Sirach 1:1-10
Psalm 93:1-2, 5
Mark 9:14-29
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”, the disciples asked Jesus. If they had asked us, they would have gotten a different answer. If someone had asked us why this boy could not be healed, we could have spoken about the meaning of suffering in this world. We could explain how God’s will is not our will and his ways are not our ways. We could say that there is a time for everything. Our only problem is that standing against us, disagreeing with us, is Jesus.
It is not only in this passage that Jesus says things that are embarrassing for us Christians. Here he says, “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” In another place he says, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” In another place he says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” These and other quotes are embarrassing for Christians because we know that they are not true. We ask and do not receive. We believe that God will help us, and then he does not. If we Christians really had the kind of power that Jesus suggests we should have, we would be a lot more convincing to the world.
What is the problem? Is God unable to fulfill his promises? No, he can do all things. Was Jesus mistaken about how prayer would work for his disciples? No. Jesus is never mistaken. The problem must be ours. Something must be standing in the way of miracles. Jesus calls it a lack of faith, but this faith must not be simply confidence. There is no shortage of arrogant confidence in this world. The faith that Jesus is talking about is a humble faith, a gift from God, inseparable from hope and love. Every sin is a sin against faith because every sin doubts God in some way. It is popular to think that some act can only be a sin if it is hurting somebody, but if every sin is blocking our way to God, than every one of our sins is hurting people because our sins are preventing us from working miracles. We will never be totally free from sin on this earth. The prayer of the boy’s father is a good example for how we should pray, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” We stand always with some faith but in need of more.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Miracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miracles. Show all posts
December 3, 2012 - Monday of the First Week of Advent
Today's Readings
How marvelous that we have restored to us this verse from the Gospels. The centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” We repeat these words at every Mass, changing “servant” to “soul” because we are not asking for the healing of someone else but for our own healing.
Why do we repeat this at every Mass? It is because we are about to receive Communion, and it is most appropriate that we should say something signifying great faith, for we would not dare approach the sacred sacrifice without faith. Now we could say something like, “Jesus I believe in you” or “Jesus you are the Christ, the Son of God, God himself”, but we say this phrase instead. Why? Because Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, I have not found such faith.” If Jesus considered these words to be the highest expression of faith that he found, why would we say anything else?
We should know what we are saying though, since simply pronouncing the words is not an act of faith unless we mean them. Jesus offers to come heal the centurion’s servant, as he had healed many people. We know that Jesus can heal without touch, even from a far way off. He is God. He can do everything. The centurion is telling Jesus that he knows that the actual coming to the house and laying on of hands is an unnecessary part of the healing. He is telling Jesus that he has faith in Jesus’ power and does not need the external helps to faith.
He is also asserting his faith by acknowledging that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. The centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was a great man as the world judges greatness, yet he judged that Jesus was greater yet. He sees in addition to the power some less definable characteristic: holiness.
In this one sentence the centurion states that Jesus, though he looks like an ordinary human, is nevertheless very powerful and very holy. No wonder then that Jesus praised the faith of this man. When we repeat his words at each Mass before receiving Communion, we acknowledge the same reality: what looks like bread and wine is nevertheless very powerful and very holy.
How marvelous that we have restored to us this verse from the Gospels. The centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” We repeat these words at every Mass, changing “servant” to “soul” because we are not asking for the healing of someone else but for our own healing.
Why do we repeat this at every Mass? It is because we are about to receive Communion, and it is most appropriate that we should say something signifying great faith, for we would not dare approach the sacred sacrifice without faith. Now we could say something like, “Jesus I believe in you” or “Jesus you are the Christ, the Son of God, God himself”, but we say this phrase instead. Why? Because Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, I have not found such faith.” If Jesus considered these words to be the highest expression of faith that he found, why would we say anything else?
We should know what we are saying though, since simply pronouncing the words is not an act of faith unless we mean them. Jesus offers to come heal the centurion’s servant, as he had healed many people. We know that Jesus can heal without touch, even from a far way off. He is God. He can do everything. The centurion is telling Jesus that he knows that the actual coming to the house and laying on of hands is an unnecessary part of the healing. He is telling Jesus that he has faith in Jesus’ power and does not need the external helps to faith.
He is also asserting his faith by acknowledging that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. The centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was a great man as the world judges greatness, yet he judged that Jesus was greater yet. He sees in addition to the power some less definable characteristic: holiness.
In this one sentence the centurion states that Jesus, though he looks like an ordinary human, is nevertheless very powerful and very holy. No wonder then that Jesus praised the faith of this man. When we repeat his words at each Mass before receiving Communion, we acknowledge the same reality: what looks like bread and wine is nevertheless very powerful and very holy.
August 5, 2012 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-25, 54
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35
How many of you want to go to heaven? Do you want to go right now? This is an old joke; you have probably heard it before, but it contains an insight into how a lot of people think about heaven. There is this element of doubt in our minds. Even if we have a strong faith, the question remains: “What if all this is just make-believe? What if there is nothing waiting for me?” While we are unsettled in this way, it is difficult to really be anxious to find out.
Those of you who have heard me preach know that it is very rare to hear me tell a joke in a homily, but today I have another one: A man dies at the age of 100 and goes to heaven. He enjoys all the food and the games and wine. A month later his wife dies and he meets her at the gates. She asks if heaven really is so wonderful. He says, “It is. And if it were not for all of your oat bran and low cholesterol I could have been here 40 years ago!”
Is this what you think heaven is? A sort of party with free food and free drinks and lots of fun? This is how we describe heaven to children, but there comes a time when we have to grow up. If the joys of heaven were just more of the joys of earth, it would be terrible. Would you like to go to a party that just never ended? Imagine the most fun you have ever had in your life. Then imagine doing that for a year straight. Would that really be a good year? It would be a boring year. And heaven is not for a year; heaven is forever. What could possibly be interesting enough to keep us happy for 10,000 years? And when we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we have just as many days as when we had first begun. What will we do for a million years or a billion years or 10 trillion years? Anything we can imagine would be boring. I do not believe that hell needs any other punishment than crushing boredom. If you tell people to do whatever they want, forever is going to be a very, very long time.
And if heaven were just a continuation of the joys of this life, then God is rather unfair. It is very impressive, our first reading today. God provides food for 2 million people by making it fall out of the sky. This sign first makes us amazed at what God can do, but the question quickly follows: why does he not do that all the time? If he can work a miracle to make human life better, why would he ever stop working it? He can turn water into wine. Why do the rivers not run with wine then? He can heal the sick with a touch or a word of command. We often see Jesus doing this in the Gospel, but his ministry was only for 2 years. Why does he not heal every sick person ever?
There is so much suffering in the world that could be instantly cured if God decided to. The suffering of this world is mostly caused by human selfishness and the rest is caused by the dangers that are inherent to the world. They are not God’s fault. But why does he not use his power to fix everything as he demonstrates he can? Either he is not rich enough and would run out of food if he made it fall from the sky every day and everywhere, which we know is ridiculous, or he chooses not to. He chooses not to because we humans were made for something more than food or healing.
The world would be very strange if for the years of this life God did not provide what we need and then provided it as soon as we reached heaven. What is the point in refusing a gift now that he will give to us then? There is no point. What would be the point in lacking something now, just so that it could be provided abundantly later? There is no point. So the common conception of heaven is boring and pointless. It must be wrong. There must be something more.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus is trying to get the people to look beyond the food to something more. He does not want us to be satisfied with a full belly. The something more, which will truly satisfy us, is love: the love of God and the love we have for each other.
It has been well said that God does not send anyone to hell, but people choose to go there. They get to the gates of heaven, and he says, “Welcome, this place is all about love.” And the person says, “Love? That’s not really my thing.” and walks away. Do not get to the threshold of heaven expecting your every selfish desire to be fulfilled. God will provide all we need, but the saints in heaven are not turned inward on themselves. Their last concern is what they need.
So we can start participating in the joys of heaven right here and now. In fact, if we ever hope to go to heaven we have to start now. St. Paul says: “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” He means that we should become like people enjoying heaven. We cannot experience the lesser joys of heaven here, but we can begin to experience the central joy of heaven: love. By loving God and loving each other, we will begin to experience heaven.
Let us begin right now: 8:30 am on this Sunday morning. Let us renew the spirit of our minds, letting go of our grip on the things of this earth, the material stuff that we think will make us happy. If we do this, we will be ready. When death comes, we will greet it like a friend; we will be anxious to continue what we have started here.
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-25, 54
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35
How many of you want to go to heaven? Do you want to go right now? This is an old joke; you have probably heard it before, but it contains an insight into how a lot of people think about heaven. There is this element of doubt in our minds. Even if we have a strong faith, the question remains: “What if all this is just make-believe? What if there is nothing waiting for me?” While we are unsettled in this way, it is difficult to really be anxious to find out.
Those of you who have heard me preach know that it is very rare to hear me tell a joke in a homily, but today I have another one: A man dies at the age of 100 and goes to heaven. He enjoys all the food and the games and wine. A month later his wife dies and he meets her at the gates. She asks if heaven really is so wonderful. He says, “It is. And if it were not for all of your oat bran and low cholesterol I could have been here 40 years ago!”
Is this what you think heaven is? A sort of party with free food and free drinks and lots of fun? This is how we describe heaven to children, but there comes a time when we have to grow up. If the joys of heaven were just more of the joys of earth, it would be terrible. Would you like to go to a party that just never ended? Imagine the most fun you have ever had in your life. Then imagine doing that for a year straight. Would that really be a good year? It would be a boring year. And heaven is not for a year; heaven is forever. What could possibly be interesting enough to keep us happy for 10,000 years? And when we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we have just as many days as when we had first begun. What will we do for a million years or a billion years or 10 trillion years? Anything we can imagine would be boring. I do not believe that hell needs any other punishment than crushing boredom. If you tell people to do whatever they want, forever is going to be a very, very long time.
And if heaven were just a continuation of the joys of this life, then God is rather unfair. It is very impressive, our first reading today. God provides food for 2 million people by making it fall out of the sky. This sign first makes us amazed at what God can do, but the question quickly follows: why does he not do that all the time? If he can work a miracle to make human life better, why would he ever stop working it? He can turn water into wine. Why do the rivers not run with wine then? He can heal the sick with a touch or a word of command. We often see Jesus doing this in the Gospel, but his ministry was only for 2 years. Why does he not heal every sick person ever?
There is so much suffering in the world that could be instantly cured if God decided to. The suffering of this world is mostly caused by human selfishness and the rest is caused by the dangers that are inherent to the world. They are not God’s fault. But why does he not use his power to fix everything as he demonstrates he can? Either he is not rich enough and would run out of food if he made it fall from the sky every day and everywhere, which we know is ridiculous, or he chooses not to. He chooses not to because we humans were made for something more than food or healing.
The world would be very strange if for the years of this life God did not provide what we need and then provided it as soon as we reached heaven. What is the point in refusing a gift now that he will give to us then? There is no point. What would be the point in lacking something now, just so that it could be provided abundantly later? There is no point. So the common conception of heaven is boring and pointless. It must be wrong. There must be something more.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus is trying to get the people to look beyond the food to something more. He does not want us to be satisfied with a full belly. The something more, which will truly satisfy us, is love: the love of God and the love we have for each other.
It has been well said that God does not send anyone to hell, but people choose to go there. They get to the gates of heaven, and he says, “Welcome, this place is all about love.” And the person says, “Love? That’s not really my thing.” and walks away. Do not get to the threshold of heaven expecting your every selfish desire to be fulfilled. God will provide all we need, but the saints in heaven are not turned inward on themselves. Their last concern is what they need.
So we can start participating in the joys of heaven right here and now. In fact, if we ever hope to go to heaven we have to start now. St. Paul says: “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” He means that we should become like people enjoying heaven. We cannot experience the lesser joys of heaven here, but we can begin to experience the central joy of heaven: love. By loving God and loving each other, we will begin to experience heaven.
Let us begin right now: 8:30 am on this Sunday morning. Let us renew the spirit of our minds, letting go of our grip on the things of this earth, the material stuff that we think will make us happy. If we do this, we will be ready. When death comes, we will greet it like a friend; we will be anxious to continue what we have started here.
May 8, 2012 - Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Acts 14:19-28
Psalm 145:10-13, 21
John 14:27-31
Today we see the conclusion of what is called the First Missionary Journey. We have been following it for the past week now in the book of Acts. There would be other missionary journeys, longer missionary journeys, more successful missionary journeys, but there was only one First Missionary Journey. One week ago, Paul and Barnabas left Antioch, the most important city in early Christianity. Today they return, perhaps a year later. They met resistance on the way, but they kept preaching. They were abandoned by John Mark who started the journey with them, but they kept preaching. Paul was stoned to death and dragged outside of Lystra, but he just stood up, walked back into the city, and kept preaching.
It was not all trouble though; there was joy. There were great signs and wonders worked through the hands of Paul and Barnabas. Crowds of people began to believe in Jesus Christ. In every city, there were some who resisted the Gospel, but there were many who submitted to the Gospel. When they arrived back in Antioch, where the journey started, they called the Church together and reported what God had done with them.
God had done amazing things with them, and he would yet do greater things with them. What about us though? We know what God did with Paul and Barnabas, but what has he done with us? What is he going to do with us? God can do anything. God can work any miracle we can imagine, and a lot that we cannot imagine. We know that our world needs great things to be done. We know that God can accomplish great things. The only variable left is us. What is God going to do with us?
He gave us free will. He is waiting for permission to do great things with us, but we need more than a simple act of will, “God you may do great things with me.” Although that is a wonderful start, we need more. A hammer has to be hard and heavy, and a screwdriver has to be straight and strong, and if we are going to be tools in the hands of God, we have to be humble, faithful, obedient, and pure. Above all, we have to love. When we are ready, when we have let God forge us into the tools he needs, sometimes in the fires of suffering, he is going to do astounding things with us.
Psalm 145:10-13, 21
John 14:27-31
Today we see the conclusion of what is called the First Missionary Journey. We have been following it for the past week now in the book of Acts. There would be other missionary journeys, longer missionary journeys, more successful missionary journeys, but there was only one First Missionary Journey. One week ago, Paul and Barnabas left Antioch, the most important city in early Christianity. Today they return, perhaps a year later. They met resistance on the way, but they kept preaching. They were abandoned by John Mark who started the journey with them, but they kept preaching. Paul was stoned to death and dragged outside of Lystra, but he just stood up, walked back into the city, and kept preaching.
It was not all trouble though; there was joy. There were great signs and wonders worked through the hands of Paul and Barnabas. Crowds of people began to believe in Jesus Christ. In every city, there were some who resisted the Gospel, but there were many who submitted to the Gospel. When they arrived back in Antioch, where the journey started, they called the Church together and reported what God had done with them.
God had done amazing things with them, and he would yet do greater things with them. What about us though? We know what God did with Paul and Barnabas, but what has he done with us? What is he going to do with us? God can do anything. God can work any miracle we can imagine, and a lot that we cannot imagine. We know that our world needs great things to be done. We know that God can accomplish great things. The only variable left is us. What is God going to do with us?
He gave us free will. He is waiting for permission to do great things with us, but we need more than a simple act of will, “God you may do great things with me.” Although that is a wonderful start, we need more. A hammer has to be hard and heavy, and a screwdriver has to be straight and strong, and if we are going to be tools in the hands of God, we have to be humble, faithful, obedient, and pure. Above all, we have to love. When we are ready, when we have let God forge us into the tools he needs, sometimes in the fires of suffering, he is going to do astounding things with us.
May 7, 2012 - Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Acts 14:5-18
Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16
John 14:21-26
Paul and Barnabas go from almost being killed in one city to almost being worshipped in another. Clearly the message that they are preaching is no ordinary message. Wherever they go, people gather together in mobs to react to the message. Some people hate the message because they love sin, and they cannot love the light of the world who shines in the darkest places. Other people misunderstand the message, comically even.
The image of Paul and Barnabas having to convince the crowds that they are not Zeus and Hermes is sort of ridiculous. They are trying to tell the crowds that there is only one God, and Jesus Christ is God, but they are completely misunderstood. Paul and Barnabas have no interest in being worshipped as gods. They have to shout and tear their clothing to convince the people that they are not gods. We can see here the humility that Paul and Barnabas have learned. They are able to heal the sick because they have learned to be humble in all circumstances.
Pride may be standing in the way of our working miracles. Perhaps God knows that if I had the power to heal the sick by commanding them to be healed, my pride would become so great that the small good I did would be completely undone. No, I would not want bulls sacrificed to me, but I do not know whether I could overcome other temptations to pride.
Any good I can do can either result in the glorification of God or the glorification of me. We repeated in the psalm a prayer which captures our need for humility: “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.” This prayer should be studied and prayed constantly by anyone who wants to work miracles.
This world needs help. It is falling apart. Our world needs help in so many ways. We Christians are particularly ready to help, because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. God can do amazing things through us. He can use our hands for healing. He can use our mouths to speak words of encouragement to those who need it. He can use our feet to take us wherever he needs us. We must not allow pride to stand in the way. We need to study humility, whether through suffering and unjust persecutions or through prayers. We need to be humble.
Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16
John 14:21-26
Paul and Barnabas go from almost being killed in one city to almost being worshipped in another. Clearly the message that they are preaching is no ordinary message. Wherever they go, people gather together in mobs to react to the message. Some people hate the message because they love sin, and they cannot love the light of the world who shines in the darkest places. Other people misunderstand the message, comically even.
The image of Paul and Barnabas having to convince the crowds that they are not Zeus and Hermes is sort of ridiculous. They are trying to tell the crowds that there is only one God, and Jesus Christ is God, but they are completely misunderstood. Paul and Barnabas have no interest in being worshipped as gods. They have to shout and tear their clothing to convince the people that they are not gods. We can see here the humility that Paul and Barnabas have learned. They are able to heal the sick because they have learned to be humble in all circumstances.
Pride may be standing in the way of our working miracles. Perhaps God knows that if I had the power to heal the sick by commanding them to be healed, my pride would become so great that the small good I did would be completely undone. No, I would not want bulls sacrificed to me, but I do not know whether I could overcome other temptations to pride.
Any good I can do can either result in the glorification of God or the glorification of me. We repeated in the psalm a prayer which captures our need for humility: “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.” This prayer should be studied and prayed constantly by anyone who wants to work miracles.
This world needs help. It is falling apart. Our world needs help in so many ways. We Christians are particularly ready to help, because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. God can do amazing things through us. He can use our hands for healing. He can use our mouths to speak words of encouragement to those who need it. He can use our feet to take us wherever he needs us. We must not allow pride to stand in the way. We need to study humility, whether through suffering and unjust persecutions or through prayers. We need to be humble.
April 28, 2012 - Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
Today's Readings
St. Peter has a central role in our readings today. In the Gospel, we see one of his greatest moments. Though all the other men in the synagogue abandoned Jesus because they could not understand his teaching, the Twelve did not. Why Judas stayed we cannot guess, but Peter’s reasoning shows a great growth in understanding since he asked Jesus to leave him. “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man,” seemed humble enough at the time, but today Peter reveals a new and extraordinary humility: “Where shall we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life.”
In the reading from Acts, we see Peter work not one miracle but two, and not small miracles but truly demonstrations of the power of God. A man paralyzed for 8 years walks again and a dead woman gets up and lives again. Jesus promises that his disciples will work miracles like his and even greater ones than he did. Jesus made the lame walk, so Peter made the lame walk. Jesus brought Lazarus back to this life, so Peter brought Tabitha back to life. The only difference is that when Jesus worked a miracle, he usually just made people angry, but when Peter works these miracles, “all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw and turned to the Lord.”
Clearly, Peter the fisherman did not work these miracles. It was the Holy Spirit working within him. He could never have worked the miracles if he had not decided to stay with Jesus. He cannot take credit for the miracles, but he does not take credit for staying with Jesus either. Jesus asks the Twelve if they will leave too, and Peter does not say, “Of course we will never leave, we love you.” What if a husband asks his wife, “Will you abandon me?” and she responds, “Where would I go?” How romantic!
It sounds as if he is obligated to stay with Jesus because he has no other options. Yet he still has the same options that he always had. He could go fishing again. He could do anything in the world, but his point is that having seen Jesus, the rest of the world seems drab and boring. What does success mean to him? What do pleasures mean to him? Nothing, in comparison to what is before him. He heard the words of eternal life and his whole life was changed. There was no going back.
St. Peter has a central role in our readings today. In the Gospel, we see one of his greatest moments. Though all the other men in the synagogue abandoned Jesus because they could not understand his teaching, the Twelve did not. Why Judas stayed we cannot guess, but Peter’s reasoning shows a great growth in understanding since he asked Jesus to leave him. “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man,” seemed humble enough at the time, but today Peter reveals a new and extraordinary humility: “Where shall we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life.”
In the reading from Acts, we see Peter work not one miracle but two, and not small miracles but truly demonstrations of the power of God. A man paralyzed for 8 years walks again and a dead woman gets up and lives again. Jesus promises that his disciples will work miracles like his and even greater ones than he did. Jesus made the lame walk, so Peter made the lame walk. Jesus brought Lazarus back to this life, so Peter brought Tabitha back to life. The only difference is that when Jesus worked a miracle, he usually just made people angry, but when Peter works these miracles, “all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw and turned to the Lord.”
Clearly, Peter the fisherman did not work these miracles. It was the Holy Spirit working within him. He could never have worked the miracles if he had not decided to stay with Jesus. He cannot take credit for the miracles, but he does not take credit for staying with Jesus either. Jesus asks the Twelve if they will leave too, and Peter does not say, “Of course we will never leave, we love you.” What if a husband asks his wife, “Will you abandon me?” and she responds, “Where would I go?” How romantic!
It sounds as if he is obligated to stay with Jesus because he has no other options. Yet he still has the same options that he always had. He could go fishing again. He could do anything in the world, but his point is that having seen Jesus, the rest of the world seems drab and boring. What does success mean to him? What do pleasures mean to him? Nothing, in comparison to what is before him. He heard the words of eternal life and his whole life was changed. There was no going back.
April 23, 2012 - Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Today's Readings
The false witnesses reveal their problem with St. Stephen today. According to them, “This man never stops saying things.” I am sure they wish that he would stop saying things, but he never did. Really, the whole point of the killing him, making him the first martyr for the faith, was to force him to stop saying things.
A preacher is required to say things that people may not enjoy hearing. If I came with my own gospel, I promise you, it would be a pleasant and easy gospel, every part of it, because the words I say are directed equally to me as they are to anyone else, but if I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I cannot stop saying things that upset people, because Jesus often said things that upset people.
A crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee to find Jesus. Does he welcome them with open arms? No. He informs the crowd that they are only following him for selfish reasons. They were filled with bread and fish, and they would like always to have abundant food that they did not need to work for. They ought to have seen the miracle as a sign of who Jesus is. Once someone understands who Jesus is, they cannot leave him. Like St. Peter who, after this crowd abandons Jesus, and Jesus asks whether he will go too said, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”
Jesus does not reject the crowd, but he does push back against them until they leave in frustration. By leaving, they prove that he is right. Nothing that Jesus said should have been able to make them upset with him. They were in no position to judge the words of Jesus, but they do judge him and decide against him. They would have preferred that he keep quiet and keep the bread and fish coming, but he insisted on saying things. If he had to keep saying things, he should have said comfortable, easy things, but he said difficult, confusing things instead.
Who are we to judge the Gospel? We cannot agree with Jesus when he says one thing and disagree with him later. The work of God is to believe in the one whom he has sent. Once we do that, the only logical action is to believe everything that Jesus ever said even if we are sure that it cannot be right.
The false witnesses reveal their problem with St. Stephen today. According to them, “This man never stops saying things.” I am sure they wish that he would stop saying things, but he never did. Really, the whole point of the killing him, making him the first martyr for the faith, was to force him to stop saying things.
A preacher is required to say things that people may not enjoy hearing. If I came with my own gospel, I promise you, it would be a pleasant and easy gospel, every part of it, because the words I say are directed equally to me as they are to anyone else, but if I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I cannot stop saying things that upset people, because Jesus often said things that upset people.
A crowd crosses the Sea of Galilee to find Jesus. Does he welcome them with open arms? No. He informs the crowd that they are only following him for selfish reasons. They were filled with bread and fish, and they would like always to have abundant food that they did not need to work for. They ought to have seen the miracle as a sign of who Jesus is. Once someone understands who Jesus is, they cannot leave him. Like St. Peter who, after this crowd abandons Jesus, and Jesus asks whether he will go too said, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”
Jesus does not reject the crowd, but he does push back against them until they leave in frustration. By leaving, they prove that he is right. Nothing that Jesus said should have been able to make them upset with him. They were in no position to judge the words of Jesus, but they do judge him and decide against him. They would have preferred that he keep quiet and keep the bread and fish coming, but he insisted on saying things. If he had to keep saying things, he should have said comfortable, easy things, but he said difficult, confusing things instead.
Who are we to judge the Gospel? We cannot agree with Jesus when he says one thing and disagree with him later. The work of God is to believe in the one whom he has sent. Once we do that, the only logical action is to believe everything that Jesus ever said even if we are sure that it cannot be right.
November 28, 2011 - Monday of the First Week of Advent
Today's Readings
How marvelous that we have restored to us this verse from the Gospels. The centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” We repeat these words at every mass, changing “servant” to “soul” because we are not asking for the healing of someone else but for our own healing.
Why do we repeat this at every mass? It is because we are about to receive Communion, and it is most appropriate that we should say something signifying great faith, for we would not dare approach the sacred sacrifice without faith. Now we could say something like, “Jesus I believe in you” or “Jesus you are the Christ, the Son of God, God himself”, but we say this phrase instead. Why? Because Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, I have not found such faith.” If Jesus considered these words to be the highest expression of faith that he found, why would we say anything else?
We should know what we are saying though, since simply pronouncing the words is not an act of faith unless we mean them. Jesus offers to come heal the centurion’s servant, as he had healed many people. We know that Jesus can heal without touch, even from a far way off. He is God. He can do everything. The centurion is telling Jesus that he knows that the actually coming to the house and laying on of hands is an unnecessary part of the healing. He is telling Jesus that he has faith in Jesus’ power and does not need the external helps to faith.
He is also asserting his faith by acknowledging that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. The centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was a great man as the world judges greatness, yet he judged that Jesus was greater yet. He sees in addition to the power some less definable characteristic: holiness.
In this one sentence the centurion states that Jesus, though he looks like an ordinary human, is nevertheless very powerful and very holy. No wonder then that Jesus praised the faith of this man. When we repeat his words at each mass before receiving Communion, we acknowledge the same reality: what looks like bread and wine is nevertheless very powerful and very holy.
How marvelous that we have restored to us this verse from the Gospels. The centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” We repeat these words at every mass, changing “servant” to “soul” because we are not asking for the healing of someone else but for our own healing.
Why do we repeat this at every mass? It is because we are about to receive Communion, and it is most appropriate that we should say something signifying great faith, for we would not dare approach the sacred sacrifice without faith. Now we could say something like, “Jesus I believe in you” or “Jesus you are the Christ, the Son of God, God himself”, but we say this phrase instead. Why? Because Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, I have not found such faith.” If Jesus considered these words to be the highest expression of faith that he found, why would we say anything else?
We should know what we are saying though, since simply pronouncing the words is not an act of faith unless we mean them. Jesus offers to come heal the centurion’s servant, as he had healed many people. We know that Jesus can heal without touch, even from a far way off. He is God. He can do everything. The centurion is telling Jesus that he knows that the actually coming to the house and laying on of hands is an unnecessary part of the healing. He is telling Jesus that he has faith in Jesus’ power and does not need the external helps to faith.
He is also asserting his faith by acknowledging that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. The centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was a great man as the world judges greatness, yet he judged that Jesus was greater yet. He sees in addition to the power some less definable characteristic: holiness.
In this one sentence the centurion states that Jesus, though he looks like an ordinary human, is nevertheless very powerful and very holy. No wonder then that Jesus praised the faith of this man. When we repeat his words at each mass before receiving Communion, we acknowledge the same reality: what looks like bread and wine is nevertheless very powerful and very holy.
September 17, 2011 - Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Why did Jesus want the people to “look but not see” and “hear but not understand”? It is not what we expect of him. Along with his constant exhortations to those he healed to not tell anyone, it seems that Jesus was trying to hide his ministry, as if he had to walk a fine line, publicly showing forth his works and teaching without becoming too popular. As it was, there was “a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus.” Jesus did not come to earth primarily to make converts; he came to accomplish a task: offering his life on the Cross. If he had too many supporters, perhaps that would have been impossible.
God’s plan does not follow human wisdom. Jesus left the building up of the Church to the Apostles after his death and Resurrection. Is it unfair that Jesus would act this way? Perhaps we would not have crucified Jesus if only he had revealed himself more publicly. Perhaps Judas would not have betrayed Jesus if he had seemed more powerful and popular. Perhaps if God would always be more public with his teaching and miracles, even today, we would not have so much difficulty believing in him.
Is it God’s fault that we crucified him? Is it God’s fault that Judas betrayed him? Is it God’s fault that we fail to believe in him? No. What Jesus suffered, he suffered as an innocent man, beyond reproach. As surely as he could have called down more than twelve legions of angels to save him, he could have convinced more people to believe, but the responsibility for our crimes still falls on our shoulders.
God has given us sufficient reasons to believe in him: the sun rose this morning, did it not? We do not need more proof from God; we have sufficient proof of everything, but if we want more proof, there is a way to get it. There is no proof like the lives of the Saints. St. Francis is proof, and St. Therese is proof. Our Blessed Mother is proof. If we want more proof, we should become the proof like they did. If we want to see miracles, we should work miracles. If we are satisfied with a partially-lived life, we can live it, with television and games and every other useless toy. If we want more, all we need to do is become more.
Why did Jesus want the people to “look but not see” and “hear but not understand”? It is not what we expect of him. Along with his constant exhortations to those he healed to not tell anyone, it seems that Jesus was trying to hide his ministry, as if he had to walk a fine line, publicly showing forth his works and teaching without becoming too popular. As it was, there was “a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus.” Jesus did not come to earth primarily to make converts; he came to accomplish a task: offering his life on the Cross. If he had too many supporters, perhaps that would have been impossible.
God’s plan does not follow human wisdom. Jesus left the building up of the Church to the Apostles after his death and Resurrection. Is it unfair that Jesus would act this way? Perhaps we would not have crucified Jesus if only he had revealed himself more publicly. Perhaps Judas would not have betrayed Jesus if he had seemed more powerful and popular. Perhaps if God would always be more public with his teaching and miracles, even today, we would not have so much difficulty believing in him.
Is it God’s fault that we crucified him? Is it God’s fault that Judas betrayed him? Is it God’s fault that we fail to believe in him? No. What Jesus suffered, he suffered as an innocent man, beyond reproach. As surely as he could have called down more than twelve legions of angels to save him, he could have convinced more people to believe, but the responsibility for our crimes still falls on our shoulders.
God has given us sufficient reasons to believe in him: the sun rose this morning, did it not? We do not need more proof from God; we have sufficient proof of everything, but if we want more proof, there is a way to get it. There is no proof like the lives of the Saints. St. Francis is proof, and St. Therese is proof. Our Blessed Mother is proof. If we want more proof, we should become the proof like they did. If we want to see miracles, we should work miracles. If we are satisfied with a partially-lived life, we can live it, with television and games and every other useless toy. If we want more, all we need to do is become more.
August 11, 2011 - Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin
Today's Readings
The first reading today which is taken from the book of Joshua. Moses died at the end of Deuteronomy, and Joshua is the new leader of the Hebrews. Perhaps some of the Hebrews doubted Joshua, thinking that no one could fill Moses’ shoes, that no one else could work the miracles that Moses did, but Moses never worked any miracles. Moses did not part the Red Sea. Moses did not free the Hebrews from Egypt. Moses did not make manna appear. Moses did not do any of these things. God parted the Red Sea. God freed the Hebrews. God made manna appear.
Moses was the instrument through whom God chose to act. Now God would act through Joshua. The Hebrews arrive at the Jordan river. The priests walk in carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the precious box containing the 10 Commandments, a jar of manna, and the symbol of the priesthood. The priests walk into the river and the water stops flowing. What was there flows away and no more water comes. The people of Israel, about 2 million of them all together, walk right into the Promised Land. Then the priests walk out of the river bank, and the river begins to flow again.
Why does God do this? Why did he act through these ordinary men and women? He reveals his wisdom. By using humans as prophets, he rid the world of idols. The pagans knew that there were gods or a God, so they made statues or found rocks or trees and said they were gods, but the people of Israel saw God act through a person who they knew was not God. People might convince themselves that a rock is a god. The rock never proves them wrong.
We could never make such a mistake about a human person. Either they will be bad enough that they are clearly not God, or they will be good enough to say, often and emphatically, “I am not God.” It would be impossible that any man who allowed others to believe he was God would not soon prove by his actions that they were wrong. Impossible, unless, of course, he actually was God.
The first reading today which is taken from the book of Joshua. Moses died at the end of Deuteronomy, and Joshua is the new leader of the Hebrews. Perhaps some of the Hebrews doubted Joshua, thinking that no one could fill Moses’ shoes, that no one else could work the miracles that Moses did, but Moses never worked any miracles. Moses did not part the Red Sea. Moses did not free the Hebrews from Egypt. Moses did not make manna appear. Moses did not do any of these things. God parted the Red Sea. God freed the Hebrews. God made manna appear.
Moses was the instrument through whom God chose to act. Now God would act through Joshua. The Hebrews arrive at the Jordan river. The priests walk in carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the precious box containing the 10 Commandments, a jar of manna, and the symbol of the priesthood. The priests walk into the river and the water stops flowing. What was there flows away and no more water comes. The people of Israel, about 2 million of them all together, walk right into the Promised Land. Then the priests walk out of the river bank, and the river begins to flow again.
Why does God do this? Why did he act through these ordinary men and women? He reveals his wisdom. By using humans as prophets, he rid the world of idols. The pagans knew that there were gods or a God, so they made statues or found rocks or trees and said they were gods, but the people of Israel saw God act through a person who they knew was not God. People might convince themselves that a rock is a god. The rock never proves them wrong.
We could never make such a mistake about a human person. Either they will be bad enough that they are clearly not God, or they will be good enough to say, often and emphatically, “I am not God.” It would be impossible that any man who allowed others to believe he was God would not soon prove by his actions that they were wrong. Impossible, unless, of course, he actually was God.
March 7, 2011 - Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Usually, this week, we would have been reading all through Tobit, but, since Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, we will only get two readings from Tobit before we give it up for the special Lenten readings, which is somewhat unfortunate, as Tobit is one of the most fun books of the Old Testament. Those who are scholars of literary criticism and such things usually say that Tobit is one of a few books where a fictional story is recorded in Scripture. It would be like finding the book of Cinderella.
Most of Scripture cannot be fictional. The Gospels are not fictional nor any part of the New Testament. Exodus cannot be fictional since, if Moses did not really bring the Hebrews out of Egypt, most of what comes after that would make no sense at all. God is always reminding Israel that he brought them out of slavery, which would be just a lie if he had not really done it. Some of the stories of the Old Testament are rather fantastic, but this is no evidence that they are fictional, since one of the main characters is God. It might be unbelievable that enough bread and meat for 2 million people fell from the sky every night for 40 years, until we hear that God did it. It might be hard to imagine the Red Sea splitting in two so that the Hebrews could cross on dry land, but it is not hard to believe that God did it. God is either God, and can do anything at all, or he is not. It is kind of funny to suggest about any miracle that it would have been too hard for God to do. Nothing is too hard for God to do; he is God.
So the events of Tobit might have happened: the angel and the fish livers and the secret nighttime burials. It is not impossible though that a fairy tale should end up in the Bible, not as an essential part of salvation history, but, like Tobit or Esther or Jonah, as a story. In this case, the stories are like extended parables; the moral of the story, the lessons that are learned are the truth. Did Tobit really exist? We do not know. Perhaps, in heaven, we will meet the real Tobit someday. What is certain is that it is quite a good story, worth sitting down and reading sometime all the way through.
March 4, 2011 - Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Again today we have Jesus making extraordinary claims about what we are capable of if we would only believe. On the surface, it seems that Jesus is claiming that we should have more confidence; his words seem to support those who promote crazy theories like “The Secret”. If we take Jesus’ words out of context, they seem to say that insanity is impossible, that anyone who believes they can fly can in fact fly. This is plainly untrue. Otherwise, children with active imaginations would always be flying around.
Again today we have Jesus making extraordinary claims about what we are capable of if we would only believe. On the surface, it seems that Jesus is claiming that we should have more confidence; his words seem to support those who promote crazy theories like “The Secret”. If we take Jesus’ words out of context, they seem to say that insanity is impossible, that anyone who believes they can fly can in fact fly. This is plainly untrue. Otherwise, children with active imaginations would always be flying around.
If we put the words of Jesus back into context, we can see their meaning more clearly. Jesus begins by saying, “Have faith in God.” Thus, it is faith in God and not faith in ourselves that makes the difference. He does not say that if we believe in ourselves, then we can do it. He says that if we believe in God, then “it shall be done for” us. So Jesus is not saying that every irrational belief will make us powerful. Even if we do pray, expecting God to accomplish something for us, it may not happen. The evils of this world are a mystery, and many times Jesus tells us that we Christians should not expect to be exempt from them.
The faith that Jesus presents encompasses our lives. He tells us that when we go to pray, we should forgive anyone who has done us harm, so that God can forgive us. This faith is bigger than a state of mind: it includes forgiving and being forgiven. This faith requires completely conforming our lives to God’s will. The only way we can have absolute faith that God will do what we are praying for would be if we already knew that what we are praying for is God’s will. When a soul is truly at one with God, a prayer of petition and a prayer of thanksgiving are the same prayer. In this case, we become instruments of God’s will rather than God being a genie granting us wishes. The more we conform our will to God’s will, the more we can exercise his power in this world. God wants us to become these perfect instruments who can move the mountains he wants moved. If we want this kind of power, and we should since it is God’s gift to us, the first step must be to embrace God’s will completely.
February 21, 2011 - Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”, the disciples asked Jesus. If they had asked us, they would have gotten a different answer. If someone had asked us why this boy could not be healed, we could have spoken about the meaning of suffering in this world. We could explain how God’s will is not our will and his ways are not our ways. We could say that there is a time for everything. Our only problem is that standing against us, disagreeing with us, is Jesus.
It is not only in this passage that Jesus says things that are embarrassing for us Christians. Here he says, “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” In another place he says, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” In another place he says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” These and other quotes are embarrassing for Christians because we know that they are not true. We ask and do not receive. We believe that God will help us, and then he does not. If we Christians really had the kind of power that Jesus suggests we should have, we would be a lot more convincing to the world.
What is the problem? Is God unable to fulfill his promises? No, he can do all things. Was Jesus mistaken about how prayer would work for his disciples? No. Jesus is never mistaken. The problem must be ours. Something must be standing in the way of miracles. Jesus calls it a lack of faith, but this faith must not be simply confidence. There is no shortage of arrogant confidence in this world. The faith that Jesus is talking about is a humble faith, a gift from God, inseparable from hope and love. Every sin is a sin against faith because every sin doubts God in some way. It is popular to think that some act can only be a sin if it is hurting somebody, but if every sin is blocking our way to God, than every one of our sins is hurting people because our sins are preventing us from working miracles. We will never be totally free from sin on this earth. The prayer of the boy’s father is a good example for how we should pray, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” We stand always with some faith but in need of more.
February 15, 2011 - Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today is the story of Noah and the Ark. We will have more from this story tomorrow, but there is a preliminary comment to be made today. Many people regard this story as fanciful, as fictional. Many atheists spend considerable time trying to prove how ridiculous the idea is, bringing up facts like how much an elephant eats in a year. Then there are some Christians who work hard to prove that it is possible after all, calculating the food supply and many other such things. I am sure this can be an interesting task, and there are people who waste their time on sillier things, but we do not need to be defensive. Noah on the Ark is not like if you or I tried to do the same thing tomorrow in the middle of the lake. Noah was fulfilling God’s command. God does not command us to do something impossible without making it possible. Whether there is a way to arrange everything, or if God just made the food last by a miracle, there is no question that Noah’s Ark was possible. It was just as much God’s Ark. This is true of all the miracles of the Bible that seem impossible, unbelievable. Unless it was too much for God (and what is?) questioning whether it really happened is pointless.
Jesus makes a similar point today, not his first but his second. First he says, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Jesus is telling them to guard against two errors: on the one hand there are the self-righteous hypocrites and on the other there are the self-indulgent aristocrats. It is very difficult to walk the narrow path where we agree that sin is sin but do not spend our time judging others.
The disciples, however, misunderstand. They believe that Jesus is being literal and telling them not to buy bread from either of these two groups. Jesus sets aside his first point for the moment and points out to the disciples that even if there were a problem with bread, he would not be giving them shopping advice. The disciples are calculating how to feed a dozen people with one loaf of bread. Jesus says, “Forget about it. I am here. When I am here, there are not going to be any problems, least of all with bread. Haven’t you noticed what I can do?”
February 11, 2011 - Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). The Ephphatha rite is performed at baptism. The deacon or priest who is baptizing puts his thumb on the child’s ears and mouth while saying “May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” I have seen priests skip this line, or more often, skip actually putting their thumb on the child’s ears and mouth. This is not the only ritual that I have seen priests skip. I know a priest who never washes his hands during Mass, on the principle that he washed them beforehand.
Why do we have these rituals, these unnecessary rituals? Why does Jesus go through unnecessary rituals? No one who knows the power of God can dispute that he could have healed the man with a look, but instead, we have before us today this elaborate ritual: “He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)” So much unnecessary work!
The heresy that our spiritual life does not include our bodies is one of the oldest, and it is constantly taking different forms. Sometimes a person says that the sexual sins do not matter because they only involve the body not the soul; sometimes a person says that it is not important to kneel in church since we can pray just as well standing in church, or standing on top of a hill for that matter.
The Catholic Church has always stood against such foolishness. When the priest washes his hands at Mass, or we turn to shake hands as a sign of peace, or we kneel before Jesus Christ, or we put on our best clothes before coming to Mass, our soul is affected. This is not merely a case of a physical symbol reminding us to think about something spiritual. We are body and soul. We have to get our whole selves into whatever we are doing. We know this instinctively: a person might say a lot of nonsense about praying in their recliner at home in sweatpants during commercial breaks, but when they have something really important to ask God, they are going to be in church on their knees. If we take our relationship with God seriously, our bodies have to pray along with our souls.
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