, even if the removal would be as painful as plucking out an eye, we should not hesitate.
If a person is causing you to sin, cut them off. Better to enter heaven alone than to go to hell with friends. If your television is causing you to sin, pluck it out of your home. Better to enter heaven without knowing how the show ended than to enter hell having watched everything. If the internet or a kind of website is causing you to sin, sever the connection. Better to enter heaven crippled in this digital world than to enter hell well-informed.
Surely the removal of these or many other causes of sin would be hard, but not as painful as plucking out your eye. To live without television or internet in this modern age would be a serious disability, but not as bad as having a foot cut off. In other words, even if we are severe with ourselves, we will never exceed the examples that Jesus gave. If we need any encouragement in all this plucking and cutting off, our first reading from Sirach provides the words we need: “Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day.” We do not exist for the sake of entertainment or sin! What are we here for except to follow the Lord? Do not put it off. Begin today. Begin again today. Every day. Begin again.
January 25, 2013 - Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Acts 22:3-16 or 9:1-22
Psalm 117:1-2
Mark 16:15-18
The conversion of St. Paul proves the possibility of the conversion of anyone. St. Paul hated Christianity. He was not merely ambivalent. His life’s purpose was killing and arresting Christians. He helped kill St. Stephen the deacon, who prayed for his persecutors as he was dying. We believe in the power of those prayers. Sometimes it seems impossible that prayers will change someone’s heart, but St. Paul could not have been converted by anything less, just as St. Augustine was converted by the prayers of his mother; just as countless people have been converted by the prayers of another. If we want to bring about the end of abortion in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want to have peace and prosperity in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want the makers of television and movies to stop showing pornography and start preaching the Gospel, we need to pray for conversions.
And as we look outward at those hardened hearts which seem impossible to convert, we must also look inward at our own hearts. St. Paul says that he was a very zealous follower of God. Indeed, that is why he felt compelled to kill Christians. When we consider ourselves, if we do not have any need for conversion, then Jesus has nothing to offer us. Jesus came to change the world by starting a Church and then dying for it. We might disagree with his methods of changing the world, with the speed at which the world is changing, but the only place we have the power to make the change is in our own hearts.
“Be the change you want to be in the world.” Someone said that. No one knows who, though people often attribute it to one famous person or another. Regardless, it is a very Christian concept: revolution through conversion. How much good can be traced back to the conversion we celebrate today! What if we had a conversion like that? What is stopping us? Is it because Jesus does not appear and blind us? We who want the world to change must not let anything prevent us from changing. The appearance might not be there, but the grace is. The same powerful God who turned Saul into Paul can turn me into who he wants me to be, can turn you into who he wants you to be; he can turn us into the person who we always wanted to be.
Psalm 117:1-2
Mark 16:15-18
The conversion of St. Paul proves the possibility of the conversion of anyone. St. Paul hated Christianity. He was not merely ambivalent. His life’s purpose was killing and arresting Christians. He helped kill St. Stephen the deacon, who prayed for his persecutors as he was dying. We believe in the power of those prayers. Sometimes it seems impossible that prayers will change someone’s heart, but St. Paul could not have been converted by anything less, just as St. Augustine was converted by the prayers of his mother; just as countless people have been converted by the prayers of another. If we want to bring about the end of abortion in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want to have peace and prosperity in this country, we need to pray for conversions. If we want the makers of television and movies to stop showing pornography and start preaching the Gospel, we need to pray for conversions.
And as we look outward at those hardened hearts which seem impossible to convert, we must also look inward at our own hearts. St. Paul says that he was a very zealous follower of God. Indeed, that is why he felt compelled to kill Christians. When we consider ourselves, if we do not have any need for conversion, then Jesus has nothing to offer us. Jesus came to change the world by starting a Church and then dying for it. We might disagree with his methods of changing the world, with the speed at which the world is changing, but the only place we have the power to make the change is in our own hearts.
“Be the change you want to be in the world.” Someone said that. No one knows who, though people often attribute it to one famous person or another. Regardless, it is a very Christian concept: revolution through conversion. How much good can be traced back to the conversion we celebrate today! What if we had a conversion like that? What is stopping us? Is it because Jesus does not appear and blind us? We who want the world to change must not let anything prevent us from changing. The appearance might not be there, but the grace is. The same powerful God who turned Saul into Paul can turn me into who he wants me to be, can turn you into who he wants you to be; he can turn us into the person who we always wanted to be.
December 2, 2012 - First Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 33.14-16
Psalm 25.4-5, 8-9, 10+14 Resp. 1b
1 Thessalonians 3.12-4.2
Luke 21.25-28, 34-36
Advent is a time for time-travel, and our time machine is this church and the readings we will have this season. We have prophecies like our reading from Jeremiah that take us back to that time before Christ came. We stand with the Jewish people, in a country conquered by Rome, waiting for a savior. We wait with the shepherds on the hill. We chat with them about the price of wool these days and sit down to a dinner of shepherd’s pie, yet always with an eye toward the sky waiting for some angels to appear, singing Gloria in excelsis Deo.
We stop by a stable with a pregnant Mary and a watchful Joseph. We know what is going to happen, yet we go back in time with them and wait. We listen to a homily in the synagogue about how the Messiah is going to come and how he will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, how he will be born of a virgin. We sort of nod our head and smile. We fly across the desert and see some wise men pointing at the sky. One of them is saying to another, “There’s something going on up there in the western sky.”
And while we are going back in time we can go further back and see Isaiah and Malachi prophesying the coming of the Lord. We can stop by and see God’s promises to King David that a son of his would reign forever. We can go back to Adam and Eve in the garden and God’s promise to the serpent that:
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.
We also go into the future. The world is ending; stars are falling from the sky. Jesus is coming again in all his power, like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other.
Advent is a time for time-travel, and as we do all this time-traveling we begin to see all of history as one grand story. One great play with God as the author and director. For Advent, the idea of the world as a stage and all of history a play in 10,000 acts can be a stunning image. The events of history are not just a random series of unconnected events. All has been foreseen and planned by God before time began; even our sins were taken into account.
Shakespeare wrote:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
I hear that and I think “merely players”? Merely? I am just happy I got the part. What a glorious thing it is to be an actor on this stage in this history, to be allowed to co-write my small portion of this play with God. And I can choose. My character could be very boring or very interesting.
We actors stand on this stage. Right here. Right now. We do not know what the next scene will be, but we have a script of what our own lines ought to be. It is a rather loose script, just basic instructions for some things to do and some things not to do. Still, the director knows that we will not even follow this easy script and his plan is ready for that. And someday the stage directions will say: “enter stage right, Jesus Christ” and he will make his entrance, and what an entrance it will be! The great curtain that is the sky will be raised and we will finally see the audience. Do not get stage fright just now, but all the angels in heaven and all the demons of hell are watching. And then the world will end. And the new heavens and the new earth will replace the current ones. Are you excited for the end of the world? There are some who are afraid of the end of the world.
The end of the world, for us, ought to be like the end of the school year is for children, like the end of a long hospital stay, like the end of a four hour meeting on a Friday night. I do not deny the importance of what is ending, but I affirm the splendor of what is to come. It is not for the hatred of school that a child celebrates the last day, but for the anticipation of the summer vacation.
When the world ends, all will rise again, to the resurrection of the blessed or of the damned. The blessed will receive back their bodies, glorified bodies, capable of the impossible. The joy of being with God will be the answer to every desire that burns now within us. We will be fulfilled and happy in a way that, on this earth, is only possible in fairy tales. We will live happily ever after.
The whole story of the history of the world is a fascinating story, all the more fascinating because we are in it. And when the world ends, I like to think that we will all sit down to watch the encore performance, (remember we will have forever, what would a few billion years be?). We will have our favorite actors, people who today we call the saints. They will be the movie stars. People like John the Baptist in his camel hair clothes will the leather belt. Eating locusts and honey. People will always be quoting his catchphrase to him when they see him in the street: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” If there are autographs in the new earth, everyone is going want to have his.
And what will we think when we see ourselves on stage? How will all our actions look in the light of that new day? I am not saying that there will not be a thousand excuses for why we did what we did, I am just saying that not every performance will be award winning.
But do you know what kind of story everyone always loves? A Cinderella story. Rags to riches. A lost sheep that gets found and carried back to the fold. The story of a person who lived a normal, regular, mediocre life until one day in December they decided to be a saint. It was not easy. They could not do it without the grace of God. They had to keep making the commitment over and over and over again until it stuck, but they finally let God put them on his shoulders and carry them back to the fold. The house goes wild. Standing ovation.
Best of all, there is God saying “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Psalm 25.4-5, 8-9, 10+14 Resp. 1b
1 Thessalonians 3.12-4.2
Luke 21.25-28, 34-36
Advent is a time for time-travel, and our time machine is this church and the readings we will have this season. We have prophecies like our reading from Jeremiah that take us back to that time before Christ came. We stand with the Jewish people, in a country conquered by Rome, waiting for a savior. We wait with the shepherds on the hill. We chat with them about the price of wool these days and sit down to a dinner of shepherd’s pie, yet always with an eye toward the sky waiting for some angels to appear, singing Gloria in excelsis Deo.
We stop by a stable with a pregnant Mary and a watchful Joseph. We know what is going to happen, yet we go back in time with them and wait. We listen to a homily in the synagogue about how the Messiah is going to come and how he will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, how he will be born of a virgin. We sort of nod our head and smile. We fly across the desert and see some wise men pointing at the sky. One of them is saying to another, “There’s something going on up there in the western sky.”
And while we are going back in time we can go further back and see Isaiah and Malachi prophesying the coming of the Lord. We can stop by and see God’s promises to King David that a son of his would reign forever. We can go back to Adam and Eve in the garden and God’s promise to the serpent that:
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.
We also go into the future. The world is ending; stars are falling from the sky. Jesus is coming again in all his power, like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other.
Advent is a time for time-travel, and as we do all this time-traveling we begin to see all of history as one grand story. One great play with God as the author and director. For Advent, the idea of the world as a stage and all of history a play in 10,000 acts can be a stunning image. The events of history are not just a random series of unconnected events. All has been foreseen and planned by God before time began; even our sins were taken into account.
Shakespeare wrote:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
I hear that and I think “merely players”? Merely? I am just happy I got the part. What a glorious thing it is to be an actor on this stage in this history, to be allowed to co-write my small portion of this play with God. And I can choose. My character could be very boring or very interesting.
We actors stand on this stage. Right here. Right now. We do not know what the next scene will be, but we have a script of what our own lines ought to be. It is a rather loose script, just basic instructions for some things to do and some things not to do. Still, the director knows that we will not even follow this easy script and his plan is ready for that. And someday the stage directions will say: “enter stage right, Jesus Christ” and he will make his entrance, and what an entrance it will be! The great curtain that is the sky will be raised and we will finally see the audience. Do not get stage fright just now, but all the angels in heaven and all the demons of hell are watching. And then the world will end. And the new heavens and the new earth will replace the current ones. Are you excited for the end of the world? There are some who are afraid of the end of the world.
The end of the world, for us, ought to be like the end of the school year is for children, like the end of a long hospital stay, like the end of a four hour meeting on a Friday night. I do not deny the importance of what is ending, but I affirm the splendor of what is to come. It is not for the hatred of school that a child celebrates the last day, but for the anticipation of the summer vacation.
When the world ends, all will rise again, to the resurrection of the blessed or of the damned. The blessed will receive back their bodies, glorified bodies, capable of the impossible. The joy of being with God will be the answer to every desire that burns now within us. We will be fulfilled and happy in a way that, on this earth, is only possible in fairy tales. We will live happily ever after.
The whole story of the history of the world is a fascinating story, all the more fascinating because we are in it. And when the world ends, I like to think that we will all sit down to watch the encore performance, (remember we will have forever, what would a few billion years be?). We will have our favorite actors, people who today we call the saints. They will be the movie stars. People like John the Baptist in his camel hair clothes will the leather belt. Eating locusts and honey. People will always be quoting his catchphrase to him when they see him in the street: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” If there are autographs in the new earth, everyone is going want to have his.
And what will we think when we see ourselves on stage? How will all our actions look in the light of that new day? I am not saying that there will not be a thousand excuses for why we did what we did, I am just saying that not every performance will be award winning.
But do you know what kind of story everyone always loves? A Cinderella story. Rags to riches. A lost sheep that gets found and carried back to the fold. The story of a person who lived a normal, regular, mediocre life until one day in December they decided to be a saint. It was not easy. They could not do it without the grace of God. They had to keep making the commitment over and over and over again until it stuck, but they finally let God put them on his shoulders and carry them back to the fold. The house goes wild. Standing ovation.
Best of all, there is God saying “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
October 9, 2012 - Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Galatians 1:13-24
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Luke 10:38-42
St. Paul is giving his résumé because the people have been telling the Galatians to stop believing what he says. In order to convince them that the Gospel which he shared with them is true, he tells them the story of how he heard it. Yesterday, he said “I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Today, he is specifically relating how this happened. He tells us that when he had the revelation that converted him, he did not go to Jerusalem. Instead, he went out into the desert, to Arabia. He needed some time to think about this experience. Only after three years does he go up to speak to Peter.
His life story, he says, was an inspiration to the Churches. Not because of what he did, but because his life proved what God could do in him. If God could change Saul, persecutor of Christians, into Paul, preacher of the Gospel, then no one was beyond help. If Paul can convert, than the worst person you know can convert. Why, even you and I can convert. Before his conversion, St. Paul was not an inspiration, but a cause of fear; after the conversion, the inspiration is all the more powerful because of how bad he was. All along, God had a plan for him.
As the psalm says, “Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.” In some ways, it is the same path for everyone because it is the path of doing the will of God. In another way, it is truly an individual path for each one of us, because God knows us individually. God had plans for Paul. Even while he stood assisting with the stoning of St. Stephen, God had plans for him. Even while he persecuted Christians families, God had plans for him. We know what our path has been up to this point, but only God knows how it goes from here on out. If it started well, it might finish badly and be all the more tragic because of the good start. If it has been a difficult path, then all that difficulty will be glory if it ends well. It is God’s will and he will do all he can to guide us. We pray to him, “Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way” for our sake, so that we will follow him.
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15
Luke 10:38-42
St. Paul is giving his résumé because the people have been telling the Galatians to stop believing what he says. In order to convince them that the Gospel which he shared with them is true, he tells them the story of how he heard it. Yesterday, he said “I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Today, he is specifically relating how this happened. He tells us that when he had the revelation that converted him, he did not go to Jerusalem. Instead, he went out into the desert, to Arabia. He needed some time to think about this experience. Only after three years does he go up to speak to Peter.
His life story, he says, was an inspiration to the Churches. Not because of what he did, but because his life proved what God could do in him. If God could change Saul, persecutor of Christians, into Paul, preacher of the Gospel, then no one was beyond help. If Paul can convert, than the worst person you know can convert. Why, even you and I can convert. Before his conversion, St. Paul was not an inspiration, but a cause of fear; after the conversion, the inspiration is all the more powerful because of how bad he was. All along, God had a plan for him.
As the psalm says, “Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.” In some ways, it is the same path for everyone because it is the path of doing the will of God. In another way, it is truly an individual path for each one of us, because God knows us individually. God had plans for Paul. Even while he stood assisting with the stoning of St. Stephen, God had plans for him. Even while he persecuted Christians families, God had plans for him. We know what our path has been up to this point, but only God knows how it goes from here on out. If it started well, it might finish badly and be all the more tragic because of the good start. If it has been a difficult path, then all that difficulty will be glory if it ends well. It is God’s will and he will do all he can to guide us. We pray to him, “Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way” for our sake, so that we will follow him.
September 21, 2012 - Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 19:2-5
Matthew 9:9-13
We celebrate the conversion of St. Paul each year as a special feast day, but his conversion was from hypocritical Pharisaism to Christianity. Both before and after his conversion, he could be called a “religious person”. For St. Paul, we could say that the only real change was his knowledge of who Jesus Christ was and what he had done. Of course, this knowledge changed everything, but his conversion was from being a good Pharisee to being a good Christian.
St. Matthew, in contrast, whose feast we celebrate today, was a sinner. All the Apostles were sinners of course, but St. Matthew was a sinner as the world sees these things. He was a tax collector. Since the taxes were going to the Roman government that was persecuting Israel, this means that Matthew was a man willing to live on the margins of society in exchange for money. Matthew was the kind of person whom people spit on as he walked down the street. He was the kind of person whom parents warned their children about. He was a traitor and a thief. In exchange for this status, he was one of the wealthier men in his society.
But Matthew wanted more than the life he was leading. Jesus merely said to him, “Follow me.” We know that Jesus does not control the free will of the people he speaks to. Matthew was not forced to get up and follow Jesus, yet he did so without deliberation. Clearly, Matthew had been waiting for Jesus to come, even if he did not know who or what he was waiting for. Those words were the impetus he needed to do what he had obviously wanted to do all along: leave behind his life of sin and start over.
Jesus represented that opportunity to Matthew, and he represents that opportunity to us. He is always calling us. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is preventing us from letting go of sin and following Jesus. It may be hard, or rather, it will be hard. Matthew walked away from a job, from a pile of money, from friends, probably from a girlfriend too, and followed Jesus. Sometimes there is no time to just take care of a few things, no time to wait for a convenient exit; sometimes we just have to follow Jesus and trust that he can make us as happy as we have always wished we could be.
Psalm 19:2-5
Matthew 9:9-13
We celebrate the conversion of St. Paul each year as a special feast day, but his conversion was from hypocritical Pharisaism to Christianity. Both before and after his conversion, he could be called a “religious person”. For St. Paul, we could say that the only real change was his knowledge of who Jesus Christ was and what he had done. Of course, this knowledge changed everything, but his conversion was from being a good Pharisee to being a good Christian.
St. Matthew, in contrast, whose feast we celebrate today, was a sinner. All the Apostles were sinners of course, but St. Matthew was a sinner as the world sees these things. He was a tax collector. Since the taxes were going to the Roman government that was persecuting Israel, this means that Matthew was a man willing to live on the margins of society in exchange for money. Matthew was the kind of person whom people spit on as he walked down the street. He was the kind of person whom parents warned their children about. He was a traitor and a thief. In exchange for this status, he was one of the wealthier men in his society.
But Matthew wanted more than the life he was leading. Jesus merely said to him, “Follow me.” We know that Jesus does not control the free will of the people he speaks to. Matthew was not forced to get up and follow Jesus, yet he did so without deliberation. Clearly, Matthew had been waiting for Jesus to come, even if he did not know who or what he was waiting for. Those words were the impetus he needed to do what he had obviously wanted to do all along: leave behind his life of sin and start over.
Jesus represented that opportunity to Matthew, and he represents that opportunity to us. He is always calling us. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is preventing us from letting go of sin and following Jesus. It may be hard, or rather, it will be hard. Matthew walked away from a job, from a pile of money, from friends, probably from a girlfriend too, and followed Jesus. Sometimes there is no time to just take care of a few things, no time to wait for a convenient exit; sometimes we just have to follow Jesus and trust that he can make us as happy as we have always wished we could be.
July 30, 2012 - Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 13:1-11
Deuteronomy 32:18-21
Matthew 13:31-35
It is possible that what happens in the first reading gets lost in the language. God tells Jeremiah to not wash his underwear for awhile, then bury it, then show it to people. Why did God make Jeremiah go through all that today? Could he not have just stood up in Jerusalem and said, “What you are doing is wrong.”? He could have, and he did many times, but the situation called for something a little more memorable. It is easy to forget about the odd street preacher who complains about our sinful ways, but if a man shows you his filthy, rotten underwear and says, “You are like this underwear”, you are not going to forget it.
In the Gospel today, we have two parables about parables. The little mustard seed becomes a bush, and the little yeast leavens all the dough. Jesus could have just given his teaching straight; he could have written a catechism with everything carefully explained, but instead he gave us parables.
Parables are more powerful than their explanations. This is a little ironic since it is now my job to explain these parables, but I know that you might forget my homily by the time you finish lunch. Certainly a week from now you would not be able to quote it all back to me. But the parables stick with you. The mustard seed that grows into a bush, the yeast that leavens the whole dough are not as easily forgotten as a theological explanation can be. These little ideas start as simple analogies, but they can grow in our souls and change us. They are like mustard seeds or a little yeast, and what these tiny things can accomplish in us is simply amazing.
The greatest parable is the paschal mystery. A simple story about a man who died for us though he was innocent, then rose from the dead because he was God and could not be conquered by death is as simple a story as any parable. This story and all the parables that Jesus told have such power if we will water the seed or knead the dough, if we will meditate on the mystery and turn it over and over in our minds. Given time we will be amazed at how much these simple stories have done in our souls. Sometimes a little unforgettable idea is far more powerful than a 5 volume book.
Deuteronomy 32:18-21
Matthew 13:31-35
It is possible that what happens in the first reading gets lost in the language. God tells Jeremiah to not wash his underwear for awhile, then bury it, then show it to people. Why did God make Jeremiah go through all that today? Could he not have just stood up in Jerusalem and said, “What you are doing is wrong.”? He could have, and he did many times, but the situation called for something a little more memorable. It is easy to forget about the odd street preacher who complains about our sinful ways, but if a man shows you his filthy, rotten underwear and says, “You are like this underwear”, you are not going to forget it.
In the Gospel today, we have two parables about parables. The little mustard seed becomes a bush, and the little yeast leavens all the dough. Jesus could have just given his teaching straight; he could have written a catechism with everything carefully explained, but instead he gave us parables.
Parables are more powerful than their explanations. This is a little ironic since it is now my job to explain these parables, but I know that you might forget my homily by the time you finish lunch. Certainly a week from now you would not be able to quote it all back to me. But the parables stick with you. The mustard seed that grows into a bush, the yeast that leavens the whole dough are not as easily forgotten as a theological explanation can be. These little ideas start as simple analogies, but they can grow in our souls and change us. They are like mustard seeds or a little yeast, and what these tiny things can accomplish in us is simply amazing.
The greatest parable is the paschal mystery. A simple story about a man who died for us though he was innocent, then rose from the dead because he was God and could not be conquered by death is as simple a story as any parable. This story and all the parables that Jesus told have such power if we will water the seed or knead the dough, if we will meditate on the mystery and turn it over and over in our minds. Given time we will be amazed at how much these simple stories have done in our souls. Sometimes a little unforgettable idea is far more powerful than a 5 volume book.
July 6, 2012 - Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
Matthew 9:9-13
In the first reading we hear about people who are consumed with desire. Even during the day of rest, all they can think of is the object of their desire. “When will this feast or Sabbath be over”, they wonder, “so that we can get back to business.” And what business? Their desire for profit is so great that they cheat and steal and lie.
Oh that we would have a desire for God like their desire! The children of this world are always wiser in their ways than the children of the kingdom. If only I could be as motivated to serve God as some people are to make a million dollars. There are people who will sacrifice every good thing for money and fame. How is it then that I find it so difficult to give up mediocre things in order to follow God?
Perhaps this is what Jesus means when he says that he wishes we were hot or cold rather than lukewarm. If we were cold, like these merchants who have a great desire to get back to cheating and stealing, who can barely contain themselves through one day off, then we could turn this desire to something good. Which is easier, to work up a desire that we do not have or to redirect a strong desire in the wrong direction?
There are many examples of saints who redirected misguided desires. St. Ignatius was a soldier who loved glory in battle, and he became a soldier of Christ. St. Matthew, as we read in the Gospel today, went from collecting taxes, being so in love with money that he collaborated with the Roman government, to being in love with Jesus Christ.
I do not know if it is easier to redirect a desire or create a desire. The point is to have a strong desire. If your desire is weak, the thing is to strengthen it. If you have a strong desire for something inferior to God, consider how you can turn it to him. I think we have need of a little of both. I need to desire God more, and I need to turn my desires to him. I do not have the strong desire for God that the saints had, but I can take comfort in my desire to have a desire for God. So long as I do not let go of this desire for a desire, there is a chance for me.
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
Matthew 9:9-13
In the first reading we hear about people who are consumed with desire. Even during the day of rest, all they can think of is the object of their desire. “When will this feast or Sabbath be over”, they wonder, “so that we can get back to business.” And what business? Their desire for profit is so great that they cheat and steal and lie.
Oh that we would have a desire for God like their desire! The children of this world are always wiser in their ways than the children of the kingdom. If only I could be as motivated to serve God as some people are to make a million dollars. There are people who will sacrifice every good thing for money and fame. How is it then that I find it so difficult to give up mediocre things in order to follow God?
Perhaps this is what Jesus means when he says that he wishes we were hot or cold rather than lukewarm. If we were cold, like these merchants who have a great desire to get back to cheating and stealing, who can barely contain themselves through one day off, then we could turn this desire to something good. Which is easier, to work up a desire that we do not have or to redirect a strong desire in the wrong direction?
There are many examples of saints who redirected misguided desires. St. Ignatius was a soldier who loved glory in battle, and he became a soldier of Christ. St. Matthew, as we read in the Gospel today, went from collecting taxes, being so in love with money that he collaborated with the Roman government, to being in love with Jesus Christ.
I do not know if it is easier to redirect a desire or create a desire. The point is to have a strong desire. If your desire is weak, the thing is to strengthen it. If you have a strong desire for something inferior to God, consider how you can turn it to him. I think we have need of a little of both. I need to desire God more, and I need to turn my desires to him. I do not have the strong desire for God that the saints had, but I can take comfort in my desire to have a desire for God. So long as I do not let go of this desire for a desire, there is a chance for me.
June 20, 2012 - Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 2:1, 6-14
Psalm 31:20-21, 24
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Sometimes people quote Jesus here and suggest that what he means is that our religious expression should be entirely private, done in the privacy of our bedrooms. I do not say this lightly, but clearly Jesus did not really mean that we should go into our own rooms to pray even though he says it. How am I so sure? Because that is such an anachronistic idea. None of the people whom Jesus was preaching to had their own room. Most of them shared a two room house. One room was for the cattle and the other room was for the family. And the whole house was no bigger than most of our bedrooms. To hear this statement and then apply it unthinkingly to 21st century American conditions does not lead to a proper understanding.
Indeed, the word Jesus uses does not even mean bedroom, which concept would have been unknown. The word is more like walk-in safe. The word refers to the room that a king would have in his castle to keep the valuables. Even most of us do not have one of those.
So what did Jesus mean, if he did not mean that we should literally go pray in the inner closet of our house? The common interpretation over the past 2000 years has said that he was referring to the inner closet of our hearts. It was not until modern buildings that anyone could have imagined that it would be taken literally.
If the inner closet was for keeping valuables away from thieves, then the inner closet of our hearts is where we keep what we most value. There is the right place to speak to God. Go right in among all the things that you hold most sacred, and speak to God there. If we find that this storeroom is not appropriate, if it is filled with worldly and ungodly things that we value, we should clean it out and fill it with the Holy Spirit. This is what prayer is really about, Jesus is saying. Not impressing people or seeming devoted to God. Prayer is going into the deepest place of our souls, clearing out the mess, and filling it with God. If we just try and do that, then God, who sees in secret, will give us the great gift of himself which we can treasure in that inner storeroom.
Psalm 31:20-21, 24
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Sometimes people quote Jesus here and suggest that what he means is that our religious expression should be entirely private, done in the privacy of our bedrooms. I do not say this lightly, but clearly Jesus did not really mean that we should go into our own rooms to pray even though he says it. How am I so sure? Because that is such an anachronistic idea. None of the people whom Jesus was preaching to had their own room. Most of them shared a two room house. One room was for the cattle and the other room was for the family. And the whole house was no bigger than most of our bedrooms. To hear this statement and then apply it unthinkingly to 21st century American conditions does not lead to a proper understanding.
Indeed, the word Jesus uses does not even mean bedroom, which concept would have been unknown. The word is more like walk-in safe. The word refers to the room that a king would have in his castle to keep the valuables. Even most of us do not have one of those.
So what did Jesus mean, if he did not mean that we should literally go pray in the inner closet of our house? The common interpretation over the past 2000 years has said that he was referring to the inner closet of our hearts. It was not until modern buildings that anyone could have imagined that it would be taken literally.
If the inner closet was for keeping valuables away from thieves, then the inner closet of our hearts is where we keep what we most value. There is the right place to speak to God. Go right in among all the things that you hold most sacred, and speak to God there. If we find that this storeroom is not appropriate, if it is filled with worldly and ungodly things that we value, we should clean it out and fill it with the Holy Spirit. This is what prayer is really about, Jesus is saying. Not impressing people or seeming devoted to God. Prayer is going into the deepest place of our souls, clearing out the mess, and filling it with God. If we just try and do that, then God, who sees in secret, will give us the great gift of himself which we can treasure in that inner storeroom.
June 4, 2012 - Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Peter 1:2-7
Psalm 91:1-2, 14-16
Mark 12:1-12
For as much as Christians loved making lists of seven (the Seven Sacraments, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.) that are passed down to us today, I am not aware of anyone ever using this list that St. Peter provides for us in the first reading today. It could be called the Seven Steps Beyond Faith.
He presumes that he is talking to people of faith, people who believe that Jesus is Lord. What more do they need? Well, to faith they need to add virtue. Virtue is the strength to do right that comes from doing what is right over and over.
Once someone has faith and virtue, what more do they need? They should add knowledge. Good holy reading, particularly of Scripture and the Catechism.
Once someone has faith, virtue, and knowledge, what more do they need? They should add self-control. This is the perfection of virtue. With the strength of virtue and the guidance of knowledge, a person ought to take command of their own life, no longer doing things and then saying, “I do not know why I did that.”
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, and self-control, what more do they need? They should add endurance. A person who has progressed this far will be persecuted as a servant of God, just as Jesus says in the Gospel today. Once we have control over ourselves, we must be ready to confront a hostile world. Not with violence to cause suffering, but with endurance to accept suffering.
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, and endurance, what more do they need? They should add devotion. Devotion means kneeling down before the power and glory of Almighty God and acknowledging the truth about our place in the universe. If a person reaches this point of mastery over themselves, they might be in danger of pride, so they need the humility of devotion.
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and devotion, what more do they need? They should add brotherly love. The Christian life is not accomplished on my own, and it is not accomplished between me and God. If I do not love the brother whom I have seen, how can I love God whom I have not?
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, devotion, and brotherly love, what more do they need? They should add perfect love. If I love those who love me, what is surprising about that? I must love my enemy. I must love those who cause the suffering that I am enduring. I must love with the love of God because I am loved by God.
So are these stages in the spiritual life or do we work on all of them at once? Yes. Both. We cannot delay love until we have mastered the earlier stages, but we will never really love someone else until we have gotten control of ourselves.
Psalm 91:1-2, 14-16
Mark 12:1-12
For as much as Christians loved making lists of seven (the Seven Sacraments, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.) that are passed down to us today, I am not aware of anyone ever using this list that St. Peter provides for us in the first reading today. It could be called the Seven Steps Beyond Faith.
He presumes that he is talking to people of faith, people who believe that Jesus is Lord. What more do they need? Well, to faith they need to add virtue. Virtue is the strength to do right that comes from doing what is right over and over.
Once someone has faith and virtue, what more do they need? They should add knowledge. Good holy reading, particularly of Scripture and the Catechism.
Once someone has faith, virtue, and knowledge, what more do they need? They should add self-control. This is the perfection of virtue. With the strength of virtue and the guidance of knowledge, a person ought to take command of their own life, no longer doing things and then saying, “I do not know why I did that.”
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, and self-control, what more do they need? They should add endurance. A person who has progressed this far will be persecuted as a servant of God, just as Jesus says in the Gospel today. Once we have control over ourselves, we must be ready to confront a hostile world. Not with violence to cause suffering, but with endurance to accept suffering.
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, and endurance, what more do they need? They should add devotion. Devotion means kneeling down before the power and glory of Almighty God and acknowledging the truth about our place in the universe. If a person reaches this point of mastery over themselves, they might be in danger of pride, so they need the humility of devotion.
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and devotion, what more do they need? They should add brotherly love. The Christian life is not accomplished on my own, and it is not accomplished between me and God. If I do not love the brother whom I have seen, how can I love God whom I have not?
Once someone has faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, devotion, and brotherly love, what more do they need? They should add perfect love. If I love those who love me, what is surprising about that? I must love my enemy. I must love those who cause the suffering that I am enduring. I must love with the love of God because I am loved by God.
So are these stages in the spiritual life or do we work on all of them at once? Yes. Both. We cannot delay love until we have mastered the earlier stages, but we will never really love someone else until we have gotten control of ourselves.
May 21, 2012 - Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Acts 19:1-8
Psalm 68:2-7
John 16:29-33
Have you heard that there is a Holy Spirit? Christianity is not a tame religion. It is not just a mix of morality and Fall Festivals. There is a Holy Spirit, and if you are trying to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit, you are missing out. The Holy Spirit is our Consoler when we have to live through troubles. The Holy Spirit is the source of our love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and temperance.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God dwelling within us. He is the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, equal to the Father and the Son. In short, the Holy Spirit is everything to a Christian. A Christian without the Holy Spirit is like a water balloon without water, like a day without light, like a fruit salad without fruit. In other words, a Christian without the Holy Spirit is basically just a normal person. We Christians are not supposed to be normal people; we are supposed to be inspired.
We Christians are supposed to live in the world, but act like strangers. We Christians are supposed to be simultaneously incomprehensible and awe-inspiring. We Christians are supposed to be like gods walking among men. How are we supposed to do that on our own? At best, Christianity lived out with human strength is a slight improvement on every other religion in the world. If there is no Holy Spirit, if we do not have God living inside of us, our claims fall flat.
I do not say this to make you depressed. I am not telling you all this to point out where you, and I, fall short of the glory that God has destined us for. I tell you, I tell myself, all this because it is still possible. We can still be converted. We can still be another St. Francis, Blessed Mother Theresa, St. Therese. It is never too late to be amazing. Not on your own, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is not going to be easy. Satan will be against us. The world will be against us. Our own fallen human nature will be against us. If we decide to become true Christians, we will face troubles for the rest of our lives. All of the regular troubles and more, but we will stand above them all because we do not belong to the world.
Jesus gives us, in the Gospel today, all the encouragement we need to begin following him today as if yesterday never happened:
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
Psalm 68:2-7
John 16:29-33
Have you heard that there is a Holy Spirit? Christianity is not a tame religion. It is not just a mix of morality and Fall Festivals. There is a Holy Spirit, and if you are trying to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit, you are missing out. The Holy Spirit is our Consoler when we have to live through troubles. The Holy Spirit is the source of our love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and temperance.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God dwelling within us. He is the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, equal to the Father and the Son. In short, the Holy Spirit is everything to a Christian. A Christian without the Holy Spirit is like a water balloon without water, like a day without light, like a fruit salad without fruit. In other words, a Christian without the Holy Spirit is basically just a normal person. We Christians are not supposed to be normal people; we are supposed to be inspired.
We Christians are supposed to live in the world, but act like strangers. We Christians are supposed to be simultaneously incomprehensible and awe-inspiring. We Christians are supposed to be like gods walking among men. How are we supposed to do that on our own? At best, Christianity lived out with human strength is a slight improvement on every other religion in the world. If there is no Holy Spirit, if we do not have God living inside of us, our claims fall flat.
I do not say this to make you depressed. I am not telling you all this to point out where you, and I, fall short of the glory that God has destined us for. I tell you, I tell myself, all this because it is still possible. We can still be converted. We can still be another St. Francis, Blessed Mother Theresa, St. Therese. It is never too late to be amazing. Not on your own, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is not going to be easy. Satan will be against us. The world will be against us. Our own fallen human nature will be against us. If we decide to become true Christians, we will face troubles for the rest of our lives. All of the regular troubles and more, but we will stand above them all because we do not belong to the world.
Jesus gives us, in the Gospel today, all the encouragement we need to begin following him today as if yesterday never happened:
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
May 16, 2012 - Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14
John 16:12-15
The sermon recorded today in the first reading is beautifully crafted. St. Paul makes his point so cogently. It is one of St. Paul’s greatest failures. In Athens, the birthplace of philosophy, Paul is unable to make much of an impression. Some laugh at him openly; others tell him to be quiet in a more polite fashion. Only a handful are converted.
After this sermon in Athens, the height of intellectual culture, Paul went to Corinth, the Las Vegas of the ancient world. After failing with this sermon filled with wisdom, Paul claims that he resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. After very little success in Athens, Paul converts crowds in Corinth.
From the Athenians today we learn that sometimes wisdom can stand in the way of learning. So long as Paul spoke in a way that fit with Greek philosophy, the Athenians continue listening. As soon as he mentions an idea that Greek philosophy rejects, the resurrection from the dead, they decide that he is not worth listening to. In other words, the philosophers are glad to have Paul tell them what they already know, but as soon as their philosophy is challenged they are no longer interested.
How similar to modern religion, where we keep whatever parts of our religion seem right to us and reject what seems wrong! This is judging the Gospel rather than learning from it. Whichever teaching of Christianity is most opposed to what we already know is precisely the teaching we have the most to learn from. If we believe in the 90% of Christianity that we would have believed anyway, and reject the 10% which contradicts the wisdom of this world, we are not Christians. Christianity cannot be judged according to what we already know, what everybody already knows; our standard must be Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Which brings us to the other lesson we can learn from Paul’s experience in Athens. Apologetics is the art of expressing the faith in terms that the world can understand, but conversion comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Apologetics can be useful after conversion, to help new Christians understand the faith, but conversion happens best when we preach nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14
John 16:12-15
The sermon recorded today in the first reading is beautifully crafted. St. Paul makes his point so cogently. It is one of St. Paul’s greatest failures. In Athens, the birthplace of philosophy, Paul is unable to make much of an impression. Some laugh at him openly; others tell him to be quiet in a more polite fashion. Only a handful are converted.
After this sermon in Athens, the height of intellectual culture, Paul went to Corinth, the Las Vegas of the ancient world. After failing with this sermon filled with wisdom, Paul claims that he resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. After very little success in Athens, Paul converts crowds in Corinth.
From the Athenians today we learn that sometimes wisdom can stand in the way of learning. So long as Paul spoke in a way that fit with Greek philosophy, the Athenians continue listening. As soon as he mentions an idea that Greek philosophy rejects, the resurrection from the dead, they decide that he is not worth listening to. In other words, the philosophers are glad to have Paul tell them what they already know, but as soon as their philosophy is challenged they are no longer interested.
How similar to modern religion, where we keep whatever parts of our religion seem right to us and reject what seems wrong! This is judging the Gospel rather than learning from it. Whichever teaching of Christianity is most opposed to what we already know is precisely the teaching we have the most to learn from. If we believe in the 90% of Christianity that we would have believed anyway, and reject the 10% which contradicts the wisdom of this world, we are not Christians. Christianity cannot be judged according to what we already know, what everybody already knows; our standard must be Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Which brings us to the other lesson we can learn from Paul’s experience in Athens. Apologetics is the art of expressing the faith in terms that the world can understand, but conversion comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Apologetics can be useful after conversion, to help new Christians understand the faith, but conversion happens best when we preach nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
May 2, 2012 - Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Acts 12:24 -- 13:5
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
John 12:44-50
It is possible, because of the structure of the book of Acts, to seriously misunderstand St. Paul. We read about his conversion, and then, a few chapters later, we read about how he is chosen to go on a mission to preach to the whole world. Of course, St. Paul had studied Jewish law for years before his conversion, but he was still not ready. The events of today’s reading happened thirteen years after St. Paul’s conversion. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was St. Paul.
We know some of what happened during those thirteen years, but they are mostly a mystery. St. Paul was a Christian for 33 years before he died, and he only preached the Gospel for the last twenty. The life of St. Paul should teach us two very important lessons. First, preparation is extremely important. When someone first has a conversion, they are usually very excited to preach the Gospel. They should not. Much damage has been done in the Church by people who begin preaching too soon after their conversion.
Tertullian, an early Christian theologian, is a prime example of this. At age 37 he converted to Christianity. He spent the next 10 years writing some of the most important books that have ever been written in Christian theology. By age 47, he had joined a group of heretics and split off from the Church. When a new convert becomes a teacher too quickly, pride follows. The most important lesson St. Paul learned in those thirteen years was humility. He never could have become the great apostle that he was without superhuman humility.
The second lesson we should learn from St. Paul’s life is how much a person can accomplish in twenty years. When we think of everything St. Paul is remembered for, it all happened within twenty years. It is easy to waste twenty years in front of the television or surfing the internet. Imagine what we could do in the next twenty years if we all stopped wasting time and started working. Some of you are just beginning to walk seriously with Jesus Christ, are just beginning your own thirteen years of preparation. Some of you ought to be out converting the world by now. Imagine what God could accomplish if, starting today, starting right now, we put aside every vestige of selfishness and committed ourselves perfectly, uncompromisingly, to love God and our neighbor.
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
John 12:44-50
It is possible, because of the structure of the book of Acts, to seriously misunderstand St. Paul. We read about his conversion, and then, a few chapters later, we read about how he is chosen to go on a mission to preach to the whole world. Of course, St. Paul had studied Jewish law for years before his conversion, but he was still not ready. The events of today’s reading happened thirteen years after St. Paul’s conversion. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was St. Paul.
We know some of what happened during those thirteen years, but they are mostly a mystery. St. Paul was a Christian for 33 years before he died, and he only preached the Gospel for the last twenty. The life of St. Paul should teach us two very important lessons. First, preparation is extremely important. When someone first has a conversion, they are usually very excited to preach the Gospel. They should not. Much damage has been done in the Church by people who begin preaching too soon after their conversion.
Tertullian, an early Christian theologian, is a prime example of this. At age 37 he converted to Christianity. He spent the next 10 years writing some of the most important books that have ever been written in Christian theology. By age 47, he had joined a group of heretics and split off from the Church. When a new convert becomes a teacher too quickly, pride follows. The most important lesson St. Paul learned in those thirteen years was humility. He never could have become the great apostle that he was without superhuman humility.
The second lesson we should learn from St. Paul’s life is how much a person can accomplish in twenty years. When we think of everything St. Paul is remembered for, it all happened within twenty years. It is easy to waste twenty years in front of the television or surfing the internet. Imagine what we could do in the next twenty years if we all stopped wasting time and started working. Some of you are just beginning to walk seriously with Jesus Christ, are just beginning your own thirteen years of preparation. Some of you ought to be out converting the world by now. Imagine what God could accomplish if, starting today, starting right now, we put aside every vestige of selfishness and committed ourselves perfectly, uncompromisingly, to love God and our neighbor.
March 2, 2012 - Friday of the First Week of Lent
Today's Readings
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” We have just repeated this verse several times, but it really does need to be hammered into our heads. We are not good enough; no one is. The world is not divided between the virtuous and the wicked, between the good and the bad. We are all bad. We might not have killed anyone, or committed a crime that would send us to prison. We might be what the world calls “a basically good person”. This does not matter. We know the reality behind the façade we show the world. We not only make mistakes, doing or saying something before thinking about it, but we consciously make bad decisions. We are not perfect and anything less than perfect is not good enough.
The first reading demonstrates the problems we face. The wicked man can easily convert, and his whole life is forgotten in favor of his new attitude. Likewise, the virtuous man can easily fall and do something wicked and his whole life is forgotten because of his sin. These are not two different men but one man. We should each recognize ourselves in these portraits, how easily we go from wickedness to virtue and back. A person can, in the course of an hour, sin and convert and sin again.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. These were people who tried as hard as they could to be good, to follow every law. We are not going to beat the Pharisees at their own game. We need something different. We have something different in humble repentance. In the first reading, the wicked man who repents is saved but the virtuous man who falls is condemned. If we see ourselves as “basically good”, we are going to fall. Pride comes before the fall.
If we acknowledge our wickedness, if we admit that we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors nearly as much as ourselves, we are on the path to repentance. Humility comes before the conversion. The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are rooted in Christian spirituality. The first step, “We admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable”, is not some special status of alcoholics. This is the attitude that we all must have in the face of sin.
“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” We have just repeated this verse several times, but it really does need to be hammered into our heads. We are not good enough; no one is. The world is not divided between the virtuous and the wicked, between the good and the bad. We are all bad. We might not have killed anyone, or committed a crime that would send us to prison. We might be what the world calls “a basically good person”. This does not matter. We know the reality behind the façade we show the world. We not only make mistakes, doing or saying something before thinking about it, but we consciously make bad decisions. We are not perfect and anything less than perfect is not good enough.
The first reading demonstrates the problems we face. The wicked man can easily convert, and his whole life is forgotten in favor of his new attitude. Likewise, the virtuous man can easily fall and do something wicked and his whole life is forgotten because of his sin. These are not two different men but one man. We should each recognize ourselves in these portraits, how easily we go from wickedness to virtue and back. A person can, in the course of an hour, sin and convert and sin again.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. These were people who tried as hard as they could to be good, to follow every law. We are not going to beat the Pharisees at their own game. We need something different. We have something different in humble repentance. In the first reading, the wicked man who repents is saved but the virtuous man who falls is condemned. If we see ourselves as “basically good”, we are going to fall. Pride comes before the fall.
If we acknowledge our wickedness, if we admit that we do not love God as we should and we do not love our neighbors nearly as much as ourselves, we are on the path to repentance. Humility comes before the conversion. The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are rooted in Christian spirituality. The first step, “We admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable”, is not some special status of alcoholics. This is the attitude that we all must have in the face of sin.
November 15, 2011 - Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
What contrasting figures are set before us today! In the first reading, we have Eleazar, chief of the scribes; in the Gospel we have Zacchaeus, chief of the tax collectors. Eleazar is a man noble in appearance; Zacchaeus is short in stature. Eleazar is so well respected that his persecutors try to find a way out for him; Zacchaeus is despised by his own people. Eleazar has lived an admirable life since his childhood; Zacchaeus is a tax collector.
What could such men have in common? I would say that they had more in common than they differed. Eleazar was a son of Abraham and Jesus tells us about Zacchaeus, “this man too is a son of Abraham.” More basically than that, they are both sons of the Most High God. The point of both stories is faithfulness to God. Eleazar choose to remain faithful; Zacchaeus choose to become faithful.
St. Thérèse puts it this way:
The key is in our psalm today: “The Lord upholds me.” The Lord gave Eleazar the grace to be faithful for 90 years; the Lord gave Zacchaeus the grace to repent. The Lord uphold them both, though in different ways. If Eleazar had lived 90 years faithfully and then decided to abandon God in the end, his 90 years would not matter. The past is not that important. It is in the present moment that we can be faithful, that we must be faithful. God neither holds the past against us nor gives us credit for it. So brothers and sisters, let us begin to be faithful today, regardless of our past.
What contrasting figures are set before us today! In the first reading, we have Eleazar, chief of the scribes; in the Gospel we have Zacchaeus, chief of the tax collectors. Eleazar is a man noble in appearance; Zacchaeus is short in stature. Eleazar is so well respected that his persecutors try to find a way out for him; Zacchaeus is despised by his own people. Eleazar has lived an admirable life since his childhood; Zacchaeus is a tax collector.
What could such men have in common? I would say that they had more in common than they differed. Eleazar was a son of Abraham and Jesus tells us about Zacchaeus, “this man too is a son of Abraham.” More basically than that, they are both sons of the Most High God. The point of both stories is faithfulness to God. Eleazar choose to remain faithful; Zacchaeus choose to become faithful.
St. Thérèse puts it this way:
Let us suppose that the son of a very clever doctor, stumbling over a stone on the road, falls and breaks his leg. His father hastens to him, lifts him lovingly, and binds up the fractured limb, putting forth all his skill. The son, when cured, displays the utmost gratitude, and he has excellent reason for doing so. But let us take another supposition.
The father, aware that a dangerous stone lies in his son's path, is beforehand with the danger and removes it, unseen by anyone. The son, thus tenderly cared for, not knowing of the mishap from which his father's hand has saved him, naturally will not show him any gratitude, and will love him less than if he had cured him of a grievous wound. But suppose he heard the whole truth, would he not in that case love him still more?
The key is in our psalm today: “The Lord upholds me.” The Lord gave Eleazar the grace to be faithful for 90 years; the Lord gave Zacchaeus the grace to repent. The Lord uphold them both, though in different ways. If Eleazar had lived 90 years faithfully and then decided to abandon God in the end, his 90 years would not matter. The past is not that important. It is in the present moment that we can be faithful, that we must be faithful. God neither holds the past against us nor gives us credit for it. So brothers and sisters, let us begin to be faithful today, regardless of our past.
November 10, 2011 - Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church
Today's Readings
The first coming of Jesus was hidden. He came as the infant child of poor parents. When he had been here for 31 years, he revealed himself with signs and wonders, not to the whole world but only in a small part of the world. The second coming of Jesus will be like lightning. He will come in power and glory and judge the whole earth.
Between the first coming and the second coming is a middle coming of Jesus Christ, in which he comes through his disciples. When Paul came to Corinth preaching Jesus, that was the first time Jesus had been in Corinth. Someday Jesus is going to appear in the sky, and the whole world will end like the flipping of a switch. Until that day, he comes invisibly. On that day he will come whether people want him to or not. Until that day, he only comes with our cooperation. This middle coming of Jesus is fulfilled when he is preached in every corner of the world.
Of course, the corners of the world are not measured geographically. There are not four corners of the world; there are 7 billion corners of the world. The day is coming, thanks to widespread communication and easy worldwide travel, when every human will have heard the Gospel. Then Jesus will have arrived in every corner of the world, even if he is rejected by many as he was rejected by his own generation.
This middle coming is fulfilled in us, his disciples. We are missionaries to the corners of the world. If you are not called to bring Jesus to Japan, you are called to bring Jesus to the Japanese restaurant down the street. If you are not called to preach the Gospel in the street bazaars of India, you are called to preach the Gospel in the mall downtown.
But how can we bring Jesus into the mall if we do not have him in ourselves? The middle coming of Jesus begins when he comes into our lives, into our souls. Each of us is a beachhead where God can begin the invasion of the world. When I have allowed him to conquer me and establish his kingdom right here, then I will become a launching point for further incursions.
When it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and you and you, he, while remaining one, will be many, and will reach everywhere.
The first coming of Jesus was hidden. He came as the infant child of poor parents. When he had been here for 31 years, he revealed himself with signs and wonders, not to the whole world but only in a small part of the world. The second coming of Jesus will be like lightning. He will come in power and glory and judge the whole earth.
Between the first coming and the second coming is a middle coming of Jesus Christ, in which he comes through his disciples. When Paul came to Corinth preaching Jesus, that was the first time Jesus had been in Corinth. Someday Jesus is going to appear in the sky, and the whole world will end like the flipping of a switch. Until that day, he comes invisibly. On that day he will come whether people want him to or not. Until that day, he only comes with our cooperation. This middle coming of Jesus is fulfilled when he is preached in every corner of the world.
Of course, the corners of the world are not measured geographically. There are not four corners of the world; there are 7 billion corners of the world. The day is coming, thanks to widespread communication and easy worldwide travel, when every human will have heard the Gospel. Then Jesus will have arrived in every corner of the world, even if he is rejected by many as he was rejected by his own generation.
This middle coming is fulfilled in us, his disciples. We are missionaries to the corners of the world. If you are not called to bring Jesus to Japan, you are called to bring Jesus to the Japanese restaurant down the street. If you are not called to preach the Gospel in the street bazaars of India, you are called to preach the Gospel in the mall downtown.
But how can we bring Jesus into the mall if we do not have him in ourselves? The middle coming of Jesus begins when he comes into our lives, into our souls. Each of us is a beachhead where God can begin the invasion of the world. When I have allowed him to conquer me and establish his kingdom right here, then I will become a launching point for further incursions.
When it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and you and you, he, while remaining one, will be many, and will reach everywhere.
September 10, 2011 - Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.” This statement by St. Paul can be difficult to understand. It all pivots on what he means by “foremost”. If he means that he is the worst sinner in the history of the world, that is doubtful. Judas of course, but also Herod the Great, and old King Manasseh are just a few examples of people who Paul would have known about. Paul did some bad things, but he certainly is not, objectively speaking, foremost among sinners.
But perhaps he is speaking subjectively, meaning that each of us should see ourselves as the worst sinner. We often see this example in the Saints. Anyone who says they have not sinned very much is probably sinning a lot. The sort of person who has made strides against the power of sin in their life is the one who knows how badly they have sinned. There is something to be said for this attitude, but I do not believe that it is precisely what Paul is writing about here; he never says that we should take up this same attitude. He seems to be saying something particular about himself.
The word “foremost” is just the word “first” in Greek: protos. St. Paul is saying that he is the first sinner, but he is not the first sinner in the history of the world, nor the first sinner to be saved by Jesus Christ. Without a doubt, Peter and John and Mary Magdalene were all sinners too. Crowds of sinners converted while Jesus preached. Tax collectors and prostitutes gave up their former lives, one after the other.
No, St. Paul is using the word here in another way. From the word protos comes the word “prototype”. Paul confirms that this is what he means when he says “so that in me, as the first, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example.” Paul’s conversion was not only for his own sake. How many people have heard the story of how the murderer Saul became the Apostle Paul? Jesus showed such extraordinary love and patience with this man who was persecuting and killing Christians that there can be no doubt that conversion is possible. Now, because of how Jesus dealt with St. Paul, a conversion story is not the exception among Christians but the norm. There is no more typical Christian life than the life of St. Paul.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.” This statement by St. Paul can be difficult to understand. It all pivots on what he means by “foremost”. If he means that he is the worst sinner in the history of the world, that is doubtful. Judas of course, but also Herod the Great, and old King Manasseh are just a few examples of people who Paul would have known about. Paul did some bad things, but he certainly is not, objectively speaking, foremost among sinners.
But perhaps he is speaking subjectively, meaning that each of us should see ourselves as the worst sinner. We often see this example in the Saints. Anyone who says they have not sinned very much is probably sinning a lot. The sort of person who has made strides against the power of sin in their life is the one who knows how badly they have sinned. There is something to be said for this attitude, but I do not believe that it is precisely what Paul is writing about here; he never says that we should take up this same attitude. He seems to be saying something particular about himself.
The word “foremost” is just the word “first” in Greek: protos. St. Paul is saying that he is the first sinner, but he is not the first sinner in the history of the world, nor the first sinner to be saved by Jesus Christ. Without a doubt, Peter and John and Mary Magdalene were all sinners too. Crowds of sinners converted while Jesus preached. Tax collectors and prostitutes gave up their former lives, one after the other.
No, St. Paul is using the word here in another way. From the word protos comes the word “prototype”. Paul confirms that this is what he means when he says “so that in me, as the first, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example.” Paul’s conversion was not only for his own sake. How many people have heard the story of how the murderer Saul became the Apostle Paul? Jesus showed such extraordinary love and patience with this man who was persecuting and killing Christians that there can be no doubt that conversion is possible. Now, because of how Jesus dealt with St. Paul, a conversion story is not the exception among Christians but the norm. There is no more typical Christian life than the life of St. Paul.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)