A Homily – The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading - Jeremiah 17:5-8 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

The Gospel of Luke 6:17, 20-26 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God, the creator of the universe; God made the whole of creation and all who live in it free.

 God knows the things we do, and God knows our reasons for doing it. God understands our experience even as we understand it ourselves, and God, being God the infinite and the eternal, God does not sit in judgement like a human handing out rewards and punishments.

 The prophet errs in depicting God this way.

 Do not look to God to give you things. Do not look to God to punish your adversaries; God does not prefer you to them, or any one person over another...God loves all people equally.

 Therefore, look to your-self, look to your own means to build communities of sharing, communities of love, communities that are strong and enduring because they are just and merciful.

 Be mindful.

 The psalmist was also mistaken; therefore, know this:

 To be wise and good, is wise and good.

 There is no reward for the pursuit of wisdom and goodness, not in this world; if you follow the way, walking humbly with a spirit of compassion and mercy, you may in fact become wise and experience some portion of goodness, but material blessings are transitory and never the function of the divine will.

 Some who are good will prosper, some who are not good will also prosper, this is the truth. All of us present of a mix of both qualities, we are each sinner and saint, it is the human condition. And so is it true and has always been understood that some who are wicked will suffer, but not all, and some who are good will suffer with them, all of which occurs at the intersection of human will, what each of us wills for ourselves (and others), and the vicissitudes of chance.

This is the nature of reality, as it was expressed in The Book of Ecclesiastes, which states that God makes the rain to fall on the just and unjust alike…meaning for this truth to be a point of comfort insofar as it helps us to reconcile ourselves with the world.

 Understand this.

 A person who has lived a good life is not unqualifiedly good, just as a person who has lived a wicked life is not unqualifiedly wicked.

 In every person there is the potential for change and conversion; this is a core conviction of the believing community. There is always the potential for change, for a turning toward or a turning away from justice and goodness, from the divine and from grace. A person can change at any time, or swing like a pendulum, or spin out of control.

 It is another core conviction of the believing community that God, in God’s infinite wisdom, has established a path for the salvation of everyone, ensuring the same destiny for all of God’s children. God has shown us the way by which we may slip the bondage of the world and dwell with the divine in eternity.

 This is human destiny.

 Consider the teaching of the apostle, and be mindful, because he is fond of circular arguments, some of which do not serve him well. Today’s reading begins in this circular way; Paul insists that Christ must be raised from the dead or his faith, and the faith of Christians everywhere is in vain, and that because the faith of Christians everywhere is not in vain, we must believe that there is a resurrection, and the risen of Christ is the proof of it.

 This is not a rational argument, as such it is a disservice to the Word of God, the divine Logos, the rational nature of the triune God.

 Set the introduction of this argument aside, because it has no bearing on the main point of the passage, which is this:

 The apostle believed that sin and death enter the world at a single point in time, followed by another singularity which brings sin and death to an end.

 Adam causes the fall, Christ causes its restoration.

 Paul insists that the scope of their work must at least be equal. More importantly, Paul argues, the scope of Adam’s failure cannot exceed the scope of Christ’s success, because the intrinsic value of Adam’s work is necessarily finite, while the intrinsic value of Christ’s work is infinite.

 Know this.

 The teachings of Jesus cannot be treated like a shell game, though they often are, and have been since the beginning, as Matthew’s Gospel illustrates. At the root of this error is the human condition, and because the church is a human institution it reflects our deepest faults; this is unfortunate, yet predictable.

 The way is not a long con, neither is it a bait and switch; the way is a simple teaching whose precepts cannot be controlled or owned by any one person or group of people.

 God is hiding nothing from us; God does not obfuscate anything. The truth is an open secret, it is there for anyone to see, people bear witness to it through the quality of the lives they live..

 The wise and the powerful, the learned and the clever, the weak and the meek, everyone has access to the same truth, to the knowledge of God, of justice, of hope and love. We know this because we know that God dwells within each and every one of us, speaking to us and guiding us…no matter how poorly we listen.

 Who are the wise and powerful, who are the learned and the clever, who are the faithful and childlike? In every generation you will see a new group labeling the preceding generation as out of touch, blind, privileged, in the dark and corrupt.

 It is an endless cycle, the ignorant accusing the ignorant of being ignorant, changing the players but never changing the game, and the truth remains the same; if you wish to live in grace:

 Love justice, be merciful, do good, serve God.

 Serve God through the loving service you provide to one another: to your family, to your friend, to your neighbor, to the stranger, even to your enemy.

 Be mindful.

 Just because a person may be wise and powerful, learned and clever, or a child of the church, does not mean they recognize the truth when they see it, or act upon it when they do.

 It is not your station in society, it is not how other people regard you, it is not the titles you have earned, or the ways that you have been marginalized that give us the tell on how you will fulfill the calling to follow Jesus if and when you do.

 What matters is what is in your heart, what matters is your willingness to trust in the content of your hope, it matters if you are able to extend your hopes beyond yourself so that they include every person you encounter; fair or foul, good or ill.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today, Jesus teaching us the way, a prescription for good living.

 Understand this, happiness does not lie in poverty, but the poor have an easier time finding it, because the wealthy walk through the world with a divided heart, seeking to guard their possessions from threats, both real and imagined.

 Whereas the impoverished, which is to say, those living in an economy of scarcity, bond with one another so that they may face the world together, providing for each other what the other lacks. They form a common purpose for the common good. This is the way, through such communitarianism cultivate grace, and the world becomes a garden through which we come to paradise.

 When you have known hunger, you will be satisfied with the simplest of morsels; a cup of water, a serving of broth, a piece of bread. People who are hungry live by faith and do not often have time for the kind of malaise referred to as spiritual hunger, unless of course they have lost hope.

 Spiritual hunger belongs to the glutton, to those who have never experienced want or need. The proud and gluttonous will reject a bountiful table, and reject the companionship they might find there, if the meal has not been prepared to their “standards”, or if they perceive the company to be ill-kempt, uncouth or unclean.  

 Be mindful of your sorrows, they will come to end. That much is certain. Joy follows sorrow, as the sun follows the moon; joy too will wax and wane, will come and go, will.

 In this world all things and states of being are impermanent.

 If you are to take pride in anything, take pride in this:

 Take pride when you are reviled for speaking the truth, hated for serving something greater than yourself. Take pride in those things, but do not let pride lead you to vanity. Rather, be joyful in your service, good work is its own reward.

First Reading - Jeremiah 17:5-8 ©

A Blessing on the Man Who Puts His Trust in the Lord

The Lord says this:

‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.

He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope.

He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.’

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Happy indeed is the man

  who follows not the counsel of the wicked;

nor lingers in the way of sinners

  nor sits in the company of scorners,

but whose delight is the law of the Lord

  and who ponders his law day and night.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

He is like a tree that is planted

  beside the flowing waters,

that yields its fruit in due season

  and whose leaves shall never fade;

  and all that he does shall prosper.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Not so are the wicked, not so!

For they like winnowed chaff

  shall be driven away by the wind:

for the Lord guards the way of the just

  but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

 

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20 ©

If Christ Has Not Been Raised, You Are Still in Your Sins

If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Luke 6:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

Rejoice and be glad:

your reward will be great in heaven.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke – 6:17,20-26 ©

Happy Are You Who Are Poor, Who Are Hungry, Who Weep

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:

‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.

Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.

Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.

Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.

Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.

‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

 

A Homily – The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Frank Herbert – Author, Intellectual, Hero

I had been an avid reader since I was eight years old, when in the second grade I began reading novels. In short order I was reading the books that inspired me most, over and over and over again. I read all kinds of things, including poetry and biographies, history and mythology, including some pop-philosophy. but at the age of fifteen I still mostly read fiction; it was then that I first read Dune.

It was 1984. 

I had taken a copy from the carousel of paperbacks in the English Room/Library at the alternative high-school I was attending. I read that copy, perhaps not as carefully as I should, but as carefully as I could, I found Dune to be somewhat dense, even challenging...though I enjoyed it well enough

I went to see the motion picture when it came out later that school year, in the spring of 1985. Needless to say, I found David Lynch’s adaptation to be one of the worst movies ever made, and with that screening Dune passed from my thoughts for a time.

However, in the summer of 1988 I was visiting a friend in Bigfork, Montana. I was in a bookstore looking for something to read on the bus ride back home to Minneapolis. 

I picked up a copy of Dune, thinking to myself that I should read it again.

Four years had passed since my first go at it, my understanding of the world had expanded, I was able to engage the book in a completely different way…and once I did I was hooked; I was nineteen years old and Dune changed my life.

Since then I have read it and the other five books in the original Dune series, I have read them eight times over, as well as everything else Frank Herbert wrote…if I could find it in print.

Frank Herbert was a giant, he was among the foremost intellectuals of his era; I am deeply indebted to him for what he has given me, a profound hope for humanity, deeply rooted in his appreciation for the range of human potential. 

I have given away dozens of copies of Dune throughout my life, and recommended it to more people than I can count, always with these words, which I share directly from my experience: 

This book will change your life.

Many (not all) have told me that it had.

Frank Herbert wrote science fiction, but the science he wrote into his fiction had less to do with spaceships and laser beams (though it had those things), and more to do with the science of politics, religion, ecology and psychology…with the multi-dimensional human-person occupying the center of his imagination. 

Through his insight Herbert challenges the reader to explore what it means to be human. He asks open-ended questions about human potential, in a way that allows the reader to believe in those possibilities for themselves…his own view humanity is both daunting and transformative. 

He believed that we can do more, be more, see more of the world than our senses allow…if we are disciplined. He believed that if we are attentive to the world around us, and cultivate within ourselves the will to live a life without fear, we will secure a future for humanity beyond our solar system, we will spread throughout the galaxy…and beyond it.

Frank Herbert died thirty-nine years ago today, in 1986. A heroic light left the world when he passed. 

The man is missed.

Observation - February 10th, 2025, Monday

waiting for the Uber to come

four minutes ‘til pick, I am preparing for work

tapping at the keys for something to say

Ricky Lee on the stereo, she says its easy money

talk is cheap at any rate

 

the sky is bright gray and the air is cold

I saw a rabbit trail outside in the snow

braving the world outside the burrow

looking for something to eat

Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Author, Philosopher, Hero

When I was early in my teens my reading habits began change. I began moving away from the science fiction and fantasy literature that had occupied my imagination and furnished the many mansions oof my dreams.

Just when I was beginning to lift my face from the acid washed pages of my comic book worlds, I looked past the American authors they were teaching in school…Lewis, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck, I looked past Kerouac, Salinger, Vonnegut and Bratigan, I looked past them and found Dostoyevsky resting on the shelf…through his pages a whole new dimension of literature opened up for me.

Dostoyevsky lived and wrote at the crossroads where literature becomes philosophy; he exposed the human condition at that juncture, our raw nature, its powers and its frailties, he showed it to us in the possessed and the guilty, in the pure hearted idiots who are able to survive only because they are loved.

He was a novelist, and through him I came to understand the power that narrative has to convey certain truths that touch all human beings. There are no authors more adept at this function than the Russians, with Fyodor Dostoyevsky being the foremost practitioner.

His influence on me was profound.

From Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground, to The Idiot and the Brothers Karamozov, I spent years reading the body of his work, from my mid-teens through my twenties and into my thirties. I tracked down his cannon until all that was left were translations of his notebooks…which I read.

I purchased the notebook for A Raw Youth at a bookstore in Minneapolis (Majors and Quinn). I was in the Navy at the time, but home on leave, my friend Lucy was with me. 

In those pages I could see the way Dostoyevsky constructed the arc of his narrative, how he developed his characters from ego to id, from false-self to true-self, from privilege to despair and back again...as if he were describing the movements of the soul.

 The book was used and I was delighted to find an imperial ruble tucked into its pages, overlooked, a bookmark left to me by whoever was last to read to it.

 I discovered in Dostoyevsky the founder of existentialist philosophy, and through him I learned to admire Charles Dickens, whom Dostoyevsky considered to be the greatest author of all time.

 It has been one hundred and forty-four years since Dostoyevsky went into the dirt. His influence has not waned, I think because human beings have not changed, and his insight into the dilemma of existence remains sound…it is well suited to the digital age.

A Homily – The Fifth Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading - Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 137(138):1-5,7-8 ©

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 15:15

Alternative Acclamation – Matthew 4:19

The Gospel of Luke 5:1-11 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 You must treat the symbols in the text carefully.

 Understand this:

 A host is an army; using this trope as the prophet does, as the church have often done, we are presented with a depiction God, the creator of the universe, as the commander of an army, and as a king clothed in glory.

 This is an error.

 God is not a king, and God has no use for armies. God is the infinite and the eternal, the first source and center of all that is. God is the unmoved mover, the cause of causes, and all other powers, no matter how great they might be, may as well be nothing in comparison to the infinite.

 God comes to us not as a king but as a brother, God face is reflected in our mother’s; God comes as a friend and pursues our friendship with love.

 Be mindful.

 Listen to the prophet relate the story of his encounter with God, approaching the divine in a state of shame, but God loves him anyway even though he is unclean; in his encounter with God he is healed.

 Pay particular attention to how the healing is conducted, it is accomplished through fire, through a burning coal set against the mouth of the prophet, it is the fire of grace that transforms us us.

 The fire is a gift; it is a purgative, the divine fire heals, it renews the prophet’s spirit, restoring him to his position as messenger and friend.

 Remember the teaching of the prophet, whenever you read the sacred text, the fire of God. It is there at the beginning and it will be there at the end.

 Know this.

 It is right to praise God.

 Praise God’s mercy wherever you see it, be merciful on behalf of God, because God has no greater wish, than to see us express the divine will through the love we share with one another.

Trust in God, who leads us on the path to humility, as Jesus did when he showed us the way.

Remember this.

God made us free, do not expect God to take sides in our struggles with one another, or intervene in our affairs, all such hopes are hubris, they are vanities and they miss the mark.

Listen to how the teaching of the apostle is presented to the church; be mindful of the inconsistencies, there are lessons to be learned in each and every one.

Know this.

The Gospel does not bring salvation (not in the ultimate sense), it does not bring salvation inasmuch as it announces it.

The formula of the good news is not: Believe so that you can be saved.

It is: Believe, have faith, you are saved already.

The good news for us, here in this world is the fruit of living well, of living justly in communities that care for one another, as Jesus taught us to do.

The Gospel is fulfilled in this world in communities that are bound together by love and trust, by people who hope for the promise that Jesus proclaimed and which belongs to those who have the courage to follow the way.

Jesus followed it to his death, it ended in his torture and murder and being hung on the cross, but that was not the end of him; he continued, as we all will, he was raised from the dead, for death had no claim on him…the same is true for us as well, God made us for eternity.

Jesus defeated death and the powers of sin, and now death has no claim him, on us either; more importantly, it never did, because the work God did not begin on the Cross, or with the resurrection, but before creation, in the beginning with the Word itself, from and through whom the universe comes into being, by and in whom the universe exists.

Jesus did not die so much “for our sins” but because of them, and he was raised in accordance with God’s plan, to bear witness to God’s love and mercy, for all people, even an executed criminal such as him..

Do not hesitate to correct the apostles and the saints, or the doctors of the church when they are wrong…they are often wrong.

The apostle was wrong when he said that Jesus died for our sins.

Let me repeat!

He did not die for our sins, he died because but because of them. He was buried according to custom and entered into eternity according to God’s plan. When he appeared, after his death it was not first to Cephas and then the Twelve, it was first to his mother, and the other Mary’s who never left his side, even when all of the disciples, including Cephas, had betrayed him, denied him and fled.

This is one example among many pertaining to the errancy of scripture; Paul, or whoever was posing as Paul, withheld the truth when they were writing this letter.

A Christian must always be a servant of the truth! Being always careful not to confuse humility with pride, which is easy to do for a believer, especially those whose aim is piety.

When you here a Christian proclaim “I am the least,” what they often mean is, “I am the greatest.” They will say…”my work was not the greatest because the great work I did was really God’s. It was God was acting through me.” What they mean when they say this is that they will strike you down if you challenge them because their authority is the same as the authority of the creator…and this is wrong.

It is dangerous thinking, a mode of thought that is never far from the halls of power, in the church and apart from it.

Be mindful of the Gnostic implications at the beginning of this reading...they are a trap.

The author issues a claim to power and authority that is out of step with what the Church ultimately came to hold as true. It says that salvation is dependent on what a person believes, and this is a lie…our salvation is dependent on the love of God and the love of God alone, a timeless love without condition, one that emanates from eternity and promises to make all things well in eternity.

The reading for today says that what we have been taught to believe comes in an unbroken line of authority beginning with Jesus (and therefore God), it promotes the idea that such a pedigree is the benchmark of true doctrine...but this is false. There is no unbroken line of authority, there are only us sinners, doing our best to discern the will of God, and each of us failing in the special ways that are unique to us, some of us more than others.

Consider the Gospel reading for today and know that the greatest commandment is love, that love is the whole of the law. To love one another, to give of one’s self to another, there is no greater gift. The love that we are called to is not the love we call desire, though to desire and be desired is an experience of great joy. The love that we are called to is not the love that we have for family and friends, though that love, which we experience as belonging, is a source of great comfort. We are called to move past the love we have for family and friends, because to love in that way is only a short extension of the love we have for ourselves. We are called to move past the love we call desire, and that love by which we see ourselves in the faces of our mothers and fathers, our sisters and brothers, the love that connects our ambitions to the ambitions of our friends. We are called to love in a greater capacity than that. We are called to love to the point of selflessness, to love even those who are against us, to love our enemies, to forgive those who have hurt us and done us harm, to feed the stranger and protect them…and to do so out of love.

Remember this.

When you have discerned that it is God who is calling you, then you must obey.

Consider the gospel reading for today; set aside the notion that Jesus used some magic powers, that he performed a miracle to fill the nets with fish, when earlier in the day there were no fish to be found. This is not a story about fishing, and there is no such thing as magic. This is a story about moving beyond boundaries, reshaping context, exceeding expectations, and organizing the work of one’s partners in ministry.

In the first paragraph we see Jesus teaching in a crowded place. Does this mean that the crowds following Jesus were so great that they pushed him into a boat? Possibly, that is a common interpretation…but consider for a moment that Jesus and his followers were preaching in a crowded field, in a place and time filled with many voices contending for the attention of the people, and that the ministry Jesus was concerned with was not an ordinary ministry. Jesus was actively involved in changing the expectations of the people, he did that skillfully by drawing them outside of their context, and this was illustrated dramatically by his stepping into a boat, leaving the shore and teaching from a place that was detached from the normal mode of living.

Jesus skillfully leads his closest followers into this new mode of teaching, as a result their efforts, which had earlier met with failure, were now manifestly successful. By going beyond their boundaries they were able to engage more people through ministry than they were normally able to. Because of their success, they needed to call for more support, their work required them to train more teachers.

In the final paragraph we here Simon-Peter asking Jesus for forgiveness on account of him being a sinful man. It would not have been a sin for Simon-Peter to have been incredulous at the notion that Jesus would teach them a thing or two about fishing, if it was actual fishing that they were doing; because Simon-Peter was a fisherman, and the son of a fisherman, whereas Jesus was the son of a carpenter. Doubt is not a sin, especially when the expressed doubt is in regard to the expectation of a miracle or the workings of magic; that is not doubt, it is common sense.

When Simon-Peter was asking to be forgiven for his sins it was an acknowledgment that his former way of seeing things, of viewing people and understanding relationships, was rooted in a mode of consciousness that was rooted in fear, prejudice and privilege; it represented a way of life that was sinful, and Simon-Peter was right to seek forgiveness for that.

His desire to be forgiven was an acknowledgment of his previous failures, like Isaiah before him, who approached the divine reality in a spirit of shame, needing first to be healed before he could serve the divine as a messenger of salvation. His submission is an indication that he understood something of the new way that Jesus was leading him toward, and proof that he trusted Jesus in spite of his ignorance.

First Reading - Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8 ©

'Here I Am: Send Me'

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord of Hosts seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary; above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings.

And they cried out to one another in this way, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. His glory fills the whole earth.’

The foundations of the threshold shook with the voice of the one who cried out, and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said:

‘What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of Hosts.’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said:

‘See now, this has touched your lips, your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged.’

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’

I answered, ‘Here I am, send me.’

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 137(138):1-5,7-8 ©

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:

  you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you.

  I will adore before your holy temple.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,

  which excel all we ever knew of you.

On the day I called, you answered;

  you increased the strength of my soul.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

All earth’s kings shall thank you

  when they hear the words of your mouth.

They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:

  ‘How great is the glory of the Lord!’

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

You stretch out your hand and save me,

  your hand will do all things for me.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal,

  discard not the work of your hands.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

 

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ©

I Preached What the Others Preach, and You All Believed

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Matthew 4:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you into fishers of men.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel of Luke 5:1-11 ©

They Left Everything and Followed Him

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

  When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

  When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

 

A Homily – The Fifth Sunday in the Ordinary Time (Year C)

A Homily – The Presentation of the Lord (The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Year C

First Reading – Malachi 3:1-4

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):7-10

Second Reading - Hebrews 2:14-18

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 2:32

The Gospel According to Luke – 2:22-40

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God, the creator of the universe, God is not a lord; God is not a king, God does not come at the head of an army.

 The temple of God is within the human heart, and there is no other.

 Have hope, both for yourself and for all people, knowing that God works within each of us, intending to bring us all through the fire for the refinement of our spirit.

 There is not a single one of God’s children who is exempt from God’s plan…that means all of us.

 Know this.

 All things and persons have their being in God. God is the foundation of all that is. Without God there is nothing, and in nothing there is not even the possibility of something…it is void, nihil, blank.

 If you wish to climb the mountain in order to find God, that is fine, the journey is yours to makes. Or, you might just turn to your neighbor and see God reflected in their face.

 See their face, see it, see them, behold the face of God there, in that holy presence give thanks to the creator for the wonderment of being. 

 Do not worry about your own holiness, how you perceive it, or how you perceive your lack of it. God loved you before the first moment of creation, when only the possibility of you existed.

 Be mindful.

 All things and everyone are loved by God, and insofar as they are loved by God they are holy.

 There is no vanity in emulating the love God bears for all God’s children, you may not be able to love perfectly, but that does not mean you should not try.

 Look for God’s blessing in the service you provide to your neighbor, to your mother and father, to your sister and brother, strive for justification only through the quality of your kindness, and the extent of the mercy you show to others.

 If you go looking for the God of Jacob, instead of seeing God in Jacob you will only be looking at idols. God is not confined to the pages of a book, or the ink on a scroll, neither is God bounded by the history and mythology of a people. Look to these things for glimpses of God, and remembrances of past encounters, but seek the living God in living beings.

 Remember this:

 In our first encounter with God, when the first parent walked with the creator, the world was a garden and that was paradise, there was no talk of kings or the glories of conflict, wars and battle…let us return to that.

 Shun the false narrative and the irrational argument, knowing that the spirit of God is the spirit of truth, and nothing false has a place in God’s house.

 Consider the reading from Paul’s letter today; it is replete with error.

 This is not to say that Paul was dishonest when he wrote his missive, but that his view of the world and his understanding of the nature of reality was fundamentally wrong.

 Know this:

 There is no devil!

 There is no power I the universe other than God, there is no cosmic war against the forces of darkness, everything is as God wills it.

 Jesus came to set us free from the fear of death, to give us the good news of the resurrection, that we continue beyond the grave, but this was not accomplished by magic or alchemy, such as Paul describes here.

 Jesus was not a priest, and we were not saved by his blood; blood offerings have never accomplished anything for anyone.

 Jesus did not atone for our sins through his death; we are accountable for ourselves, but the good news remains…God loves us. God has always loved us, for all the regrettable, even harmful things we have done in our lives, to ourselves and others, we are forgiven…we were forgiven even before we set out on those paths.

 Jesus did not effectuate the atonement, either with his life or his death, he came to proclaim that when God made, and the whole of creation, God made us one; Jesus meant to instill the faith in us that no power can tear us apart.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today, examine the narrative carefully. It is mythology and propaganda, as such it is a deviation from the way, which is always found in the service of truth.

 The Gospel writers gave us narratives concerning the early life of Jesus that are works of fiction, and while their intention was to help spread the good news and they were not acting with malice. Nevertheless, they subverted the real teaching of Jesus and left the burgeoning movement exposed to corruption.

 The writers of Luke’s Gospel ask us to believe this narrative concerning Jesus, they want us to acquiesce to the notion that he obeyed the “law,” following the forms of ritual and blood sacrifice that were proscribed in the books of his ancestors, ostensibly lending credibility to their claims of Jesus’ holiness, to the notion that he fulfilled all the ancient requirements, they set aside the realities of the prophetic tradition that Jesus stood in, a tradition that prefers acts of mercy over animal sacrifices.

 Jesus taught that the way was to be found in service; service to God through the service we provide to one another, and not in the fulfillment of corrupt rituals, blood-magic and service to the temple.

 Jesus was not a magician, he was not a supernatural being. He was an ordinary man, who led an extraordinary life, and was killed because of greed, jealousy and fear.

 Jesus only merited the status of Christ insofar as led a life of service, which he did. He served his people to the bitter end, all the way to his death on the cross, but it was not the cross or the blood he shed on it that were of salvific value, it was the heart of service which led him there.

 We are all Christ, baptized or not, insofar as we follow the way which he exemplified.

 The mythologization of Jesus was a subversion of the way insofar as it suggested that the ordinary service Jesus called us to, the service he exemplified, came from a place of supernatural power, and the authors of this script did not stop there. The narrative also mythologizes people such as: Anna, and Simeon; ascribing to them extraordinary powers of insight beyond the scope of normal people, allowing for a continued separation of the ordinary believer from those who live their lives in the church or temple, the separation between clergy and layperson, which is another betrayal of the way.

First Reading – Malachi 3:1-4

The Lord You are Seeking Will Suddenly Enter His Temple

The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):7-10

The Lord Comes to His Temple

The man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

  the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

  and set it firm over the waters.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

  Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

  who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

  and be justified by God his saviour.

This is the way of those who seek him,

  seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

  The Lord, strong in battle.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

 – he is the king of glory.

Amen

The man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading - Hebrews 2:14-18

He Took to Himself Descent from Abraham

Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 2:32

Alleluia, alleluia!

The light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke – 2:22-40

My Eyes Have Seen your Salvation

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

  Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.’

As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’

  There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

  When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

 

A Homily – The Presentation of the Lord (The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Year C