Homily Easter Sunday Year B

 

In the first reading Peter tells us “Everyone who believes in him (Jesus) will

receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 

In the Gospel when John saw the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, he believed, though he did not fully understand what it meant for Jesus to rise from the dead.

 

In the second reading we heard.  If we truly believe that because of Jesus’ resurrection, our life is now hidden in Christ. We are to put away malice and weakness. This is in line with what we heard on Ash Wednesday “will you turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel by living a life of sincerity and truth?”

 

To believe in the risen Christ, to believe our sins are forgiven, to make an effort to grow in holiness are not the only effects of Jesus’ resurrection in our lives. In the first reading Peter said that we are witnesses chosen by God to proclaim that He is risen by our words and actions.

 

This is what took place that first Easter and since. Those who experienced the risen

Lord were those who believe in him. The religious leaders and others did not believe. Thus, they did not accept Jesus. And Jesus did not appear to them. Their hearts were closed. But to those who believe and saw, their lives were drastically changed forever.

 

As radical as the resurrection was, they realized that now their lives needed to be rooted in Christ. They realized that they must share their faith in the risen Christ with others.

 

The apostles were no longer afraid of what the people would say or do to them. They were obedient to the commission Jesus gave them. They were confident that his promises were true. “I will be with you till the end of time.” They were full of joy and zeal for the Lord. They knew they were not perfect. They still made mistakes. But Jesus was the Lord of their lives and to him they committed their lives.  In the power of the Spirit the very works that Jesus did and said they would do, they did.

 

In a little while we will have the opportunity to firm up our resolve to be rooted in Christ by renewing our baptismal promises. But the real issue will be what happen afterwards. Will we strive to grow in holiness or return to our pre-Lent, pre-Easter life? Will we witness our faith in the risen Christ or be ashamed of being known as his followers? Those who truly believe experienced his new life and witnessed to others.

 

It may not be politically correct nor culturally acceptable today to publicly express our faith in the risen Lord. But if Jesus thought it important to show his great love for us by embracing the suffering death of the cross for our sake. Can we not be bold and courageous enough to show our gratitude by living our faith in him in a public way? Can others tell we are a resurrected, Alleluia people? He is indeed risen! In him we now live and move and have our being. Go forth and be witnesses of the resurrected Lord. 

"It is finished!"

What is finished is Jesus’ suffering. He suffered the rejection of the people in Nazareth. He suffered the verbal abuse and rejection of the religious leaders. He suffered the misunderstanding and limited vision of his disciples and their abandonment. He suffered the agony of the Garden, arrest, mistreatment by the guards, unjust condemnation by the High Priest. He suffered being scourged and crowned with thorns and being mocked. He suffered by being treated as a criminal while Barabas, a true criminal is released. He suffered the weight of the cross on the way to crucifixion. He suffered being stripped naked, nailed to a cross and hung to dye. He suffered the thirst that comes from dehydration, the pains in his arms and legs from hanging from the cross for hours, the struggle to breath. Now, it is finished. There will be no more pain or crying out, no more dying, no more suffering.

In the words of Pope Leo the Great: “There is nothing more to endure from these raging people. He has endured all that he foretold he should suffer. The mysteries of weakness are completed.” 

Easter Sunday: Gospel reflections  Year B

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." 

· Because of the Sabbath she could not go to the tomb until after sunset. But before she did she probably went to buy some oil to properly anoint the body. As a result it was early in the morning before she arrived at the tomb.

· Seeing the stone removed from the entrance, she presumed that the body was removed.

· She knew where to find Peter and John. They were hiding out in the Upper Room.

· “The other disciple whom Jesus loved” This is the way that John refers to himself in his Gospel.

· Notice in this Gospel account Mary of Magdala is said to have gone to the tomb alone, while the other Gospel indicate other women were with her. The fact that she says to Peter “we don’t know where they put him” indicates others were with her.

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.  

· Why do you think the other disciple did not go in before Peter? Was it respect for age or was it that he recognized Peter’s role as leader of the 12 appointed by Jesus?

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

· A major theme in John’s Gospel is that of faith in Jesus as Lord and Messiah.

· What has been your journey of faith in Jesus? Where did it actually begin? Where is it now? Is your faith journey completed yet or is there a deeper level of faith still ahead?

· Though faith is a grace and gift, what has faith called forth from you?

For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. 

· What does it mean that John “saw and believed” if he still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead?

· It wasn’t until the Easter appearance of Jesus did they began to understand.

· Place yourself in the scene. What would your reaction be, given the same circumstances?

· Even though we don’t understand everything about Jesus, is our faith in him still real?

· What experiences have you had that has strengthened your faith?

· What resolution should this Gospel narrative lead you to make? 

"It is finished!"

What is finished? The Father’s plan for our salvation has been completed. The sin of Adam and Eve has been addressed, fulfilling the word of God that said to the serpent: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.^{” (Gen 3:15)}  God’s promise in Eden is precisely what happened at the cross. In Christ’s death, he breaks the devil’s power: We read in Colossians: “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). 

In the words of Pope John Paul II: Salvation has taken place; “that with his sacrifice Jesus has transformed the greatest injustice into the greatest love.”

Jesus, not only takes away our sins, but now He removes it as far as the east is from the west. It is finished, done, signed, and sealed because of the blood of Jesus. In his prayer to the Father at the end of the Last Supper, Jesus said: “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.” (Jn 17:4)

 "I Thirst"

This fifth word of Jesus from the cross comes after having nothing to eat or drink since the Last Supper, the night before, after enduring the scourging and crowning, carrying his cross, being nailed to it and after hanging there for six hours of agony and dehydration. His cry has a double meaning. Besides a need for actual water, in spite of refusing the wine soaked with a drug at the beginning of his crucifixion, Jesus is thirsting for something more. First of all, he had previously expressed his cry to the Father: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" His thirst was for the Father's love. He knew the Father loved him as the Beloved Son. But he cried for a sense of the Father's love once more. Secondly, Jesus' cry was for us. As he thirsts for the Father's love, so he thirsts for our love. He has shown his great love for us by taking upon himself our sins, giving his life for our life. The Father will answer his cry by raising him up. How will we answer his cry? The only response we can rightly give to his deep cry is the response of intense love in return.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus has been on the cross for some time now. Though Jesus is sinless, the weight of sin and its emptiness overwhelms him. He experiences the depth of separation which sin causes between a person and God. This sense of abandonment was perhaps the greatest pain that Jesus endured for our sake. Even though in fact and in faith, the Son of God could never be separated from the Father, becoming sin for us has its toll on Jesus. God did not forsake the first Adam even though he sinned, nor did God forsake Cain, nor the Chosen People when they broke the Covenant. God has never forsaken his people because of their sin. Would he forsake his sinless Son even though he has taken on the sin of humanity? If God did not forsake the first Adam will he forsake the second Adam? It is not abandonment but love. The Father loved the Son and the Son loved the Father. It is also out of love for us that God allowed Jesus to experience the darkness of sin. 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation we are really celebrating the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God in flesh. Mary was told that she, a virgin, would conceive a Son. Mary, in asking how can this be since she, though engaged to Joseph, hoped to remain a virgin. She was not doubting God's plan but seeking how to be totally in line with his will. The angel implicitly assured her that it was God's plan that she should remain a virgin before, during and after childbirth. The conception will be by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by man. For the child to be born is not just any child, but the Son of the Most High God, sent to be the promised Messiah. 

Mary had been prepared for this gift-moment from the moment of her own conception. By God's mysterious grace Mary was conceived free from sin and remained such by grace all her life. This was in lieu of the fact that the child she was to conceive years later would come from a pure vessel of grace, with no taint of sin. If the Son of God would empty himself of his divinity to take on our flesh, he deserves the best human mother to be conceived in. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!

 

Homily Palm Sunday Year B

 

Gospel for the blessing of palms

 

In this Gospel passage we read where the crowds on their way to Jerusalem hailed Jesus as the potential Messiah, waving branches and laying their outer garments for his to pass over on the donkey he was riding. Symbolically, he was seen as a warrior king, who was triumphantly entering Jerusalem. Hosanna to the Son of David.  It was the excitement of victory and celebration.

 

But the focus of this event in Jesus’ life was really the cross and resurrection. This was the hour in which he will confront the rule of Satan and inflict a mortal wound. Jesus’ death would be the defeat of a pseudo-power Satan had over the world from the first sin of Adam and Eve. In his own temptations in the desert, which we reflected on in the beginning of Lent, Jesus laid the gauntlet down. He chose to trust the Father and to do the will of the Father than seek self-satisfaction or power.

 

So immediately after our short focus on Jesus’ triumphant entrance into the city, we begin to look towards the true high point of Jesus’ life—his death on the cross for our salvation and his resurrection prefiguring our destiny with him in eternal glory.

 

Reading 1: Centuries before the passion of Jesus, Isaiah prophesied about what will take place to the Suffering Servant of God, whom God will send to save the world from the eternal effects of sin. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” These are some of the sufferings Jesus experienced on our behalf.

 

We are reminded that Jesus’ suffering and death were not imposed upon him from outside. As he said at different times, “I lay down my life freely and I take it up again.” The focus for Jesus was the will of the Father. “He opens my ears that I may hear; I have not rebelled.” All his sufferings he endured, he embraced freely, all the while keeping his eyes on the Father, trusting himself to the Father. “I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”

 

Reading 2: Here Paul reminds us that the focus of Jesus is not so much the cross, but upon the will of the Father. Where the first sin was a refusal to embrace the will of God for Adam and Eve, the Son of God out of love for the Father and us, emptied himself of his divinity. He took upon himself our human nature, becoming one like us in all things except sin. He totally embraced the will of the Father even to accepting death on the cross for our salvation. God raised him up and exalted him at his right hand, where all will acknowledge him as Lord and Messiah, giving glory to God.

 

The focus of Jesus was the will of the Father, not primarily the cross.

 

Gospel: The passion and death of Jesus for our sake. The crowd on Palm Sunday sang his praises. The crowd on Good Friday demanded his death by crucifixion. On Palm Sunday they honored him as a King coming in victory. On Friday they mocked, ridiculed him, rejecting him as king. On Palm Sunday the disciples went before him, enjoying being with him and hearing the acclaim of the crowd. On Friday all fled from him for fear of being arrested and crucified with him. All deserted him except for Mary his mother, John and a few faithful women. The Jesus of Palm Sunday is the same Jesus as Good Friday. His human nature on Sunday is the same human nature on Friday.

 

The question is not so much what others did then but what we do now. How often we may act one way on Sunday but opposite on other days during the week? How often de we verbally acclaim and praise God but with same voice and tongue we used his name in vain? How often externally we go thru the motions but internally think and live differently?

 

The real question is does what happened on Palm Sunday and Good Friday result in Easter Sunday and on in our lives? Has our journey begun on Ash Wednesday truly prepared us to enter into Jesus’ death and resurrection so that with him we too can live the Easter life now and eternally?

 

Will today be just another day? Will Friday be just another Friday? Will Easter be another holiday? Or will something radically be different because of our experience of Jesus today, Friday and Easter? Jesus went through a change in his human body from death to resurrected glory. Will we experience a change in our life? Will there be any death to sin and new life in Christ? If not, we will continue to shout Hosanna on Sunday, crucify him on Friday and deny his resurrection on Sunday by our life style and daily decisions.  To be the believing disciples of Easter Sunday, we must not only follow him on Palm Sunday, but like the few faithful disciples, stand under the cross on Friday weeping for our sins and the sins of the world.

 

"Woman, behold your son. Son behold your mother.” 

I offer this insight into this moment in Jesus’ life in relation to his earthly mother. To complete the total gift of himself to the Father, Jesus heeded his own words to the disciples. He let go even the most natural human relationship--that between a mother and her son. “Whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me.” Jesus was speaking of the separation of affections, not that we are not to love those closest to us, but that not even these can be first in our lives. As comforting as Mary’s presence is, even this Jesus forsakes to fully experience the separation and emptiness sin brings about. There was no denial of this bond with his mother, but the acknowledgement that the greatest bond is between him and God. There was a higher love in his life, a love that has motivated his whole life—his love for his Father.

Another deeper meaning is embedded in the words of Jesus.  Mary was given to be the spiritual mother of all those saved by Jesus. Thus, she is called the Mother of the Church. Under the cross she, by God’s divine plan, became the mother of those who believe in Jesus, sharing in his Divine life. As a mother, she formed Jesus from infancy to adulthood. As our mother Mary desires to form us as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, leading us to him and instructing us to do whatever he tells us.

Palm Sunday: Gospel B

When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, 'Why are you doing this?' reply, 'The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'"

· How did Jesus know this? One of the gifts of the Spirit, which Jesus exercised at times, is the gift of word of knowledge.  Another time Jesus used this gift was the time he told Peter to go fishing and the first fish he will catch will have a coin in its mouth. This coin was to pay the temple tax for Jesus and Peter. Jesus knew this through insight from the Spirit.

· Have you ever experienced this in your life?

So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it. So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!" 

· If you were a bystander on the road, what would you have thought? If you were someone familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, what would you have thought? If you were a disciple of Jesus, what would you have thought? The response of each would be different, why?

· Mark refrains from identifying Jesus as the Messiah until after his death and resurrection.  He pictures Jesus as a prophet from God who comes in the name of the Lord.

· This week—Holy Week—is an important grace moment for all of us. How will you enter into the different liturgical celebrations beginning with the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, the Lord’s Passion on Friday, his burial and resurrection? Will this be a business-as-usual-week or will it truly be a Holy Week in your life?

· Will your focus on Good Friday by Jesus’ suffering and death or on others?

· Looking back over these weeks of Lent, did we accomplish what we set out to do? Has it been a spiritually fruitful Lent? 

"Today, you shall be with me in paradise."

Jesus' second word from the cross was to one of the criminals crucified with him. The first fruit of Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness came forth in the words of this criminal crucified with Jesus. Recognizing and admitting his own sinfulness, he expressed a plea of repentance. He publicly testified to Jesus’ innocence and professed his faith in Jesus’ identity as Lord, without understanding the full meaning.

 

To the quivering thief Jesus gave a promise of hope. His sinful life will not end in devastation but in victory. The response of Jesus was immediate. “Amen, I say to you. Today you shall be with me in Paradise.” Recall the words of the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel. “Do I find pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord? Do I not rejoice when they turn from their evil way and live?” (Ez 18:23)

 

When we turn to the Lord asking for forgiveness with a sincere heart, will Jesus promise us less? He desires our eternal salvation with him. His reconciling grace is there for the asking and receiving.

 

 "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?" (Lk 23:34)

As we begin to enter into the last days of Lent, preparing ourselves for the celebration of Jesus' death and resurrection, I will be focusing on the Last Seven Words of Jesus from the cross.

Jesus’ first word from the cross is a word of mercy and love. It is a word of forgiveness. He became man in order to reconcile us to the Father. We have sinned, Paul says, and have fallen short of the life God seeks to share with us. We can forgive ourselves but that is not enough. Others can forgive us, but that is not enough. Every sin is an offense against the holiness of God. Only God can forgive our sins. 

Jesus addresses this prayer first to those who have been involved in putting himself, an innocent man, to death by crucifixion. Jesus addresses this prayer retrospectively to all who lived from the time of Adam and Eve until that moment. But his prayer goes beyond the past and present. He is asking God to forgive the sins of all those who fail to be obedient to God into the future. 

Jesus taught the necessity of forgiveness to his disciples many times in different ways. Now from the pulpit of the cross, Jesus puts into practice his own teaching. It is not do as I say, but do as I have done. There can be no greater witness than these words and actions of Jesus from the cross.  Do we make Jesus' prayer to the Father our prayer as well? Can we ask forgiveness for those who have done harm to us as well as forgive them ourselves? If we are a disciple of Jesus, we are called to imitate the Master.

In his Apostolic Letter entitled "With a Father's heart", Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, a father who is creatively courageous, a working father and a father in the shadows.

As such St. Joseph is a model for all of us, as we make our journey to the Lord. As a beloved father, he was loved by God and specifically chosen to be the spouse of the Mother of God. As a loving father, he embraced the Son of Mary as his own to protect her and him. As an obedient father, he said "yes" to God's plan for Mary and Jesus, surrendering his own expectations and dreams. As an accepting father, he accepted Jesus as his own and gave him his name, validating legitimacy. 

As a courageous father he endures the many hardships in protecting Jesus without complaining. As a working father, he used his skill as a carpenter to provide for Jesus and Mary and to teach Jesus a trade. As a father in the shadows, no words of his are recorded in the scriptures. He was behind the scenes, never in the limelight. Whether we are a man or woman, we can learn much from the example of St. Joseph and his example of life in the shadows for the sake of others. St. Joseph, pray for us.

"Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation. It is God who, in his good will toward you, gegets in you any measure of desire or achievement"(Philippians 2:12).

Yesterday, we reflected on the revealed truth that salvation is a grace-work of Jesus. Through his death and resurrection he reveals the depth of God's mercy. Salvation is a total gift, which we can't merit. Yet, we are called to respond to this gracious gift. Paul shows the  urgency and the necessity for this response. "Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation."

From the time of our Baptism until our last breath, this should be our constant concern. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul said, "And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to live in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1). How? Again we turn to the revelation of God through the words of the Spirit to Paul. "Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). Are you conscious of this gift from God? Are you responding to the gift of salvation? How? Is it a priority in your life? 

 

Homily Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B

 

Reading 1: The theme of Covenant continues I n the first reading of each Sunday in Lent. First Sunday, we heard the covenant God made with Noah and the sign was the rainbow. Second Sunday, it was the covenant with Abraham and the sin was circumcision and the need to trust in the Lord. Third Sunday, it was the covenant with Moses and the Israelites and the sign was obedience to the Ten Commandments. Fourth Sunday, because the Chosen People continually broke the covenant, adding infidelity to infidelity, they experienced exile from the Promised Land for seventy years. A savior, Cyrus, would restore them to the land so they could rebuild the destroyed Temple.

 

Today, Jeremiah prophecies that God will make a new and final covenant, a covenant of the heart, a covenant of love. The Law of the Mosaic Covenant was external relationship with God. The Law of the New Covenant will be internalized, written on their hearts.  The sign of this New Covenant was the forgiveness of sins. God no longer remembering them. The response to God’s faithful love is to love in return, not out of obligation or just externally but by living in a right relationship that brings intimacy and union with God.

 

That prophesy of Jeremiah was fulfilled at the Last Supper and on the Cross. Do we not hear this promised renewed when the chalice of wine in consecrated? “The is the Blood of the New and eternal Covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

 

We personally entered into that covenant the day we were baptized. We experience the grace of our covenant when we celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where the words of God are fulfilled: “I will forgive their evil doings and remember their sins no more.” We renew our covenant each time we celebrate Eucharist, as we do today.

 

Gospel: The focus of the First Sunday of Lent was the Temptations Jesus experienced at the beginning of his ministry. The Second Sunday, we reflected on the scene of the Transfiguration. The Third Sunday, it was the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus. Last Sunday, we heard that as Moses was lifted up, so the Son of Man will draw all to himself when he is lifted up.

 

Today, Jesus returns to that reality. “Once I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself.” His focus is on the central theme of our Lenten journey, the death and resurrection of Jesus as Lord and Savior. He came to the earth to bring humanity back to God.

 

Last Sunday, the theme of the Gospel was faith in Jesus leads to salvation and eternal life. Even the beginning statement of Jesus points to his upcoming suffering and death. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it does not bear much fruit.”

 

The salvation Jesus brings about requires a response from us. That response is to follow him as a disciple in the service of others. How? We do this by laying down our life for others, by surrendering it to Jesus, so that others may see the power of selfless love.

 

Reading 2: Each of the second readings in the past four Sundays has focused us on Jesus’ death and resurrection. First Sunday, we have been saved in the waters of baptism. The Second Sunday, we saw that even though God spared Abraham’s son, he did not spare his own Son but handed him over to death because of his great love for us. The Third Sunday, Jesus’ death and resurrection seem like foolishness to the Jews and weakness to the Greeks, but in truth they show the strength and power of God. Last Sunday, we heard that God, rich in mercy, saved us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

Today, we heard that Jesus out of love for us and the Father gave his life for ours. In his humanity he cried to the Father to spare him, but at the same time out of love and obedience he embraced the wood of the cross to be an example to us. In our trials we cry out to the Lord, but in obedience we are called to embrace them so that through them we can be perfected and brought into the full life of God.

"God, who is rich in mercy, for the sake of his exceedingly great charity with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, has enlivened us together in Christ, by whose grace you have been saved. And he has raised us up together, and he has caused us to sit down together in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that he may display, in the ages soon to arrive, the abundant wealth of his grace, by his goodness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).

St. Paul stated i n the previous verses that we, because of our sins deserved God's wrath. In stead, he graciously poured his love upon us. Not only are we saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus, but we are further adopted as his sons and daughters, so that we may share in his glory. All is grace, mercy and love. Are we  grateful or ungrateful? Will we embrace these gifts or will we return to our old way of darkness? Will our words and actions proclaim that we are heirs of the Kingdom of God or will we be citizens of this world, alienated from God? Living in the twilight zone will not be sufficient, for the twilight leads to darkness.

Fifth Sunday of Lent: Gospel B

Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 

· How strong of a desire do we have to see Jesus? What are we doing to make that desire known to Jesus?

· For Jesus, his glory would be made known through his death and resurrection. The cross, though an instrument of human cruelty, would be the throne of glory for Jesus.

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. 

· Where is this mystery of death and life happening in your spiritual life? What area of sin needs to die so that new life may come? What are we afraid to give up in order to live?

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

· As you reflect on these words, what is the response welling up in your heart? What is your struggle?

 I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name." 

· By doing the will of the Father even to the death of the cross, Jesus glorified the name of the Father. How are you called to glorify God’s name?

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again." 

· What are the two times have we already seen where God has glorified Jesus? His Baptism and his Transfiguration. What will be the next time the Father will glorify Jesus?

The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. 

· This was another confirmation of who Jesus was and what he was doing was of God.

Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this indicating the kind of death he would die. 

· Spend some time viewing the crucified Jesus. Through this sign of love he seeks to draw you closer in relationship with him. Listen to him as he speaks to you from this pulpit and altar.

· What is your response? If you are keeping a journal, write your response in it.

·    The season of Lent is drawing to an end? Are we still persevering in our commitments to turn away from sin and to return to God? 

Not only did the Father so loved us that he sent his only begotten and his beloved Son to be our Savior. But the Son  came out of love for the Father and for us. He himself said, "Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends." St. Paul, however, helps us to put this love  into perspective. "Now someone might barely be willing to die for the sake of justice, for example, perhaps someone might dare to die for sake of a good man. But God demonstrates his love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, at the proper time, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-9).

A little later in the same Letter to the Romans St Paul adds, "So, what should we say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare even his own Son, but handed him over for the sake of us all, how could he not also, with him, have given us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32). Can we with any justification doubt God's love for us? At the same time, can we with any justification withhold our love from God?

"God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life" (John 3:16)

We can't begin to imagine, comprehend, fully appreciate or adequately respond to the love God has for us. We have sinned beyond measure, and yet God still loves us. I am reminded of a story. Two women were washing their clothes  in the river. There was a thorn bush next to one woman. She noticed a spider caught in the bush. She reached out and freed it and it bit her. A little latter on the spider was again caught in the bush. The woman again freed it and the spider bit her. After this happened a third time, the other woman rebuked her. "Don't you know that the spider is going to continually bite you?" The woman replied: "It may be the nature of the spider to bite me; it is my choice to free it." No matter how often we have sinned and will continue to sin, God lovingly reaches out to free us. There is no limit to his love. What should our response be? Only love that reflects gratitude can respond to his love. Even though our love is finite and limited, God accepts our love. But even if we don't respond, God still pours out his love. That is his nature.

 “Our life is: ‘To breathe God in and out. To find God in everything. To reveal God  to all. To radiate the presence of God’” (St. Vincent Pallotti). 

What a high bar to aim for! Yet, isn't this another way of saying that we are called to love God with our whole mind, strength and soul? Isn't this also saying that God is to be the center of our every action? As we move closer to the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are called to double our efforts by consciously doing all that we do in, for and with God. Yes, the bar is high. But even  if we do not reach it, at least we are closer to the life God seeks us to live: a life in union with him by his grace.

"Do you struggle with a lazy heart or a zealous one? If lazy, look at the effects of this in your life. The boredom and dissatisfaction you experience is a direct result. If, however, you are zealous and diligent in life, what is it you are zealous for? Reflect upon this honestly today and seek t grow in a burning zeal for the building up of the Kingdom of God" (St. Faustina).

What are our priorities in life? Is God the first priority? If so, our zeal will be focused on pleasing him in all things. Jesus was zealous for the Father, seeking to do the will of the Father as the first order of business in his life. Jesus had a normal life, did the normal things of life, but always made the Father's will the heart of his life. We can live a normal life, doing the normal things of life and we too can make the Father's will the heart of our life. As a result our life will not suffer from boredom or laziness. For each moment is a grace from God, inviting us to center it on him in whatever we do.

Homily: Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B

 

Reading 1: For the last three Sundays there has been a focus on God’s covenant with men and women over the centuries. The first readings for those Sundays spoke of the covenant God made with Noah, with Abraham and with the Israelites in the desert through Moses. Today, the writer tells us that in spite of God’s providential care, the succeeding generations broke their covenant with God.  Even the dire warnings of the prophets didn’t deter the people from living contrary to their covenant with God.

 

Finally, as the prophets had warned, the enemies of the people conquered them, destroyed the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. The people were taken into captivity.  That new exile lasted the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah. Then, God moved a pagan King to restore the people to Judea, so that they could rebuild their Temple to God

 

God desires the salvation of his people, not their destruction. Their purification was necessary to call them back to the covenant.  We too are covenanted to God in baptism. We renew our covenant in the Eucharist each Sunday. As individuals and as a nation have we lived up to our covenant with God? Are we any different? Will God treat us any differently? Every attempt is being made to secularize our nation, to remove God from it, to segregate God to a private, personal, sentimental relationship. If God treated the people of the Old Testament justly because of their sinfulness, can we expect to be treated differently?

 

Gospel: Some of the people in the Old Testament failed to believe and act on God’s words. As a result, they were chastised and purified. Jesus in the Gospel emphasizes three major points. 1. He speaks about his future death on the cross. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

 

2. He underscores the love of the Father for his people. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” Jesus in a living sign of the Father’s love. Jesus’ death on the cross is a living sign of the Son’s love for us. The Father and the Son’s love is given to us through the cross that we may have eternal life. Adam and Eve’s sin separated them from God. They no longer shared in God’s divine life. Jesus came to reconcile us, to redeem us and to once more share the divine life of God with us, so we can live with God eternally.

 

3. He underlines the centrality of the response of faith and action. “Whoever believes in him will not be condemned…Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” We can stay in the darkness of sin or enter into the light and life of Christ. The truth of God’s love and what God has done for us through Jesus and the life he calls us to live is evident in his word. To believe is to live in the light. Not to fully believe is to be in the twilight. Not to believe by our actions is to live in the darkness.

 

Reading 2: The focus is on the gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul tells us that what Jesus did is a sign of God’s love and mercy. We were once alienated from God because of sin, but God is rich in mercy. Salvation is a gift to be received, not earned. But our life following the gift, experienced through baptism, is to be a reflection of our gratitude.

 

Faith in Jesus is not just an intellectual assent and acknowledgment of Jesus. It is accepting him as Lord and Savior of our lives. This faith is to be lived and shared. We are called to recognize and embrace the grace of our salvation by becoming more under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our life is to be a visible witness of our faith. 

A Prayer for Zeal

Implant within my heart, O God, the fiery zeal of a Jeremiah, the conviction of a Ruth or Rebecca and the zest of a Francis of Assisi. Stir my slumbering soul, that it might sing a song of passion and devotion, drunk with dancing joy and desire for you, my divine and loving Friend. May my heart be as hot as the heart of Moses for al your children burdened by slavery, for all who feel oppression's steely heel or suffer rejection in an alien land. May I, like your son Jesus, be consumed with zeal for you, Divine beloved, for life, for justice and for peace; for all that I know in faith. Fill me with zeal, O God. Amen (Fr. Edward Hayes)

Zeal is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah likened it to a fire in his belly, which he couldn't extinguish. It is the Spirit who stirs within us that overwhelming desire to do the will of God in the present moment in spite of external and internal obstacles. Ask God for a fresh anointing of the same gift of zeal that motivated the saints in their journey to him.

 Fourth Sunday of Lent: Gospel B

Jesus said: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

· Jesus is referring to Numbers 21:9. The Israelites had turned away from God and sinned. As a chastisement God sent snakes that bit and killed some of the people. The rest cried out to the Lord who told Moses to mount a figure of a serpent on a pole. If anyone called upon the Lord, while gazing on the symbol, God promised deliverance and healing.

· On a side note, when people question you about “worshipping” statues, ask them how they explain this event in the OT and Jesus validating it?

· What connection do you see with Jesus on the cross?

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 

· Personalize this statement and reflect on it. “God so loved me that he gave…”

· God desires us to live with him, sharing his life, now and forever. How strong is the desire to respond in our hearts?

· To accomplish this Jesus gave his life. What are we willing to do to show our gratitude and life this life?

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

· What is your commitment to Jesus like at this time of your life? Has this grown over the years? What is Jesus asking of you as you reflect on this passage at this time of your life?

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God”

· Do you see yourself more in the light than in the darkness? What areas of darkness or sin does God want you to remove from your life, so that you may be more in the light of his grace?

· What resolution do you feel you need to make to respond to the Word of God?

· Has Lent been a time of response to grace and return to the Lord? Do we need to refocus our sights for the rest of Lent?

One of the lies the Devil tells us is that there is no need to overdo things or to rush to do things. There is time. Relax. There is always tomorrow. Or he will say that we haven't done enough. We have to do more to please God. Laziness or burnout. Neither way leads to God or please God. Zeal is a virtue that seeks to do the will of God out of love for God, according to his timing and plan. it is only excessive in intensity of love, leading to deeper union with God. In the words of St. Faustina: "A zealous heart is one that finds great excitement in the activities of the day." 

"Often we are preoccupied with the question 'How can we be witnesses in the Name of Jesus? What are we supposed to say or do to make people accept the love that God offers them?' These questions are expressions more of our fear than of our love. Jesus shows us the way of being witnesses. He was so full of God's love, so connected with God's will, so burning with zeal for God's kingdom, that he couldn't do other than witness. Wherever he went and whomever he met, a power went out from him that healed everyone who touched him. If we want to be witnesses like Jesus, our only concern should be to be as alive with the love of God as Jesus was" (Henri Nouwen).

In this past Sunday's Gospel we read that zeal for God's house consumed Jesus. Because of his intimate love of the Father, Jesus reacted to the commercialism that had overshadowed true worship of God in the Temple. He was not concerned with the reaction of the authorities. His love for the Father and his desire that the Father be worship in spirit and truth far outweighed any concerns others may have. How zealous are we for what is pertains to God? Do we let human reactions stand in our way in doing the will of God? Lent is a grace-time to return to the Lord, no matter the cost.

"Jesus is the obedient one. The center of his life is this obedient relationship with the Father. This may be hard for us to understand because the word obedience has so many negative connotations in our society. It makes us thinks of authority figures who impose their wills against our desires. It makes us remember unhappy childhood events or hard tasks performed under threats of punishment. But none of this applies to Jesus' obedience. His obedience means a total fearless listening to his loving Father. Between the Father and the Son there is only love" (Henri Nouwen).

Obedience to God is based on a relationship of love, not understanding, not rationale, nor proof. Because of who God is and all he has done for me out of love, my obedience is a sign of my loving trust in him. He owes me no explanation or justification. He is his word. If I can't trust his word, then whom can I trust, including myself? I have made mistakes and others have also. But God is Truth himself. Jesus in his humanity trusted in the Father because of his love. Can I have a greater mentor to follow or motive?

Homily Third Sunday of Lent Year B

 

Reading 1: On the First Sunday of Lent we heard about the covenant which God made with Noah after the flood and the sign of that covenant was the rainbow. Last Sunday we heard the test that God put Abraham through by asking him to be obedient to their covenant by sacrificing Isaac his son. The obedience of Abraham to his relationship to God spared his son.  Today, we see the covenant that God made with the Israelites in the desert during their exodus from slavery in Egypt.

 

The Commandments were the way the people would reflect their relationship with God through obedience. The first three focus primarily on God.  The first Commandment acknowledges the oneness of God, who had delivered then versus the many humanly created gods of the pagans. Commandments two and three reflect the holiness of God and the need to reflect this through worship. The last seven commandments deal with right relationship with each other. Love of God and love of neighbor.

 

Though the people confirmed their acceptance of their relationship with God and one another and offered sacrifice to seal their covenant with God, we know it took them 40 years of wandering in the desert before they could truly affirm their relationship. They were a rebellious, stiff-neck people, who were still self-centered rather than other-centered. They complained continually and did not trust God but sought rather to do things their way.

 

St Augustine described sin as being caved in on oneself. Sin closes us in on ourselves whereas love draws us out of ourselves. As long as they remained in that state of rebellion and disobedience, they were not ready to enter the land of promise and the joy of freedom.

 

Gospel: On the First Sunday of Lent we reflected on the temptations of Jesus. He came to confront Satan and to restore right relationship with the Father, who loves us. Last Sunday, we reflected on the Transfiguration, when Jesus was prepared for his upcoming death on the cross for our sake. He experienced the glory that he had before his becoming man and the glory he would experience again in his resurrected body. At the same time the Transfiguration was also meant to be a grace for the three disciples, preparing them for Jesus’ passion and death on the cross. They were told to listen to him.

 

Today, we see where Jesus’ focus is on, namely, restoring the right relationship between the people and God. Though they had entered into a covenant with God, they were not faithful to it. Like us they made their own human adaptations and gave it their own interpretations. The Temple was the sacred place of God’s presence among his people. It was a place of worship and praise. In time, for human reasons and some personal benefits, it became also a place of commerce.

 

Jesus by his actions showed the zeal we should have for the Lord. “My Father’s house is a house of worship.” The response of the religious leaders, who had sanctioned the commercial activities, was to demand the source of Jesus’ authority. What sign supports Jesus’ actions?  Jesus pointed to his upcoming death on the cross and the resurrection. These will be the sign to the people who he really was, the Messiah. It would demonstrate his zeal for the Father, by doing his will and being obedient even to the death on the cross.

 

How zealot are we for God? How zealot are we in the discipline of Lent? How zealot are we in seeking the Lord’s will in our life?

 

Reading 2: On the first Sunday of Lent we were reminded that Jesus suffered and died for our sins and brought back to life by the Spirit. We experience salvation through the waters of baptism as Noah was saved by water. Last Sunday, we were reminded that if God did not spare his own son but allowed him to give his life for us because of his great love, what more can God do to show us the depth of his love. Today, we heard that a central mystery of our faith is Christ crucified. This sign of the Father’s love was a stumbling block to the Jews, who sought signs and to the Greeks, who accepted what was rational. For a man to die on a cross was foolishness. It does not make sense rationally.

 

How can the death of a man on the cross be anything but weakness? Where is the victory? Paul said the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. For Jesus didn’t just die but he rose from the deal. By these events he saved us from eternal destruction. We have been reconciled back to God. We now have access to eternal life with God, when before we were doomed to eternal alienation by virtue of our sins. Praise God for his mercy and love. 

"Obeying God is listening to God, having an open heart to follow the path that God points out to  us. Obedience to God is listening to God and it set us free" (Pope Francis).

Even though Peter and his companions at Jesus' transfiguration heard the voice of God telling them to listen to the words of Jesus concerning his suffering and death as Messiah, they were not able to. Why? They knew Jesus but they didn't really know the real Jesus. Even though they acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, their understanding did not include a suffering Messiah, but a triumphant one. It was only after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit, that their minds were open and their hears transformed. So much so, that in the face of being threatened by the Sanhedrin, if they did not stop preaching Jesus as the Messiah, Peter's response was: "It is better for us to obey God than to obey men". Peter embraced the true freedom that comes with obeying God. How obedient are we in all matters that pertain to our relationship with him?

Third Sunday of Lent: Gospel B

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

· This is the first of three Passovers that John mentions in his Gospel. The other two are found in Jn 6:4 and 13:1.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples recalled the words of scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 

· In the synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Mark the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus takes place at the end of his ministry just prior to his passion. But for John it fits better theologically here. It sets the stage for his ministry.

· The sheep and oxen and doves were the animals offered in sacrifice in the Temple. The doves were what the poor could afford. Recall that this was what Joseph and Mary could afford when they presented Jesus in the Temple. (Lk 2:24)

· “Zeal for your house…” Look up Ps 69:10.

· When have we felt such zeal for God’s glory?

· Do we feel at times the same is happening in our churches today?

At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 

· This is one of the charges that will be hurled against Jesus during his trial before the leaders.

· How often do we look for signs, when God is looking for response to the signs he has already given us of his love?

· The greatest and final sign of Jesus’ true identity is his death and resurrection. But even this will not be enough for some.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.

· Even though many people believed in him, their faith would be shaken by his arrest and death. Even the apostles faltered at the time of his death. Only the fact of the resurrection restored them.

· How strong is our faith in Jesus? Where have we faltered in our journey?

· Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. What needs to be cleansed within us so that God may be better glorified?

We look more like Peter in his response to the word of God. Having been told by the Father to listen to Jesus, sometime later Peter was able to act on that admonition. After Jesus' teaching on giving the disciples his Body to eat and his Blood to drink, many disciples left Jesus. Peter's response was: "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and we recognize that you are the Christ, the Son of God." In that instance, he heard and he submitted without  understanding. Unfortunately, he could not do the same when Jesus spoke about his upcoming passion and death. Even when Jesus forewarned Peter that before the crock crows twice Peter would deny him. Peter objected vehemently. But he failed when pressed. How attentive do we listen with our hearts to God's word? How often we to succumb like Peter? What can we do but get up and start again.

"This is my Beloved Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." Do we listen with our ears or hear with our heart? Do we listen attentively to every word or do we have selective hearing? Do we listen, seeking understanding, or do we question everything we hear with skepticism?  What is more important, the person speaking, or the words spoken? The Father's voice told the three disciples, witnessing Jesus being transfigured by his past and future glory, to listen to him. They had just witness a glimpse of Jesus true identity in his transfiguration. In reality, the Father was telling them to accept what Jesus is telling them as truth, because of who he is. In accepting his word they were to submit to  him in obedience. How attentive do we listen with our hearts to God's word?