Homily for 3rd sunday Advent, Dec 11, 2011

Advent 3B Christ Our Light

          You may be wondering what is up today with the pink or rose colored vestment that Fr Jerry is wearing. The liturgical color for this third Sunday in Advent is indeed rose because together with the whole church we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, which translated from the Latin means joyful. The church wants us to be joyful in our anticipation of the coming season. This is the weekend we light the rose colored candle on our advent wreath. This is the Day we hear St Paul tell us “Rejoice always”. Why have a joyful Sunday during Advent?, you might ask.

          Because during Advent, which is indeed a season of waiting and of penance, we are reminded that as followers of Christ, we can never be gloomy in our prayer and penance. For good reason, we should not be wallowing in sin. And that is because Jesus is still with us, which is why joy is the echo of God’s life in us.

Advent is a season of many themes. It is the season where we wait in joyful anticipation of the coming of Christ. It is the season of watchful waiting, not knowing when a spectacular event may occur. It is a season of patience, where we admire the patience of Mary. It took a great deal of patience, not knowing what would occur after she said “Yes” to God’s call. Not to mention the patience she must have endured with her pregnancy, and with trying to find a place to give birth.

          But another theme is that of Christ our light. As the amount of daylight we are granted this month continues to dwindle with each passing day, we seem to delve deeper and deeper into darkness. The nights get longer, the days get shorter. Darkness can also manifest itself in world events. The European Union continues to teeter on the brink of insolvency. The unemployment situation is slightly improved in our own country although at a minuscule rate. Thus, there are still deep concerns about the sustainability of our economy. There are concerns and anxieties with our debt level and with our leadership in all branches of government. Sometimes we wonder what will ever pull us out of these dark days.

          We are ever on the lookout for someone, some event, that will shed light on the situation at hand. We are waiting for that white knight, that quick fix that will solve world problems, as well as our own individual problems.

          There is a story in Catholic circles about a small rural Catholic parish whose pastor had done a marvelous job of leading his people for more than 20 years. The parishioners absolutely loved him. He was the most wonderful priest anyone could want. They loved everything about him. Then one day his Bishop transferred him out of town. The people were irate. They were furious that the Bishop would dare do such a thing. Conditions got so bad; the Bishop had to make a trip to the parish to explain himself.

And what he told the people was something quite unexpected. He told them their priorities were wrong. He told them they were seeing the priest as indispensible. They saw him as their light of the world. He said Get your focus off the pastor, & put it where it belongs—put your focus on the one person who is indispensible, Jesus Christ. The pastor is not the light; Christ is our light. It is not about us. It is about Him. For it is Jesus who is truly the light of the world.

          The interesting irony of all this is that have you ever noticed what happens when people try to make it all about themselves? Inevitably, their life spirals downward. That is, they undermine the very possibility of getting what they need. I mean, after all, who is going to be attracted to a person wearing a figurative neon sign that says “Love Me” or “Respect Me.” 

In contrast, the most lovable people we know, the ones we respect the most lead lives that are fundamentally focused on others. We love those who love us just the way we are, and not to meet their neediness. We respect those who speak & live the truth itself and not what they think others might want to hear.

          We are full of light only when we are revealing Christ the light. It is not at all our light that is important, but rather our witness to the light has everything to do with being penetrated by that light.

We hope for the darkness to fade away and for the Light of the world to shine in our world today. There is paradox in the season of Advent. Christ came 2000 yrs ago, but we prepare for his coming today. We prepare for his coming in the hope of bringing us out of ignorance and sin and into the light that is Christ.

As a kid growing up, one of my favorite Advent activities was putting one electric candle in our front window. Many of our neighbors did this, as well. It’s not much of a decoration; not at all fancy. Today, it would probably be classified as tacky by the neighborhood decorating committee. But it truly symbolized the light of Christ piercing the darkness. At that time, the Catholic order, the Christophers, would run TV ads asking people to do just that, to light just one little candle. For it doing so, said the voice over, what a bright world this would be.

Let us in this season of Advent, look about to find the signs of light in our world. Let us be signs of light for others. And, on this Sunday of joyful anticipation, let us then be like the angel Gabriel and bring good news! Let us not only make Advent a season of light and hope for ourselves, but most especially for others. This is the Good News we celebrate today! Let us discover the real meaning of this advent & Christmas season: Let find a way to be the light of Christ to others.

Homily for Nov 20, 2011

Feast of Christ the King Nov 20, 2011

We all know that we are called to try to live out the gospel values, to imitate Christ, and to do what He asks of us. But yet I am always amazed how difficult it can be to do just that. It is often extremely difficult to live out the gospel message. For instance, during this past summer we heard Jesus tell us to love our enemies.  I mean, after all, almost by definition, they are our enemies because we don’t love them. But the gospel calls us to do just that, as well as other things that are very counter cultural.

At first glance, doing what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, namely, providing unconditional assistance for the poor, I didn’t think, would be that difficult for most people. But when I posted some things on facebook about how we Americans treat the poor, the hungry, the homeless, I was shocked by the reposes posted by folks calling themselves “Christian”.

          One quipster suggested that if they are lazy, we don’t have to help them. One said that the poor don’t matter as much as the unborn do.

One friend couldn’t resist replying that “God helps those who help themselves”. I supposed he was shocked when I told him that saying doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible. It’s an ancient Greek aphorism that has no Biblical basis at all.

But if we look closely at what we just heard,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'

The reality is that Jesus puts no pre-conditions, no a prioris, on our obligation to help the needy. In fact, this statement comes as Jesus’ response to the apostles’ question of how we will be judged at the final judgment. Jesus tells us that we will be judged on how we helped our needy brothers & sisters.

I would think this would come as a shock to most folks about how we will be judged on the final day. I mean, when I was growing up, the conventional wisdom was that / the way to get to heaven was to go to church every Sunday, go to confession once a year, and to avoid mortal sin. We didn’t grow up with an awareness of what kind of Catholic our baptism calls us to be. It is from studying and praying the scripture passages such as today’s gospel that we get a different understanding. It is then that we realize that we are called to share in the mission and ministry of Jesus as our way into the kingdom.

 I suppose I really shouldn’t be surprised at all by those facebook responses. Mother Teresa apparently ran into a similar problem. When asked what she thought of American society, her response was that her work in India was easy relative to what she would be tasked with in America. She said “In India, I can help by providing food, clothing & shelter, but the problem in America is much deeper, because America has a poverty of values.” The things and behaviors that we value are often out of synch with what Christ taught us. Sadly, sometimes our greed and overwrought desire for accumulation of wealth overrides the gospel values.

Lest I imply that everyone here has not heeded the specific tasks Jesus asks of us today, I should emphasize that many folks at Mass this morning certainly have worked tirelessly to aid the poor. They have assisted the poor without asking if they deserve it. Ron & Rosie Walling have ministered in Georgia’s prison for years. Ken & Diane Cone and others have worked tirelessly for Interfaith hospitality, providing shelter and food for the homeless. Many parishioners, even our youth, have waited tables at the Masters Soup Kitchen. Some here have pounded nails and hung sheetrock to build houses for Habitat. Many volunteer at Catholic Social Services to serve the needy. Just as Jesus came to serve, and not to be served, so, too, many parishioners have served the poor as an act of Christian charity.

The Last Judgment that Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel is a topic that we seldom hear much reflection on. Today’s feast offers us an opportunity to bring it to bear upon how we live our lives in the present. Resorting to an image of fear and intimidation would only lead one into a fire and brimstone speech. Rather, it is so comforting to speak to someone who has gone out of their way to help someone in need of assistance, and ask how they felt after doing it. I’m sure that in all cases, you’ll hear about how rewarding an experience it was. You’ll hear statements like “If you’re feeling sad and lonely, one cure for that is to do something for someone else.”  Or “Helping others gave me such a warm and good feeling.”

          And we should not forget that we are indeed surrounded by the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the ill, the imprisoned, both physically and emotionally. Nursing homes are filled with people who hunger for a visit from anyone. There are people who thirst for companionship. There are people who are imprisoned by evil thoughts.

The Gospel tells us that on judgment day we won’t be asked if the needy that crossed our path were deserving or undeserving, whether they were Republican or Democrat, but rather, “When you looked into their eyes, did you see the face of Jesus?”  We are asked to clarify what we see in the needy. If we see Jesus in them and extend assistance to them, then we will be judged favorably. If not, then we will be condemned.

God invites us to a very special banquet this morning: the Eucharist.

Eucharist helps us as a community to know that we are all in relationship with one another. We are our brother’s keeper. Practicing our faith is about love, about really loving God & loving our neighbor, whoever he or she may be.

By helping our neighbor, especially the needy, we strengthen our relationship with God & with one another. So together let us all come to the table to Jesus he comes to us. In love.

Homily for Oct 30, 2011 31st Sunday Ord Time A

Make Us True Servants Ord 31A

Leadership. Today’s gospel is all about leadership. Specifically, about church leaders and their style. But if we enter into this scripture deeply, it also is asking us some pointed questions. What kind of style and temperament do we project to others? Do we walk around tooting our own horns, bragging about our accomplishments? Do we have an ultimate goal of attaining fabulous wealth and accumulation of material goods? Or are we more mindful of those around us, seeking their wisdom and the fruits of their experience?

There once was a successful corporate executive who became fed up with his successful corporate lifestyle, and then he totally abandoned it. He cast it off to the extent that sold all his possessions, and joined a Benedictine monastery. He became a monk. And it was there that he learned about a leadership style, founded by Jesus, called the servant leader.

This executive found that the key to turning his life around began with service. He found that life really wasn’t about chasing a dream of monetary riches and buying a McMansion of a house. He found that only by serving others could he truly attain what he was searching for, some meaning to his life.

Quite obviously, Jesus was the first servant leader. He began with no power, no wealth, or civil authority, nor did he seek any. Yet by realizing that his mission was one of service, he became the greatest leader of all time, establishing the religion with the world’s greatest following.

By Jesus’ example, we see that the servant leader does not manage by threats and intimidation. He is not a power seeker, but rather allows for the spiritual and psychological growth of those around him. The servant leader is not an authority figure seeking fame and glory, not a warden looking for people to be submissive. Rather, he works to develop individuals to be all they can be. That is his goal. The servant leader is not preoccupied with ambition, riches, material goods, but rather his primary concern is to provide a road map for the development of those people he comes contact with.

500 years after Jesus died, St. Benedict established a monastery based on Jesus’ model of servant leadership. Living in monastery required the monks to practice an entirely different set of virtues than many of us are used to. Those words from Paul’s description of love that we hear at weddings —humility, patience, kindness, and commitment –those are the virtues that Benedict saw that would provide a template for a servant leader. Benedict wasn’t interested in spiritual gymnastics. Rather, he’s concerned with how you live your life, and how you are able to experience your relationship with God.

If one word could describe the very heart and soul of the servant leader, it would be love. Most people think of love as a feeling or as an emotion. But to know the essence of love, one must experience love as a behavior. It is only when we see love as a behavior that we truly put love into action in our life, becoming true servants of God. So changing our behavior to reflect and practice humility, patience, kindness, and commitment is what will make us true servants of the Lord.

For it is precisely in practicing these virtues that will also bring us happiness and enhance our relationship with God. If we can rid ourselves of all those worldly desires that lead us to embody materialistic goals, and replace them with the virtues of the servant leader, we will be much further along the path of getting closer to God.

And I really believe this was what Jesus means when he tells us, “He who is humbled will be exalted & he who is exalted will be humbled.” He’s telling us that humility is actually something we should practice.

I used to think that humility meant being very tight-lipped, speaking only when spoken to, staying in the background, not making any waves, doing only what you are told to do. It struck me as a self-deprecating type of lifestyle, for people with a poor self-image and a limited sense of self-worth. I didn’t think it was a virtue employed by those seeking fulfillment in life.

Then I discovered that true humility isn’t even close to that description. My false notion of humility changed when God entered the picture. For being humble before God is quite another thing, in context of one’s personal relationship with Him. We must be humble before the Lord in order to find Him.

Being humble allows you to know yourself better. Humility is a prerequisite for allowing the learned to learn from the wise. If we enter any life experience as a “know-it-all” we will never be able to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others. We will limit our learning experiences. Pretentiousness, tooting our own horn and self-glorifying our accomplishments will make for a poor relationship with our peers, family & friends. After all, how could a pompous attitude possibly enhance our relationship with God?

Humility before the Lord is necessary to understand and grow our relationship with the Lord. It is humility that allows us to accept God’s will when & where our will hasn’t prevailed. It allows God to be God, and helps us realize that we are not in control. Just when we think that we are in control—when all the bills have been paid, all the school work has been finished, the annual performance appraisal has been reviewed, the car is running like a top, our friends have told us they love us, we can almost be sure a problem will arise. Whether it is a dead car battery, a job loss, or news of a terminal illness to a family member, it is a gentle reminder that we are not in control.

What allows us to deal with it? Humility allows us to understand that God is in control. A priest friend of mine describes how his grandmother taught to him to let go of his troubles by realizing that “God is God & we are not”. Humility allowed him to get off his high horse, and “remember who he belonged to”. Being humble before the Lord allowed him to truly realize who was in control.

Humility is a core value for the servant leader. It doesn’t mean we are worthless, inferior human beings. It means “being authentic without being arrogant.” Being humble allows us to see who we are. It is not thinking less of yourself, but rather thinking less about yourself. “

Today’s readings affirm that we are held to great expectations. We must walk the talk, practice what we preach, live humbly, and lightening burdens rather than lifting them onto people.

The Pharisees with their phylacteries and fringes were symbols of haughtiness. Rather, we pray that all who follow Jesus can be true servants, learning from our teacher, Jesus.

Only Jesus is teacher, and only God is father, all others are learners and children. Greatness is found in service.

Lord Jesus, make us true servants. Amen.