Love of God and love of neighbor

 

 

Thirty First Sunday in OT B  2024

 

This coming Wednesday morning as you awaken, hopefully we will know who our next president will be. We will be overjoyed or perhaps we will be despondent.  As important as our political landscape is to how we live our lives, I suggest that the world will not come to an end, and may we have always have the context that a far more important event happened two thousand years ago in the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and on the day of our baptism when we received the life of Christ Jesus within us.

While the rhetoric leading up to election day is getting louder and louder and we should most definitely exercise our constitutional responsibility to vote.  Yet, our participation in the mystery of this Eucharist, our participation in the love and life of Christ Jesus is even more important than election day.

In today’s first Scripture reading from the book  of Deuteronomy, this is what Moses has to say, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

The connection between the words of Moses and the Gospel from Mark is very apparent.  Mark’s Gospel reading today builds on that teaching of love.  It links the Law of Moses to the teaching of Christ.  “One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, today’s message is the simple message at the heart of our faith, the command to love.  You are commanded to love God and to love everyone.

Now it is so significant  that Jesus is making this statement that the two great commandments are essentially connected with each other. Our love of neighbor grows out of and is an expression of our love of God.  If we really love God and pray, we will be led into active, generous love for someone who needs us.  The authenticity of our celebration of the Eucharist, the genuineness of the time we spend in Eucharistic adoration will be seen in the love and the service we share with one another. Our right and duty to vote responsibly is so important, but its importance grows our of our larger commitment to live life fulfilling the command of Jesus to love God and one another.

How do I and how do you show our love of God in the day to day moments of our lives?    Many of us need to confess that too often we live our lives devoid of our awareness of God’s presence in our life.  Too often we live  in a manner apparently that we don’t need God, we can shelf Him.  Sometimes, God can be likened to one of the applications on our iPhone to open and shut at will.

To borrow an analogy from our IPhone, in this liturgy, we humbly ask for the grace to experience God in our lives not as an application on the iPhone but rather to experience God as our very operating system by which everything else in our lives draws its existence and meaning.

So, as you continuously use your iphone throughout this day, ask yourself if God is merely an app on your phone or is your faith the very operating system by which you live your life.  Our relationship of God, our love of God and love of neighbor is the operating system of our spiritual journey.

Jesus said to Peter:  “Peter, do you love me?”

Peter says, “You know I love you. Why are you asking three times? Why are you asking me this?”

Jesus responds:  “Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep.”

Love is what drives this Church on. And love is what we have to begin to judge ourselves on. Not do we understand. Not do we read enough books or are we on top of career charts.

We have to learn how to love. And, of course, that’s what Jesus does.

Jesus has come not to teach us grammar, not to teach us the wonders of the world, Jesus has come to teach us how to love. Because we don’t know how. We think we know, but we still have much to learn.

Why?

Because love gives, love doesn’t take. There’s nothing in love that takes. It only gives and gives.

We worship God because He’s a giver. Have you ever noticed God doesn’t take anything from us. He gives and gives and gives.

And that is what He expects of us as Christians.

We’re not to ask what I get out of things. Will I get this? Will I go to heaven? Will I do this? Will I do that? This is a waste of time.

What matters is: will I learn to love, will I learn to appreciate, will I learn to walk through life knowing that everyone that I see is my brother and my sister and we are linked together in one long march through this life and into eternal life.

The question is not how high you make it in the world, how smart you are, your marks at school, even. The question is none of these things. These are secondary.

The question is can you love, are you afraid to love, are you running away from love, or are you going to follow Jesus’ love which finally leads to a cross? Jesus dies on a cross to tell us that there is only love in life that carries us through life into all eternity.

This is what God intends: that we learn how to love, that we learn how to care, that we learn how to sacrifice, that we learn how to become human beings.

And in all of this we are privileged to know that it is Jesus who has taught us, his children, and continues to teach us, for he is with us all our days, and the one thing he is teaching us is to learn how to love.

As Meister Eckhart has taught us, “At the end of the day, we are going to be judged by love alone.”

May God give us the grace to love God and to love one another.

 

 

Lord, that I may see.

 THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN OT B   2024

Today’s Gospel describes the beautiful miracle of Jesus giving sight to the blind man Bartimaeus.  In the account, Jesus asked Bartimaeus:  What do you want me to do for you?  He responded: “Lord, that I may see.”

In today’s liturgy, Jesus is asking us the same question that he asked Bartimaeus:  What do you want me to do for you?

Would like you to pause for a few minutes before you answer the Lord’s question to you.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples were the security guard for Jesus as He was leaving Jericho.  To keep some order and to keep people from bothering Jesus, the disciples kept people like the blind Bartimaeus at a distance.  The disciples basically told the blind beggar to shut up.  He was disturbing the peace.

The irony of this Gospel passage is that it was the disciples who were blind.  They had a spiritual blindness to the healing, merciful mission of Jesus.  They simply did not get it.  They were very content to leave people with disabilities as unnoticed people on the side of the road.

Yet, the ministry of Jesus was to reveal the merciful love of God to people in need.

Wondering if there is a message for us today.  Do we sometimes suffer from spiritual blindness and sometimes mistakenly try to keep Jesus from people in need?

I wonder if we faithful Churchgoers, starting with the pastor, sometimes act as the security guard for Jesus in the same way that the disciples did in the Gospel account.  Who are the people we tell to shut up, and we want to keep at a distance from our faith community?

Perhaps it is people who we judge are not living a moral life -- people with a different sexual orientation, people who have experienced separation and divorce in their married life, people we judge not to be living a Christ-like life, people we think are phonies, people who are disruptive to the ways we pray. 

Like the first disciples often we are unaware of the ways we can keep people from experiencing the merciful love of Jesus.

May the blind man Bartimaeus represent all the unnoticed people, all the forgotten, people with disabilities, and the people we try to shut up in very polite words. 

And may see have the spiritual sightedness to witness to the merciful love of Jesus to all who are in need.

As we pray over today’s Gospel, be aware of the physical blindness of Bartimaeus, and be aware also of the spiritual blindness of the disciples.  As we pray in the words of Bartimaeus, “Lord, that I may see.”  We pray for both physical and spiritual sightedness to the ways Jesus is present and the ways Jesus wishes to be present to all who are in need.

This week’s Gospel invites us to place ourselves along the way with the blind Bartimaeus.    How would you name your spiritual blindness -- contemplate and admit your own blind spots?  This is bit of a challenge for all of us because it is so easy to be unaware of our own blind spots.

Do we have a blindness to the unnoticed people on the side of the road that we so easily pass by?  How aware are we of the people near us in Church today?  What can we do to connect more fully with the people in our faith community?

Who is the person in our family life that we have built up a wall of blindness that makes it so difficult to reach out to?  Lord, that I may see how your grace can bring healing to this relationship?

A blind spot in our spiritual journey may be the blindness that keeps us from experiencing the merciful healing of Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  What is the last time we have experienced this sacrament?  What would it take for you to remove this spiritual blindness and know the forgiving love of Jesus in this beautiful sacrament?

The dialogue of Jesus with Bartimaeus is the dialogue Jesus has with us today.  Bartimaeus, like each of us, needs to be loved, and is fortunate to receive by Jesus a loving question.  Not “what do you want to do?” asks Jesus, but “What do you want me to do?”  It’s a question that comes from the heart of Christ and shows His compassion.

The Lord is asking us:  What do you want me to do for you?  May we respond with Bartimaeus: “Lord, that I may see.”  Let Bartimaeus be our guide.  He asks for the most important gift God can give.  May we see what is of real value in life.  May we know what is true.  May we judge rightly and walk confidently in the light of Christ. 

Notice in the account that the very first thing Bartimaeus sees when he is healed is the face of Christ.  To know Jesus is the key to the Christian life.   To know Jesus is to know God and our true self.

Bartimaeus’ prayer is answered.  Once he has seen Jesus’ face to face, there is no other life for him except to be with Jesus and to follow him.  He leaves behind his beggar’s cloak and joins Jesus and the other disciples on the way to Jerusalem.  Like a man in love, he has seen the face of his beloved, and there is no turning back.   May we too be cured of our blindness which keeps from seeing the face of Jesus.

What would it take for us to have a vision of life in which we trust that Jesus goes with us in all experiences of life?   What would it take for us to have a vision of ourselves as a faith community in which we welcome everyone as one who is made in the image and likeness of God, and there is room for everyone in our faith community?

Bartimaeus never gave up.  He was persistent.  He made known his request to God.  He was a man of faith.  In this account, he understood the mission of Jesus far better that the disciples did.

May we with the persistence of Bartimaeus ask the Lord that I may see.  May we see and experience the truth of our lives.  God’s love for us is unending.  Whatever anxiety we experience, whatever struggle we are dealing with, whatever disabilities hold us down, we all are the recipients of the abundant merciful love of Jesus.  Lord, that I may see how you are present to me in my time of need.

May God give you the gift of peace and beautiful sightedness.

What do you want me to do for you?

 

 

Twenty Ninth Sunday in OT  B  2024

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asked his disciples:  “What do you wish me to do for you?” 

 

There’s no doubt about it.  Competition is as keen today as it was during Jesus’ time.   Human nature hasn’t changed much in the last two millennia.  We are still driven to be No.1, to earn the most, achieve as much as we can, be recognized for our accomplishments, to have that seat at the “big table.”

 

Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mark is filled with images of how difficult it is to be a disciple, a follower of Christ.  Jesus says a commitment to a spouse is a lifelong one, as discipleship to Christ must be a lifelong commitment.

 

Jesus goes on to teach the disciples that we must be willing to approach God with the innocence of a children, with total trust in Him.  He admonishes the rich man that he must sell all he has, give it to the poor, and he would have treasure in heaven.  Discipleship means being willing to give up all we have for the kingdom.

 

How often do we struggle with the same things?  When we are faced with issues in our relationships, are we willing to do all we can to meet our commitment to love one another as Christ loves us?  Are we willing to put our total trust in God, in God’s plan for us?  Are we willing to go where God leads us, without question, without doubt?  Can we meet the demand of discipleship by helping those on the fringes of society; feeding the poor; providing shelter to those in need’ welcoming the strange or the refugee reaching out to us?

 

Which brings us to today’s Gospel and the question James and John ask Jesus.  They most likely have reflected on the teaching of Jesus discussed above.  They have acknowledged that they are making a lifelong commitment to follow Him; they have put total trust in his message in in his ministry.  They have given us everything to follow the Lord.  They are saying recognize us for the disciples we war; allow us, when you come into your glory, to sit on either side of you; to sit in a position of respect and honor.

As to opening up his apostles to the true meaning of discipleship, Jesus must be disappointed, because they are thinking of power and glory and praise and all these great, wonderful things, and he is thinking of his own death.

 

And so he says to them,

“Can you drink the cup that I drink?”

 

The cup is the cup of suffering.  Are we able to be followers of the crucified Christ, the Christ who came not to be serve but to serve, the Christ who was willing to lay down his life out of love for each and everyone of us.

 

And then he says,

“or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

 

We usually think of a little child being baptized, a new life being baptized. Baptisms of infants is such a precious part of my ministry and brings much to all.

 

But the word baptism means “to be immersed in water.”

 

And the whole story of baptism is we are immersed and drowned in the waters that we might die to our old lives and be brought up out of the waters and live to the new life in Christ.

 

This is why I so prefer immersion baptism so that we may be immersed in the life giving water of Jesus.  But we must know that to be immersed in the life of Jesus in to enter into the paschal mystery – the dying and the rising of Jesus.

 

And so, Jesus knows that he is going to be baptized means that he must die, but in three days he will rise again.

 

James and John said: “We can drink of the cup and we can be baptized with the baptism,” not understanding at all what they are talking about.

 

But Jesus softens and he looks at them and he knows in the future they will return and he says to them, “Yes, someday you will have to drink the cup and someday you will be baptized in this kind of baptism.

 

“But to give you places in heaven, that is not for me to talk about, that is for the Father. It is the prerogative of the Father to speak of rewards, to speak of the things that you are crying out for so much.”

 

 

But the other disciples hear about it, and they protest.  Why do they protest?

They are jealous. They, too, want the first places at the table. They, too, want to be honored. They, too, want power. They, too, are in the competition game. They want to be winners and not losers — finally. They have been losing their whole life and now this man is going to make them winners.

 

And Jesus listens to them squabbling. These are the men that he’s going to found the Kingdom of God?

 

These are the men that want the authority of the world. As we well know, in this life, you do not rise high unless you want power, unless you are somewhat arrogant and forceful. It’s a world in which the authority of the world is based on might and power.

 

And Jesus is offering the authority of God.

And what is the authority of God?

 

The authority of God is not in domination. It is not in winning.

The authority of God is in loving. It is in silence. It is in quietness. It is in accompaniment, a quiet presence. It is in listening. It is in caring. It is in accepting.

It is learning how to love the way the Father loves, because the Father is a giver and not a taker. It is learning how to love the way Jesus loves, so great that he will lay his life down for his people.

 

And this great mystery, that we take so readily today into our own lives, is not understood, or not heard, by the Apostles.

 

And so it is Jesus comes together and he explains it to them. And he explains it to them in these words:

Jesus summoned them and said to them,
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

 

 

May God give you the gift of peace and a missionary spirit of listening, of compassion, of caring, and loving as God loves us.

 

 

 

 

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

 

Twenty Eighth Sunday in OT  B  2024

 

I would be glad to have the rich young man in today’s Gospel account  as a parishioner of St Joseph’s.  What we know about him was that he kept the commandments.  He was a good rule keeper.  He was in Church every Sunday.  He contributed to the support of the parish and perhaps the CMA as well.  He probably would volunteer to serve on the parish council.  Sounds pretty good, does it not!  What is there not to like about this rich young man in the Gospel account?

He knelt before the Lord and asked the right question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?  Hopefully that is our question to the Lord in prayer as well.  Jesus looked on him with great love and said there is one thing you lack.  “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and then come follow me.”  Wow!  Talk about being asked to get outside your comfort zone.

Placing ourselves in the young man’s shoes as we come before the Lord, what  would we ask to inherit?  Would it be financial security for you and your family?  Would it be a vacation home?   Would it be good health for all the members of your family?  Would it be that you win the lottery?  Would it be that you find the perfect life partner?

Would eternal life be in the top three requests you make of the Lord?  Would it be in the top five or even in the top ten requests.  Eternal life is what the rich young man in the Gospel account asked for.    When we come to think of it, our relationship with God is the one thing we take with us into the next life – all else will be left behind.  Doesn’t it make sense to cultivate our relationship with God while we can?

 

We all need to ask the question the rich young man asked of Jesus.  What must I do to inherit eternal life?  The rich young mas has a leg up on many of us as he responded to the Lord that has kept all the commandments.  I am very impressed by anyone who gets A plus in keeping the ten commandments.  Am I right?

 

How do we answer the Gospel demand when the Lord asks us: “You are lacking one thing.  Go. Sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me.”

This challenges us to ask what is our relationship with God?  What is the real treasure of your life?  What is the North Star for you that everything else is seen in relationship to it?

So, what is your treasure?  We all have treasures – what is yours?  It’s serious question.  What is your treasure?  What do you give your time, your energy, your love to mostly?

Your treasure may be your good reputation, your beautiful family, the job you are very successful at, your golf game, the Buffalo Bills or the fighting Irish of Noter Dame, or your hard-earned assets?

 

In the Gospel, the man with many possessions wasn’t able to let go of them in order to follow Jesus more completely.  I need to ask myself:  what possessions do I cling to?  Am I possessed by my possessions, or do I use what I have as an opportunity to serve and share with others?

 

What is my tipping point in terms of prayer??  What is my limit?  Is it the hour for Sunday Eucharist?  Does it happen 52 weeks a year?  How much time each day do I commit to prayer?  Is family prayer a part of my spirituality in any way?

 

If there was a competition to my use of social media and my addiction to the smart phone or to develop a life of prayer?  Would my time I spend in prayer each day match in any way my time with my smart phone?

 

What is my tipping point in sharing with those in need? -- whether in parish ministry, Penfield Hope, or responding to people in need anywhere?  How much time am I willing to share to be of service to others?

 

What is my tipping point in terms of treasure?  What percentage of income do I tithe?  Do I give generously to the Catholic Ministries Appeal?  What is my comfort zone with financial generosity?

Does the use of my time, energy, and resources indicate what are the important relationships of my life?

The first scripture reading is from the book of Wisdom:  the sacred writer prays   “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom was given me.”

 

May we be givent he wisdom indeed not to be possessed by our possessions.  May we use what we have to share with others.  This is the kind of wisdom we desperately needs.  The whole world needs this kind of wisdom.  Instead of using and violence to solve our differences, may we be given the gift of wisdom to value and to share all of God’s creation with one another.

The Gospel lesson is clear.  Our relationship with God must be our greatest, our prime relationship, the one which gives meaning to all our other relationships.  If it is not so for us, we doom ourselves to go hungrily seeking for substitutes which invariably disappoint – a succession of dashed hopes and new infatuations, leaning us empty and cynical.  When we come to think of it, our relationship with God is the one thing we take with us into the next life – all else will be left behind.  Doesn’t it make sense to cultivate our relationship with God while we can?

The invitation and challenge is clear.  Jesus is asking each one of us to give priority to God in our lives and to get rids of all that we love more than Him, everything which prevents us from saying yes to His wonderful invitation: “come, follow me.”

Have a Blessed Day.

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

 Twenty Eighth Sunday in OT  B  2024

I would be glad to have the rich young man in today’s Gospel account  as a parishioner of St Joseph’s.  What we know about him was that he kept the commandments.  He was a good rule keeper.  He was in Church every Sunday.  He contributed to the support of the parish and perhaps the CMA as well.  He probably would volunteer to serve on the parish council.  Sounds pretty good, does it not!  What is there not to like about this rich young man in the Gospel account?

He knelt before the Lord and asked the right question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?  Hopefully that is our question to the Lord in prayer as well.  Jesus looked on him with great love and said there is one thing you lack.  “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and then come follow me.”  Wow!  Talk about being asked to get outside your comfort zone.

Placing ourselves in the young man’s shoes as we come before the Lord, what  would we ask to inherit?  Would it be financial security for you and your family?  Would it be a vacation home?   Would it be good health for all the members of your family?  Would it be that you win the lottery?  Would it be that you find the perfect life partner?

Would eternal life be in the top three requests you make of the Lord?  Would it be in the top five or even in the top ten requests.  Eternal life is what the rich young man in the Gospel account asked for.    When we come to think of it, our relationship with God is the one thing we take with us into the next life – all else will be left behind.  Doesn’t it make sense to cultivate our relationship with God while we can?

We all need to ask the question the rich young man asked of Jesus.  What must I do to inherit eternal life?  The rich young mas has a leg up on many of us as he responded to the Lord that has kept all the commandments.  I am very impressed by anyone who gets A plus in keeping the ten commandments.  Am I right?

How do we answer the Gospel demand when the Lord asks us: “You are lacking one thing.  Go. Sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come, follow me.”

This challenges us to ask what is our relationship with God?  What is the real treasure of your life?  What is the North Star for you that everything else is seen in relationship to it?

So, what is your treasure?  We all have treasures – what is yours?  It’s serious question.  What is your treasure?  What do you give your time, your energy, your love to mostly?

Your treasure may be your good reputation, your beautiful family, the job you are very successful at, your golf game, the Buffalo Bills or the fighting Irish of Noter Dame, or your hard-earned assets?

In the Gospel, the man with many possessions wasn’t able to let go of them in order to follow Jesus more completely.  I need to ask myself:  what possessions do I cling to?  Am I possessed by my possessions, or do I use what I have as an opportunity to serve and share with others?

What is my tipping point in terms of prayer??  What is my limit?  Is it the hour for Sunday Eucharist?  Does it happen 52 weeks a year?  How much time each day do I commit to prayer?  Is family prayer a part of my spirituality in any way?

If there was a competition to my use of social media and my addiction to the smart phone or to develop a life of prayer?  Would my time I spend in prayer each day match in any way my time with my smart phone?

What is my tipping point in sharing with those in need? -- whether in parish ministry, Penfield Hope, or responding to people in need anywhere?  How much time am I willing to share to be of service to others?

What is my tipping point in terms of treasure?  What percentage of income do I tithe?  Do I give generously to the Catholic Ministries Appeal?  What is my comfort zone with financial generosity?

Does the use of my time, energy, and resources indicate what are the important relationships of my life?

The first scripture reading is from the book of Wisdom:  the sacred writer prays   “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom was given me.”

May we be givent he wisdom indeed not to be possessed by our possessions.  May we use what we have to share with others.  This is the kind of wisdom we desperately needs.  The whole world needs this kind of wisdom.  Instead of using and violence to solve our differences, may we be given the gift of wisdom to value and to share all of God’s creation with one another.

The Gospel lesson is clear.  Our relationship with God must be our greatest, our prime relationship, the one which gives meaning to all our other relationships.  If it is not so for us, we doom ourselves to go hungrily seeking for substitutes which invariably disappoint – a succession of dashed hopes and new infatuations, leaning us empty and cynical.  When we come to think of it, our relationship with God is the one thing we take with us into the next life – all else will be left behind.  Doesn’t it make sense to cultivate our relationship with God while we can?

The invitation and challenge is clear.  Jesus is asking each one of us to give priority to God in our lives and to get rids of all that we love more than Him, everything which prevents us from saying yes to His wonderful invitation: “come, follow me.”

Have a Blessed Day.

Without exception, we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

 

Twenty Seventh Sunday in OT  B  2024

 

On this first weekend of the month of October, we are celebrating respect life weekend.  We are celebrating the dignity of every person God has created.  We are all made in the image and likeness of God.  From the first moment of conception till the day we are placed in the grave, each person’s life is to be respected and is very much deserving of our love.

In the first scripture reading from the Book of Genesis, the Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  God has created us for relationship.  The need for companionship is basic and God-given in each of us.  We become our best selves in loving and sharing and giving with each another.  We are made for each other.  God created us to share life and life in all its abundance.

Simply put, no person was made to be an island, in isolation from community.  Through God’s eyes, humanity is complete in partnership and in love.  We are better together.

In a session with some faith-filled children, I asked them why they thought God said: “It is not good for man to be alone.”  They responded so beautifully and honestly:  One said: “We need friends” …. another “I love my mom and dad and brothers and sisters” …. Another said: “It would be so boring.”  Another said: “Jesus wants us to love one another.” 

Even at a young age, maybe especially at their age, children know they are safe and very much loved in their family.  They know they are their best selves when they are kind, when they have friends, and when they love others.

The need for partnership and companionship and love is best expressed most beautifully in the marriage vows: “I, John, take you, Mary, to be my wife.  I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

Marriage is part of God’s loving plan of salvation.

Jesus, the great teacher, goes back to God’s original plan of creation.  God has created us to be in relationship.  When the examiners of Jesus brought up the question of divorce, Jesus turned it into a discussion of the dignity of each person and the fact that human beings are made for loving one another as truly as we are made to love God.

In his interchange with the Pharisees, Jesus went far beyond the question of divorce to teach about the meaning of human relationship in general.   Jesus went beyond the legality of the law.  He called people to discern God’s will as that which promotes life-giving relationships in each and every situation.

Marriage is a school of love and forgiveness.  When two people get married they bring with them to their marriage normal human weaknesses and discover weakness in the other which previously they did not know.    In the sacrament of marriage, it is not just two people coming together in love; the sacrament of marriage unites the couple with Jesus and brings them God’s blessing.

The faithfulness of God to this couple is lived out in the sacrament of marriage.  God is always faithful to us his people.  God is always faithful to the Church.

In the second Scripture reading, the sacred writer says that Jesus was made perfect through suffering.  For us too, our relationship with Jesus is deepened through the sufferings we experience.  The cross, suffering in our life is part of our sharing in the paschal mystery of the Lord.  We are to die to ourselves so that we may live more fully in the life of Christ. 

As we celebrate respect life this weekend, may we respect the life and the dignity of all those who have experienced pain and suffering.  The beauty of our respect life theme is that people most in need – for those who are divorced and those who have experienced brokenness in relationship – are people whom the Lord welcomes and forgives and desires them to be reconciled to the God who desires reconciliation with one and all.

May we be a faith community that is deeply committed to respecting all human life.

I call your attention to our state’s Equal Rights Amendment in which you will be asked to vote up or down on election day.  Our New York State Catholic Conference strongly opposes this amendment and encourage us to vote NO so that this amendment does not pass.

I state two important reasons for opposing this amendment:

·      It would enshrine a fundamental right to abortion on demand in the state constitution.  While it is labeled an Equal Rights Amendment, it certainly does not grant equal rights to the child within the womb of the mother.

 

·      The language of the amendment would bar discrimination based either on age or gender identity or gender expression.  The translation of this is that parents would not have a say in the medical intervention in their minor children on a decision for gender transition.  To me it is unthinkable for parents not to have a say in such a significant decision of a teenager.

 

While I do not think that it is appropriate for me to advocate for a particular candidate from the pulpit, I think it is appropriate to advocate on ethical issues that support the dignity of all human life.  And to advocate against proposals that do not support the dignity of all human life.

 

May God give you peace.

 

We follow a God who can work through anyone, anytime, in any place.

 

Twenty sixth Sunday in OT  B 2024 

Thank you for coming together to pray together, to give thanks to the Lord our God for the blessings of our lives.  There is no better way to give thanks than by coming together in the celebration of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the North Star of living life with an attitude of gratitude.

 

In this outdoor celebration of the Eucharist and in our parish picnic we come together to pray together and to socialize together.  WE come together as sister parishes who share our giftedness with each other.  As St Joseph’s and the Church of the Holy Spirit, we don’t’ come together to compete with each other; rather we come to pray together, to inspire each other, to love and serve each other.  We come together following the example and at his command to be fed and nourished at the Table of the Lord.

It is always good for us to be in Church; it is also good for us to celebrate the Eucharist in the beauty of God’s creation.  It is good for us to remember that St Joseph’s is a building that houses the Church.  WE the community of the baptized, we the people of God are the Church where God dwells.

The Scriptures today remind us that God dwells within all people, from our earliest ancestors in faith, to all of us in this present day and age.  Moses came to the realization that God was deeply immersed in all the chosen people, not just a few.   In the first reading from the book of Numbers, the biblical writer describes the people encamped with Moses, and God bestowing upon them a share of the divine prophetic spirit that has been given to Moses.

 

Initially, some of the Israelites were jealous that the spirit of prophesy too widely.  They thought they were the inner circle, so to speak.

 

But the message was much more inclusive:  God dwells in each of us.

 

In the Gospel, the disciples try to stop someone who was driving out demons just like them. They had to learn that their way was, in fact, a much narrower way than the Lord’s way, and that their narrow perspective was an obstacle to the Lord’s work getting done. Those they judged to be ‘not one of us’, Jesus regarded as ‘for us.’

 

One of the most difficult things for people of faith to acknowledge is that we can’t put limits on God.  It’s impossible to set boundaries in which God can work.

 

In contrast to his disciples, Jesus was able to recognize and encourage goodness wherever he found it. He knew that the Spirit blows where it wills. He was alert to the presence of the Spirit in anyone.

 

We follow a God who can work through anyone, any place, any time.

 

The main point is that we all have a role to play in recognizing and supporting the working of the Spirit in each other. Towards the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” (Thess 5:19) How do we quench the Holy Spirit in others?  There are several examples. We can become a stumbling block, an obstacle, to God’s working in their lives. We can quench the Spirit in others and hinder the good work that God is doing through them for a whole variety of very human reasons. We can be motivated by jealousy, as Moses suggests Joshua was in today’s first reading.

 

Like the disciples, we can refuse to acknowledge God’s good work in the lives of others because they are not ‘one of us’, because they belong to a different church or religion or ethnic group. We can also be dismissive of the good someone else is doing simply because it is not the way we would have done it, forgetting that the Holy Spirit works in many diverse ways in people’s lives.

 

So, what message do we take home this Sunday?  The mark of a true disciple and steward of Jesus Christ is an attitude of encouragement, accompaniment, compassion and acceptance of the gifts of others.

 

It is a mystery to me in my own family that not all of us practice our Catholicism in the same way.  Yet, we are not called to be judgmental of others; rather we are to have this attitude of encouragement, accompaniment, compassion and acceptance of the gifts of others.

 

This message is most appropriate for our generous support of the Catholic Ministries Appeal.  We are called to share our financial resources beyond the confines of our parish to support people in need throughout our diocese.  The Spirit of God dwells in everyone, and they are much deserving of our support.  The CMA stands for what is good and worthwhile in our diocese reaching out to the poor beyond the confines of our parish boundaries.

 

From the perspective of the Gospel demand, we cannot not reach out beyond our comfort zone to serve the needs of our larger diocese.

 

 

My guarantee to you is that you will never regret your generosity to others.

 

My prayerful question for us is what do we consider our true treasures to be?  Our true wealth is to be found in our love and service of one another.  Love and hospitality live on in the giver and the receiver and do not fade away like temporary earthly treasures.

 

This Sunday’s readings invite us to ponder the ways of our God whose prophetic Spirit has been poured out freely upon all people, all creation.  Rather than quenching the Spirit in others and hindering the good work that God is doing through them, we are urged to recognize, encourage, affirm and share our blessings with others.

 

Even as we gather today in the beauty of God’s creation, may we not limit the workings in our own lives and in the lives of each other.  All is a gift of God.

 

Have a Blessed Day.

 

 

What were you arguing about on the way?

 

Twenty Fifth Sunday in OT  B  2024 

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus brought the disciples up short by asking a very revealing questions:  “What were you talking about on the way?”

 

He had just told the disciples for a second time that He was going up to Jerusalem to suffer and die and that he would rise again. 

Jesus’s message was that our lives gain our meaning from sacrifice, not power.  Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  He was going to teach his disciples that they were to transform the world by getting down on their knees to wash the feet of people in need.

The disciples were having big time trouble understanding the message of Jesus.  This wasn’t the kind of talk from Jesus they liked.  They had another vision of the type of Messiah they were looking for.

 Peter had previously argued with Jesus about this and Jesus had told Peter:  “Get behind me Satan.”  But they still did not understand that Jesus was to suffer and experience rejection and was going to lay down his life.

In responding to the question Jesus asked:  “What were you talking about on the way,”  the disciples were silent for with some embarrassment they were arguing about who was the greatest among them?  Was it Peter?  Was it James?  Was it John?  So, who you think is the greatest?

For sure, all too often that question is very important.  We live in a very competitive society.  The cult of “We’re Number One” stimulates every unholy emotion known to humanity.  Internationally, we want to believe the USA is the number one superpower.  You want your children to be number one in wherever they find themselves.  I want St Joseph’s to be the number one parish in the diocese.  It is in our DNA that we want to climb the ladder of success.  Does this even apply to the Buffalo Bills who we want to be the Super Bowl champions?

In the second Scripture reading, James says:  “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice”  Yes, the desire to climb the ladder of success is instilled in us at an early age.  The apostle tells us that this too easily leads to jealousy and selfish ambition.

In reversing this mindset, Jesus tells the Twelve and all of us that the only to be first, the only way to be the greatest:  “If anyone wishes to rank first, he must remain the last one of all and be the servant of all.”  This is the world turned upside down.  All of our common measurements of importance and greatness need to be revisited.  Jesus halts the human parade and puts it in reverse, with servants at the front, and all the pompous kings who ever reigned bringing up the rear.  And in front of the whole parade is the greatest servant of all:  Jesus:  the Jesus who emptied himself, became a slave to all, dying on the cross for  our sins and out of love for us.

So Jesus brought them up short that day by a revealing question:  “What were you talking about on the way?”  It should be a question that is unsettling for us as well.  We can ask the question:  “Who is the most important person here at St. Joseph’s parish?”  Is it the pastor, the co-administrator, the finance director, the school principal or, or is it the person who cleans the bathrooms and scrubs the floor?  Do we view importance in the same way that Jesus does?  Can Jesus join our conversation about who is most important and feel we have understood his message that he is to suffer, be rejected and die on the cross and be raised up again?

Jesus’s chief criterion for greatness is the willingness to be of service to others. Please God, that is our parish mantra for greatness:  our willingness to be of service to others; the God we reverence and adore is a God who emptied Himself to the servant of all, to be the slave of all, willing to embrace death, death on the cross for us and for our salvation.

Jesus’ disciples loved him but they did not understand him.  His way of thinking was just too different.  So, when words didn’t suffice, he picked up child to show his argumentative disciples what it looks like to be in first place in the reign of God.

Their mission was to share the love they had been given so freely.  They were called to the humble, humbling service of embracing the little people just as Jesus did.

When Jesus picked up the child, he was performing a living parable, teaching that loving someone is the greatest service you can do them; everything else flows from that and nothing else is very valuable without it.  Jesus presents them with a new flowchart for organizing the kingdom of God.  And children are on the top of the list.

We have the privilege in our parish community to have many, many young children.  May they reveal to us about what are our most important Christian virtues.  More that the credentials that may or may be after your name, more than the size of your portfolio, what is most important for our parish community is for our children always to have our undivided attention as we seek to fashion them after the mind and heart of Jesus.  Is St Joseph’s School just an extra in our parish priorities?  By no means.  Definitely not.  Our school is a parish priority in which we seek to instill in our children the mystery of God’s great love for them.  May everything we do in our parish faith formation initiatives with all of our parish youth always be a major parish priority.  In the vision of Christ Jesus, children are on the top of our list of who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Have a blessed day.