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homily – April 10

Friday, April 10th, 2009

John 18:1-19:42

Though the reading of John’s passion takes a long time, we never tire of hearing it. It is not a fairy tale with a happy ending, it is the harsh accounting of betrayed and denied friendships, a telling of rejected and deserted love, false accusations, unfair trial and condemnation; it’s about the cruel execution of an innocent man. We can see in the suffering servant of whom Isaiah writes the suffering Jesus.

When we look on the broken body of the crucified we realize Christ was wounded for our offences. He bore our infirmities and carried our diseases. When think of this man of sufferings we know he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, punished on our behalf and his many bruises heal us. Each one of us is a very important part of this story. Each one of us has left a mark on the body of the suffering Christ for it is by Christ’s wounds we are healed. Each one of us was on Calvary that dread day because Christ died for us, not as some speck in the mass of humanity, but for each of us individually. St. Paul tells us that Christ suffered for the righteous and the unrighteous in order to bring us to God. Christ died for you, and you and you and me. This is an amazing thing. Christ died for us knowing we are sinners, knowing we are weak and fickle and selfish, Christ died for us knowing we use one another, exploit one another, do violence to one another. Christ died for us knowing we are racists and bigots, and sexist. That’s what love does. Not our love for others but God’s love for us.

St. Paul reminds us that is was while we were still weak Christ died for the ungodly. Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, a good and worthy person, but it might happen. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. When we look upon the broken, crucified body of Christ we see the love of God made visible, for you, for me.

Let’s imagine we were all there on those crowded streets of Jerusalem. Let’s imagine we were there as those who believed in Jesus and what he taught us about God, His Father, we believed in His miracles, we were willing to try to be the men and women He called us to be.

What would we have done, how would we handle all we saw being done to Jesus? Would we call out that they were killing an innocent man? Would we brave the fury of the whipped up crowd and try to save him, distract the crowd and help him escape? Probably not, we would have lacked courage, been intimidated by the soldiers and the crowd. We would be among the silent majority that allows injustice to go unchallenged.

We’ve all heard the truth that Christ suffers today in our humanity, Christ suffers in his brother and sisters who are the victims of injustice, exploitation, discrimination, prejudice, racism. There is a whole litany of sins common in our city, country and the world that are against the love we recognize today in the Crucified Christ.

We can admit we wouldn’t have done anything then but are we willing to do something today? Are we willing to let our government know we want justice and protection for the nannies and migrant workers who are exploited by agencies here and abroad? Are we willing to speak out in defense of the unborn and the aged? Are willing to let our local politicians know we want them to move on such issues as affordable housing and the proper care of street people? Are we willing to welcome refugees and immigrants to our neighbourhoods and country? Are we generous enough to support food and clothing drives to help those in need?

Years ago there was a book of reflections on the Stations of the Cross. The eighth station is Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem. Reflecting on that Station the author has Jesus saying, “don’t weep for me as I suffered two thousand years ago, weep for me now and I suffer in your next door neighbour, your co-worker. Weep for me now as I suffer in all men, women and children, my brothers and sisters – your brothers and sisters – whose tragic stories you see on the news every day of the week. I suffer in them. Whatever you do for them, you do for Me.”

At the end of the service you will be invited to reverence the cross. I suggest we bring three things with us as approach the cross: sorrow for our sins, thanksgiving for Christ’s great love for us, and a determination to do whatever we can to relieve the sufferings of Christ, as He suffers today in all those who are innocent victims of any and all sins against their humanity. Whatever you do to one of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do to Me.

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homily – April 5

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Mark 14:1 – 15:47

Today we begin our Holy Week – the most important week in our Christian year. We’ve just listened to Mark’s account of the Passion of Jesus – Mark’s is the first recorded telling of the Passion.

Mark’s gospel never stressed the physical suffering of Jesus – he simply writes “they led him away and crucified him,” Mark writes the reality that Jesus was alone, abandoned, betrayed, morally lonely, hung out to dry. Physical pain is one thing – we can point to a broken leg – but emotional pain, pain of the heart is hidden – we can look as healthy as a horse but be devastated within, suffering our own emotional crucifixion. Jesus suffered the loneliness of moral integrity, of fidelity to His life’s task.

As we begin to live this week as a parish family I think the most important message of today’s scripture reading is found in the first few words of our second reading – “have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Scripture scholars maintain Paul was quoting from a very early Christian hymn.

A hymn that sings of a wonder – From his rightful place as God’s equal, Jesus leapt down from heaven, from his royal throne – he emptied himself, in order to enter completely in the foibles and fragilities of our human existence. In fact he even went further – for our sakes Jesus accepted the indignity of a criminal’s death on the cross. Because of this God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name that can be named – so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend – in heaven and earth and under the earth – and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The emptied and the glorified Christ.

Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus – this is the life long struggle of every Christian – to have the mind of Christ – to think as Christ would think, see as He would see, hear as He would hear – forgive as He forgave, especially love as He would love and so be a source of life to others. This is the pattern by which followers of Jesus are to frame and direct our lives

Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus – who always did the will of His Father – who came that we might have life and have it in abundance – Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus who knew that it is in dying we are born to eternal life.

As we continue to celebrate this Mass and begin this Holy Week, we can pray for ourselves and for each other that during this holy week God’s gift to all of us will be “the mind” that was in Christ Jesus our Lord – so that the Father can say of us what He said of Christ – this is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.

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homily – March 29

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Just a few words on our first reading from Jeremiah. He was not a popular person. He could be called a defeatist. He encouraged the king not to resist the invasion by the Babylonians, an invasion that would bring about the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. This was all in God’s hands. Jeremiah confronted king and people with the fact that they had been unfaithful to their covenant with God; they had broken their relationship with God. Now they were facing the consequences of that break. But Jeremiah wants them to know this national crisis could be the occasion of a national renewal, an opportunity to renew their commitment to God, to the law and to the relationship their sins had shattered.

In today’s reading Jeremiah offers the people a vision of the new possibilities to be found in a new covenant. He promised that after a time of suitable collective repentance God will restore the people and enter into a new covenant, a new bonding with them. This new covenant offers the people forgiveness; God would remember their sins no more. God, through Jeremiah offers a defeated, exiled people the strength and hope they need to go on.

In every age people get caught up in correctness, exactness, precision. Every word, every gesture must be just so. If I miss one First Friday or First Saturday I have to start all over again. How many chain letters and prayers have your received in your e-mail? Pass this message on to 12 others within 24 hours and you will be blessed – or else.

Say your prayers, do the rituals just so and things will be ok. Jeremiah encourages the people to move beyond such ‘correctness’. The most important word in his message is the word ‘within’. It’s a word that calls us to interiority. Externals are important but it is what is within us that matters most. Jesus made this point time and time again to the people of His time.

The best example I can use to express this sense of interiority is to ask you why you are here today. Are you at Mass because of obligation? There is an obligation to be here, to keep holy our Sabbath day. But are you here because you must be here or because you want to be here? Are you here because you have a sense of gratitude to God for the blessings with which you have been blessed and you want to give thanks for these blessings? Are you here because you want to be with other parishioners to praise and thank God? Are you here because of your own struggles and your need to be nourished by the Bread of Life, our daily bread, to give you the strength to go on? All these are examples of interiority – the law written not on stone but on the fleshy tablets of our hearts.

The same can be said of our life of prayer. Are we caught in the trap of thinking our prayer must be said so many times with strict attention or are do we see prayer as a open gentle conversation with God. If our prayer life is, what one saint described as “heart speaking to heart” then we have caught the spirit of interiority.

St. Paul calls us to grow to full maturity in Christ. Such growth helps us to move beyond ‘having to do things’ to wanting to do them, wanting out of a sense of a deep desire to deepen our relationship with Christ.

Interiority helps us to come to grips with the words of Jesus in today’s gospel about the grain of wheat dying to come to life, those who love their lives losing their lives.

As we continue to celebrate this Mass – here because we want to be here not because we must be here – we can pray for ourselves and for each other that God in His goodness will put His law within us, on the fleshy tablets of our hearts and we will all come to know the Lord, the Lord who remembers our sins no more.

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homily – March 22

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

John 3:14-21

I was reading the story was of a young woman growing up in a very dysfunctional family of twisted relationships. It didn’t help matters that the family belonged to a very strict religious sect. Talking about her life and the things that were going on in her life she made this amazing statement. “My life is an embarrassment of blessings.” Those words stuck with me ever since. My life is an embarrassment of blessings.

If we think about it, each one of us here can say these words, “my life is an embarrassment of blessings”. No matter what personal struggles we may be facing, we are a blessed people. Consider our gift of sight, our gift of speech and hearing, our gift of mobility, our gift of health, our gift of family and friends, our gift of employment or career, especially our the gift of faith.

We are all blest; we are all gifted by our God who is rich in mercy. We are blest by a God who so loved the world He sent His Son to the world not to condemn or punish but to save the world through His passion death and resurrection. We are blest by God, Who before the world began chose us in Christ to be His adopted sons and daughters.

In one of his letters St. Paul asked his readers, “What have you that you have not received and if you have received it why do you glory as if you had not received it?” What Paul writes to the Ephesians is true for all of us; “By grace, you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing, it is a gift from God.” We do not earn gifts, they are freely given. Our lives are an embarrassment of blessings. “For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”

The gifts with which we are all blessed were given for good works and these good works are the necessary consequence and outcome our new life in Christ. These good works are the fruit of a faith that is professed with our lips and lived in our lives. We pray at every Mass, “may we live this Mass outside these walls in the lives we live, the work we do and the service we give” Faith without good works is dead.

One of the good works that will challenge us is this year’s Share Life Appeal. If you are on our mailing list you have already received a letter from Archbishop Collins inviting you to be part of this year’s Appeal. The theme of this year’s appeal “you can work wonders” fits so well into today’s second reading which reminds us we, gifted people that we are, are created for good works.

Share Life supports 33 agencies and grants 10 others, assisting over ¼ of a million people in the Archdiocese. At the end of the Mass Maggie O’Rourke a staff member of Rosalie Hall will tell you of the work she is able to do because of your support for Share Life. With your help she can work wonders.

Our lives are an embarrassment of blessings. A great blessing that is ours is the life we share with the Risen Christ, a life Christ shares with us through His passion, death and resurrection. As we continue to celebrate this Mass we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we come to appreciate how blessed we are and in supporting Share Life may we all work wonders.

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homily – March 15

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

John 2:13-25

When Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover He was met with great enthusiasm. Many believed in Him because of the signs He worked, the things He taught and the way He confronted the authorities of the day. The people saw Jesus as someone who was going to change things, bring them a better tomorrow. The way He cleansed the Temple and challenged the leadership that let this holy place become a market place was a sign of hope to the little people of the time. Jesus was their hero, their hope.

Then we read in today’s gospel, “But Jesus on His part would not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about human nature, for he himself knew what was in the human person.” Jesus knew this enthusiasm and excitement would not last. He knew this admiring crowd could be fickle and unpredictable. He was wise enough not to entrust Himself to them.

I find these words ‘He knew himself what was in the human person’ to be very consoling. As Christians we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is both human and divine. St. John begins his gospel stating, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Then John goes on to say, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.” We could say Jesus knew what was in the human person because He was God. But the reality is, Jesus knew what was in the human person because He was human. Jesus knew what was in the human person because He was bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. St. Paul tells us that, like us Jesus was tempted in all things but He did not sin.

Jesus knew what it means to have close friends, to love and admire them, people like Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Jesus knew what it is like to be accepted and He knew what is what like to be rejected. His own people drove Him out of His own town. Jesus enjoyed a good meal and good wine.

As we will see during our celebration of Holy Week Jesus knew the deep pain and disappointment of being deserted by his followers, betrayed by one friend and denied by another. Jesus knew the shame of being publicly humiliated, falsely condemned and sentenced to death. Jesus knew what it is like to feel like a failure. Jesus experienced the feeling of being forgotten by God as He suffered the agony of the garden and the cross. Being one like us in all things but sin He was no stranger to human love and human pain.

The Church is the extension of Jesus in time and space bringing His life and love to the world through word, sacrament and service. You’ve heard the saying, “I have no hands but yours, no eyes but yours, no ears but yours.” From over 2000 years of experience the Church knows and understands human nature, for the church itself is made up of us, human beings, and mistake making beings. But there are times when the Church, we ourselves and those who officially represent the church do not give witness to that understanding of the human condition. I wonder how Jesus or a more compassionate bishop would have handled that tragic situation in Brazil that recently made headlines around the world. A 9 year old girl pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather had an abortion. The whole situation is fraught with sadness and madness. This abused child, a product of a poor and abusive family life is the victim. How could a nine year old be expected to deliver twins? Instead of excommunicating the mother of this child, cutting her off from the community of faith wouldn’t have been more Christ like, more understanding of what is within the human person, to be there for this child and her family. Wouldn’t this bishop be more faithful to Christ if he had shown compassion instead of condemnation, understanding before judgment? This is what this mother and daughter needed and deserved. This was not an easy decision for a mother to make for her daughter. Don’t you think that Christ, Who knew what was within human nature would have embraced this wounded family and brought them healing?

As we continue to celebrate this Eucharist we can pray for ourselves and for each other that as we struggle with the strengths and weaknesses of our own humanity and seek the understanding of others for our faults and failings, we be gifted with the grace to be more understanding and compassionate when we are touched by, hurt by, disappointed with the human nature of others, be they bishops, priests, even ourselves.

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