Homily Reflection Palm Sunday- Carrying Crosses

Carrying Crosses

(At the Procession with Palms: Mark 11:1-10; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24;  Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47)

If we look at the passion of Jesus we can see ourselves in so many places. We find similarities in our relationships with Jesus Christ with the ones of those who witnessed his passion.  

As Christians we want to celebrate be people waving palm branches as he rode into Jerusalem or give Him our best like the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume. Then maybe becoming so comfortable in our faith and relationship with Jesus, we fall asleep. If you fall asleep in this world, things begin to happen.

Maybe, we start to become like Judas and money becomes important. Or Pilate, who was obvious to what was right; but let others change his mind. We can fall into jealously like those who accused Jesus. Like the crowds, we blindly follow the world; a world that makes it easy to ridicule faith and even deny it. Peter denied Jesus. All the disciples said “Surely not I” before they ran away.

Even in all these similarities, I still see in each and every one of us that Roman Centurion, who looked into Jesus’ face and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

We look to Jesus and realize the truth of Christ - we the Church - you and I. The Church made of all gathered together in the name of Christ. A Church that is today living in the same world people have always lived in. Just like all those people in the passion. And, Jesus was in their midst. Today, Christ Jesus is in our midst. Now just like then, He was in the midst of sinners.

Jesus went through the suffering and pain and carrying that cross for the sins of the people we find in his passion: those who spit on him and beat him, those who ridiculed, those who mocked, those who betrayed, those who ran away, and even those who denied him. Jesus took the cross of sin from each ones shoulder and put it on his own.

Jesus carried that cross for them and he carries it for us. Jesus hung on the cross between two broken and sinful men; but, no matter how broken, being God’s creation; they had the potential for good. The Gospel of Luke tells us one does find goodness. He asks Jesus, Remember me. 

The sinner and centurion both realize the truth of Jesus and the meaning of the cross. 

Jesus’ cross is every cross; the cross on my shoulders and your shoulders. We all carry crosses; some are more visible than others. We carry crosses like Judas and Pilate made by our lack of respect of others, our greed, pride and selfishness. His cross is for these. His cross is for crosses of brokenness and sinfulness of those like the men who hung beside him.

But Jesus’ cross is also for the crosses we carry in our worry for loved ones, waiting for lab results, coping with loss, a job loss or financial catastrophe, as we become burdened by frailties of age.

Through our crosses, we can realize that Jesus is “Truly the son of God” and we ask Jesus to remember us as we pray to be better than we are and receive better than we deserve. We pray to be full of the goodness of God’s creation.

Christ is in our midst in a Church full of crosses carried by broken people and sinners. Each of us has a cross and because of the promise of His cross, we will be remembered in paradise. 

Homily Reflection - 5th Sunday Lent - Hour Treasure

Hour Treasure

Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15;  Hebrews 5:7-9; Gospel: John 12:20-33

I have a friend of mine who calls himself a treasure hunter. He is a metal detector enthusiast. His job requires daily driving and during this he discovers places that look like they hold treasure. Returning to them after work he asks to treasure hunt. What he finds he gives to the owner.  

He finds treasure all the time. At his house are rows old coffee or shortening cans of treasure – small metal toys, door hinges, old tools, pocket knives, all types of odds and ends. Most of the time people look at what he’s found and says “keep it.” It’s not treasure to them.

His greatest treasure is an old leather coin purse and a large copper penny. One day he asked permission to hunt in a yard. He had about an hour until dark. Hunting for almost the entire hour, he hadn’t found anything.  As he left, the detector went off next to the gate. There he found the purse with silver coins and a copper penny from the 1800’s. The property owner was happy and shared the treasure with my friend in the purse & penny.

Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

It was at this hour some Greeks came to Phillip and Andrew, “We would like to see Jesus.” They were treasure hunting, they had heard about this rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, who was teaching something different and they wanted to experience him themselves.

Greek culture was built on idea that an unexamined life is not worth living. The Greek’s came to examine their lives by the teaching of this new rabbi. They came to experience and know Jesus as deeply as they could. They heard of miracles, healings, and casting out demons. They heard of a new teaching, the gospel Jesus taught.

More than that, they symbolized the whole world coming to Jesus. They were the fulfillment of what was written by Jeremiah, “The world no longer has to be taught how to know the Lord.”

Because of Jesus, God no longer has to take us by the hand as he did with the people of the Exodus. We are drawn to Jesus and his hour came. The hour changes us. The hour lets us freely come to the Lord.

From the least to the greatest we are promised a relationship with God. Jesus asked in the garden “Can you give me one hour?”  Time we are to examine our lives, to know and experience Jesus. This is where we find treasures. One treasure is the covenant of the Lord written in our hearts and in this we meet God in our reality. Another is that the Psalmist sings, the treasure of a clean heart

Jesus offered himself on the cross as a treasure not to pay a debt to God but to reveal the treasure that is God to the world. Jesus’ hour came. The hour not come to reveal the treasure of humanity to God, but revealed the treasure that is God to us.

Sadly, the world finds these things; unimportant. So it ignores them.

And that brings us back to the story of my friend. In the last hour of the day, he’ll stop at somebody’s yard; many say “yes look.” Most people don’t want what he finds. My friend puts it in a can and labels it with person name and the place that it was found; just in case they change their mind.

Jesus tells that this hour is but tiny seed that will be fruitful. A tiny treasure that becomes abundant and fruitful by our salvation. A salvation that reveals God:

• God, the father, in his grace and mercy;
• God the Son, in Jesus who taught us how to love - each other, strangers, all of God’s creations, and most importantly how to love God;
• God the Holy Spirit who brings wisdom, brings healing, and reveals our gifts that we plant as seeds. 

Through our salvation, we find the treasure of Christ that reveals God.

Are we overlooking the treasure Jesus showed us? Are we examining our lives finding those treasures? Do we give thanks for the small treasures that can grow so abundantly? Are we planting seeds; being fruitful in both small and large things and sharing them?

My friends, the big treasure is yet to be found. It’ll be there when our Hour comes, when we’re leaving the yard of the earthly life. It’s the treasure of eternal salvation and Jesus has it, ready to give it to us.

His hour prepares for the treasure of our hour.  When our hour comes, Christ Jesus, our treasure will be there.

Homily reflection: 4th Sunday Lent - Light and Darkness

Light and Darkness - Get Rid of the Darkness

Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23; Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

At our weekly Bible Study, each of us chose a parable from Mark chapter 4 to discuss.

Jeanne chose the parable of the sower and explained it beautifully. She suggested that we are the ground. We are hard, rocky, thorny, or fertile soil during different times of our lives. We can become better soil or stay as we are. She offered that prayer changes us and our lives. Changing the type of soil we are and who we are; this is the power of prayer. Then Jeanne apologized for not being a good teacher.

Daniel led the discussion on the parable of the lamp that is put under the bushel basket. In his teaching on the parable, Daniel said that the light is in us and that we hide that light. The light reflects in us and we are to let it shine.  

We can find Christ’s light in our life, if we get rid of the darkness.

These were great things to think about when considering Jesus’ words to Nicodemus. “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness.”  Jesus is telling Nicodemus that despite the light of God’s presence in the world, people forget God.

In human imperfection, people tend to prefer the darkness. We live in our selves and seek darkness to cover imperfection. In the darkness we ignore the light of Christ and His miracles in our life. Miracles that are everywhere but so many can’t see them because of the darkness. Jesus explained it simply, “. . . people prefer darkness.” 

In darkness people live forgetting about God. Look at our first readings; this is how the people were living in exile; living in darkness. They stopped listening to God. Yet, God’s grace was with them and came through an unexpected source - King Cyrus. King Cyrus told them go home and worship God.

Today people live exiled from God. People go through the motions of faith. People rarely pray because they don’t think it will do any good. They take care of their needs rather than depending on God to take care of them. If they get sick they may pray but they go to the doctor. If they need money, they might pray, but they’ll look for a second job. If good things happen they give credit to people not God.  

People don't see that good things happen by the grace of God. The see it as a result of their own actions. So people put more faith in the stock market than anything Jesus said about money. And so many people in this country will call themselves Christian but they put more allegiance to the United States than in loyalty to Christ.

Yet even with all this, Paul tells us we are blessed, “In the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, is God’s presence and God’s grace.

And God works in extraordinary ways. God came to the exiles in the command of the Persian King. In the same extraordinary way, He does things in our lives. His grace is the source of miracles. It is through grace that the physician can heal us; it is through grace that are needs are met and we are then able to share our excess with those who need. And Jesus Christ is God’s light and grace manifest in the world.

But, it’s in our everyday life that miracles are most abundant. His light comes to us is in the everyday things; like that every other Monday night bible study. Maybe the everyday miracle is just waking up; the hug of a child; the hello from a stranger; or just getting to work or school safe. So many people don’t see these as the work of the light that comes into the world, because, they prefer the darkness.

Now what does this have to do with the parable teachings of Daniel and Jeanne.

Daniel says that the light is in us. As soon as we take that basket off the light of Christ that is in each of us, he will dispel the darkness in us and in others.

Jeanne humbly taught that we don’t have to stay the same. We can rid ourselves of the darkness that causes us to be poor soil through prayer. Jeanne who so humbly felt she was not a teacher taught this, It is those of us who strive to live our lives in the grace of His light find God in our ordinary experiences.

We can find Christ’s light in our life, if we get rid of the darkness.

That's what Lent is all about, leaving the darkness and finding Christ in our life. We are God’s handiwork created in Jesus Christ. We will receive the good works created for us. These are the everyday miracles found in His light. And as St. Paul says – We should live in them.

Sunday Reflection 3rd Sunday of Lent "I Helped Build That"

I Helped Build That 

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11;  1 Corinthians 1:22-25;  John 2:13-25

God speaks to us in what we observe everyday. I study the mass readings and look how they apply to my life. Many times I find this meaning at work. This week, work was in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the ABC National Craft Championships. Young people come from all over the country to compete in skills like welding, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and many others.

During the day, it’s about the workers. The keynote speaker’s address was about working for a living. He celebrated workers that roll up their sleeves and get dirty, describing them as the strong and silent backbone of society. These are people with no pretense. They can point to a building, a car, a ship, or a road and say “I helped build that!”

The speaker was once a carpenter but is now a famous actor. He criticized actors, athletes, musicians, and entertainers who are often full of their self importance because the public worships celebrity. In reality they offer little to society. The speaker finished by saying, “No matter how successful an actor he was, his greatest pride was to l bring his kids to a house he worked on as a carpenter and say, I helped build that!”

Thursday night was different, I saw a whole different world. It was the Excellence in Construction Awards Gala. It was a fundraiser for the event. People who attended this had wealth. They dressed in tuxedos and evening dresses adorned with diamonds and jewels. Dinner was $250 a plate. It was not for the workers but the business owners.  

I saw all this; but, the speaker's words, "I helped build that," is what stuck with me. In these words the Holy Spirit touched my heart.

In the first reading from Exodus we learn of God’s covenant with the people of Israel. Through Moses, the Israelites got the tools to fulfill and build on their part of the covenant. These basic tools were the 10 Commandments; the instructions for a covenant relationship with God. They were the tools that would bring the people closer to God and to one another. But the people failed; they turned these tools into the Law. In the Law, many lost sight of God’s plan and followed their plans instead. The law became more important than building their covenant with God.

So God sent the One who would build, Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John tells how Jesus challenged those in the temple, “Tear this temple down and in three days I will rebuild it.” Christ is the new covenant on which is built a new relationship with God. A new covenant relationship, not built on the law. A relationship with God built in Christ.

I saw signs and wisdom of modern society during my trip. I saw money and wealth.  At the airport, there was a grown man in footed bunny pajamas and a young lady dressed in all black, black makeup and thigh high Frankenstein boots. I heard about the people in Hollywood and their agenda. These are the signs and wisdom of a noisy world. 

But, the Holy Spirit brings us to God often in the quietest of ways.

On the flight back to Monroe, I sat with the Texas State men’s basketball team. Through one of these young men, God sent me a simple quiet message. A 6”7” young man squeezed himself into the seat next to me. He was polite, but spoke mainly with his teammates as the plane prepared to take-off. During the flight, in his cramped lap, he open a bible to 1 Corinthians. I don’t know the verses he was reading, but we read from the same letter of St. Paul today these words, “To those who are called…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

I thought about my week and how the Holy Spirit had spoken to me. People who work to help build the Kingdom of God are the strong and silent backbone of our faith. They help to build quietly through the power and wisdom of God witnessing Christ, the new covenant.

We witness by not being ashamed to read God’s word. We help build God’s Kingdom when we are kind to someone or pray for others or feed the hungry; bringing Christ without seeking fame. We are the backbone of our faith when we set a positive example for a child or respect our parents or bring a friend to church. We show God’s love when we love and are not jealous of others. We help build the Kingdom of God using the simple tools God gave us.

Maybe one day, we will stand before the Kingdom of God and say - through Christ, I helped build that! 

(Thanks Gary G. for the picture)