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It’s What’s In Our Hearts That Matters

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

Thursday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Anthony of Padua

2 Cor 3: 158 – 4: 1, 3-6; Mt 5: 20-26
Dc. Larry Brockman

It’s what’s in our hearts that really matters, because that is where God looks; and that is what he sees; and that is the truth- the reality of who and what we are.

Jesus message today in the Gospel is that we simply have to face the reality that we cannot hide from what is in our hearts.

I worked for almost 40 years in the aerospace industry as an engineer before retiring.  The technical work was interesting and challenging most of the time   And I loved that part of the job.  But the most challenging part of the job was not the technical part of the job at all.  Rather, it was working with the people.  Most of that time I had over 100 people working for me, and it was impossible to tell what some of them were really thinking.  Despite every attempt to be honest and straightforward in my dealings with people, there were some who were difficult.  Don’t get me wrong, most of the people were honest and straightforward as well.  But I discovered from sad experience that just below the surface lurked deception, laziness, ruthless ambition, and other forms of evil in a small but important subset of the population.  Almost always their motives and behaviors were veiled with a smile and a pat on the back.  And then one day, all of a sudden the full impact of their evil came out in the open.  And it was very difficult, indeed, to deal with.  It was almost refreshing to work with people who were overtly hostile who disagreed with you because then at least you both knew where you stood with each other.

I think it’s pretty much the same way for all of us who are living and working in the world whether we are doctors or salesman or engineers or teachers or whatever.  There is no lack of cunning and guile in the world from self- serving people.  It happens because people hide their true selves from each other.  It happens as a result of a focus on selfishness; and it is all fueled by a blindness to God’s plan for us and his message of love.

The early Corinthian community that Paul is writing to in our first reading was almost entirely the result of Paul’s efforts to spread the Gospel.  After he left Corinth, Paul was faced with a small but distinct group of detractors in the Corinthian Community who emerged from the woodwork and were attempting to undermine Paul’s message.  So Paul wrote 2 Corinthians with the express purpose of trying to counter the kind of backbiting and sinister behavior from this group of detractors that I was just talking about.

Paul first talks about how the Lord spoke through Moses, but the message was veiled over the hearts of the Children of Israel.  Jesus brought the New Testament to lift that veil.  What Paul says is that he is not preaching himself, but rather, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul says that this Gospel is likewise veiled to unbelievers by the god of this age, the devil, so that they don’t see the light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ.

Now it was God who said “Let light shine out of the darkness”.  Yes, light means truth and honesty and sincerity need to shine out of the darkness.  We need to always act in a way that reveals the sincerity of our hearts.  And the motivation in our hearts should be to seek the Kingdom of God by doing the will of the Father not seeking after our own secular goals.  Jesus is challenging us to get to know what is in our hearts because that is what God sees, and that is how we will be judged.

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How Can We Really See?

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Thursday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time

Sirach 42: 15-25; Mark 10: 46-52

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Ah, if only we could see.

Sirach first says that he will “recall God’s works- what I have seen.”  And then proceeds to describe how God’s word, once spoken, just happens, and fulfills that word.  Then he gives a summary of the wonders of creation that followed, and the depths of the understanding and wisdom of God.  He also says that the Most High “sees from of old the things that are to come”.  Just imagine that, the ability to see the future.  And so, God sees and understands all things and has offered to share that understanding and wisdom with all of us through the Spirit- the Spirit which was his recent gift to all of us at Pentecost.  It is that Spirit which motivates us to understand and do God’s will.  In other words, it is the Spirit that enables us to see, to really see.

In the Gospel, Bartimaeus cries out in hope to Jesus.  And when Jesus calls him forward, he throws off his cloak- his one prized possession.  You see, that cloak was his protection against the wind and rain and the elements; his sleeping bag and a symbol of security.  But he throws off that cloak, and walks away from it.  It is almost as if he is turning his back on the past.  And he goes towards Jesus, not only blind, but in blind trust.  Such faith.  And Jesus gives him sight in reward for that faith.

The question is, what did he see when he was gifted with sight.  Did he just see the world as most of us gifted with sight from birth do?  Or did he see things in the light of the Spirit as Sirach describes?  We do know that Bartimaeus “followed him on the way”, so it would appear that Bartimaeus saw something more than just the beauty of creation.

How about you and I?  Are we blinded by the real message of God and the Gospel by the clutter of life and all the things of the world?  Or do we see through the lens of the Spirit we received at Pentecost- a Spirit of wisdom and understanding of the will of God for us.

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Taking Time to Restore the True Flavor of Life

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Thursday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time

Sirach 5: 1-8; Mark 9: 41-50

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Today Jesus says that “Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor?”  What does all that mean?

You know, if we are honest about it, we will each see part of ourselves in the first reading, especially those who are in the prime of life.  We start out with good intentions- especially when we learn about our faith as children.  But when we become adults, wealth, power, strength, and enthusiasm for the things that the world has to offer us, these things lead us astray of communion with God because they guarantee us our pleasures and self-interests.  These are the things that take up most of our time and energy as we navigate through the mainstream of life.  We tell ourselves we will think about our ultimate calling, our ultimate destiny with God, later.  All too often, it becomes much later.  We end up looking back and find that decades have passed in our lives and God is still not in the center of our attention.  Like salt, we started out good with the right flavor, but somehow, as we navigated through life, we lost our flavor.

The problem is that, as Sirach warns, God bides his time, and so, few of us knows when our time will come.  The recent events in the news tell us that Sirach is right on.  We can be called to account for our actions at any time- like the people who were at the Boston Marathon finish line or in the Oklahoma Tornedo paths.  In just 5 minutes, everything changed in their lives; and for some of them, right in the middle of life, life was suddenly over.  There was no time or way to restore the flavor of good salt, so to speak.

So this calls to question, what are we doing with our lives?  Are we going through the motions, living life in the world as if life in this world will never end?  Because if we are doing that, we can become like salt that has become insipid.  Or are we focused on knowing God and following His commandments?

Now, Jesus gives us some compelling advice in the Gospel   First, he tells us to show concern for and care for others; and that even giving a drink of water to the thirsty will not go unseen by God.  But then he says woe to those who lead others astray by their actions especially the children and the innocent.

You know, sometimes we just don’t see how much influence we have on others.  And yet, we do have a great deal of influence.  Parents and Grandparents influence their children all the time, and may not even be aware of some of the influence they have.  Public figures have influence as well- teachers, bosses, lawyers, doctors, news media, celebrities, actors; you name it.  So, we all need to be careful of what we say and do which could lead others astray

Yet ultimately, we are responsible for our own actions.  And Jesus mentions some things in the Gospel to help us avoid sin.  We are advised to avoid the occasions to sin.  If it’s something we see, touch, or seek after that is an occasion to sin- then don’t allow yourself to be tempted.  Avoid it- that’s what the advice cutting off your foot or plucking out your eye means.

Finally, Jesus tells us to “keep salt in yourselves, and you will have peace with one another”.  Yes, indeed.  If we retain the flavor of the spirit within us; living always within God’s plan for us, we will have peace with one another in the Kingdom of God.

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On Christian Unity

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter

Acts: 22:30, 23: 6-11; John 17: 20-26

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Christian Unity, Jesus is praying that we will be one in spreading His word to all –people.  It is all over Jesus comments in this morning’s Gospel.  He says: “I have given them the glory that you gave me so that they may be one as we are one.”  And indeed, we are all part of the body of Christ, those of us gathered here this morning.

But there are so many so close to us that are not part of the Body of Christ-  those who have never heard of Christ; those who don’t believe in anything; those who believe, but are weak; and those who have fallen away.  They all need our help.  They are our brothers and sisters, our extended family, our co-workers, our community at large.  How do we evangelize them in this year of evangelization?

Well consider this:  What do they perceive when they think of Holy Family, because, perception is reality is to them.  Are we a loving, welcoming, community?

I have to tell you that the men’s club fish fries this year really impressed me.  My wife and I attended most of them and what struck me was how ecumenical they were.  Our parish succeeded in attracting lots of folks from the other churches in the area.  It seemed like we were seated next to Presbyterians one week; Lutherans the next, and so on.  I thought it was wonderful that so many diverse groups were attracted and felt welcome.  It gave us all the opportunity to mingle, and to show our brothers and sisters in other churches just how wonderful the people of Holy Family are; and welcoming, too.  And I think the Fall Festival provides a similar opportunity.  So yes, there are times when we are a very open and welcoming community.  We need to more of these kinds of events.  And we need to be united and truthful about our faith when we relate to our visitors

Secondly, our first reading addresses another element of what it means to evangelize.  Notice that Paul is brought before a hostile group and cleverly uses the absolute truth to escape.  He is direct, uncompromising, and very truthful when he says that he belongs to a group that believes in the Resurrection.  Paul doesn’t make excuses; he doesn’t deny his affiliation; he doesn’t try silence.  Rather, he speaks up boldly what he believes- and speaks the truth.

But you know, we have to be as clever as Paul was about the way we do it.  Perhaps an example would help.  Many people deny the real presence in the Eucharist or the reality of the Resurrection.  Well, in the last month alone our Parish has hosted the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit and a very fine detailed presentation on the Shroud of Turin.  The evidence in favor of the Real Presence is very strong in the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit; and likewise, the latest developments on the scientific analysis of the Shroud are extremely powerful arguments that literally imply that the shroud is a pictorial proof of the entire Gospel- the death and resurrection of Christ.  We can invite others to events like these.  Challenge them with the truth; and at the same time project our belief in the truth.

Christian Unity is a major problem today.  Jesus Christ is still calling his faithful to spread the Gospel and the truth.

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Understanding Eternity

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-21

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

So, just what is “A little while” to Jesus?  His disciples thought that Jesus would return in their lifetime.  Even Peter and Paul thought that was the case, as their early letters indicated.  It is 2000 years later, and the “little while” has not yet come to be.  We are all still waiting for the second coming of Jesus.  But one thing is for sure.  The little while that Jesus refers to is a lot shorter than eternity.

Ah, yes- eternity- just how long is that.  60 seconds of a baby screaming seems like an eternity, doesn’t it?   And sometimes it seems like it takes an eternity for water to boil; on the other hand, when you are young, it seems like an eternity before you are old enough to drive.  For the person who lives 100 years- well 100 years seems like an eternity as you live it.  And finally, according to Wikipedia, the age of the universe is 13.798 ± 0.037 billion years, to be precise.  That is a long, long, time- longer than we can ever imagine.  And so, whenever someone talks to us about life beyond life in this world, we become so fixated on the reality of our known world, and how long it has existed that we find it hard to focus on what is beyond this world.

That’s what happened in the first reading.  The Jews waited several thousand years for the Messiah.  He came; and they didn’t recognize him.  They were focused on this world, and how to live in it not on eternity, and life in eternity.

But as long in time as some of these worldly things seem or are, they are like the bat of an eye compared to eternity.  And that is Jesus point.  You see, you and I are going to have to live through the baby’s cry, the water boiling, being able to drive, and for some, even a 100 year life span.  And when we do, they all will seem insignificant in time once we are beyond them, as they truly are insignificant in time.  But in reality, we are going to live beyond the life of the universe, because we are all going to live an eternity- which is forever.  It is our choice how we choose to live out the eternity, which will, of course, dwarf all these time comparisons.  No matter how long it seems to take to live out our lives living them with faith that Jesus promise of salvation and everlasting life are real, and no matter how hard it seems to follow the Gospel, along with the weeping that Jesus predicts, it all lasts for just a little while compared to eternity.

As things happen to us, they may seem like they take an eternity- like the baby crying.  But they don’t.  We will get beyond them with faith and hope and love.  So, let us focus on what we need to do to experience the joy of eternity, rather than the trials we experience in “the little while” of our lives.

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Is There an Ethiopian Eunuch in Your Life?

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Acts 8: 26-40; John 6: 44-51

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Easter is such an exciting time of year!  Take this Gospel for example.  Jesus says “Amen, Amen I say to you whoever believes has eternal life”.  You all believe, don’t you, so you have eternal life!  You already have it, just think about that.

And then Jesus says:” I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever”.  In just a couple of minutes, you will eat that bread come down from heaven.  And that seals your fate- everlasting life!  Jesus has said it twice in two different ways.  We are so blessed; we have so much- our faith, the Eucharist, and a guarantee of everlasting life.  And you should be excited about all that- the whole Easter event- it is life changing and exciting.

So, just how excited are you about it?  Are you as charged up as Philip in the first reading?  It’s a fascinating story isn’t it, the story of Philip.  Charged up by the Easter events, Philip is taking to heart Jesus command to go forward and preach the Gospel to all nations.  And what does God do? He puts this foreigner in his path- a Eunuch from Ethiopia, and probably of a different race, who was not a Jew, and a servant to boot.  This guy didn’t belong to Philip’s crowd, that’s for sure. Philip could have just as easily passed this Eunuch by; but he didn’t.  He was a Judaizer, meaning a believer in Judaism, but one who is not born a Jew.  This man is confused- he doesn’t understand the prophet and he is seeking help.  Well, he ran into the right person, Philip.  Philip sees a need and doesn’t care that the Eunuch doesn’t fit in.  Filled with the spirit, Philip evangelizes the Ethiopian right then and there and Baptizes him.

A question.  Why do you suppose this story is our reading this morning?  So that we feel good about what Philip did?  Or is it a sort of precursor story that foretells the Apostles mission to move out to all nations?  Or is it something more personal?  Because, you know, all of us were called on Easter to be a witness of the Easter events, too.  Yes, indeed, all of us are called, especially during this year of evangelization, to show our joy and evangelize others.  We should be spreading the joy of Easter, especially in this secular, Godless, pluralistic, hedonistic society that we live in; one in which we, as Catholics, are beginning to feel the pinch on our ability to live the morals in the Gospel.  The time is ripe for us to share our joy.

Now I know what some of you are thinking.  Just how, how do I go about evangelizing, after all God did not send a chariot with an Ethiopian Eunuch across my path!  Oh, but he will; he has.

Yes, God exposes all of us to events in life which are just as outlandish as Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian.  Every day we come in contact with divorced, homeless, jobless, spiritually hungry; and/or morally confused people.  They are people at the hospital; at Walmart; in the grocery store, in the driver’s license agency line, all of whom are looking for answers.  We just have to recognize that God has put them there for us, calling us to make time for them and to come out of our shells to do something.

So, be on the look-out for someone who is hurting, who is thrown across your path in some unlikely way- like an Ethiopian Eunuch on a horse cart.  And then take the time from your regular routine to take the initiative.  Say something like: “Is there something I can do, my friend?”  And if you are truly joyful, because God’s spirit fills you with love, then you will be an inspiration, and you can be an evangelizer like Philip, one who shares the peace and joy of Easter  That’s what it is all about to be a Christian.

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Being a Christian Witness

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Acts 5: 27-33; John 3: 31-36

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

“We are witnesses to these things”.  Those were Peter’s words to the Sanhedrin.  Indeed, we heard in the Easter Gospel that the Apostles were to go forth to all nations and be witnesses, even to the ends of the earth.  And this command is passed on to all of us who were baptized as well.  So we are called to be witnesses as well; but what does that mean, to be a witness?

Some people think it means that one testifies as a witness, meaning that when called to tell the truth, one describes the truth of what happened.  But is that what Peter was doing in the reading?  On the surface, yes indeed, that is what Peter did.  He kept telling the truth of what happened.  And it made the Sanhedrin angry, because they had ordered the Apostles “not to talk about that man”.  But being a Christian witness means more than that.  It means going forward and evangelizing.  You see, that’s really what the Apostles were doing.  They weren’t just defying the Sanhedrin by talking about Jesus when they were asked about Jesus.  No, they were out and about telling the Jesus story with conviction every day, everywhere, to anyone they could find.  And what was so convincing is that they were all in it together and they lived the message they preached.  And that’s what it means to be a true Christian Witness- it means being an evangelizer.

Now our witnessing of our commitment to Christ is done by word and deed.  We can talk about it, as Peter and the Apostles did.  And while it is good to send people out to talk about our faith to others, that is incomplete witnessing.  Because we also need to live out the word, as the Apostles did.  These men didn’t just keep it to themselves in their believing community, but they moved out and witnessed their behavior far and wide, living the message they were spreading by loving one another.  That’s why their message appealed; because they believed; because they lived the message as a community; and because they exuded a sense of joy and happiness despite their earthly trials.  That made other folks take notice and seek out “the way”.

We are called upon to do the same.  The life that we live with our families and community gives witness.  It gives witness to our belief and values.  In the Gospel we hear: “The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.   But the one who comes from heaven (is above all)”.  Every day of our lives, we “speak” by what we do, not just by what we say.  For as St. Francis said- “Preach the Gospel, use words if you have to”.

So, what kind of a Christian witness are you?  Is your witness to earthly things?  Or are you above all that?

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Believing in Our Resurrected Bodies

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Easter Thursday

Acts 3: 11-26; Luke 24: 35-48

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

There are some things we just find hard to accept, things which seem so hard to believe and impossible to picture that we shake our heads in bewilderment.  The resurrection of the body is one of those things.

First, there is the whole idea of life after death.  Death seems so final, doesn’t it?  Especially when we watch a person lowered into the ground.  What could life after death possibly be like?  Much has been written recently by people who clinically die and then come back to life.  These people claim to have experienced “life after death”.  And while their experiences are similar, there are definite differences- important differences; not to mention that these experiences are difficult for even the most articulate person to describe- they are basically indescribable, they are not of this world.  And so, reasoning people doubt these experiences as well.

And second, how can we rise with our physical bodies?  Our bodies are corruptible.  They decay and are gone in a matter of years or decades.  Now there are some saints whose bodies have not decayed- we have many stories of that.  Certain popes and St. Francis for example.  But still, what about all the rest of us?  And what function would these physical bodies have in the Kingdom of God?   The Resurrection is something that we learn in Religion.  But when it comes to living in the real world, our science and reason driven secular society leaves us doubting the Resurrection of our bodies to Everlasting Life.

But wait a minute: What about Easter, and the joy of Easter?  You see, we can really begin to understand true Christian joy if we put ourselves in the position of the Apostles on Easter Morning.  Because they had just lost the Lord to a terrible death and doubt reigned supreme in their minds.  After all, they had all the same natural inclinations that we do to doubt the Resurrection.  But in their case, they had gone out on a limb.  They had believed Jesus was the Messiah.  But rather than conquer the Romans, Jesus had been brutally victimized by the Romans and was dead.  How depressing; how final it all seemed.

And then, walla, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and he is seen by them- in His physical body.  Not only that, he eats and drinks with them.  He explains the scriptures to them, that all of what happened to him was prophesied so that they could see, once and for all, that everything God had promised had come true.  And now- here He was, Resurrected.

Life after death is real, and all who believe, and follow God’s will are heirs to the same Resurrected life in the Kingdom of God.  That is the Christian hope for those who believe, I mean really believe.  Imagine their joy, and why it lasted for 8 weeks while Jesus was with them.  I can understand that kind of joy.

All of us are called upon to believe and to live in Christian hope.  We are not eye witnesses like the Apostles were.  But the bodies and souls of those of us who believe will rise on the last day.  And inherit everlasting life- just believe it.

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We Are All Made Perfect Through Suffering

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Holy Thursday Reflection

Heb 2: 9b-10

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

It’s something we all try to avoid.  Even Jesus tried to avoid it.  He prayed fervently to His Father on this very day thousands of years ago that God would spare him the cup he was destined for.  And yet, as Paul says in our reading, it was the Father’s will that He make the leader of the “sons of glory”  “Perfect through Suffering”.  Yes, suffering.

Two things about this stand out:  First, God is bringing many sons to glory.  That can include all of us!  We can choose to be part of the “Sons of Glory”.  But it means we have to follow our Leader.  And that relates to the second thing that stands out, that we must all bear our part of the suffering the Father has allocated to us- that is, whatever cross we were destined to bear.  And these crosses are hard for us- standing up for our faith when it is challenged; taking care of children or an elderly parent; avoiding an addiction to the things of this world; working quietly for years and years to support the family; or bearing with an illness or limitation- just to name a few.

But it is worth it: the crown of glory that we will share in at the Resurrection, our own resurrection on the last day.

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The Good News of the Incarnation

Thursday, March 21st, 2013

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent

Gen 17: 3-9; Jn 8: 51-59

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

It’s too good to be true.  But it is true- Jesus is God made man.

The people of Jesus’ time saw him as just another person.  They didn’t believe he was God made man.  It never even occurred to them, especially the Jewish leaders.  But then He says in today’s Gospel:  “Whoever keeps my word will never see death”.  Yet his word, his teachings were revolutionary; and his promise of not tasting death seemed madness.  Jesus taught things like love your enemies; don’t condemn others; turn the other cheek; and give to the poor.  He used the beatitudes as a rallying cry.  And the beatitudes spoke about the humble and the meek and poor and persecuted, not the strong and capable and self-confident and in-control.  It was a litany of “do’s” rather than a litany of “do not’s” like the ten commandments.  Jesus teaching wasn’t consistent with their culture; it wasn’t their way.  They had come to interpret the scriptures and the law in human terms because they didn’t seek to “know” God; they only knew about him and His law.  It was like they were trying to recognize the face of a person from a description rather than from a photograph.  But in so doing, they were missing so many of the features of the true face.

The same thing can happen to us.  We can study the scriptures and the Catechism and the words and concentrate on knowledge about God and the law of God but, in the process, fail to really know God.  And it is in knowing God that we learn the most important lessons about following Him.

First of all, we can know God by knowing Jesus, his son.  That means knowing the Gospels so well that we actually live out the values of the Gospels in our lives.  Second, we know God by praying- praying in such a way that God is included in all of our decisions, kind of like we communicate and dialog with a good friend or confidant about our lives.

Lent is a perfect time to get to know God.  We should be taking the necessary time to read the Gospels so that Jesus words in them are a living experience to us, and we should be taking the time to pray and reflect on our lives so we can ask Jesus to help us and to be with us through thick and thin.

If we know God and have a feel for how His son lived and breathed life on this earth then we will come to be like Jesus.  And when that happens, we will have a strong sense of Christian hope- Christian hope that no matter how tough the going gets, when we know God and follow after the way His son Jesus acted, we will be saved for eternal life.  Christian hope guarantees that there is something better- everlasting life, because a true Christian will never taste death.  And they know it!

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