Deacon Larry

  July 22, 2007

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Gen 18: 1-10a; Col 1: 24-28; Luke 10: 38-42

Dc. Larry Brockman

Not just one mystery!  But three mysteries.  That’s what we are treated to in the today’s scriptures.  

 Paul says his mystery was hidden through the ages.  But it is now revealed and is this:  “Christ in you, the hope for Glory”.  First “Christ in you”.  Now Paul was talking to those who had accepted Christ- those Colossians who were Christians and were living as Christians.  It was a mystery so close to them, yet it was not so obvious.  But, to know and accept Christ means that you are listening to him, that you have heard his words, and they have meaning to you.  If those words have meaning to you, then ever after you will act consistently with what you have been taught, with what you heard; just as you did when, as a child, you heard your parents and listened to them. 

That takes a certain kind of listening; a wholehearted acceptance without questioning.  So that it is second nature for your actions to reflect that acceptance and living out the word.  All of us have much to do to be that familiar with the word so that it is second nature to us to act consistently.  But, if you do that- then, and here is the second part of the mystery- the core of the mystery-  Then there is hope for glory- your glory.  And that’s what we are all after, to share in the Glory of Christ.   

A second mystery is how Sarah could bear a child after reaching the ripe old age of 90.  Well, Abraham shows us the kind of attention to the word that Paul was talking about.  Abraham had trained himself to listen for the voice of the Lord.  And the first reading shows us an example of when this happened.  What seemed like a simple act of hospitality to three visitors was really something else altogether.  You see, Abraham somehow sensed that there was something special in the three visitors.  One source indicates that the meal Abraham laid out for these men was extraordinary.  In terms of the customs of that time, it was a grand feast fit for a king, not just a small meal.  Plus, he ran to meet them in the sweltering mid-day desert heat.  Abraham just knew; he was aware of when the Lord was speaking to him and that trust and acceptance resulted in God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah that a child would be born- Isaac.  Many of you probably frowned when you hear Sarah chuckling in the background about what the visitors said.  But, I’ll be that our seniors more than understand how she felt.  Having a baby, especially after being barren up to the age of 90, that was ridiculous.  Yet Abraham listened, and believed in the Lord’s word.  This mystery is like the way God will work in our lives if we really listen and respond to His word.  Because things that will happen that seem to be a miracle- like unexpected blessings- a job offer, a child, a healing; or seemingly impossible expectations, will be met- a turn of heart, an unexpected windfall.  But, they are the blessings that God has in mind for us; not necessarily the ones we plan for.   

The third mystery is the problem of Martha and Mary.  Last week, we heard the story of the Good Samaritan.  We learned that we must always be open to meet the needs of our neighbors.  “Love your neighbor as yourself”!  Isn’t that what Martha was doing?  The story implies that Martha was providing for a large group.  That was what the women were supposed to do.  Women were not supposed to sit at the feet of the teachers- they were supposed to be loving, serving, gracious hosts.  And certainly, after the lesson of the Good Samaritan, isn’t that what Martha and Mary should both do?  I just bet that most of the ladies out there are really puzzled by this one!  You can really relate to Martha- just doing the right thing.  So, why did Jesus rebuke Martha, even as mild as it was- another mystery?  Jesus says “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things, there is need of only one thing”.  Last weeks Gospel and this weeks Gospel are a pair.  The greatest commandment is to love God, and then our neighbor as ourselves.  Last week we heard about Loving our neighbor.  This week we hear about Loving God.  They were reversed, weren’t they?  Because the right priority is this: love God; and then love your neighbor.  That is what Mary was doing; Martha did not have that priority straight.  And with other stories in the Scriptures, an exaggeration is used to make a point, this special point on getting priorities straight.   

For all of you, life, and what comes next, is ultimately a mystery.  But the memory of this morning’s three mysteries can help.  Listen to the Word of God by living it; trust that if you have your priority straight, God will shower you with blessings in wonderful ways;and then, expect to share in His Glory. 

  July 1, 2007

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19: 16b, 19-21; Gal 5: 1, 13-18; Luke 9: 51-62

Dc. Larry Brockman

“Follow Me”.  Twice in today’s readings we heard that command.  If each of you are honest with yourselves, then you will have to admit that you have heard that same command during your lives.  Deep down, you have heard a call, an urge to follow the Lord.  And, as both examples show, that entails giving something up.  At first glance, it seems that “following me” means giving up your freedom.  Elisha gives up his profession and his relationship with his family, to follow Elijah.  The people that talked to Jesus were told the same thing.  They were even told that to follow Jesus, they must give up their homes, and not look back.  Is it really that hard to follow Jesus?  Giving up your livelihood?  Giving up your family?  Well, scripture scholars tell us that many times the stories in the Bible are presented as extremes.  This is done to make a point.  The two stories make this point very clearly- yes, to follow the Lord you will have to give something up. 

What the scriptures are really telling us is that to follow the Lord we need to do three things.  First, we need to look forward, not back.  Looking back saps your strength; makes you a slave to your old burdens; and diverts you from your new course.  Rather, you should concentrate on what’s ahead whatever you feel you were called to do or to be.  It’s not that you forget the past; because the past has defined you; has served as your time in the crucible to learn and to experience life.  But rather, that you should not let the past consume you.  The future is the only place where “it’s at”.  Recently I saw the old film “Sunset Boulevard”  It was all about a woman who couldn’t, wouldn’t, and didn’t get out of the past.   

Second, you need to trust.  In both of the scripture stories we heard it was clear that neither Elisha nor Jesus knew the details of what was ahead.  They just trusted that God would prevail and would provide.  Funny, because that’s another process of letting go, isn’t it.  Year’s ago, my wife and I went to Ireland for a vacation.  I always plan my trips- down to the very last detail.  But, I had been told that Bed and Breakfasts were the way to go.  I was told not to book ahead, but just drive down the road, and stop at a B&B when the day was done.  How difficult that was for me.  But, it was wonderful.  It’s that kind of trust I am talking about.  Trust that God will provide when the need arises.  You have to be aware of your needs as you go along; but don’t let them consume you either.  Trust that God will be there, but in His way, not yours.   

Third, you do have to give up what seems like your freedom and when you give it up, it is then that you are truly set free.  That’s what Paul’s message to the Galatians was all about.  To some of the Galatians, freedom from the law meant just that- freedom to do anything that the flesh desired.  Paul defined this type of freedom as “the yoke of slavery”.  Indeed, this type of self-consuming freedom is really a burden.  When you only think of yourself, and that is what consumes you, then you are a slave to yourself, and not truly free.  So, the Galatians were looking for the law- what was the line which they must not step over.  Paul was telling them that as Christians, they were free from the law.  Rather than the law, love must be their guide.  Love is the greatest commandment of all.  Love sets us all free.  Love does not define a black and white line.  That would be too easy.  If you resolve to follow the Lord, the Spirit will inspire you to Love as you go along.  The rest is up to you when you trust that God will be there for you.  Then just always show your love wherever and whenever you are put to the test because it is then that you are following Him and He is right there with you.  Always. 

June 9, 2007

Corpus Christi

Gen 14: 8-20; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11b-17

Dc. Larry Brockman

Blood!  For all of history, Blood has symbolized the presence of the life force.  Shedding ones blood for another is the ultimate sacrifice because it means that you shed your life force.  Jesus knew he was going to do just that- shed his blood the very next day.  So, when he presided over the Last Supper, he knew that His disciples would feel abandoned; because His presence among them, the thing that motivated them and unified them, would be ended.  That’s why He gave them an incredible gift- the gift of the Eucharist. 

Jesus said that when his Apostles offer bread and wine in remembrance of Him then that Bread and wine become His body and blood.  He left them, and us, the gift of His life force, because Jesus is present in that gift- present inside all of you as you take His Body and Blood. 

Today’s second reading is the earliest written account of the Last Supper, even earlier than the Gospel accounts.  It is an account handed down to Paul by eyewitnesses at the event itself, during the decade of the actual events.  The early Christians understood that Remembrance meant more than just calling to mind.  It meant reliving the experience; savoring it for all that came out of it.  Perhaps that’s why nobody ever questioned the real presence for a thousand years in the Church, because the real presence in the Eucharist was such an integral part of their worship.  It was the center of early Christian worship; it was what Christianity was all about.  Indeed, just as the Eucharist was the center of the worship experience for the early Christian Church, It is the source and summit of our Catholic faith today.  So, we do well to reflect on what the gift of the Eucharist really means to us.

First, it means that each one of us that receives the Eucharist is guaranteed that Christ dwells in us.  Wow!  In the words of our pastor, Awesome!  Yes, indeed- when you receive the Eucharist, Christ is present in you; he is inside of you.  Take advantage of that opportunity!  But, don’t expect that you will feel that presence unless you work on it.  ust as with any other close or intimate relationship, it takes communications two ways; and it takes time.  That means you need to listen to Christ as well as talk to Him. 

God made all of you for his greater glory and for you to share in his everlasting life.  But, to do that, you have to be in communion with God.   You have to travel on the same journey, in the footsteps of Christ.  When you receive the Eucharist, that is the optimum time and place for you to be in tune with how Christ wants you to walk in his footsteps; to do the will that the Father has for you, just as Christ did His Father’s will.   Listen to Him. 

His voice may be in the form of a nagging feeling that something is wrong; if so, change it.  Or a sudden inspiration; if so, follow it.  Or even an appreciation of some gift God has given you- a talent, or even a limitation; if so, rejoice in it and embrace it. 

Take the opportunity to experience the Eucharist as frequently as you can because intimacy is something that only develops over time.  And after time, you will feel His presence.  You will feel the intimacy.

Second, the Eucharist is a community event, not an isolated experience.  The Eucharist is our heavenly spiritual food.  In the first reading, the bread and wine were offered to God as a blessing by the great priest of the Old Testament, Melchizedek.  But as Paul says, Jesus offered those same gifts, the bread and wine, as a new covenant.  One where we affirm our belief in the Priest’s blessing that Jesus is Lord, and has risen.   And we proclaim this new covenant at Mass as a Community.  In the Gospel, we hear that 5000 were fed from a few loaves and fishes. Imagine that- really- 5000 people.  Yet the same miracle occurs here every week.  All of us here at Holy Family, and there’s about 5000 of us attending all 6 Masses, are fed by a few loaves of bread and a flask of wine.  And that food is so special; it is our spiritual food.  And just as all of you have an opportunity to commune with Christ individually, so we all have an opportunity to give Thanksgiving to God for this special gift; and give Glory to God- as a Community.  It is God’s will that all of us share in his Kingdom and Glory.  You won’t do that as an individual!  Religion is just not something that’s between you and God.   No, to share in His Kingdom means sharing together.  The Kingdom is like your wonderful family celebrations at Christmas or Thanksgiving.  God wants all of you there, sharing together.  How else do you shed your differences and learn to get along together,than by learning to be a community.

In a few moments, you will have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.   Accept that gift of the Life Force.  Listen to Jesus and give Glory to God as a community for your many blessings.

  April 15, 2007

Homily

Second Sunday of Easter

Divine Mercy Sunday

Acts 5: 12-16; Rev 1: 9a-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20: 19-31

Dc. Larry Brockman

How quickly we forget.  How soon after Easter everything returns to normal.  Just a week after Easter and the Resurrection and its meaning are already fading as we become embroiled in the turmoil of our daily lives. 

We are all kind of like Thomas with the nail marks in the arms and the legs and the pierced side.  They were the realities to Thomas; the resurrection was too much to believe.  And it just didn’t seem relevant.  The nails are like the job we went back to; the kids we take care of every day; and the aches and pains that all of us experience with our earthly bodies.  These are the things of the here and now.  This is what we have to deal with right now- what is real, not what was promised.  So, it’s just as easy for us to think that “The Resurrection and the Kingdom” are something way out there in the future as it was for Thomas to discount the words of his 10 friends. 

But, Jesus Resurrection is real and the Kingdom is now.  It is up to us to make that count now in our lives.  The Easter story and John’s revelation tell us that.  In Acts, the Apostles are described as “all together”.  That doesn’t just mean physically together.  The sense of the Greek original is different.  It means that they were all “of one mind”- all of one belief.  These apostles believed, and reinforced one another’s belief.  They worked miracles because they really believed, believed with all their hearts, that Jesus Resurrection was real and it meant that they, too, would experience the resurrection and everlasting life.  And so, the Spirit was with them. and they could do incredible things.   

Now, after their conversion the Apostles did not separate themselves from the world.  Rather, they lived in the world and dealt with the realities of life.  In fact, after Pentecost, they went out and lived separate lives, evangelizing throughout the World.  Thomas took the Church to India, and Bartholomew went to Persia, for example.  They believed strongly, and let God’s spirit work in them to do the will of the Father. 

Several decades after the scene in today’s Gospel, while in exile on Patmos, John wrote to people just like us- people who hadn’t seen the Risen Christ, people who were suffering from tremendous persecution by the Roman Emperor, people who were torn by divisions in their churches.  John wrote of the “Distress, the Kingdom, and the Endurance” to the people of 7 Churches in Asia Minor near Patmos.  Just like the people John wrote to, we are challenged to believe even though we have not seen.  We, in this Church, have only the scriptures.  They record the Church’s handing down of the events of the Resurrection.  We are also bonded together by the “Distress, the Kingdom, and Endurance”. 
The implications of the Resurrection on our attitude on life should be as remarkable as for the Apostles, not just passing moments of joy on an Easter Sunday.  Because the Kingdom that Christ offers all of us who believe is everlasting happiness, with our enemies out of the picture.  That Kingdom begins here and now, yet it is something that transcends this world and all the suffering and evil in it.  That’s what the Resurrection should mean to all of us- a path blazed by Jesus himself for all of us to everlasting life.  Jesus tells us that we are blessed who believe and haven’t seen.  And the Kingdom and everlasting life is how we are blessed. 

But there is also the Distress to deal with- all of us, in our humanity, feel that distress  In the lives that each of us has been given.  The distress of earthly life doesn’t go away- But the Resurrection helps us to see that distress in the context of the Kingdom.  Just as John exhorts the 7 churches in Revelation to hang in there, with endurance, we are challenged to hang in there with endurance.  Endurance means that we embrace our lives with the kind of endurance Christ practiced knowing of the certainty of our Resurrection and everlasting life. 

How can we do that?  Well, the first step is to really believe.  You can start with the Eucharist in just a few minutes.  Jesus is present in the Eucharist just as he was for Thomas in Solomon’s Portico.  And when we really believe that in our hearts,.and resolve to accept God’s will for us in our lives, including the distress and suffering that are part of his will for us,  then we will experience the divine mercy of God- Forgiveness for all of our transgressions against the will of God.  We will be filled with the grace of God, and feel the Spirit working in our lives.  It is fitting that on this Divine Mercy weekend, we make that beginning. 

October 2, 2005

27^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Is 5: 1-7; Phil 4: 6-9; Mt 21: 33-43

Dc. Larry Brockman

Life is just one great big blur. There’s barely enough time to get done what you have to do, and precious little time to do anything else. You don’t even have the time to think about what you’d like to do.

But, the things that you do have time to do- your job, going to school, taking care of the children – whatever those things may be. Are they the real purpose of your life? Ah, but they are all so necessary. You’ve just got to do them- they are your responsibility.

Well do you feel that they are fruitful? Or do they bear the same as wild grapes- growing every which way, choked by thorns and weeds and other distractions.

God is telling you that he’s looking for you to bear good fruit. He doesn’t want a vine growing wild with activity that isn’t productive.

God made each of you special. You have unique personalities, gifts, and capabilities. He has planted you where he wants you, with a purpose and with a mission. He’s given you a real life. And he has also provided the right environment for you to be productive in that life.

But Life is not meant to be easy. Life is a challenge- it’s a challenge to be productive. God will provide you with insight you need to be productive if you will let him. For example, honor, justice, purity, beauty, excellence, and graciousness are a few a few things mentioned today that can help you to grow and be productive. You need to let these virtues work through you.  And that means you may have to slow down a little- or at least, force yourselves to pause, reflect, and pray on what your real purpose in life is to see how these virtues can help you to be productive in the way God intends.

Believe it or not, your real purpose in life is not your job, going to school, or raising a family. These things may all be important parts of your life. They may be an essential part of how your life can be fruitful. But they are not your real purpose in life.

You are here today because you all recognize that God is an important part of your life. You come here to worship God.  You all recognize that he is all powerful, and holds the key for your well being- now and for eternity. So, you are here to pray to him, to ask him to bless your lives in whatever your situation is. You may even be taking some time here to reflect on how He can help you to apply those virtues that Paul mentioned.

But, it’s not good enough that you honor God just this one hour each week. He can’t be the driving force behind your life if that’s all the time you give him. He can’t inspire you with the answers you are looking for in just one hour a week.

But if you can slow down, just a little bit, and pray and thank God for all that you have. In other words, give Him a chance to be a regular part of your life- then you can put him in the center of your life.

Here’s how you find the time. Society has “sold” all of you on making time for something that wasn’t a part of your life. For example, many people have made time for exercise.  Likewise, if you want to get ahead on the job, you find time to go the extra bit- take a class, or get involved in some outside activity. Some of you feel strongly about an issue, like the right to life, and will participate in the life link today outside of the Church.

So, it can be done- you can find the time, and it doesn’t have to be lots of time- just more time, and frequently enough that God is your constant partner. It takes discipline to do that, but it’s well worth it.

For example, our wonderful Pastor suggests rolling out of bed each morning, and saying, what? “This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be Glad”. It’s called morning prayer- and it takes discipline.

But if you start and end the day by thanking God and inviting Him to be part of your day- He will inspire you.  He will answer your prayer. The important thing is that if you make more time for God, then He will be there for you. You do that for your friends- make time for them. Well, if you want Jesus to be your friend- now and in eternity- then get familiar with Him. Make him a special friend.

Henry Van Dyke once said:

“A friend indeed is what I mean to be.

In times of trouble I will come to you.

And in the hour of need, you’ll find me true”.

That’s God he was speaking of.