Archive for the ‘Holy Family Weekday Homilies’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Praying Sincerely

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Thursday of 2nd Week in Lent

Esth C 12, 14-16, 23-25; Mt 7: 7-12

 

Can you imagine?  Just imagine prostrating yourself on the ground from morning till evening and praying over and over again.  That’s what Esther did, and for a good reason.  She was in mortal anguish because the enemies of her exiled Israeli people had gotten the King to issue a decree to wipe out, exterminate, eliminate, all of her people. 

Now the King was Esther’s husband.  So if anyone could do something, it would fall to her.  But she knew that, above all, the King was a man of his word, and would have to keep his decree.  Thus, the prayer.   

So, just how does Esther’s experience relate to the advice Jesus gives in the Gospel.  Jesus says- “Ask and it will be given to you”.  Ah, yes, all we have to do is ask.  How does Esther ask in her prayer?  There is no question of her Faith as the Book of Esther attests; there is no question of her legitimate concern- the future of the Israeli nation was at stake; and there is no question of her sincerity- her prayer was earnest and from the heart.    Now notice that she doesn’t pray for direct intervention from God.  Rather, she prays that the Lord would work through her words to achieve her end, the saving of her people.   Fortunately, her prayer was answered, and if you read the book of Esther, you will see how clever her solution was-  or should I say, how clever God’s inspired words were.   

Don’t we sometimes find ourselves feeling like Esther- frustrated, in panic, and in mortal anguish, as the roadblocks of life are thrown at us?  We are being tested; and the Lord is looking for our response.  We would do well to pattern our response after Esther’s.  First, she had a relationship with the Lord.   She was righteous and loved the Lord before this trial.  That’s why prayer came to mind- not as a last ditch effort, but because her Lord was always important to her.  In other words, she was a woman of great Faith.  Second, she prayed with sincerity and piety.  That comes out loud and clear in the reading.  Third, she prayed for something that was good in the eyes of the Lord, to save her people.  That can be hard on us, because what we want is not always what God might deem best for us.  And yet, Jesus says that God will not give us a snake when we ask for a fish.  So, whatever the answer to our prayer is- be it “yes” or “no”, we need to be open that it is God’s will for us.  Next, she prayed that God would give her the words for her to move forward.  And that is important- because we need to be involved in the solution.  We need to let God work through us, so that God is walking with us through the thick and thin of it.  And lastly, she was persistent.  She kept after God all day and into the evening.   

When you pray in the face of tragedy, remember the example of Esther.  Because God loves you, and always does the best for you when you pray sincerely.  And your prayer, like Esther’s, will be answered. 

Tags:
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Making a Commitment

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Thursday of First Week in Lent

Dt 30: 15-20; Lk 9: 22-25

 

Lent- it’s all about making a commitment- a commitment to choose God’s way to live our lives rather than world’s way.  We do it every year in order to preserve what we have, our faith and our path to eternal life.   

In the first reading, the Lord, through Moses, promises the Israelis a long, prosperous life in the promised land if..  If they follow the laws of the Lord and do what he commands of them.  The process takes 40 years, and is a painstaking struggle in the desert wilderness.  Now indeed, 40 years was a lifetime for the people of Moses day.  We have a lifetime as well, but every year we are given the 40 days of Lent to reflect on our lives and to put ourselves back on the proper track.  For just as the Israelis seek the promised land at the end of life, we are seeking eternal life with God- that is our goal.  And life in this world isn’t the same thing as eternal life.  Because no matter who you are focusing on preserving our lives is ultimately fuitile- we are all going to die.   

Jesus gives us the keys to how to deny ourselves and follow him.  First, he speaks for himself- he is going to suffer and die, but then be resurrected on the third day.  And He will be resurrected to eternal life with the Father.  After giving his life as an example, he tells all of the disciples that they must deny themselves and follow in his ways.  Clearly, he is not excepting himself from the reality of what it takes to live a life pleasing to God.  Because first he gives uses his own life as an example, and then he tells his disciples to do the same.
Yes, being a Christian means denying self.  But exactly what are we to deny ourselves of?  Well, when we fast, we deny ourselves.  But, let’s take a deeper look at fasting then we usually do.  I’m not talking about giving up something as a token denial, although that kind of fasting can establish discipline and we all need discipline.  Rather, suppose the ultimate purpose of our fasting is to turn ourselves Christ-like.  For example, we can nail the unruly parts of our life to the cross and kill them all off by fasting from them.  That means cutting out those habits and things that we do that are sinful or occasions to sin.  Things like gossip, alcohol, pornography, cell phones, video games, TV, Facebook, and a host of other things can be addicting.  We need to deny ourselves of these occasions to sin and sin itself.  That is denying self in the purest sense, because it does away with our selfishness. 

Second, we need to renew our relationships with our neighbors.  It’s called living a life that reflects love the way Jesus did.  Jesus talked about loving neighbor as ourselves.  And this was the most important of all the commandments God gave to Moses. 

So, as you reflect on your Lenten duty, consider what you will fast from, and make a real commitment to deny yourself of something that nails the unruly part of yourself to the cross.

Tags:
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Are You Thinking As God Does?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

 

Thursday of 6th Week in Ordinary Time

Feast of St. Onesimus

James 2: 1-9; Mark 8: 27-33

Deacon Larry Brockman

 Are you thinking as man does or as God does?  Today’s liturgy challenges us to think about man’s way versus God’s way in several contexts.

 First, there is the lesson in the first reading.  Do you and I avoid the lesser folks in our congregation for the well dressed, popular types?  Now before you say to yourself “Not I!”  Think about it for a moment.  Because the example in the reading is an extreme- and it is written so as an example.  But I think we can miss the real point.  You know, I try to come each Thursday to daily Mass.  I see many of the same faces each time.  But there are always new faces in the crowd.  After Mass, I see clusters of folks each week- the same clusters.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  But how do you suppose that seems to the new guy in the crowd?  Are we welcoming to them?  Or are our clusters a form of discrimination? 

Why is this important?  Because you just never know what a chance contact, particularly one motivated out of kindness and inclusiveness, will do for someone who is reaching out- maybe attending daily Mass for the first time.  It is a primary call for us to be inclusive as Christians.

And then there is the example of our Saint today- St. Onesimus.  Onesimus was a runaway slave of Philomen, whose name is the title of one of the books of the New Testament.  Allegedly Onesimus stole something from Philomen and then ran away to avoid punishment.  Paul meets Onesimus when he reaches Rome, and Onesimus converts to Christianity.  And so Paul writes the epistle to Philomen to try to patch up the relations between the two.  Paul asks Philomen to forgive Onesimus, and to accept him as a brother in Christ.  In other words, Paul wants Philomen to accept him as an equal.  This violates a number of cultural norms- ways of the World: forgiveness of a disobedient servant; and the separation of servant and ruling class. 

That was tough in Paul’s day, and when you think about it, it is tough in our secular world of today as well.  Rarely do we find examples where people forgive and accept people who have violated them and the law.  But Pope John Paul II did- he forgave and accepted his attacker.  And Cardinal Bernardin, who was falsely accused of abuse by a man years after it supposedly occurred, is another example.  We all know how such accusations can taint a life.  And yet Cardinal Bernardin forgave and accepted the man.  Who amongst us doesn’t have someone in our lives that fits this kind of bill?  Can we forgive them and accept them despite the damage done?  

And lastly, we have the Gospel story about Peter.  Peter judges Jesus prophecy through the lens of the World.  “Perish the thought; this just can’t be; do you know what you are saying?”  In other words, Peter doesn’t take Jesus seriously.  Today, we have lots of prophets predicting consequences of serious affronts by the Government on our religious liberty.  Respect Life Organizations like Priests for Life; the National Conference of Catholic Bishops;    and some news organizations are telling us what’s going on.  But are we listening? Do we really care? Are we doing anything about it?   

 

So, are you thinking as man does or as God does? 

Tags:
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Who is Your Role Model?

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Friday of 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Feast of St. Blase

Sir 47: 2-11; Mark 6: 14-29

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

A tale of two kings.  One Godly and the other ungodly.  That’s what we hear in today’s scripture. In their day, both of these kings were role models.  We can learn much from the stories about these two kings.  We will learn about good versus evil; and virtue versus vice.

King David’s story is of the virtuous man.  We hear that David offers thanks to God the most high in his every deed and loves his maker with his whole being.  David’s focus was on the Lord and praising the Lord.  And he defended his people against the Philistines.  David was truly working for the benefit of all in his Kingdom, and in this sense, he was selfless.  And for this the Lord rewarded David with prosperity.  He was indeed a role model, and his praises were sung by the women at the time, as we just heard.

   

Contrast David with Herod.  Herod was notorious for stifling taxation and extravagance.  In this short selection we find that Herod has stolen his brother’s wife; envied John the Baptist but feared him; imprisoned John out of that fear and in order to control him; and in an apparent drunken stupor on his birthday, made reckless promises to his stepdaughter in a flurry of swearing and carrying on.  And so, he had John the Baptist beheaded.  Basically, Herod is a Godless sinner who seems to exhibit wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony all together at once- all seven of the deadly sins.  Herod’s focus is on himself- and self-gratification.  What a role model he is.  But, for the secular society of the day, that is what Herod was- a role model.  After all, everyone uses success for a role model.  Indeed, the contrast between David and Herod is significant.

   

That brings us to this question:  Who are our role models today?  Well, they always seem to be people in power, people in the spotlight.  Today, our society focuses on TV and movies for role models- actors, actresses, football and basketball players, pop music artists, top models, billionaires, and reality show personalities.  Haven’t these have become our society’s role models?  It would certainly seem so.  And, as we follow these folks through the stream of life, it is a trail of heartbreak and disaster- divorces, affairs, drug problems, domestic violence, and selfish extravagance, all of which is glorified in the press. Just a single copy of People magazine shows it all.  But these are the people our media pushes on us as role models.    The problem with this is that our youth- your children and grandchildren, and mine by the way.  They are being inundated by worship of the Herods of today.  And they soak all of it up like a sponge. 

 

So, we have to find an effective counter to the garbage.   And the most effective counter that we have is our own example, the example of believing Christians who live the call- loving, patient, kind, giving, yet zealous Christians in our own families.  Because our children and Grandchildren are watching.  

 

And so I would like to pose this simple Question to you:   What kind of King or Queen of your household are you?  A Herod or a David?

Tags:
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Purification

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Presentation of the Lord

Mal 3: 1-54; Heb 2: 14-18; Luke 2: 22-40

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Purification!  That’s what the Presentation of the Lord is all about.  For 40 days after birth, a Jewish woman was considered unclean.  And so, the mother and baby visited the temple for a purification rite at the end of those 40 days, and the mother offered a ritual sacrifice to the Lord.  That is what Mary did in this morning’s Gospel.  So, the Presentation of the Lord is all about Purification.

   

Now in the first reading, we hear of the promise of a messenger.  Sometimes this passage points to the promise of the messenger John the Baptist.  But today, the meaning is quite different.  Because our first reading also says something about purification.  In fact, the rhetorical question is asked- who can stand such purification?  Indeed, this purification is so extreme that Malachi’s promised messenger will engage in that it can’t refer to John the Baptist, but rather to Jesus himself; and in the role of Jesus second coming- as the Judge of all.   

Now in the letter to the Hebrews we hear about people being subject to slavery because of their fear of death; and that this plays into the devil’s hands.  Isn’t that the truth?  Just look around you for the truth of that statement.  People will do anything- literally anything, to preserve their human life, but even more to the point, to achieve a certain quality of life.  Sometimes, they do so in such a way that it is clear that they don’t believe there is anything except human life.  And that is the point.  Some people will seek extraordinary measures to achieve comfort; and some people submit to medical procedures that prolong life, even at the expense of the quality of their own life; and some people do whatever it takes to enhance the quality life, even if it means that it hurt others.  In doing so, they are demonstrating that they are slaves to the flesh and to death- the works of the devil. 

  

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be concerned about our physical well-being.  But I am suggesting that there is more to our life than life in this world as we know it.  All of us need the proper perspective on what the meaning of this life is all about.  If our life is oriented to self- that is, self-preservation and self-satisfaction, then we are slaves to the flesh.  Jesus came into the world just like all of us- born in flesh and blood.  But he suffered- suffered the consequences of human life.  Jesus lived the balance between living life in this world as a human and pleasing God.  We have got to learn to die unto ourselves in order to be purified in the sight of God.

 

The choice is ours- just like it was Jesus’ choice.  If we learn to live life with that balance now then we need not fear judgment when we die.  Otherwise- “Who will endure the day of his coming?   And who can stand when he appears?”

Tags:
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Someone Knows You Better Than Yourself

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

2nd Thursday of Christmas

1John 3: 11-21; John 1: 43-51

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

You know what?  There is someone out there who knows you better than you know yourself.

 

I’m not talking about your Mom or Dad; I’m not talking about your spouse; and I’m not talking about your best friend.  Although those who are close to you often times do seem to know you better than you know yourself.  That’s because it is always easier for a person to be more objective about what someone else does than it is for them to be objective about their own actions.  We let ourselves be deceived about things that we do; this happens gradually, almost silently.  And so, we can become attracted to something or wander off into a pattern of behavior and we try to suppress how damaging it is to us.  That’s how we become addicted to eating too much food or the wrong foods or alcohol or TV or gossiping or a host of other things.  We can be blind to our weaknesses, or look the other way. But others, especially those close to us, can see it.  We can even become angry when someone rightly points to our deficiencies.  Because we see all of their faults as clearly as they see ours! 

 

But still, I am not talking about those who are close to us. Rather, I’m talking about God.  Because it is God who knows us better than we know ourselves and God doesn’t have any of those faults.   

 

John says something very profound in the first reading.  He says: “This is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.”  Yes, God knows everything.  He knows that we have these human frailties, and He knows that we have secrets that those who are close to us do not know.  He knows how we struggle with our own imperfections deep down.  He knows we are truly sorry for them, but being the weak humans that we are we keep doing some of these things, and sometimes we give up and even condemn ourselves.  But, God also sees the whole person that we are.  God is on our side- offering us His grace and counsel should we ask for them.  The last thing he wants is for us to give up on ourselves and condemn ourselves.  We need to feel the guilt; yes, but resolve to always do better. 

 

Fortunately for us, we will be judged by God and not others.  God will judge us based on the totality of who we are.  Because He sees the good things we do as well, and sometimes we are harder on ourselves than anyone else.   

 

I have always been puzzled by today’s Gospel until I saw the connection with this first reading.  Nathanael makes a sarcastic remark when told about of Jesus:  “Can anything good come from Nazareth”?  I’m sure you and I can relate to a person like Nathanael- always the caustic remark; the sharp tongue.   And yet, Jesus, through the eyes of God, saw something special in Nathanael.  Jesus saw deeper than the external façade that Nathanael displayed to people.  And so Jesus said of Nathanael:  “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.”  Yes, God knew Nathanael better than Nathanael.  He knows us better too; and He doesn’t give up on us.  Neither should we give up on ourselves. 

Tags:, ,
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Keeping It Simple

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Thursday of Third Week of Advent

Is 54: 1-10; Luke 7: 24-30

Dc. Larry Brockman

You can outsmart yourself.  You really can!  Our society almost trains us to do that.

 

Previous generations were taught the faith through old fashioned rote memory using the Baltimore Catechism #2.  Some of us remember that; but most of you, all of you who learned about your faith after 1963 in fact, probably don’t know a thing about the Baltimore Catechism.  You see, those of us who were taught the old-fashioned way, were taught what the Church teaches by rote memory first.  And then, later on in life, we went through a conversion experience where we thought about what had been drummed into us and either accepted or rejected in our hearts the faith we were given by rote memory.  But the point is, that we knew- we knew exactly what the Church taught.  And it was simple; it was black and white, not relative.

   

Today, the emphasis in our secular society is on “rationalism”.  Everything is put to the test of reasoning as it is taught.  Everything is subject to questioning; and everything “depends” on the circumstances.  Nothing we are taught seems to be on firm ground.

   

This contrast, it seems to me, is the same as the contrast between the Pharisees and Scribes of the Law mentioned in the Gospel as opposed to those who were baptized by John.  The Pharisees and Scribes suffered from the danger of too much knowledge and a serious dose of “reasoning”.  All of John’s claims had to be tested, validated, proven, and compared to the scriptures and the detailed law.  And this was done with their minds rather than their hearts.  The Pharisees were not looking for the answer in their hearts- they were looking for compliance with the scriptures in their minds.

     

On the other hand,  the people that John baptized were just looking for the ultimate truth that would resonate with their hearts.  And so, John told them that truth- that God’s word asks us to believe; to recognize our sins; to repent of them; and to accept the immanent coming of the Lord; and that if we do all that, we will enjoy the Kingdom of God- simple, basic, and not complicated by a lot of hair splitting; and a matter of the heart.

   

We have the same choice as the people of John the Baptist’s time.  We can choose to listen to the word of God with our hearts, not hanging up on the details, but rather, tuning in on what is really important; or bogging down into the culture of today’s secular society, one that demands- “show me the details; and prove your thesis.” 

  

This Advent, we are given the opportunity to reflect on the simplicity of the message that the Lord is coming, the savior is coming.  Be prepared for the coming of the Messiah- the Almighty God incarnate as the son of God.  Accept that with your heart, and live Jesus’ practical lesson of love.  If you don’t, you can outsmart yourself in a sea of sophistication that wants proof of the coming of the Son of God amongst us.  The choice is yours. 

Tags:,
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Building a House on Rock

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent

Is 26: 1-6; Mt 7: 21, 24-27

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

“Yes, but”.  Is our allegiance to the word of God characterized by “Yes, but” or a resounding “Amen”?  Because, that’s the difference between building our foundation on rock or sand.   

 

You know, there is a fallout associated with all the education we get these days.  In very blunt terms:  “A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing”.  And in the American society we live in, our level of education is so much more sophisticated than it used to be.  We are taught to question everything; we are taught to be critical thinkers.  That is a good thing, unless…  unless we try to second guess God’s law.  We can become so arrogant about our little bit of knowledge that we don’t listen to God.  You see, God thinks at a level that we cannot begin to approach.  His ways are totally beyond our comprehension.  And so, God has revealed His law to us through the prophets, Jesus and the Apostles, and the great doctors of the Church.  God’s revelation is slow, and doesn’t always seem to be provable or understandable according to man’s level of intelligence.  The Incarnation, the Trinity, the Resurrection of the body, the Eucharist; and some of our moral standards, like the right-to-life, and the dignity of a human person, are examples of that.  So, these are beliefs that are challenged by secular society using today’s sophisticated learning and reasoning.   

 

Consider some examples of areas where human “thinking” tries to second guess the aggregate teaching of the Church in today’s society.  Usually the sophisticated arguments are used to embrace the exception.  We say- marriage is the union of a man and a woman;  Society’s elite say- yes, but what about two people of the same sex who truly love each other.  We say- an embryo is a human being just like the parents.  But society’s elite say- yes, but what about the fact that the embryo cannot exist without the mother’s body;  And if that support can in any way danger the mother, than shouldn’t there be an exception so the mother can make a choice.  We say- thou shalt not steal; but society’s elite say- yes but   those who have should be forced to pay for those who have not  because all are entitled to basic needs- it’s only fair.   

 

It is important for all of us to remember that the truth is not relative- it is absolute.  There is black; and there is white.  It is possible to cross the line between one and the other.  In other words- there is still sin.  Abortion is either right or wrong; Marriage is between a man and a woman; and we cannot just steal from people who have, to give to the poor- the rich have to give of their hearts.  Right is right, and wrong is wrong.  And we must build our foundation on rock- that which is right.  That means we must take a position that some things are absolute, not relative.  The things that God has revealed to us as our foundation are things like the ten commandments and the beatitudes and the catechism of the Catholic Church. 

 

Otherwise, when we think that human beings can discern by the circumstances,  we are building our house on sand. 

Tags:,
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Would Jesus Weep Today?

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

(St. Elizabeth of Hungary)

1 Mac 2: 15-29; Lk 19: 41-44

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Suppose Jesus flew into Washington DC this morning, and looked down onto our Capital City.    Do you suppose He would weep?     

 

Scholars tell us that as Jesus went down from the Mount of Olives, on His way to Jerusalem, He would have had a bird’s eye view of the whole city and area.   Just imagine- Jesus taking in the hustle and bustle of the whole area, like the view from an airplane in today’s world.   And what did Jesus see?   He saw folks going about their daily business as they had for millennia-   buying, selling, teaching, working, soldiering, praying, cursing, politicking, romancing, touring, tax collecting, and yes, even prostituting and robbing,  as if nothing special was about to happen or had been happening.   They were oblivious to the spiritual events leading to the salvation of the world- the incarnation of the Christ  and his Gospel, that is, His good news message of Salvation.   And, after 3 years of trying to get their attention, Jesus is now about to enter into Jerusalem for the last time for what would be His trial, death, and Resurrection.       

 

And, so what does He do?   He weeps, overcome by the emotion of the moment, that here, in this bird’s eye view, He catches a glimpse of the collective soul of man.   A collective soul that doesn’t see Him and has not responded to Him even after 3 years of direct contact- individually and collectively they are oblivious.     

 

And as a result, what does He say?   “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”   Indeed, they were so busy with the things of this world, that they had missed the message, and so they had missed the day of the visitation, that is, the arrival of the Messiah.   And because they missed that, they missed what it takes to make peace, the kind of peace that every single one of them longed for.   They are just carrying on in the world as usual.     

 

It is no different in our world, is it?   If Jesus were to fly into Washington DC this morning,   He would catch a catch a glimpse of our collective souls arguing and bickering over the horrendous public debt and taxes; terrible unemployment and economic times; legal hassling over the constitutionality of a three thousand page hastily written law that nobody understands; people demonstrating in the streets who can’t explain why they are there or what they want; and terrible poverty amidst tremendous affluence.  

 

What Jesus would not see is what he did not see in His own time-  people who had heard His message over their lifetimes, and were working together to make the peace of Christ happen.   The lifetime of opportunity that they all had to put into practice their faith collectively has been as lost for us as for the Jews.   Not only that, Jesus second coming could come at any time for any of us,  just like it would come soon after Jesus arrival in Jerusalem.   And yet, it would seem we are far from ready.     

 

Yes, Jesus would weep.  

Tags:,
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

Learning to Recognize Our Own Faults

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Rom 14: 7-12; Lk 15: 1-10

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

It is so easy.  It is so easy to see the sins of the other guy, and yet be blind to our own weaknesses.  We see other people gossiping; other people cheating; other people misbehaving; but we can be blind to our gossiping or cutting corners or acting up; or else we quickly and conveniently forget what we have done.  And it is both the little things in life and the big things.

 

You see, all those habits and patterns of life that we settle into can sometimes be so obviously imperfect to another person, and yet, we just don’t see them.  We learn to live with them- even grow into them.  For example, all of us know that we should eat the proper foods to be healthy and keep our proper weight.  And yet which of us is above commenting that so and so is fat; or so and so is skinny, when we should take a good hard look at ourselves.

 

Why do we dwell on other people’s faults?  Is it because it makes us feel better about ourselves?  Is it because it distracts attention away from our own faults?  And yet, it is a good image of ourselves that we all need.  Paul hits the nail on the head this morning when he says- “All of us will need to give an accounting of our own behavior before God when we meet him”.  We won’t have an opportunity to say:  “Well what about John, isn’t he a lot worse”.  No, the attention will be on your own sins.   

 

You know, today’s Gospel makes an important point about all this- that there is more rejoicing in heaven about a repentant sinner than about a righteous person.  It is not so much that God and his angels and saints won’t rejoice over a truly righteous person.  But more that “righteous” is in the eye of the beholder.  You and I, the average beholders, do a pretty good job at recognizing sinners; and maybe not so good a job in detecting the righteous.  How so?  Well, a repentant sinner in today’s society can be persecuted beyond belief.  Let me give some examples:  “He was an alcoholic”; “She had an affair”; “He lied on his application”.  And yet, how righteous is the person who hides, yet holds onto, his or her addition to alcohol or drugs; or keeps up an illicit affair; or conceals the lies he tells?  It is our own lives that we need concern ourselves with- not others. 

 

Paul says “Whether we are alive or dead, we must live our lives for the Lord if we are to enter the Kingdom of God.”  And that task is worthy of 100% of our time.  We really don’t have the time for being our neighbor’s conscience.  Soon we will enter the season of Advent to prepare for the coming of Christ.  That includes the coming of the Christ Child-  but it also includes the second coming of Christ.  That could be any time for any of us.  So, let’s get real about our own sinfulness.  Turn and look at yourself in the mirror.  What is it that you are hiding?  What is it that you are missing about yourself?  What is it that you are kidding yourself about?  Because when you stand before God, what will you say about all of that. 

Tags:, ,
Posted in Holy Family Weekday Homilies | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »