Homily for Mass for Life: Protecting the Little Ones

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR GIVING THANKS TO GOD FOR THE GIFT OF HUMAN LIFE, January 23, 2017 

FIRST READING: 1 John 3:11-21 (no. 208); RESP. PSALM: Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15 (no. 587); GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Psalm 119:88 (no. 509); GOSPEL:  Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 (no. 414) 

INTRODUCTION 

Today as Catholics, we are marking the anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in this country, with a "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children."  Because the actual anniversary, January 22 fell on a Sunday, the observance is today, since Sunday celebrates the central mystery of the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In my homily today, I would like to reflect on two questions: 

1. Why should Catholics be concerned about protecting the unborn? 

2. How should Catholics be involved in protecting the unborn?

SCRIPTURE AND THEOLOGY 

The Protestant approach to the Scriptures would require us to find our answer in an explicit Bible verse that speaks against abortion; I would point to the explicit directive against killing the innocent in the Ten Commandments.  But the Catholic approach draws its faith and teachings from the message of the whole Bible as well as from what our predecessors in the faith have taught and believed.  And happily for us, we find a clear running theme in the gospel of Jesus Christ, about protecting the little ones, the vulnerable. 

Among the many gospel passages that teach this theme, in the passage chosen for today's celebration Jesus speaks most directly about care for both the lost sheep and the little children.  Speaking of both he says: "it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."  The Catholic teaching against abortion, and in favor of protecting unborn life thus has a firm footing in this broad gospel preferential option for the most vulnerable: children and the sick, the widow and the orphan, the tax-collector and the prostitute.  Jesus taught relentlessly about how God cares in a special way for these little ones.  That is why the Church has always put defenseless unborn children at the top of this list of the Lord's poor.  For them all Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross. 

CHRISTIAN LIFE 

And so, if our pro-life work draws its very being from the gospel teaching itself, we must turn to the same source to inspire the way we go about our pro-life work.  Unfortunately, the behaviour of some pro-lifers not only harms the pro-life cause, but also gives Christianity a bad name.  Acts of violence and aggression, words of hate and vitriol have no place in the mission of protecting the unborn.  Let me offer three values that must always undergird the Christian way of protecting and promoting life: Charity, Communion, Catholicity. 

1. First, our pro-life actions must be done in charity, our words said in love rather than hate.  We must not fight against abortion with the methods of the Westboro Baptist Church.  I am ashamed to say the even supposedly Catholic organizations, one of which I was a member, often fail to act in the way that Jesus said would define his followers: "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  A good friend who has done this work for many years has taught me that at the curbside of the abortion facility, you convince more young women to choose life, by talking to them rather than by shouting at them, praying with them rather than arguing with them, helping them rather than accusing them.  As the saying goes, "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." 

2. A second value, that is closely tied with charity, is communion with the Church.  While we work even with non-Catholics in this battle, our pro-life work must be done with the Church, not against the Church.  For those who follow these things on the internet, you might have come across websites like lifesitenews, lifenews, churchmilitant, whose way of being pro-life is by bringing down the Pope and the Bishops.  They think they know better how to be pro-life and reject the direction and communion with those who have responsibility for the Church.  They tear down the very pillars that hold together the Body of Christ, and thus undermine not only this fight for the unborn, but the Church as a whole. 

3. Thirdly, in addition to doing pro-life work in charity and in communion, we must also be Catholic, comprehensive in what we mean by pro-life.  Catholic social teaching promotes various pro-life activities: curbside ministry at an abortion facility and going to the soup kitchen, helping trafficked women and working with condemned prisoners, visiting the sick and visiting the elderly, adopting children and caring for the disabled, and many others.  We cannot be expected to do each and every one of these things; we choose a couple of these things, depending on our abilities and resources, or their urgency and need.  But in making our choices, we must never exclude the others, as if they don't matter at all.  As we care for the life of that unborn baby, we must also be prepared to care for that it throughout its life, until its natural end. 

CONCLUSION 

You might remember Sheriff Harry Lee.  About 12 years ago, a notorious criminal in this area was killed in a shoot-out with police.  Naturally everybody, including the good sheriff was relieved that this criminal would no longer pose a danger to his citizens or to his officers.  But the sheriff was also deeply saddened by all the rejoicing that happened in the media and in the parish at the death of this man.  For he said that when we rejoice at the death even of a criminal, we devalue life and promote a culture of death.  Let us work to promote a culture of life, and so provide a firm foundation for the life of unborn to be protected.  

Homily 3rd Ordinary Sunday A: Not heroes to worship, but Ministers of Christ

Year A 2017

Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17; Matthew 4:12-23

Introduction

If I got a nickel every time I was asked: “Do you like Pope Francis?” I would have enough money to build a small chapel in my village.  Going farther back, if I had kept all the nickels received every time I was asked, “Do you like Pope Benedict or Pope John Paul II?” I would have had enough money to build a cathedral, with some left over for a cruise around the world.

But what has liking this pope or that pope got to do with my faith?

Scripture and Theology

It seems that this desire to pick heroes or favourites is not a recent development.  Even St. Paul had to fight this tendency among the Christians of Corinth, one of the Churches that he had founded.  A few years after leaving them he heard through a third party, that there were rivalries among them, divisions based on which apostle they liked best.  Some said: "I belong to Paul," others "I belong to Apollos," others still claimed allegiance to Peter, saying: "I belong to Cephas."  That was their way of saying “I liked Pope John Paul II,” “I liked Pope Benedict,” “I like Pope Francis.”

St. Paul tells the Corinthians and us that this attitude is not Christian.  Only Christ, not his ministers, can lay a claim on our allegiance, our total allegiance.

·        That is why St. Paul asks rhetorically: “Is Christ divided?” – Of course not!  Christ is one!

·        Even to those who worship him he says: “Was Paul crucified for you?” – Of course not!  It was Christ that was crucified for them and him alone deserves worship.

·        And to his really diehard fans, he asks: “Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” – Of course not!  They 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, 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; guests usually appreciate not the elegance of the bottle, but the quality wine that it bears.

·        The apostles are like the wrapping of a Christmas or birthday gift.  However beautiful the wrapping is, at the end of the day, I want the gift.  I have never known gift-wrap, however expensive to turn a pair of socks into a pair of expensive earrings!

In today’s gospel we see Jesus choosing four of the Twelve apostles: Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John.  These were ordinary fishermen, and perhaps not even very good ones, since on at least one occasion, they needed the help of Jesus, a carpenter, to help them catch fish.

But Jesus calls these humble men to be his apostles, his messengers.  He tells them: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."  He entrusts them with the mission of bringing men and woman to the knowledge of God, not knowledge of themselves.  These apostles preach Christ, they don't themselves.  That is why St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians for putting their trust in apostles, rather than in Jesus Christ who sends them.

Christian Life

Like the Corinthians there is a great need for us today, to hear this same message, since we too often fall into the temptation of latching upon the messenger rather than the message, rather than on the one who sent the messenger.  It is bad enough we do this in politics where we take leave of truth and principles, in favour of worshipping this politician or that other politician who happens to belong to our political tribe.  It is much worse when this hero worship is directed towards God’s ministers rather than to God.

Unlike politicians who might have a particular platform or manifesto, God’s ministers have the manifesto written down for them already by God.

·        When Cephas, Apollos and Paul taught the Corinthians, they were all singing from the same song sheet, the gospel of Jesus Christ!

·        When Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis became popes, the syllabus that they were to teach had already been prepared for them, by the Lord Jesus Christ!

·        When Father Hoang and Father Minh, Father Deo and Deacon Glen preach a homily, they are working off texts already chosen for them in the Scriptures and the Tradition.

For sure, we can on the side have our favourite priest, bishop or pope because of the differences in their personalities or idiosyncrasies.  One will be shy, another gregarious; one might sing an angel and another can't carry a tune in a bucket to save his life; one might be an academic and another a pastor.  Any one of these qualities might draw us to a particular minister of God.

But we must look beyond these external qualities or the lack of them, and focus on the saving message of Jesus Christ that they bear.  You see Jesus could use for his ministry, both the learned and eloquent Paul the Pharisee, as well as the lowly and awkward Peter the fisherman.  Perhaps Paul's great learning came in handy with all the writing that he did.  But Peter's passion and patience were just as important for the mission of Christ.  Jesus continues to do the same, using the various gifts and personalities of his ministers today, to bring people to God. 

Besides their personal gifts and talents, different ministers might also do things a little differently, because they are responding to different situations.

·        When Pope John Paul II became pope in 1978, the world was at the height of the cold war, with nuclear amargeddon on the horizon.  And so for his teaching, he focussed on providing hope in Jesus Christ, with his signature phrase: "Do not be afraid."

·        Pope Benedict succeeded him and carried on his work, but with a slight shift in focus.  The world had become so relativistic, that nothing was true and objective anymore.  And so using his gifts as a scholar and theologian, he taught us that our faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel, should guide everything we do; for the truth shall set us free.

·        By the time Pope Francis came to the scene, with hope and faith firmly established, he turned his focus to the virtue of love.  With his experience as a pastor, he brought his earthiness, simplicity and wisdom to remind us of the gospel call to love our neighbour, especially the lowliest and those on the peripheries, to use one of his favourite phrases.

Conclusion

As a country, unfortunately we are already divided when it comes to politics and a few other things.  Why should we introduce even more division into the body of Christ, because we are looking in our ministers for heroes to worship rather than channels of the gospel?  Why should we ignore the work of the Holy Spirit, because it does not come to us via our preferred channel?

Only a bad gardener would disparage roses because they don't look like daisies, or sneer at daisies because they don't smell like lilies.   A good gardener would appreciate all the flowers in his garden.  Let us receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, however it comes to us.  Let us recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in whoever brings the gospel to us.

Homily 2nd Ordinary Sunday A: Offering up our daily hardships with the Lamb

Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2017

Isaiah 49:3,5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

Introduction

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." What comes into your mind when you hear the word "Lamb"?  Perhaps you think of the lamb shank that you had the last time you went out to your favourite restaurant.  Why is John the Baptist introducing Jesus by calling him a lamb?

Scripture and Theology

John uses those words deliberately, because he knows that his Jewish listeners would understand him perfectly.  When they hear him call Jesus the Lamb of God, they would be reminded of two other lambs from their religious history.

The first one was the Passover Lamb, killed on the last night in Egypt.  If you recall from the book of Exodus, Pharaoh had refused to heed the request of Moses, to "let my people go."  And so 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 in Egypt.

But how would the angel of death tell the Jewish homes from the Egyptian?  God had the people of Israel smear their doorposts with the blood of a lamb; when he saw that blood, the angel of death would pass over their houses and spare their children and animals. The lamb from which this blood came was the one that the Israelites had eaten at their Last Supper on the night before they left Egypt.  That is why our of the lamb shank is perhaps not totally out of place.  The difference, however, is while we eat our lamb in joy and celebration, the Israelites ate it in haste and fear.  And so for them, the Lamb became sign of their liberation from slavery and oppression.  That’s why John says of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world."

The second lamb that John’s listeners would think about on hearing these words, was the lamb offered for sacrifice in the temple every day.  The people of Israel worshipped God primarily by offering animal sacrifices, much like we worship God primarily by celebrating the Eucharist.  You might recall that the book of Exodus commands that two one-year lambs were to be sacrificed on the Temple altar daily, as atonement for sin, one 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 ignore our own consumption of steak, veal and the lamb shank.  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 and doing this every day.  This lamb was the symbol of their love for God.  In the same Jesus the Lamb would, on the cross, offer his love for the Father and for his brothers and sisters, in atonement for sin.

And so, whether John’s reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God evoked the image of the Passover lamb or the image of the daily sacrificial lamb, the people got the message.  John was telling them that this man Jesus whom they saw, had come to do once for all, what our sacrificial lambs have tried to do over and over again without much success.

Christian Life

Now although we know Jesus by many different titles, such as Messiah, Teacher, King, knowing him by the title of "Lamb of God" brings something special to the table, something without which his identity would not be complete.

Jesus is the Lamb of God, who offered himself completely for our sake.  He is a much superior sacrifice than the sacrifice of lambs offered by the people.  They had failed to satisfy God, because the spirit in which they were offered lack complete love.  That is why God cried out, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."  But now Jesus Christ in his sacrifice on the cross offers him both: mercy and sacrifice, love and sacrifice.  That is why Jesus the Lamb says that there is no greater love, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  And that is exactly what he does, because he is the Lamb of God.

We could even say that all the other titles of Jesus draw their meaning from the fact that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

·        The sweet and gentle baby Jesus we celebrated at Christmas will lay down his life for his friends.

·        Jesus the Prophet and Teacher is one who gives up his life for his disciples, his students, his followers.

·        Jesus the Prince of Peace and King of the World draws his power from laying down his life for his people.

In fact at Mass, just before communion, three times we sing: “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.

Being Christian is certainly a cause of joy.  It is the joy of knowing God and knowing his love for us.  Being a Christian should lead us to shout out in praise of God's goodness and love for us.  Being a Christian should lead us to share the Good News of our salvation with others.  But this is a joy that has come about because of the sacrifice of the Lamb.  It is like the joy of a football player, who is successful only because he invests time and effort in a healthy diet and training.  Similarly our Christian joy has come about because of sweat and blood, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

Knowing its painful source will perhaps help us to appreciate our Christian joy even more.  Knowing that our Christian joy comes from the Blood of the Lamb will make our Christian lives more than a feel-good experience.  Knowing that our Christian faith was earned on the Cross, will help us live our own lives with the same spirit of sacrifice. 

·        We see this sacrifice in the secular world, when young men and women in uniform give their lives in war for our nation, when police officers give their lives as they protect our communities.

·        We see this sacrifice in families, with fathers and mothers giving their lives for their children, with adult children returning the favour by caring for their elderly parents, and with husbands and wives giving themselves to each other in sickness and health,.

·        We see this sacrifice in the generosity of many Christians, who give money, food, material goods, time for others, especially the needy, all in imitation of the Lamb, who gave himself so that others would have life.

Surely if the Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God, so must we be.  If his whole life was sacrificial, so must ours be.

Conclusion

There is a Catholic devotion of offering up our minor daily hardships and sacrifices to the Lord, adding them to the great sacrifice of the Lamb, for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others.

The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God has offered up everything for us.  What can we offer in return?

Homily Epiphany Year A: The newborn King of the Jews shown to the world

Homily for Epiphany Year A 2017

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

Introduction

"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" This is the question that the three wise men from the East ask on arriving in Jerusalem.  But why are these foreigners looking for the King of the Jews?  Why do these non-Jews want to find and worship the King of the Jews?  Could it be that Jesus came into the world, not just for the Jews but for all men and women?

Scripture and Theology

Today's feast, which marks the visit of the three wise men, the Magi to Jesus, is fittingly called "the feast of the Epiphany," a word which means  manifestation.  At Christmas the gospel told us about the epiphany or manifestation of the newborn Jesus to the Jewish shepherds; today it tells us about the epiphany or manifestation of Jesus to the non-Jewish world, represented by these three men.

The search for meaning, truth and God was not the monopoly of the Jews.

·        Yes, the Jewish people were the chosen people of God.

·        Yes it is to them that God had revealed himself very clearly through Moses and the Prophets.

·        Yes, it is to the Jews that God had promised a Messiah.

But God did this so that the Jewish people would be his instrument in bringing salvation to the rest of the world, in pointing other nations to God.  That is why these Magi come to Jerusalem asking: "Where is the King of the Jews? . . . [we] have come to do him homage."

But who were these three wise men?  To be honest, Matthew's gospel gives us very little information about them.  It is not clear if they were kings or priests, astrologers or astronomers, Babylonians (i.e. today's Iraqis) or Persians (i.e. today's Iranians).  Even the three names we give them: Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar simply come from Catholic Tradition.  But what we know about them is that they were seeking something: meaning, truth, answers, all of which they hoped to find in the newborn king of the Jews.

They were not as fortunate as the shepherds to have angels appear to them and give them blow by blow directions on how to find the newborn king.  All they had to rely on was a star in the sky.  But as Pope Francis reminded us recently, "the Magi did not set out because they had seen the star, but they saw the star because they had already set out (cf. Saint John Chrysostom).  Their hearts were open to the horizon and they could see what the heavens were showing them, for they were guided by an inner restlessness.  They were open to something new."

Because the star did not give turn by turn directions like a GPS, they had to stop in Jerusalem, much like in times past we used to ask for directions at the gas station.  They had to ask the attendant: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?”

When King Herod heard about their quest, he offered to help them.  He called the religious leaders and sent them off the library to do some research.  They found in the Bible, in the books of Micah and Samuel, the prophecy that the promised Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  Herod gave these directions to the visitors from the East, but he did so with ulterior motives, since he wanted to kill this newborn king, once they found him.  Herod acted like the unsavoury gas station attendant, who gives you bad directions, so he can follow you and do you harm.

Anyway, the wise men followed the star to Bethlehem, and "On entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.  They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

And so, after a long, treacherous and possibly expensive journey, these three seekers found what they were looking for, Jesus Christ, King of the Jews to the shepherds, King of the World to the wise men.  The irony is that Herod a Jewish man wanted to kill the promised Messiah of the Jewish people, while foreigners come to worship the newborn king of the Jews, bearing expensive gifts.

Christian Life

What about us today?

·        By God's grace and the efforts of the Church, what the three wise men represented has come to pass.  Today Jesus is indeed the King of the World.  People everywhere are seeking the King of the Jews.  Today there is no nation on earth that has not at least heard about Jesus Christ. 

·        Even St. Paul had said as much in today's second reading proclaiming, "that the Gentiles [that is the non-Jews like you and me] are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."  In other words, before the birth of Jesus we Gentiles were step-children of God; now in Jesus Christ we too have been adopted as sons and daughters of God.

·        And going back much farther, the Psalm and the reading from Isaiah had also promised that all nations would adore the Lord, all kings pay him homage and all nations serve him.  Today the news about the newborn King of Jews has spread far and wide, and he is being worshipped from east to west, from north to south, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

And yet amidst this good news, there are still obstacles that stand in the way of Jesus becoming the King of the world.

At his birth, Herod was the obstacle that tried to stop Jesus becoming not only King of the Jews but king of the world.  We know that Herod wanted to kill him. Indeed when the Magi did not return to him, warned in a dream not to do so,   Herod killed all males two years and under, in the hope of finishing off the King of the Jews.  But an angel had warned Joseph to take the child Jesus and his mother and flee to Egypt much like today's refugees of Syria and South Sudan.

The new born King of the Jews, however, is still not safe from today's Herods.  On the one hand, he is still being persecuted by those who persecute Christians, in Egypt where he once found refuge, in Babylon and Persia, the lands of the wise men.  On other hand, we Christians of today, who St. Paul calls coheirs to the promise of Jesus Christ, sometimes behave like Herod, treating this inheritance like it is ours alone, not wishing to share it with others.

Some Christians behave like the child whose parents invite the neighbour's child along on a family holiday; the child feels jealous that he or she has to share the family attention and resources with an outsider.  The child forgets that love is not a limited commodity like cookies, which when shared is also halved.

We Catholics, who now claim Jesus as our King, must remember that we are not short-changed, if God also loves Protestants and Jews, Muslims and atheists.  Like the Jewish people were, we are privileged to have the primary and sure sources of God's love revealed in the Scriptures, Tradition and the Sacraments. We are like the shepherds to whom God sent an angel to give them the good news.  Like God gave the wise men a star to guide them, we must not exclude the possibility that God could share his love with others, invite them to himself in ways known only to him.

Conclusion

And so, I invite each of us to imagine ourselves as being that Jerusalem gas station attendant, to whom today's Magi (non-Christians and non-Catholics, refugees and immigrants) might come asking "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?".  How will you answer them?  How will you treat them?

Homily for January 1: Following the footsteps of the Shepherds

Homily for Solemnity of Mary Mother of God Year A 2017

Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21

Introduction

Happy New Year to you all!  I am sure we are all grateful to God for giving us another year, grateful as well for the blessings of the past year, the moments of joy that we enjoyed privately or as a community.  But if truth be told the past year brought with it some serious challenges, the back of which I am sure we are happy to see.

·        How can we forget the political viciousness, divisiveness and animosity that has not been seen in this country for a generation or two?

·        That same unrest was also seen in rampart violence, both by and against police officers, even here close to home.

·        On the international stage, we had the threat of the Zika epidemic as well as a continuing refugee crisis of unprecedented proportions.

·        And even the casual observer must have realized that 2016 took more than its fair share of some of our beloved celebrities.

And yet as Christians, our faith tells us that we must look to the future, to this new year with hope.  This hope is always found in Jesus Christ.  And today's Mass gives us some concrete ways to find that hope in Jesus Christ, first in the example of the shepherds about whom we read in the gospel and second in Mary the Mother of God, whose feast we celebrate today ushering in a new year.

Scripture and Theology

Like all Jewish people, the shepherds were both in despair and expectation.  Their despair, far worse than ours, was that the nation had lost God's favour by their sin.  But they clung to that expectation that God would send them a Messiah, a Saviour.

On Christmas Day we read in the gospel that an angel brought Good News of great joy to these shepherds, that their long-awaited Messiah had been born.  Continuing from where we left off today's passage has the shepherds giong off to find this new-born baby.  I propose that we look to the three verbs describing what they did, in our own search for meaning and hope. 

1.    They "went in haste to Bethlehem"

2.    "they made known the message"

3.    They "returned, glorifying and praising God."

And so, first the shepherds "went in haste" to Bethlehem to find the child about whom they had been told about.  They abandoned their sheep in the fields to see God's promise of a saviour now being fulfilled in their midst.   And indeed we heard that they found "Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger."  Now with their own eyes they could see the source of true redemption and everlasting life, this poor and helpless child Jesus, in the hands of equally helpless parents Joseph and Mary.  But they overlooked appearances and saw the fulfilment of God's promise to send a Messiah.

Then after finding the child Jesus we heard that the shepherds "made known the message that had been told them."  Put simply, they went away blabbing about this good news of the angel, the good news they had seen with their own eyes, to anybody who would listen.  The news was too good to keep to themselves.  They just had to tell others about the Saviour.  Is that not what we do when we discover something interesting, a new restaurant, a particularly good TV show or movie, or even a good book?  We cannot hold it within ourselves, we have to share it with others.  As for the shepherds, what they had seen, what they wanted to share, was far more valuable; they had seen the Saviour himself!

Thirdly, the shepherds "returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen."  When we seek Christ and share Christ, he fills our hearts with a deep, inner joy, which we express in praise and thanks.  This is the joy that filled the shepherds, a joy they just could not hold in.  Yes, they were still poor shepherds, but now they had something for which to praise and thank God, that is, he had fulfilled his promise and sent them a Messiah.  Not only did they share this Good News with others, they also praised and thanked God for it.

Christian Life

What the shepherds did on this one night, we Christians are called to do every day of our lives.

First, they made haste to Bethlehem to find the answer to their problems.  Where do we make haste, to find Jesus so he can take away our despair and answer our questions?    Surely we should not make haste to social, economic and political ideologies, which, whether they are from the right or the left, have shown themselves incapable of giving true answers to our deepest questions: the dignity of human life and the hope of eternal life, how to care for one another and how to care for creation.  To overcome our despair and to find answers to these questions, we must return to the Scriptures and our Catholic teaching, in:

·        The Twelve points of doctrine found in our Creed

·        The Ten commandments given by God to Moses and the Hebrew people

·        The Eight Beatitudes that show us the way to eternal life

Rather than the simplistic answers found in sound-bites, the Bethlehem to which we must make haste is the teaching of Jesus Christ.

And after we have found Jesus and the answers he gives us, like the shepherds, we too must make them known to others.  But the best way to make them known is not by regurgitating some doctrines from the catechism; we make Jesus and his teaching known by the way we live our lives.  St. Francis of Assisi, when he was teaching his brothers about ministry said: "preach always, sometimes with words."  People should be able to know about Jesus, just by looking at our actions.  How much respect do we have for human life, all human life?  How much care do we give to others, especially the weakest among us, as well as to God's creation?  Do we live our lives with an eye towards eternal life in heaven or are we content with this material world?  If Jesus permeates every aspect of our lives, so that when we act, it is not us, but Jesus acting in us, then our actions will make know to others the Good News of Christmas, that Jesus is born among us.

Thirdly, we must like the shepherds complete our search by glorifying and praising God, especially in the Seven Sacraments.  Our celebration of Mass, baptism, confirmation, confession cannot simply be perfunctory, fulfilling an obligation.  What we do at prayer must be a sincere response of the joy we have in receiving the Good News of Christ's birth.

And so there we have it; the shepherds provide three ingredients for a hope and joy-filled Christian life: knowing Jesus the source of salvation, sharing what we know with others by our actions, and worshipping God in praise and thanks.

Conclusion

Mary, whose Blessed Motherhood we celebrate today adds one more ingredient to this recipe.  The gospel passage told us that after seeing what the shepherds did and said, "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."  While the shepherds provide us with active things to do, Mary gives us an interior disposition with which to do them.  She paid attention to what was happening around her, she trusted God, despite not fully understanding what was going on around her and she never stopped reflecting on this Good News.

May we like Mary, spend this new year, always being aware of God's love for us, an awareness that will inspire us to live in faith, hope and love.

Holy Family A: The family, an instrument of God's plan

Homily for Holy Family Year A 2016-2017

SIR 3:2-6, 12-14, COL 3:12-21, MT 2:13-15, 19-23

Introduction

“You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family."  This famous line from To Kill a Mockingbird might seem to suggest that friends are more important than family.  But the next words make it clear that family is still very important.  It says: "an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.”

Yes, although we cannot choose our family, although sometimes we don't get along with family, although sometimes family is a cause of suffering for us, they are still family, given to us by God.

Scripture and Theology

But why did God choose to give us families?  Why did he not just make us like ferns, those seedless plants that reproduce by themselves and are self-sufficient?

God created the family because God created us in his own image and likeness, as we hear in the Book of Genesis.  Since God is a Trinity, a communion or a family of three Persons sharing the divine nature, he also created us to be a communion of persons, finding out fulfilment in each other, in those complicated and intricate relationships of the family, both the nuclear family and the extended family.  We are not independent, but dependent on others and others on us..

Unfortunately, such interdependence is not always easy.  Family life is heavenly only some of the time, after all we are dealing with imperfect human beings.  We cannot buy a perfect family the way we buy a perfect toaster on a wedding register at Best Buy.  Family life is more like a colouring book, which has only outlines, which God wants us to colour in, to fill in with the crayons that he has provided.

Today's readings provide those crayons we need to paint our family portrait, to have a healthy Christian family, built on the pattern of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

First, we have to respect the different roles of each member in the family.  We can think of a family like a tree, which has roots, a trunk, and branches, each contributing something to the health of the tree.

·        Our first reading from the Book of Sirach says that "Mom and Dad" are in charge. They have an authority received from God, to raise their children and educate them.  That is why sometimes when the child asks why they must do something, mom is within her God-given rights to say: "Because I am the mom and I say so."  No further explanation is needed, as long as the parents are not abusing their authority.  That is a role that Joseph certainly played in raising the child Jesus, teaching him how to talk and walk, pray and play, read and write, even how to be a carpenter.

·        Children are also asked to obey their parents, because they have God-given authority over them, but also because they have experience.  The older I get, the more I realize how little I know.  We have a saying in Uganda: "An older man sitting on a chair, can see much farther than a young man standing."  This is because the older man, our parents have more experience, have seen it all, have been around the block a few times, as you say here.  Moreover, children have the obligation to care for their parents, as the first reading said.  Sometimes it happens that we children have to do for our parents when they are older, what they did for us: feed them, take them to the hospital, even change their diapers.

And so, the first crayon for painting our family portrait is for each member of the family to play their God-given role and together build the family in joy and peace.

St Paul in the Second Reading gives us the second crayon for colouring our family portrait.  After suggesting some marvellous qualities for the Christian family, "heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another . . . ." he says: "And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection."  Family members, especially husband and wife must love one another.  Nothing can substitute that love, not work, not wealth, not even wine.

Besides playing their roles, and playing them in love, the third crayon comes from the gospel passage, which suggests bearing suffering patiently.  Yes, family comes with suffering.  For example, put yourself in Joseph's shoes.

·        First, an angel has asked you to take as your wife, a woman who is pregnant, but the child is not yours.

·        Then you have had to walk over a hundred miles with your pregnant wife, up to Bethlehem and she has to give birth in a cowshed.

·        Finally, another angel has told you that you cannot go back home; you have to flee to Egypt, to be a refugee like the Syrian, South Sudanese and other refugees today.

I suppose a man who is not committed to family, might have thrown his hands up in the air and said, "I give up."  God, you are on your own.  But Joseph did not, nor do we give up when we have difficulties in the family, be they financial relationship or illness.

Christian Life

That is why the Catholic Church is a strong promoter of the family.  We Christians must take our natural families very seriously, in whatever form they come.  Most of us are fortunate to belong to a family with a father and a mother, the unit in which God intended children to be raised, life to be lived.  Others, especially widows and orphans, the separated and divorced, the single and strangers, have to make do with a different kind of family.  Whatever family we have, like the Holy Family was for Jesus, our family is the school of learning the faith and living out our Christian life as the Catechism teaches us.

Let us remember the three crayons given us for painting our family portrait, or our three ingredients for making a wonderful gumbo.

1.    Playing our respective roles faithfully

2.    Loving each other with all our hearts

3.    Enduring suffering patiently

Conclusion

Yes, we cannot choose our family in the same way we choose our friends.  But God has given us family so that we can make them friends as well.

And then together, we can march on to heaven, supporting each other, carrying those who are weak, so that when we know at God's door, he does not ask: "Where is the rest of your family?"