Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-6
Matthew 15:29-37
The Scriptures today teach us how greatly God desires to give us what we need. Before he will give, however, we need to look to him in our need. The people on the Lord's mountain cry out that they looked to God for salvation and he saved them. Sometimes we fail to receive because we fail to ask.
Our desire to thank God is itself his gift, but how can we be grateful for a gift unless we knew our need? If we were perfect, our need would be revealed with the gift; as soon as we received anything from God, we would thank him because we would trust that the gift answered our need, but we fallen humans are ungrateful. It is necessary that we feel the need first if we are to be grateful afterward.
Jesus first heals people who felt their need greatly: the blind, the lame, and sick people of every kind. The crowd is amazed and glorifies God. Then, after three days, when the people had exhausted their supply of food, he sees an opportunity to give to these people what they desire. He loves them. He loves us.
What gift is too great for God to give? The apostles doubt that Jesus can provide food to satisfy such a crowd, yet this miracle is as nothing compared to the power of God and the love of God. What need can be greater than our need to be who God calls us to be, our need for sanctification, for justification, our need to be saints? If only we could feel how lacking and empty and useless our lives are otherwise, surely God would not fail to provide every good gift, to send his Holy Spirit into our hearts.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Gratitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gratitude. Show all posts
November 11, 2012 - Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 17:10-16
Psalm 146:7-10
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44
The readings today are split between heaven and earth, between the glorious throne of God where Jesus offers his own body and blood and down here where a widow plans a last meal with her son, between the sanctuary not made by hands and the treasure box where a widow drops two of her last coins. Yet these places are not so far apart after all. The widow and her son are fed by a miracle sent by a prophet. The poor widow dropping her coins is being watched by God himself and is praised by him. And the offering in heaven is the offering of Jesus Christ on the Cross, perhaps the most earthly of all realities, the reality of a man dying at the cruel hands of other men.
Jesus Christ is the mediator between heaven and earth, between God and humans. He brings together everything that was supposed to be together from the beginning but was divided by sin. Sin was an uncrossable canyon, dividing us forever from God. Then Jesus Christ crossed it, forever bringing together the high and the low, heaven and earth. Everything is united in him, because he is God and man. Even the miracles of the Old Testament have their power in him, for his sacrifice was once and for all. It changed everything, both forward in time and backward. His birth in Bethlehem and his death in Jerusalem were events in time, but all human history is in relation to the Incarnation and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
There is no difference in the world like the difference between God and humans. The difference between the richest man and the poorest is nothing in comparison. All of us are poor, above all because we have no ability to hold on to our treasures. Everything can be taken away in an instant: a fire, a storm, sickness, violence. We try to insure ourselves against losses, but even that is a proof of our underlying poverty. That widow gave of her livelihood, counting on God to support her. She is in a more sure position than any amount of insurance could provide. By giving what she needed to God, she is placing her complete trust in him, and he has promised to provide for those who trust in him.
We are afraid to place our confidence in God. Somehow we feel so sure that he will not provide for us. We see people who have nothing, and so we know that God does not magically provide for everyone. There are real needs in our world, and where is God? How can he expect us to trust in him when we see with our own eyes that he has failed the poor, at least as far as this world is concerned. What would we dare to say? That those Christians who starve to death each day were just lacking in faith? Sure, we can speak of heaven and say that, like Lazarus who died in streets, God will repay all those who suffered in this life. I do not doubt it, yet still something is missing.
It is not God’s purpose that each of us would depend on him without receiving any visible support in this world, so that he could then repay us in the next. He told Adam to go and work, and the point of work is profit. God wants us to do as much good in this world as possible. He wants us to work hard, and, unless we are going to work in a foolish way, hard work equals profit. The widow in the Gospel was poor, but that was either because she was not allowed to work in her community or because she was unable. The widow in the first reading was poor, but that was because of the drought. No matter how common such circumstances are, they are the exception. And even then, I do not think that we are to imagine that either widow had not tried to support herself as much as possible. Depending on God does not mean abandoning responsibility for our own life.
To depend on God means, above all, to see the work of God in our life. We need to stop taking credit for things. So much of the good that has happened to us was not because of our own work. Even much of what we can justly take credit for involved a great deal of what most people call luck. The point is to have an attitude of gratitude. Every day there are many things to thank God for, and when we look back on our life we ought to see his work in the midst of our failures. There is no purpose here in making comparisons. It is not about what somebody else has gotten in their life, but, in mine, where can I see God’s action and guidance. Eventually, as we grow spiritually, we will see his providence behind every corner.
To depend on God means, also, to work as much as we are able. Some people see this as a contradiction. They mock Christians because we trust God but still work. But once we have become grateful for his every gift, we realize that our ability to act is itself his gift, and to squander the gift would be ingratitude. Who knows, tomorrow I may not be able to work any longer, but today I can, so I work with all my strength.
To depend on God means, also, to give back. We see that the widow in the Gospel gave to God by dropping coins in the temple treasury. We see that the widow in the first reading gave to God by providing food for his prophet. In both cases, the women gave from their poverty. This does not denigrate someone who gives from their wealth, but clearly the last coins or the last bit of flour is the greater gift. These women teach us that giving to God is not something we do when everything else in our life is settled. Giving to him is the first thing we do, even if it means we have to beg for help from someone else. The primary way we give to God is by giving to the poor. If two poor people each had just enough bread for the day, they could eat their own share or they could each give their share to the other. Which of these ways of thinking and acting is God trying to lead us to?
Psalm 146:7-10
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44
The readings today are split between heaven and earth, between the glorious throne of God where Jesus offers his own body and blood and down here where a widow plans a last meal with her son, between the sanctuary not made by hands and the treasure box where a widow drops two of her last coins. Yet these places are not so far apart after all. The widow and her son are fed by a miracle sent by a prophet. The poor widow dropping her coins is being watched by God himself and is praised by him. And the offering in heaven is the offering of Jesus Christ on the Cross, perhaps the most earthly of all realities, the reality of a man dying at the cruel hands of other men.
Jesus Christ is the mediator between heaven and earth, between God and humans. He brings together everything that was supposed to be together from the beginning but was divided by sin. Sin was an uncrossable canyon, dividing us forever from God. Then Jesus Christ crossed it, forever bringing together the high and the low, heaven and earth. Everything is united in him, because he is God and man. Even the miracles of the Old Testament have their power in him, for his sacrifice was once and for all. It changed everything, both forward in time and backward. His birth in Bethlehem and his death in Jerusalem were events in time, but all human history is in relation to the Incarnation and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
There is no difference in the world like the difference between God and humans. The difference between the richest man and the poorest is nothing in comparison. All of us are poor, above all because we have no ability to hold on to our treasures. Everything can be taken away in an instant: a fire, a storm, sickness, violence. We try to insure ourselves against losses, but even that is a proof of our underlying poverty. That widow gave of her livelihood, counting on God to support her. She is in a more sure position than any amount of insurance could provide. By giving what she needed to God, she is placing her complete trust in him, and he has promised to provide for those who trust in him.
We are afraid to place our confidence in God. Somehow we feel so sure that he will not provide for us. We see people who have nothing, and so we know that God does not magically provide for everyone. There are real needs in our world, and where is God? How can he expect us to trust in him when we see with our own eyes that he has failed the poor, at least as far as this world is concerned. What would we dare to say? That those Christians who starve to death each day were just lacking in faith? Sure, we can speak of heaven and say that, like Lazarus who died in streets, God will repay all those who suffered in this life. I do not doubt it, yet still something is missing.
It is not God’s purpose that each of us would depend on him without receiving any visible support in this world, so that he could then repay us in the next. He told Adam to go and work, and the point of work is profit. God wants us to do as much good in this world as possible. He wants us to work hard, and, unless we are going to work in a foolish way, hard work equals profit. The widow in the Gospel was poor, but that was either because she was not allowed to work in her community or because she was unable. The widow in the first reading was poor, but that was because of the drought. No matter how common such circumstances are, they are the exception. And even then, I do not think that we are to imagine that either widow had not tried to support herself as much as possible. Depending on God does not mean abandoning responsibility for our own life.
To depend on God means, above all, to see the work of God in our life. We need to stop taking credit for things. So much of the good that has happened to us was not because of our own work. Even much of what we can justly take credit for involved a great deal of what most people call luck. The point is to have an attitude of gratitude. Every day there are many things to thank God for, and when we look back on our life we ought to see his work in the midst of our failures. There is no purpose here in making comparisons. It is not about what somebody else has gotten in their life, but, in mine, where can I see God’s action and guidance. Eventually, as we grow spiritually, we will see his providence behind every corner.
To depend on God means, also, to work as much as we are able. Some people see this as a contradiction. They mock Christians because we trust God but still work. But once we have become grateful for his every gift, we realize that our ability to act is itself his gift, and to squander the gift would be ingratitude. Who knows, tomorrow I may not be able to work any longer, but today I can, so I work with all my strength.
To depend on God means, also, to give back. We see that the widow in the Gospel gave to God by dropping coins in the temple treasury. We see that the widow in the first reading gave to God by providing food for his prophet. In both cases, the women gave from their poverty. This does not denigrate someone who gives from their wealth, but clearly the last coins or the last bit of flour is the greater gift. These women teach us that giving to God is not something we do when everything else in our life is settled. Giving to him is the first thing we do, even if it means we have to beg for help from someone else. The primary way we give to God is by giving to the poor. If two poor people each had just enough bread for the day, they could eat their own share or they could each give their share to the other. Which of these ways of thinking and acting is God trying to lead us to?
September 20, 2012 - Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28
Luke 7:36-50
Simon the Pharisee wondered whether Jesus was a prophet, so he invited him to dinner. He is sure that Jesus would know the sins of the woman who was washing his feet, if he were. Well, Jesus did know her sins, and he proved it. Simon asked himself a question, and Jesus answered, proving that he knew not only the woman’s sins, but the internal thoughts of Simon the Pharisee.
The point of Jesus’ parable is that those who have not been brought low by sin and raised high by grace think that they stand proud and independent. Simon thought that he was in a position to judge whether Jesus was really a prophet. The woman knew that she was lucky to be in a position to wash his feet.
They invited Jesus to dinner in order to find out who he really is. They found out. He is not only a prophet. He is the one who can forgive sins. He is humble enough to come and be judged by foolish Pharisees, but he acknowledges how he ought to have been treated: like an honored guest whose feet are washed, like a friend who is greeted with a kiss, like a king whose head is anointed with oil.
So should Simon and his friends go out and rack up a huge debt to God by sinning wildly so that they can be forgiven and love like the woman? Should they sin so that grace will abound? By no means. There is no such need. The pride of Simon the Pharisee is enough. If he repents of his pride, if he is saved from being a judgmental jerk, he will have plenty to be grateful to God for. St. Paul was a Pharisee, like Simon. He persecuted the Church. He thought that he was righteous, but when he saw Christ and was converted, he realized that he was a sinner.
So whether we are a sinner like the woman or a sinner like St. Paul, we do not need to worry: we have plenty to be forgiven for. If anyone is concerned that they have been Christian since their youth and have no great sins to repent, then they can be grateful for what they were saved from. Everyone can thank God either for forgiveness of sins or the grace to avoid sins. Either way, no one, not even his immaculate mother, can stand proud before Jesus, without gratitude.
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28
Luke 7:36-50
Simon the Pharisee wondered whether Jesus was a prophet, so he invited him to dinner. He is sure that Jesus would know the sins of the woman who was washing his feet, if he were. Well, Jesus did know her sins, and he proved it. Simon asked himself a question, and Jesus answered, proving that he knew not only the woman’s sins, but the internal thoughts of Simon the Pharisee.
The point of Jesus’ parable is that those who have not been brought low by sin and raised high by grace think that they stand proud and independent. Simon thought that he was in a position to judge whether Jesus was really a prophet. The woman knew that she was lucky to be in a position to wash his feet.
They invited Jesus to dinner in order to find out who he really is. They found out. He is not only a prophet. He is the one who can forgive sins. He is humble enough to come and be judged by foolish Pharisees, but he acknowledges how he ought to have been treated: like an honored guest whose feet are washed, like a friend who is greeted with a kiss, like a king whose head is anointed with oil.
So should Simon and his friends go out and rack up a huge debt to God by sinning wildly so that they can be forgiven and love like the woman? Should they sin so that grace will abound? By no means. There is no such need. The pride of Simon the Pharisee is enough. If he repents of his pride, if he is saved from being a judgmental jerk, he will have plenty to be grateful to God for. St. Paul was a Pharisee, like Simon. He persecuted the Church. He thought that he was righteous, but when he saw Christ and was converted, he realized that he was a sinner.
So whether we are a sinner like the woman or a sinner like St. Paul, we do not need to worry: we have plenty to be forgiven for. If anyone is concerned that they have been Christian since their youth and have no great sins to repent, then they can be grateful for what they were saved from. Everyone can thank God either for forgiveness of sins or the grace to avoid sins. Either way, no one, not even his immaculate mother, can stand proud before Jesus, without gratitude.
November 24, 2011 - Thanksgiving Day
Today's Readings
How blessed are we to gather as a country each year and give thanks. This holiday transcends any political sentiments or particular religious belief, but, at the same time, it is central to all true religion. To give thanks is to acknowledge the existence of a Creator whom we can thank. We do not merely celebrate how much we have today; we celebrate how much we have been given. Given by whom? By the Creator of all.
Thanksgiving is the most important feast in the Catholic Church. It is more important than Christmas and more important than Easter. This is revealed to us if we say that word, “thanksgiving”, in Greek. The word is “Eucharist”. Every Sunday, indeed every day of the week, we gather in this Church and give thanks. On Christmas and Easter and every other feast day, we gather in the Church and celebrate the Eucharist; we celebrate Thanksgiving. Though our country celebrates Thanksgiving once a year, we celebrate it without end.
What is God looking for from us except thanks? Imagine how proud a parent is the first time they hear their child say, “Thank you, Mommy” or “Thank you, Daddy”. It is a sign that the child is maturing beyond the basic selfishness of infancy. It is impossible to be purely selfish and grateful at the same time. When we are perfectly grateful, we will be generous without fault. We cannot begrudge another what we ourselves received as gift.
To be perfectly grateful is to know our place in this world. We are creatures of God and loved by him. Everything we possess was a gift from God, even our own bodies and souls. Even our talents and abilities are reasons not for pride but for thankfulness.
There is no prayer more appropriate for us creatures. Prayers of petition are important, and prayers of praise are proper, but in the prayer of thanksgiving all the rest are summed up. When we give thanks to God we admit the truth: we are dependent on him. We can thank God for every gift he has given us. We can thank God for every struggle that he has not put in our way. We can thank God for the strength to endure the struggles that do confront us. We can thank God for his great glory. We thank God for everything; without him there would be nothing.
How blessed are we to gather as a country each year and give thanks. This holiday transcends any political sentiments or particular religious belief, but, at the same time, it is central to all true religion. To give thanks is to acknowledge the existence of a Creator whom we can thank. We do not merely celebrate how much we have today; we celebrate how much we have been given. Given by whom? By the Creator of all.
Thanksgiving is the most important feast in the Catholic Church. It is more important than Christmas and more important than Easter. This is revealed to us if we say that word, “thanksgiving”, in Greek. The word is “Eucharist”. Every Sunday, indeed every day of the week, we gather in this Church and give thanks. On Christmas and Easter and every other feast day, we gather in the Church and celebrate the Eucharist; we celebrate Thanksgiving. Though our country celebrates Thanksgiving once a year, we celebrate it without end.
What is God looking for from us except thanks? Imagine how proud a parent is the first time they hear their child say, “Thank you, Mommy” or “Thank you, Daddy”. It is a sign that the child is maturing beyond the basic selfishness of infancy. It is impossible to be purely selfish and grateful at the same time. When we are perfectly grateful, we will be generous without fault. We cannot begrudge another what we ourselves received as gift.
To be perfectly grateful is to know our place in this world. We are creatures of God and loved by him. Everything we possess was a gift from God, even our own bodies and souls. Even our talents and abilities are reasons not for pride but for thankfulness.
There is no prayer more appropriate for us creatures. Prayers of petition are important, and prayers of praise are proper, but in the prayer of thanksgiving all the rest are summed up. When we give thanks to God we admit the truth: we are dependent on him. We can thank God for every gift he has given us. We can thank God for every struggle that he has not put in our way. We can thank God for the strength to endure the struggles that do confront us. We can thank God for his great glory. We thank God for everything; without him there would be nothing.
November 8, 2011 - Tuesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Jesus really gets us with how contradictory we are. True, we do not have slaves, but we live in a service culture. When I go to McDonald’s, I am not grateful that the cashier takes my order. When I go to the grocery store, I am not grateful that the clerk checks out my groceries. When I go to the bank, I am not grateful that the teller gives me money. So why would I expect God to be grateful when I do my job?
Jesus says that we are obligated to follow the commandments. We owe it to God. Why? Whose oxygen are we breathing? Whose water are we drinking? Whose planet are we standing on? What is the value of everything God has given me? We are getting paid; we should do our jobs.
What is our job exactly? To obey the commandments. Which commandments? Well, Jesus simplified that. He took it down to just one commandment: love. Love God above all, and love other people the way that Jesus loves me. If I spend 8 hours loving, should God be grateful and give me the rest of the day off? No! I am an unprofitable slave. Nothing I do does God any good. A human boss ought to thank their employees since the business profits by their work, but what profit does God have because I obey his commandments? None.
Indeed, we are getting the best possible deal. We were made to love. It is the purpose of our existence. Getting paid to love is like getting paid to eat or breathe. If I put in an 8 hour shift loving God above all and other people the way that Jesus did, I am the one better off at the end.
So why is it that we see God’s commandments as this burden? It is because of the lies of Satan. It is written in our first reading today that “By the envy of the Devil, death entered the world.” Satan is jealous of this arrangement we have with God where he gives us everything and then demands nothing in return except love. So the Devil whispers in our ears lies about how we hate helping other people and we hate praying, about how we are too busy for such things. He whispers anxieties and worries and then makes us think that we thought of the lies ourselves. If anyone ever tells you, if you even seem to tell yourself, that you don’t want to love, don’t believe it.
Jesus really gets us with how contradictory we are. True, we do not have slaves, but we live in a service culture. When I go to McDonald’s, I am not grateful that the cashier takes my order. When I go to the grocery store, I am not grateful that the clerk checks out my groceries. When I go to the bank, I am not grateful that the teller gives me money. So why would I expect God to be grateful when I do my job?
Jesus says that we are obligated to follow the commandments. We owe it to God. Why? Whose oxygen are we breathing? Whose water are we drinking? Whose planet are we standing on? What is the value of everything God has given me? We are getting paid; we should do our jobs.
What is our job exactly? To obey the commandments. Which commandments? Well, Jesus simplified that. He took it down to just one commandment: love. Love God above all, and love other people the way that Jesus loves me. If I spend 8 hours loving, should God be grateful and give me the rest of the day off? No! I am an unprofitable slave. Nothing I do does God any good. A human boss ought to thank their employees since the business profits by their work, but what profit does God have because I obey his commandments? None.
Indeed, we are getting the best possible deal. We were made to love. It is the purpose of our existence. Getting paid to love is like getting paid to eat or breathe. If I put in an 8 hour shift loving God above all and other people the way that Jesus did, I am the one better off at the end.
So why is it that we see God’s commandments as this burden? It is because of the lies of Satan. It is written in our first reading today that “By the envy of the Devil, death entered the world.” Satan is jealous of this arrangement we have with God where he gives us everything and then demands nothing in return except love. So the Devil whispers in our ears lies about how we hate helping other people and we hate praying, about how we are too busy for such things. He whispers anxieties and worries and then makes us think that we thought of the lies ourselves. If anyone ever tells you, if you even seem to tell yourself, that you don’t want to love, don’t believe it.
July 4, 2011 - Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Today is Independence Day in America, and we Americans love our independence. It is such an American expression to say: “Everything I have, I’ve earned. Nobody’s ever given me anything.” This is, of course, complete nonsense. We have only to think of the many ways that our ancestors have prepared the place where we now stand: those who came to this country, those who cleared the forest that used to be here, those who built this town, our parents who gave us life, and all the teachers who educated us.
But now we are independent adults, so long as someone else grows our food and brings it to the store and makes our clothes and produces every other item that we could not get through life without. Day-to-day we get the idea somehow that we are getting by on our own efforts, but if we stop and think of how dependent we are it may surprise us. Consider what happens when the electricity goes out. What if it went out forever? Would we survive?
I do not favor jokes in homilies, and I especially dislike jokes where God is one of the characters, but there is a joke that is apropos here, an old one many of you have already heard, I am sure. Some scientists announced one day that they had discovered all the secrets of the universe, so they told God, “We don’t need you anymore.” God suggested that they have a contest, to see who could make the best animal. He said, “I made you out of dirt. Could you do that?” The scientist said, “Okay! We can even improve on your design.” So the scientists went outside and scooped up a bucket of dirt to bring to their laboratory, but God told them, “Stop! What are you doing? Get your own dirt.” Even if we could go to the jungles of the Amazon and live completely independently of all humanity, as some people do, we still would be dependent on the one who made the jungle and who made us.
Today is a wonderful day to remember our dependence on God and others. In our readings today, we see the three basic ways that we depend on God: from Jacob who depended on God to provide for him, to the woman who needed healing, to the girl who was raised from the dead. We depend on God for the necessities of life, for health, and for life itself. We enjoy these gifts from God every day, we should not wait until one of them is taken away to be thankful.
December 1st, 2010 - Wednesday, 1st week of Advent
The Scriptures today teach us how greatly God desires to give us what we need. Before he will give, however, we need to look to him in our need. The people on the Lord's mountain cry out that they looked to God for salvation and he saved them. Sometimes we fail to receive because we fail to ask.
Our desire to thank God is itself his gift, but how can we be grateful for a gift unless we knew our need. If we were perfect, our need would be revealed with the gift; as soon as we received anything from God, we would thank him because we would trust that the gift answered our need, but we fallen humans are ungrateful. It is necessary that we feel the need first if we are to be grateful afterward.
Jesus first heals people who felt their need greatly: the blind, the lame, and sick people of every kind. The crowd is amazed and glorifies God. Then, after three days, when the people had exhausted their supply of food, he sees an opportunity to give to these people what they desire. He loves them. He loves us.
What gift is too great for God to give? The apostles doubt that Jesus can provide food to satisfy such a crowd, yet this miracle is as nothing compared to the power of God and the love of God. What need can be greater than our need to be who God calls us to be, our need for sanctification, for justification, our need to be saints? If only we could feel how lacking and empty and useless our lives are otherwise, surely God would not fail to provide every good gift, to send his Holy Spirit into our hearts.
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