A Homily – Most Holy Trinity (Year B), A Holy Day of Obligation

First Reading – Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40 ©

Responsorial Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22

Second Reading – Romans 8:14-17 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Revelations 1:8

The Gospel According to Matthew 28:16-20 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 The law as it was written, is not the law of God, it was the law of human beings. God does not distribute land among the people, parceling out lots like a county surveyor. God does not play favorites among nations, tribes or families. God, is not a God of battles and any social construct theology predicated on such a notion should be rejected out of hand.

 Consider the wisdom of the psalmist, who is correct when demonstrating how fitting it is to praise God.

 It is wise to trust in the counsel of God, to have faith in God’s mercy, but it is foolishness to expect that God will rescue you from the dangers of this world…God will not.

 God does not intervene in our world, and it is folly to believe that God will, and nonsense to believe that God’s loves any one of God’s children more than any other.

 Be mindful.

 God knows all things; God understands all things. You have heard this said and it is true, but God’s knowledge is not an abstract knowledge of the particular details of individual events, their precedents and consequences. God understands our person, the choices we make in the context of our lived experience; God understand us even as we understand ourselves, though God’s understanding is conditioned by divine clarity, the scope of which is without measure.

 Therefore, do as the psalmist says and trust in God’s plan for you, trust in God’s plan for creation; do not wait for salvation, because salvation was promised to you the moment you came into world…this is the good news, and we are called to share it.

 Consider the teaching of the apostle, who misconstrues many things.

 It is true that we are free to live spiritual lives, and that as followers of the way we are called to live our lives governed by our most altruistic hopes. Even though we are animals, we do not have to live as animals do, governed by appetite and predation.

 Know this.

 Everyone is a child of God; from the most disciplined and devout, to the most reckless, devilish, destructive and demonic.

 Be mindful.

 No one has need to fear God, we are united with God…by God, who is the source of all being. God created us in the divine image and after doing so God said that what God had made was good.

 Understand this:

 Some of us may suffer more than others, but everyone suffers. Jesus suffered, and we honor what he taught us through his suffering.

 Remember.

 Jesus is not a king or a ruler of anykind, he is not a priest but a prophet; Jesus is a friend, a comforter and healer, he came to show us the way and it is our duty to follow him.

 Consider the gospel reading for today.

 This passage is commonly known as the “Great Commission,” it purports to grant authority to the disciples that survived Jesus’ arrest and execution.

 It is pure propaganda.

 The event described never happened, but the writers of Matthew’s Gospel, writing more than one hundred years after Jesus was killed, thought it was necessary to establish their own authority and the exclusive right to speak and act in Jesus’ name, therefore they wrote this into the sacred text.

 Apart from the false narrative (which cannot be condoned) the message is reasonable, it articulates the basic mission of the church: to turn all people of all nations into followers of the way, to be seekers of justice and servants of truth, to foster the type of community that cares for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the marginalized among them.

First Reading – Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40 ©

The Lord is God Indeed: He and No Other

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

  ‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

 

Responsorial Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22

The Lord Provides

Praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Rejoice in the Lord, you just:

  it is good for the upright to praise him.

Proclaim the Lord on the lyre,

  play his song on the ten-stringed harp.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

  sing out your cries of triumph,

for the word of the Lord is truly just,

  and all his actions are faithful.

The Lord loves justice and right judgement;

  the earth is full of his loving kindness.

By the Lord’s word the heavens were made,

  and all their array by the breath of his mouth.

He gathered the seas as if in a bag,

  he stored up the depths in his treasury.

Let every land fear the Lord,

  let all the world be awed at his presence.

For he spoke, and they came into being;

  he commanded, and they were made.

The Lord confounds the counsel of the nations,

  throws the thoughts of the peoples into confusion.

But the Lord’s own counsel stands firm for ever,

  his thoughts last for all generations.

Happy the nation whose lord is God,

  the people he has chosen as his inheritance.

The Lord looks down from the heavens

  and sees all the children of men.

From his dwelling-place he looks

  upon all who inhabit the earth.

He moulded each one of their hearts,

  he understands all that they do.

The king will not be saved by his forces;

  the abundance of his strength will not set the strong man free.

Do not trust a horse to save you,

  whatever its swiftness and strength.

For see, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

  upon those who trust in his mercy,

hoping he will save their souls from death

  and their bodies from hunger.

Our souls praise the Lord,

  for he is our help and our protector,

for our hearts rejoice in him,

  and we trust in his holy name.

Lord, show us your loving kindness,

  just as we put our hope in you.

The Lord Provides

 

Second Reading – Romans 8:14-17 ©

The Spirit Himself and Our Spirit Bear United Witness that We Are Children of God

Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Revelations 1:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; the God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 28:16-20 ©

Go and Make Disciples of All Nations

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

 

A Homily – Most Holy Trinity (Year B), A Holy Day of Obligation

A Homily - The Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

 A Homily - The Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

  

2022.12.11

  

First Reading - Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 145(146):6-10 ©

Second Reading - James 5:7-10 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Isaiah 61:1 (Luke 4:18)

The Gospel According to Matthew 11:2 - 11 ©

  

(NJB)

  

Listen to the prophet Isaiah is a prayer of hope. Listen and be mindful, do not mistake the poetry written here as the literal truth or the historical record of anything.

 This is a prayer from the school of Isaiah, it is a prayer for healing and restoration, it is a prayer for salvation: a state of being that God, the creator of the universe, that God intends for everyone …but not in this life.

 This prayer is not a promise concerning the expectations we should hold for our lives in this world. It is a prayer reflecting our hope for the next.

 The hope that is expressed here is the hope of divine deliverance, not from present peril but from the material condition altogether.

 There is a fundamental choice before us:

 We may choose to live our lives as if we believe in the things we hope for; the belief in what we hope for is an extension of trust in the divine, this mode of trust is the essence of faith, which is not a thing you can possess, nor a state of being, it is an action best expressed in the imperfect form…never complete in the present.

 In the next world we may witness the entirety of the created order lifted-up in the exultation of God; we may experience it like that, but this will not be a state of mindless adulation, it will not be a grand and endless glorification…that is not the way of the divine, whatever jubilation there will be, will have the form of thanksgiving and humility according to the simple—endless bounty of God’s love.

 I am with Isaiah when they express the hope that we will face our fears and watch them disappear; I am with those who teach us to have courage in the now, and patience in the present moment, being of service to one another.

 I am not with Isaiah when he petitions for vengeance in the hunt for retribution. Rather, I am with Jesus who took no enemies to himself, even from among his persecutors, who forgave those who hurt him, making that his final prayer…issued from the cross.

 This is a prayer for healing, for universal healing; take this prayer from Isaiah and seek in your own heart the will to heal everyone. Take up this prayer and in that moment you will experience world to come in the here and now.

 Now, listen to the psalmist who instructs us to praise God, creator of the universe, to praise God with words and song, God is the author of our salvation

 Praise God and leave aside the trust you give to princes and kings, and the other little lords of the church and the world. Listen to the psalmist and before wary of his words, knowing in your heart that God is not a king, and kings are not God.

 Consider the life of a human being, consider the many years that the human beings have walked the Earth; consider its brevity. Our window on life is but a spark in the night. We are born, we breathe for a time, then we are gone. Consider that the Earth itself will not survive the dying of our sun and that even our galaxy will vanish in the cold and dark.

 Consider these things and consider how happy are those whose help is God, the creator of the universe. Happy are those who assist God in the divine work of mercy and justice.

 Lift up the oppressed, wherever they are: feed the hungry, free the prisoner, teach the ignorant. Pray for your own faults to be forgiven, your own blindness lifted. Advocate for those who need an advocate, care for those who cannot care for themselves. Find those who are lost and bring them home.

 Be especially mindful of this:

 If we think of the second coming of Jesus as an actual return; we are mistaken. Jesus will not return in the flesh, because that is against nature, and like all human beings we each have but one life to live on this Earth.

 If we think of Jesus returning to Earth as God, of his coming to bring about the end of time, drawing down the curtain as if it was the closing of a play; we are mistaken. God will not intervene in the life cycle of our planet, of our solar system, of our galaxy or of the universe as a whole…God does not do that, the order of creation is absolutely free from divine coercion.

 This must be accepted and you must know that the apostle was wrong to engage in speculation of this nature.

 Be mindful of this error; it is not prophecy, do not repeat it.

 Take these words to heart: be patient, live a good and loving life; even in the midst of turmoil. When we fulfill the promise of the way, the way becomes the reality of our lives…even if only for a moment.

 Praise God, and pray for God’s servants wherever they are, knowing that when the will of God is done, the message is clear and the mission is pure.

 It sounds like this: love one another, as God loves you.

 Consider the Gospel for today:

 John came before Jesus; it is said that they were cousins, but the evidence for this claim is scant.

It is said that James, the apostle and bishop of Jerusalem was Jesus’ brother, but that claim has long been rejected by the Church. There is no way for us to know the veracity of these claims, and it does not matter.

 John came before Jesus; for a time the two of them worked as contemporaries, they were cousins who were both called to the same mission. It is said that they met at the river Jordan where John was carrying out his ministry of repentance and the baptism of restoration.

 John baptized Jesus when they had this meeting, the moment is presented in the Gospel for today as a passing of the torch from John to Jesus.

 There is no way for us to know if this event ever even happened, or if it did that John and Jesus viewed this encounter as such...but it does not matter, because the historical realities behind this narrative have been transcended by allegory and metaphor.

 John prepared the way for Jesus, just as the Gospel for today indicates. He was arrested shortly thereafter, and shortly after that he was murdered. 

 John and Jesus belonged to a movement, a movement of the people, the am haaretz, a movement for the people, a movement that called for justice, unity and salvation all people.

 They saw their work as something connected to the prophets like the School of Isaiah. They were reformers, they were people whose preaching synthesized the sacred texts, boiling the law and the commandments down to their essence, then returning them to the people in the simplest form.

 “Love God, with all your strength and all your heart, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

 That is the whole of the law, and all the words of the prophet were summarized therein.

 Many of John’s followers became followers of Jesus. The leaders in John’s group became leaders among Jesus’ disciples, but not all who had followed John came along, and it is to them that this gospel is pointed.

 It was written to remind all new Christians: first John, then Jesus.

 As a purely literary device this story builds upon a theme of the ancient Hebrews, derived from the patriarchal narratives wherein God’s favor falls to the younger son; for Able over Cain, for Isaac over Ishmael, for Jacob (Israel) over Esau, for Joseph over all of his brothers.

 Today’s gospel is in essence, a political screed. It is a message to the holdouts among John’s group, expressing love and pride in John’s work, while telling them in no uncertain terms that the way is with Jesus.

 This is the beginning of Church politics, and as with all such actions, it brought healing to some aspects of the divide while exasperating others.

 Such is the way of human beings.   

 Listen and be mindful.

  

First Reading - Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 ©

 God Himself is Coming to Save You

 Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy.

 The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God.

 Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid.

 ‘Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you.’

 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy for those the Lord has ransomed shall return.

 They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended.

  

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 145(146):6-10 ©

 Come, Lord, and save us.

 It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

  who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

  the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

 Come, Lord, and save us.

 It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

  who raises up those who are bowed down,

the Lord, who protects the stranger

  and upholds the widow and orphan.

Come, Lord, and save us.

 It is the Lord who loves the just

  but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

  Zion’s God, from age to age.

 Come, Lord, and save us.

 Alleluia!

 

 Second Reading - James 5:7-10 ©

 Do Not Lose Heart; the Lord's Coming Will Be Soon

 Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon. Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

  

Gospel Acclamation – Isaiah 61:1 (Luke 4:18)

 Alleluia, alleluia!

 The spirit of the Lord has been given to me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.

 Alleluia!

  

The Gospel According to Matthew 11:2 - 11 ©

 'A Greater than John the Baptist Has Never Been Seen'

 John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?’ Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’

 As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says:

 ‘Look, I am going to send my messenger before you;

he will prepare your way before you.

 ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’

  

The Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation, The Second Thursday of Advent (Year A)

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation

The Second Thursday of Advent (Year A)

 

 

A Homily - 2022.12.08

 

 

First reading – Genesis 3:9-15,20 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4

Second Reading – Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 ©

Gospel Acclamation – cf. Luke 1:28

Gospel Reading – Luke 1:26-38 ©

 

 

(NJB)

 

 

Listen!

 

The reading today from the book of Genesis ia a reading from a book of fables, it is myth and metaphor; we cannot take this narrative literally.

 

Eve is not the mother of all human beings. The garden of Eden was not paradise, it is a reference to one of the early agricultural societies, or to the promise of agriculturalism in general.

 

Adam did not violate God’s trust; this is not a narrative about the creator and the creation of the universe.

 

This fable narrates a critical moment in the history of the Hebrew people (also known as the Habiru, the Apiru, the Iberu et al, depending on what dialect was spoken) , it is the remembrance of a time when they lived in a civil-state that was safe and secure, a place in which they had long life, from which they were exiled on account of some violation of their agreement with the rulers of that society; this may well be a retelling of the exodus-narrative, the memory of which would have been lingering in the minds of the people for about two hundred years before they began to be written down at the beginning of the Davidic period. It could recall an earlier event, or it could recall a conglomeration of events. It is myth—not history, it is metaphor—not a factual accounting, it is a braided narrative, it is a fable.

 

Even when we confront the hard truths of our faith and its traditions it is still right and good to praise God, the creator of the universe, because creation is miraculous, and the divine power that brought us into being is remains beyond the scope of human comprehension. It is right and good as the psalmist says.

 

Know this!

 

God is not a giver of victories. God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all things exist and have their being…in God there is no conflict.

 

It is never God’s justice that is demonstrated in the actions of human beings, it is human justice, and when human justice approximates the justice of God, when we reach justice through justice and mercy; then and only then are we approximating the good.

 

God is kind and faithful to all people; equally.

 

God’s power is everywhere, God’s spirit animates the voices that give God praise.

 

If you are an instrument of justice: judge fairly, judge kindly, reflect on the love of God.

 

Remember the life of Jesus, and God whom he called Father

 

Consider this: Is God glorious? What is glory anyway? What use does God have for it?

 

God is the creator of the universe, but God does not sit on a throne like some dread lord dressed in glory, God’s desire is merely to be in relationship with us, as a loving parent to a child…in humility not glory.

 

I share the desire of the apostle that each and every one of us may come to the full knowledge of God, because there is hope in the knowledge of God.

 

Remember that the hopes you have for yourself and those you love, are meant to be extended to everyone, even those you do not love, for that is the way that leads to the knowledge of God and understanding of our relationship to the divine, which we only find in relationship to one another.

 

If you tout the notion that God promises riches and glories as the inheritance of the saints, remember this, the first will be last and the last will be first; spiritual riches are not counted in the pecunia of gold and silver and precious things, but in companionship and love of friends.

 

Consider the Gospel reading for today:

 

Whatever the truth is regarding the birth of Jesus, known by his people as Joshua son of Joseph (if in fact there was such a child born to Joseph and Mary, if fact Joseph and Mary are actual historical persons), whatever the truth of his birth and heritage is, the mission of Jesus as reported in scriptures, the way of Christ is not served by false narratives.

 

The stories of Jesus’ birth, of the annunciation as we have it presented here, these are myths and metaphors just like the myth and metaphor of Genesis, to say otherwise is to deal in propaganda and lies.

 

The way of God is not served by lies; the creator of the universe, is the God of truth.

 

 

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation

The Second Thursday of Advent (Year A)

 

 

First reading – Genesis 3:9-15,20 ©

 

The Mother of All Those Who Live

 

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’

 

Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

 

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle, all wild beasts.

 

You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life.

 

I will make you enemies of each other:

 

you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring.

 

It will crush your head and you will strike its heel.’

 

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 (NAB)

 

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad.

 

Cloud and darkness surround the Lord; justice and right are the foundation of his throne.

 

Fire goes before him; everywhere it consumes the foes.

 

Lightning illumines the world; the earth sees and trembles.

 

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

 

The heavens proclaim God's justice; all peoples see his glory.

 

All who serve idols are put to shame, who glory in worthless things; all gods bow down before you.

 

Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice because of your judgments, O LORD.

 

You, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth, exalted far above all gods.

 

The LORD loves those who hate evil, protects the lives of the faithful, rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

 

Light dawns for the just; gladness, for the honest of heart.

 

Rejoice in the LORD, you just, and praise his holy name.

 

 

Second Reading – Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 ©

 

Before the World was Made, God Chose Us in Christ

 

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.

 

Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved, and it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will; chosen to be, for his greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.

 

Gospel Acclamation – cf. Luke 1:28

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!

Blessed art thou among women.

 

Alleluia!

 

Gospel Reading – Luke 1:26-38 ©

 

'I Am the Handmaid of the Lord'

 

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

 

 

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation

The Second Thursday of Advent (Year A)