How Christians deal with death: Weeping, Hoping, Praying Together

Homily for All Souls – November 2, 2014

Reading 1 WIS 3:1-9; Responsorial Psalm PS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6; Reading 2 ROM 6:3-9; Gospel JN 6:37-40

Introduction

In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes, so said Benjamin Franklin.  What then are we to do about these horrid things, death and taxes?

When it comes to taxes, Jesus has very little to say.  As we heard in the gospel a few weeks ago, all he said is: “Pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  Luckily for us, when it comes to death, Jesus has so much to teach us, so that we are equipped to deal with death, unavoidable death.

Scripture and Theology

On this “All Souls” Day, when as Catholics we focus our attention on those who have died, I would us to reflect on what Jesus teaches us about death.  I would like to reflect on three specific words: weeping, hoping and sharing.

And so, first, the Christian way is to take death seriously and accept it.

·        While the world tends to use euphemisms to describe death, words like “passing away,” “kicking the bucket” or “breathing one’s last,” the Bible simply speaks of death and dying.

·        While the world tends to sanitize death and cover up all its messiness, pain and suffering, the Church tackles death headlong. 

·        While the world tends to try to avoid death at all costs or to take it on, but on one’s own terms, Christians respect death as the entrance into life with God, leaving its timing to him.

One of the passages in the Bible that first comes to mind when I think about death is the verse where it says: “Jesus wept” (Jn. 11:35).  Jesus wept for his friend Lazarus, not so much because Lazarus had died, but because Jesus saw the pain of his sisters Martha and Mary and all those who loved him.  I know that our society says “real men do not weep,” but if Jesus wept, that is good enough for me.  I must confess that I often weep at the death of someone.  Like Jesus I weep at the great suffering that I see in the bereaved that have lost a loved one.  A dear friend of mine recently lost her grandmother and as I was talking to her she said: “I know my grandma was in pain, but I still wanted her around.”

But the Christian does not weep in despair; the Christian weeps with hope.  And that is the second point of our reflection – hope after death.  The Christian hopes that although death is painful both for the deceased and the bereaved, with death, life is changed, not ended. We hope that the promise of Jesus will be fulfilled: “that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life” and when he says: “and I shall raise him on the last day.”

For Christians, the words death and resurrection go together all the time, not only for Jesus, but for us his followers as well.  We heard St. Paul tell the Romans that just as we have been baptised in the death of the Lord, so shall we also rise in his resurrection.  “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Rm. 6: 8).  We believe the words of the book of Wisdom, that: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.”

Yes, Christians weep at death; Christians hope after death.  The third thing that Christians do is weep and hope together, in mutual support and prayer.  When the dying person is still on this side of death, the Christian practice is to support the dying person not only with the physical care of medicine and food, but also the psychological care of family and friends and most important of all, the spiritual care of grace and blessings.  Just think of the many Church-run medical facilities and medical missionaries in the world, including the areas currently suffering with ebola.  Just think of the many priests and lay ministers who attend to the spiritual needs of the sick.

When the person crosses over to the other side, we continue to support them with prayer.  We pray for the dead in funeral Masses, Masses for the dead, Mass intentions and all other types of prayers.  Besides, we set aside this day, All Souls day, to pray for all the faithful departed, that they might be received by the Lord in his mercy.  It is not a coincidence that All Saints day and All Souls day follow each other in the calendar.  They are twinned, as it were, so that the whole body of Christ, the communion of saints which we profess in the creed, can show its love and care for all members of the Church.  We the pilgrim Church, who are still on pilgrimage on this side of death, join with the triumphant Church, who have made it to heaven, to pray for those who are halfway there in purgatory – the suffering Church.

Christian Life

Unfortunately, this Christian way of weeping, hoping and communion in death is not always accepted.  The contrast between the non-Christian and Christian approach to death has been played out in the last few weeks in the media.  You may have heard about a young lady, Brittany, who has terminal cancer and planned to end her life today, as her way of dealing with this terrible and tragic illness.  Her approach to death has been glorified and glamourized in the media.

But you may have not heard in the media of another person who also has terminal cancer, and perhaps as much pain and suffering, but one who chose another path, the Christian way.  This is Philip Johnson, a Catholic seminarian from the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, whose response summarizes the Catholic approach to death.  I will just read a few of his letter, words which are so powerful because they come from someone staring death in the face.

First, he acknowledges his own suffering and fear of death.  He says:

After years of terrible headaches and misdiagnosis, my Grade III brain cancer (Anaplastic Astrocytoma) proved to be inoperable due to its location.  . . . I was beginning an exciting career as a naval officer with my entire life ahead of me.  I had so many hopes and dreams, and in an instant they all seemed to be crushed.  

But even more frightening for him is what his last days will look like.

I will gradually lose control of my bodily functions at a young age, from paralysis to incontinence, and it is very likely that my mental faculties will also disappear and lead to confusion and hallucinations before my death.

But thanks to his faith, Philip has hope.  This is what he says:

This [prospect of suffering and death] terrifies me, but it does not make me any less of a person.  My life means something to me, to God, and to my family and friends, and barring a miraculous recovery, it will continue to mean something long after I am paralyzed in a hospice bed.  My family and friends love me for who I am, not just for the personality traits that will slowly slip away if this tumor progresses and takes my life.

Philip concludes his letter by acknowledging the support he continues to receive from his family, friends and the Church and the support he gives to Brittany.

I will continue to pray for Brittany as she deals with her illness, as I know exactly what she is going through. I still get sad. I still cry. I still beg God to show me His will through all of this suffering and to allow me to be His priest if it be His will, but I know that I am not alone in my suffering.  I have my family, my friends, and the support of the entire universal Church.  I have walked in Brittany’s shoes, but I have never had to walk alone. Such is the beauty of the Church, our families, and the prayerful support that we give to one another.

Conclusion

Yes, death and taxes are inevitable.  But Jesus has shown us a way of approaching death, that of others and our own.  As we deal with the death of beloved ones, and as we prepare for our own death, let us acknowledge the sorrow of death with hope, giving and receiving the support of one another, in the communion of saints.

We are marching towards sainthood!

Homily for All Saints – November 1, 2014

Revelation 7:2-4,9-14, 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12a

Introduction

My former bishop tells the story of when, as a young priest, he had just completed his graduate studies in New York and was returning to Uganda.  After congratulating him on his academic success, someone told him: “Father, although you have now acquired an academic title, there is still one more title you need to get.”

“Which one,” the young priest asked?  “Monsignor?”

“No,” was the answer.

“Bishop?”

“No.”

“Archbishop?”

“No.”

“Well, it must be Pope.”

The answer was still, “No.”  “The title that you still need to add to your name is that of “Saint, Saint Denis.”

Scripture and Theology

We Christians are on a journey; the journey of becoming saints.  Before our baptism, we were lost, we had no GPS, we were sense of direction.  Baptism set us on the path that leads to heaven.  Although we often have other reasons for being Christians, such as peace of mind, living a good moral life, the only reason that counts is this: we are Christians so that we can become saints.

In today’s second reading, John describes the saints: it is those who are with God in heaven as well as those on the journey towards heaven.  He says:

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Being like God is what saints are!  Seeing God as he is, is what saints do!

The saints are also the ones whom the writer of the first reading from Revelation describes in his vision: “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.”  They stand, dressed in white robes before the throne of God, praising him.  That is the life to which we should look forward: being like God and seeing God as he is, as we share his company forever.

Unlike Halloween, which celebrates those disturbed spirits still lingering around on earth and causing all kinds of trouble, All Saints Day celebrates those spirits, who have made it to heaven and are rejoicing with God.  The spirits of Halloween have lost their way; the spirits of the saints kept on the right path.  Halloween dramatizes our fears of death and darkness; All Saints Day tells us that heaven and the hope of heaven have overcome these fears, promising us the life and light of God.

Christian Life

But how do we ensure that we shall make this journey to sainthood successfully?  How do we get there?  What road do we take?  Do we take Interstate 10 or do we take Airline Highway with all its traffic lights and small towns?

Throughout the gospel, Jesus suggests ways in which we can live and remain on the path that leads to heaven.  In the Beatitudes, he declares as blessed, in other words, saints, those who live according to the way of the Beatitudes.

·        As Jesus promises, they will arrive at the heavenly destination and be counted among the Blessed those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn and those who are meek.

·        They will be admitted through the pearly gates, he says, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful and those who are clean of heart.

·        Heaven will be the abode for those who, along journey are peacemakers, are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and are insulted and persecuted and have had every kind of evil uttered falsely against them because of Jesus.

And so, if we are to pack any supplies for the journey to heaven, it is these beatitudes and the values of mercy, poverty, righteousness, meekness, and cleanness of heart.  Yes, we still sin and sometimes we take the wrong exit.  But because we have entered the correct address into the GPS of our life, because we have charged it with God’s grace in the sacraments and in his word, our GPS recalculates and brings us back to the main highway to heaven.  Because our eyes set on getting to heaven, hopefully, we will live lives worth of heaven.

Conclusion

When I first came to New Orleans, I was surprised that the song, “O when the Saints go Marching in,” refers to the New Orleans Football team.  In Uganda, this is a song we sing about the saints in heaven.  It includes all the saints, including Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, who were just recently canonized as saints, and from that date their names will be on the list of the saints of the Catholic Church, models for us all to follow.

But let me suggest a third meaning for the saints referred to in this song about the saints marching on.  These saints are us.  We are the saints who are marching on and who want to be counted in that number, of those who have made it to heaven, and are busy rejoicing in God’s presence.  That is our goal, that is our motivation, that is our hope.

Love, the foundation of all laws

Homily for 30^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-30

Introduction

A story is told of a gentile (a non-Jew), who wanted to convert to Judaism.  But because he was not staying long in Jerusalem, he wanted a Rabbi to expound for him the contents of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) within the length of time a person can stand on one foot.

So he went up to Rabbi Shammai, who was famous for his strict interpretation of the Law.  The Rabbi went over the Torah, its laws and those that Jewish interpretation had since then added - all declared to be equally obligatory and necessary for salvation.  At last he had to admit that this was an impossible task.

The gentile then went to Rabbi Hillel, who did not find the least difficulty with the request and without beating about the bush, answered, "Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man.  This is the whole law: all the rest is commentary.  Now go and study."

Scripture and Theology

It is no wonder then that Jesus, in today’s gospel, teaches that “The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments:” love of God and love of neighbour.  Jesus gives this answer to a lawyer who is testing him by asking: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"  Perhaps the lawyer expected Jesus to pick one of the Ten Commandments, such as “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” or “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  And then lawyer would have showed Jesus how other laws were far superior to the one he had chosen.  But Jesus does not fall into the trap; instead he uses the occasion to teach a fundamental truth: that behind all legitimate laws lies the important principle of love of God and love of neighbour.  Like the second Rabbi taught the gentile man, the whole law, all 613 commandments, was summarized in the command to do nothing hateful to a neighbour, that is, to love.

Even the Ten Commandments, are nicely summarized by these two laws of love.  The first three commandments are inspired by love of God, while the last seven, by love of neighbour.

·        When we keep the three commandments, we are in fact loving God: by worshipping him alone, by not profaning his name and by keeping the Lord’s Day holy.

·        When we keep the last seven commandments, we are in fact loving our neighbour.  A person who respects his parents, who does not kill, who does not commit adultery, who does not steal, who does not give false witness, who does not desire other people’s property and other people’s spouses, definitely loves their neighbour.

But Jesus was not the first to make this connection between law and love.  The Old Testament is full of references to these two laws.  Deuteronomy 6:5 teaches about the love of God while Leviticus 19:18 teaches about the love of neighbour.  In fact devout Jews recited the commandment about loving God at morning and evening prayer each day. And as we heard in the first reading, loving and caring for one’s neighbour, particularly the widow, orphan and stranger, were very important requirements of the Jewish daily life.

Jesus, however, for the first time teaches that while love of God and love of neighbour, are the summary and inspiration of all laws, the two loves must go together.  Love of God is the greatest of the commandments, but love of neighbour resembles and flows from love of God.  You cannot say that you love God and you do not love your neighbour.  Nor can you love your neighbour and say you go do not love God. 

Christian Life

For many people today, the words “law” and “love” are diametrically opposed.

·        Law imposes obligations on me, while love gives me desire and affection.

·        Law forbids me from doing the things I want, while with love, there is nothing I cannot do for a love one.

·        Law is a burden, while love is a pleasure.

Recently I was reproaching a student about some misconduct.  In response he told me that rather than enforce the laws of the school, I should be promoting love.  I am sure that you parents here, when correcting your children have been naughty in some way, have been told: “Mum, you don’t love me.”  And yet, for teachers and mothers, enforcing the law is love; it is tough love.

·        Perhaps in today’s society we fail to see the intimate connection between laws and love, because laws are often presented in the negative.  “Thou shalt not do this or that shalt not have that.”

·        Perhaps we fail to see that love is the basis for all laws because laws are often enforced with punishment or the threat of punishment and nobody likes punishment?

It might be easier for us to the connection between the two, between law and love, if we realize that what God really wants from us is not just the keeping of laws.  God wants to have a relationship with us, a friendship with each of us.  Laws are just the guidelines or that relationship, a set of principles that directs our friendship with God.  The laws are a set of duties that we taken upon ourselves when we enter into a love relationship with the Lord.

1.    For example, the first commandment enjoins us to have no other God but the God of Jesus Christ.  Why not?  Because we love God and we must love him above all else.  As the young people today say, he must be our BFF, Best Friend forever.  Even in marriage, you cannot say you really love your spouse, if you have another man or woman on the side.

2.    From the commandments that regulate our love for neighbour, the sixth commandment enjoins us not to commit adultery.  Why not?  Again if we really love our spouse, he or she then is the only person with whom to be intimate.  We we cannot share that intimacy with another.

We could go through all the Ten Commandments, but if we did we would be here until the cows come home, and I might not be invited again.  Let this be your homework, to reflect on the all the commandments given to us by God and the Church, and see why there is only one reason to keep them, and that is, because we love God, and in some of them because we also love our neighbour.

Conclusion

As we reflect on the commandments, let us remember the passage about love in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13.  We often hear this passage at weddings, where clearly we are celebrating the love of two people getting married.  But did not write this letter for married couples, he wrote it for all Christians, to teach us, like Jesus does, that love is the backbone of everything that we do.  And so let me give the last word to St. Paul.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.  And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:1-8a).

Citizenship of two worlds

Homily for 29^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 • I Thess 1:1-5 • Matthew 22:15-21

Introduction

Every priest or deacon is aware that his homily will probably affect people differently.  Two years ago around election time, a priest friend was preaching at a church in the area.  And faithfully following the bishop’s instructions, he steered clear of partisan politics, that is, he avoided telling the parishioners who to vote for.  Rather, he spoke about how Catholic teaching touches upon the various hot button issues of our society: marriage, sexuality, immigration, poverty, death-penalty etc.  He was happy with himself, for what he thought was a job well done.

But at the end of Mass, as he was walking down the aisle, barely getting to the main door, a visibly angry parishioner came accosting him verbally: “Why did you preach against my party, my candidate?”  And before storming off the parishioner told him to leave out politics and preach only about God, telling the priest: “Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

My priest-friend was still recovering from this when a few minutes later, as people continued filing by when another parishioner came to him with an axe to grind.  But this time, her complaint was quite the opposite: “Father, why were you so wishy-washy in your homily?  Why did you not just come out and tell us who to vote for?  Why don’t you give us very clear instructions?”

Scripture and Theology

Jesus faces a similar problem in today’s gospel, but this time the two groups who don’t like each other, are conniving to bring him down: Pharisees and Herodians.

·        The Pharisees were deeply religious and nationalistic; they hated the Romans who were occupying their nation.

·        The Herodians on the other hand were very secular and were willing collaborators with the occupying Romans.

But now these two diametrically opposed groups join hands and come to entrap Jesus.  I guess as they say, my enemy’s enemy could be my friend.  And so they ask him this loaded question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 

This would be like someone asking you today, “Have you stopped beating your wife?”  A “yes” or “no” answer puts you between a rock and a hard place.  A “yes” or “no” answer would have put Jesus in a Catch-22 situation.

·        If Jesus said, “Yes it is lawful to pay taxes to the Romans,” the Pharisees, who opposed Roman occupation, would say: “Aah.  We got you.  You are a Roman collaborator.  You have betrayed God and our nation.”

·        But if Jesus said “No, it is not lawful to pay taxes to the Romans,” the Herodians would immediately hand him to the authorities as a subversive, one encouraging people to evade taxes.  The IRS would come after him.

Jesus is too smart for their trap.  He does not give a “Yes or No” answer.  Instead he asks for the coin with which the tax is to be paid.  He points out to them that this coin bears the face of the Emperor and then gives the famous reply: “. . . repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

This answer is famous, not just because it gets Jesus out of a tight spot, escaping the accusation of being either a traitor or a subversive.  But this answer is especially important because in it Jesus teaches us the basic relationship between Christians and the society in which we live.  Not only should Christians give allegiance to legitimate civil authority, Christians must also participate fully in society, in the meantime obeying God and working for the things of heaven.

We cannot be like the Pharisees or Herodians, who choose one or the other.  The Pharisees chose religion, the Herodians chose government.  Today some people speak about separation of Church and State in much the same way, suggesting that the two have thing to do with each other, like the man who accosted my priest-friend.  They think that Church life begins when you enter those doors and stops as soon as you exit the Church.  They want you to choose between Town Hall and the Cathedral, between the mayor and the bishop.

This thinking is wrong.  Jesus said: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar AND to God what belongs to God.”  Jesus did not gives us multiple choice, where we have to choose either to give to Caesar or to give to God.  We must attend to both, especially because the truth is this: everything belongs to God, even that which we give to Caesar.  Jesus simply makes this distinction because the things of Caesar will end on this side of death; while there are other things that will survive death and will live on in the world to come, where we shall be with God.

Christian Life

And so as Christians, our involvement in this world is not an optional extra.  We give to Caesar when we involve ourselves fully in transforming this world and bringing it under the kingship of Jesus Christ.  At the Final Resurrection, this is the world that Jesus will hand back to the Father, not some other world in some other galaxy, but this world.  And that is why, we cannot brush off this world; we must begin living heaven here on this earth.  How might we do this?

First, from the very beginning of Christianity, Christians have been known for caring for the poor and needy.  In fact, that is what won them the admiration of many pagans, especially because Christians cared, not just for their own poor, but for all who were needy.  Now if this earthly world was not important, why would be we concerned about earthly things like food, water, clothing, medicine, education, housing, even the environment?  We care about these things, we care about our society, because what happens here on earth has effects for life in heaven.  When we ensure that Caesar’s society on this earth has life and life to the fullest, we are already beginning the experience of heaven, of life with God.

Secondly, we have to give to Caesar in our family life and in our work.  Especially as lay people, your theatre of operation is in family and work.  You fathers and mothers give of yourselves completely to your children, feeding them, clothing them, teaching them, disciplining them.  These things which belong to this side of heaven, prepare us for the Kingdom.  When you go to work, in an office or at a worksite, in public or private service, self-employed or under a boss, your job is your theatre of operation, the place where your Christian faith is revealed, not just in words, but in the way you do your work.  You are giving Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but in reality all you are giving will return to God eventually.  That is why Church teaching takes family life and work life very seriously.

Finally, we have the issue of political life.  Despite the temptation towards cynicism in politics today, we cannot dismiss political life as if it were useless.  That is why in the first reading, we heard that God used King Cyrus, a pagan king as his instrument to liberate the Jewish People.  Respect for the legitimate role of government is part of our giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.  But we must also take up our civic role, in voting, in going to town hall meetings, in standing for election ourselves – Christians do these things, because we want to transform this world and make it ready for the Lord.  When Jesus returns at the Final Judgement, he will find a world that is nearly ready to be given to the Father.

Conclusion

There is a prayer the priest says at Mass during the season of Advent.  In that prayer, we pray that the Lord “may teach us to judge wisely the things of earth and hold firm to the things of heaven.”  For we are dual citizens; although our primary citizenship is in heaven, we currently travel under the passport of our earthly citizenship.  As we work to acquiring the passport to eternal life, let us take up fully our rights and our duties in this earthly city, as we also hold on to and work towards ensuring our permanent citizenship in heaven.

RSVPS and wedding garments

Homily for 28^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isaiah 25:6-10: Philippians 4:12-14.19-20; Matthew 22:1-14

Introduction

Having lived in New Orleans now for a few years, I have learnt that you don’t need a reason to have a party.  New Orleans is known all over for its good food, its daiquiris and its partying.  But why do we enjoy our food and drink so much?

Now some people think that we New Orleanians are gluttons and drunkards.  But I think the reason we treasure our food and drink is because we know that eating and drinking together builds fellowship in the family and among friends.  Whether it is the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, whether it is Grandma’s Sunday dinner or the family evening meal, we know that it is not just about the food or drink; it is about sharing fellowship and communion.

Scripture and Theology

We can therefore appreciate why Jesus often speaks about eating and drinking in the many parables he tells, including today’s parable about the King’s wedding feast.  We can appreciate why Jesus actually shared in many meals and banquets not only with his followers and friends, but also with sinners and the Pharisees, so much so that they call him a glutton and a drunkard.  Like us, Jesus knows that the family that eats together stays together.

And so, he uses banquets to teach us about the Kingdom of God and how we can get there.  You see heaven is a spiritual reality that is really difficult to explain with words.  But the example of a banquet comes close to explaining it.  Like the king in the parable invited his friends to share in the joyful wedding of his son, God also invites us to share the joy life with him in heaven.

Several hundred years earlier, as we heard in the first reading, Isaiah had also described heaven in terms of a banquet.  He said: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines . . . .”

But today’s parable does not just describe what heaven is like; the parable also describes three kinds of RSVPs, three kinds of responses, representing three possible human responses to God’s invitation to eternal life.

1.    The first group of invited guests turn down the invitation, one because he is going to his farm do and the other to his business, and others still kill the messengers.  This group represents all those who rejected Jesus and had him killed, especially the Pharisees and Priests.

2.    The second group of guests are those whom the servants bring in from the streets, both the good and bad.  Yes, both the good and bad are invited to the feast, just as Jesus invites to the Kingdom, both the virtuous and sinners.  Some of the bad change their lives and become committed to the Lord, such as the tax-collectors and prostitutes who became his disciples.

3.    In this new group of guests, however, there is a man not wearing a wedding garment.  This one guest represents those who responded to the invitation of Jesus, but failed to live by his teaching, such as Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord.

Christian Life

We Christians today have also received an invitation to a banquet.  On the night before he died Jesus instituted the Eucharist and told us: do this in memory of me.  Jesus invites us to the Mass to share in his Word and in his Body and Blood.  The Mass is a concrete sign for us of the great banquet we shall have with God in heaven.  The Mass gives us, while we are still on this side of death, a real experience of what heaven will be like.

How do we respond to this invitation, to Mass and to heaven, which Mass represents?  Like the three types of responses in the parable, we also respond in three different ways.

1.    Sadly survey after survey reports that only 30% of Catholics in this country come to Sunday Mass regularly. The rest, the 70%, refuse this invitation to share in the Word of God and in his life-giving Body and saving cup. 

2.    But we the 30% that come to Mass can be further divided into those that come to Mass wearing a wedding garment and those that don’t.  What is the wedding garment for Mass?  The wedding garment for Mass is something we wear both on the inside and on the outside.

a.    The wedding garment is love of God and neighbour. When we celebrate Mass, the sacrament of love we must also have love.  We must love God some much that we pray to him with devotion and reverence.  We must love our neighbour so much that we treat other people well, whether it is before Mass, during Mass and after Mass.

b.    This interior wedding garment of love is shown externally in how we present ourselves for Mass.  Do we keep the one-hour fast?  Do we come early and recollect ourselves?  Do we come dressed appropriately as this sacred occasion demands?  Are we texting at Mass or browsing our smartphones?  Do we chew gum at Mass?  Do we genuflect and bow, stand and kneel when we should?  Do we recite the prayers and sing the hymns?  Do we leave Church early, right after communion, to beat the parking lot traffic?

And so, simply coming to Mass is no guarantee that we have a healthy relationship with God.  We also need to wear the wedding garment of devotion to God and charity to our neighbour, interior attitudes that we express in our outward behaviour.

Conclusion

Let today’s gospel challenge each of us to ask ourselves: Which of the three types of guests am I?  Am I among those who refuse the invitation of Jesus?  Am I among those who accept the invitation but do not accept its conditions?  Or am I among those who accept the invitation fully and come to the wedding not only wearing the wedding garment, but also carrying wedding gifts?

Let us ask the Lord to give us the wisdom and courage, to respond to his invitation in the only way that leads to heaven, our true home.  We who know the great value of food and drink, especially when consumed together at a meal, party or banquet, do not want to miss out on the greatest banquet of all, life with God in heaven forever.

No condition is permanent – not even the condition of sin.

Homily for 26^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Ezek 18:25-28 • Phil 2:1-11 or 2:1-5 • Matthew 21:28-32

Introduction

As a visiting priest, you don’t always have the chance to correct mistakes you made before; but this time I can do so.  Take last week, when the message was imitating God’s generous ways.  But in my excitement, I may have said: “let us make our ways the ways of God.”

I also gave some examples of how we too could be generous like God, especially as Matthew 25 says: feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  But again I may have asked you to do the bizarre: to clothe the hungry and feed the naked.

I hope that today, I will not make such boo-boos again with my words.  For today’s gospel turns our attention from God’s generosity towards our readiness to receive this generosity, especially by changing from bad to good.

Scripture and Theology

In the gospel the Lord continues to address himself to the religious leaders of the time.  The Chief Priests and elders of the people were complacent in their own righteousness – thinking that they had it all.  At the same time they were cynical about conversion for sinners and denied that it was possible at all to change.

That is why Jesus compares these Jewish leaders to the second son who initially said “Yes” and the sinners to the first son who initially said “No.”

·        The Jewish people had said “Yes” to the Lord when they accepted to be God’s people, when they believed in his promises, when they worshipped him and when they followed his laws and precepts.

·        The sinners, that is, the tax-collectors and prostitutes had said “No,” to God when they refused to believe in his promises, when they refused to worship him and most of all when they refused to follow his commandments and instead chose to live in sin.

But then with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, things changed.  He brought the Good News of Salvation.  He came to reveal God the Father to the world. Jesus came to reveal God’s will to men and women.

·        Unfortunately for the Jewish leaders, instead of continuing to say “Yes” to the God of Jesus who is the same God whom they have been believing, worshipping and obeying, now they say “No,” like the second son.  They reject the Way of Jesus, the Son of God.

·        Fortunately for the sinners, the tax-collectors and prostitutes, this message of Jesus touches a chord in them and they reverse their previous “No” and turn it into a “Yes,” just like the first son. They stop their sinful ways and turn to the ways of God.  Throughout the gospels we hear of many tax-collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus and prostitutes like the woman with the perfume, turning to the Lord and leaving behind their old lives of sin.

Jesus is teaching the Jewish leaders that change is possible; conversion is possible.  This is the message that both John the Baptist and Jesus himself had preached loudly: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;” or as the gospel of Mark puts it: “Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Some had believed that change was possible and had done it.

This failure to believe in change was not unique to the people of Jesus’ time.  Centuries earlier, in one place Jeremiah writes that a leopard cannot change its spots.  That is probably why during the time of the Prophet Ezekiel, the people had complained that the Lord’s ways, of forgiving people who changed from bad to good were unfair.  But the Lord says: “Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”  The Lord punishes those who turn “away from virtue to commit iniquity.”   But The Lord forgives and preserves the life of the person who “turns from the wickedness he has committed, he does what is right and just.” 

Christian Life

This message of change and conversion is just as relevant for us today as it was for the Jewish people and their leaders.

On the one hand, we can just as easily fall into the same complacency of thinking that our original “Yes” to the Lord will carry us all the way to heaven.  Our “Yes” at Baptism, confirmation, matrimony and other occasions was only the beginning of our commitment.  We must continue saying, “Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Lord” every day of our lives.  We must say this “Yes” by continuing to believe in his teaching, by continuing to worship him and by continuing to live according to his commandments, every day of our lives.

I recall a story I had told by the best man at a wedding a few years ago. He advised the newly married couple to compare their love for each other to one million dollars.  But rather than give it to each other in one big check of one million dollars, he advised them to go the bank and get 1 or 10 or 20 dollar bills and give them out to each other one day at a time.  In this way, they would be saying "I love you" every day of their lives.  Our Yeses also need to be the same - saying "Yes" to the Lord every day of our lives.

On the other hand, we can just as easily fall into the same despair of failing to believe in the possibility of conversion; we forget that even when we or others say “No,” by our failure to believe, to worship and to live by the Lord’s ways, that “No” is not permanent.  We must believe that change from evil to good, from sin to virtue, from the wrong to the right path is possible.

Each of us needs to ask himself or herself:

1.    Do I live in despair for myself and cynicism in others or do I live in hope, hope that change is possible?

2.    Do I easily give up on myself and others, letting sin and addictions keep me down or do I harbour the hope that conversion to the Lord is possible?

3.    Do I concrete take steps to bring about change in my life and do I take steps to help others turn their lives to the Lord?

We all remember the great Nelson Mandela!  Do you know that he began his life in violence and would be called a terrorist today?  In his later years, however, he was to become a great ambassador of peace and reconciliation among races.

I have been teaching at the Seminary here in New Orleans now for five years.  So I have seen two classes of seminarians graduating after their four-year course with us and going to be ordained priests.  I am often happy to see that the scruffy, ignorant, stubborn young man who came to us four years earlier has morphed into this presentable, knowledgeable and humble man who is now a priest of God!  Brothers and sisters, with God’s help, change is possible!

Most families have their black sheep, a sibling, an uncle, a niece; my family is no different.  And I must confess that there is a time when we had given up on this one member of our family, who didn’t cooperate with the rest?  But the Lord spoke to us and invited us to see him in her!  While she is still difficult, we continue to try to make her a part of our lives.  Do you have such a person in your family?  Have you called them recently, even if only on their birthday?

But the best example of change is in our personal lives. Only you know what you need to change in your life.  This gospel passage is speaking to you about your life and giving you the hope, that although you once said “No” to the Lord, you can turn that “No” into a yes.  Did you have an abortion, an act of marital Infidelity, an addiction, a lie that damaged someone’s life?  There is nothing you could have done, which God cannot forgive, if you turn your life around to him.

Conclusion

Yes, leopards cannot change their spots because those spots are genetic.  Human beings can change from sin to virtue, evil to good, wrong to right, because the Lord helps us with the grace we need to do that.  The Lord left us the sacrament of Penance as a means to make that change concrete, to receive the assurance from God: “The Lord has freed you from your sins.”

Let us go home with the words of Isaiah 1:18, who assures us: “Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool” (Is. 1:18).  Conversion is possible.

The Generous ways of the Lord

Homily for 25^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2014

Isa 55:6-9 • Phil 1:20-24, 27 • Matthew 20:1-16

Introduction

Do you remember when you were in school and the teacher gave you group work or group projects?  And then perhaps, like me, you were the kid, who did all the work, but the whole group got the same grade, even the lazy kids.  Do you remember that feeling of injustice and outrage that you boiled within you, that those kids who worked less received the same grade as you?

Scripture and Theology

We can therefore understand how the workers in the gospel parable felt.  They had worked the whole day in the hot sun, and yet they were being paid the same as those workers who arrived at the eleventh hour.  For us human beings, such as a situation seems totally unjust and completely outrageous.

But then we heard in the first reading, the Lord saying: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.”  In other words, is it possible that our feelings of injustice and outrage might be mistaken?

This parable that we have just heard shows how different God’s ways are from our ways.  Like the Master, God is not only just, but also generous.  The workers, men, are envious of the Lord’s generosity.  Let us look at the parable again.

The Master keeps his end of the agreement and so we can call him just.  He agreed to pay a day’s wage to each of the workers, let’s say $100 and at the end of the day he does exactly that; he pays them $100 each.  We call that justice: giving each person what they deserve, treating every person as they deserve.

But our God often does not treat us merely in the ways we deserve; he goes beyond justice and is generous to us.  In the parable we saw that the Master, paid the late arrivals, more than they deserved; he paid them a day’s wage, for less than a day’s work.   While this might seem unfair to us human beings, for God it was generosity.  These men were heads of families, and they probably needed a day’s wage to put feed their families.  “Give us this day our daily bread,” like we pray.  So, he still gives them what they need for their families. God is both just and generous.

But let us now look at the attitude of the workers.  While God is both just and generous, human beings are envious and jealous.  They are not concerned about justice, since in truth the Master was just to them; giving them what he owed them.  Their feelings of outrage begin when they think that they should get more than the others.  Their ways are not God’s ways.

This parable of Jesus was aimed at the Pharisees.  Like you and I felt outrage at the lazy kids in the group getting a good grade, the Pharisees also felt that it was unfair for Jesus to invite into God’s Kingdom sinners who had broken God’s law such as tax collectors and prostitutes and he was also inviting foreigners into the Kingdom, non-Jews who were considered unclean and unworthy and who did not even know God’s law, much less keep it.

With this parable Jesus teaches the Pharisees that God’s love is much more generous that their human love could ever imagine.  God has promised eternal life to those who do his will.  The Pharisees and all those who are faithful throughout their lives will receive eternal life.  Should they receive twice the amount of eternal life simply because they were faithful longer? That is nonsense.  Eternal life is eternal life.  There is no extra eternal life for doing good.

These workers who arrive late, represent those who come to the faith later, the sinners and gentiles.  But at the end, thankfully they turn to the Lord.  They too need eternal life.  So God gives it to them, not because they deserve it, but because God is generous.  After all eternal life is God’s to give.  God’s justice is often far more generous than our human understanding of justice.

I once read the story of a mobster called Dutch Schultz whose criminal enterprise flourished during Prohibition.  A son of Jewish immigrants, he carved out a life of crime for himself almost throughout his life. He was as brutal and murderous as mobsters come, perhaps as murderous as ISIS in Iraq and Syria today.  Then his life of crime caught up with him.  As he emerged from a restaurant one day, he was showered with a hail of bullets.

But before he died, he was taken to hospital where a priest came to him and explained the tenets of the Christian faith to him.  Dutch repented of his sins and asked to be baptised.  The priest baptised him and soon after that Dutch died.

You can imagine what an outcry there was about what this priest did.  For as Catholics we believe that baptism washes away all our sins and if somebody should die right after baptism, he will go straight to heaven.  And so, people were angry that Dutch got off so easily, that he found his way heaven so easily.  This was not fair to all those good Catholics who went to Mass Sunday after Sunday, who tried their best to keep all the commandments all their life long.  “Is this justice?” they asked?

But as we know, our ways are not the Lord’s ways.  The Lord chose to give Dutch the same reward he is giving us cradle Catholics.  That is his way!

Christian Life

But the Lord’s ways must become our ways.  Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus teaches us to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.  Especially in this country, we have been raised to pull our own weight, to work hard in school and at our jobs, for a better life.  That is the true go-getter American spirit and there is nothing wrong with it, except that it is incomplete and imperfect.  We must add to this deep of sense of justice and hard work, the generous ways of the Lord.  We must change our ways so that we taken on the ways of the Lord.

We can start by examining our own lives and seeing how extremely generous God has been to us.  He has not paid us exactly what we deserve according to the human understanding of justice.  If he paid us only what we, who are sinners deserved, well, none of us would be here to tell of it. Sometimes when I praying privately and meditating on the Lord’s goodness to me, I realize that God has been extremely generous to me, especially through the various people he has put in my life.  Perhaps each of us feels the same generosity from the Lord.

In gratitude to the Lord’s generosity to us, we might want to extend the same generosity to others, a generosity that goes beyond justice.

I recently heard a story of a father whose son did something wrong that deserved punishment.  The punishment given was to do some chores, but that meant the son would miss the Saints Football game.  The father, in his generosity, decided to help the son with the chores, so that he would finish them quickly and together they would watch the second half of the game together.  This father method of punishment was both just and generous, like the Lord’s ways.

I also know of a family with three adult children; rather than split their inheritance among all three children equally, the children decided to give half to one child and let the other two split the other half.  Why?  Because this one daughter had really hit hard times and needed the money and the family home.  These siblings were not only just, but also generous, according to the ways of the Lord.

Conclusion

Throughout history we Christians have been known for our concern for the weakest members of our society, not because they deserve it, but because they need it.  And we do this because we try to be generous as the Lord who gives food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothing to the naked clothing, care to the sick, visit to the prisoner, renewal and forgiveness to the sinner.  As we carry on this excellent care of the least deserving, may the generous ways of Lord also be our ways.