September  3rd - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

September  10th - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

September  17th - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)

September  24th - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (English)
 
 
 

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Recently, Joe Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew was chosen to be on the ticket of the Democratic Party.  It was something of a novelty to the press.  They could make sure that in every article they would say that this man is the first Jew chosen on a presidential ticket.  I heard some speculation on how Mr. Lieberman’s religion will affect his ability to campaign, but mostly on whether he will be able to make speeches and do campaign stops on the Sabbath.  What I haven’t heard is how his faith will influence public policy or decisions that will affect all citizens.  My guess is that Joe Lieberman would be like John Kennedy.  He would argue that it would make no difference whatever.  That is sad.
 It seems to me that unless faith influences every part of one’s life it is not really faith.  Isn’t that what Moses said in the first reading today?  He told the people that if they follow the commandments and teach others to do so they would be considered wise.  Wisdom wouldn’t be found if they kept what they knew to themselves.  The Israelites were about to enter a land and settle among people who never heard of God.  How would the people living there be influenced by God if they never saw these commandments lived out?  What value would they have?
 Today we are encouraged and maybe chastised to do two things.  On the one hand we are called to live out our faith.  Faith that is never put into practice is dead.  St. James will remind us of that over the next several weeks.  You can’t say you are a believer and do nothing with it.  That is not faith.  The second part is equally important.  You can’t simply do exterior things for people to see while remaining hardened in your heart.  This teaching is more difficult.
 Jesus noticed that the Pharisees and religious officials had gotten all the rules down.  In fact, they went beyond what was expected by the Law.  They were told to give to God a tenth of their crops.  They even gave a tenth of their garden herbs and spices to God too.  They wanted to be sure that they followed the Law completely.  But they forgot one important thing.  They hadn’t allowed the Law to reveal God.
 God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai so that the people would be one.  He wanted them to have something that could join them together.  I suppose it’s much like the idea of our own U.S. Constitution.  Everyone who is American is given rights and privileges under the Constitution.  The Law was meant to do that for Israel.  All those who would be believers were instructed to follow the Law.  The heart of the Law was having a relationship with God, the Lawgiver and with the other followers of the Law, God’s people.  Jesus simplified this into the twofold commandment to love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
 So, if all those who are children of Israel are to be given respect and love simply because they belong to God how did it happen that those who became ritually unclean were treated so harshly?  How was it that the poor could be neglected because they didn’t fit into the structure?  The heart of the Law was forgotten.  An example in Catholicism might be that we come to Mass on Sunday but we treat the same people we have given the sign of peace to in church with rudeness when we see them at Publix.  That should not be.  Yet, that is what happened in Israel.
 So, Jesus tells his followers that the Law is important.  He doesn’t say that the Law should be done away with.  In fact, Jesus even calls his followers to a more rigid adherence in marriage and divorce, in taking oaths and in anger with one’s brother or sister.  The Law allowed one to harbor grudges.  Jesus told his followers that even these must be rooted out of one’s life.  But what Jesus wanted is not only adherence to Law.  That becomes rigidity or self-righteousness.  He wanted his followers to understand the overwhelming power and mercy of God.  They could never do that if they believed that following the Law brought salvation.
 You and I know that we can follow the Lord with our external observance and still hold evil within our hearts.  We know that within any community there can be great prayer and worship and still divisions exist.  Our wishing them to be so cannot end these things.  A complete devotion and reliance on God can only change them.
 Today we are asked not to forget adherence to the Law, the Scriptures, and the traditions of the Church.  We should follow them carefully.  But we are also not to forget that adherence to law is not the same as a relationship with God.  That comes from the heart and from humble submission to the mercy of God.  Amen.
 
 

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 How many of you were glad when you heard the Justice Dept. go after Microsoft?  Did you say to yourself, "Well, it's about time Bill Gates got what's coming to him."  Many people I think were secretly hoping to see Bill Gates ruined or Microsoft diminished in a significant way.  Now, how many of you would like the money that Bill Gates has?  Isn't it strange that we have this strange fascination with wealth and privilege.  A few years ago there was a program on television called "The Lives of the Rich and Famous."  I think many people watched that show to see how the wealthy and famous lived, believing that somehow it must be different from ourselves.  Maybe we believe that the powerful and famous must be happier.  We have bought into the notion that money brings happiness.  The kinds of furniture, clothes and cars the rich have must give them that sought-after happiness.  Yet, even though the cost of their things are more than ours, they are human beings like ourselves.  They still need to eat and sleep. The basic human needs do not change no matter how much or how little money a person has.  We know plenty of stories to prove that wealth and privilege do not guarantee happiness.
 So, on the one hand we have a fascination with the rich and famous and on the other hand we resent them.  In the letter of St. James today we are told that both distinctions can be sinful.  If we look at the wealthy and famous and see them as better than the poor or the average person and treat them so, we have set up distinctions that we ought not to have set up.  Likewise, if we treat anyone with disdain and resentment, including the wealthy, we have set up distinctions that are sinful too.  Instead of worrying about the incidentals, we should look within and see that each person is made in the image and likeness of God.
 That is the lesson in today's Gospel.  Recall that handicaps were often viewed as the consequences of sin.  The man today is both deaf and mute.  He must be doubly cursed by God.  Besides that, this cure takes place in Gentile territory.  It is likely that this man is not Jewish, but a foreigner.  He has even less going for him.  He is the kind of person that the apostles and most Jews would have written off.  No one would have paid him much attention.  But Jesus did.
 Jesus saw the man not as a sinner or as a foreigner, but as a child of God.  He takes him by himself and gives him his entire attention.  Jesus touches the man and heals him of his affliction.  He wants the man's ears to be opened to hear sounds, but most importantly to hear the voice of God.  Jesus wants him to know that he has been visited by God and not to let this opportunity pass him by.  Jesus' call to keep this healing silent was not only to prevent people from flocking to him like he was a rock star.  It was so they wouldn't get caught up in the miracle and forget that the miracles were calling people into a relationship with Christ.
 You and I may not have physical disabilities like this man.  We don't view physical disfunction as a sign of sin.  But we all have our ears closed to something or someone.  We want Jesus to open our ears so that we may hear His voice in the poor or the lowly.  We need to hear that we are being called to service and ministry.  Our ears need to hear the call to do justice and be bearers of peace.  Our mouths too need healing.  We may be too quick to gossip or tell lies.  We may be silent when someone's character or reputation is being harmed.  We are silent to speak out against abortion or to speak for life.
 We ask the Lord to heal us from making distinctions and discriminations in our heart.  We ask Him to give us a mind and heart that welcomes all people as precious and beautiful.  We pray that we might experience the power of God in our midst to be transformed and renewed.  Let our ears and mouths be open to hear the Word of God and to sing God's praises.  Amen.
 

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 Look to the person to your left or to your right.  Ask yourself this question, “Who is this person?”  If you are sitting next to your spouse you probably could answer that question pretty well.  You would know what their favorite food is, where they like to shop, and how they feel about their mother.  If the person you are sitting next to is a child you might know how they do in school or what sports they like.  If it is an infant you can only imagine what that child will be in the future.  No one knows the answer to that question.  If you are looking at a person that you do not know other than the fact that they are a parishioner at St. Clare what do you know about them?
 You would know many things about a person even if you didn’t know whom she was when you looked at her surroundings and the people near her.  If you look at her and she is wearing a wedding ring on and is sitting next to a man and a small child you would guess that they are a family.  If you saw that they seem to dress well you might guess that they are working and doing well financially.  If you have seen them here each week you would imagine that they live in Deltona or someplace close and that they are Catholic.  You might even take a guess that their faith is important enough that they come to church with a small child.  If you knew where they worked or what friends she kept you would know other things about her.  You would know or imagine you know many things about a person simply by observation.
 Now you might be right about most of the guesses you make, but you might be completely wrong.  It is possible that you put the information together incorrectly.  That is what Jesus believed the apostles did when they answered the question he asked them.  They said that the people were saying that Jesus is a prophet like Jeremiah.  Others thought he was John the Baptist raised back to life.  Some thought that Jesus was the prophet Elijah who was to come before the Messiah arrived.  Jesus asked them who do they believe him to be.  Peter responded that he had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, not someone else.
 So, what would the disciples have thought Jesus to be?  If he were a prophet he would speak for God.  Jesus did that.  If he were the Messiah he would bring healing to sickness and pain.  Jesus did that.  If he were the one to come from God he would bring Israel peace and security.  He would be the king who would establish the reign of God now and Jerusalem would be the center of the world.  That is what the prophets and psalms said the Messiah would be.  The disciples would have gotten some of the information correct, but they would have gotten much of it wrong.
 Jesus did speak for God and with the power of God.  Jesus cured the sick and raised the dead.  He preached that the Kingdom of God was about to come and in fact was already in their midst.  He challenged the authorities.  All of that seemed to fulfill what the disciples and the crowds were looking for.  But that was not all of what Jesus was.
 Jesus’ primary mission was to do the will of the Father.  It was to let everyone know that God had not abandoned them.  He did this particularly to the sick, to sinners, and to foreigners.  Jesus’ miracles were signs that God was in their midst.  But it wasn’t a sign that Jesus was going to establish an earthly reign.  That is where the apostles had read the signs incorrectly.  They wouldn’t understand who Jesus was until they could see that the servant of God would also embrace suffering and death.  It was in the complete emptying of himself that people would see and experience how much God loved them.
 Likewise the followers of Jesus were soon to find out that to be a follower was not to become an earthly prince with land and wealth.  If they thought that was the case they would be disappointed.  A follower would be one who would take up their cross.  It would be one who would empty themselves in loving service of others, especially the poor.  I suppose in a way Jesus was turning the question back to them.  If they wondered who he was he was now asking them who they were.  He was asking them if they could accept a Messiah who would suffer.  Could they follow and give of themselves, as he knew he would have to do?
 Peter was chastised because it appeared as though he could not do that.  He wanted the power and the prestige of a kingdom on earth not the one Jesus had in mind.  He was acting like Satan that wanted things his way rather than God’s way.  Luckily for Peter he grew in his understanding of Jesus.  When he was asked to give everything, including his life he said yes.
 We know that Chris suffered and died for us.  Being Christians, can we give ourselves in loving service to others?
 

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 What are some of the things children like to do best?  They like to play.  Children play all sorts of games.  Some will play board games.  Others will play video games or computer games.  Some children are creative that they make up characters and imagine entire scenes with these characters.  They may dress up in costume and get other children to go along with them in their fantasy.  Other kinds of play include making tree forts, imagining your bicycle is a motorcycle, or even making up stories to impress other kids.
 Children enjoy cartoons and comic books.  They understand G rated movies and like to meet the Disney characters at Walt Disney World.  Children can live very freely in the world of their fantasies and imagination.  The world they live in doesn’t have to mirror the world as it is.  In fact, when asked most kids would prefer the “real world” to look more like their fantasy worlds.
 Some time ago there was an interview with an eight-year old child.  She was asked what she might like to see changed in the world.  She responded, “That people would never die, that there were no bad people in the world, that everybody had food, and that there were no wars, and everybody had a home and clothes, and everybody was healthy, and the city wasn’t so dirty.  Stuff like that.”
 The little girl was echoing our hopes and sentiments.  With a child’s eye she wondered if maybe those things could happen.  We as adults have gotten very practical.  We could easily point out why those things could not or would not happen.  Yet, secretly imagine that the world could look like that too.
 Jesus was the kind of person who would have found it easy to enter a child’s world.  He spoke of a vision of the world where there would things would be reversed.  The poor would have their fill.  He used parables to teach that the Kingdom of God would include people who were gentiles, tax collectors, and people outside the law.  He taught his apostles that the greatest in the Kingdom of God would not be the ones who had the most things or were the most powerful, but would be those who would be the servants.  He taught that those who would be blessed would be the poor, the sorrowing, the peacemakers, and the meek.  These are not the ones the world valued or rewarded.  Yet, in the Kingdom they would have preferred seats.
 Jesus taught his disciples that their understanding of the Messiah would have to include suffering and persecution.  They would have to be willing to accept a Messiah who would die on a cross.  This was probably the greatest reversal of thinking that they would have to imagine.  Jesus proposed to his disciples a picture of the Kingdom where the powerless would be powerful.
 The Kingdom of God that Jesus preached was not only going to be a reality in heaven or at the end of time.  He intended for it to begin here and now.  To show this reality Jesus picked apostles whom were not among the powerful people in the world.  He gave importance to women.  They were disciples along with the men.  This would have been unheard of at the time of Jesus.  He chose to associate with the lowly.  He cured the sick, even lepers.  He raised back to life several children.
 You and I are challenged to accept the vision that Jesus began as the way the world should look.  We are called to proclaim the Kingdom of God to everyone.  The world as children imagine it shouldn’t seem an impossibility, but a goal to be achieved.  Likewise, we ought not to use the ways of the world to advance ourselves.  Humility, meekness and gentleness ought to be the way that we determine true greatness.  This is not something that comes any more naturally to us than it did to the apostles.  We are much more comfortable with James and John.  We understand their desire to be number one and two in the Kingdom.  Most of us would like to be assured of that as well.
 Well, Jesus gives us the blueprint.  Serve others, be willing to place the needs of others ahead of your own.  Seek out the lowly of this world.  Do this and you will be great in the Kingdom of God.