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Sunday, February 23, 2025

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

First Reading – 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 11-13, 22-23 ©

Responsorial Psalm – 102(103):1-4, 8, 10, 12-13 ©

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Acts 16:14

Alternative Acclamation – John 13:34

The Gospel According to Luke 6:27-38 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Today’s reading from Samuel is meant to tell us something about the piety of David. It makes a big-to-do out of the fact that David would not take the life of his king, even though the king was seeking his.

 Do not be confused, this is not an act of love.

 There are many things happening in this text and many errors to correct, the first of which is to make sure that the reader does not confuse David’s lawfulness, his refusal to take the life of God’s “anointed” king, for the command that Jesus gives in the gospel reading that comes later: that we love our enemies.

 David did not spare Saul out of love but from a sense of propriety and duty. He may have also been motivated by superstition, he was certainly motivated by a desire to uphold the law with rigor, because he himself was expected to become king after Saul, and did not want to establish a precedent of regicide, lest he might find himself at the wrong end of a spear in his later years.

 He was wise in this.

 David’s piety is laudable, nevertheless, it is not love, it is calculating, shrewd and savvy, but it is not love.

 Be mindful!

 God does not appoint kings; God has made us free. The creator of the universe does not intervene in human affairs. God does not reward the good or punish the wicked. Such activities are the contrivances of human beings, do not confuse our motivations and actions with those of the divine.

 Listen to psalmist:

 Give thanks to God; give thanks for the peace of God’s blessing, for the blessing of life, of freedom, of self-determination, and every other aspect of existence that allows us to be the persons as we are.

 Give thanks to those who are loving, be thankful for the peacemakers and bless them as you are able. Bless all of God’s children, love them all, both the good and the bad, the helpful and the harmful, the just and the unjust.

 Remember this.

 God is not a king, nor a kingmaker. God is not a Lord. God does not favor one group over another. God loves all of God’s children equally.

 Be wary of the teaching of the apostles, they are often wrong, just as the disciples were often wrong, misunderstanding Jesus and his teaching at every turn…until the end of his days.

 In today’s reading from Corinthians the apostle gives us a soliloquy drawn from rank speculation, concerning matters that he knows nothing about. It has been a great tragedy for the Church, and serious misfortune to people everywhere, that the teachings offered here came into the tradition. Beyond expressing faith and hope that the spirit continues beyond the death of the body (which is good), there is nothing else that needs to be said on this subject. We fall into error when we allow our philosophies to frame our understanding of events that are yet to come, but that none of us have seen.

 Know this.

 God hears you, God is with you, that is why we named him Immanuel. God knows you even as you know yourself, God knows you better.

 Forget the apocryphal imagery and the mythological symbolism associated with the “Son of Man.” Set aside the cryptic language that John presents regarding the glory of God when he pretends to know in whom and how it appears. Forget these things because they are irrelevant.

 To follow Christ is to walk in the path of love, to love one another, to lead with love.

 Therefore, be loving as Jesus was loving. Be caring, be merciful, be just, be humble…this is the way.

 Be prepared to risk everything for the sake of love, even your life. In so doing you will be true to Jesus, anyone who is a witness to it will bear witness to that truth. This is the way and there is no other.

 Faith (which is the trust we place in God); faith is not about the words which define our articles of belief, faith is not about creeds and decrees and decretals; faith is not ideology, it is not partisan, it is not dogmatic, it is not doctrinaire. Faith is not a legally binding agreement or a contractual obligation, faith is not concerned with secrets or magic words. Faith is an action, to have faith is to trust in the divine love God has for everyone.

 Jesus calls us to love, not in the ordinary sense, not in a way that you might expect; Jesus call on us to love radically. He calls on us to love our enemies, even those who persecute us. He calls on us to love them as God loves them, no matter who they are, because like you, your enemies are children of God, they are brothers and sisters of Christ. They are your brothers and sisters. God dwells in them as God dwells in you.

 Love them, because enmity is an illusion, it is a disease of the heart; love them and be good to them, because goodness is its own reward. Be kind to one another as a service to God, serve your neighbors, the stranger, even those who have done you harm.

 This is the expectation God has placed on us, and you should know that God placed this expectation there knowing all of the ways in which we would fail.

 Jesus prayed to God on behalf of those who tortured and murdered him, he prayed that they be forgiven, even as he was dying on the cross.

 Strive to be as compassionate as Jesus was, do not let your imagination fail you Do not judge so that you will not be judged, or pardon so that you will be pardoned, or give so that you will receive a reward; the divine love is not transactional.

 Pardon because you have been pardoned, set your judgements of others aside, as God has done for you already, give so that you may share your reward.

 This is the love Jesus calls us to; this is the way.


First Reading – 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 11-13, 22-23 ©

Do Not Lift Your Hand Against the Lord's Anointed

Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.

In the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul lying asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him.

Then Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.’ David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed! But now take the spear beside his head and the pitcher of water and let us go away.’ David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. He called out, ‘Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it. The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – 102(103):1-4, 8, 10, 12-13 ©

The Lord is compassion and love.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  all my being, bless his holy name.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

  and never forget all his blessings.

The Lord is compassion and love.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,

  who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

  who crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is compassion and love.

The Lord is compassion and love,

  slow to anger and rich in mercy.

He does not treat us according to our sins

  nor repay us according to our faults.

The Lord is compassion and love.

As far as the east is from the west

  so far does he remove our sins.

As a father has compassion on his sons,

  the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

The Lord is compassion and love.

 

Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 ©

The First Adam Became a Living Soul; the Last Adam, a Life-giving Spirit

The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Acts 16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia!

I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel of Luke – 6:27-38 ©

Love Your Enemies

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

 

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



Sunday, February 16, 2025

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)




Tuesday, February 11, 2025

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.



Monday, February 10, 2025

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




Sunday, February 9, 2025

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)