Jesus Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!!
We all awake with the hope that only comes from our Risen Lord! Now some of us may be experiencing hard times; some may be experiencing normal times! Some may be feeling down; some struggling. Some of us are feeling unsure of the moment; or of the future.
Today, though, the Church cries out; that In Jesus Christ there is hope. In letting Christ in, there is peace, there is hope!
Let us open wide our hearts, and let in the King of Glory!!
God is for us a refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in time of distress;
so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
though the mountains quake to the heart of the sea;
even though its waters rage and foam,
even though the mountains be shaken by its tumult.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come and behold the works of the Lord,
the awesome deeds God has done on the earth;
breaking bows, snapping spears, and burning shields with fire;
“Be still and know that I am God, exalted over nations, exalted over earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Psalm 46: 2-4, 9-12
Today’s readings provides us with a short lesson on salvation history. In the first reading, from the Book of Genesis, we have a description of how humanity came to be; how God brought about the parents. And how he blessed them with a paradise, a wondrous garden that would provide for their every need. So what happened? They messed up, that is what happened! They gave into temptation to want more, disobeying God and resulting in humanity losing Paradise!
But the Father was not going to abandon us. He set into motion those events, that would lead eventually to the birth of a savior; God’s own Son, Jesus. We have read and have celebrated what follows; Jesus comes to the Jordan River, is baptized by John the Baptist; the Holy Spirit descends upon him, and the Father declaring that Jesus is His Son. In today’s Gospel, continuation of Matthew, we see that Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the desert.
Now, in preparation for this homily, I came across a painting that illustrates what we have just heard in the Gospel reading. The title of the painting is “Christ in the Desert.” It was painted in 1872, by a Russian painter, whose name was Ivan Kramskoi. It portrays Jesus at the end of his forty days fast; he is seating on a rocky hill. We see him worn out by the ordeal, and we know that the devil is coming soon. Or maybe he already there, invisible, but already tempting Jesus, whispering in his ear; pushing him hard to give in, to surrender to the Evil One, to screw up like Adam and Eve did. However, Jesus holds true. Jesus overcomes the Tempter.
Fast forward to today; to us hearing this Gospel; it calls us to reflect on those times we have been tempted, and how hard it is for us to resist; and whether we either succeed is resisting temptation, or not. Call him “Evil,” “the Devil,” “the Tempter,” or “Mr. Scratch,” he is out there. And by every subtle means, he is always trying to trip us up. And let’s be honest with ourselves, sometimes we do!
However, we have a companion who is with us, who is always walking with us! And he has showed us how to deal with temptation, by turning to Scripture, reflecting on the Good News that God is there with us, strengthening us. We are to pray; seeking the help of our Heavenly Father, to overcome the temptation to sin. Now sometimes, we do fail; sometimes, we do not follow the teachings of Jesus as we are called to do. It is moments like that, when we should turn to the Sacrament of reconciliation; to heal our soul, and be strengthened to resist sin.
So this Lent, let us reflect on how well, or not; we have tried to live the Gospel life . And then rededicate ourselves to following Jesus, more closely, more intensely; during the time of Lent, and for all time.
We begin a new year, it is mixed with both anticipation and fear, beginnings and endings. For us Catholics, we end this year with the sad news of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He had an definite affect on the Catholic Church, before he became Pope, during his Papacy, and afterwards; and on the world around us.
We are beginning a new year. Liturgically, we are celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. We are reflecting on the important role of Mary in the salvation of humanity. We celebrate her courage to say yes, her willingness to say yes to bearing the child who would be the savior of the world. She was willing to become Mother of God the Son.
For that reason, for that courage, for that love that she had for God, for that love she had for all humanity; she is remembered and celebrated by Catholics and other Christians.
But I would challenge us to see Mary as a real human person. I am sometimes concerned, afraid that we treat Mary and our other saints, as characters in a show, play, movie and not as a real person. And Mary was a real human person. It was her courage and her love for God that allowed her to say response to the angel’s declaration, the Annunciation: “ Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1)
She should courage and strength, making that journey with Joseph to Bethlehem; and finding out that they had to stay in stable. She had the courage and the strength to give birth to the baby who would soon be named Jesus.
We have little information on what life was like for this little family when they finally were able to return to Nazareth. How often did she reflect on what had happened to her, her little child and her husband. Today’s gospel mentioned that she kept all that she experienced in her heart, reflecting on them, what they meant for her and for her son.
We know that she cared for her neighbors, friends and relatives. She and Jesus were invited to a wedding, what the relationship they had with the wedding party, we do not know; but it was there that she asked Jesus to come to the aid of the bridegroom with their wine shortage. And a son cannot say “no,” to his mother.
Mary was present at her Son’s suffering and death on the cross. She must have mourned deeply over witnessing that sight.
In our reflections on Mary, we need to remind ourselves that she was as human as the rest of us. That she experienced great joy, great hope; as well as great pain, and great sorrow. And it is these experiences that makes her a good advocate for us before God. So we can turn to her in our need:
“Hail holy Queen, mother of mercy, Our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you we do cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs; mourning and weeping in valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and after this exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!”
“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2).
A very long time ago, while I was in college, a group of my classmates decided to go up to the White Mountains, and climb one of them. Which one, I cannot remember, I want to believe it was one of the smaller ones. I was invited to join in this “adventure.” Now keep in mind, I was much heavier than I am now, and I was definitely out of shape. But I went anyway.
Now it was fall, the leaves on trees in New Hampshire were just coming into their peak color. We had rented a large cabin for the weekend, we slept on the floor in sleeping bags, and the next morning, we began our hike.
It did not take long for me to realize that this may not have been one of my brighter ideas. I was starting to have having problems; I told them to leave me, I was going to sit on some rocks by the trail, and I would join them on their way down. They were not having it. They literally dragged me up to the summit. And when we made it to the top; and I could catch my breath; I looked out over the mountain range. It was one of those rare days when everything was crisp and clear, and beautiful. The foliage was in full color; you could see the beauty of the mountain range for miles. And I thank God for getting me up there.
We are all at the beginning of another Advent season, the first of two penitential periods on the Church’s calendar. A time of preparation, a time of reflection, a time for penance, a time of renewal. We are all called to make that journey up to “the mountain of the Lord’s House.” To reach where God dwells. It is a journey, a climb that began the moment we were born; the moment we were baptized and confirmed. But how many of us take this journey seriously? Or have we come to believe that this journey is too much for us, that we will just stop here and “rest.” But Jesus is not willing to give up us, He continually calls us again and again, to go forward! He gives us His body and blood to refresh us, to strengthen us; and the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire us, show us the path we are called to travel, and give us that kick in the pants to get up, and get going. And the Father waits for us patiently, lovingly.
Now there are many paths up that mountain, and we each have our own unique journey to make. And Advent is a perfect time to reflect on how our journey, how our life of faith is going. And we can see if a course correction is needed; to and determine what might be holding us back, and what needs to be jettisoned. Advent is an opportunity to refresh our soul, and begin the journey again, reaching for the top, and experiencing the glory and love of God!
“So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
“Tax collector; MA Dept. Of Revenue, Internal Revenue Service, Revenooer, IRS.” Feeling your tempers rising up just little bit right now?Nothing causes a New Englander’s blood pressure to rise than the subject of taxes, and those who collect them. We had this little thing called the “Revolutionary War,” over it. But why are we still feeling this animosity, because after all, folks, these departments are made up of public employees, people like you and me. And believe it or they serve the public welfare! They are the ones who collect and disperse the funds needed for our towns, cities, states and nation to function. When you come right down to it, they work for us. Now in the time of Jesus, the tax collectors served not the people, but the Empire of Rome. Funds raised locally were for Roman roads, to extend Rome’s power and authority, to pay for occupying Roman legions and officials; and enrich Rome itself. Little went to common folk of Palestine. Except of course, the tax collectors, who, once they reached the goals set for them, would claim the rest as their pay, some, like Zacchaeus, became quite wealthy.
This made them, him, very unpopular, I am sure. But I get the sense, of where Zaccheus was in this stage of his life; he was beginning to have second thoughts of where it going. He was questioning the course it was following. I would speculate that he was beginning to question his relationship with God. I would like to think that he was becoming a seeker, wishing to know what his life was really meant to be. I suspect that he may have started hearing reports about this man from the Galilee and what he was preaching. And when the opportunity arose, he went out to see what this Jesus was all about.
And you all know the rest of the story. He risked life and limb climbing a tree, in order to catch a glimpse of this man from Nazareth. And, Zacchaeus, had what our evangelical brethren would call a “come to Jesus” moment. Literally! And it changed his life forever!
Now, what about us? Have any of us experienced a “come to Jesus” moment? I would say that we all have, every time we gather together to celebrate Mass. When Father consecrates the bread and the wine, when it becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus; when we go up to receive Jesus in Holy Communion; it can be a transformative experience for all of us. Now the experience may be different for each of us, it may be intense, it may be ordinary. But each encounter with Christ, each experience we have, has the potential to make us different, like Zacchaeus! And the way we live the Gospel life, the way we put into practice the teachings of Jesus, can possibly help others experience their own “come to Jesus” experience!
“The Rule and life of the Secular Franciscan is this: to observe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, who made Christ the inspiration and the center of his life with God and people.” SFO Rule: Article 4
I have ten minutes to create a post for this blog, so here goes!
The Franciscan way of life, both religious and lay, has taken many different forms over the centuries. Different lifestyles, different ways of prayer, different emphasis of mission. But it must all remain rooted in this, the Gospel and the way Francis strove to faithfully live the Gospel!
For a lay Franciscan, this can prove to be a challenge. But in accepting this challenge, he or she enters a blessed way of living. The will be high moments, and low. There will be times of satisfaction, and frustration. But we are not alone in this journey; we will have brothers and sisters here on this earth; and others in heaven, who will encourage us on! The challenge is to get off our duffs and do it.
Saints Francis and Clare, and all Franciscan Saints, pray for us!
“I give you a new commandment; love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
“…all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I will be honest with you, when I look out at this commonwealth; this country, this world. I wonder how many would recognize individuals as disciples of Jesus. In some of our major cities, and in some of our smaller one’s, there is more violence in our streets than I seen in awhile. War, disease, gang violence, domestic violence, it is out there. We see it on our screens; the wars and the conflicts, the intensity of which really frightens me. And I see also a hate among all peoples, white, black, Hispanic, and Asian; It is hate I have never seen before; and that frightens me also. And what comes to my mind is a question, actually a demand, where is the love?
I have heard that question asked before, but I could not remember where; so I turned to that source of all knowledge, ….Wikipedia. There were two songs issued under the title,”Where is the Love?” one song was written by the rap group The Black Eye Peas, released in 2003; re-released in 2016. They felt the question still needed to be asked; where is the Love? …..(pointing to the Crucifix). There is the Love. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus Christ, loved us so much, that He was willing to suffer death, death on a cross, so that we might be saved from sin and death; that by His Resurrection, we are freed from death, and will have eternal life. He calls on us to share this Good News, not just by words, but by example. Within our own families; towards people we will meet on the street, in the office, the factories, the stores; if we treat both friends and strangers with real respect and charity, we are showing where God’s love is. If we stand with the poor, the infirm, the crippled, the refugee; meeting their needs, an arm around a shoulder, letting them know they not alone; that is showing where the love is. If in any discussions, or debates we might be a party to; if we recognize that the other person is a brother or sister in Christ; we respect that person, even if we cannot accept the positions they hold.
The world is out there, a wounded world, inflicted by hate, war, despair. How well we love one another, how well we respect and love our neighbors, our city, our country, will give the answer to the question; an answer that everyone longing for, “Where is the love?”
We are at the beginning of Holy Week; where we bring to mind the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, his agony in the garden, his arrest by Temple authorities and the Sanhedrin, his abandonment by his disciples, his trials by the members of the Sanhedrin; by the Romans; and his crucifixion!
We begin with the procession of the palms, where a crowd of people are following Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. We do not know exactly the real size of this procession, but it appears to be large enough to concern the Sanhedrin; that it may concern the Roman occupiers and bring about a forceful, violent response. And what follows is the events of our Lord’s Passion; His suffering, His death!
But I would like to look now, at a different definition of the word “passion;” with a small “p.” Merriam-Webster dictionary has as one of the definition of “passion;” “a strong liking or desire for devotion to some activity, object, or concept.” What is our everyday passions; sports, both as player and spectator; reading books, paper or digital; collecting, etc., etc., One can definitely say that Jesus had a deep passion to fulfill the will of the Father; to proclaim the Good News to the poor and those who have lost hope in world; to heal the sick, to break the power of sin in the world. He had a passion so great, that He was willing to suffer the most humiliating death.
The question I have for us this morning, do we have a passion for the Gospel life; do we have a passion to follow Jesus? How passionate is our commitment to reach out to the poor, the stranger? How is our passion as a follower of Jesus Christ Crucified?
Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3: 17-4:1; Luke 9: 28b-36
A long, long, loooong time ago, I had an opportunity to spend a fall and winter season, working in a National Park, Big Bend National Park, to be precise, in southern Texas. I was assigned to the Lodge and Cabin area that was located in the Chisos Basin. I was to be a night watchman, needed because part of the lodging was made up of wooden cabins, built during the Great Depression, by WPA workers (Works Progress Administration). I was there to raise the alarm, in case there should be (God forbid) a fire; because those cabins would burn real fast. So it was important to get the word out quickly. I began making the nightly patrols. Now on my first night, I went out and saw for the first time a full night sky, without city lights obscuring the view. It was spectacular, the star field immense, and I was in awe.
Today’s Gospel, is St. Luke’s version of the Transfiguration. Jesus brings Peter, James and John, with him, up the mountain to pray. There, Jesus is transfigured, becoming like light, and Moses and Elijah appearing next to Him! And his three disciples were witnessing all this; and they were in awe at the sight. So much so that they were not sure what to say! They were so affected by the experience, that they did not, perhaps could not, tell any of the other disciples what had happened! At least not“at that time;” Luke writes.
Now after the death of Jesus, at the hands of the Romans, it was expected that his followers would disperse. Many probably did, but the Twelve remained in Jerusalem. I would like to think that at that moment, Peter, James, and John, revealed what they had seen, what they had experienced on the mountain with Jesus, to the rest of the apostles. Maybe this helped them to have the courage, the hope, to remain in Jerusalem. And on Easter morning, when the Resurrected Jesus appeared their midst, their hearts, their eyes were opened, and they were in awe!
Now we are all gathered here, in this place, around this altar. We are about to participate in something wondrous; witness something awesome. Now there are times when we gather, that we bring with us not only our joys, our blessings; but also our sorrows, our burdens, our worries. And Jesus invites us to lay them all down, here at the foot of the altar, and be to present to what is soon about happen! For Father will pick up the Host, take up the Cup of Wine, say the words of consecration, and they will become the Body and Blood of Christ; and I pray that we all will watch in awe!
But! We cannot remain silent as Peter, James, and John did, at first. We need to go out share this experience with the rest of our families , friends, acquaintances, and even strangers; by our words, by how we live our lives of faith! If we strive to that, then I know we will encourage others to join with us; to witness the glories of God as we do; and we will all be in awe!
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