Jesus is KIng of Everything - Reflection Jesus Christ King of the Universe

Jesus is King of Everything

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/112419.cfm

Watch all that is going on in the world. Violence, unrest, and disobedience is usually at the root of all that is happening. People rebelling against worldly kings and rulers. 

Some celebrate that these things are happening. Others fear these things.

Some think that these things prove that God does not care; but, He does care. 

One of the ways the Church celebrates the fact that God care is the feast it celebrates today, the last Sunday of the liturgical year. That celebration is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

I know Jesus is the King of the Universe because my 6 year old grandson has said this. He told his mom, “ Mom you know, Jesus was the King of everything.” 

She asked him how he knew this.

He said Jesus told him.

Now, he probably heard it in PSR or the Children’s Liturgy service at mass. But, it made such an impression on his heart - Jesus did tell him.

The Jesus that spoke to this child was the same Jesus who proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven. The same Jesus said to come to him like little children. The Jesus Christ speaking to this child’s heart is the same word of God, King of Everything that took his throne upon a cross.

Friends, the world does not promise or give a heavenly kingdom. But our loving and caring God has given us this kingdom.  He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

To realize this kingdom, open eyes and open hearts. He can send a child to proclaim that Jesus Christ is King of Everything.

God asks us through our Baptism to do the same. Proclaim in all we do, Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe. Give thanks to the Father, who has seen fit for us to share this kingdom. It is the truth behind the fact that God cares.

Jesus Christ King of the Universe who is before all things and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning of all things….

If we fail to proclaim that Our Lord Jesus Christ is King of the Universe our churches will be empty and the sacraments will be forgotten. All the ugliness in the world will be all that many see. It will continue because we fail to proclaim our good and loving King.

But, we are here celebrating our God and our King, Jesus Christ. That is a start. Now, go out and tell someone who is not at mass today, Jesus Christ is King of Everything. Tell someone who needs to hear a message of hope and God’s grace.

It is a simple message - Jesus Christ is King of Everything. Then, let Jesus speak to their hearts.

Be good, be holy, and proclaim by your life that Jesus Christ is your King and King of the Universe. Amen.

Smile, Time is Short - Homily 33rd Sunday OTC

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111719.cfm

As I was preparing for mass, making sure their was altar servers and other ministers to serve mass, a dear lady said to me “smile Deacon.”

Friends, we all have something to smile about today. We are here to worship God, to experience the Holy Spirit and to be untied with Jesus Christ as we share Holy Eucharist. This is joy. This is happiness, It is something to smile about about.

The Liturgy began today with this prayer, Lord grant us the constant gladness of being devoted to you for it is full of lasting happiness. Or as I like to say, be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another. The is the message the Holy Spirit has blessed to share in m ministry; sometimes, I get to share it in a homily. 

In Deacon formation, one of the things taught in homiletics (for country folks, preaching class) was to be open to the Holy Spirit. Read the scripture, pray, and be open to the message God places in your heart.

But, keep the message less than 7 minutes because that is how long an adult pays attention. Fr. Paul’s guidance is to keep the homilies short. And, today we have our Thanksgiving celebration.

Time is short and we must prepare for what is to come.  If the Spirit of Christ has placed this message in my heart, it will be heard no matter how many words are used.

The message that came to my heart was: Take these scriptures and tell everyone to live the life of charity and love that is possible through Jesus Christ by. Being good, being holy, and preaching the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another.

And then this - hurry, time is getting short; prepare for times to come.

Time is short; so, it is time to be examples for others. Be open to the Holy Spirit to share the good news. Live your life for Christ and the simplest, smallest acts will carry a powerful message. Jesus tells us, “When you give testimony..., I myself shall give you wisdom... and all will be powerless to resist or refute it.”

As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, it is time to be good, be holy, and live the good news of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will speak through our witness.

That is where many find problems, they are not open to the Holy Spirit. They don't want to hear the spirit of God speaking to their hearts. They don’t want to hear us.

True Christian witness is not readily welcomed in the world today.

Instead, the Church is filled with those St Paul described. They like what the church offers, they want what the church gives. They eat but they don't work. Some might not even believe in the divinity of Jesus. They worship the networking and status of their Church membership.

And they will not know the constant gladness of being devoted to the LORD.

Worldliness has made it acceptable to complain a homily is too long and and be angry mass ended after the kickoff or fuss at the priest because you didn’t beat the dinner rush. Maybe this is what Jesus spoke about and said; days will come when the foundation of faith will be attacked, stone upon stone thrown down. 

Believers will be seized, persecuted and lead to trial  because of Jesus' name. There will be some who say they speak for Christ or they are Christ. 

Friends, the world is turning away from God and His word, Christ Jesus.

Pope Benedict XVI warned the Church of the future would become small; the world will turn many away from God. He wrote even Priests and Bishops by their actions and words will cause many to question faith. 

Do not be deceived by the world. 

Instead, imitate the apostles. Be filled with the Spirit. Tell the world, the Lord is coming again. 

You don't have to be a great speaker, be you and share the good news by a kind word, a smile, and act of kindness. Live a life of charity and love. Be a model for those who have failed in their faith and a witness to those who have no faith.

Time is short for “Lo the day is coming.” The day is coming when the sun of justice, Christ Jesus, will return.

Do not be afraid. Stand erect and raise your hands. Redemption is at hand. Prepare and make ready the Church, Christ is coming again. Prepare for the coming advent. 

Smile and pray these words, Lord grant us the constant gladness of being devoted to you. Amen.

Will He Deny Us - Reflection 32nd Sunday OT-C

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111019.cfm

God promised us through Christ Jesus a resurrection to eternal life. This promise is From God who is God of the living and not the dead. Despite God’s love for us, sometimes those alive in this mortal body can sentence themselves to death.

From St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him;  If we hold out to the end we shall also reign with him. But, if we deny him he will deny us.

The world continues to deny him.

We should not be surprised. It is a fact that has always been. If the readings today speak of anything, they speak to this world where everything challenges God.

Society is telling us if we don’t challenge what our faith tells us is God’s moral law then we are corrupt and evil.

If what we do is because of our beliefs in an all-powerful yet loving God we are labeled as haters.

We are told our choices are wrong. Our politics are wrong.  Our beliefs are wrong. We are told our lives are wrong.

It happened to seven brothers who with their mother was arrested. They were tortured to force them to violate God's law.

The government tortured the brothers one by one. Each stood up for their beliefs. Each stood up for God. Each stood up for God’s promise.

"It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life."

Over two thousand years ago, these brothers were tortured to get them to renounce God and God’s law. The reading today is the reading for general audiences. The entire description of their torture can be found in Maccabees.

It could and does happen today in some form or another. It is just called something different. In parts of the world, Christians are crucified for their faith. In our country, Christ is tortured. God’s laws are violated.

The abortion debate has changed from does life begin at conception to does life begin even after the actual birth.

In Texas, a jury awarded a mother the ability to force gender reassignment therapy on her son. She was a specialist in gender dysmorphia and identified her son as a girl, even though her son said he was a boy.

Soft core pornography bombards us from television, commercials, and video games. And the world struggles with pornography addiction.

All this disrespect for life, addiction to pornography, and acceptance to the depravity of modern society has blinded societies eye to what is right by God’s natural law. There is increased threats of human trafficking and a world rampant with in sexism, misogyny, and racism. A world that says these things are bad from one side of its mouth and encourages it out of the other.

Then the blame is placed on those who believe that what God created is right. God created a man to be a man and a woman to be a woman. They are not the same. God made us distinct and different for a reason.

We are to procreate. We are to respect the life of our children and our elderly. We are to take care of our widows and orphans. We are to take care of those less fortunate than us.

This is God’s plan. It is not the world’s plan. 

Jesus tells us this in the gospel. Life is not about the promises we make to each other in this world. It is about eternal life, the promise God has made to us.

Most who try to tell us right in the world have no faith. They have no faith in people and no faith in God. They don’t know the word of God. They don’t know the history of sin in the world. Or in truth, they ignore it.

It is up to believers, people of faith, to bring the word of God to the world. 

Brothers and sisters, pray the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified. Pray that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith.

As the last of the seven brothers from readings in the book of Maccabees died, he said this to his tormentors: Do not think you will go unpunished for having dared to fight against God.

It is something the world should remember - if we deny him he will deny us.

People of faith remember the Lord God is looking on and truly has compassion. The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel everyday by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.

Throw Open Your Arms (Receive Him with Joy) - Homily 31st Sunday OT C

31^st Sunday OT- C

This is a re-write of a homily from several years ago.

I love to see the children come forward for the Children’s Liturgy. They are so excited. They are all skipping and jumping and smiling. Their understanding of God is so clean, pure, and innocent.

Just ask them about God. They will tell you about God in their simple truth.

We should look at our faith with such simplicity. The story of Zacchaeus is a good one to look at from a simple point of view.

The name Zacchaeus means “clean, pure, and innocent.” (http://www.name-doctor.com) But somewhere, somehow, and at some time, Zacchaeus had lost his way

So look at the story again:  In Jericho, there was clean, pure, and innocent man who had lost his way. He was the chief tax collector, a wealthy man, and was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.

Jesus looked up and said, “Clean, pure and innocent man come down quickly, I must stay at your house.”

And he came down quickly and received him with joy.

The crowd grumbled, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”

The clean, pure and innocent man stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house….For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.

Zacchaeus climbed that tree to find grace. Despite all that was against him, he found Jesus. Grace was seeking him out.

Jesus came to save a clean, pure, and innocent man who had become lost.

No one told Jesus who Zacchaeus was. There was no formal introduction. Jesus saw him and knew him as Zacchaeus, a clean, pure, and innocent man. He didn’t see a tax collector or a sinner; but, instead he saw the person God created and said was good.

When Jesus said I must come to your house,  it was an act of love.

The clean, pure and innocent man, who was once lost, receives him with joy.

We can probable all picture Zacchaeus throwing open his arms wide and embracing Jesus. I see tears of joy brought by the love and forgiveness Jesus brings to Zacchaeus. You spare all things, because they are yours, LORD.

Be like Zacchaeus, seek Jesus.  Rise above the world around us.

God forgives us. That forgiveness overcomes everything that keeps us from God.  

Throw open your arms and receive Jesus with joy.

People find this hard. People see the sinners we are instead of the clean, pure, and innocent creation of God we once were.  

In our simplicity many think that if God is so great then we don’t matter. To God the whole universe is nothing more than a grain of sand or a drop of morning dew.

God is so big and infinite that He has mercy for each of us. God is so great and so good that we do matter. He has mercy on all, because God can do all things; even overlook people's sins that they may repent.

The Catechism teaches: God …, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength.  (CCC 1)

Despite all that was against him, Zacchaeus found Jesus.  A clean, pure and innocent person seeks Jesus.  And, Jesus came to save those clean, pure, and innocent people who have become lost.

Through baptism, we are born again - clean, pure and innocent children of God so that our God may make us worthy of his calling and powerfully brings to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him.

Throw open your arms and receive him with joy.

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.