3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do you remember as a kid walking around outside in the dark, seeing something move in the shadows and then freezing in horror – you tried hard to focus on it, sometimes you were convinced it was moving, sometimes you were convinced it couldn’t be – your imagination running wild…then other shadows and objects seem to start moving…only to come back the next morning, in the full light of day, to find that it was something as harmless as a pine tree or as simple as a fencepost?

In the darkness many things become confusing and uncertain – we think we see or understand something, we draw conclusions that seem to make sense in the darkness, only to realize in the light of day that the truth is quite different.  In the readings today Jesus fulfills an age-old prophecy from Isaiah and enters the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, historically dark and gloomy (from the perspective of faith in God), in order to bring the light.  As Christians, we are called to follow Christ and bring the light to places of darkness and confusion in our culture.  Those in the darkness become pretty convinced that they are correct in their deductions, but it is our call as Christians to bring the bright the light of day, the truth, to seemingly difficult and controversial contemporary issues.  Christ came to bring the light, and we are Christ-ians – let’s live up to our name at least one more time than usual this week!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hellfire, brimstone, damnation – words we don’t hear very often anymore, but words that our first reading calls to mind (and themes that arise out of our Scriptures).  And lest we think that Jesus ushered in an age full of only mercy, pardon and mushy-gushy “love”, Jesus Himself, multiple times in the Gospels, speaks strongly about judgment, hellfire, the separation of the righteous and the wicked, warning us of the wide and easy road that leads to destruction and encouraging us to follow the narrow and difficult road that leads to life.  This week I challenge you: have conversations about some of these difficult topics with friends and other believers, Catholic or otherwise.  These ideas aren’t culturally acceptable, many discount them these days, but if we call ourselves Christian, if we believe what Jesus (the Son of God, the Author of all truth) says, then we have to start taking these ideas seriously!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Why is it that we as Catholics are the only Christians that pray for our beloved dead?  Why is it that we are the only Christians who believe in Purgatory?  In this homily I will explore how other Christians believe Jesus saves us versus how we as Catholics believe Jesus saves us, and what that difference means in praying for the dead, purgatory, and how we live our lives here and now!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes God works incredible miracles that are visually and experientially miraculous.   In our first reading and Gospel today we have 11 lepers who are all miraculously cured by God…but they’re healed in very non-incredible ways: taking a bath and out for a walk.  More often than not, God’s ways are subtle, quiet and seemingly indirect. God’s hand is moving and blessing and answering prayers, but often in unexpected ways, which means that it’s easy to miss God’s blessings in our lives and the lives of others.  Of the 11 lepers cleansed, only 2 come back to thank God for answered prayers.  As we approach God in prayer, as we attend Mass, let’s join with the 2 lepers who came back, and let’s give thanks to God for His many blessings and answered prayers in our lives!

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today Jesus tells us one of His most confusing parables: “Look at this shady, crooked, underhanded businessman… You should learn a lesson from him!”  Many people are clever in the ways of this world – they are smart and resourceful in using the people and situations around them to further their own gain (even if it is selfish and underhanded, as the steward/manager/businessman is today).  Jesus challenges the “children of light” to be as smart and resourceful in obtaining benefits for heavenly life, as clever in living out our faith in the midst of this busy world and culture, as this shady businessman was in obtaining benefits for his earthly life.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In order to live in this world, we have to trust all kinds of things we see, hear and experience.  On a daily basis we extend trust thousands of times – to people, situations, information…everything.  A generic definition of “faith” is: “confidence or trust in a person, thing or concept.”  By this definition, every single person lives their lives by faith each and every day.  Faith in God, then, means having confidence and trust in God – that He will do what He says, that what He promises to us humans He will do.  In our readings today we see how God comes through on His promises, that God IS trustworthy, that we CAN trust God!  The faith held up for us today is that whatever life may bring, no matter how bumpy the road, we know that God has us in the palm of His hand!

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel this weekend the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray.  After giving a short version of the Our Father, Jesus tells a semi-humorous story (in my opinion) highlighting the importance of persistence – in the context of this passage of persistent prayer.  In our first reading  we see a model of this kind of persistence in the conversation Abraham has with God (also a rather humorous exchange, in my opinion). But both readings make the point that God seriously encourages persistent prayer. The question remains, though, “What or who does prayer actually change?  Does it change me or God?” Listen to find out!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

After Moses gave the 10 Commandments to God’s chosen people, he said something very interesting: that these commands were already written in their hearts.  If, as Paul says in our second reading, all things are created in Christ, then it makes sense that the Maker would leave His mark deep within each of us, guiding us to what is best.  God has given each of us a conscience, His voice deep within our gut, leading us on the right way.  But then why do we need commandments or rules at all?  Why can’t we just each follow our own conscience?

Our conscience can sometimes be a burden and we don’t always want to listen to that voice.  So as we grow “smarter” and “wiser” we learn to rationalize away that voice of God deep within, until we hear only what we want to hear.  This week we’re challenged by Jesus to go back to the basics, to be reminded of what we already know deep within our hearts, and to listen for that simple and clear (but often difficult and inconvenient) voice of God which speaks to us from deep within – and to follow it!