A Homily – The Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C) , The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

First Reading – Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 50(51):3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 ©

Second Reading – 1 Timothy 1:12-17 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Colossians 5:19

The Gospel According to Luke 15:1 - 32 ©

 

First Reading - Numbers 21:4-9

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 77(78):1-2,34-38

Second Reading – Philippians 2:6-11

Gospel Acclamation

The Gospel According to John – 3:13-17

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

God, the creator of the universe God does not intervene in course of human events; God never has, and God never will. The whole of creation is free from divine coercion. God does not reach into our world to punish us, neither does God reach into our world to reward us. God loves all of God’s children, God loves us equally, not favoring one person above another, neither one family, nor one tribe or nation.

Know this.

Moses did not speak to God (if such a person as Moses ever even existed); God does not speak in the fire, though you may hear the spirit whispering in the secret chamber of the heart…God speaks to everyone there.

The destiny God has planned for us, which God established at the beginning of time, is something we all share in, God has prepared the way for us, and will deliver us to it, to a destiny that is not of this world.

Do not look for God’s hand in the tribulations we suffer or the blessings we enjoy on earth, they come to us by chance, they are like the wind, fleeting and ephemeral and bound to end, do not dwell on rewards and punishments…follow Jesus instead.

Understand this.

With God there is never justice without mercy. When we seek forgiveness from God, we are looking for something that already found us. When we come to the knowledge of our wrongdoing and we are contrite, that contrition is like the baptismal shower that washes us clean….but God forgave us before we ever sinned, or came to know the meaning of it, God forgave us from the moment God conceived of us, and our contrition, though welcome, was not required from us, in order for us to be the beneficiaries of God’s grace.

There is no crime that God has not forgiven

Remember what Jesus said when he was dying on the cross: forgive them, they know not what they do.

We are all sinners, we are all animals, we are no different than the wolf or the lion…sheep or shrew, but God speaks to us from our innermost being, God is present at our core; in this way God gives us the power and the grace to overcome our animal nature in order that we may live a holy life. God calls us to a life of conscience, and Jesus is the exemplar…follow him.

We ourselves are overflowing with corrupt intentions, thoughts and desires, but Jesus was a healer. He devoted his life and death to the proclamation that we are saved, which means to be made well. He preached the gospel, which means the good news, he preached salvation like a constant prayer on his lips…be well was his command. Love one another in the knowledge that you are saved already. You are saved, not because of anything that you have done to deserve it, not because Jesus made it so and you were subsequently initiated into his mystery. You are saved because God wills it, because God loves you, because God knew you from the beginning of time and made a way for you to find the blessing that has been prepared for your coming.

Jesus was a healer, his life’s mission was to heal, and to teach us to heal through the power of love. When you remember the life of Jesus, and God; whom he called father ask yourself this:

Is God glorious? What is it to be glorious in the light of the divine? It is to share in the light, not by reflection, but by burning with it.

Know this.

In the view of the divine the most exalted place to be, the seat of all glory is, in relationship to us; God wants to be with us, just as parent desires the nearness of their child. God prays for us, hopes for us, loves us and even trusts us, just as God has called us to do in return.

There is hope in the knowledge of God, and there is peace in the knowledge that the hopes we have for ourselves and for those we love are greater by orders of magnitude when we extend to everyone; even to those we do not love, for that is the way.

If you think the glory God promises has something to do with riches, status and the elevation of station, if you think that is the inheritance of the saints; I ask you to remember that the first will be last and the last will be first, and that riches are not counted in gold and silver and precious things.

Be mindful.

The apostle tells us in the simplest terms that the mission of the church is to announce the reconciliation of all people in God. Everyone is reconciled in God’s loving embrace; members of the church are meant to be ambassadors of this good news.

The church is not, nor should it ever be a recruiting agency, organizing itself to the purpose of signing up members for whom the reward is salvation.

Know this!

The reconciliation has already occurred. We were reconciled with God at the beginning of time, in the act of creation, through whom the whole of it came into being, and without whom not one thing would exist. We were reconciled in eternity, which is outside of time, and the mission of the church is to proclaim it.

Consider all of the readings for today, they are about stewardship, about service, mission and belonging.

There are not two kingdoms, in fact, there are no kingdoms at all; there is only what belongs to God who created the universe and all that is, in whom all things exist, by whom we live and breathe.

There are not two kingdoms, as there are not two sheepfolds…there is one shepherd and that is God. Even the sinner, depicted in today’s Gospel as the lost sheep, even that sinner belongs to God and not some other nameless being; no matter where you are, no matter who you are, you are God’s beloved.

You are more precious to God than a great sum of talents.

If you have lost your way God will find you, listen for the spirit whispering in the wind, you can hear the divine in your own breathing, feel it resonating with your heart.

Every sinner is welcome home, no matter how profligate your sinning was, your return is an occasion of joy.

Consider this.

God is like the farmer whose son returns after squandering his inheritance. Most of us (in one way or another) are like the prodigal child: eager, self-centered, ungrateful and demanding.

We ask for things that we have not earned and squander what does not belong to us. We lead shameful lives, either in public or in private. We are small-minded and petty, but when we get into trouble we look back to those who have always been there for us, we look to those who love us, knowing that we can count on their love again.

In today’s reading God is the loving parent and we are, each of us, the demanding child. Some of us have the character of the spendthrift son who squandered everything and found himself, destitute. Others of us are like the stalwart child who stayed by their parent’s side doing everything that was asked.

Some of us learn from our mistakes and thereby come to know the meaning of love, turn around and come home. Others of us are so hardened by pride that we cannot forgive those who do not lead lives as exemplary as we perceive our own to be…but God is patient and waits for us all.

We are all called to humility.

Numbers 21:4-9

Listen!

God does not intervene in human affairs. God does not send serpents to kill and wreak havoc among God’s beloved children.

This passage is a metaphor and I am certain that it has little instructive value.

God is not a charlatan, and does not work magic among the people.

 

Psalm 77(78):1-2,34-38

Repeating the myths of our ancestors does not make them true. It does not turn them into suitable metaphors for modern theology. It does not make them a basis for philosophical exploration.

God, the creator of the universe; God has never intervened in the lives of people; so as to perform miracles, or change the fate of nations.

But what is true in this psalm comes at the end.

God is merciful, God does not unleash anger on people, whom God knows are only flesh.

 

Understand this.

 

It was a mistake for the apostle to use the power of his pen in order to transform Jesus into a divine being; he was only as divine as you or I. Jesus was a man who shared all the qualities of human being share…he was one of us; he did not descend from another place.

 

And yet, Jesus was also divine, just as we all are divine. Jesus was, like all of us, created in the divine image. Like us, he carried a spark of seed of the divinity within him. He was our brother, and God is parent to us all.

 

Consider the gospel reading for today, it moves the reader in different directions. Its authors had a mix of motivation: on the one hand they wanted to express the understanding that the death and resurrection of Jesus was foretold by him;;  they wanted to give the impression that it was expected and was in keeping with God’s plan.

 

The authors mixed in some commentary on the social corruption they experienced in their day, with the intention of distancing Jesus, the disciple and the burgeoning Christian movement from it. In this regard it is a piece of propaganda. It was not necessary to comment on the “Jewish” Passover in this way, unless they were writing to people who were not Jewish. The authors were attempting to distance Christianity from its Jewish origins.

 

Let us be clear, Jesus was a Jew, and the Passover to him, was simply…Passover.

 

Nevertheless, the commentary on temple corruption is not without merit. There was corruption, there has always been corruption in the priesthood, both before the time of Jesus and after.

 

Be mindful.

 

The organization of religion is as much a matter of commerce as it is of spirituality, perhaps more, and criticism of this type must be applied equally to the entire community of believers, in all times, and in all places…in all denominations and churches, in all faith traditions.

 

First Reading – Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 ©

The Lord Relented and did not Bring on His People the Disaster He Had Threatened

The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’

But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: “I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.”’

So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 50(51):3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 ©

I will leave this place and go to my father.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.

  In your compassion blot out my offence.

O wash me more and more from my guilt

  and cleanse me from my sin.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

  put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

  nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

O Lord, open my lips

  and my mouth shall declare your praise.

My sacrifice is a contrite spirit.

  A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

 

Second Reading – 1 Timothy 1:12-17 ©

Christ Jesus Came into the World to Save Sinners

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Ephesians 1:17, 18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – 2 Corinthians 5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 15:1 - 32 ©

There Will Be Rejoicing in Heaven Over One Repentant Sinner

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

  ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.

  ‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’

  He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

  ‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

  ‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

  ‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

  ‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

 

First Reading - Numbers 21:4-9

If Anyone was Bitten by a Serpent, He Looked Up At the Bronze Serpent and Lived

On the way through the wilderness the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’

  At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 77(78):1-2,34-38

The history of salvation: the Lord's goodness, his people's infidelity (I)

Our fathers have told us of the might of the Lord and the marvellous deeds he has done.

Alleluia.

Listen, my people, to my teaching;

  open your ears to the words of my mouth.

I shall open my mouth in explanation,

  I shall tell of the secrets of the past.

All that we have heard and know –

  all that our fathers told us –

  we shall not hide it from their descendants,

but will tell to a new generation

  the praise of the Lord, and his power,

  and the wonders that he worked.

He set up a covenant with Jacob,

  he gave a law to Israel;

he commanded our ancestors to pass it on to their children,

  so that the next generation would know it,

  the children yet to be born.

They shall rise up and tell the story to their children,

  so that they put their trust in God,

so that they do not forget the works of God,

  so that they keep his commandments;

so that they do not become like their fathers,

  rebellious and troublesome,

a generation of fickle hearts,

  of souls unfaithful to God.

The sons of Ephraim, the bowmen,

  fled when it came to battle;

they did not keep their covenant with God,

  they refused to follow his law.

They forgot his deeds

  and the wonders he had shown them.

In front of their ancestors he had worked his wonders,

  in the land of Egypt, in the plains of Tanis.

He divided the sea and led them across,

  he held back the waters as if in a bag.

He led them in a cloud by day;

  and through the night, in the light of fire.

He split the rock in the desert

  and gave them water as if from bottomless depths.

He brought forth streams from the rock

  and made the waters flow down in rivers.

 

Still they insisted on sinning against him,

  they stirred up the wrath of the Most High in the desert.

They put God to the test in their hearts,

  asking for food, their desire.

They spoke out against God, saying

  “Can God lay a table in the wilderness?”

He struck the rock, and the waters poured out,

  and the streams were full to overflowing;

“But can he give us bread?

  Can he give meat to his people?”

The Lord heard all this, and he flared up in anger.

  Fire blazed against Jacob,

  his wrath rose up against Israel.

All this, because they had no faith in God,

  they had no trust in his saving power.

He commanded the clouds nevertheless,

  and opened the doors of the heavens.

Manna rained down for them to eat:

  he gave them the bread of heaven.

Men ate the food of angels;

  he gave them provisions in abundance.

In heaven he stirred up the east wind,

  he brought the south wind, by his power:

he rained meat on them as if it were dust,

  winged birds, like the sands of the sea,

to fall in the middle of their camp,

  all around their tents.

They ate and were full to bursting,

  and so he gave them their desire.

In the middle of their enjoyment,

  when the food was still in their mouths,

the wrath of God rose up against them,

  and slew the healthiest among them,

  and laid low the flower of Israel.

All this – and still they sinned,

  still they had no faith in his wonders.

He made their days vanish in a breath,

  their years in a headlong rush.

Whenever he was killing them, they sought him,

  repented and came back to him at dawn:

they remembered that God is their helper,

  that God, the Most High, is their saviour;

but their speech to him was only flattery:

  they lied to him with their tongues,

their hearts were dishonest towards him,

  they did not keep his covenant.

But the Lord is merciful:

  he forgives sin, he does not destroy.

Always he turned aside his anger,

  held back from unleashing all his wrath.

He remembered that they were flesh –

  a breath, that goes and does not return.

Amen.

They remembered that God was their helper and their redeemer.

Alleluia.

 

Second Reading – Philippians 2:6-11

Christ Humbled Himself but God Raised Him High

His state was divine, yet Christ Jesus did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because by your cross you have redeemed the world.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John – 3:13-17

God Sent His Son So That Through Him the World Might Be Saved

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.’

 

A Homily – The Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross