A Homily - The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Zechariah 9:9-10 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 144(145):1-2, 8-11, 13b-14 ©

Second Reading – Romans 8:9, 11-13 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 11:25

The Gospel According to Matthew 11:25 - 30 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God. the creator of the universe, God is not a god of war or victory in battle.

 God is not the God of nations and tribes or churches, God is the God of all people.

 When we express our understanding of God’s universality, we are not expressing our belief in God’s dominion over all things, or the hope that when God comes a’conquering, God will destroy the enemies of Zion, and bring the rest of everyone to heel.

 God is the God of all people, wherever they are, whoever they are, whether they know it or not,  God always have been and God always will be.

 Be mindful.

 What is good and true in the prophet’s words are these:

 God desires that we be at peace with ourselves and one another, God desires this above all other things.

 Do not make the same mistake as the psalmist, do not go about proclaiming that God is a king.

 God is present in all times and places, including the deepest recesses of the human heart, God is the creator and sustainer of all things..

 Remember:

 God does not intervene in human events. God’s influence over us is indirect. God does not push buttons or pull levers or make choices for people. God does not interfere with human freedom, God’s power does not obviate freewill.

 When you contemplate the power of God, contemplate all the ways of God’s love and divine mercy, contemplate the humility of Jesus as he carried the cross.

 Know this:

 The Apostle misses an important point and in so doing he makes a grievous error.

 The spirit of God lives in all people…do not doubt it.

 We are all God’s children, and God loves every single one of us. Everyone is a child of God, from the most disciplined and devout, to the most reckless and devilish.

 The spirit of Jesus lives in all people. Jesus is our friend and brother. We are related to Jesus in the same way that we are related to each other, each of us to every other, our relationship to Jesus is an ontological reality, one that we cannot undo, no matter how hard we might try. 

 Our relationships to God and Jesus are constitutional elements and determinative factors in the nature of our being, as all of our relationships are, no matter how remote or distant from us in time and space they might be.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today.

 God has hidden nothing from us.

 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.

 The way of Jesus is not a long can, neither is it a bait and switch, it is a simple teaching that cannot be controlled or owned by any one group of people.

 Pay attention to the second paragraph in today’s reading, there is truth, but the first paragraph presents a lie.

 Because we are created in the divine image, because we carry a seed of the word inside us, knowledge and understanding of the truth is available to us, it is in the open for anyone to see.

 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.

 When you are reading today’s Gospel consider this:

 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 elder group as out of touch, blind, privileged, in the dark, corrupt, and because we are talking about human beings the criticism is almost certainly valid, but it is not necessarily true.

 This is a cycle seemingly without end, and the truth remains the same: we are called to love justice, be merciful and do good. We are called to serve God through the service we provide to one another: our families, our friends, our neighbors, the stranger, even our enemies. We are called to walk through the world, all the days of our lives, with a spirit of humility.

 Just because a person is 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 the tell on how you will fulfill your calling to follow Jesus and the way. What matters is what is in your heart, what matters is your willingness to trust in the content of your hope, that is the essence of faith.

First Reading – Zechariah 9:9-10 ©

See Now, your King Comes Humbly to You

The Lord says this:

Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion!

Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!

See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished.

He will proclaim peace for the nations.

His empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 144(145):1-2, 8-11, 13b-14 ©

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

Alleluia!

I will give you glory, O God my king,

  I will bless your name for ever.

I will bless you day after day

  and praise your name for ever.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

The Lord is faithful in all his words

  and loving in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

  and raises all who are bowed down.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading – Romans 8:9, 11-13 ©

If by the Spirit You Put an End to the Misdeeds of the Body, you Will Live

Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

 

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!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 11:25 - 30 ©

You Have Hidden these Things from the Wise and Revealed them to Little Children

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

 

The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Observation - July 8th, 2023, Saturday

 It is quiet… there is the soft sound of air moving through a fan, and the quiet hum of its motor…turning.

 Above that I hear a choir of monks singing the liturgy of the hours, it is nine o’clock in the morning and the hour is Terce.

 The coffee in my cup is warm, and there is a coal burning in the ashtray, smoke drifting from the burning end of a marijuana cigarette…commercial grade.

 There is woodpecker knocking on a tree, the sound comes through the window with the cool summer morning.

Observation - July 7th, 2023, Friday

There are bulldozers on the street.

 

They are moving piles of concrete,

beep and whistle, a blaring horn

living in a construction zone.

Observation - July 6th, 2023, Thursday

The air outside is cool.

 It is noisy in the building where I live.

 There are footsteps above me and the sound of furniture moving, or heavy things being scraped along the floor.

 There is an ant walking up my wall, its large dark body moving robot-like against the creamy-

white background.

 Indra, after the fall.

A Homily - The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Jeremiah 20:10-13 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 ©

Second Reading – Romans 5:12-15 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alternative Acclamation – John 15:26, 27

The Gospel According to Matthew 10:26 - 33 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 

Do not ask God to administer the justice you desire. God, the creator of the universe, God will not intervene on your behalf, and such petitions are an exercise in vanity.

Rather, have faith in God and know divine providence will move all things toward a just end, knowing that God’s justice is patient, it is loving and it is kind; it will come to its fullness in eternity.

This is the faith we are called to as Christians.

Do not look to God for help in this world. God will not help you. You must help yourself, rely on you family, help them in turn, and your friends and your neighbors…even the stranger.

We are meant to help each other.

God has given you the strength to persevere any hardship. God has given you hope to lead you through whatever darkness lies ahead. God has given you the freedom to participate in the furtherance of justice, or to impede it, or to do nothing at all.

Consider the wisdom of the psalmist.

God desires praise and worship more than animal sacrifices, each of these ranks next to nothing compared to God’s desire for justice and compassion, for love and mercy.

Be mindful!

The scope of the creature’s actions and the consequences that flow from sin, cannot exceed the scope of divine intention and the power of grace to heal.

Listen!

Do not repeat the errors of John, correct them.

Each and every person is born a child of God. We are not made into God’s children by any power that comes from within us, neither are we transformed by a power external to us. We come into being as children of God, in the Word, by the Word and through the Word.

The Word we are speaking of is also called the Logos, in Greek. It is the manifestation of divine reason, the rational principle that is at the root of God’s creative purpose in the world. It is the cause of our being, and our final cause.  

God made us, and our status as children of God is as unconditional as God’s love for us.

Remember this and know that there is no deception in God, no falsehood, no fabrication, no prevarication. The divine parent does not lie. Those who claim to speak for the divine must not lie or mislead, cover-up or hide anything in the pursuit of their mission.

Do not repeat the errors of John, but know this:

All human beings are prone to error, when those who have ascended to positions of leadership in Christian communities lie to you, you must reject them. Some will commit errors because they are honestly confused; this is understandable because we are all prone to error.

Many others commit errors that are willful. They know they are lying to you and they do it anyway; they do it for wealth, they do it for power, they do it to hide from their shame…for whatever misdeeds they are planning, have committed already or are in the midst of doing.

Such leaders, have abandoned the way, which calls us to conform to the spirit of truth.

Know this, though we have all forsaken God at one time or another, and though we have all done wrong to our sisters and brothers, our fathers and mothers, God has never forsaken us. God never will.

Consider the gospel reading for today:

The Gospel authors should has left this passage where Jesus left it, with the exhortation to not be afraid.

This is wisdom.

Allow me to repeat this exhortation and take it to heart…Do not be afraid.

The Gospel is not a weapon, it is an open-secretive, it is not cryptic, it is not a demarcation point delineating for the church and its members those who belong to the flock and those wo do not, the insiders from the outsiders or the living from the dead.

It is meant to induce hope, not fear, it is a vehicle for inclusion, not exclusion

The good news is delivered with a spirit of love .

Jesus called everyone to the table; he did not ask for membership cards when he did, or dues at the door, he did not ask anyone to punch their ticket, to present a letter of introduction or a written invitation…he just said come.

Therefore, do not be afraid; come without fear or reservation, come as you are without shame.

The body passes and the spirit lives on.

Know this:

We were not given a vision of eternity, only to be denied it. The purpose of our being here is to prepare for it. God did not create us for the purpose of destroying us. God brought us into life so that we may live.

God’s love flows equally to all people, not one of God’s children is outside of God’s plan for salvation.

This is the gospel.

Declarations and oaths…creeds and decretals, these are the inventions of human beings, take none, make none, either for against Jesus, rather follow the way.

Serve God, through the service you provide to one another, love goodness, seek justice, and exercise mercy in all things.

Walk humbly all the days of your life, express your faith through right action, practice mindful in all things.

Remember this always.

First Reading – Jeremiah 20:10-13 ©

He Has Delivered the Soul of the Needy from the Hands of Evil Men

Jeremiah said:

I hear so many disparaging me, ‘“Terror from every side!”

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’

All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.

Then we will master him and take our revenge!’

But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.

But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.

Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 ©

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

It is for you that I suffer taunts,

  that shame covers my face,

that I have become a stranger to my brothers,

  an alien to my own mother’s sons.

I burn with zeal for your house

  and taunts against you fall on me.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

This is my prayer to you,

  my prayer for your favour.

In your great love, answer me, O God,

  with your help that never fails:

Lord, answer, for your love is kind;

  in your compassion, turn towards me.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

The poor when they see it will be glad

  and God-seeking hearts will revive;

for the Lord listens to the needy

  and does not spurn his servants in their chains.

Let the heavens and the earth give him praise,

  the sea and all its living creatures.

In your great love, answer me, O Lord.

 

Second Reading – Romans 5:12-15 ©

The Gift Considerably Outweighed the Fall

Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’, yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law.

Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 1:14, 12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us: to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – John 15:26, 27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of truth will be my witness; and you too will be my witnesses.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 10:26 - 33 ©

Do Not be Afraid of those Who Kill the Body

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.

‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

 

The Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 

A Homily - The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

First Reading – Exodus 19:2-6 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 99(100):2-3, 5 ©

Second Reading – Romans 5:6-11 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alternative Acclamation Mark – 1:15

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:36-10:8 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Be diligent when reading scripture and participating in the rituals in the church, expose the false theology that lingers in our fables and myths.

 If we took these stories seriously we would have to uphold the traditional view that human beings need an intermediary, like Moses, to pass messages back and forth between humanity and God.

 We would have to accept as necessary the institution of a priesthood.

 We would have to acquiesce to the notion that God, who created the universe, has chosen one tribe out of the whole world to represent God’s will to the people.

 We are lying to ourselves and the world when we give lip service to this false doctrine.

 Consider the wisdom of the psalmist:

 God is with us wherever we are; wherever God is, there is God’s temple. In the holy of holies there is hope and joy.

 Follow the way; serve God by serving your sisters and brothers, look into the face of your neighbor and see the face of God shining back at you.

 Be humble, just and merciful all the days of your life…this is the way, follow it to the world without end, where we belong to God, and God’s mercy is unbounded.

 When the scriptures tell us that we are God’s people; those words are not directed to the audience who first heard and read them, nor to us as we are reading them now, they are directed toward every living being that ever was, ever has been, and ever will be.

 The scope of God’s work is infinite.

 Know this!

 Jesus was not a sacrificial victim; his blood did not have magic powers. God does not love holocausts and burnt offerings.

 God loves mercy, the humble spirit, the contrite heart and justice.

 Jesus acted mercifully and with full regard for his followers when he allowed himself to be taken to the cross. Many would have died if he had not. Jesus gave his life to save them in their own time and place, he did not die as a cosmic sacrifice for the sins of the world.

 Know this!

 The Apostle is wrong when he describes our relationship with God as one of enmity. We were never enemies with God. In our ignorance we may from time to time reject the divine, but God, the sustainer of all being, God has not rejected us.

 Listen!

 The sheep do not choose the shepherd, but rather, the shepherd chooses the sheep. God is our shepherd: one shepherd, one sheepfold; we are all in this together.

 Listen for the voice of the shepherd, and do not trouble yourself with how the shepherd speaks to you, in what language, in what text. Do not be jealous of how the shepherd speaks to your sister or your brother, to your neighbors or the stranger.

 The shepherd speaks to everyone; listen.

 Everyone is beloved by God, each and every one of us are in the way that leads to God, whether we know it or not, there is no other way.

 Do not trouble yourself if you do not understand the journey that other person is on, God is guiding them, as God is guiding you. Have faith in this; believe it.

 God is patient with those who resist the way, God waits with a loving heart, guiding them with kindness.

 Have faith!

 God will not lose a single one of us. Neither will any one of us lose God.

 God is with us!

 Repent, which means turn, turn and believe. Believe not so that you can be saved but believe that you are saved already; this will make you well

 God is as near to you as your beating heart, turn toward the divine and you are there.

 Do not look back; keep to the way. Give without asking, share the God’s grace

 This is the way, and that is the gospel.

  

First Reading – Exodus 19:2-6 ©

I Will Count You a Kingdom of Priests, a Consecrated Nation

From Rephidim the sons of Israel set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.

Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 99(100):2-3, 5 ©

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

  Serve the Lord with gladness.

  Come before him, singing for joy.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.

  He made us, we belong to him,

  we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,

  eternal his merciful love.

  He is faithful from age to age.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

 

Second Reading – Romans 5:6-11 ©

Now We Have Been Reconciled by the Death of His Son, Surely We May Count on Being Saved by the Life of His Son

We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation Mark – 1:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

The kingdom of God is close at hand: repent, and believe the Good News.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:36-10:8 ©

The Harvest is Rich but the Labourers are Few

When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’

He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:

‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’

 

The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)