October  1st - 26th  Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

October  8th - 27th  Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

October  15th - 28th  Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

October  22nd - 29th  Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

October  29th - 30th  Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)
 
 
 

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 If we were to try to put a theme to today’s readings and to the Jubilee Day for Life we might call it, “Where is God’s Spirit found?”  In every case there is a question about where to find God’s activity.  The central question for Moses and the elders of the people was who should be entitled to God’s Spirit.  The Seventy were to assist Moses in leading the people on their journey through the desert.  Yet, for whatever reasons, two of that group, Eldad and Medad were not at the assigned place of prayer when the Spirit of God came down upon them.  Yet, they too received the Spirit just like the others.  Some of the assembled company were a bit jealous of this.  They thought it wrong of God to do this.  After all, these two didn’t follow the rules.  Moses rightly points out that God can choose to give grace and blessing on whomever He wishes.  In fact, wouldn’t it be great if all the people had that same enthusiasm for doing God’s work?  Moses understands that God cannot be hindered.  He has seen too many powerful deeds.  He knows that there is so much more than even He understands.
 Certainly the apostles of Jesus were not immune from the same kind of jealousy as the Seventy elders.  They saw someone doing healings in Jesus’ name.  They thought it not right.  Jesus hadn’t called them into the Twelve.  How dare they presume to use Jesus’ name!  John is hopeful that Jesus will put a stop to this and assert their unique role in bringing forth the Kingdom.  Jesus doesn’t do that.  In fact, He goes on to explain that anyone who is willing to use Jesus’ name to do good cannot also be a foe.  The power of God will change hearts through many diverse means.  Jesus called his apostles to be open to seeing the power of God alive in others.
 Our parish is a member of FAITH.  This organization believes that the Spirit of God can work through Catholics, Protestants, and Jews to do justice.  God’s activity happens in white churches and black churches.  It sometimes takes a little effort to realize that we don’t have the monopoly on God’s grace.  Hopefully our membership in FAITH helps us to see that God works in many and varied ways.
 Jesus then goes on to challenge his apostles not to stop or hinder the power of God.  To do so would be the work of Satan.  He uses a graphic image of doom, having a millstone put around one’s neck and being hurled into the sea, for those who hinder the work of God or put a stumbling block in the way of a believer.  Then Jesus uses the example of cutting off limbs that cause one to sin.  This example always seems so excessive to us.  That is good!  It is meant to seem excessive.  Sin can so easily be given free reign in our lives.  The Lord tells his followers not to give sin any ground.  In whatever area that you are willing to compromise the faith, root it out and throw it away.  It’s not that a foot or an eye or a hand can actually sin without our will desiring it.  But just as we couldn’t imagine cutting off a hand because of something we do sinful, so too should we think it unimaginable that we would compromise the faith.
 That leads me to think of our Jubilee Day for Life.  October is always Respect Life Month in our church.  It is the time of year to reflect on how precious life is and in what areas has life been cheapened.  In this the Jubilee Year, the Holy Father has designated this Sunday the Jubilee Day for Life.
 Every Sunday we pray that we believe that the Holy Spirit of God is the giver of life.  We believe that life is so precious we cannot imagine gouging out our eyes when we sin, yet we tolerate violence done to people in the name of entertainment.  Recently Hollywood executives confessed that they regularly marketed violent movies and television to children.  We have become desensitized to violence through our entertainment.
 Abortion has been legal for 27 years.  Now it is going to get easier.  You can take some pills.  This is another sign that we continue to tolerate the taking of life when it is inconvenient.  The same is true for euthanasia and the death penalty.  It seems that it has become easy to compromise our faith and trust in God and in the Holy Spirit, the giver of Life.  We prefer to only have God’s Spirit of life present when it is convenient or when it is our choice.
 Whenever we put wealth, pleasure, or our own comfort ahead of the work of God we do so at our own peril.  God’s work will be done.  Where is the Spirit of God?  Everywhere!  Will we cooperate with that power or try to work against it?
 

27th Sunday  in Ordinary Time 

 A century ago it was considered evil to do an autopsy.  The thinking was that a person’s body should be kept intact.  It took people doing dangerous and illegal things to do research on dead bodies.  From those “gruesome individuals” we have learned how the human body works and how disease progresses.
 About 75 years ago scientists refused to believe that you could actually prevent disease by injecting a tiny bit of that disease into the body.  The notion of vaccines was thought insane or impossible.  Today we take it for granted.
Fifty years ago the thought of using sand to make a microchip that could do millions of mathematical computations each second was laughable.  Today we realize how important the computer chip is in everything we do.
 At the time of Jesus it was thought normal that husbands would often divorce their wives.  Marriage was primarily a contract to provide offspring and allow for the proper running of society.  If a wife couldn’t do that, then the man would find someone who would.  Jesus said that the vision of God was for so much more than that.  God intended marriage to be a reflection of the relationship God has in Himself.  It was to express the dignity that God gave man and woman.
 Beyond that, marriage was given by God to express the qualities of God.  Love, peace, patience, forgiveness, creativity, and wonder are qualities of God.  They can be experienced in marriage that is lived out well.  Jesus called his followers beyond what they could see to what was yet unseen.
 In similar fashion, children at that time had the same status in society as farm animals.  They were property.  They were to assist with farming and the family business.  They could be sold into slavery if the family ran into financial difficulties.
 Jesus said that you will only understand the Kingdom of God if you become like children.  Jesus was turning upside down the view that society held of children.
 In both of these examples Jesus holds out for his followers something that seems silly, foolish, or impossible.  For essentially what Jesus was offering was a vision of the Kingdom that trusted in God for everything.  Children had no rights.  They had to trust their parents.  Often in marriage, divorce was done because of a lack of trust in the partner.  Jesus is telling us that one of the qualities of the Kingdom is trust.  Trust in each other and trust in God.  You cannot know peace where there is anger, fear or mistrust.
 Secondly, Jesus wasn’t naïve.  He knew of the consequences of sin.  His suffering and death remind us that he was no stranger to sin.  But he also knew that the only answer to sin was commitment and fidelity to God.  Jesus is our redeemer because he remained faithful to the will of God, even to his death.  The followers of Jesus must do the same.
 This fidelity to God means personal sacrifice for the good of others.  That’s what marriage is all about.  You sacrifice your own wants and desires for your spouse first and then for your children.  Doing so doesn’t make you poorer.  It makes you more human—more Godlike.
 Too often we have seen couples divorce because one or both gave up that sacrificial giving.  Instead of “What do you need?” It became, “What do I want?”  In fact, I would say many couples get married believing that the purpose of marriage is to be happy rather than to build up the partner and the relationship.  That kind of thinking will lead to disillusionment quickly.
 The Lord wants us to open our hearts to His grace.  He wants us to be willing to give to others without counting the cost.  He wants us to love and trust knowing that we can and will probably be hurt.
 Foolish?  Impossible?  Is it any more than vaccines and microchips?  God desires for us to have true joy.  That happens when we dream the impossible
 

28th Sunday  in Ordinary Time 

 Our parish missionary, John Cojanis, said that many Catholics don’t like hearing the priest talk about money.  I believe that is true.  We priests don’t like to have to do that either.  Yet, isn’t fascinating how often money or wealth comes up in the Gospels.  There are the teachings Jesus has about money.  He says that one cannot serve both God and money.  Another story is about a man who guards his possessions.  There is the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who is rich, but gives generously to the poor.  And there is today’s story of the rich young man.
 Maybe you have wondered like I have done why money and possessions are mentioned so often.  In our society money is used to determine two things.  The first is the value of something.  Usually when someone is paid a lot of money that is a sign that we value what they do or know.  We pay more for items that we consider valuable or rare.  This was the case at the time of Jesus.  Jesus warned his followers to be careful not to value people only by how much they get paid.  God loves all people, especially the poor, the sick, and the outcast.  The followers of Christ should use a different standard of judging others than simply their income.
 The second use of money and wealth is to determine status.  Wealthy people fly first class.  They stay in five-star hotels.  They drive expensive cars or have a limousine pick them up.  Often if one is wealthy they are so because they are a sports figure or are in entertainment.  They live in multi-million dollar homes behind fences and gates.  They have security systems and bodyguards.  They are often found on stages and on television.  The wealthy very often are given elevated status in society.
 In America there is a dream that people can change their status or worth through hard work, education, and good fortune.  There are plenty of people who have gone from rags to riches to make this story believable.  There are even stories of people who have made a lot of money, lost it, and then made another fortune.  This kind of fluid social structure didn’t exist at the time of Jesus.  People who were poor generally stayed that way.  Those that had money usually remained that way too.  Therefore, if one was wealthy they were safe and secure.  They probably thought they didn’t need the help and support of others.  The rich young man was probably in this situation.
 When he comes to Jesus he asks what he must do to attain everlasting life.  Jesus starts with the commandments.  The man tells Jesus that he follows all the commandments. He wants to go beyond simply being good.  So, Jesus tells him there is one more thing that he must do.  He must be willing to sell everything that he has put his faith in.  All of his security and happiness would have to be sacrificed to understand the Kingdom.  Jesus was calling him to take a risk.  That is something the man could not do.
 Jesus wanted to make sure that his followers understood that salvation comes not from dependence on wealth or the power that this world offers.  It only comes from placing our faith in God and in his power.  The poor often have an easier time with this because they have very little they can count on.  The rich often believe that they don’t need others.  Living in homes behind stone walls and having bodyguards keeping people at a distance lead to this thinking.  This can translate into not needing God.  That is why riches can be so dangerous.
 The apostles get rather nervous when they hear that the rich can only enter the Kingdom with great difficulty.  They have grown up with the assumption that wealth is a sign of favor from God.  If the wealthy will have a difficult time getting in, how will everyone else have a chance?  Doing it with our own resources is impossible.  But with God all things are possible.  God can grant forgiveness and grace to the rich or the poor.
 Jesus is calling his apostles and us to a reordering of our priorities.  Whatever we place our faith in that is not God is an idol.  It can be wealth and possessions.  It can be our self-importance.  It could even be wanting to be good instead of wanting to be holy.
 To be truly wise is to know how to put things in the right order.  Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is to love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind.  If we don’t get the first commandment right everything else will be out of order.  Amen.
 

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 There is a story about a monk who found and saved a precious gem.  Later, he met a beggar on the road and felt so guilty about owning the gem when someone else so obviously needed it, that he gave the man the gem.  The beggar was stunned and just sat there, amazed by his sudden good fortune.  But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed something else.
 He ran after the monk and said, “Give me something more precious than this gem.”
 “I have nothing more to give you, my friend,” said the holy man.
 “Oh yes, you do,” said the beggar, “Please give me what moved you to give me this gem.”
 For the monk, giving away the gem was easier than holding on to it.  Somewhere throughout his life he realized that being a true servant of Christ is not a burden or an obligation.  It is a privilege.
 In the gospel for today we hear a familiar story.  The apostles are asking to have their place in the Kingdom.  They want the gem.  They believe that if Jesus is the Messiah and king they will surely have positions of power.  It might seem that the apostles were selfish in wanting this power.  From our perspective we think, “How could they have been so self-seeking?”
 Yet, Jesus had promised the Kingdom to all who followed.  He promised that anyone who had given up homes, brothers or sisters, land or wealth for the Kingdom would receive a hundred-fold in this world and in eternal life.  Jesus had constantly spoken of the Kingdom where true justice would reign.  It only seems natural that the apostles would be claiming their role in that Kingdom.
 Jesus reminds them again what the Kingdom is all about.  It is not about seeking power, but becoming a slave.  Being a slave means claiming no rights for oneself.  A slave cannot claim any inheritance.  A slave is at the service of the master all the time.  If one wants to be great in the Kingdom they must become a slave of God.  They must be willing not to seek their own will, but only that of the Father.
 In fact, Jesus even makes it more stark.  He tells James and John that if they want to belong to the Kingdom that they must be willing to drink of the cup that Jesus drinks and be bathed in pain as Jesus will be.  They claim they can do that.
 I suppose they promise Jesus that they will follow him anywhere much like a husband promises his wife that he will love an honor her in sickness and health, for better or worse.  On his wedding day a groom is able to make that promise.  It only becomes real when sickness does come or when the bad times are upon him.  Then, do those promises mean something?
 It seems that Christianity makes no sense.  Jesus invites his followers into a life that will include pain.  He guarantees that they will experience persecution.  He tells them that they must be willing to give everything away.  It doesn’t sound like much of a job description.  Why would anyone wish to follow Christ?
 It doesn’t make much sense if Jesus is simply offering a life that is filled with pain.  It doesn’t make any sense if Jesus is telling his followers to surrender happiness or joy.  He is not.  He is again offering a new roadmap.  He wants those who would follow him to realize that the path to happiness is different from the one the world offers.
 Most of the time we seek the “gem” of this world.  We long to be rich, have good health, have many nice things, and be happy in our relationships.  We seek these things as ends in themselves.  Doing so often ends with getting them, but still not being satisfied.  We think there must be something more.  Maybe you’ve met people who are never happy.  They are always looking for the next thrill or the next adventure.
 Christ is saying the adventure or thrill is not in attaining wealth for it’s own sake.  It is to be found in serving God and caring for the poor.  It is in spreading the Gospel and living justly.  It is in living without worrying about the passing riches of this world.  Ironically, God often rewards us with blessings beyond measure.  We find we are happy in our relationships.  We do have health.  Many of the material riches of this world are ours.  And we are happy.  We have found that it is not in keeping the gem that makes us happy, but in giving it away.  May we be able to drink of the cup of the Lord and receive the inheritance promised.  Amen.
 
 

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 Do you remember last Sunday’s Gospel?  His apostles ask Jesus if they can be the greatest in the Kingdom.  James and John broach the question asking to have the preferred places.  The other 10 become indignant when they think that they have just been sealed out because of the boldness of the other two.  Jesus calls all of them over to remind them of what greatness is.  One is great in the Kingdom when they serve the rest.  That is the only way.
 Today we hear of someone who truly fits that bill.  Bartimaeus is blind and a beggar.  He has no standing in society.  In fact, the crowd sees him as a nuisance.  They want him to be quiet and go away.  They don’t like his begging.  They don’t like his shouting out.  Yet, that is the only way poor Bartimaeus can survive.  Recall also, that those who had handicaps were considered sinners.  The natural assumption was that the person must have sinned to cause this blindness.
 Yet, Bartimaeus isn’t afraid.  He calls out to Jesus for mercy.  Does he do this looking for a handout?  Maybe.  It is also likely that he wants Jesus simply to notice him.  He wants someone to pay attention to him as a person.  He doesn’t want to be “a nuisance beggar.”  He doesn’t want to be simply a “blind man who must be a sinner.”  Jesus does pay attention to him.
 When Jesus asks for the man to come forward it says that he dropped his cloak.  The man let go of his past without knowing how it would all turn out.  A beggar would lay out their cloak on the side of the road expecting that people would put coins or food in it.  That would be how the person would survive.  Then at night, when it was cold, this cloak would be used to cover up.  Bartimaeus was dropping his security, his treasure, his old way of life for whatever Jesus had in store.  This man took a big risk.
 When Jesus has Bartimaeus in front of him he asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” (repeat)  That’s the most important question.  If Jesus asked you that question, what would you ask for?  Would you ask for a better job, to win the lottery, to have peace?  What would you ask for?  Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted.  He wanted to see.
 There is an interesting background to how Bartimaeus answers this question.  In the Greek the answer is, “I want to be saved.”  This man wants to be free from physical blindness and spiritual blindness.  He wants to be forgiven and understand what is true and right.  He wants to be a disciple.
 Jesus restores sight to the man.  He gives him a new life.  The man is free of his blindness.  He no longer has to beg.  He would no longer be considered a sinner.  He could go and live freely.  What does he choose to do with his freedom?  He follows up the road with Jesus.  Where was Jesus headed?  He was going to Jerusalem where he would undergo crucifixion.  Bartimaeus is willing to follow.
 If Jesus answered our prayer, what would we do with the freedom?  If you had the better job or the lottery winnings or whatever you wanted, what then?  What would your life look like with this prayer answered?  The only answer should be that I would do as I currently do.  I would be a follower.  I would continue to be faithful and believe.  But would it look that way?  Our fears often leave us still begging on the side of the road.
 Faith is an action word.  To believe in Jesus and in his mission moves us from the side of the road to following.  We discover that when our eyes are opened there are many people who still live in blindness of one kind or another.  There is a blindness of not knowing Christ.  There is a blindness of being in pain or suffering.  There is blindness of hopelessness.  To really see with open eyes means that we can offer hope and healing to those who still are in blindness.  It means being a true disciple.  Let Christ open your eyes so that you might open the eyes of others.  Amen.