Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle A Readings: Zep. 2:3; 3:12-13 1 Cor. 1:26-31 Mt 5:1-12
Zephaniah charts our course for us. We are to be seekers of God, justice and humility. Humility acknowledges that we are nothing without God. Justice demands that with God we become our brothers keeper and we build a community of conscience based on the law of God.
By seeking God, justice and humility, we are lights in the midst of a culture that extols arrogance and is built upon exploitation of the weak. By speaking God’s word in love, we show the power of truth in a world where spin doctors and public relations firms have elevated lying to a fine art.
Zephaniah was a realist and understood that on this earth a small remnant would put God first. The remnant however would be enough to keep God’s saving plan alive till the end of time. Our task is to be a part of the faithful few that is able to be a conscience for our world.
This call to be a part of God’s faithful few leads to humility rather than arrogance. St. Paul reminded the Corinthians that the faith that set them apart was a pure gift. He hammers home the point that from the perspective of prestige, power, and importance few of them counted for much. He knew the true believer is always distinct from the religious fanatic, in so far, as the faithful disciple of Christ understands that the power and wisdom of God is far beyond any human’s reach and the most foolish thing we can do is boast before God. The wisest thing we can do is boast about God and his ability to use the likes of us to build a kingdom of love.
A humbling experience for any believer is to read the sermon on the mount. Today’s gospel passage opens that great revelation for the world. The sermon begins with the beatitudes. These words define what it means to be a citizen in the kingdom of God. It runs counter to all of our natural tendencies and sets up a spiritual perspective about what is truly important.
These words should be incorporated into the marrow or our souls.
If we are to boast in Christ, we must be poor in spirit so that God can reign in our hearts.
If we love enough to grieve over the sufferings of others or the loss of anyone’s life, the God of love will comfort us.
If we forego power and prestige, the Lord of Creation will give us the land that supports a truly human way of life.
If we hunger for holiness, we will be made whole.
If we show mercy, we will be wealthy in kindness.
If we seek God with single-hearted resolve, we shall be given a vision of the divine.
If we make peace among family, friends, communities and parishes, we will be children of God.
If we take insults in stride and maintain our dignity, our reward will be greater than we can imagine.
If we do all the above, we will not only be seekers of God but finders as well.
If we do all of the above our actions and love will do our boasting in the Lord for us.
If we do all of the above, we will become living sermons on the mount and will never become dull, superficial, one-dimensional people.
If we do all of the above, we will outshine the fanatics, the self-centered hedonists, the petty dictators, and haters of humanity.
If we strive to live the beatitudes as a community, our parish will be truly a home for the living Christ and a source of grace, a living proof of the resurrection.
We have come a long way with the Lord both as individuals and as a group. With the Lord’s help, we will persevere and become ever more creative as Christ draws us back to the Creator. By accepting the sermon on the mount into our hearts, we have become mountaineers who are climbing our way back to God. We do not make the climb alone but as a team. We are bound together in the sacraments, in our parish projects, in our mutual regard and concern for one another. This makes our cliff climbing possible and turns our assent to God possible, safe and joyous.
The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
February 7 1999
Cycle A Readings: Is 58:7-10; 1 Cor. 2: 1-5; Mat 5:13-16
Isaiah urges us to share our bread with the hungry, to shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked and not turn our back on our own. In other words we should act on the word of God and not simply talk about it.
Right now, at this very moment, each of us has relatives whom we have lost touch with or ignored for years. We have in truth turned our back on our own. If this is the case, we should not be surprised that we are indifferent to the plight of so many strangers in need.
In our local communities there are people who are homeless, hungry and in need. Around the globe there is an immense mass of humanity that is suffering from neglect, exploitation or natural disasters.
Though charity begins at home, for the believer it has to reach to the ends of the earth. But this love must first permeate our souls. We need to have the words of Isaiah chiseled on our hearts and burned into our spirits. We need to be branded with the mark of the loving God. Only then will we be truly a part of that flock shepherded by the God of love.
One of the great positive services provided by the mass media today is the ability to make the world small and to bring to our attention the urgent needs of humanity. Because of the media we can see first hand the suffering in the Sudan, the Balkans, or our own home towns. With this awareness comes a moral obligation to try to alleviate somewhat the suffering of our fellow citizens of the planet earth. Though we will never create a utopia we have an obligation to make the world just a little more humane than it is. As Catholics, we know that we are our brother and sisters keepers and we will find our salvation as individuals and as a Church in so far as we strive to live up to the teachings of the law, the prophets, and the savior.
The corporal works of mercy carried out by the Church are impressive. In the United States, for example, there are 600 Catholic Hospitals that serve 57 million patients a year. There is a Catholic school system that serves people of all faiths from preschool all the way through graduate school. This story of Catholicism is repeated in all the countries where the faith is found. Countless lay, clerical and religious organizations strive to implement the challenge of Isaiah.
Whenever individual Christians or the believing community as a whole acts on the words of Isaiah a light shines in the darkness as today’s responsorial psalm attests. When we act as a light in a bleak world, we have nothing to fear because we are trusting in the Lord of life who is gracious and never abandons his children. By walking in the light now, we prepare ourselves for sharing in the light for eternity.
This eternity has been prepared for us by the crucified Christ that Paul preaches about so boldly in our second reading. Paul came to the Corinthians filled with uncertainty and fear about his own capacity to persuade them about the truth of the Gospel. The power of God, however, accompanied his story about the Crucified savior and he changed their hearts forever.
On the cross when all the world was darkened, Christ in forgiving his assailants cast a light in the midst of humanity that will never be extinguished. As our alleluia verse attests, he is the light of the world.
In the Gospel of John today, Jesus challenged his apostles and disciples to be a light set on the mountain top for all the world to see. He urged his followers not to hide the light they received from him but to set it on a lampstand for all to see. The challenge remains for us. Where there is deception, we must be truthful. Where there is self indulgence, we must be self sacrificing. Where there is violence, we must be peacemakers. Where there is moral cowardice, we must be heroes of justice.
Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time
February 14, 1999
Cycle A: Readings Sir. 15:15-20; 1 Cor. 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37
How awesome is human freedom. God gave it to us as a gift so that we might freely return his love. Without freedom, love is impossible. With freedom, however, comes a tremendous responsibility.
Sirach assures us that if we keep the commandments of God they will save us. To keep them, however, we have to trust in the living God and become fully alive ourselves. If we choose life over death, good over evil and water over fire, we will live. If we choose evil, our own choice will be our undoing and we will plunge into a deadly fire of our own making. If we reject God’s love and his commandments we will create a hell on earth for others and prepare a hell for eternity for ourselves. Though God is all powerful, he cannot force us to return his love. Love by its very definition must be freely given. With human freedom comes the possibility of saying for eternity "no" to God.
Sirach stresses that the wise person knows that God cherishes every human being and watches over all our actions. Those who fear and reverence God are the ones who have an innate power to sin but choose instead to love God and embrace his commandments.
The responsorial psalm, today, takes up this theme. "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!" The cultures of the world all take the opposite approach and define freedom in terms of rejecting God’s reign, standing on one’s own two feet, being independent and making up rules of convenience as our lives unfold. For the psalmist, however, a meaningful life revolves around knowing the precepts of God and diligently keeping them.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians stresses the way of wisdom that is eternal and not passing away like the cultures of this world. He lovingly speaks to the Corinthians as his brothers and sisters who are called to maturity in God. Rulers come and go but the reign of God stretches out from eternity, passes through time and remains until the end of time itself.
He understands that the rulers of his own age crucified the Lord of Glory because of their ignorance. He intuitively understood that the rejection of the Lord of glory would always revolve around the foolishness of putting our faith in a passing world rather than in the Lord of the world.
The alleluia verse catches this theme and focuses on little ones rather than the powerful and great being able to wisely understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
In the long version of today’s passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirms that he has come to fulfill the law and the prophets. He understood that all the servants of his Father who had gone before him were speaking a word of truth that had eternal significance. They all pointed out the way of wisdom that leads to greatness in his kingdom.
In his Sermon, he reminds religious people of all ages that without a moral change of heart, our exterior religious practises remain empty gestures. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that if we have anything against our brother we must be reconciled with him before offering our gifts at the altar of God.
Jesus summarizes the Law of Moses, the ten commandments, but takes them one step further. He wants us to be interiorly godly in order to uproot evil from our hearts and souls. He knew we can remain corrupt even while exteriorly doing all the right things. He wanted us to be authentic lovers of God and one another. His great sermon on the mount spellbound his first listeners and continues to inspire seekers of God around the world and throughout the ages.
He takes each commandment and adds a new layer of meaning and purpose. "You have heard ...You shall not kill... But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
"It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
"Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you do not swear at all.... Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean no. Anything more is from the evil one."
Compare the words of the sermon with the cultures of the world that by and large say, rage, anger, violence, adultery, divorce, and duplicity are good.
The depth, breath, and simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount humbles the believer. We know that none of us live up to the words of the master we follow. As we read the challenge we know that in the end we will have to rely completely on the mercy of the savior who has challenged us to be greater than we are.
But one of the most merciful things the Lord of life has done for us is to reveal the commandments to us through Moses and the prophets and to give us a savior whose grace will enable us to live as citizens of the kingdom that will have no end. It is a kingdom, where the sermon on the mount becomes a reality.
First Sunday of Lent February 21, 1999
Cycle A Readings: Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Rm 5:12-19 Mt. 4:1-11
To be like gods is the great temptation. Acting on our desire to know all things and experience life completely is self-destructive. Deciding for ourselves what is right and hat is wrong is the usurpation of the role of God that leads to death. It robs us of life rather than allowing us to live our lives to the fullest. The temptation that affected Adam and eve and all of us here present as well is to grasp at happiness no matter what the laws of God might be.
We all rebel.
The path of rebellion leads to mutual self-destruction and mistrust. The more arrogant we become, the more destructive our impact on the world is. This is the lesson of Adam and Eve in the garden.
The first couple ruined their lives and their environment by their rebellion. All human beings, with the exceptions of Jesus and Mary, followed the same path. Isaiah, for example, condemned the king of Babylon for boasting: "I will scale the heavens; above the stars of God and I will set up my throne. I will take my seat on the Mount of the Assembly, in the recesses of the North. I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High!" This boast would be comical except that the attitude of the ancient despot has caused countless tears throughout history. In our own century, we have the example of Adolf Hitler who set himself up as the ultimate norm for what is good and evil. In the process, he inflicted political and moral death on his own people as he destroyed the innocent and defenseless. His promise to his followers was one of life and glory. The reality he delivered was one of death and disgrace. His arrogance pulled the world into chaos. He premised to transform his nation into a garden of paradise and instead created a desert.
We are not Babylonian kings or evil dictators, but the dynamics of our own sin are the same as theirs. We create life-threatening deserts for ourselves and others whenever we rebel against God. In Lent we take stock of our shortcomings and rebellions in order to determine how we can live more humanely and responsibility. Sin has burdened our species from the beginning of our history and it continues to sap us of the joy of life.
In the reading from Paul, today, we are encouraged to focus our attention on Christ and His triumph in order to maintain hope and courage. Christ has opened for us a flood gate of obedience and love. In Christ, we cease being rebels against God and become rebels against the sin that has enslaved us. In Christ we have the opportunity to rediscover the harmony, peace and abundance that comes from walking with God in friendship.
In the Gospel, we see the famous scene of Jesus deliberately going out to the desert and confronting evil in its purest form. In the desert experience of Jesus, we see how life triumphed in Christ’s absolute obedience to the Father. In the desert, He rejected the temptation of ostentation, arrogance and power. In the desert, He revealed His greatness and His love.
None can survive in the desert by clinging to useless items and wasting what is essential. In the desert a person needs food, water, protective clothing and a sense of survival that is based on the knowledge that the slightest mistake can be fatal. If we cast off the commandments of love of God and Neighbor that Jesus has given us, if we leave behind the beatitudes He has bestowed upon us, we will die spiritually as surely as a person who attempts to cross a desert on foot without any supplies.
In Lent, we take on necessary provisions to help us survive and actually thrive on the immense and difficult journey. Any small acts of self-denial we take upon ourselves should be symbolic of letting go of useless attitudes, bitterness, vindictiveness, greed sloth, and arrogance.
Any acts of loving kindness we take on during tis season will help us survive and even flourish in the midst of the chaos of life. If on a daily basis, we see the reversals and frustrations in life as challenges to grow, we will never become embittered. If we dig deep enough into ourselves in meditation and reflection, we will provide ourselves with deep wells that tap into the very life of God. Christ’s desert triumph can be ours.
Out of the deserts of our lives, gardens of love can be formed. Eden flourishes, wherever love of God and neighbor exists.
The Second Sunday of Lent February 28 1999
Cycle A Readings Gn. 12:1-4 2 Tm 1:8-10 Mt. 17:1-9
On occasion in the New Testament, Jesus is pictured as a thief. In today’s letter to Timothy, Christ is called a robber of death and a giver of life. Without Christ, death would be the ultimate arbiter of our lives. Without Christ, spiritually our souls would be forever dormant, unable to awaken to the immensity of the Father’s love.
Often people in comas are unable to move or respond in any way to those around them but are able to hear quite distinctly at times what is being said by others in the room. Try as they might, however, they cannot speak or open their eyes. With time, love and expert medical care there often comes a moment of recovery where the individual opens his or her eyes and once again is able to see. Peter, James and John had been in a spiritual coma. They had heard the voice of Christ and pondered His message, but they had not yet seen Christ as He really was. On the mountain top in today’s Gospel passage they had their first true glimpse of their master. For the first time they were able to experience His union and communion with the prophets that had gone before Him and more marvelous still, His relationship with the Father. For a moment their eyes were opened and they were dazzled by the light. The joy of seeing Moses and Elijah was overwhelming. Peter wanted to hold on to the vision forever. He wanted to make it permanent. Yet, when they heard the voice of the Gather, they closed their eyes, they were overcome by fear and clung to the earth. From the earliest times Human frailty and sin could not stand the presence of the All Holy God. The apostles were frightened by the shadow of their own sins. What they could not realize was that Jesus the divine thief had already stolen them from the clutches of sin and spiritual death. What they could not know was that the favor or Jesus rested upon them as the Father’s love did upon Christ. The command of the Father was direct and simple, "Listen to him." The word they heard from Jesus was "Do not be afraid." We tend to slip in and out of spiritual comas throughout our lives but Christ our divine healer is always with us and repeats those words when we need them the most, "Do not be afraid."
Peter, James and John of course, would be frightened of many things in their lives. They would be terrified at the Calvary event and tormented by their own weakness and failure throughout their lives. But after this transfiguration on the mountain top they would never again fear the Father. They understood the immensity of their sins, but more importantly they appreciated the power of Christ’s forgiveness.
Paul encouraged Timothy in today’s second reading to bear with the hardships that the gospel entails because of the merits and power of Christ that have been made manifest. As we face our own hardships and rely on the person and message of Christ ever so gradually, our own fears are overcome one at a time.
Moses the great lawgiver and Elijah the courageous prophet of truth and justice stood side by side with the Lord on the mountain top. Like us they were mere mortals. Like them we too have the possibility of doing great things for the Creator. To accomplish great things, we need to bear great burdens and accept in love the hardships that life entails.
Bearing hardships is a part of adult life. It is inescapable. How we bear it is .important. There are time we must bear hardship quietly and there are other times when we must protest against the struggles life imposes on us. Bearing hardship as disciples of the Lord does not imply we should be passible towards the injustice, evil and sins that are unleashed on the world, our nation, our community, our family, our friends and ourselves. Bearing hardship often means standing boldly against what is wrong. Yet, in Lent, we admit that our out of fear or weakness we have contributed to the evil of the world and, like the apostles on the mountain top, we fear the light of God.
In looking at our sins of omission and commission, however, we must remember that Christ the divine thief has already snatched us from sin’s ultimate power.
We are a part of a great nation and have a great mission and purpose. This Sunday in Lent we are invited, like Abram, to be bold and faithful. This Sunday we are assured that we are a part of God’s infinite and mysterious plan. This Sunday we are urged to give up our fears and our illusions and accept the vision of Christ our faith has bestowed upon us. This Sunday we are to take to heart the vision of a forgiving, loving Father that Christ has bestowed on the world It is this vision that enlightens us in times of confusion and encourages us in time of despair.
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