The Power of God’s Word: sharper than any two-edged sword

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Jonah 3:1-5,10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Introduction

You have heard the saying, “actions speak louder than words.” You have also probably heard what St. Francis of Assisi told his followers when they asked him the best way to spread the gospel.  This is what he said: “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”

These two sayings seem to suggest that we should prefer action and witness to words and talking.  And many of us would probably agree, because human words often are empty and hollow.

Ø  With sweets words people will promise to give you the moon.

Ø  With inspiring words people will be all talk and no action.

Ø  Even words of prayer can be empty if they don’t come from the heart.

While human words might deceive us, today’s readings tell us that the Word of God is different, for it is trustworthy and powerful.

Scripture and Theology

In the first reading we heard the Lord sending the Prophet Jonah, to deliver a special message to the sinful people of Nineveh.  Nineveh was a very large city needing three days to walk through it.  And so Jonah began to preach the special message: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”

He had barely gone through a third of the city, when the people were convicted by his words.  And so we heard that they not only believed God, but they also proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth, including the animals if you read on the rest of the passage.

In the case Nineveh, God’s Word, delivered through the mouth of Jonah achieved its intended effect.  The people heard the Word of God, were convicted, and turned from a life of sin to a life of righteousness.  And most importantly, when God saw their response to his word, he forgave them.

In the gospel passage, it is Jesus who is speaking.  And his words are simple and urgent: “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Just like Jonah had warned the Ninevites to change or else, Jesus also warns the Jews of his time, telling them that the awaited time has come.  They were waiting for a Saviour who would restore them to a right relationship with God.  He, Jesus, is that Saviour.  The people need to repent and believe, that is, they need to make a radical change in their lives as well as accepting the message Jesus is teaching.

Unlike the people of Nineveh who responded to Jonah’s words with immediate action, the Jews were a little hesitant and slow in responding to Jesus.  Only a few repented and believed in the gospel. 

In today’s gospel passage we heard examples of those who responded to the words of Jesus.  Simon and his brother Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, all left their fishing jobs to follow Jesus.  He tells them that he is converting them from being fishermen to becoming “fishers of men,” those that with the bait of God’s Word, will bring men and women back to God.

It is clear then, that although we sometimes misuse words, we should not throw the baby out with the bath water.  The only time actions speak louder than words, is when those words are divorced from truth.  Words, especially God’s Words are powerful; they help people to change their lives.  Words can speak just as loudly and often even more clearly than actions, if they are based in truth and especially if they lead to action.  There is no doubt that God’s Word is the truth and that is why it has such a great effect on human beings.

Christian Life

God continues to speak to us today and we must listen to what he has to say.  Without hearing his Word, how else would we know what he wants us to do?

Like God has done throughout history, even today he often speaks through intermediaries and messengers.

·        In the Old Testament those intermediaries were the Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.

·        In the New Testament those messengers were the Apostles like Peter, James, John and even St. Paul who did much writing.

·        Today’s messengers and intermediaries who carry God’s Word to us are the Pope and the Bishops, being the successors of the Apostles and Prophets.

Do we listen what they have to say?  Even more important, after we listen, do we act on what we hear, like the Ninevites did when Jonah delivered God’s Word to them, like the four fishermen did when Jesus spoke to them?

It is one thing when the secular media attacks and rejects the teaching of the Pope and bishops.  It is another thing when we Catholics, sons and daughters of the Church do the same thing.  We could do better than our society, which has a chronic distrust of any teaching authority.  We could do better than our society’s children, who routinely ignore what their parents and teachers say and even worse don’t do what they are taught to do.

The teaching of the Pope and the bishops is God Word, revealed in the Bible and chewed over during 2000 years of the Church’s history.  But we seem to be selective in what teaching to listen to and act upon.

·        On the one hand, if the Pope and bishops teach from Genesis chapter 1 about caring for God’s creation or if they teach the parable of the Last Judgement, which calls for the care of the hungry, thirsty, sick, prisoners and the immigrant, we call them communists.

·        On the other hand, if the Pope and bishops teach from Genesis chapter 2 about a man leaving his father and mother and clinging to his wife, and the two of them becoming one body, or if they teach from Ten Commandments about preserving life we call them backward or worse.

But God’s word cut across all these ideologies.  For example, we have observed, during this past week two days that shine the light upon two different, but equally important aspects from the teaching of Jesus.

·        On Monday, as we remembered the life of Martin Luther King, we were reminded of the biblical themes of freedom, peace and justice.

·        On Thursday, the anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision, we were reminded of the biblical injunction to preserve life, especially the life of the unborn.

For us Catholics, what these two occasions signify is not mutually exclusive.  We cannot choose between God’s Word that asks us to fight for civil rights of the living or God’s Word that asks us to fight for the rights of the unborn.

As the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword.”  God’s Word cuts both sides, cutting to the left and to the right.  God’s Word cannot be reduced to petty ideology, for it is much more profound, penetrating “even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow” (Hebrews 4:12).

Conclusion

May today’s readings remind us again about the importance of God’s Word.  May God’s Word be the force that convicts and moves us to action.  May our action always find grounding in God’s Word.

After all that is what God wanted when speaking through Isaiah he said this about his word: “It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).  Actions might speak louder than human words.  But God’s Word speaks just as loudly and louder.

The truth shall set you free

Homily for Peace and Justice (MLK) 2015

R1 = Lect. 887 #2 (Is. 32:15-18), Resp = 889 #2 (Ps. 85), Gosp = 890 #3 (Jn. 14:23-29)

Introduction

“The truth will set you free,” says Jesus.  These words of Jesus are echoed in the life and work of Martin Luther King whose life and legacy we celebrate today.  He worked to free others from racial hatred and injustice.

Scripture and Theology

Peace and justice pervade the Scriptures, portions of which we have heard today.  Prophesying about the Messianic age, Isaiah says that at that time justice and peace will prevail.  And the source of this justice, like all other good things, will be the indwelling of the Spirit upon the people.  The Psalmist also harbours the same positive hope for the Messianic era, an era that will be marked by justice and peace, but by kindness and truth as well.

These prophecies are confirmed by the Messiah himself who declares: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”  But Jesus qualifies his gift.  His peace is not like that which the world gives.  His peace is the fruit of a higher power, the work of the Spirit, who “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”  The peace of Jesus is not simply a man-made peace, but a peace in which God is front and centre, albeit using men to bring about this peace.

We live in that messianic age, hoped for by Isaiah and the Psalmist, and inaugurated by Jesus.  Have their hopes for a just and peaceful world come to fruition in our world today?

Christian Life

The evidence of the last few months here and abroad suggests that we have still have work to do.  This is partly because we have forgotten the recipe for justice and peace provided by the Master who says: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Justice is giving each person his due, the guilty punishment, the innocent freedom.  But such justice can only be the fruit of truth.  Even in secular courts, justice is done and seen to be done only when the evidence upon which a verdict is made, is “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

Peace is living in harmony with one another.  This is the result of justice, but also truth.  At the micro level of families and small communities and the macro level of nations, peace exists only if relationships are guided by truth, that is by data and evidence consistent with reality.  Unsubstantiated judgements, unfounded conjecture and idle speculation, which are the essence of prejudice and the enemy of truth, cannot produce peaceful co-existence.

Such untruths, half-truths and unfair truths are often the result of uncritical loyalty to ideology and party.  But if we base our relationships and judgements on truth, facts and evidence, then we shall fight hatred and injustice wherever we find it, regardless of our loyalties, letting the chips fall where they may.

·        With truth behind us, we shall with Pope Francis condemn both the terrorist murders of the French journalists and the blasphemous work of these same journalists, and we shall not attribute the work of some Muslims to the whole Islamic religion and its adherents.

·        With truth as our master, we shall with Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis condemn brutality and racism on all sides, that of some law enforcement officers and that of looting rioters.

·        With truth on our side, we shall with Martin Luther King’s fights for the civil rights of the oppressed while at the same time warn them against hatred and violence.

St. Francis of Assisi, to whom the prayer for peace is often wrongly attributed, nevertheless sought peace based on truth.  Francis attempted to make several missionary trips, one of them to the Sultan of Egypt.  Perhaps naively he thought that he might convert him to Christianity or die as martyr in the process.  Neither of these things happened; but after his visit Francis was converted in his attitude towards Muslims, an attitude based on the evidence before his eyes.

Conclusion

Martin Luther King ended his famous “I have a Dream” speech harbouring the hopes of freedom for all, using the words of an old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

·        Like him, we must, as disciples of Jesus, continue to harbour and work for the same hope.

·        Like him, we must do so by observing the injunction of our Saviour who asks us to remain in his word, and thus to know the truth, so that the truth will set all of us free.

Freed from oppression and prejudice, our society will experience God’s peace and justice, both in this present messianic age and in the world to come.

Helping others come and see their vocation

Homily for 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

1 Samuel 3:3-10,19 •John 1:35-42

Introduction

I would like to compare the theme of today’s readings, Christian vocation, to the process of becoming an NFL player.

·        First, just as the player has to sign the contract, the Christian has to respond “Yes” when God calls.

·        Then just as the player has to undergo training, the Christian too needs to prepare himself or herself for their vocation.

·        Finally after training, both then begin to actually do the work, the player playing football, the Christian living out their vocation.

Scripture and Theology

Today’s readings teach us something about these three steps: responding to, training for and living out the Christian vocation.

In today’s first reading, two times Samuel hears the call from God, but does not know it is God; he thinks it is his teacher Eli calling.  After conferring with Eli he understands that it is God calling and the third time God calls him, Samuel responds: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Just like Eli helps Samuel to discover his call, in the gospel John the Baptist nudges Andrew and his fellow disciple towards Jesus, by saying “Behold, the Lamb of God.”  And their response is to go and ask Jesus “where are you staying?”  This is their way of saying, “Yes, we want to become your disciples.”  And later Andrew tells his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah.”  They both go to Jesus to become his disciples; and as they say, the rest is history.

The positive response of all three, Samuel, Andrew and Simon is then followed by the second stage, a period of training.  When Andrew asks: “Teacher, “where are you staying?” Jesus responds “Come and See.”  If Andrew wants to take up the invitation to become a disciple, he must come and share the life of Jesus. 

And indeed for three years, Andrew and his fellow disciples walked the hills and valleys of Galilee and Judea with Jesus.  They ate what he ate, slept where he slept and prayed when he prayed.  They heard him teach God’s Word, saw him heal people, and observed him dine with sinners and tax-collectors. For the Twelve Apostles, coming and seeing was their training for the double vocations of disciple and apostle that they will receive from the Lord.

The training of Samuel is a little different.  While the apostles are trained as a group by Jesus, Samuel is trained one-on-one with his mentor Eli.  It is like the old days when people learnt trades by being an apprentice.  To become a carpenter, you lived and worked with one; to become a painter, you lived and worked with out.  In the case of Samuel, his vocation is to be a prophet.  And so Samuel hangs around the Temple with Eli the priest; he lives with Eli and learns from him how to be a prophet, how to be a mouthpiece for God.

For all the three people called in today’s gospel, after their training, they are now ready to live out their vocations.

·        Samuel will grow into a prophet of God, being the one who picks the shepherd boy David to become King of Israel.

·        Andrew and Simon both become disciples and apostles for the Lord.  In fact Simon, who is now called Peter, will become the leader of apostles.

Christian Life

The Lord continues to call people today.  There is the basic all to be disciples, to be Christians.  And within this wider call, each of us is called to a specific vocation, such as the priesthood, the religious life, marriage and for some the single life.  The same three stages apply to us too, when we respond to, training for and live out our Christian vocations.

But for today’s homily, I want to focus we do in helping others take up their vocations.  Many young men who go to the seminary to study for the priesthood often say that it is because a teacher, a family member, a priest or even a fellow parishioner told them: “You look like one who would make a darn good priest.”  And so we should ask ourselves: Do we like Eli, John the Baptist and Andrew help others discover their call from God, by nudging them in the right direction?

But equally important is the help we give others so that they can prepare for their vocation, just like Eli trained Samuel and Jesus the apostles.  Let me share a story of how one Ugandan man prepared himself to become a Christian.

In the 19^th century both Christianity and Islam were brought to Uganda, one by European colonizers, the other by Arab traders.  But although their religions seemed attractive, the people who brought them were not very nice people.  The European colonists subjected the natives, the Arab traders traded in slaves.

And so this one native man decided to work as a housekeeper for a European Christian family.  But after three years of loyal and diligent service, he suddenly put in his two weeks notice.  "Why are you leaving me," his surprised Christian employer asked him?  "You have been a good worker, I have paid you a decent salary and we have had a good relationship."

The Ugandan worker replied, "You are right that I have no reason to complain or leave you.  But I must move on.  You see, when you Christians and the Muslims came to our country, I didn't know which religion to choose.  So I decided to come and work for you for three years, to see and learn about your faith.  Next month I am going to start working for a Muslim family to see how they live and to learn about their faith. After three years, I will decide which religion to follow."

This man came to see, so that he could become a Christian.  Many other people come to us and our families to see and discover if they should follow our example.  That is why at a conference about vocations one anxious father asked the speaker: “What is the best way for me to inspire vocation in my children?”  The priest who was giving the talk told him: “start by loving and caring for your wife.”  When the children see the love between mom and dad, they will learn too how to be good husbands and wives, how to be good priests and religious.

I have had the privilege of getting a fairly good education in various seminaries and schools of theology.  But I must say that the things that really matter for my Christian and priestly vocation, I learnt from my mother at home and perhaps by early teachers in school.

·        It is in the “come and see” school of mom and dad I learnt my first prayers, my first Bible stories, and most important of all, I learnt fell in love with Jesus.

·        It is in the “come and see” school of mom and dad that I learnt the simple courtesies of “thank you” and “please” and learnt generally how to be a decent human being and so a worthy instrument of God.

Like his potential disciples to “Come and see” where he lived, we also tell our children and every potential candidate for the faith, to “come and see” where and how we live out our faith.

Conclusion

May all those who come to us leave having seen Jesus in us.  May they leave strengthened and trained well enough to live their vocation fully.  May our families and our personal example be the first seminary, the first novitiate, the first pre-Cana for the next generation of priests, religious and holy husbands and wives, and indeed all Christians.

Jesus takes the plunge into the water to save us

Homily for Baptism of the Lord Year B 2015

Isaiah 55:1-11; 1 John 5:1-9; Mark 1:7-11

Introduction

Finally today we come to the end of the Christmas Season.  Guys you have no more excuse for not taking the Christmas stuff to the attic.

More seriously, today’s Feast of the Baptism of Jesus brings to a close the season in which we focus on the idea that God became man.

·        On Christmas Day we marvelled at the birth of the baby Jesus.

·        On the feast of the Holy Family we then celebrated the family that raised this baby into the man that we know as Jesus the Son of God.

·        On New Year’s Day we celebrated the feast of the Blessed Mother, the woman whose body was the channel for bringing God’s Son into the world.

·        Last Sunday on Epiphany, we returned to the baby Jesus, who was being revealed not to the Jewish shepherds as at Christmas, but to the non-Jewish wise men from the East.

·        Finally today, we close this chapter of the Christian story, with the baptism not of the baby Jesus, but the adult Jesus about to start his ministry.

And so, why did Jesus, who is God, who did not have any sin and therefore had no need for baptism, present himself to be baptized by John?  I would like to answer this question using the example of locks on a river.

During high school geography class in Uganda, we learnt about the locks on the Great Lakes that run between Canada and the USA.  A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit Sault Ste. Marie in Northern Michigan and see the locks in the canal between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Locks are built in places which have falls and rapids.  In such places, it is impossible for the boats to climb upriver or to come downriver as the incline is too sharp; sometimes also there are several sharps rocks and boulders in the area.  And that is where locks come to the rescue, enabling safe navigation. The locks, which are like gates, are built at the bottom and at the top of the falls.

When a boat is going downstream, they first raise the gates at the bottom, allowing the lock to fill with water.

·        Then they open gates on the upper side of the lock to let the boat in, after which they close them.

·        Valves are then opened on the downstream side of the lock to let the water out.  As the water drains, the boat floats downwards.

·        When the water in the lock matches the level of the downstream water, the lower gates are opened and the boat moves out and continues on its downriver journey.

When a boat is going upstream, the reverse procedure is followed.

·        The boat is allowed into the lock by opening the lower gates.  After the boat is inside the lock, they close the lower gates.

·        They then open the upper gates slowly and lock begins to fill with water, raising the boat in the process.

·        When the water is level with the upstream flow, the upper gates are opened and the boat is let out to continue on its upriver journey.

In this way, the locks help the boats to avoid the steep falls and sharp rocks.

Scripture and Theology

The boat coming from upriver into the locks represents Jesus lowering himself and bringing himself to our level, in total solidarity with us.  Jesus became human and identified with our weak humanness.  He faced the same temptations like all humans do; but he never gave in to those temptations and thus never sinned.

The purpose of John’s baptism was to show externally that one had converted and repented.  Jesus did not have to convert or to repent; he was always on God’s side.  But just like he spent lots of time eating and drinking with sinners and outcasts, so as to convert them, Jesus also undergoes this baptism, this sign of conversion, to be in solidarity with sinners.

And after Jesus has identified himself with sinners in this way, the Spirit comes down on him like a dove, and the Voice of the Father says: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  This is God’s way of commissioning Jesus, God’s way of endorsing the work that Jesus is about to start: teaching, healing all the way to the climactic moment of his passion, death and resurrection.

By his baptism, it is like Jesus enters the lock from the upper side, takes a plunge into the water, if you like, and is lowered to the downstream level, where sinful and weak men and women are to be found.

Christian Life

There is a reason Jesus goes through all that trouble to come down to us.  He comes down to bring us back to the Father.  If the lock brings Jesus down to us, the same lock takes us up to the Father.  And so, while the baptism of Jesus brings him down to our level, our baptism raises us to the upper level, so that we now are like God, we now can share in God’s life.  And this is possible because Jesus first came down to our level, by becoming man and by taking on our sinfulness as he showed so clearly by his baptism.

As we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, which he underwent only for our sake, it is important for us to reflect on our own baptism and what it means.  Many of us were baptised when we were babies and so we may have no recollection of the celebration.  But we know that our baptism was not simply some magical ritual that was done once and for all.  We also know that it was not simply another excuse for the family to have a party.  Rather our baptism by removing original sin from us and by making us adopted children of the Father, it set us on a lifelong journey of growing in faith, hope and love.  Our baptism opened the gates for us and let us into the lock, so that now we are slowly rising up to the top, so that we can be holy and perfect like God our Father.

We must therefore take seriously the baptismal commitments that were made on our behalf and that we accepted once we were adults.  Put simply we rejected Satan and all his works and all his empty promises of sin.  The works of Satan and his empty promises continue to be among us, such as the terrorist murders carried out in France this past week, allegedly in the name of Islam.  But Satan can also stain our baptism if we respond to those acts with hearts of hatred and prejudice against all Muslim people.

At our baptism we resolved instead to believe in God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and professing our faith not only in Word but also in action, observing God’s commandments by loving God and our neighbour and.

In some countries, including my home country of Uganda, there is the beautiful practice of celebrating not only birthdays, but also the day of our baptism and the feast day of our baptismal saint.  Our baptismal anniversary reminds us of that baptismal commitment to keep rising to the top; our saint’s feast day gives us an example of someone who has lived their baptism fully and risen to the top.

Conclusion

Finally, the water used at our baptism was only perhaps a few drops or a little more if the priest used immersion.  But that water can be multiplied many times over in the way we live our lives, so that indeed it lifts us up from the whatever darkness is drowning us to bring us to the top, where God awaits us with open arms and invites us to live with him forever and ever.

They searched and found the source of salvation

Homily for Epiphany Year B 2015

Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Introduction

Searching for answers is a natural human tendency.  Young children, especially have this knack for asking interesting and sometimes bizarre questions.  One child recently asked me: “Why do you speak funny?”  I told her that I come from Mississippi.

Even as a teacher, my best students are those who ask questions, because they want to learn more.  If I know the answer, I am always happy to give it.  But even when I don’t know the answer, I will humbly admit as much and steer them in the direction of a better answer.

Certainly as adults, we too have questions, especially the deeper questions about life, death, suffering, justice, peace.  Don’t we occasionally ask ourselves: “What is the purpose of my life?

Scripture and Theology

And so, just like little children, just like students and just like us adults, the three wise men or Magi in today’s gospel were searching for meaning and truth.  We heard that they arrived in Jerusalem and asked: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?”

This question might seem ordinary for you and me who are Chrsitians, but it was a rather strange question coming from these three men.

·        First, these men were foreigners, non-Jews.  So what business do they have asking about the birth of the king of the Jews?

·        Secondly, for nearly forty years the Jewish Kingdom had been destroyed and taken over a usurper, Herod.  And so by asking about a new king these men were opening themselves to charges of treason.  And that is why Herod was very interested in their story; and why when they don’t return to him, he will kill all the newborn baby-boys.

·        But the most remarkable thing about their question about the new king was that they had been seeking him for a long time.  We heard that they had been following the star that would lead them to where the new-born King was to be found.  The star had led them to Judea and on inquiring from the Jews, they were told that the prophecies had specified Bethlehem as the place where the Christ was to be born.

These men had put their trust in the star, as their guide to find meaning and the star did not let them down.  After leaving Herod’s house they saw the star again and followed it to Bethlehem, where they found the child with Mary his mother.  We heard that they prostrated themselves and did him homage, as one usually does for a king.  And they also gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, again as one usually gives a king.

And so these three seekers, after a long, treacherous and possibly expensive journey, found what they were looking for: Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews and the Saviour of the world.

Christian Life

We today are also looking for meaning like the Magi.  As someone once said, there is no such thing as a stupid question.  It is better to look stupid for five minutes by asking what looks like a stupid question and get an answer to it, rather than remain silent and actually remain stupid for a lifetime.

But are we searching for meaning in the right places?  Are we following the right star?  I am reminded of a story about Boudreaux and Thibodeaux.

Boudreaux was walking home from the bar and he saw Thibodeaux on his knees right under the street light, searching for something.  “What are you looking for?” he asked.

“I am looking for my house keys,” said Thibodeaux.

His buddy got down on all fours under the light and joined in the search.

After looking for almost half an hour, Boudreaux asked his friend if he was sure that he had lost the keys in this very area.

"Oh, no!” said Thibodeaux.  “I lost them way over there by the Bayou."

Shocked and surprised at that answer, Boudreaux asked him why then he was looking for the keys in this spot.

"Oh", Thibodeaux said, "because the light is better here under the street lamp".

Sometimes we also seek answers to our deepest questions in the wrong places, just because those places are more attractive.  Today there is no shortage of misleading stars that lead us astray: the deceptive assurance of horoscopes, the misleading black and white nature of political ideologies, the fickle pleasure of pop culture – as striking as these stars are, they do not lead us to life and they do not give us true answers to the deepest questions about life and about God.

God in his infinite wisdom has given us many starts to follow.  There is one star that is implanted deep within us – our conscience.  Conscience is the secret chamber of the soul, to which only you and God have access.  That secret chamber of our conscience is the star that can lead us to true meaning and joy.  In that secret chamber of our conscience, God tells us what we need to leave behind in order to become truly free and what we need to embrace to become truly happy.  Conscience is that star that points towards good and away from sin.

But to be an effective star, our conscience must be formed.  Conscience does not mean doing whatever I want; rather it means doing what I have prayerfully and thoughtfully discerned to be God’s will.

·        We form our conscience when we pray regularly and listen to God.

·        We form our conscience when we read and reflect on the Scriptures and on God’s teaching  given us to us through his Church.

·        We form our conscience when we celebrate the sacraments regularly and fruitfully.

And so, when we do all these things, the conscience becomes that star which rightly guides our every thought, word and action.

What has God been telling you through your conscience? What has he been asking of each of us through our conscience?

·        Maybe he has been nudging your conscience, telling you to break off an unhealthy relationship or to take the first step to heal a broken one.

·        Maybe he has been inviting you to get rid of prejudices against people who are different from you, different religion or race.

·        Maybe he has been inviting you to do something positive for family, friends, the Church or society in general.

Whatever your well-formed conscience is telling you to do, like the star that led the Magi to the baby Jesus, let God’s star in your conscience lead you to him.

Conclusion

There is a passage I like in the book of Deuteronomy (30: 11-14).  In that section Moses is giving his final words before he dies.  In this passage Moses reminds the people about God’s commandments, which he has taught them.  He says:

For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you.

It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?”

Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?”

No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.

May the star of our well-formed conscience that resides in our hearts, guide us to finding true joy and meaning this year and throughout our lives.

The School of Nazareth

Homily for Holy Family Year B 2014-2015

Sirach 3:2-7, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Introduction

In the creed, which we will recite in a few minutes, we say that we believe that Jesus was born of Mary and became man.  And that belief is what we are celebrating since Christmas Eve and the Twelve days that follow.

To help us confirm our belief in the humanity of Jesus, today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.  Yes, Jesus not only was born to Mary like all babies are born of a woman, but also as a human baby he was raised in a family, the Holy Family of Joseph and Mary.  Family is such an important human institution and if our Lord is truly human, he had to be part of a family.

For example, most people spent Christmas Day with family.  But since my family is back in Uganda, I spent Christmas Day with families of friends and I had the advantage of hopping from one home to another.

·        At about 1.00pm I joined a friend’s large Vietnamese family for lunch – she is one of 12 children and most of them were there, with their own children and a few grandchildren and of course their elderly mother.  I think there were about 100 children there, running up and down and generally having a great time with each other.  I enjoyed the food of course, but the highlight of my visit was watching the family play “Dirty Santa” and doing so with great passion and pleasure.

·        Three hours later my next stop was a Caucasian family. I arrived just in time for dessert and the opening of Christmas gifts.  This was a smaller family, the grandparents (my friends), three of their four children and four grandchildren.  I gladly shared in the joy of everyone as they received their gifts, even grandpa who received three coffee mugs.

·        My last stop at about 6pm was at the home of my African-American friends for dinner.  A family of several sisters, their children and grandchildren, they had enough food to feed a football team.  I chose to eat some gumbo.  But the mood there was a little sad as one sister had an adult son in hospital.  As a family we prayed for him and for them.

And so, in their different circumstances, in their different ethnic cultures, for these three Catholic families, the family is the linchpin of their lives.

Scripture and Theology

God did not want his Son to miss out on what family has to offer.  Although the gospels do not tell us much about Jesus’ early life, there are a few hints.

In today’s gospel story, we hear that his parents treated him like any other little baby, taking him to the temple as was required for every first born son.  They carried out the usual rituals at temple as required by the Law of Moses, sacrificing “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” and not sheep or goats, since they were a poor family.  Not even God’s Son was exempt from the required religious rituals for babies.

In the gospel we heard that while carrying out these rituals at temple, Joseph and Mary met two prophets, Simeon and Anna..  If Joseph and Mary were expecting to sneak in and out of the temple with minimum fuss, that was not to be.  Simeon and Anna outed them, and let the cat out of the bag, revealing to all that this baby of theirs, was going to be something great; he was going to be the Saviour of Israel.

But the last lines of today’s gospel passage are perhaps the most telling.  We heard that when the family returned to Nazareth, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”  Yes, Jesus continued to grow physically, intellectually and spiritually in the family.

Sometimes we think that Jesus, being God and all, had an easy time; but actually that is not the case.  His mama had to teach him how to walk, how to speak and even potty-trained him.  The teenage Jesus probably worked with his dad in the carpentry workshop and learned from him all those manly values.  Jesus had to learn how to read and especially how to read the Scriptures, which apparently he got to know very well; for later in his ministry he was quoting the Bible left and right.  Jesus learnt the Jewish faith and prayers from his parents who took him to the local synagogue at Nazareth and once a year took him to the temple in Jerusalem.  On one occasion when he was twelve, in those troublesome teenage years, they accidentally left him behind.  The Bible tells us that at the home in Nazareth Jesus was "obedient" to his parents and there he "increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man."

If God used the human body of Mary as the vehicle for bringing his Son into the world, he used the human family of Joseph and Mary for raising Jesus into the man who would begin his ministry thirty years later. If we believe that Jesus is true man and true God, we have also to believe that he shared in family life like we all do.

Christian Life

And so, I would like us to take three things for ourselves from today’s feast of the Holy Family.

First, like his family was for Jesus the centre of learning the faith and his vocation, our families must be the same.  That is why the family is often called the domestic Church.  The family is the place where we learn and grow in our faith and where parents promote the vocation of each child accordingly, whether to the priesthood, to the religious life or to married life and other states of life.

Secondly, apart from being a place of learning, we must remember that our family is also a place of living out our Christian life.  The Catechism tells us that it is in the family “that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way.”  They do this "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity."  And so “the home is the first school of Christian life and ‘a school for human enrichment.’ Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life” (CCC 1657).

Thirdly and finally, let us remember those who lack family, often not because of their own fault, especially widows and orphans, the separated and divorced, the single and strangers.  We who have the blessing and privilege of having a family, where we learn and where we live our let us extend our love and care to others. Nobody in this world should be without family.  If they lack a natural family, “the Church is a home and family for everyone, especially those who 'labor and are heavy laden'" (CCC 1658).  Let us support them with our prayers, with our resources, even with our love – such as inviting them into our family.

Conclusion

The Holy Family was the place Jesus learned to be a gentleman and a man of faith; it was also the place where he first lived out fully his humanity and his faith in God.

May our families be the same for us, that is a domestic Church where we learn our faith and the school of Christian Life where we live out our faith.

And the more our families are these things, the more they too are holy families like the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.