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homily – August 2

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

John 6:24-35

Last Sunday’s gospel told of how Jesus challenged the generosity of the crowd of 5000 when He took the five barely loaves and two fish and began to share them with those around him. His act of openhandedness had a ripple effect throughout the crowd as people followed His example and began to share with those around them the food they brought with them to this gathering.

In today’s gospel we see many of those same people seeking Him out. Not fully impressed with His teachings they were looking for something more. So we have their question; “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see and believe.” All through His years of teaching and healing this was a constant demand,” give us a sign so that we may believe, give us a sign so that we may know You are authentic, You are from God.” At one point Jesus so much as says, if you won’t believe my words at least believe my works, they should convince you I am from God and I am with God.

Give us a sign was the last demand of the mocking crowd as they jeered the crucified Christ, “come down from the cross and we will believe.” Give us a sign.

In today’s gospel we heard the people quoting their own scriptures saying, “Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, He gave them bread from heaven to eat” In other words, ‘can you top that? Can you offer a greater sign?

So often we wonder about the presence, the love, the healing and forgiveness of God in our lives. We may be hurting so badly, be so confused by the evil and injustices in the world we wonder, is there a God? We may be so depressed or lonely we wonder does God really love or care for me? We may be so burdened by memories of past sins and failings, we wonder, can God really forgive me? In our own way we’re saying ‘give me a sign’ You care for me, give me a sign You love me, give me a sign You forgive me.

In our own time we see that same desperation for a sign when we hear of people or see them on TV flocking to some place where someone claims to have seen the Blessed Mother or Christ. Recently they cut down a tree at a parish church in Ireland. One of the workmen was convinced he saw the face of Christ in the grain of the tree. The news spread like wildfire and people came from all over, lit candles, hung rosaries, left offerings. We’ve heard of bleeding or weeping statues of Mary in different churches. We had such a sighting here in Toronto a couple of years ago. The place was packed with people anxious, maybe even desperate, to see this sign, this wonder.

That’s why the church is so reluctant to certify the validity of claims of visions and miracles even though thousands of people go to these places where Mary or Jesus is supposed to have appeared.

Give us a sign. Think on this, right here, right now we are re-presenting and celebrating the greatest sign God ever gave of God’s love for us. As St. John writes God loved the world so much He sent His son to the world and the Son so loved us He gave His life for us. What greater sign could we have proving we are loved, healed, restored and forgiven? At this Mass, at every Mass a sign is offered us – take this is my body, take, this is my blood – this is my life given for you, this is my life given to you.

When we have our times of doubt and confusion, anger and hurt, when we wonder what its all about or if its all worthwhile – and we all have such times – there is a sign that beacons us through these troubling times- the sign of the crucified – a sign blazing the truth – God loved the world, God loved each of us so much He gave His only Son and the Son so loved us He gave His life for us.

As we continue to celebrate this Mass we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we never loose sight of this sign – this eternal sign of love, forgiveness and healing, Christ crucified, His body broken, His blood shed for you, for me.

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homily – July 26

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

John 6:1-15

Today’s gospel tells the beautiful story of Jesus feeding the hungry multitude. Just a few chapters before this one we have Jesus at a wedding banquet facing another crisis, ‘they have no wine.’ Jesus comes to the rescue ‘fill the jars with water, water that become choice wine and the celebration of love goes on.

I think there is a bit of reality which we should be aware as we listen to today’s gospel. This great crowd was made up of a lot streets smart people. No one is his/her right mind who take off on a trip without taking a stash of food and drink with them. But these people were pretty tight with their food and drink; it was just for family, not for any Freddie free loader.

Jesus asks his faithful friend Philip, ‘how are we going to feed all these people?’ Philip and Andrew get into the economics of it all; they talk about six months’ wages. All they could come up with was five barley loaves and two fish – not much there. Jesus gets the people to sit down in manageable groups and then starts to share what He had with those around Him. This was a teaching moment for the whole crowd. If Jesus was willing to share, so were they. Bit by bit their hidden stashes are brought out and people began to share with one another. And as the saying goes, a grand time was had by all. There was plenty of food in that crowd, more than enough. They collected twelve baskets of scraps. The miracle in this gospel was not in some kind of multiplication of loaves and fishes. If that’s what happened none of those people would have left that gathering changed, transformed. The miracle was in the people’s generous response to the challenge Jesus put before them, the challenge to share with others the food they had with those who may have had less.

This week the author of Angela’s Ashes died, Frank McCourt. I mentioned once before that one of the things that struck me reading that novel was that, so often no matter how poor the poor of Limerick were, no matter how little they had to feed themselves, they were always willing to share that little with those who had less.

We know that famine is a harsh reality in so many lands. We see pictures of gaunt mothers holding bone thin, big eyed children. Starvation is every where. Compare that to the abundance we see every day as we walk through a super market, compare that to the amount of food we throw out every day. But we can look at the food shortage situation in the developing countries and ask ‘Why doesn’t God do something about this, why does God allow this”? Often these good but powerless people are the victims of the greed of their leaders and the mismanagement of their own resources.

In his book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” Rabbi Kushner quotes an old Sabbath prayer that does the same things. It goes: We cannot merely pray to you God to end war / for we know that you have made the world in such a way that man must find his own path to peace, within himself and with his neighbour. We cannot merely pray to you Lord to end starvation, for you have already given us the resources to feed the entire world, if only we would use them wisely. We cannot merely pray to you Lord to root out prejudice, for You have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all people, if only we would use them rightly.

We cannot pray to you Lord to end despair, for you have already given us the power to clear away slums and give hope, if only you would use your power justly. We cannot merely pray to you Lord to end disease, for you have already given us great minds with which to search out cures and healings, if only we would use them constructively.

Therefore we pray to you instead Lord for strength, determination and will power to do, instead of just to pray, to become instead of merely to wish. We can’t expect God to step into the world’s crisis and make all things right.

God has already gifted us with the means to right the injustices that surrounded us. It’s up to us to discover and use those gifts.

In Jesus’ gesture of sharing His meager five barely loaves and two fish with those around Him, He challenges each of us, in whatever seemingly hopeless, helpless situation in which we may find ourselves, to find the will power to do, the will power to become, the people we are meant to be. Today’s gospel challenges us to be thankful for the blessings with which we’ve been blessed and be willing to share those blessing – our own hidden stashes, with those in need.

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homily – July 19

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Mark 6:30-34

In the gospel we hear of the Apostles coming back from the mission on which Jesus sent them. We heard of that missioning last Sunday. Today we hear of the excitement that griped them. They were anxious to tell Jesus of the things they said and did, the reception they received or the lack of welcome they experienced. Each one was probably trying to top the other one’s story. At the same time too, they were drained. They were anxious as they left for their mission. Jesus would not allow them to take anything with them, they were to depend on the generosity and hospitality of those who welcomed them. They threw themselves fully into the work of preaching and healing. Now they are back and they are wiped. Even when they came home there was so much demand on their time and attention that they had no leisure even to eat.

Jesus makes the wise decision, get them away from it all. “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Give yourselves a break.

It was a tradition in the Passionist Community that when a priest preacher came home after preaching a series of missions or retreats he was dispensed the chapel observance, in other words he could sleep in in the morning. At meal time he was given a ‘mission plate’ A mission plate usually had pieces of fruit and a few cookies. It was a way of recognizing the work he had done and a way to help him regain his strength.

The invitation of Jesus to come away and rest a while is an invitation we should all accept. So many people live frenzied frantic and fractured lives. They are going in a thousand different directions. Through cell phones and blackberries they are available 24 -7. Only God can keep up such a pace but even God rested. As I’ve said before” cemeteries are full of indispensable people.

We all need time to take a brake. We all need time to be still. As a wise old woman once said, sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits. Scripture tells us that Jesus often slipped away and found a quiet place to pray, to talk with His Father. We need that too, a time to be still, a time to be silent, a time to pray. There is that great song in Jesus Christ Super Star when Mary Magdalene sings to Jesus, “Let the world spin without you tonight”. In other words ‘chill out’ these same problems will be around tomorrow, get some rest.

In the gospel of Matthew Jesus offers a wonderful invitation, ” come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you.” He’s saying “come to me and be undisturbed for a few minutes, let me relieve you for a time of the heavy loads you carry. Enjoy the stillness and quiet you find in me. As one concerned for our wellbeing Jesus want to free us from the things that bind us and weigh us down. Spending time in His presence, in peace and quiet is a way to unwind and be refreshed.

Jesus is always present to us, we are not always present to Him, we are distracted and preoccupied by so many things. Usually when we try to set some time apart to be still, to accept His invitation ‘ come to me” the first thing that comes to our minds is all the things we have to do, we’re tempted to believe that being present to the Lord is some kind of duty or burden and we are wasting valuable time.

Not so. How about trying this; promise yourself that every day, at some point in the day or evening you’ll set aside ten minutes and find your self a quiet place and be still. Fix your attention on Jesus and talk with Him as a friend, a friend who listens, a friend Who cares. Tell Him what worries you, what burdens you, what frightens you. Thank Him for the blessing in your life. Tell Him you want to experience the rest He offers. Give Him the problems you can’t solve, the pain you can’t heal, the desires you can’t control. Let your heart be open to the rest and peace He offers. This is not wasted time, this is a blessed time.

As we continue to offer this Eucharist we can pray for ourselves and for each other for the grace and wisdom we need to hear and heed Christ’s invitation – come away to a deserted place and rest awhile.

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homily – July 12

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Mark 6: 7-13

Each of the gospels has it own telling of the time when Jesus sent the apostles out to preach the good news. Mark tells us they were to use a staff and wear sandals but that was it – Matthew on the other hand tells them to leave everything behind – take no gold or silver or copper, no bag, no tunics, no sandals – they are to trust they will be taken care of; ‘the labourer is worthy of his wages’

Jesus sends these men out to people and places unknown to them without even the barest essentials for their journey. In modern terms they were not to pack a lunch or even a snack, they were not to take money or travelers checks, They carried no suitcases, they had no reservations for lodgings or even a predetermined route to follow. They were to rely completely on the kind welcome of those to whom they were sent.

Jesus knew those He sent out on mission would be welcomed by some and rejected by others. He assured them that those who welcomed them and the message they brought would in their turn be welcomed to experience the presence, the love and the healing of God. Those who were unwelcoming would not be so blessed.

That missioning of the Apostles by Jesus continues in the life of the church. At the end of every Mass we hear the words,” the Mass is ended let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.’ Every Sunday this parish community prays,” may we live this Mass outside these walls in the lives we live, the service we give and work we do and the prayers we pray.”

There was a store front church in the southern states and over its front door were the words, “welcome to the house of the Lord” but on the inside of the doors were words written for those leaving the church, “welcome to the vineyard of the Lord.”

We live this Mass outside these walls in the vineyard of the Lord, by bearing witness to our faith by what we say and what we do in the daily living of our lives. We live this Mass outside these walls in the way we relate to other people, family, friend or strangers. We live this Mass outside these walls when we show concern and sensitivity toward men and women less fortunate than ourselves. We live this Mass outside these walls when we show, in the living of our own lives, that we believe in the good news of God’s love for us made visible in the crucified Christ.

Jesus sent the Apostles free of baggage. We live this Mass outside these walls when we are free of the baggage of past memories of prejudice and bigotry toward men and women of other faiths and cultures, free of a narrow minded image of God and law bound image of how to live a Christian life.

With today’s gospel before us we continue this Mass praying for ourselves and each other that as we live this house of the Lord and go into the vineyard of the Lord we will live this Mass.

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