Revenge cannot be the Christian way

Homily for the 7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2014

LV 19:1-2, 17-18, 1 COR 3:16-23, MT 5:38-48

Introduction

Mahatma Ghandi once said: “An eye-for-eye and a tooth-for-tooth would lead to a world full of blind and toothless people.”  Actually Jesus had already taught this message in the Bible, in the gospel passage that we have just heard.

Scripture and Theology

Starting with last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus said that he had come, not to destroy but to fulfil the old law of Moses and the Prophets.  In last Sunday’s passage, he improved upon the laws against killing, adultery, divorce and false oaths.  In today’s passage, he improves the law dealing with those who hurt us.  He says: “You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.”

Moses had instructed the people to take “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”  By this instruction Moses was not promoting revenge, but ensuring that justice was proportional, given our human inclination to go overboard in retaliation.  And so this law meant that when someone committed a crime, he was to be punished only in proportion to his crime and not more.  If he took someone’s eye, only one eye of his should be taken, and not two.  This law promoted strict justice.

But Jesus is not satisfied with this kind of justice.  He raises the bar for Christians asking them not to claim the eye or tooth which according to the Law of Moses was their due.  And to show how serious his teaching is he gives some extreme examples of how to do this:

·        Turning your left cheek as well, when one strikes your right cheek.

·        Handing over your jacket as well, when a mugger demands your shirt.

·        Going an extra mile, when only one is demanded of you.

·        And lending to those who wish to borrow from you.

For Jesus wants Christians to deal with their enemies in a different way.  “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.”  Once again he is raising the bar for Christians, demanding more from them.  This is his argument.

·        “For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?”

·        And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?”

Perhaps if Jesus were preaching today he would say: “If you love only those who love you, how different are you from terrorists or murderers?  They too love each other and only each other.”  Jesus thus challenges his followers to go beyond the common standards of tax-collectors and pagans, of terrorists and murderers.

But why should Christians be held to a much higher standard?  It is because, Jesus says, that Christians are to be perfect “just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  The model of perfect behaviour is no longer the Jewish law, or what is considered normal behaviour for the secular world, represented in the gospel by the tax-collectors and pagans.  The model of perfection is God the Father and Jesus Christ himself.

For God’s way of dealing with us is surely not the way of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”  For when God punishes us for our sins, his punishment is nowhere near what we truly deserve.  He does not take an eye, when we have taken an eye or a tooth when we have taken a tooth.  In fact, often he simply wipes the slate clean and gives us a fresh start, a second chance, after we have confessed our sins and reformed our lives.

Moreover, he does not treat us as people normally treat enemies.  For when we sin, especially when we sin seriously, we break our friendship with him and by definition we become his enemies.  But he does not abandon us; rather he tries to draw us back into friendship with him.  He even sent his Son down to earth, to bring us back to him.  And the Son himself, while suffering on the cross, prays for his persecutors, saying that they know not what they are doing.  In fact it could be said that rather than take a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, Jesus gives his life, he gives his eye and he gives his tooth, so that we who have chosen to be his enemies might be saved.

Christian Life

Jesus is calling you and me to be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect; to imitate him in exercising mercy rather than revenge.  Unfortunately, sometimes we fail to do this, especially when we confuse justice and vengeance.

Justice requires that the wrong-doer is punished sufficiently.  In fact in our Act of Contrition we say: “I detest my sins because of thy just punishment.” Just punishment serves four purposes: to repair the damage done by someone; to reform and convert the wrong-doer from evil to good; to deter others who might be thinking about committing crime and to protect society.  When punishment is sought simply for the sake of revenge it is following the much lower standard of of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; that is not the teaching of Jesus.

Unfortunately such an attitude of vengeance seems to be behind the widespread support for the death penalty in this country.  Although Catholic teaching allows for the use of the death penalty as a last resort to protect people, the same teaching recognises that the situations in which it is necessary to execute somebody are very rare, if not non-existent in today’s world.  Unlike just punishment, the death penalty does not repair the damage done by the criminal, does not reform the criminal, does not seem to deter potential criminals.  All it seems to do is to take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life.

Recently the governor of the state of Washington suspended the use of the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  He has chosen to protect society in a non-vengeful way.  It is ironic that the states with the largest numbers of Catholics and Christians also seem to have the greatest support for the death penalty.  And yet as Christians and especially as Catholics, we must promote life, from birth to death, innocent life and as Jesus teaches us today, the life of our enemies.  Why do we who Jesus holds to a higher standard allow ourselves to be dragged down into the culture of death that fills our society?  How can we expect to create a culture of life, when we promote, allow or even rejoice at the death of another human being?

Conclusion

There is no doubt that message of Jesus in today’s gospel is a tall order.  For the human instinct to seek revenge, to get even, to destroy bad people is very strong.  Even when you and I watch a movie, the natural tendency is for us to root for the good guys.  We want the bad guys to get their just desserts.

But again, Jesus never promised that the Christian way would be an easy one.  In fact he said that those who chose to follow him would have to take the narrow path and travel along it carrying their daily crosses.  But he promised that those who would seek the perfection of the Father in this more difficult way would also be rewarded with everlasting life.  Jesus’ way is not easy, but is better.

As we seek justice, law and order, as we deal with those who hurt us, may we be better than the tax-collectors and pagans of our time; may our justice be tempered with mercy and may our love always include even our enemies.

The computer and the Typewriter: the new law in the old

Homily for 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37

Introduction

The development of the typewriter into the computer is a great example of the old being fulfilled in the new.  But before I go on to explain their similarities, let me first explain to those who were born in the 90s and after, what a typewriter is.

It was this heavy clunky machine used to type letters and other documents.  The older typewriters did not use electricity, so you had to strike those keys hard, if you wanted your work to be legible.  Moreover, if you made a mistake, you had to go back and cover the mistake with liquid paper and type over again.  Also, just to be clear, the type-writer did not do email, internet, facebook or twitter.

Today, we use computers to do everything the type-writer did and more.  Perhaps the only similarity between the two machines is the keyboard, which has essentially remained the same.  For example, I learned how to touch type on a typewriter in the early ‘90s, a skill that has continued to serve me well when I use a computer today.  But clearly the computer is superior machine, which has taken what is good in the typewriter and improved it by leaps and bounds.

Scripture and Theology

In today’s readings, Jesus says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”  Like the computer does not abolish but fulfils the functions of the typewriter, Jesus has come to improve and bring to fulfilment what God had revealed to his people in the Law and the Prophets.  He assures his followers that “until heaven and earth pass away,” that is, until the end of the world as we know it, “not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.”  In other words, the law will not be destroyed but will continue to be improved to serve God’s work.

And so, Jesus provides a model for preserving the old in the new and building the new upon the old.  He gives a few concrete examples of these developments such as the commandments forbidding killing, adultery, divorce and false oaths.

The fifth commandment says: “You shall not kill.”  But Jesus takes this law against physical killing to a higher level. For him “whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment . . . and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.”  And so, for Jesus, killing goes beyond the physical to include our thoughts and words of anger.

The same applies to the 6^th commandment which said: “You shall not commit adultery.” For Jesus, however, “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Once again he goes beyond the physical to the thoughts and words that come before the physical sin.

In both the case of killing and adultery, the thoughts and words often lead to sin.

·        For example, how often on today’s streets people are killed over a silly argument; how often anger divides families and friends forever.

·        Even with adultery; thoughts of lust and flirtatious words, sometimes quite innocent at first, will lead to pre-marital and extra-marital relations.

And before these thoughts and words are sinful or are the cause of sin, let us nip them in the bud.  In the case of anger, he suggests that people who are angry with each other should settle the matter peacefully before going to the court.  And as for thoughts of lust, he uses of the image of cutting off the offending limb; for it is better to lose a limb than the whole body.  In other words it is better perhaps to cut out those sources of lust, such as the internet, television and movies, than set oneself on the road to sinning in this way.

And so, following the lead of Jesus, at the beginning of Mass we confess not only “what I have done and what I have failed to do,” but we also confess those sins of our thoughts and words.  For without abolishing the Ten Commandments Jesus has set a much higher bar of morality for Christians.  He has taken the old commandments and improved them, by giving them new meanings and even expanding them to apply to new situations, so that we can grow deeper in our relationship with God.  What Jesus has done is similar to the computer, which takes on all the functions of the old typewriter and adds more, making those work and life more effective.

Christian Life

How do we deal with the old and the new in our lives?  There are two extremes.  Like the Pharisees, we might be tempted to reject the new and keep only the old.  On the other hand we might be tempted to reject everything old and keep only the new.  Jesus avoids both extremes by preserving old values in new ways.

As a Church, for example, we have certainly grown in the past two thousand years.  The Holy Spirit has helped us preserve the old tradition in new ways.

·        While we still value preserving and preaching the faith, we no longer force it down people’s throats via crusades and inquisitions.

·        While we still value obedience to legitimate authorities, we no longer teach that slavery or capital punishment is acceptable.

·        While we still celebrate the Lord’s Supper as he commanded us, we do it a little differently than the Church of the fifth century, the tenth century and the fifteenth century.  Some of you remember when the Mass was all in Latin, without much Scripture and hardly involving the congregation.

But the most important change we have to deal with is in our own personal lives. If we believe in what Jesus has to teach us in today’s gospel, we should also believe that personal growth and conversion is possible, both for ourselves and for others.  We should continue to listen to God’s voice every day and hear what he wants us to change and improve in our lives.

·        Perhaps when we were younger, although our priorities were well-intentioned, they were also mistaken.  Perhaps we hung with the wrong crowd, engaged in questionable and immoral activities and did not pray.   Perhaps our attitude to others, to the poor, to other races, reflecting the customs of the time needs to catch up with the message of the gospel.

·        Hope is not all lost.  We can change, we can improve, we can grow.  We can raise our game, like Jesus does to the Law and Prophets, and add that to our Christian way of life, improving and fulfilling our previous way of life.

Conclusion

Jesus wants us to go beyond the comforts of the law, which draws clear boundaries of what we should or should not do.  Merely following the law is easy; but Jesus never claims to make our lives easy.  He calls us to a challenging way of life where what matters most of all is not the law, but friendship with God.  Friendship is not built on the narrow boundaries of the law which is fixed; friendship is built on love which keeps growing and growing and exploring new ways of loving.

Like we have taken the typewriter and developed it into a desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet computer, smartphone and only God knows what else we shall come up with, let us also take the laws of God and the Church and expand them into all kinds of good works and possibilities, for the glory of God and for his people.  Jesus is calling us to love God and our neighbour in all ways: in my thoughts, in my words, in what I do and in what I refrain from doing.

Agents of change in the world

Homily for 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isa 58:7-10 • 1 Cor 2:1-5 • Matthew 5:13-16

Introduction

A little over two weeks ago, we experienced very cold weather in New Orleans with roads having to be closed due to snow and ice.  In fact, some said, “Hell has frozen over.”  I then learned that the Transportation Department was using salt to remove the ice from the roads.  Apparently through some chemical reaction the salt not only melts the ice, but also it keeps the water from freezing further.

Scripture and Theology

Jesus was probably not thinking about using salt in this way when he told his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth.”  He was probably thinking of the other more common uses of salt as an antiseptic, a preservative and seasoning.

·        In the absence of modern medicine, salt is the best antiseptic; for it kills germs.  In ancient times, people cleaned chicken with salt to prevent salmonella.  Salt was also the only thing available to clean a wound; in fact even when I was growing up, my mother used it on me, despite my loud screams.  But today I gargle with salt to cure my sore-throat.

·        Secondly, salt is a preservative.  Again in the absence of fridges and freezers, the only way to preserve meat or fish was to salt or smoke them.  Salt draws out the moisture and decomposition does not take place.

·        The third use of salt is as seasoning.  Salt brings out the flavour in food.  For people without the wealth of spices that we have here in New Orleans, unless they add salt, the food is very insipid and bland, as anyone on a salt-free diet would testify.

And so, with this image Jesus tells his followers to have these qualities of salt:

·        Antiseptic, as they fight evil in the world.

·        Preservative, as they safeguard the good from corruption.

·        Seasoning, as they add zest and joy to the world.

·        And I might add, like salt de-ices the roads, Christians might be good thawing agents, defusing tensions in the world.

But Jesus is not satisfied just with the image of salt; he also uses the image of light, telling his followers: “You are the light of the world.”  At the time of Jesus having light, especially at night could not be taken for granted.  Homes in ancient Palestine, like homes in most pre-industrial societies, generally had one room with no windows and only a door.  When the door was closed, the house would be pitch black.  The only light source was a small oil lamp.  The only way the lamp would illuminate the whole room was if it was placed on a stand or ledge above everybody’s head, to avoid anybody blocking the light.  Without light, nobody could do anything productive: no guests, no reading, no socialising, no work, perhaps only sleeping.

And so Jesus is calling on his followers once again to be the source of light and warmth to the world.  He tells them: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

Christian Life

Although we live in different times, times in which doctors tell us to eat less salt and times in which we take having light for granted, these images of salt and light can still speak to us today.  Being the salt of the earth and light of the world means being agents of good in the world.  We Christians are tasked with turning this world into the Kingdom of God.  This is the world which God created and wants to restore to himself. He has hired us Christians, to bring this about.

There is a hesitation among some Christians, to do this, to speak up, to stand up and be counted.  Sometimes this is because we Christians have been told to shut up, that we have no business bringing religion into the public square.  And sometimes we choose to be quiet, since we don’t want to rattle the cages, make waves, rain on the parade with our Christian faith.

But what Jesus is asking us to do is not rattle the cages, make waves or rain on anyone’s parade.  In fact Christians who speak up or act in this way indeed need to shut up.  You have probably heard about the Christian group that has made it their business to protest military funerals.  You probably also remember the Christian pastor in Florida whose view of Christian evangelization is burning the Muslim holy book, the Koran.  That is not what Jesus means when he says you are the salt of the earth.  Rather, apart from the very exceptional cases, we can be the salt of the earth with charity and civility, rather than with confrontation and conflict.  That is like when I cooked last week and put too much salt in the food, making it inedible and having to throw it out.  I learnt that salt does its job best when it is mixed entirely in the food in the right amount: not too little to leave the food bland and not too much to cause my guests a heart-attack right there at table.

Some people also think that when Jesus says “you are the salt of the earth,” he means that they have to wear religion on their sleeve.  They think it means that you have to flaunt your devotion, with ostentatious displays of piety, religious objects, or severe penitential exercises, like salt sprinkled on salad rather than thoroughly mixed in the food.

But when Jesus asks us to be like a city set on a hilltop, he is not asking us show off our devotion, but rather to be witnesses and good examples, a beacon drawing others into our community of faith.  We do not need to speak or say much; our lives alone should draw people to us, because they see the peace and tranquillity that comes from being a firm believer in the Lord.  We should stand out in the crowd, not because we are showing off, but because our ordinary, day-to-day Christian life shines forth for others to see.

The reason I became a priest was probably not because a priest suggested it to me, but rather because I saw and admired many good priests whose lives reflected the light of Christ.  Perhaps the reason people become Christians is also because of our good example.  Ghandi is quoted as saying that he liked Christ, but did not like Christians, because they did not live as Christ taught.

With so much bad publicity of the Church in the world, some of it rightly deserved, perhaps it is time for Christians to step up to the plate and be the city built on the hilltop for the world to see.  Perhaps rather than put up billboards that threaten hell-fire, our right-living should be the advertisement for the faith.  At the height of the sex-abuse scandal by priests I made a conscious decision to always be dressed as a priest wherever I went, as my small way of being a light for the world.  And I soon found out that whether I was in Walgreens picking up some Aspirin or in Winn-Dixie buying a bottle of port wine, people were always pleased to see a priest and often stopped me to speak about their lives and their faith.

An even more effective way to be the salt of the earth and light of the world is what Isaiah tells us to do in the first reading.

Share your bread with the hungry,

shelter the oppressed and the homeless;

clothe the naked when you see them,

and do not turn your back on your own.

Conclusion

Did you notice the last one?  It said: “Do not turn your back on your own”: family, friends, co-workers and neighbours.  They too need our witness.  May our good deeds be a far more eloquent sermon than the words of the best preacher; and may they make us the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Consecrated Life – a continued blessing for the Church

Homily for the Presentation of Our Lord Year A 2014

MAL 3:1-4, HEB 2:14-18, LK 2:22-40

Introduction

This weekend is February 2^nd and it means different things to different people.

·        For many, February 2^nd is Groundhog day, when the groundhog emerges from his winter hideout, and predicts how soon Spring will come.  Given the recent weather, we probably know what the groundhog is going to say.

·        This year, February 2^nd is also Superbowl Sunday – (leading me to wonder why conclude that you must be the 25 people in New Orleans who either don’t like football or like me don’t know much about it).

·        In the Church February 2^nd is the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord; this year because it falls on a Sunday, we get to celebrate this great feast.

Scripture and Theology

In the hierarchy of feasts, the Presentation of Our Lord does not rank as high as Christmas or Easter.  But it is still important, because this feast marks the occasion when 40 days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary presented him in the Temple.  Every Jewish family was required to dedicate or consecrate their first-born child to God, recognising that God is the source of all life.

This ritual was interesting. The parents sacrificed a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons in the temple.  As very religious people, they wanted to give God the best thing they had; what better gift to give God than their first-born child?  But sacrificing a child would be inhuman; and so God gave them a way out; he let the pair of turtledoves or young pigeons substitute or ransom the child.  These birds were the sign of the great gift the parents wanted to give the Lord.  And so, vicariously through the sacrifice, the child was presented and dedicated to God.

Perhaps Mary and Joseph wanted to sneak into the Temple, do the ritual and get back home to Nazareth.  But things turned out to be a little dramatic.  Simeon and Anna, happened to be at Temple; and they let the cat out of the bag. Simeon a righteous and virtuous man, and Anna a widow and Prophetess revealed to all present, that this child was special, that this child himself was God.

·        Simeon blessed and thanked God for allowing him to live long enough to see the child that would bring salvation to the whole world: “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel,” he called him.

·        Anna for her part gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Mary and Joseph were intending to present the child to God, but now, through the inspired mouths of Simeon and Anna, God presented the child to the world.

Christian Life

In 1997, Pope John Paul II instituted a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life, in other words, religious sisters and brothers. This day is often marked in association with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd.  For what consecrated people do – the monks and nuns, religious brothers and sisters – is exactly what Mary and Joseph did with Jesus when they presented him to the Lord.  These men and women also give their lives to God.

Of course all Christians give themselves to God.  We priests and deacons give themselves to God as ministers to parishioners.  You lay people give yourselves to God by living out the faith fully in your families and in the world.  But consecrated people do so in a very radical way, giving up literally everything to follow Christ.  The Church has always had people like this in one form or another.

·        In the very early centuries, you had the virgins and ascetics; but most of them lived this life privately as individuals.

·        It is St. Anthony of Egypt, who heard the words of Jesus to the rich young man in Matthew 19:21: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Anthony did exactly that, giving up everything and going into the desert to live in absolute poverty; he soon attracted a few followers, and therefore gave birth to the first religious congregation.

·        Anthony would be followed in this way of life by others like St. Benedict, the Father of today’s Benedictine monks and nuns; by St. Francis and St. Dominic several centuries later, the ones who gave us our current Franciscan and Dominican brothers and sisters.

·        There are so many congregations of religious men and women today, that there is even a somewhat irreverent joke that goes: “Even the Holy Spirit does not know how many religious men and women there are.”

We might wonder: what kind of people become monks and nuns?

1.    What kind of people give up their lives to live in poverty – meaning that they don’t own anything personally; everything belongs to the community?

2.    What kind of people give up having the love and physical intimacy of a husband or wife and give up having children of their own too?

3.    What kind of people give up their lives to live in total obedience to their superior, someone who else tells them what God wants them to do?

Yes, such people exist, even in our world today.  These are the people who love God in a very uncompromising way.  They are willing to give God, not just two turtledoves or two pigeons, but their whole lives.  Sr. Mary Agnes is a good friend of mine.  Just before New Year’s Day I visited her and her community and she told that this year, she will be making 67 years as a nun, exactly how old my mother is.  Sr. Mary Agnes has lived in the same house for all these years, praying five times a day, every day for the needs of the Church and the world.

On this feast of consecration, let me suggest two pieces of homework for us.

The first piece of homework is to ask ourselves this question: Have I considered if God is calling me to give my life to him as a religious brother or religious sister?  Might I have what it takes to love in this very radical way?  Or, do you know somebody whom you think God is calling to this challenging, but fulfilling life of total self-gift for others?  Why not speak to someone: a priest, a nun, a brother or even just call the Archdiocese.  Is God calling you or someone else?  Such a vocation is a terrible thing to waste.

The second piece of homework is one of gratitude to those who live this way of life.  I know my life would very different, without the many good nuns and brothers.  I myself would not even be here, were it not for the nuns back in Kenya who raised my mother and gave her an education, when her father died.  I would not be here, were it not for the religious brothers who took me into their school, despite the fact that my mother could not afford to pay the tuition.  To become a priest and to live as a priest I have been inspired by the holy example of many nuns and brothers, who I have been fortunate to know. I am sure you also know some nuns and brothers who have influenced you; what about giving them a call tonight and saying thank you to them?  Or if you don’t know any, perhaps the next time you see a nun you could say, “Thank you for giving yourself to God.”

Conclusion

May the light of Christ, who was revealed to the world by Simeon and Anna, shine forth through our lives.  May this light shine especially through the lives of those who follow the Lord faithfully, especially the consecrated men and women, who give their lives to him totally and may there be more and more of them.

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?