Pagans, Saints, and the Cross of Christ

Homily: 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

          As we know, Saint Paul lived in the first century AD, when the dominant religions were all pagan.  Pagan religions were based on a belief that gods were fickle beings who, while wielding great power, could, nonetheless, be swayed to use that power for a person’s benefit if they made a pleasing offering to them.  Thus, these pagan religions emphasized and relied on the power of external rituals.  These rituals sometimes consisted of sacrifices in which animals were slaughtered, grain was burned, or wine was poured out.  They also sometimes consisted of ritual dances, prayers, songs, or similar actions.  In every case, however, the power of the worship, and its (supposed) ability to convince the false god to send blessings on the worshipper, depended on the exact performance of the ritual.  It was kind of like a gymnastics routine in the Olympics: if the ritual wasn't performed with perfect precision, the worshipper would get a bad score, and the gods would either ignore the prayer or, worse, get angry.

          This pagan focus on external rituals had also seeped into Jewish practices at the time.  Throughout his writings, therefore, Saint Paul is constantly warning the early Christians against falling into an excessive focus on the externals, or, what we might call, ritualism.  Paul sought to train the early Church to have a close personal relationship with God: not a cold, distant one, made up entirely with empty formalities.  This is why he writes to the Romans, as we just heard, "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship."  In other words, he was teaching them that the Christian's relationship with God isn't reducible to a few rituals and prayers; rather, everything he/she does is meant to be worship.  One’s actions, words, and decisions—the way one lives his/her daily life—all these things are ways for one to show that he/she loves Christ and wants to follow him.  This was a radical new concept of religion—a religion built on a personal friendship with the one true God who became man in Jesus Christ—and it required, as Saint Paul wrote, that Christians "be transformed by the renewal of their mind."

          This “new-at-the-time” concept of religion helps us to understand so much of our religious tradition.  In particular, it helps explain one of our Catholic traditions that a lot of non-Catholic Christians have trouble understanding: namely, our devotion to the saints.  You see, some non-Catholics think that the statues of saints in our churches are there because we worship them, as pagans used to do, who would worship a sacred statue (like that of an animal) or an image of an ancestor as if they (the animal or the ancestor) were divine.  Devotion to the saints, however, is different.  We use images of saints for the same reason that we use family photographs: to remind us of some of the great members of our Christian family who have gone before us.  The example of their faith, courage, and holiness, of which the image reminds us, is meant to inspire us to strive for holiness, too.  So, no, we don't worship statues; and, no, we don't worship the saints either.

          We know the saints; and we know that they were normal, everyday people just like us, and that they aren’t gods.  They had personality flaws, family problems, and plenty of headaches, but they allowed God's grace to touch those things, and to sanctify them.  They recognized that God's offer of friendship in Christ was able to make them not only better church-goers and pray-ers, but also better husbands and wives, generals and lawyers, carpenters and nurses, scholars and artists.  These men and women followed Saint Paul's advice, trying to make every activity of their day—whether folding laundry or writing theological treatises—into a "living sacrifice" of "spiritual worship."  That's why we have named patron saints for almost everything and everyone, like Saint Barbara, the patron saint of mathematicians, and Saint Brigid, the patron saint of midwives, and Saint Wolfgang, the patron saint of those suffering from paralysis, and Saint Martin de Porres, the patron saint of public schools.  For those connected to any one of those situations, these saints provide an example of how to make their lives into a “living sacrifice” of “spiritual worship”.

          Friends, we aren't superstitious, nor do we believe in good luck charms, but we do recognize that, when God comes into a life, he has the power to fill every little nook and cranny of it with everlasting meaning, if we let him; and our devotion to the saints helps to remind us of this by reminding us of how he has already done this in the lives of countless men and women before us.

          No, my brothers and sisters, we do not worship our ancestors or pray to multiple gods for multiple many things—and our relationship with the one God who we worship is not based on external rituals alone—rather, it's based on an internal identity, often expressed externally.  I believe that this truth can help us to understand one of life's great mysteries: that is, the mystery of suffering and the cross.

          In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus said to his disciples (and, so, he says to us): "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."  Jesus doesn’t promise that following him will lead to a problem-free life, even though that's what all the pagan religions claimed to offer.  We know that such a promise is empty, because we know that, in this fallen world, no one can avoid suffering and loss.  What Jesus does promise is that, at the end of history, he will "wipe away every tear" and put an end to evil, suffering, and death for those who have endured such things patiently on account of him.  He demands this of his disciples not because he is some fickle god, looking for external proofs of their commitment to him, but rather because he knows of suffering’s redemptive power: power that he activated when he, himself, took up the cross.

          Just before telling his apostles “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”, we hear that Jesus showed his disciples that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly … and be killed and on the third day be raised”.  Jesus did not make himself immune to what his disciples would suffer; but rather embraced it, in obedience to the Father’s will, as the means of salvation for humanity.  And so, when we unite our inevitable sufferings to his through faith and prayer, we tap into this means of salvation.  This gives our crosses internal meaning, even though externally they remain painful.  Our crosses then become part of the "living sacrifice" and "spiritual worship" that please God, reverse sin, and spread God's grace.

          My brothers and sisters, Jesus has redeemed the world and has turned our sorrows into paths of salvation, just as in a few minutes he will turn our offerings of bread and wine into his own grace-filled body and blood.  If we are at all feeling down and defeated because of the crosses that being a Christian demands that we bear, let’s look to our friends, the saints, for inspiration to persevere in carrying them, and to this Eucharist—which re-presents to us the saving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross—to find the strength we need to bear their weight until our Lord returns in glory.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – September 2^nd & 3^rd, 2017

Es hora de conseguir personal

          ¿Qué? Usted no está entusiasmado por la idea de que Jesús regresaría mañana? Tal vez usted debe examinar qué tipo de relación que tiene con él. ¿Es como la relación que tiene con su recolector de basura, cuya ausencia apenas se nota? O es como la relación que tienes con tu mejor amigo o su cónyuge, quien odias estar lejos de? Si es más como la primera, entonces es el momento de conseguir personal con Jesús. Tome este tiempo de Adviento para llegar a conocerlo más.

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Homilía: 2^o Domingo del Adviento – Ciclo B

          En la superficie, Alma y Riley parecen ser como muchas otras parejas jóvenes que se preparan para casarse. Ellos son del tipo "novia del high school". Se conocieron en el high school y no estaban interesados en sí al principio, pero, cuando llegaron a conocerse un poco mejor, encontraron que había una chispa entre ellos. Cinco años más tarde y esa chispa se ha convertido en un cálido fuego de amor, tanto es así que se sienten llamados a dar su amor permanente en el vínculo del matrimonio.

          Aquí es donde el "normal" en su relación termina, sin embargo. Después del high school, Riley se unió a la Guardia Costera y así, por un poco más de un año y medio, Riley y Alma han pasado la mayor parte de su tiempo separados entre sí (y no estamos hablando sólo un par de estados: Actualmente él está estacionado en Alaska). Así Alma ha pasado mucho tiempo esperando el regreso de Riley. Tienen una fecha de la boda, sin embargo, y se casaron poco; y debido a esto, Alma ha estado trabajando duro para hacer los preparativos para ese día. Ella está enfocada y esto ha hecho que su espera con propósito, incluso alegre, a pesar del hecho de que, cuando Riley regresa, todo su mundo cambiará dramáticamente.

          Lo que Alma está experimentando en anticipación de su día de boda es exactamente lo que la Iglesia nos invita a experimentar durante el tiempo de Adviento. Nuestro Señor Jesús, cuando ascendió al cielo, prometió que un día volverá para llevarnos a estar donde está. Y por eso, ahora estamos separados de él por un tiempo y hay que esperar su regreso. Esta espera no es el tipo de esperar que hagamos en el consultorio de un médico, sin embargo, en que no hay nada que hacer, sino más bien es una espera con el propósito: una espera en la que constantemente estamos preparando para su regreso; una espera alegre, a pesar del hecho de que cuando regrese todo nuestro mundo cambiará dramáticamente. Adviento es el tiempo del año en la que reenfocamos nosotros mismos en esa realidad.

          Pero, ¿qué tipo de preparaciones deberíamos estar haciendo? Bueno, como Alma preparándose para su día de boda, tenemos que estar en poner todo en orden para el día de su regreso; y Juan el Bautista nos muestra dónde debemos empezar: arrepentirse, reconocer sus pecados, y que sus pecados sean perdonados. Entonces, como San Pedro nos dice, debemos "conducirnos de santidad y devoción ... esperando un cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva en los cuales mora la justicia." En otras palabras, debemos vivir una vida de santidad en la que nos esforzamos para traer la justicia con el fin de acelerar la llegada de los nuevos cielos y la nueva tierra en donde morará la justicia. Sin embargo, luchamos para hacer esto. ¿Por Qué? Creo que es porque, para muchos de nosotros, que hemos puesto "el carro delante del caballo", por así decirlo.

          Ustedes vean, Alma espera ansiosamente el regreso de Riley porque ella es profundamente enamorada de él (y él de ella). En otras palabras, tienen una relación profunda y personal que de este modo los inspira a hacen todo lo posible para poner fin a cualquier separación entre ellos. Alma no está haciendo todos estos preparativos para cualquier recompensa personal con que ella espera obtener para sí misma, excepto que de estar unidos—unidos de forma permanente—a esta persona con que ella está enamorada; y ella sabe que cada hora que se pasa a hacer los preparativos para su día de boda es una hora más cerca de ese momento en que Riley volverá—que, de hecho, cada hora así acelera su regreso—y por lo tanto será separado nada más.

          Nosotros, sin embargo, somos apáticos sobre—quizás incluso miedo de—el regreso de Jesús a nosotros. Y esto es precisamente porque no tenemos una relación personal con él. Quiero decir, no te emociones para celebrar la venida de su colector de basura cada semana, ¿verdad? No. ¿Por qué? Bueno, probablemente porque no siquiera saben quién él o ella es y así que no tienen una relación personal con él o ella. Por lo tanto, su separación a lo largo de la semana que no causa gran preocupación y su vuelta cada semana que podría igualmente tomar o dejar. De hecho, el retorno de su colector de basura cada semana sólo es importante para usted debido a lo que él o ella ofrece a usted cuando él o ella viene: el hecho de que él o ella está presente allí con usted una vez más que realmente no importa nada a usted en todo. Esto, me atrevería a decir, es la forma en que, muchas veces, vemos a Jesús: el recolector de basura que un día va a venir y limpiar nuestra basura, pero luego nos dejan para seguir nuestros propios caminos.

          Mis hermanos y hermanas, si nuestra actitud hacia la segunda venida de Jesús es algo parecido a lo que acabo de describir—o si simplemente nos sentimos un malestar general acerca de su venida—entonces Adviento para nosotros se trata de despertar a la posibilidad de entrar personalmente en una relación con él: porque es sólo en una relación personal con él que vamos a descubrir un sentido de emoción y anticipación de su regreso. Si ya lo tenemos, entonces estamos inspirados, como Alma, para esperar con expectación por su regreso; y nos preparamos para ello por ser limpio del pecado y de la promulgación de las obras de la justicia como si ambos dimos la bienvenida a su llegada y estábamos seguros de que iba a suceder pronto. Si no tenemos esa relación personal, sin embargo, entonces nuestras vidas perder el enfoque y, en lugar de prepararse para algo, empezamos a perseguir cualquier cosa que parece generar entusiasmo para nosotros.

          Si usted se encuentra en esta última categoría (y las estadísticas dicen que la mayoría de nosotros lo son), entonces quiero invitarlos hacer esta pregunta: "¿Es mi vida realmente tan bueno que Jesús no me puede ofrecer algo mejor?" Mi conjetura es que la respuesta para todos nosotros es "no", y que nosotros deseamos para más de la vida. Si es así, entonces este tiempo de Adviento es el tiempo para comenzar a buscar (o renovar) una relación con Jesús que le dará enfoque y objeto a nuestra espera para su regreso.

          Mis hermanos y hermanas, en la segunda carta de San Pedro nos escucharon buenas noticias: que el retraso del regreso del Señor no es un retraso en el cumplimiento de sus promesas, sino que es un retraso misericordioso, dando tiempo para que cada uno de nosotros arrepentirse y prepararse para su venida. Pero él no va a esperar para siempre! Por lo tanto, volvamos a Jesús ahora y tratar de conocerlo más profundamente y más personalmente—sobre todo por forjar tiempo cada día para pasar con él en la reflexión tranquila en las Escrituras—por lo que el mejor regalo que recibes esta Navidad será la alegría de saber el Señor, profundo en tu corazón.

Dado en la parroquia Todos los Santos: Logansport, IN – 7 de diciembre, 2014

It's time to get personal

          What?  You're not excited by the idea that Jesus would return tomorrow?  Perhaps you should examine what kind of relationship you have with him.  Is it like the relationship that you have with your garbage collector, whose absence you hardly notice?  Or is it like the relationship that you have with your best friend or your spouse, who you hate to be away from?  If it's more like the former, then it's time to get personal with Jesus.  Take this time of Advent to get to know him more.

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Homily: 2^nd Sunday of Advent – Cycle B

          On the surface, Alma and Riley seem to be like many other young couples who are preparing to get married.  They happen to be of the high school sweetheart kind.  They met in high school and weren’t really interested in each other at first, but when they got to know each other a little better found that there was a spark between them.  Five years later and that spark has grown into a warm fire of love, so much so that they feel called to go “all in” and make their love permanent in the bond of marriage.

          This is where the “normal” in their relationship ends, though.  After high school, Riley joined the Coast Guard and so, for a little over a year and a half now, Riley and Alma have spent most of their time separated from one another (and we’re not talking just a couple of states here: currently he’s stationed in Alaska).  Thus Alma has spent a lot of time waiting for Riley’s return.  They have a wedding date, though, and they will be married soon; and because of this, Alma has been working hard at making preparations for that day.  She’s focused and this has made her waiting purposeful, even joyful, in spite of the fact that, when Riley returns, her whole world will dramatically change.

          What Alma is experiencing in anticipation of her wedding day is exactly what the Church is inviting us to experience during the season of Advent.  Our Lord Jesus, when he ascended into heaven, promised that he would one day return to bring us to be where he is.  And so, we are now separated from him for a time and must wait for his return.  This waiting is not a “doctor’s office” kind of waiting, however, in which there is nothing to do, but rather it’s a purposeful waiting: a waiting in which we are constantly preparing for his return; a joyful waiting, in spite of the fact that when he returns our whole world will dramatically change.  Advent is the time of year in which we re-focus ourselves on that reality.

          But what kind of preparations should we be making?  Well, like Alma preparing for her wedding day, we need to be about putting everything in order for the day of his return; and John the Baptist shows us where we are to begin: repent, acknowledge your sins, and have your sins forgiven.  Then, as Saint Peter tells us, we must “conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion … awaiting a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”  In other words, we must live lives of holiness in which we strive to bring forth justice so as to hasten the coming of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness, that is, justice, will dwell.  Yet, we struggle to do this.  Why?  I think that it’s because, for too many of us, we’ve put “the cart before the horse”, so to speak.

          You see, Alma anxiously awaits Riley’s return because she’s deeply in love with him (and he with her).  In other words, they have a deep, personal relationship which thus inspires them to go to great lengths to end any separation between them.  Alma is not making all of these preparations for any personal reward that she expects to gain for herself, save that of being united—permanently united—to this person that she is in love with; and she knows that every hour spent making preparations for their wedding day is an hour closer to that moment when Riley will return—that, in fact, each hour thus hastens his return—and thus they will be separated no longer.

          We, however, are apathetic about—perhaps even afraid of—Jesus’ return to us.  And this is precisely because we don’t have a personal relationship with him.  I mean, you don’t get excited to celebrate the coming of your garbage collector every week, do you?  No.  Why?  Well, probably because you don’t even know who he or she is and so you don’t have a personal relationship with him or her.  Thus, your separation throughout the week causes you no great concern and his or her return each week you could equally take or leave.  In fact, the return of your garbage collector each week is only important to you because of what he or she provides to you when he or she comes: the fact that he or she is present there with you once again doesn’t really matter to you at all.  This, I would venture to say, is how we view Jesus: the garbage collector who one day is going to come and clean up our trash, but then leave us to go about our business.

          My brothers and sisters, if our attitude towards Jesus’ second coming is anything like what I’ve just described—or if we just feel a general malaise about his coming—then Advent for us is about waking up to the possibility of entering personally into a relationship with him: because it is only in a personal relationship with him that we will discover a sense of excitement and anticipation for his return.  If we already have it, then we’re inspired, like Alma, to wait expectantly for his return; and we make preparations for it by being cleansed from sin and by enacting works of justice as if we both welcomed his coming and were sure that it was going to happen soon.  If we don’t have that personal relationship, however, then our lives lose focus and, instead of preparing for something, we begin to chase after anything that seems to generate excitement for us.

          If you find yourself in this latter category (and the statistics say that most of us here do), then I want to invite you to ask yourself this question: “Is my life really so good that Jesus can’t offer me anything better?”  My guess is that the answer for all of us is “no”, and that we do wish for more out of life.  If so, then this time of Advent is our time to begin to seek (or to renew) a relationship with Jesus that will give focus and purpose to our waiting for his return.

          My brothers and sisters, in the second letter of Saint Peter we heard good news: that the delay of the Lord’s return is not a delay in the fulfillment of his promises, but rather it is a merciful delay, allowing time for each of us to repent and to prepare for his coming.  But he won’t wait forever!  Therefore, let us turn to Jesus now and seek to know him more deeply and more personally—most especially by carving out time each day to spend with him in quiet reflection on the Scriptures—so that the best present that you receive this Christmas will be the joy of knowing the Lord, deep in your heart.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – December 6^th & 7^th, 2014