5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Paul felt an obligation to preach the Gospel…but he can’t be the only one.  Every Christian, as a follower of Jesus, is called to be a light in the world, to share with others what God has done for them.  So how?  How do we share our faith in a way that is attractive but not pushy, engaging but not offensive?  I have a few ideas, and I’ll share them in this homily.  Today’s young adults and students are a different generation who require a different way of hearing and experiencing the Gospel – let’s be willing to speak a language they will understand!

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Paul says in our 2nd reading: “I should like you to be free of anxieties.”  That would be pretty nice…but how on earth are we supposed to do that?!  Paul’s life gives us an answer.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

God speaks to us every day.  Yet, if we’re not careful, we can miss the Lord’s voice or mistake it for someone or something else.  The Mass is a particular hour each week when God speaks directly to us – do we know what His voice sounds like?  Or are our minds sometimes distracted by all the other things going on in our lives?  Samuel is being called by God in our first reading…but he mistakes the voice of God for the voice of another person.  It’s not until the fourth time God calls his name that Samuel finally says, “Speak, Lord, you servant is listening.”  It might take us a few tries, too, but let’s start making Mass a time when we spend our energies not on daydreams, but focusing on what God has to say to us that week: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Master in this weekend’s gospel puts a serious amount of cash into the hands of his servants, gives them absolute freedom, and then leaves on a trip.  When he comes back, we realize that his end game is NOT about the money: it’s about having his servants share in his work so that they can also share in his JOY.  Do you lack joy in your life?  God has given us everything we have – our faith, education, personality, interests, money, business skills, life experiences, talents – along with absolute freedom, and then “stepped back”…so that we can decide (like the first two servants) to use what He’s given us to build up His kingdom – then we’ll experience His JOY!  Or not…like the third servant.  How will you use what you’ve been given this week?

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The image most often used in the Bible to describe God’s relationship with us is that of a marriage.  In the Gospel parable today, 10 virgins are waiting for the groom to arrive and lead them all (with the bride) to the wedding celebration.  The groom was running late.  Five of the virgins brought extra oil for their lamps while five of them did not.  When the five who did not had to leave to get more oil, they missed the groom leading everyone to the wedding.  Arriving to the door late, they found themselves locked out.  The oil is our relationship with God.  We are called to stock up on it throughout a lifetime of shared experiences as we come to know the Lord more and more deeply. Jesus wants to lead all to eternal life, to the wedding party, but He warns us to be ready.  If our relationship with God is not a top priority for us and we think we can wait to stock up on this oil, or that we can just borrow from others in a pinch, we may find ourselves missing the party, too.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Every person in this world is called to have a deep, rich, personal relationship with God – that is the first and primary vocation (call) from God to each and every one of us.  After that universal vocation comes our particular vocations – how we can best share our love for God with others – whether that’s through marriage, priesthood, religious life or single life.  As we focus on vocations to the priesthood and religious life during this National Vocations Awareness Week, what are some practical steps that can be taken to support our young people in these particular vocations?  You’d be surprised, but the answer starts with YOU!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel today, Jesus’ opponents want Him SILENCED!  They set a trap for Him in the form of both a political and religious kenundrum of the time: the census tax of Caesar.  Jesus skillfully beats them at their own game, refusing to be silenced.  Present day opponents of Christ and His Good News are seeking to silence the voice of Christ in this world by silencing us.  Whether it’s the pressure to keep Jesus and religion out of politics, a false understanding of “separation of church and state”, the temptation to understand faith as simply a personal matter, or the lie that it’s harmful to impose our beliefs on others, opponents of Jesus are trying to silence the voice of Christ.  Jesus wouldn’t be silenced by His opponents and we as His Body won’t be silenced either!  Proclaim your faith, O Christian, because the world needs your voice!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parable which Jesus gives about a king inviting guests to the wedding reception of his son is ultimately a parable about eternal life and heaven (which our 1st reading from Isaiah speaks of as “God’s holy mountain”).  The king in the parable is God, his son is Jesus, and the wedding banquet is eternal salvation.  Some have ignored the invitation (God’s original Chosen People, the Israelites), so the king has sent out his servants (the Apostles) to invite anyone and everyone, the bad and the good alike (the Church), to this wedding reception.  One man, however, is thrown out for not wearing his wedding garment.  While it may seem harsh, the wedding garment symbolizes the garment we were given at baptism when we were asked to put on Christ.  We may say “yes” to God’s original invitation, but Jesus makes it clear that one “yes” is not enough.  After that, we also have to say “yes” to putting on Christ each and every day, to wearing the wedding garment we’ve been given.  And as we learn at the end of the parable, busy-ness, laziness, forgetfulness, whatever made that man not wear his garment, is not a good enough excuse when the final day comes.  What are you wearing today?

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A vineyard is meant to produce grapes, which turn into wine, which lightens and cheers the hearts of all those willing to drink of it.  Isaiah says that God’s Chosen People, the Jews, were the vine, hand-selected by God, to produce amazing wine for this world – but they didn’t produce good fruit.  So God took the vineyard from them and gave it to other tenants: now we, as the Church of Christ, have been given this vineyard to tend, so that we can produce good fruit for the world.  It means first being intoxicated by our own relationship with God, and then intentionally sharing these “spirits” with others so that they can find deep meaning, purpose and happiness of heart in relationship with God.  Then they will also begin producing good fruit for others.  Our potential is amazing!  So how are you bearing fruit?