Who do you like more, Pope Francis or Christ?

Homily for 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

IS 8:23-9:3, PS 27:1, 4, 13-14, 1 COR 1:10-13, 17, MT 4:12-23

Introduction

Soon after Pope Francis was elected, one of the most common questions people asked of Catholics “How do you like the new pope?”  Although I should have known better, I too jumped on the bandwagon, and whenever I had exhausted material for conversation, I would ask friends: “How do you like the new pope?”

I was talking to a friend in Uganda on the phone and asked her the same question: “So how do you like the new pope?”  My friend Agnes immediately responded: “Father, how can you ask such a question?  Do I have a choice?  He is the Pope, the man whom God has given me, to be my spiritual father at this moment.  Of course I have to like him, not necessarily for who is in himself or what he does, but simply because he is the Pope.”

With that answer, Agnes set me straight and I stopped asking that question.

Scripture and Theology

But I need not have waited for Agnes to remind me, how foolish my question about liking the pope was.  St. Paul, in today’s reading from the Letter to the Corinthians, had already said something about that.  He had heard that some Corinthians were going about saying: “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” similar to our saying: “I like Pope John Paul II,” “I like Pope Benedict,” “I like Pope Francis.”

But Paul responds by saying that this is nonsense.  The only person we should like in this way is Christ; the only person about whom we can claim to belong is Christ.  To make his point, Paul asks these questions:

·        “Is Christ divided?” – Of course not!  Christ is one!

·        “Was Paul crucified for you?” – Of course not!  It was not Paul that was crucified, but Christ, and him alone should be worshipped.

·        “Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” – Of course not!  You were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

With these questions Paul asks the Corinthians to put their focus on Jesus and not on his messengers such as Peter, Apollos or even Paul himself.  The apostles are simply vessels, channels, vehicles through which Jesus is preached and his Body and Blood shared among God’s people.

·        The apostles are like the bottle of wine, not the wine itself; rather than focus on the elegant bottle we should focus on the quality of the wine.

·        We could also think of the apostles as the wrapping of a Christmas or birthday gift.  As important as the wrapping is, at the end of the day, you and I want the gift inside.  As far I know, gift-wrap, even expensive gift-wrap has never changed a pair of socks into a pair of expensive earrings!

And so, Paul really wants the people of Corinth, not to focus on the wine bottle or the gift-wrap, but on the wine and the gift itself, which is Jesus Christ.

Christian Life

This message is as important for us today, as it was for the Corinthians.  We too have the tendency to latch upon the messenger rather than the message.

·        “I really like Pope Francis – he is a man of the people,” we might say.

·        Of if you are of a different leaning, you have probably said, “I really miss Pope Benedict – he was such a learned man.”

Even among priests and bishops, we have our favourites.

·        “I like Father so-and-so, because he comes down the aisle and greets the people at the sign of peace.”

·        “I like Bishop so-and-so, because he stopped and spoke with me.”

But St. Paul is reminding us that our fondness for this or other minister should have little or nothing to do with their personalities or their idiosyncrasies, but rather with how well they preach the saving message of Christ.  For all ministers are called upon to use whatever gifts God has given them, to do this work. And because they have different gifts and personalities, they will probably do things a little differently, but always the same goal – bringing people to God.

·        St. Paul, a Pharisee was probably a man who could read and write, and was a good speaker.

·        Peter, on the other hand, was a fisherman and perhaps did not have the same writing or speaking skills as Paul, perhaps had wisdom and patience.

But both of them used their skills, to proclaim the same gospel of Jesus Christ.  And that is why the Corinthians should not choose Paul or Peter, but rather the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today’s church leaders try to do the same thing.

·        Pope Francis might not have the theological precision of Pope Benedict; but he more than makes up for this gap, by his earthiness, simplicity and wisdom acquired from many years of being a pastor.

·        Pope Francis might not have the charisma and philosophical mind of Pope John Paul II; but he more than makes up for this deficit, by his humility and willingness to try to new things.

All three popes, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, have put their gifts at Jesus’ disposal, so that he can use them to proclaim God’s saving message.

Even here at home, the only thing we should expect of all our bishops and priests is that they preach the gospel message, albeit in their different ways.

·        You have priests who can sing the whole Mass in an angelic voice, something I cannot do, even to save my own life.

·        I also know a priest, who is very shy and you have to poke him to get two words out of him.  But I know him to be a great confessor and counsellor, one to whom people often turn when they have problems.

But I hope that all three of us, my musical priest-friend, my shy priest-friend and myself, in our different ways, continue to preach Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Perhaps one reason we might be tempted to say, “I like this pope or this bishop or this priest,” is because we think of them as political leaders.  For when it comes to political leaders, we have to choose between the Republican manifesto and the Democratic manifesto, and sometimes a third-party manifesto.  The leader we eventually elect, will usually represent and effect the vision of his party.

That is not the case with the Church.  The church has only one manifesto, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Yes, there might be slight differences of emphasis or delivery, but the core message is one.  When Pope John Paul II took the reins, he could not make changes willy-nilly, like a politician could; nor could Pope Benedict, nor can Pope Francis make changes to the essential message of the gospel.  His job is to continue steering the ship of Peter to its final destination of heaven, in the best possible way.  He might make a few personnel changes; he might streamline some procedures; he might even improve the ways things are done.  But manifesto he puts into action is the same one Jesus gave to Peter; the syllabus was written by the Teacher himself and has to be taught as it is.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, much of the reporting about the Pope and the Church, treats them like politics.  And so, those who like Pope Francis will twist his words to fit their agenda; and those who don’t, will do the same thing, and may deceive us to fall into one camp or the other.

If we want to know what the Pope is teaching, let us go to the horse’s mouth.  We live in an internet age, where you can go to the Vatican website (I believe there is a link to it on your parish website), and read for yourself the authentic teaching of the Pope: not the New York Times, not Fox News and certainly not on various blogs you find on the internet.  And when you do, you will find the gospel of Christ and hopefully, you will get to like Christ and belong to him, not to Paul, not to Peter, not to Apollos, and certainly not to Father Deo!

Promoting Life - all Life

Homily for 2^nd Wednesday of Ordinary Time Year 2 2014

Mass of thanking God for the Gift of Human Life

Mark 3:1-6

Introduction

My grandfather had a sure fire way of telling which kids had only book knowledge and which also had common sense.  "There are ten birds on a tree,” he would say.  Then he would ask: “After I shoot and kill one, how many birds remain?"

The smart kids quickly did the math and came up with the answer, “nine birds remain on the tree.”  But the wise students, after giving the question a little thought, answered “zero.”  Surely no bird is going to remain a sitting duck, when the life of one their own has just been taken.

Preserving one’s life is perhaps the one thing all animals treasure.  On this day of prayer for legal protection of the unborn child, we have an opportunity to reflect on the dignity of human life and our attitude towards it.

Scripture and Theology

The dignity of human life is such an integral aspect of Christianity, that today, I did not have to choose special readings for this special Mass of thanking God for the gift of human life.  In today’s gospel Jesus shows us how valuable life is, so valuable that saving it trumps observing the Sabbath law.

We have heard just heard Jesus ask: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”  That Jesus even need ask this question should tell us that saving life was not the priority for some people.  Jesus poses this question to the Pharisees, who apparently thought that observing the Sabbath rest was far more important than saving life.  And we heard that when Jesus goes ahead and cures this man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, thereby breaking the Sabbath Law, we heard that the “Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.”  And so, not only do the Pharisees not care about the sick man, the sin of indifference; they are also guilty of plotting murder, since they want to kill Jesus who does something about the illness.  It would not be a stretch to say that the Pharisees prefer a culture of death, rather than one of life.

Christian Life

Unfortunately, this culture of death continues in our world today.  I would like us to reflect on three questions that deal with human life today.  What are many examples of a culture of death rather than a culture of life today?  What are the factors that lead to a culture of death, rather than of life today?  Why should we Christians promote a culture of life?

The culture of death, is not just about abortion, as Pope Francis reminds us, but pervades many areas of our life today

·        A culture of death in the medical field, which carries out abortions, euthanasia, and a contraceptive mentality.

·        A culture of death in the judicial system, which carries out capital punishment and rejoices at the death of the sinner.

·        A culture of death in the economic system, which either refuses to care for the needs of the poor or forces them into a mentality of entitlement and a vicious circle of poverty.

·        A culture of death in the social system, with murder and child-neglect being the order of the day.

·        A culture of death in the political system, with assassinations, terrorism and wars, being the easy solutions to problems.

But why do we have this culture of death?  Why does a Christian country like this one, continue to promote death rather than life?  The reason the Pharisees did not care about the life of the man with the withered hand was because of their scrupulosity and legalism.  For us today, three things seem to motivate our culture of death: a sense of entitlement, feelings of hate and sheer indifference.

Today people will kill each other because they feel entitled to do so.

·        Many would-be parents turn to abortion, because they want to take away what they see as an obstacle to a brighter life, career and reputation.  The life of a child in this case stands in their way.  And nothing should stand in their way; absolutely nothing should stand in their maintaining a certain way of life or having their reputation damaged by a pregnancy out of wedlock.  This sense of entitlement argues that one should do with their body as they like, including the killing of a baby growing inside the womb.

·        The drug-dealer also kills his rivals, because he wants to corner the drug market; so does the war-load and the politician who arranges assassinations of rivals.  Nothing should stand in the way of advancement.

·        In fact, the media often frames the wars in Africa and other places as being primarily about religion, Muslims against Christians and vice-versa.  If only they did a little more digging, if only they set aside their stereotypes, they would find that at the root of most wars is economic conflict and gain.

Of course besides economic gain, yes, some people will kill each other because they don’t like each other’s ethnicity, nationality or religion; but this only a secondary factor.  It is also such hate that is the root of the great support of capital punishment in this country, which remains one of very few industrialized countries, to still carry out legally sanctioned executions.  Many other countries, realizing that this punishment no longer serves the need it might have served in the past, have removed it.  I suspect that we still keep it, because we still thirst for the Old Testament law of an eye for an eye, rather than Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this hate-driven culture of death was what happened after the death of Osama bin Laden.  There is no denying that everybody was probably relieved at the news that this master-mind of so much terror in the world would no longer be able to continue his murderous work.  We in Uganda have such a man, called Joseph Kony, who has caused so much misery to the people of Uganda. I am sure that when he is finally captured or killed, many people in Uganda and the neighbouring countries will sleep easy.  But as Christians, as a people who promote life, we cannot rejoice, at the death of the sinner, as happened on many streets in the United States when Osama bin Laden died.  We cannot express our relief by breaking out the champagne and letting of fireworks.  For when we do that, we undermine the whole project of fighting for life in all its forms.

Apart from entitlement and hate, the third cause of today’s culture of death is perhaps a little subtle; it is indifference.  It is political indifference of Christians that allows laws that promote abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment to be passed.  It is the political indifference of Christians that allows the elderly and children to be abused, the poor to starve to death or live lives of misery.  It is the indifference of Christians that allows our children to grow up thinking that they can get anything they want, even in ways that do not promote life.

Conclusion

The Christian way cannot be the way of entitlement, hate or indifference.  The Christian way promotes life in all its forms, not just the life of the innocent, because all life is a gift from God.  God does not rejoice at the death of the sinner.  Rather he wants the sinner to convert and return to him.  That is why as Christians, we must promote all life, from the womb to the tomb and in between.  We cannot be cafeteria pro-lifers, only choosing to promote some life.  For we promote life, not because of its inherent value, but because of God.  All, even that of the sinner is from God and all life leads to God.  Preserving life is a way of giving glory to God the Creator; for this gift of life we have here on earth is the beginning of an eternal life with God, for which he created us.

“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Jesus asks the Pharisees.  Perhaps Jesus might rephrase this question for us today in this way:  Is it lawful to think of the other first, rather than to think of one’s own needs, to love rather than hate, forgive rather than seek revenge, to save life rather than to destroy it?

Offering up our daily hardships with the Lamb

Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isa 49: 3, 5-6 • 1 Cor 1:1-3 • John 1:29-34

Introduction

At a conference, before the keynote speaker comes on stage, someone usually introduces them.  An introduction is considered good, if it prepares the audience  well, for example by telling them the qualifications of the speaker; in this way the listeners are excited and look forward to the keynote speech.

Scripture and Theology

If Jesus is our keynote speaker, then John the Baptist is the one who introduces him.  And as far as introductions go, John the Baptist does an excellent job.  In today’s gospel we have just heard him point to Jesus and say: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”  In other words, John is saying: “Look, that man Jesus is the long-promised Messiah.”  For God had told him that the Messiah would be the person on whom he would see the Spirit come down and remain.

But I want us to focus on the title that John uses to describe Jesus; he calls him, “the Lamb of God.”  That is a strange way to introduce the Messiah!  And yet John uses those words deliberately, because the image of a lamb was one the Jewish people would understand perfectly.  When they heard the words: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” they were reminded of the Passover Lamb and the lambs sacrificed in the Temple.

If you recall from the book of Exodus, Pharaoh had refused to let the people of Israel return home.  God struck him with several plagues: blood, frogs and lice; flies, dead livestock and boils; hail, locusts and darkness; but Pharaoh still refused.  God had one final trick up his sleeve; the final plague was the death of the first born child and animal.  But how would the angel of death tell the Jewish homes from the Egyptian ones?  God told the people of Israel to smear the doorposts of their houses with the blood of a lamb; in that way the angel of death would pass over their houses and spare their children and animals. This blood came from the lamb that the Israelites had eaten at their Last Supper on the night before they were to leave Egypt.  And so the Lamb then becomes the sign and symbol of the liberation of God’s people from slavery and oppression.

But there is another lamb, that John’s listeners would think about, when he described Jesus as the Lamb of God.  The people of Israel worshipped God primarily by offering him an animal sacrifice.  The book of Exodus commands that every day, two one-year lambs were to be sacrificed on the Temple altar, as atonement for sin.  One was to be sacrificed in the morning and another in the evening.  Now we modern people might think of this practice as cruel and senseless, that is of course if don’t think about where our steak, veal and lamb come from.  For a people who lived from hand to mouth as the Jewish people did, every lamb sacrificed was one less sheep to provide food, wool, milk and skins.  The sacrifice of a lamb, was their way of giving God their most treasured possession.  This lamb was the symbol of their love for God.

And so, whether John’s words evoked the image of the Passover lamb or the image of the daily sacrificial lamb, the message was still the same.  John was telling them that this man Jesus whom you see, has come to do once for all, what our sacrificial lambs have tried to do over and over again without much success.  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” once and for all.

Christian Life

I would like us to take two things from this gospel, for our own spiritual lives.

·        First, do we really understand that Jesus is the Lamb of God?

·        And flowing from that, do we see ourselves as being lambs of God in our own ways?

Jesus is the Lamb of God, who offered himself completely for our sake.  God allowed the Jewish people who had sinned, to substitute for themselves a sacrificial lamb to die in their place.  In the same way, we are the sinners; but God has allowed his Son, to take our place and die for us.  That is why Jesus says that there is no greater love, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

For while Jesus is indeed many things for us, under all of them is the fact that he is our Sacrifice, our Lamb.

·        Yes, Jesus is that gentle baby in the manger, we saw at Christmas; but this baby will lay down his life for his friends.

·        Yes, Jesus is a Prophet and a Teacher; but he is one who gives up his life for his disciples.

·        Yes, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and King of the World; but he is one whose power consists in laying down his life for his people.

·        Yes, Jesus is the bread of life and the Light of the world; but he is those things in as far as he lays down his life for us.

In fact at Mass, just before communion, we sing three times: “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World.”  And then the priest holds up the Host and says: “Behold the Lamb of God, Behold him who takes away the sins of the world, Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.”  The reason we say these words is so that, even when we are having the banquet of the Lord, a sign of joy and communion, we have to be reminded, that this all came about, because of the blood of the Lamb.  And to the priest’s words we reply, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the Word, and my soul shall be healed.”  By these words we recognize our unworthiness.

I have probably told you about a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan; but I will do so again because it helps us understand John’s message.  As you probably remember, this movie is about a group of soldiers during World War II, sent to save Private James Ryan who has already lost his two brothers to the war. Many men die in the process of saving him, including Captain Miller, who just before he dies tells the rescued Ryan, “James. Earn this . . . earn it.”

James seems to have taken these last words very seriously. In this particular scene, now he is an old man who has returned to Europe to the cemetery where Captain Miller is buried. Staring at the grave marker he mumbles to his dead commander telling Captain Miller that every day of his life he has thought of Miller’s dying words. He has tried to live a good life, at least he hopes he has. He hopes he has earned the sacrifice that Captain Miller and his men made for him.

But James is not really sure. He wonders how any life, however well lived, could be worth the sacrifice of all those men. Now wobbly on his feet he stands up, but does not feel released. Trembling and filled with anxiety he turns to his wife and pleads to her, “Tell me I’ve led a good life.” Confused by his request, she asks: “What?” He has to know the answer, so he asks her again: “Tell me I’m a good man.” Finally she responds to him and says: “Yes, you are.”

If Jesus is the Lamb that gives his life for us, do we deserve his sacrifice?  Are we ready to lay down our lives for our family, friends and even strangers, like Captain Miller and his men?  Can we lay aside our sense of entitlement, when we make unreasonable demands from our family, from the church, from our employers, from the government?  Can we, like the lamb, endure a little inconvenience or difficulty, so that we can take one for the team?

Conclusion

There was a Catholic devotion of offering up our minor daily hardships and sacrifices to the Lord, adding them to the great sacrifice of the Lamb.  There are far too many people who don’t believe, who don’t pray, who don’t love God and their neighbour.  These people could benefit from our daily sacrifices, which we offer on their behalf, as small lambs with the Lamb.  The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God has offered up everything for us; what can we in turn offer to show our gratitude, to testify that we have come to believe in him?