The New Covenant: a heart transplant for Christians

Homily for 5^th Sunday of Lent Year B 2015

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

Introduction

“I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” What is this new covenant and what happened to the old one?

A covenant is like an agreement between two parties.

·        As a kid my mother and I had this agreement that if I did my chores, when she returned I would get a special treat like cookies or soda.  For the most mom and I were satisfied with this arrangement.

·        Then you have more formal agreements, like a man and a woman coming together in marriage; they agree to love each other in sickness and in health, till death do them part.

·        And then there is the very formal agreement, like the contract signed between the Saints team and the players, or that between an employer and employee, or between a buyer and seller of a property.

Scripture and Theology

And so, when our God decided to share his life with human beings, he made covenants with them, agreements to stipulate rights and obligations of each side.  God promised that he would be their God and they promised to be his people.

1.    The first covenant God made was with Adam and Eve (Gen 1-2).  He gave them everything they needed, a garden, animals, each other and all he asked was one little thing: do not eat of the tree of knowledge.  As we know they broke that covenant.

2.    The second covenant was with Noah (Gen 6-9) in which God promised that he would not destroy the earth again with a flood; and he gave the rainbow as a sign of his promise.

3.    The third covenant was with Abraham (Gen 17), and God promised him many things: numerous descendants, a great nation, a land flowing with milk and honey.  All Abraham and his descendants had to do was to obey the Lord and the males to undergo circumcision.

4.    The fourth covenant was with Moses (Ex. 20-34) and this was the big one.  God promised to deliver on the promises he made to Abraham as long as the people for their part kept the Ten Commandments, which were etched on two stone tablets.  Almost immediately they went back on their word.

5.    There is one more covenant, that which God made with King David (2 Sam 7).  God promised to establish the house of David as an everlasting kingdom.  This promise is important because Jesus the Saviour would be a descendant of David, the Son of David.

And so having already made these covenants, with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David, why does God make another covenant, a new covenant?

A new covenant is needed because the old ones have failed, not once, not twice, but five times.  These old covenants failed because of the way they were enforced.  They relied on external conditions like the tree of knowledge, the rainbow, circumcision, the stone tablets and the monarchy.

The new covenant is going to be different.  “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts,” God says.  In other words, the stipulations of the new covenant will be interior, within the people’s hearts.  And he goes on: “No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD.”

Christian Life

The Big Bang Theory is a TV sitcom is about a group of nerdy friends.  One of them, Sheldon Cooper, is rather eccentric.  For example, his relationships with his friends, even his girlfriend, are based on written contracts.

·        There is the roommate agreement with Leonard that stipulates all kinds of things including how many minutes each roommate can use the shower.

·        There is the 31-page relationship agreement with his girlfriend Amy, which regulates things like under which conditions they can hold hands.

·        And as for his other friends, their status depends on how many strikes they have accumulated or how many Cooper coupons they have earned.

The first five covenants of the Old Testament worked like Sheldon’s agreements, with rights and obligations clearly stated up to the smallest details.  But the new covenant, which Jeremiah prophesies is different.  It relies on a person’s heart, because it was established by a person, Jesus Christ.

Jesus announced this new covenant at the Last Supper.  Holding the cup of wine, he told his disciples: “This is my blood of the new covenant.”  And on the next day, on the cross, he shed his blood and sealed the new covenant.  That is why when people come to see Jesus in today’s gospel, he does not start by giving them a set of rules and obligations.  Instead he tells them about God’s love for them and how his death and resurrection is going to restore that love.

And so, in this new relationship, Christians will obey God’s laws because their hearts tell them to and not merely out of obligation.  The Christian’s relationship to God is more like a friendship than a contract.  For friendship is natural and organic.  Rights and obligations are not written on paper, but are written in the heart.  Friends do things for each other, not out of obligation, but out of love. When a friend is sick or loses a child, we rally around them.  We do this, not because there is a rule about that, but because first and foremost we love them.

The new covenant which Jesus establishes is more like a friendship.  Yes, this covenant still has obligations, but they are written on the heart.  For a Christian then, what comes first is the relationship with God in faith, hope and love and then the obligations, the commandments come naturally.

During this Lenten season, for example, we undertake to do three things: to pray, to fast and to give alms.  We can do these things the Sheldon Cooper way, the way of the Old Covenants, out of sheer obligation, or we can do them the way friendship way, the way of the New Covenant, from the heart.

·        Do I come to Mass on Sunday or do I say my personal prayers merely out of obligation or because I want to speak with God, like I would to beloved friend or a beloved father or mother?

·        Do I fast and abstain only because that is the kind of thing Catholics are supposed to do, or do I do it from the heart, sacrificing myself to experience the suffering of Christ?

·        Do I give alms just out of pity and a sense of guilt, or do I really give from my heart, because I see God in those whom I help?

Conclusion

One of the seminarians whom I teach had a heart transplant last year.  And being the good sport that he is, since then we have had no shortage of heart jokes.  Sometimes when he is late with an assignment he will blame it on his contrite heart.  And because he received the heart from a black person, he now calls himself half-black and half-white.  But most of all, everyday this seminarian says how grateful he is that God has given him a new life with a new heart.

In the new covenant of Jesus Christ, it is like the Lord has given each of us a new heart.  Let us use our hearts “to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.”

The Good News/Bad News of Christianity

Homily for 4^th Sunday of Lent Year B 2015

2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

Introduction

When someone begins a conversation with, “I have good news and bad news,” you know to expect the worst; for the bad news often outweighs the good.

Doctor:  I have some good news and I have some bad news.

Patient:  What's the good news?

Doctor:  The good news is that the tests you took showed that you have 24 hours to live.

Patient:  That's the good news?  What's the bad news?

Doctor:  The bad news is that I forgot to call you yesterday!

Scripture and Theology

As you must have gathered already, today’s readings also have elements of bad news and good news; but thankfully at the end of the day it is Good News that triumphs.

In the first reading we heard how the people of Israel sinned, adding infidelity upon infidelity.  Think of any sin against the Lord, and they did it.  Their leaders compounded this bad situation of sin and made it worse, when they rejected the messengers that God sent to help them, even killing some of them.

The Good News is that the Lord did not give up on his people, despite their disobedience.  Yes, he punished them severely, by allowing them to be taken into exile and be enslaved like their forefathers had been enslaved in Egypt.  But at the end of the day, he sent them a saviour, a very unlikely saviour.  The Lord used the pagan Persian King Cyrus to free the Jewish people from captivity in Babylon so they could return Jerusalem, to rebuild their temple and their community.

The gospel passage bears even better news.  If in the Old Testament the people returned to their national home, in the New Testament, the Good News is that Jesus has come to restore us to a heavenly home.  John’s gospel says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  What wonderful news, what Good News!  If you are looking for a summary of the Christian message, that is it!  That God has sent Jesus to bring us a “get-out-of-jail” card.

But this Good News came at a cost.  Jesus explains that salvation will come about in a painful way, on the Cross.  He says: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Jesus is referring to what happened to the Jews during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.  On this journey the people rebelled against God griping about all the good food they had left behind in Egypt and generally being ungrateful that the Lord had rescued them (cf. Numbers 21).  So God punished them by sending serpents, which stung and killed many of them.  But Moses appealed to the Lord, to save his people.  And the Lord told Moses to mount a bronze serpent on a stick, so that anybody stung by a serpent who looked at it, would be saved.  You will sometimes see a image of this serpent on medical prescription forms or at pharmacies.  This image has come to mean healing.

And so Jesus says that he too, like that bronze serpent, will be lifted up on the cross.  And those who look to him, on the cross, will be saved, not from physical death, but from eternal death; they will have eternal life.

And so, the Good News of our salvation is going to come about through the bad news of the Cross, the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.   At its very core and origin, the Christian message is a good news – bad news story, but one in which the Good News trumps the bad.

Christian Life

In living out our Christian lives, we could be tempted to pick one or the other, to focus just on the Good News or just on the bad news.

·        When we dwell only on the good news, only on the fact that we have been saved and we completely ignore the cross that brought about that salvation or the sin that caused the situation in the first place, we commit the sin of presumption.

·        When we dwell only on the bad news of sin and suffering and completely ignore the good news of salvation, we commit the sin of despair.

We must therefore avoid being presumptuous, especially avoid cherry-picking only those elements that make us happy and ignoring the difficult ones.

·        For example, as we rejoice at the baptism of a new baby, a truly joyous occasion, the fun part, we must not forget the rather daunting responsibility of teaching that child the difficult commands of the Lord, the not-so-fun part.

·        Or when we celebrate the love of a couple in a beautiful wedding ceremony, complete with beautiful flowers, music and food, (the fun part) we must not forget the lifelong and exclusive commitment that marriage is (the demanding part).

·        And for those us who have a wonderful prayer life, who derive deep spiritual consolation and personal joy in prayer, we must not forget that our prayer also commits us to justice and care for others, especially the needy.

On the other hand, a few of us may be tempted in the opposite direction, where in utter despair, we dwell only on the cross and forget about the resurrection.

·        This may happen when we sin, especially when we sin gravely.  We may think “surely God cannot forgive this sin; surely Jesus did not die for someone like me.”  We must like the prodigal son, who despite his grave sins returned to the Father; we must reject the temptation to remain in darkness, but rather believe the Good News that God forgives the repentant sinner.

·        Or sometimes despair can make give up on others, thinking that surely the Good News of salvation does not apply to those terrible sinners or those who are not like us, perhaps because they belong to a different religion.

And so, we must take the whole package of the Christian message, the difficulties and the joys, the bad news and the good news the cross and the resurrection.

Conclusion

In the Fall, many of us receive the flu vaccine.  But do we think about how a vaccine works?  The contents of the vaccine are flu germs themselves.  The doctors inject this weakened strain of germs into us, hoping that it will trigger an immune reaction in our bodies, so that when the really harmful flu germs come, our bodies will be ready to protect us.  That is why those who have volunteered to have the Ebola vaccine tested on them must be commended for their courage.  And so, with vaccines, most of the time, a good effect – our protection from a terrible disease – is achieved by the scary method of injecting germs into us.

In a similar way, God so loved the world and wanted to save us and restore us to communion with him.  Because our condition was one of illness, he had to use a painful method.  He gave his Son who was lifted up on the cross, so that his death might pay the debt of our sin.

This is the Good News of our salvation, this is the Good News that drives away despair and gives us hope. But as we bask in the joy of this Good News, let us be reminded that our salvation has come at a great cost.  And therefore, let us live our Christian lives never presumptuous but always grateful for this great gift.

The Sacred: Giving the Lord his due

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Lent Year B 2015

Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

Introduction

Being Jealous is an emotion we usually associate with human beings, but not with God.  And yet in today’s first reading God says of himself: “I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God.”

Similarly, getting upset is an emotion we usually associate with human beings, rarely with God.  And yet in today’s gospel we see one of the rare occasions when Jesus is really ticked off.

And so, we must ask: Why would God be so jealous as to punish for sins down to the third and fourth generations?  Why would Jesus be so upset that he physically drives the traders and money changers out of the temple?

Scripture and Theology

The answer to these questions is as simple as it is straightforward.  The readings of today tell us that when God does not get what is due to him, bad things tend to happen to us.

In the first reading, God gives the Ten Commandments to the people.  The  first three require them to give God his due.

1.    “You shall not have other gods besides me.”

2.    “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.”

3.    “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day of the Lord.”

And why should the people of Israel do these things for God?  He says: “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.”  That surely should count for something.  Because God is God and because he has done great things for the people, he surely deserves love, respect for his name, and reverence for his day.

No wonder then that in the gospel, Jesus is compelled to stand up for his Father’s honour.  “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace,” he tells the traders and moneychangers.  Jesus has a special love not just for his Father, but for his Father’s house too.  You will recall that when Jesus was Twelve, on one of their annual trips to Jerusalem, his parents left him there by mistake.  When three days later his parents found him and asked him why he done this to them, his answer was: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

It should not surprise us then, that when Jesus comes to the Temple as an adult, and finds that it has been changed from a place of worship for God, to a meat market and a stock exchange, Jesus gets really riled up.

·        You can imagine the annoying bellowing of the oxen, the bleating of sheep and the repetitively aggravating bird noises, to say nothing about the awful smell that the animal waste must have left behind.

·        You can also imagine the mess caused by large numbers of people trying to get change from the bankers.  If you have ever gone shopping on Black Friday, you know what I am talking about.

But it is not this mess that upsets Jesus. What upsets Jesus is more basic; the place for worshipping God had been turned into something else.

To be fair, the traders and bankers at the temple actually provided an important service to the worshippers who came to offer sacrifice.  Most Jews travelled from very far to come to Jerusalem.  It was therefore much more convenient to buy an animal for sacrifice at the temple itself.  Think about Joseph and Mary who had to travel from Nazareth to Jerusalem.  According to mapquest Nazareth is about 100 miles from Jerusalem, a two and half hour journey by car today, but several days’ journey on foot at the time of Jesus.  So such long-distance pilgrims preferred to buy the animals right there at the temple.  Besides, the animals for sacrifice had to be perfect or else the priests would reject them.  Would you want to take the risk of carrying your sheep all the way from Nazareth only for it to be declared unfit for sacrifice?  So the safe thing to do was to buy an animal from the temple precincts, from the “approved” merchants whose stock was certainly kosher and acceptable.

As for the money changers, their main purpose was to serve those who brought money for alms and donations for the temple.  Most people came with Roman currency and the currency of other foreign nations.  But this money usually had an icon of their pagan rulers, just like our dollar bills do.  So, since this currency bore those pagan images, it was not acceptable in the temple.  The money changers exchanged this unacceptable money for acceptable Jewish coins.

Christian Life

Would we today pass the test of God’s jealousy?  Would Jesus today approve of our places of worship?  In other words, do we give God what is his due, exclusive love for him as God, respect for his name, observance of his day and most of all due reverence for his house?

Thankfully we have not yet turned our churches into a Winn-Dixie, Walgreens or Walmart, although some people would probably want us to have some vending machines for snacks and drinks at the back of church.  Thankfully we have not turned our churches into banking halls, although I have heard it suggested that if we installed ATM machines at the back of church, the collections might go up.  But we don’t do these things, because they would be a distraction from the primary reason for which we come to church, which is, to pray to God, to grow in our relationship with him.

• That is why our churches are quiet places, especially before Mass, to give us time to recollect ourselves, to transition from our world of noise, to God’s world, where he speaks to us in the quiet of our hearts.

• That is why our churches are adorned and decorated differently from our living rooms, from our offices, from conference halls; they are adorned with images of Jesus, Mary and the saints, rather than our worldly heroes, with altars and pews, instead of tables and chairs, a tabernacle instead of a cabinet.  These things should remind us about God and bring us closer to him.

• That is why what takes place in Church, the words we use, the music we sing, the ritual actions we do, standing, kneeling, bowing, genuflecting, are not things we do in our daily life; we do these special things for God, because he is God.

Conclusion

And yet, despite our best efforts, we could do better; we could give God more; we could avoid doing things that might just tick Jesus off, were he to come to our churches today.

·        He would ask some of us to dress a little more respectfully, perhaps more formally, since we come here to encounter a great Person, God the Father.

·        He would ask some of us to behave and speak in church in ways that create an atmosphere of prayer, rather than a place of entertainment or a carnival.

·        He would ask some of us to dedicate a little more time to God, arriving at church well before Mass begins to recollect ourselves.  He would certainly not appreciate that some of us leave right after communion.

There is no better time than the Season of Lent, for us to rededicate ourselves to God.  As we do our almsgiving, our fasting and abstinence, our prayer, may we always give God what is due to God: dignified worship and devoted service.

Recharging the batteries with prayer

Homily for 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39

Introduction

Has someone ever asked you why you spend in prayer rather than using that time to do good works, like feeding the poor?

If you have been asked such a question then you are in good company.  The same thing happened to Jesus.  We heard that this is how he began his day. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

Scripture and Theology

What did a typical day in the life of Jesus look like?

·        Last Sunday we heard how Jesus went to the synagogue of Capernaum on the Sabbath to pray like any faithful Jewish person did.

·        We then heard how he made a great impression not only by his teaching which had a unique air of authority, but he also cured a man who had been possessed by a demon.

·        After the Sabbath service, and this is where today’s Gospel begins, Jesus and his disciples went to Simon’s house; they probably were looking for a free meal – as sons often do.  But Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever.  Jesus again came to rescue and healed her.  On getting better, she returned the favour by waiting on them and providing dinner.

·        Later that evening, after the Sabbath was over and people could once again begin to go about their business, we heard that “they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.  The whole town was gathered at the door.  He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons. . . .”

·        Finally, Jesus must have gone to bed really late and probably very tired.  That was a typical day in the life of Jesus.

But then, how does he begin the next day?  He had every reason to sleep in, given how busy the previous day had been.  But instead, “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

But the disciples could not leave him alone.  Probably they thought he wasting precious time, during which he might have cured a few more people.  That is why when he finds Jesus at prayer, Simon Peter scolds him, saying: “Everyone is looking for you.”  They want you to continue healing people like you did yesterday.  But the response of Jesus is: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come.”  Instead of going back to Capernaum, to enjoy the status a superstar, a celebrity, Jesus chooses to go and pray and after prayer, to continue his ministry in another place.

For Jesus, prayer was essential.  That is elsewhere in the gospels we see him often withdrawing to deserted places, sometimes alone, sometimes with his disciples, so that he can pray, so that he can talk with God his Father.  Especially when he is preparing to do something really important, like at the beginning of his ministry, like before he choose the Twelve Apostles and like before he gave his life on the cross, Jesus always first went off to pray.

For Jesus prayer must come first and then the good works of his ministry will follow.  His work is strengthened and made fruitful only because of the profound relationship that Jesus has with God, a relationship strengthened by prayer.

Christian Life

If praying was necessary for Jesus, it is even more essential for us his followers.  There are many ways in which we pray:

·        We pray as a community when we come to Mass on Sundays like we are doing today.

·        We pray as a small group through various devotions like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, charismatic prayer meetings and adoration.

·        We pray privately when we say the traditional prayers, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and when we spend time with God in Church or elsewhere.

But why do we do all these things?  Would this time not be better spent doing good works, doing practical things that help people in a concrete way?

·        You could spend this time tutoring a child struggling in school or baby-sitting so that the mother might go to work.

·        You could spend this time doing an extra job, to earn extra money that you could donate to the poor.

·        You could spend this time volunteering with some organization that helps needy people.

But like Jesus, you choose to use this time for prayer; so that after the priest dismisses you, saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” you are well armed, recharged and ready to do these things and to do them even better.

And yet, we who do pray must be careful that our prayer is real prayer.  Our prayer must be a genuine conversation with God, much like a conversations between friends.  There are three ways we could turn prayer into something else.

First, we should not pray simply out of obligation.  We don’t talk with a friend simply out of obligation.  We talk to each other because we love each other.  In the same we talk to God in prayer, because we love him and we know he loves us.  I remember that when I was a kid, sometimes prayer felt like checking off a get-out-of-hell card.  Jesus prayed, not because he had to, but because he loved the Father and wanted to keep in touch.

Secondly, we should not pray simply because we want to get something from God.  If the only time you speak to a friend is when you want a favour from them, that friendship will probably not last that long.  During the football season, some people often ask me, why I don’t say anything about the New Orleans Saints at Mass and why I don’t pray for them to win!  After mustering all the politeness I can spare, I usually remind them that perhaps my prayers might better be used for more urgent problems of the world today, like wars, hunger, Ebola.  We pray to God, not only to ask him for things, but also to thank him, praise and even moan to him like Job does in today’s first reading.  Prayer should not be demanding that God do our bidding; we propose and we wait for his answer.

Finally, prayer is not therapy or entertainment.  Sometimes prayer is joyful, especially when we are praise and thank God.  Sometimes prayer is sorrowful, especially when we bring to God our difficulties.  Sometimes prayer is neither joyful nor sorrowful, but is simply a serious conversation between us and God.

Conclusion

After Jesus, Mother Theresa of Calcutta is perhaps the best example of a woman who understood that prayer preceded good works, and that prayer was true conversation with God.  Mother Theresa was known throughout the world for her great works of charity.  What most people do not know about her is that before she and her sisters went out into the streets to help the needy, they always started their day in prayer.  And at the end of their day, they brought all their experiences to God in prayer.

May our days always begin and always end with prayer, so that we can be sure, that our good works are indeed the works of God.

A new teaching with authority: truth with conviction

Homily for 4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

Introduction

“A new teaching with authority;” that’s how the crowds describe the teaching of Jesus.

For us, though, teaching with authority, might remind us of experiences we had in school that we would rather forget.

·        Perhaps for you, the ladies, teaching with authority reminds you of Sr. Mary Michael, who made you un-hem your short skirt!

·        Perhaps for you, the guys, teaching with authority reminds you of Coach Smith, who made you do 50 push-ups when you were late for practice.

·        Perhaps for all of us, teaching with authority reminds us of our mothers.  Mom tried to convince you to do something, but despite her best arguments, you still kept asking: “Why?  Why should I do this?” Finally your mother had to deploy the only argument left in her bag: “Because I am the Mom and I say so.”

Scripture and Theology

For Jesus, however, the people actually like the fact that he was teaching with authority.  In fact because he taught with authority we heard that “His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.”  And so, why was his teaching with authority, so different from ours?

Before we answer that question, let us understand the context in which Jesus was teaching.  He was teaching at the synagogue.  Like any faithful Jew, Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath.  The synagogue service consisted of readings from the Bible and preaching.  And anybody from the community could be chosen to read and to preach.  And so on this occasion, perhaps because he was already getting famous as a teacher, Jesus was picked to do the reading and preaching.  And when he taught, the people were pleasantly surprised that he taught with authority.

Two unique qualities give the teaching of Jesus authority.

The first quality has to do with style.  When Jesus teaches, he is the source of his own teaching.  Last Sunday for example, we heard him say: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 

The scribes on the other hand taught by quoting past rabbis and authors known for their wisdom.  They would say things like: “As Rabbi Shammai taught . . . or as the Prophet Isaiah prophesied.” You could say that the scribes taught by name-dropping.  They taught the way students write essays.  If you are writing an essay about American history, for example, you might want to back up your arguments with quotes from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King.

But Jesus does not rely on any other authority. He is his own authority.  Even when he drives out the demon in today’s passage he simply says: “Quiet! Come out of him!”  He does not drive the demon out by invoking the authority of another person, like today’s priests and ministers would do, saying something like: “in the name of Jesus I command you to leave this man.”

The second reason Jesus teaches with authority is because what he teaches has substance.  He teaches the truth, and there is a freshness about the truth that he is teaching.  We heard God promise Moses in the first reading: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.”  Jesus is that new prophet, who tells it as it is, who fulfils the promises God made in the Old Testament.  In fact in Matthew chapter 5 Jesus sees his teaching as fulfilling the Old Testament: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you . . . .”  Jesus is teaching some new things, some really solid stuff; and that is why he can be said to teach with authority.

Typical of Mark’s gospel, it is not the disciples, it is not the Jewish religious leaders, but it is the ordinary people who come off with any credit in this passage.  They see something different and special not just in the style of Jesus’ teaching, but especially in the substance of what he says.

Christian Life

All of us baptized Christians and especially we who are also confirmed, have been given a mandate to teach the gospel to others.  We must also teach with authority, as Jesus teaches.  Jesus has shown us that teaching with authority does not mean using one’s power to force things down people’s throats or making them do what we want.  Rather, teaching with authority means passing on the whole truth of the gospel with conviction, so that people are moved to listen and act on it.

How do we teach with authority?  Of course we cannot like Jesus go around saying, “You have that it was said, but I say this.”  People will think we are pompous.  Nor can we claim to be the source of what we teach.  That is called plagiarism.  But there is a way our teaching can have its own authority, even as we have to quote from Jesus and from what other teachers, must smarter and perhaps much holier than us have taught.  We must appropriate the gospel message and make it a part of us; only then will have authenticity and authority.  There is a saying in Africa that religion should not be like the shirt or cloth we put on and take off; it should be like our very skin, which is with us wherever we are.  When what we teach is second nature to us, stems from personal conviction, we teach with authority.

I once heard an old bishop being interviewed about what is wrong with the youth of today.  The interviewer asked: “Your eminence, why do you think that today’s young people are so rebellious and don’t come to Church.”  Of course he was expecting the bishop to say, like we adults often say, “we miss the good old days, when things were different.”

But the wise bishop said, “There is nothing really different with today’s young generation.  From Adam’s time, young people have always been rebellious.  As they grow bigger in body and sharper in mind in their teenage years, they need to establish their own identity and so tend to disobey their parents.  The difference today is not the children, it is us the adults.  Because we are uncertain about the truth and about how to teach it, we have failed to guide and teach our children, as past generations of adults have done to their misguided youth.”

There is wisdom in the bishop’s comments.  More than ever before, today we need adult Christians who will guide the young, by teaching truth in love.

In my own life, the teachers who I still remember and respect are not those who let me off easy all the time.  I remember those who taught me the truth by their word and by their example, and if truth be told, by their disciplinary actions.  Whether it was religion class or science class, they set high standards and held us to them.  Whether it was football or drama, they showed us that practice makes perfect.  Whether it was the debate club or the Legion of Mary club, they taught us to put our hearts in what we did.

Conclusion

May we ask God to give us the grace to teach with authority!  May our teaching have such conviction and truth that it will convict people and move them to action on its merit, without the need for further arguments.  And may we never have to turn to the argument of last resort: “Because I am the mom.”  For our authority as mom, as dad, as teacher, will be so obvious as not to need saying.

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

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

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

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scripture and Theology

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christian Life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

The truth shall set you free

Homily for Peace and Justice (MLK) 2015

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

Introduction

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

Scripture and Theology

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

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

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

Christian Life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

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