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 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading - Isaiah 62:1-5 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-10 ©

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ©

Gospel Acclamation - 1saiah 3:9, and John 6:68

Alternate Gospel Acclamation - 2 Thessalonians 2:14

The Gospel of The Day - John 2:1-11 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

In the reading from Isaiah we are given a profound expression of hope for the future of Israel and by extension the entire world. As Christians and theists we are called on to brandish that hope, carry it forward, not only for ourselves but for all people, in all places, at all times.

Following the teaching of Isaiah we come to understand that this hope is like the hope of a young couple entering into marriage. They do not know what the future will bring but they are determined to face it together, believing that together they can endure whatever comes their way, even those things that threaten to overwhelm them.

Together we are stronger, through our relationships we are wiser, in a bond of unity we are better, the love they share with one another, in the view of the prophet, is like a bright and beautiful gemstone adorning a crown upon our heads, it is like a beacon on a hill lighting up the night.

The prophet speaks from a position of wisdom and ignorance both, as do we all, knowing some things and not knowing others. Isaiah speaks well of faith and hope, but regarding the activity of the creator in the world, there is confusion. He speaks to his belief that God, the creator of the universe has played a role in shaping the destiny of Israel, and by extension the world…this is an error.

Know this:

God has made both us and the entire creation free. God does not coerce anything or anyone. God does not intervene in worldly affairs, either for our benefit, or to our detriment. We are free, as individuals and in the whole.

Our faith tells us to look to God for deliverance from this world to a place of safety and joy, of love and rest, to bring us to a place of wellbeing…not in this world, but the next.

Be mindful.

It is right to praise God; it is right and good. It is right to treat our discourse concerning God with respect and honor; God is holy and our discourse should reflect that, keeping in mind the sacred nature of God’s blessed work, but it is wrong to think of God as a Lord.

God, whom Jesus called abba (papa), God is not a royalist. Disregard the psalmist when he speaks this way.

Remember this:

God has already judged the world, God has judged the entirety of the created order, God Judged it at the beginning while seeing the end, God judged the world and proclaimed that it is good, and us in it…not good “on balance,” but good in its entirety, the whole of the created order, existing in and through the divine Logos, sustained by God’s word, the alpha and the omega saw that it is good.

This is what our faith instructs us to believe: God is not to be feared, but trusted.

Be mindful.

As a theist I will happily proclaim that there is only one God. As a philosopher I will tell you that the infinite can only be expressed by the numeral one; the infinite is one, undivided, indivisible being. There are no other God’s, but there are other cultures and traditions who approach the divine with different languages, and the reality of different felt-experiences.

We should respect, cultures different from our own and strive to understand all human language concerning the sacred and pertaining to the divine reality, from whatever culture or whatever nation it comes.

Know this:

There is only one God and none of us understand God perfectly…no one ever has.

Remember!

God’s salvation is close at hand; we are a single heart-beat away from it. Therefore, have no fear, God’s grace does not come and go according to our merits, it is always present.

God is present in all times and all places; God is with you now, believe it without fear.

Salvation reaches everyone, not because any of us deserve it, but simply because God loves us, every last one of us, God laid a plan for our salvation when we only existed in potential, as a mere possibility, we were touched by grace even then.

Be mindful.

God welcomes our participation in the work of the faithful, and there is much to do. There is a role for everyone to play, both inside and outside the church, but mostly outside of it. We are meant to go out among the people, to find those who feel most alienated from the divine and give them comfort.

Everyone of us comes to that work with different gifts, different abilities and talents, we are called on to use our gifts for the benefit of our brothers and sisters, for those who share the same tradition and for those who do not.

Understand this:

The reward for your faithful service is peace, it is peace in this life and the knowledge that you have lived well, acted justly and done good…seek no other reward.

Consider the teaching of the apostle, of Peter who denied Jesus three times on the night he was arrested. Peter would have us believe that he follows Jesus because Jesus has the secret message that leads to eternal life. His teaching here is like that of the Gnostics, which the Church in its wisdom rejected. Peter, or those writing in his name, suggests that there are passcodes and secret ways that lead a person upward on a journey through the heavens, until the come to the place of everlasting paradise.

Peter puts this forward as if this were the purpose of the Gospel, as if “believing” that Jesus is the “Holy One of God” is the key to receiving those spiritual benefits.

This faith is born from fear, from a fear that God will not deliver on God’s promise to bring everyone to the feast at Isaiah’s table, at the foot of the mountain, at the end of time. This teaching is predicated on the notion that God will not save everyone, that God is not with us, and that our salvation is something God cannot manage without us.

Reject this fear.

The Gospel is this: it is simply this: God loves you, and you are saved.

You are not saved for anything that you have done, you did not earn it, you are saved because God loves you. There is nothing more to it, there is nothing that you have to do, and the same is true for everyone.

The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you.

The Gospel is this: God has already forgiven you. You are already saved, we were saved at the beginning, and the divine proclamation confirmed this when God looked on creation and called it good.

God has prepared you, and everyone for eternal life; believe it!

Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now, start living this life as if it were true.

We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God, we are called to act on the principles of his faith, to live lives of charity and service to one another other.

From the beginning, God chose all people to receive the sanctifying spirit, God created each person in the divine image, God placed within us a seed of the eternal Word. Through the Good News given to us by Jesus of Nazareth, we learn to trust (have faith) in the truth of that proclamation.

Know this:

As people of the faith we have a duty to adhere to the truth. The divine spirit is truth, as ministers of the faith we are meant to proclaim this truth and let it shine in the darkness like a beacon of hope for all to see.

Consider the Gospel reading for today, ask yourself this: Where is the truth in this myth?

Jesus was not a magic-maker.

God is not a miracle worker.

Read literally; this story is a lie.

Jesus never turned water into wine; it is likely that there was no wedding at Cana, that the entire event never happened…it is make believe.

Mary did not call on Jesus to work wonders and people did not follow Jesus because they saw him to wonderful tricks; they followed him because he spoke to them about justice, he looked to their wellbeing, he was a minister of mercy and he gave his life in service of the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized and the outcast.

So, what is happening here?

This it is not a story concerning who Jesus was or what Jesus did, we are not called on to believe anything about those things based on this narrative. It is a story that tells us something of what people came to believe about Jesus a hundred or so years after he was killed.

It may be a story about Jesus and John the Baptist, an apology of sorts; it may be a defense of Jesus given to the followers of John, insofar as John came first, but John was the lesser-prophet of that era.

The people might have expected the best to come first, like the wine at the wedding, but as in the stories of the patriarchs, the second son was favored more, and so Jesus came to surpass John.

The Wedding of Cana is not a miracle story, it is a parable intending to convey a simple set of beliefs; Jesus did not come to carry the mantle of John, his work is not an extension of the former. Jesus came carrying the promise of the covenant, his was the more inclusive revelation.

He came with a different teaching altogether, marking a radical departure from the prison of the law, he came to preach a message of love, of service and humility in the furtherance of the good.

First Reading - Isaiah 62:1-5 ©

The Bridegroom Rejoices in His Bride

About Zion I will not be silent, about Jerusalem I will not grow weary, until her integrity shines out like the dawn and her salvation flames like a torch.

The nations then will see your integrity, all the kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, one which the mouth of the Lord will confer.

You are to be a crown of splendour in the hand of the Lord, a princely diadem in the hand of your God; no longer are you to be named ‘Forsaken’, nor your land ‘Abandoned’, but you shall be called ‘My Delight’ and your land ‘The Wedded’; for the Lord takes delight in you and your land will have its wedding.

Like a young man marrying a virgin, so will the one who built you wed you, and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-10 ©

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Alleluia, alleluia!

O sing a new song to the Lord,

  sing to the Lord all the earth.

  O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim his help day by day,

  tell among the nations his glory

  and his wonders among all the peoples.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples,

  give the Lord glory and power;

  give the Lord the glory of his name.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Worship the Lord in his temple.

  O earth, tremble before him.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’

  He will judge the peoples in fairness.

Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ©

The Spirit Distributes Gifts to Different People Just as He Chooses

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing, through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracles; another, prophecy; another the gift of recognising spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.

 

Gospel Acclamation - 1saiah 3:9, and John 6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternate Gospel Acclamation - 2 Thessalonians 2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Through the Good News God called us to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel - John 2:1-11 ©

'My Hour Has Not Come Yet' - 'Do Whatever He Tells You'

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said, ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now.’

This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

 

A Homily - The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Choros ton Titanon (Dance of the Titans)

 Sybyl veiled in vapors 

          shimmies in her cave

distant as Elysium

          or the whispers in our dreams

Vivian vaulting on her island

          the misty-quiet of Avalon 

Hy-Brasil

          beyond the western sea

          

Enkidu was Neanderthal 

          Gilgamesh, a Nephilim  

they striped Kubaba of her terrors

          the goddess of Kish

queen of the cedar forest

Selene, coursing through her orbit

          brighter than Aurora 

the light of poets

          she is sister to the sun

each thing is a concrescent being

          a society of mutuals

process and Perpetua

            impermanence and flux

lightning, thunder, wind and rain, the 

dust of our bodies on the burning-plane

Maya…Gaia…mother—earth 

          blue-green Midgard, 

which gave me birth

          spinning in the ether 

to the music of the spheres 

          dancing with the titans, while     

the rainbow-serpent 

                                 eats its tail

Livre des Maudite

        The Book of the Damned

A Homily – The First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

First Reading - Jeremiah 33:14-16 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-9,10,14 ©

Second Reading - 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Psalm 84:8

The Gospel According to Luke 21:25-28,34-36 ©

 

NJB

 

Listen!

 The Church is steeped in the prophetic tradition of the Hebrew people.

 Jesus was a prophet, not a fortune teller or a seer; he was critical of the power structures that governed the people in his day. He spoke directly to the people in his time, as a witness to their suffering and the injustice they experienced at the hands of the wealthy and the powerful, in response to which he called for love and mercy.

 Remember.

 God, the creator of the universe, God does not intervene in the affairs of human beings. God does not establish royal houses or tear them down. God does not do these things, because God has created us and the entire universe free from divine coercion.

 God’s only intention is to teach us the way of justice and lead us to it in humility, by calling us to love and mercy.

 God does not choose between contending tribes or nations, God does not designate winners and losers. God has no favorites; God has no enemies.

 If you follow the way you will discover peace, even in the midst of calamity; if you follow the way you will learn to be generous in times of abundance and scarcity both.

 Consider the wisdom of the psalmist; lift-up your spirit, give your life to God, seek mercy and distribute it. Grow in the spirit of forgiveness…not merely to those who have done you wrong; move yourself to forgive God also, God who made you a creature who can experience pain and brought you into being in an unjust world.

 Do not expect God to take sides with you in any conflict; that is vanity. God loves all of God’s children fully and equally; the divine does not discriminate between one child and another.

 If you ask God to punish the faithless, the promise breakers, you must know that you are asking God to punish you yourself; we are all faithless, we are all promise breakers.

 When you pray, pray for wisdom and guidance, pray in a way that acknowledges God’s desires that you be well. If you pray for God to do anything for you, you are praying in vain. God will not intervene in your life, either to your benefit or your detriment, to reward or punish you.

 Be mindful of God’s mercy as it applies to you and to everyone; God allowed for your existence even knowing all your crimes; since the beginning of time God knew them, God has not forgotten them…and loves you anyway.

 All the ways of God are kindness and mercy, follow the divine example as we see it reflected in the person of Jesus. Love one another and all humanity; be a vehicle for love as God desires it. Love one another even as God loves you.

 Know this.

 God’s purpose in creating us with the knowledge of right and wrong fixed in our hearts and minds, the divine purpose in creating us as beings us with conscience, for creating us in the divine image is so that we may learn to love, excepting both the joy and the grief that flows from it...into it, encompassing it.

 To be a follower of Christ…to be a Christian, is not about what you believe, it is not about what images or ideas you have in your mind or about who or what God is…or is not. To be a follower of Christ…to be a Christian has nothing to do with the structure of sacred rituals or what songs you sing, creeds you consent or rituals you have enacted. To be a follower of Christ…to be a Christian has only to do with the quality of life you lead.

 It is God’s desire that we lead a moral life, a just life, a life characterized by good works, by charity, compassion and humility, a life of love in service to our sisters and brothers. We find our well-being in this and thus we are saved.

 Remember this on the first Sunday of Advent, and carry it with you throughout the year. God is the creator of the entire universe, all lands belong to God; all seas, all planets, all stars, all galaxies; everything and everyone living exists within God who sustains us all.

 Remember.

 God did not end the captivity of Jacob, the Hebrews did, with Moses and Joshua leading them through the desert (if you believe it).

 This is not hubris; it is greater hubris to think that God loves a special people, a people chosen above all others, than to think that the Israelites escaped bondage under their own power.

 Reflect on this; think deeply on it as we consider the Gospel reading for the day, and the trouble that always accompanies our interpretation of prophecy.

 The authors of Luke report that they have given us the words of Jesus, though they never met him; instead they presented this myth and placed lies in the mouth of their teacher.

 Jesus never spoke about the end of the world, he knew nothing about it; rather, he was concerned overwhelmingly with the injustice and suffering he witnessed to in his own time.

 Jesus did not seek to motivate us through fear, he was a beacon of love.

 If the moon were to slip in its orbit either falling toward us or away from us, that would be a sign of the end of the world (but only the world as we know it).

 Tens of billions of years from now, when the sun has spent the last of its nuclear fuel; the end of the world will begin…not one moment sooner.

 Know this.

 The stars are in fact so distant from us, that what happens with them has next-to-nothing to do with what happens here, and long before our sun burns itself out, our galaxy will collide with another, that collision will radically change life on this planet (billions of years from now), when human beings won’t even be recognizable as the beings we are.

 As has already been stated, God does not interfere or intervene in our lives and our choices. As such the only futures we can predict are those that flow naturally from their antecedents that are discernable right now. For instance, we can predict climate change because it is happening, and the antecedents for it were laid down decades ago; we cannot stop it. We can predict the continuation of wars, of terrorism, of economic injustice, because they are present realities and matters of statistical certitude. We can predict the continuation of social injustice, not because God has decreed that these things will continue or come to pass, but only because we have not yet made the determination to change them ourselves…to change ourselves and take up the way.

 First Reading - Jeremiah 33:14-16 ©

I Will Make a Virtuous Branch Grow for David

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:

‘In those days and at that time, I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David, who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.

In those days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell in confidence.

And this is the name the city will be called:

The-Lord-our-integrity.’

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-9,10,14 ©

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Lord, make me know your ways.

  Lord, teach me your paths.

Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:

  for you are God my saviour.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

The Lord is good and upright.

  He shows the path to those who stray,

He guides the humble in the right path,

  He teaches his way to the poor.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

His ways are faithfulness and love

  for those who keep his covenant and law.

The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;

  to them he reveals his covenant.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

 

Second Reading - 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 ©

May You be Blameless When our Lord Jesus Christ Comes Again

May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.

  Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it. You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.

 

Gospel Acclamation - Psalm 84:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 21:25-28,34-36 ©

That Day Will be Sprung on you Suddenly, Like a Trap

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’

 

A Homily – The First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien – Author, Poet, Her

I learned how to read novels by reading J. R. R. Tolkien.

My mother had a beautiful edition of The Hobbit on one of our many bookshelves. It was the hardbound edition, that came in a green, it was embossed with gold leaf and had gilt pages. There were lovely illustrations inside, with maps drawn by the author himself.

I pulled it off the shelf and read it when I was in the third grade; when I was finished I began reading it again, and I also The Lord of the Rings, followed by the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales that had been edited and published by his son Christopher after his death. I read these volumes many times over: eight, nine, ten times over…into my early thirties.

Reading and re-reading Tolkien put the idea in my head that I wanted to be a writer. Reading his work over and over again gave me a deep appreciation for the care and craft he put into the construction of his fantasy world.

I remember a sensation I had on my third time through the Silmarillion; I believe I was in the seventh grade at that time. My comprehensive reading list had expanded considerably by that time, to include more than fantasy and science fiction; I read other literary classics, poetry, history and mythology as well as scripture. In addition to these I had begun to read reference materials related to Middle Earth, and through those readings I experienced a heightened sense of understanding of the story being narrated; my vocabulary had expanded and I had become a better reader, making it so that I was able to comprehend more of the material I was engaged with. The picture was filling; I was able to grasp more of the world that Tolkien had created; it was coming to life for me in new and different…more fulsome way.

I even read a biography of the great man himself, which was probably the first piece of non-fiction I ever read (other than histories that had been so mythologized that they felt like fiction).

I found the reference materials compiled by other authors about Tolkien and Middle Earth to be fascinating: The Tolkien Companion, the New Tolkien Companion, along with various encyclopedias, bestiaries and anthologies depicting the arms and armor of this fantasy world.

I added his smaller—lesser known works to the corpus of material I consumed. While still in the seventh grade I read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which resonated with my another of my reading interests, Arthurian Lore, and through Tolkien’s Beowulf, I was introduced in a literary way to the Viking sagas.

Through Tolkien I came to have an early appreciation for the power of myth, as well as their malleability, and the potential we have as creative beings to fashion our own myths and communicate them to the broader world.

Through his writing Tolkien dramatized the basic conflicts he saw at work in our civilization, conflicts between the bucolic and pastoral life (which is where his heart was), with the forces of industry that seemed to be destroying the planet (even in his day he saw this happening), as well as the disasters of modern warfare and the suffering they visit on the world, which he experienced first-hand while serving as a signal man in World War I.

In my opinion the collected stories of Middle Earth do what all great literature does, they represent a social critique in the twentieth century more relevant to the human race ever.

We would be wise to be mindful of it.

 

A Homily – The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

First Reading - 2 Kings 4:42-44

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 144(145):10-11,15-18

Second Reading – Ephesians 4:1-6

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63,68

Alternative Acclamation – Luke 7:16

The Gospel According to John 6:1-15 ©

                        

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 It is wise to trust in the providence of God, knowing that it does not manifest itself as miraculous or supernatural activity; we are the agents of the divine, God’s providence comes through us. Those one-hundred men experienced this when the bread was distributed and none of them took more than one hundredth of what had been given, each of them took less than a fifth of a loaf…and there was some left over.

 Know this.

 God, the creator of the universe, God is not a king.

 God is present in all times and all places, even in the deepest recesses of the human heart, but God does not intervene directly in human events. God’s influence over us is indirect; God shows us the way and it is for us to take it. It is up to us to act on God’s behalf in relation to our sisters and brothers, to care for our mother’s and father’s as God would have us do. God’s power does not interfere with our freedom in any way.

 Contemplate the vast power of God, in whom and through whom the entire universe exists; contemplate the way of justice, love and humility, keep to it, and share it with the stranger, the alien and even your adversary.

 The apostle calls us to selflessness and to love, to recognize this truth: Gods spirit animates all things. God is God of all beings; the whole of what is came into being through the divine, exists in the divine, and without the divine would cease to be, because God’s spirit animates all things.

 As children of God we each share in the same grace that was manifested by Jesus of Nazareth. We each receive an equal share of God’s love, which is a love without measure, infinite and eternal. We each reflect that grace for one another according to our own willingness and our individual capacities which fluctuate in direct proportion to our desires and ambitions for ourselves and our families.

 Be mindful of doctrine and its pitfalls.

 Peter would have us believe that he follows Jesus because Jesus has the secret to eternal life, as if this were the purpose of the gospel, as if believing in the proposition that Jesus is the “Holy One of God” is the key to receiving the gift, as if the gift had not already been given to all of God’s children.

 Peter wants us to believe access to Jesus, to the truth and the reality of life everlasting, is parceled out by God through the church, allowing some to come to it while refusing others.

 This scheme is not true.

 Jesus preached the good news, and the good news is this:

 God loves you and you are saved. You are not saved for anything you have done, you did not earn it, you are saved because God loves you and God love’s everyone.

 The promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you…if you do x, y, and z.

 God has already forgiven you, you are already saved. God has prepared you and everyone for eternal life, this is the good news…the really good news.

 Believe it!

 Let the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living as if it were true.

 We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the “Holy One of God;” we are called to act on the principles of Jesus’ faith, to be charitable and of service to each other.

 Remember.

 At least half a century had passed from the time of Jesus’ death to the time that Luke’s Gospel was written. By this time Palestine (Judea and Samaria) were completely under Roman rule, Jerusalem had been ruined, its temple destroyed, and the population killed or in bondage, scattered across the Empire in the second great Diaspora.

There were no witnesses to the events Luke describes, the story is a fabrication, pure myth, it never happened. Nevertheless, it became part of the tradition and was handed down as evidence that Jesus had both great compassion and great power.

 The raising of the dead man at Nain asserts the notion that widow should not be left alone, with no husband or son to protect her. This is a metaphor not a miracle, suggesting that the mission of the church is to protect the widow and keep her in life. This reversal of social norms and the common way of life is the miracle. The widow has entered the church, and the family of God will prevent the widow from being forces out into the margins of society.

 It is not that the widow’s son died, and returned to life; it is that Jesus appointed the church to care for the widow in place of her dead son. This is what puts Jesus directly in the tradition of the prophets, not the miracle making, the wonder working, the acts of power and the magic. It is his work as an advocate for justice in the community, his compassion and humility that mark him as the prophet that he was.

 Consider the gospel reading for today; this reading from John is piece of pure propaganda and a gross misrepresentation of Jesus’ ministry.

 The gospel writers took a story from the common tradition and embellished it, transforming a story that was suggestive of a miracle, the feeding of the multitudes, into an explicit work of magic.

 In other versions of this story the miracle of faith which led to the feeding of the people could be read as having come from the people themselves, because they were following the way that Jesus was leading them in, they shared what they had and each received a portion of what was put on the common table. The people, seeing how little food there was to be passed around, contributed to the stores of foodstuffs they each had in their possession; those without enough taking what they needed, and those with extra giving what they had in the spirit of communitarianism and hospitality that was a hallmark of the nascent church.

 The authors of John’s Gospel were not content with that; they could not resist the temptation to embellish and give the credit to Jesus’ supernatural powers for engineering a miraculous event. This editorial move undercuts the teaching of Jesus. The way he preached is a living way; it does not ask us to have faith in magic powers, but to trust in our neighbors and their basic commitment to principles of justice and compassion.

First Reading - 2 Kings 4:42-44

They Will Eat, and Have Some Left Over

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing Elisha, the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain in the ear.’ ‘Give it to the people to eat’, Elisha said. But his servant replied, ‘How can I serve this to a hundred men?’ ‘Give it to the people to eat’ he insisted ‘for the Lord says this, “They will eat and have some left over.”’ He served them; they ate and had some left over, as the Lord had said.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 144(145):10-11,15-18

The Greatness and Goodness of God

I will bless you day after day and tell of your wonderful deeds, O Lord.

Alleluia!

I will praise you to the heights, O God, my king –

  I will bless your name for ever and for all time.

I will bless you, O God, day after day –

  I will praise your name for ever and all time.

The Lord is great, to him all praise is due –

  he is great beyond measuring.

Generation will pass to generation the praise of your deeds,

  and tell the wonders you have done.

They will tell of your overwhelming power,

  and pass on the tale of your greatness.

They will cry out the story of your great kindness,

  they will celebrate your judgements.

The Lord takes pity, his heart is merciful,

  he is patient and endlessly kind.

The Lord is gentle to all –

  he shows his kindness to all his creation.

Let all your creatures proclaim you, O Lord,

  let your chosen ones bless you.

Let them tell of the glory of your reign,

  let them speak of your power –

so that the children of men may know what you can do,

  see the glory of your kingdom and its greatness.

Your kingdom stands firm for all ages,

  your rule lasts for ever and ever.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,

  the Lord is holy in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who are falling,

  the Lord lifts up all who are oppressed.

All look to you for help,

  and you give them their food in due season.

In your goodness you open your hand,

  and give every creature its fill.

The Lord is just in all his ways,

  the Lord is kind in all that he does.

The Lord is near to those who call on him,

  to all those who call on him in truth.

For those that honour him,

  he does what they ask,

  he hears all their prayers,

  and he keeps them safe.

The Lord keeps safe all who love him,

  but he dooms all the wicked to destruction.

My mouth shall tell the praises of the Lord.

Let all flesh bless his holy name,

  for ever and ever.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading – Ephesians 4:1-6

One Body, One Spirit, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God

I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 6:63,68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – Luke 7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John 6:1-15 ©

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

 

A Homily – The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)