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Standing Before God at Judgment

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

Westminster Towers

Jer 33: 14-16;  1 Thes 3: 12 – 4: 2; Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Advent, we are entering the Church’s season of Advent.  It’s a 4 week period of preparation and joyful expectation of the coming of the Messiah.  But there are two such comings that we are waiting for.  The first is Christmas and the second is the second coming of Christ.  Christmas is a memorial of something that happened 2000 years ago.  But the second coming has yet to occur, and so we need to remind ourselves each year of the reality of that second coming and what it means to us.

The first reading talks about the first coming of Christ.  Christmas, the long awaited coming of the Messiah.   We can, and should, commemorate that coming with incredible joy because Jesus showed us the way and guaranteed us everlasting life.   Now, most of us spend our time during Advent preparing for Christmas- trees and cards and presents and all kinds of rituals that remind us of the season we are about to celebrate.  And that is fine, as long as we also focus on the real meaning of the Nativity that I just mentioned.

But this week, the last week of ordinary time, and the first week of Advent that follow this Sunday is a transition that focuses on the end times and the second coming of Christ.  The Gospel that we just read is all about that second coming.  And that’s what I want to talk a little more about

It sounded scary, didn’t it, ll that talk about earth and the moon and the sun nd people dying of fright.  What does it all mean?  Many think that the emphasis in this reading is on the actual physical end of the World.  But I think there is a more immediate meaning, and that is the one we need to concentrate on.  You see, when each of us dies then we will perceive all of the events described in the Gospel.  The stars and the moon and the sun will be no more to us; and we will see the son of man coming to perform the last judgment on us.

Will we be ready for that, the Last Judgment?  Jesus warns us to “beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from the worldly anxieties of daily life”.  Because when we become drowsy in this way, we may be caught by surprise.  Yes, indeed, we can be caught by surprise in our own death.  Especially if we have not thought through what it means to focus on God rather than our worldly lives.  It is easy to fall into this trap when we grow into adulthood and enter the fast lane of life.  Spouses, jobs, interests, children, money, sports- all these things bid for our time and effort.  And before we know it, we are in the twilight of life and yet, our focus is still on the worldly anxieties of life- our health, our families, and our finances for example.  But we cannot afford to be caught by surprise.  Because these are the people who Jesus says will be afraid- the ones Jesus says will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming.  And being frightened away from Christ is the real death, because it is separation from God and the Kingdom of God.

But there is another side to this Gospel, a very positive one.  Because Jesus is also saying that when we die, we can experience Christ our sovereign King as He approaches us for judgment in the clouds, with a joyful spirit and hopeful expectation.  In fact, Jesus says we should stand erect, and have confidence that our salvation is near!  Have you ever really thought about it that way before?  Standing erect confident of our salvation sounds very appealing, doesn’t it.

So what should we do to make sure we are in the second group?  Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians gives us a strong hint on what we should do.  Paul says that we “should abound in love for one another and for all so as to strengthen our hearts at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ”.  Yes, love is the answer, how have we loved as we walked through life.  That’s how we strengthen our hearts rather than making our hearts drowsy.

During Advent, we can and should resolve to reflect on our lives.  We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it, and focus on the future, a future where love of God and neighbor are the focus of our energy.  God is infinitely merciful and forgiving to those who believe in Him and love Him.  If we are focused forward in this way then when we die, we will not be caught by surprise.  We will welcome the second coming of Christ.

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What Advent is All About

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Westminster Towers Wednesday Ecumenical Service

Luke 21: 25-36

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Sounds so ominous, doesn’t it- signs in the sun and the moon and the stars; people dying of fright; the powers of heaven shaken; and the son of man coming in a cloud with power and glory.  And so much has been written about these events as described by Jesus as well.  People try to predict when and where all this will all happen.  They try to piece a story together from this and other cryptic sounding scriptures, especially the books of Revelation and Daniel.  These scriptures have vivid imagery and bold predictions.  They are called apocalyptic scriptures.  They are written in codes; and they can be interpreted in many ways.  These interpretations are fascinating, and have led to many movies and books and all kinds of fiction.

Personally, I feel they are distracting.  They distract from the messages that the scriptures hold for you and I right now.  Because realistically, whether any of these writers on the end times is right or not, the chances that you and I will live to see all of it play out according to these predictions are slim to none.  Oh, if the book or movie is vivid enough, we might die of fright all right, especially the older and frailer we get.  But that’s not the point of the scripture for you and me.  So let’s put all of the grand predictions to the side, and see how this scripture speaks to us today.

First, let’s look at the context.  One element of context is why this reading is appropriate now.  Well, this is the Gospel Reading for this coming Sunday according to most of the Church Lectionaries.  That means that all Catholics, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Methodists, and a whole host of others, are all hearing the same Gospel this weekend!  By the way, I don’t know whether the Baptists are hearing it, but they do like to talk about this scripture, I know that.

So why is this the scripture for Sunday?  Well, besides the fact that there was an attempt to make the readings common between all these denominations, the basic reason is that we came to the end of the Church year last week, and beginning with this Sunday, we begin a new Church year with a season called Advent.  Advent is where we prepare for the coming of Christ.  And there are two comings of Christ- the nativity, or Christmas, and the second coming of Christ.

Advent gives us six weeks to prepare for these comings.  It’s a ritual type preparation, isn’t it?  We play out rituals every year in remembrance.  We do Christmas cards, set up bright lights and Christmas Trees, dress up with lots of green and red, bake cookies and other treats; make eggnog (and I hope yours is spiked like mine is!); and talk about a chubby old bearded man with a jolly smile called Santa Claus.  There are things we do every year; they are a ritual.  All of that is fine; but it can be a distraction from the real event we are called to prepare for in the ritual- the birth of Jesus; the coming of God made man into the world, the fulfillment of the Covenant between God and Man, to send us a Messiah who would redeem us and guarantee us a chance at eternal life.

Now this Sunday, our emphasis is not on this first ritual preparation; rather, it is on the second one- the second coming of Christ.  And that is really what I want to discuss because I’m not sure that we go through a ritual periodically to grasp the full meaning of the second coming of Christ.  But we really should.  So, are you ready for that?  And does this scripture really give us any insight into it?  Can this Gospel help us to reflect on things, and prepare for the second coming?

Now some of the Gospel words don’t seem to fit this crowd here.  As I look out at you good seasoned God fearing folks, I am confident that few of your hearts are becoming drowsy from carousing and drunkenness.  If any of you are, I’m sure that the word has spread like wildfire.  And that brings me to an interesting twist.  What if we change the words in the Gospel just a little bit?  For example, could any of us have our hearts become drowsy from gossip and from preoccupation with our next meal?  You see, Jesus is trying to wake us up to our mortality, and if we are preoccupied with our daily ritual- the anxieties of daily life, the latest take on what’s really going on behind the scenes; what so and so did; and what is on the cafeteria menu, then our hearts may miss another kind of ritual, a ritual whereby we examine our lives periodically and find out what really prepares us for Christ and His Kingdom.

Now in John’s Gospel, Chapter 18, verse 37, during Jesus’ trial before Pilate, Jesus says:  “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  Well, the truth then is what Christ bore witness to during His life; the truth is the Gospel and what our Churches teach about Jesus.  The Gospel describes a life in which Jesus did the will of the Father, sacrificing His wants and needs for what God wanted of Him.  The Father wanted Jesus to tell us about Faith in God; keeping the commandments; and bearing our own crosses.  The Father wanted Jesus to show us that finding and doing His will was
the essence of living a life pleasing to God.  Once in a while we need to reflect on those things, and make a correction accordingly in our lives.  We need to make those reflections a ritual; one that we do more at least once a year during Advent.

Why?  So that when we die our focus is in the right place.  Jesus also talks about the coming of the kingdom of God.  It is a Kingdom not of this world, where there will be eternal happiness, real happiness- not the happiness that a comfortable life in this world or total immersion into our daily lives brings- that is a happiness that passes away in a flash either because of age or sickness or circumstances.  Rather, the Kingdom of God brings a happiness in which we share in the Glory of God.  But we could miss our chance.  Because we have to recognize the second coming of Christ when we die and be prepared and ready for it.

At the end of today’s reading Jesus says  “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man”.  Yes, we need the strength to stand before Jesus when we are summoned.  We need to be confident, yet humble, that we belong to the truth and have listened to His voice.  That doesn’t mean that we have to have been perfect.  None of us has been perfect in the sight of God.  We are all human; we are all sinners.  But our focus needs to be on God and things of God.  We need to stand before Jesus and say “I see that my life on earth is over; I have listened to your word; I tried to focus my life on what you wanted me to do; I know I am not perfect, I am sorry about that; Please forgive me because I want to be in your Kingdom.”

I believe that Jesus is trying to tell us that some, those who are not vigilant, and those have been so preoccupied during their lives with themselves and their own lives; will be so frightened by Jesus’ second coming and so out of focus on God that they will cower from the experience and literally panic and walk away and “die”.  And it will be the kind of death described at the beginning of the Gospel reading.  Because when we leave this world, all of the signs described in the reading will come true for us.  The sun and the moon and the stars will all be in dismay.  Indeed, unless we are prepared for it, we will be perplexed, out of focus, afraid, and what is even more sad, we may not even recognize the goodness, happiness, and glory that the Kingdom of God offers.

Well, what exactly should we reflect on then?  I think the parable about the fig tree helps.  We can recognize all the signs of the season in a tree.  Advent, like the growing cycle of a tree is a yearly event that comes at a fixed time.  The dying back in the Fall, and dormancy of the Winter describe a process that is akin to the unfolding of life for us.  In fact, almost every experience in life is like the cycle of a tree.  We get charged up about something- school, our first love, a career, our spouse; whatever.  We grow into that interest or relationship and bear some fruit.  But there comes a time when most of these experiences end, kind of like what the tree experiences during the Fall, and then we come to a point in our lives when we realize   That we are all dying.  But like the fig tree, we have a chance to be reborn into another existence, a new life in the Kingdom of God.  In fact, in Jesus own words he tells us in Matthew 6:33:  “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”  Yes, we have to seek it; we have to reflect on where we have been, and resolve to sharpen our focus on God.

Now as foreboding as the warning in today’s Gospel sounds, it is really a message of hope for all of us.  You see, when we take all of this in the context of the Church Year, and the fact that preparing for Christ’s second coming is a ritual we all need to do at this time every year; and we recognize that no matter what we have done, God loves us and forgives us if we ask him to; then this is a message of hope.  Like the fig tree, we have a chance to sharpen our focus or even refocus our lives each year as we enter the season of Advent.  We can do it more often if we want, and we should, but we should really do it now as part of Advent.

We can, and should relax as well, because the events described today are probably not coming immediately.  We have the time; we just need to use it wisely.

We have a choice.  We can forget about this Gospel and go on with the anxieties of daily life.  Or we can reflect on the endless cycles that were springs and summers and falls and winters in our lives, the best of times and the worst of times; learn from them; and prayerfully look for God’s path going forward- a path that makes us ready for the coming of Christ, whether it be a rebirth, or second chance in this world, as heralded by the Christ Child. or the rebirth that is coming in the next world- the kingdom of God.

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Facing the Truth- the Last Judgment

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Christ The King

Dan 7: 13-14; Rev 1: 5-8; John 18: 33b-37

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Do you belong to the truth?  Because Jesus says this morning that the reason he was born into the world was to bear witness to the truth, and that those who belong to the truth listen to His voice.

The people of this world are pre-occupied with power, not truth.  And so, Jesus’ own people did not accept Him.  They were looking for a leader, a King who would liberate them from the Romans, and make their lives easier.  They didn’t like the taxes; and they didn’t like being under pagan control.  They weren’t looking for a message of truth; they were looking for power and comfort.

Now because of His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, the Romans were afraid Jesus would somehow work one of His miracles and fulfill the Messianic role in the way the people wanted: that Jesus would establish himself as King.  And so, we have the drama of this morning’s Gospel; a cat and mouse game where Pilate tries to get Jesus to say that He is a king so He has an excuse to execute Him.  But even to the very last, as He is standing before Pilate, Jesus emphasis is on His mission to bear witness to the truth, not to defend Himself or His life.

The dialog goes on beyond this morning’s Gospel, as Pilate asks the question:  “What is truth”?  Ah yes, what is truth.  The truth is what Jesus came to bear witness to!  So the truth is the Gospel, and the teachings of the Church.  The truth is not might makes right; and it is not what money buys; the truth is not taxes or a guaranteed life of comfort; it is not having control of the situation; truth is not relative; the truth is not a whole list of excuses for why we couldn’t or didn’t do something.  And the truth is not usually having our way.  Rather, the truth is what Christ bore witness to during His life; a life in which Jesus did the will of the Father, sacrificing His wants and needs for what God wanted of Him.

And what was that?  The Father wanted Jesus to tell us about Faith in God; keeping the commandments; and bearing our own crosses.  The Father wanted Jesus to show us that finding and doing His will was the essence of living a life pleasing to God.  Then, Jesus talked about a Kingdom not of this world where there would be eternal happiness, real happiness- not the happiness that power and money and the world bring, a happiness that passes away in a flash either because of age or sickness or circumstances.  Rather, it is a happiness in which we share in the Glory of God.

We hear about such glory in the first two readings.  We can share in that glory if we show by the lives that we lead that we are also witnesses for Christ, living a life worthy of our roles as sons and daughters of God.  In that way, we can assure that we will be part of the Kingdom.

Today is the end of the Church Year.  The second coming of Christ and the final judgment are the main themes in the first two readings.  The imagery is strong-  One like the Son of Man, a title that Jesus uses to describe himself, will come amongst the clouds.  People will be judged- separated into the sheep and the goats, and everything except the heavenly Kingdom will pass away.

That happens to each of us, doesn’t it, when we die.  Everything that we know of on earth passes away and we will be judged by Christ the King.  It’s a somber theme, and a sobering thought.  But it will happen to each of us.  Christ will be looking for the truth and we will not be able to hide from it.  What did we do for the least of our brethren?  Did we stand up for Christ when the going got rough?  Or did we run away, do what was convenient, do what was comfortable for each of us.

Now we are all very fortunate because today has come, and will soon be gone, and the end that Jesus warns us about this morning will not have come for almost all of us.  We are fortunate, because we have more time.  That is what Advent is all about- the next six weeks.  And while most of us will focus on the coming of the Baby Jesus. the second coming of Christ is heralded in Advent as well.  So let’s all take some time to reflect on the second coming.  What are the priorities in your life?  Are you ready if God takes you today?  Do you belong to the truth, and listen to the Word?

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Healing Blindness in Today’s World

Sunday, October 28th, 2012

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jer 31: 7-9, Heb 5: 1-6, Mark 10: 46-52

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

How strong is your faith?  Are you willing to give up everything to cure your blindness?  That’s what the blind man did in today’s Gospel- he gave up everything because he believed that Jesus could cure him of his blindness.

   

Now you might say, “We’ll, what did he really have to lose;  After all, he was desperate”?  But you see, he stood to lose his cloak; and a cloak, in first century Jerusalem, was a critical possession.  It was protection against the elements- like wide swings in temperature and winds; and it doubled as a blanket at night.  Because he was homeless, that cloak was Bartimaeus primary protection.  It may have even been his only possession.  It was unthinkable for him to drop it, and walk away because he might never be able to recover it.  Indeed, Bartimaeus stood to lose whatever stability he did have in the world if he lost that cloak.  He stood to lose everything.  But Bartimeaus did just that- dropped it and walked away from it!  That’s how deep his Faith was in the power of a man he couldn’t even see- all on faith, a promise of something literally and figuratively unseen.

   

Now the faith Bartimaeus had in Jesus was all word of mouth from others as well.  So, something they told Bartimaeus must have really moved him.  Perhaps it was because he could see with his heart what others did not see with their senses- that Jesus’ message was different, not like that of the Pharisees.  It was compelling; revolutionary; and gave real and lasting meaning to life; and so Bartimaeus decided to take the risk, stepping out of what little comfort zone he had.  Because of the Faith he had in Jesus, he was cured of his physical blindness, and then he followed after Jesus.

   

Now most of you don’t consider yourselves blind.  So what does this have to do with you?  Well, you know something; there are all kinds of blindnesses.  And I suspect that all of us could benefit by recognizing our blindnesses, and doing something about them.  Let me just talk about blindnesses that we might have.  

 

Some of us are blind to how our society is becoming more and more secular; how our values are slowly eroding away.  Maybe it’s because we are too busy working or caring for our families, or just trying to deal with life’s trials, like illnesses, our children’s events, sports, and social activities.  And so, we hear about things, but we really don’t see them in the proper context; and we don’t step out of our comfort zone to cure them.  Bans on school prayer, holiday trees rather than Christmas trees; the push for gay marriage rights; public funding of abortion; the HHS mandate forcing Churches and their institutions to cover immoral procedures and drugs- these are all evidence of eroding public morality.  Our Church teaches that acts like abortion and gay marriage are intrinsically evil, and must always be opposed by Catholics in good standing.   But some of us are passive, inactive, yes even blind to these things and their consequences.   

When we are blind to what God’s natural law is.  Then we are blind to the disastrous affects that changes in our values on marriage and life have on our society.  But they are leading society to acceptance of Euthanasia and alternate family styles that are contrary to God’s plan.  That kind of blindness does harm to the body of Christ.  To correct it, we need to realize our blindness and step out of our comfort zone to act.

   

Secondly, consider our situation compared to the third world.  We consume at an ever faster rate and dump unspeakable amounts of garbage and waste- like plastic bags that virtually never degrade which clog our oceans and water ways, killing birds and animals along the way.  Meanwhile a very large percentage of the World’s population lives in poverty.  Millions are starving; millions can’t read or write; millions have inadequate shelter.  And while we pride ourselves that slavery is gone; many human beings are tricked by unprincipled people into the slavery of human trafficking.  Yet these offshore poor and the victims of human trafficking are ought of sight; out of mind.  Yes, it’s another form of blindness. 

  

The blindnesses that I just mentioned have a common theme- they are all characterized by a form of self-centeredness  A sort of tunnel vision which keeps us from seeing the reality of the larger world- a larger world that we are all called to see and to respond to.  Most of us are in some kind of comfort zone, and don’t really want to step away from it to do something.   

Today, Jesus is calling all of us to do what Bartimaeus did- to throw off the protective cloak that keeps us in a safe haven; that protects us from things we would rather not see or deal with; and through Faith, resolve to open our hearts and minds to see these things as they really are so we can do something about them. 

  

It’s a tall order, and it is hard to see what we can do that would really make a difference or even how we can get started.  But, the very first step is actually very easy- it is prayer.  Ask Jesus the very same thing that Bartimaeus asked Him: “Master, I want to see”.  Because when you do that, Jesus will respond, as in the Gospel: “Go your way, your faith has saved you”.  And you have only to follow the urgings of the Lord in good faith, he can and will do the rest through you. 

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Dealing With Factions

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Num 11: 25-29; James 5: 1-6: Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-49

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Factions!  We are plagued today by so much derisiveness and so many factions.  And that is unfortunate, because God wants us to be united as Christians; to be one as the Body of Christ.  In this country, the majority of us are Christians.  And yet, there are so many factions- Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Evangelicals, Mormons, and on and on.  How should we deal with the messages brought by these factions? 

  

Today’s scriptures tell us a little about that:  First, those who are outside our mainstream can still be prophets.  Their message can still be valid.  That means the Catholic message can apply to Baptists; the Baptist message can apply to Catholics, and so on.  And second, anyone who speaks as a prophet had better get it right because the penalty for those who mislead the faithful is severe.  These two messages in today’s scripture can really help us with dealing with the factions in our lives; they can help us to become one in the Body of Christ.

   

In our first reading, Moses rebukes Joshua.  Joshua wants Moses to stop two of the elders that were not physically with them from prophesying.  Eldad and Medad were not there when the Lord gave His Spirit- yet some of the Lord’s Spirit fell on them too.  Moses reply is clear- if God’s Spirit is with them, let them speak.  Similarly, John approaches Jesus in the Gospel to ask him to stop someone who heard Jesus message and who was casting out demons in Jesus name even though he was not following Jesus.  Jesus’ remarks were similar to Moses’-  “Do not prevent him” and “Whoever is not against us is for us”.  Notice that in both readings, there are people who are not in the mainstream, that are acting in God’s behalf; and the message is clear.  Leave them alone; let them work in the Lord’s name.

   

Many times we become tied so closely to our group that we automatically reject the message of anyone outside of that group because they are not in our mainstream.  When we do that, we tend to form factions.  My experience here at Westminster Towers is an example of a great ecumenical attitude by the staff, an attitude that breaks down the walls caused by factions and encourages unity.  Although this facility is run by the Presbyterian Church,   They have fostered a very welcoming attitude towards their Catholic Residents, and have invited both me and other Catholics to come here and minister to you.  Not only that, they have invited me to speak many times at their Wednesday ecumenical service.   And those experiences tend to help us build on what we jointly believe as Christians.

   

However, Jesus goes on to issue a stern warning about those who preach and teach.  He does this right after he complements those who act in His name.  Specifically, Jesus says:  “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe (in me) to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”  Wow!  What a contrast.  That warning applies as well today as it did in Jesus’ time.  For those who teach and preach must get it right.  Because when you preach and teach you are leading others down a path.  And you share the responsibility for how they respond to your message.  If you help them, as was symbolized by giving water to one who needed it, that is great.  But if you mislead people, you are corrupting them and sealing your own doom.

   

And so, what is important is the message, not the messenger.  That is the first criteria.  If the message is all about the messenger, not God, then there is a problem.  And second, the message must be solidly based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ- not personal interpretation, not human precepts, not selfish interests; but on the values handed on in the Gospels and traditions of the Church. 

And so, I ask all of you to help build the Body of Chris,.especially in this wonderfully ecumenical institution.  Build on what you share together- faith in Jesus Christ.  And avoid factions that separate us as Christians. 

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Doing Great Things Through Faith

Sunday, August 26th, 2012

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Joshua 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Eph 5: 21-32; Jn 6: 60-69

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

We can do great things together!  If we believe, do God’s will, and stick together, than we really can.  But first, we have to have faith.  And faith means believing in things that we cannot prove.  It means accepting the mysteries of our faith like the Incarnation, the Eucharist, and God’s natural law.

   

Today’s Gospel is all about believing and faith.  Jesus has been telling His followers that He will give them his flesh and blood, the bread of life; and that all who eat His flesh and drink His blood will have eternal life.  Today we hear that many of His followers found that too hard to believe.  So, they turned their backs on Jesus, and left. 

  

Contrast that with the Joshua story.  After a long period of time as the successor to Moses, Joshua had led the people into the promised land; had defeated their enemies; and established the Israeli people on the land.  Joshua knew that they needed the Lord to survive, even if they were about to be prosperous.  Joshua was challenging them to renew their belief in the Lord and to follow His commandments.  The people of Joshua’s time might have regarded Joshua’s success as their own.  After all, they had defeated the Philistines and Amorites and all the rest.  It might have just been considered a human success story.  But Joshua and the Israeli people knew otherwise.  All the tribes were gathered together and asked to make a commitment to the Lord at Shechem.  They did; they reaffirmed their commitment to believe in the Lord; his power as the one and only God; and to follow His Commandments.   Even though they had not seen the miracles of the Exodus for themselves, they experienced it in their hearts, because their parents had handed the story on, and the faith.  They had not personally seen the plagues; the parting of the Red Sea; the manna in the desert and it’s power to save them; but they believed; they had real Faith; because the Exodus experience was made close to them by their parents, close enough that trust in their God was written into their hearts.  It was the Faith of their fathers.   

 

Why did so many of the followers of Jesus leave and not believe?  Notice that Jesus called his close disciples together and asked them if they were going to leave as well.  But they said they did believe.  They accepted Jesus on His word.  You see, these close disciples knew Jesus very intimately, and that was the difference.  They experienced Jesus and his personal piety daily; they saw all his miracles, and they heard all of His teaching; and so even though His teaching was hard, they trusted in the person, Jesus, who had written His law into their hearts.

 

The Eucharist is, and always will be, a mystery.  We believe it because we believe in Jesus, just like the Apostles believed in the person of Jesus.  Likewise, we must accept other mysteries of our faith.  It will be easier to do if our experience of God’s love is written on our hearts, like it was on the people of Joshua’s time and on Jesus close disciples.  That is the key to believing- knowing the Lord Jesus in our hearts.  

 

In today’s world, we find it very hard to accept things on faith that we cannot prove.  Secular society tells us to question everything- and that includes church authority, church teachings, and church traditions.  But God wants us to believe in His authority, His Gospel, and the Natural law that He gave us.  And believing in it means believing in mysteries of faith. 

  

One of the primary mysteries of our faith, in my opinion, is the family.  God created us in His image and likeness- and He created the family in His image and likeness as well.  Paul tells us what that means.  Wives need to defer to their husbands; husbands need to love their wives; the two become one; and the result is children, the primary purpose of marriage.  Paul is not talking about blind submissiveness and the world’s kind of love.  Rather, he is referring to a partnership that joins two people together in Christian love, with the Father leading the family.  And that model of marriage is important so that the Children learn what a Christian family is all about..They need to take that into their hearts and pass it on to their children.    Nowadays, the sanctity of this central mystery of our faith, Christian marriage, is under attack.  Easy divorce; alternate family life styles; gay marriage; abortion, contraception and sterilization for convenience- all of these are contrary to one of the mysteries of our faith.  The traditional Christian marriage; and they are contrary to God’s natural law.  And yet they are all fast becoming accepted as accepted norms in our secular society.  Our challenge today is to know the Lord in our hearts, so that we can preserve the most important values in our Christian society- belief in God, the value of life, and our primary role in society; and to enter into Christian marriages and bring up our children with our values.  Together, we can do it.  And we have an opportunity to do it together.   

 

In the last election 54% of all Catholics voted for the present administration.  For the last 4 years that administration has fought against religious liberty, the definition of marriage between a man and a woman, and the sanctity of life.  In this election, Catholics must preserve Christian values at all costs.  Or else we betray our faith.  The choice is yours. 

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The Ultimate Covenant- the Kingdom of God

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Mt 16: 13-23

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Lest we become too critical of Israel for breaking the covenant that the Lord made with them as we listen to the first reading, consider this:  Haven’t we broken our covenant with God as well?  Not just the covenant of Moses’ day, but rather, the New Covenant, the covenant promised in the New Testament? 

 

Jesus promised us Eternal life if we believed that He was the Savior.  That’s right, first we must really believe, and then we must follow after Jesus by using His example, the example left in the Gospel, the new way of living life, by first discerning and then doing the will of the Father, just like He, Jesus did.   

 

And yet, which of us is not guilty of failing to do all that?  In the Gospel, Jesus confirms in his talk with Peter and the disciples, straight up, that He is the Messiah.  And he also tells Him straight up, that by following the will of His Father, He, Jesus, will suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, and then die, be buried, and rise from the dead.  And what does his main man Peter do?  This man who is living right alongside the God made man, who tells Jesus that he believes He is the Messiah?  He doubts Him. He even rebukes Him for suggesting such a thing.     

 

How about us, are we any better than Peter?  How many times have we doubted, and not really believed?  Belief implies trust, forbearance, patience, and calmness whenever we are confronted with trials.  It means always knowing in our hearts, that is, believing with our hearts, that God is with us no matter what happens to us.  And there is something else that we need to believe as well.  Because if we believe that God is with us, and we bear up to whatever trials we are tested with, then we need to believe that the reward is great.  Jeremiah sums the reward up very well this way:  “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.  I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more”.   

 

Yes indeed, “after those days”, the days of our life on this earth, we shall all know Him, and our sins will be forgiven forever- such tremendous consolation, and such is our reward, to know God forever; to be in perfect harmony with Him; and to live happily with everyone else who is saved.  Amen! 

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Your Easter Duty

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Westminster Towers Ecumenical Service

Based on Reading 1, Thursday of 3rd Week of Easter

Acts 8: 26-40

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

How are you folks doing with your Easter Duty?  Well?  I see some blank looks out there.  What is my Easter Duty, you say?  

 

Well first, let me put things into perspective.  We are in the middle of celebrating Easter, and the Easter season lasts 50 days.  During Easter we celebrate the fact that Jesus forever changed things in our world.  Up until the Easter event, we were all just waiting, waiting for the Messiah to come and save us from our sins and to show us the way to Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God with God.  But when Jesus actually rose from the dead and appeared to His apostles, He fulfilled that promise.  And that’s what our joy is supposed to be all about.  We are celebrating an “aha” experience like none other.  We have been saved and those who repent and believe have been guaranteed eternal life.  And so we say Alleluia, Alleluia,   (Holding hand to the ear) Alleluia! 

Yes, Jesus the Christ rose from the dead, and proved that he was in a resurrected state with a resurrected body.  He proved that to his disciples on Easter, and our Gospel readings the last several Sundays have been all about that.  You have been witnesses to all of that!  So, are you feeling the Easter joy- Amen and Alleluia! 

  

So, are we supposed to just bask in this good news of our Easter joy for the 50 days,and then move on to the long hot summer, or what? 

 

Well, actually, if you recall Jesus parting words to His disciples in the Easter Gospel, He tells us what he expects of us.  He expects us to spread the good news- the Gospel.  That’s what the word Gospel means, you know.  We are expected to spread that Good News of our Salvation and to baptize all nations in the name of then Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit!  You and I are the modern day disciples, and we have been witnesses to Jesus’ words as well.  And so, simply stated, our Easter duty is also to evangelize, to spread the word, the Good News to all by being witnesses of all Jesus saw and did. 

  

Now, the scripture we just read tells one person’s story about how he evangelized.  It is Philip’s story; and it is a great lesson for all of us on what evangelizing is all about.  First and foremost, Philip believed.  Of course, he actually saw the risen Christ- he was there.  He was there to put his finger in the holes in Jesus hands and side and feet, to see Jesus eat a piece of baked fish,  and he listened as Jesus talked to the disciples about what the scriptures meant and how He had fulfilled their meaning.  He was there during Jesus’ three year mission of teaching as well.  And so, Philip believed and was well informed on what Jesus had said.

   

We have heard Jesus words as well, and we should all be believers- not just casual believers, but enthusiastic believers.  We have been saved; this Jesus stuff is real!  The Messiah did come and still lives.  We are going to see the Kingdom!  And so, we all need to be well informed, because that’s part of what it means to be a Christian.  We have got to know what it is that we are supposed to believe so that we can teach others.  We do that by the style of life we live, and by teaching others about Jesus at the right time.

   

Next, Philip heard Jesus direction to the disciples to spread the Good news to the ends of the earth by being witnesses to all Jesus said and did, and by baptizing all people.  But Philip didn’t just hear that direction, he lived it.  Indeed, Philip was so excited about his experience of Easter that he was in tune for what God had in mind for him.  And so, he recognized the angel sent by the Lord, the angel that sent him down the road from Jerusalem to Gaza on the Mediterranean Coast.  Yes, Philip heard his call to action and moved out.  He didn’t wait for all the details asking God questions like  “Which chariot, and what day and time”,   Or “exactly what am I to do in Gaza?”  No, rather, Philip was open to God moving him little by little.

   

All of us have been called to action to evangelize as well.  We do that by the behavior we exhibit.  Do we show our Easter joy?  Because, it can be infectious to those who don’t believe.  And are we listening to God as we pray, listening to that small still voice inside of us?  That little voice can give us little urgings to do something, or even just to say something when the situation arises, something that helps us to spread the good news. 

  

And so then what happens to Philip?  Well, God gives Philip the opportunity to evangelize.  God had placed this Ethiopian Eunuch in the Chariot with Philip.  The Eunuch was an official of the court of the Queen of Ethiopia, a far distant land in East Central Africa.  And by chance, the Eunuch was what we call a Jewish sympathizer, meaning he was not a Jew, but followed the Jewish scriptures.  This man was reading about Isaiah’s prophesy of the Messiah, and he was confused; he didn’t understand.  And so, Philip explained it all to him, about how Jesus was the Messiah and that all that was predicted in Isaiah had happened.  The Eunuch responded- he wanted to be baptized.  So Philip stopped the Chariot, and the Eunuch was baptized right then and there; and that started the Church in Ethiopia.  Traces of the Church can still be found there today despite historical events over the centuries, not the least of which was the spread of Islam beginning in the 7th century.  And so, Philip’s evangelization of the Eunuch  led to a significant spread of Christianity- the actions of just one person.  

 

Now this part of the story tells us a lot about our own duty to evangelize.  We don’t necessarily know why God has placed us at a specific place at a specific time.  But God knows.  And any place and any time can be the right place and the right time from God’s perspective.  This can be the right place and time for you and I to evangelize.  We, too, all will be given opportunities to influence others. 

  

As I look out at all of you today, I am reminded that you live in a large community here.  Where are all the others today?  Some that are not here, of course, have deep faith; but what about those who have drifted off from their faith, perhaps bitter over the experiences of life.  You folks live right along side of them.  It is never too late for them to see your Christian Easter joy over the fact that you are saved.  And it is never too late for you to share your joy and the message of Jesus when the time is right.  Is God calling you to do that? 

  

But Guess what?  Philip’s story was not over after the Eunuch was baptized.  As important and as significant as Philip’s actions were in the lives of the Ethiopians, the story did not end there.  Rather, we see that Philip, after baptizing the Eunuch, was caught up by the spirit, and after reaching Gaza, goes up the coast “Proclaiming the good news” in all the towns up to Caesarea.  

 

Likewise, our story does not end the first time we connect.  Our story goes on and on, as long as life is left in us.  Yes, we are called to share our joy as Christians continuously, even as we approach a ripe old age.  How exciting is that! 

That reminds me of a story about a person in my life.  I will call him Johnny and he is a member of my parish, Holy Family.  Right now Johnny is 87.  He was raised Catholic by one parent, andt his other parent was Jewish.  But he really took to his Christian Faith.  Johnny had a long career with a major company.and raised a family with his wife.  After Johnny retired, he became very active in the Church.  Despite multiple illnesses and surgeries, Johnny has not let that slow him down.  He uses a cane now, but still leads bible studies and participates in St. Vincent de Paul ministry to the poor. He always has a smile and a cheerful attitude.  Johnny’s wife has Alzheimer’s Disease now, and Johnny struggles to care for her in his own home.  His family is concerned about his health.  Johnny is concerned about his loved one.

 

Why do I bring Johnny up?  Because Johnny evangelizes his Christian faith by what he does.  He doesn’t have to talk about his faith, because everybody can see it in action.  But, the fact is, he loves to talk about it too- and he does that all the time. 

All of us have an Easter Duty-  to spread the Good News, the Gospel; to evangelize in word and deed.  There are a lot of potential Johnny’s right here-  people who can live their faith with grace and fervor and be a beacon to others that Jesus is risen and has brought us all everlasting life in heaven. 

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Making 40 days Count

Sunday, February 26th, 2012

First Sunday in Lent

Gen 9: 8-15; 1 Pet 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15

 

You have absolutely no excuse, because God has given you 40 days.  Yes, you have 40 days- and that’s a long time- to prepare for Easter and the Resurrected Christ.   

Why do you need to prepare, you might ask?  Because just like the man Jesus, your human nature is seeking the real meaning of your life and what God’s will is for you.  It’s called the process of conversion, and conversion is an ongoing activity, a continual need.  Yes, you and I all need to be converted from our normal, everyday way of life, which is based on our needs, our goals, and our desires; to a life that is primarily centered on God’s will for us.   

Many of you remember Fr. Larry Richard’s recent Mission with us.  Well, that was his basic message to us too- we have got to have Jesus so ingrained in our being that everything we say and do is part of God’s plan for us.   

And so, just like Jesus, you too need to get away from it all, and enter into the wilderness so that you can listen to God and find out what God’s will is for you.  And if you seek after that, then just like Jesus, the Spirit will drive you to a time and place and a means where you can commune with God.  But just like Jesus, you will be tempted along the way by the devil, who is hell bent on having you do anything except commune with God.  You won’t have the time; you will have other commitments; you will be distracted; and you will have interruptions; and there will be plenty of other reasons to avoid a truly Lenten renewal.  But the fact is, 40 days is a long time, and ultimately you will not have any excuse.   

“Lent”, as St. John of the Cross proclaimed, “is a time when men and women collaborate with God in creating something divine”.  That’s how sacred and special these 40 days are.  Because if you live according to God’s true plan for you then you will be doing something really sacred; you will be led to sacrifice something of yourself, whether it be your agenda. your selfishness, or your comfort, for the purpose that God intends for you, whatever that is.  And that is a piece of the divine plan; it is God in action.   

Now it doesn’t need to take all 40 days to commune with God because God can hit you over the head with His truth in just a moment.  But, you do have to give God your undivided attention to hear what He wants from you.  And unfortunately, for most of us, that can take some time.  Why? Because of the influence of the devil- those temptations, those distractions, and those interruptions that occur when even the best intentioned of us are seeking the Lord.  They will keep you from hearing the Lord.  So, you need to be persistent, and stick to your guns.   

Secondly, you need to be in the right frame of mind, a frame of mind that gives you the time and the energy to listen to God..  And that’s why the Church recommends Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving- so that you can be in the right frame of mind.  I want to share some thoughts with you now on these three- prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.    Let’s talk about fasting first.

Why fast?  Well first of all, fasting isn’t really effective if it is just giving something up that meets the letter, but not the spirit, of fasting.  Classically, we all fast from food or drink.  And if you are really dedicated, you might fast from something you really like, such as beer or chocolate.  Ugh!  But according to St. Leo the Great, fasting needs to be a form of great hearted abstinence- abstinence with a goal, abstinence that transcends our wants, but rather, gets to the heart of our sinfulness.  For example, you could fast from idle chatter and gossip.  Or you could fast from addictive watching of sports on TV.  Certainly you can see how this type of fasting gets you closer to the right frame of mind to talk to God.   

Second, let’s talk about almsgiving.  Almsgiving is not just dropping a few extra bucks in the basket, or taking a load of your excess to St. Vincent de Paul.  Almsgiving needs to be from your heart.  St Augustine says that almsgiving means:  “Expelling from the heart that which is more difficult on us to keep than to give away.”  Now at first, that doesn’t seem to make sense.  But when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense.  Augustine means that almsgiving should include those things that bind us up, keep us occupied, and so, they make it more difficult for us to do God’s will than if we gave them away.  That’s why some classic saints like St. Anthony of the Desert and St. Francis of Assisi, gave away their wealth, so they would not be distracted by that wealth in living God’s will.  And so, what is it that you have that has value that you need to give away so that you are not distracted from God’s plan?   

Lastly, let’s talk about prayer; because that’s how we communicate with God.  And it is not just any form of prayer.  Rather, we need to have an authentic union with God through prayer that is selfless.  What does that mean?  Well, a lot of our prayer is asking for something from God.  But selfless prayer is different- it is opening our hearts and minds to what God wants to say to us, not what we want to say to Him.  It is the kind of prayer where we hear God’s tiny whisper that answers our heart’s pain, the things that trouble us, that we feel guilty over, or that we don’t know what to do about.  It is that tiny urge that moves us in a direction we might not like, but if we are honest, that God is pointing us towards when we hear Him. 

Yes, these are the three tools that we need to get in the right frame of mind for a Lenten conversion.     

You know, it seems like just yesterday when we were all sitting around the Christmas tree celebrating the joy of Christmas.  But in reality, 40 or so days have passed since Christmas.  And you know what, 40 days from now we will be celebrating Easter.  You have a choice.  Those 40 days can pass by like a flash as you go through the blur of everyday life.  Or they can be 40 days that change your life.  The choice is yours.  How will you use those 40 days?

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The Joy of Christmas

Sunday, December 25th, 2011

Christmas Eve and Christmas

Westminster Towers

Is 9: 1-6; Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-14

Deacon Larry Briockman 

The waiting is over!  Christmas is upon us.  Do you feel the joy?  Not just the joy over the cards, the gifts, the lights, the decorations, the cookies, and all the glitter of the season; but the joy over the coming of the Lord. 

    

You know, each year the Church goes through a cycle that starts with Advent.  That’s the four week season that we just went through to prepare for the Lord’s coming.  And then the Church year proceeds to celebrate Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary time in that order.  After that, the Church year starts all over again.  So, we all know that the Church year is symbolic, a reenactment on a yearly basis of the Christian salvation story that unfolded 2000 years ago.  As we celebrate Christmas, we commemorate the birth of the Christ Child and the joy of it.  It may not seem real to us- after all, it is a yearly reenactment.    But you know what- Christmas can be real to us, and not just symbolic if…  If we really take to heart the meaning of it all. 

  

You see, Almighty God sent his only son into the world to become one of us; and to live as one of us.  He lived, he suffered, he died, and then He was resurrected; and he promised all of us who believe an everlasting inheritance in the Kingdom of God.  If you really, really believe that- if it is an “aha” experience to you, then it can only bring you the real joy of Christmas.  The cards and lights and cookies and gifts become the symbols; the joy of Christ’s coming is what is real!  So, do you feel it- the joy?  And why would you feel joy over that?

   

In the second reading today, Paul sums up quite well what it is that we should be joyful over.  First- he speaks of the kindness and generous love of God for all of us.  Amen- God’s love is first and foremost the source of our joy.  The God of the universe showed his love for all of us by sending Jesus to live amongst us and show us the way to salvation.   Paul is quick to point out that this love is unconditional, because it doesn’t depend on any righteous deeds we have done.  And when you really think about it, this love is demonstrated in such a unique way.  You see, other religions look at God as “transcendent”, a fancy word that means that God is high above us; so much above us that we cannot possibly have a personal relationship with Him.  But by Jesus becoming one of us, we know that God is available to us through His son, so available because he lived and related to people just like us.  He is still that available to us, because he gave us His body and Blood in the Eucharist.  We will all share in the Eucharist in just a few moments.  How wonderful is that!   

 

Then, there is God’s mercy.  Because no matter what we have done, if we have accepted his love for us, if we believe in Him, then God forgives us and will save us through rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  That’s called the mercy of God.   

Next, there is the grace that comes with the Holy Spirit, the grace that all of us need to do God’s will.  All of us are gifted with the Holy Spirit-  Jesus promised us that He would send the Spirit.  That’s what our reenactment of Pentecost is all about.  And the Spirit pours out God’s grace on all of us who have the Spirit within us.  We are justified by that grace, because God’s grace is the great enabler we need to be the people he has chosen.

   

Lastly, we become heirs in the hope of eternal life, heirs to the same happiness that Jesus experiences in His resurrected state.  And that happiness lasts forever.  It is like a fairy tale ending- we will “live happily ever after.” 

 

Love, mercy, the Son, the Holy Spirit, grace, and the promise of eternal life- really, what more can we ask for than that.  Indeed, Christmas is the source of real joy. 

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