August 20th, 2017
So much of the news this past week has centered on President Trump’s reaction to the white supremistis and the KKK marches in Charlotville last weekend and his reluctance to denounce the things for which they stand; anti-black, anti-immigrants, anti Moslem. They want to make America white.The images of these marchers should remind us of what such marches inflicted on Europe during the Second World War.
There will be marches in other U.S. and Canadian cities this weekend and there is the possibility of violence as other people gather to oppose these racist ideas.
Jesus was a person of his time molded by the society in which he was raised. He believed in God’s promise to Abraham; I will be your God and you will be my people. The Jewish people, his people, were special to God above all others. As a Jew Jesus was to avoid any dealings with non-Jews lest he be tempted to be influenced by their way of thinking and living. As he grew older he knew he had to learn a trade so as not to be a burden on the community and be able to support a wife and family. To Jesus’ way of thinking everything about how life was lived and how people treated one another was perfectly normal.
When he entered adulthood at the age of twelve and showed a bit of independence by staying in Jerusalem after the feast to listen to the teachers in the temple. We are told that after being scolded by Mary, Jesus went back to the boring life of Nazareth but that he grew in wisdom and grace before God and man.
Thru his public ministry we can see occasions of that growth. When he sent the first disciples out to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand Jesus told them not to go near to the Samaritans because he was raised in a society that held a great hostility to the Samaritans whom they saw as heretics and unfaithful to the Law. Later Jesus moved beyond that narrow minded opinion of Samaritans and we have his great conversation with the Samaritan women at the well and his willingness to stay several days with the Samaritan people teaching them of the kingdom. He came to admire the integrity of these people and often used Samaritans as example of how people should live out their religious convictions.
Today’s gospel is a perfect example of how Jesus could grow beyond the mentality in which he was raised. He saw himself as sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and that it would not be right to waste him time with non-Jews, especially this noisy woman. It wouldn’t be fair to take the children’s, the Jews, food and throw it to dogs –people not deserving of God’s love and mercy. But the mother’s response, ‘even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table’ challenged Jesus’ opinion of foreigners. He admired her spunk, her challenge to his opinion of her kind and cured her daughter instantly. Jesus showed us his ability and his willingness to change.
In one way or another we are all set in our ways. We don’t particularly like it when we have to change. We’ve all been conditioned by the likes and dislikes of our upbringing. We might hold back from accepting and respecting the faith and cultures of others. We just have to look at the conflicts plaguing the world today, conflicting arising from a need to impose on others the way we believe and live, conflicts arising from people’s unwillingness to share the good of the earth with others.
In our own lives we are challenged to question our own willingness to accept other people as they are, what they believe, how they live out their relationships or express their faith and culture. This is what we ask of others, should we not do the same for them?
As we continue to celebrate our Eucharist may we pray for ourselves and for each other that we resist and reject any effort to make us look upon other people as less than ourselves and accept them for whom we all are, children of our loving Father, brothers and sisters for whom Jesus died on the cross.
| Posted in Homily |
August 5th, 2017
Our parish celebrated the Annual Summer BBQ on July 9, 2017, remembering Canada’s 150th birthday. There were lots of food, music, games and fun things for everyone to do in the sun. Whether it was conversation under the shade, face painting or decking out in the sunshine, everyone enjoyed their time together.
| Posted in Events |
Since the fourth century M. Tabor in Galilee has been identified as the sacred space where Jesus was transfigured before his three stunned and overwhelmed disciples; Peter, James and John. In November of 2010 a group of parishioners from the parish went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Part of the pilgrimage was a trip up to the top of Mt. Tabor. I don’t know how long it took Jesus, Peter, James and John to get to the top of Tabor but it took a few hours. Matthew writes that Jesus took his three confidants up a high mountain, he didn’t say to the top.
In 1924 the Franciscan Friars built a beautiful church at the top of Mt. Tabor. It is an impressive building, the central church and two small chapels, one of Moses and one for Elijah. Peter’s dream was realized. The view from the mountain is awesome.
On that mountain Peter, James and John were given a glimpse of the true nature of Jesus – he was transfigured in their sight, his face was brighter than the sun, even the clothes he wore were dazzling white.
The presence of Moses and Elijah representing the law and the prophets was to let us know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
The primary purpose of this event, seeing Jesus in his glory, was to prepare them for the coming scandal of Jesus’s crucifixion. Remembering this vision of the glorified Jesus would save them from losing their faith in him as they saw him so diminished, dying naked on the cross.
Jesus told them they were to keep all this to themselves until he was raised from the dead. They wondered what this raised from the dead was all about.
Every one of us would agree with Peter’s outburst, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here.’ What a wonder, what a gift!
These three, Peter, James and John are the same three Jesus took with him in the darkness of night into the garden of Gethsemane. There they saw another Jesus, on his knees, sweating blood, praying his heart out, pleading, ‘Father if it is possible, if you can think of another way, let this chalice pass me by. Peter, James and John did not want to see this, they escaped in sleep. No one said, ‘it is good for us to be here.’ Yet that was where Jesus wanted them to be as a source on comfort and support.
Where are we when circumstances in our lives; serious illness, loss of a job, family conflicts, or any number of other situation invite us into our own Gethsemane’s? Can we trust that it is good for us to be there? Can we find the faith to say, ‘not my will but yours be done?
July 30th, 2017
There have been photos in the news recently showing the very young Queen Elizabeth being crowned as Queen of the British Empire. We can just imagine how nervous and uncertain she must have been taking on such a responsibility at such at such a young age.
In our first reading we hear of young king Solomon and his encounter with God. God made Solomon an unbelievable offer, ‘Ask what I should give you.’ Solomon knew his limitations and his problems. He had an older brother who should have been made king but was passed over by King David, he wasn’t sure of the loyalty of his generals and advisors. In the face of the many things Solomon could have requested David humbly asked for an understand mind, that he be able to discern between good and evil. This young king wasn’t interested in wealth and power and expanding his empire. He just wanted to be a good ruler doing what was right and just for all his people.
An understanding mind to help him to know what is best for the people, especially the poor, the widows, the orphans. An understanding mind to appreciate the struggles of the poorest of his people. An understanding mind to grasp what was right and what was wrong. This young and inexperienced king knew in his heart that great wealth and power were not what he needed to govern God’s great people. This was Solomon’s pearl of great price.
Through the ages writers and thinkers claimed that the root desires of the human heart are the pride of power – think of the mess the most powerful man of the most powerful nation in the world has created for himself. The second driving force of the human heart is the accumulation of wealth, greed is good. The third driving force is the unbridled experience of pleasure. Experience shows us time and time again that all these drives are one way streets to nowhere. Powerful people come and go, wealth is accumulated and lost and even the most intense of pleasures become jaded.
We’ve all heard people say, ‘I’d give anything for… good health, a better job, this deal to succeed – whatever. They are searching for their hidden treasure, their pearl of great price.
Think on this for a moment. We are God’s hidden treasure, God’s pearl of great price. When God found us God bought us, not with gold or silver but with the precious blood of Jesus.
What is the hidden treasure we seek, what is our pearl of great price? Could it be in the eureka experience of realizing ‘not that we’ve found God but that God first found us’. Grasping such a wonder we are willing to let go of everything that we thought of importance and value and gladly respond to God’s loving movement toward us. The farmer and the merchant first had to find the hidden treasure, the pearl and then sell everything to purchase then. It was the finding that started the whole process. It is our finding, our grasping the wonder of John’s teaching when he tells us, this is the wonder, this is the treasure, this is the pearl, God first love us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.’ Men and women who grasp this truth, ‘God first loved us’ will let go of everything else to embrace that pearl of great price and respond as best they by living and loving and healing and forgiving every person who comes into their lives, doing for other what God in Christ did for them.
July 23rd, 2017
I just want to talk about one part of today’s gospel, the part about the enemy sneaking into his neighbour’s field and sowing weeds into the field his neighbour had just sown his wheat. Eventually both wheat and weeds began to sprout and grow. The field hands were horrified at the evilness of their master’s enemy and they wanted to root out the weeds right away. The wise master knew their enthusiasm would do more harm than good and advised that they just leave things be. ‘Let both grow together and at the harvest we’ll sort things out then’.
The farmer sensed that the grain’s struggle to overcome the weeds could provide a better crop of grain. His advice was wise; let both grow together til the harvest.’ We are all good seed but we find ourselves struggling with weeds in our lives, the cares of the world and our own personal issues with anger or resentment toward others, with our narrow-mindedness toward people of other nationalities, other cultures, other life styles, struggles with addictions, with patience and many other issues.
We find ourselves struggling with being accepting of the ‘different’. How do we accept people who think differently from ourselves as regards matters of our common faith? How do respect those among us who would like to go back to the good old days when Mass was said in Latin and the priest celebrated the Mass with his back to us- praying to God all by himself alone. How do react to Pope Francis’ stance of divorced and remarried Catholics receiving Holy Communion – his suggestion that one size doesn’t fit all – that there can be exceptions. How we related to good people who see moral issues only in black and white? As one writer suggested, you cut the cloth to fit the person, not the person to fit the cloth.
Christ is telling us that everything will work out in the end, that we mustn’t rip out of our lives, out of our parish, out of our church men and women we may see as weeds, weeds who do not belong in God’s garden.
St. Paul is a great example of a person who struggled with weeds in his life, in his personality. There was one weed in particular that plagued him. He referred to it as a ‘thorn in the flesh’ people have many ideas as to what that thorn might have been; the opposition of his Jewish brethren, those who demanded Gentile Christian be circumcised, his own irritability. Paul tells us that three times he begged Christ to pluck out this weed he struggled with and three times Christ refused. Paul resigned himself to living with this weed saying,’ gladly will glory with this weed that the strength of Christ may dwell in me.’
Our weeds, the cares of our world, won’t go away. They will challenge us all our lives but remember the strength of Christ dwells in us.
As we continue to celebrate our Eucharist may we trust the truth that our weeds, our struggles, will help us, with God’s grace, to yield a harvest of a hundred fold?
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