If You Choose - Homily 6th Sunday OTA

readings - 021620

I may hurt some feelings today. My feelings were hurt when I read the gospel and thought of how guilty I am of sin. It was sin I chose to commit by what I have done or I have failed to do.

Some will be mad because they are Christians but they choose how they live by their personal standards of what is a sin.

It may hurt your feelings to know everyone is a sinner. A sinner is giving this homily.

My niece and her husband go to a large non-denominational church. It has free form preaching. The worship music is closer to pop music than traditional sacred music. People will go there just to be seen. 

My niece sees someone unrepentant at Church and gives them the “stink” eye. Her husband says, don't do that, you're at Church.

Yes, we are all sinners, sometimes even at Church.

A while back, I read about a person who had returned to the Catholic Church after attending one of these non-denominational churches. At the non-dom church he attended a men’s group discussing adultery. But the problem was in that group each man chose his definition of the sin of adultery.

One said to look at another woman with lust was adultery. 

One justified adultery through OT scripture pointing to the patriarchs with multiple wives and concubines. He was loyal to his wife and his mistress; he was not sinful. 

Another felt that since he had been baptized and born again, he could commit adultery because he was forgiven.

Our hero tried to be heard but was not. He spoke to the group leader. He went to the pastor and asked it to stop these error filled teachings; but, the pastor said the Church had no confirmed doctrine on adultery.

If you choose not to follow God’s commandments and fail to hear God’s Word there is no doctrine. So, a lot of Churches fail to teach what is sin.

Then, I look at myself. I preach we are to love one another and to preach the gospel by the way we live our lives. I preach to be good and to be holy. Things good Catholic Christians should strive for in their life. But, sometimes preaching the gospel requires us to point out sin.

Our Lord God Creator gave us a list of sinful things. Ten Commandments that are God’s guide to how we are to live our lives.  If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you shall live. Trusting God is to love God with all your heart.

Today, Churches teach all kinds of things. They even break the commandments that are given for God alone: I am the Lord God, take no strange gods before me Do not take the Lord's name in vain. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

They do this by recognizing abortion, transgenderism, and gay marriage. They tweak truth, right, and justice to reveal a puppet god they control. Churches and ministers have made money, wealth, and possessions more important than anything else.

That is sin.

I heard the story this week of a elderly person in a nursing home who received a letter from a Church that said they were going to dismiss her membership because she was not keeping her pledge tithes.

That is sin.

Some Churches recognized gay marriage and allows it for their pastors.

That is sin.

Most say, we will never sin that way and then everyday, we forget the rest of the commandments. The world says it is normal. Our laws make it legal. The world says it is wrong to identify sin as sin.

Jesus goes on to say, Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

Remember, we preach the Gospel by the way we live our lives. The way we live our lives is that which is truly in our hearts. We cannot hide our true selves. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.

Friends, the Church is for sinners. It is our spiritual hospital. It is the place we come to realize what is wrong with us and to remedy that through a deeper loving relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and with each other. 

Jesus tells us to love one another, even the sinner; but, Jesus tells the sinner to go and sin no more.

And when we fail to admonish sin, we allow it to creep into our world and even into our faith. We justify it by Jesus’s love. But, changing God’s truth is not from God. Jesus said I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. None of these commandments will pass away.  

Church should not be about changing Jesus’ words to suit the strange gods in this world today. The modern world frowns on religion. The world frowns on being told they are sinners by other sinners.

As we draw closer to Lent, realize how far our sins have allowed us to fall away from that relationship with Christ. Look at our lives over the past week or month or years see how many times we have forgotten God the Father by ignoring the commandments.  As we realize we have not always been good and holy, repent, go to confession, and do penance.

Maybe I hurt your feelings. Mine was hurt when I realized how guilty I was of sin. Sin I chose to commit by what I had done and what I had failed to do.

Do not be afraid to say something when sin creeps into our world and into our faith. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ 

That is what it means to be good, and to be holy, and preaching the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another.

G.O.A.T. - Reflection 5th Sunday OTA

Readings There is a prevalent phrase, especially around sports that has worked its way into our language. G.O.A.T. - the greatest of all time. People like to use that term when referring to specific persons or groups. People look up to the G.O.A.T. Being from Louisiana, there is one person we consider the G.O.A.T. - the greatest of all time quarterback (Drew Brees). There is one football team we consider the G.O.A.T. - the greatest of all time. college team (LSU). If we look around us, on a personal level we might look for those who are the G.O.A.T. in certain skills. If you are getting on a plane, you want your pilot to be the G.O.A.T. - the greatest of all time.. If you are sick, you want a doctor who is the G.O.A.T. - the greatest of all time. If you have legal issues, you want a lawyer to be the G.O.A.T. it is a bonus when the person we consider the GOAT is a Christian, Then we know that the one they look to is truly the greatest of all time - Jesus Christ. For they know that Christ Jesus is not a shepherd of goats or G.O.A.T.s. He was a shepherd to lost sheep. The thing a true Christian (who is considered a G.O.A.T. in worldly things) desires is to be a sheep in heavenly things. Even the greatest of all time can realize they are lost sheep. The true believer knows Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. What does it take for us to strive to be great sheep? Scripture gives us some direction. Share yo ur bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, Jesus told us we are all called to be the salt and the light. “But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” You are the light of the world. “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand,” Salt and light have something in common. Not in an obvious way (we taste salt, and we see light); but each of them allows us to experience the goodness of something else. Nobody eats just salt for dinner. We put salt on the food we prepare. We put it on the meat, the vegetables, and in our bread. If you watch great chefs cook they will even put it in deserts. The salt is there to enhance the taste. We need salt, but the food is our dinner. Light is like this, too. We turn on a light not to look at the light, but to look at other things that reflect the light. It is difficult to see beauty without light. Christians are to be the light that shines in such a way that others can see the LORD. Christians are to be the salt that enhances the presence of Christ in the world. As Christians, we should strive to be salt and light; instead of goats, we must be sheep. Many times, those striving to be the G.O.A.T. tends to lose the ability for anything other than self. To be centered on oneself is to become salt that loses its taste or a light put under a basket. Some that are the G.O.A.T. focuses only on being that. They study, practice, and work hard focused only to be the one everyone sees them as the greatest. Look at St Paul. He would have been considered the G.O.A.T. at persecuting the Church during his early life. But, the risen Lord Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, turned him to a sheep. And, possibly one of the greatest of all time. He changed. And Paul the sheep said this, “I resolved to know nothing…, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power In human wisdom alone we can never be the salt and light the world needs. Our faith and the wisdom needed rests on the power of God instead of complicated arguments. And that calls for us to be sheep instead of goats. Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.

All That You Have - Presentation of the LORD

This week, I went from Shreveport to New Orleans. Tuesday, I was in Shreveport for Bishop Francis I. Malone’s Episcopal Ordination. So many people were there to show him their love. There were many priests and deacons from the Diocese of Arkansas, family, and friends who came to support this wonderful man.

He thanked his family. He thanked the family of faith that he was leaving.

There were, also, many people, Priest, Deacons, and members of the religious communities of the Diocese of Shreveport that came to welcome him to his new community, family, and home. Everyone came to show him love.

He said, “To my new family, I am here for you. I give my life to you. I will die for you.”

On this Sunday, as we celebrate and remember the Presentation of the LORD Jesus Christ, the Church reminds us spiritually, the presentation of the Lord was Christ Jesus coming to meet his believing people.

Jesus who said to all those who beleive: I am here for you. I give my life to you. I will die for you.

As we give thanks on this feast day and give thanks for our new Bishop, consider the readings. The first reading from the prophet Malachi. “There will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek”

Although, I am not the comparing Bishop Malone to our Lord and Savior, he is the vicar of Christ here in our Diocese. He is the leader of the Church in North Louisiana. He is responsible for all the souls in our Diocese, Catholic, non-catholic, christian and everyone else.

And, his words to us, “I am here for you.”

In the second reading, St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, are these words: He had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way.

The word of God became man. He was born as a child to Mary. He was raised by his earthly parents as a normal child. He was like us in every way. Although, the angels appear to Mary and Joseph to tell both that this child Jesus was something special, a chosen one. They still humbly presented him at the temple, with a meager poor family’s offering of two pigeons or doves.

Jesus came humbly into the community of his human family with his presentation at the temple. A presentation before a family of believers and the LORD most high.

And our new Bishop came to our diocese in the same humble way. A monsignor, a priest from the Church Parish of Christ the King in Arkansas. At the solemn vespers on Monday night, he knocked on the door of the Cathedral to be let in, a stranger asking for an invitation to be part of our family.

On Tuesday, Monsignor Francis I. Malone came before the community of believers in the Diocese of Shreveport and presented himself before the community of believers and the LORD most high as the new Bishop of Shreveport. He came fully into his new family and community with these words, “You are my family. I am here for you.”

And from the gospel of Luke is Simeon’s words: “Master, my eyes have seen your salvation.”

Simeon blessed them and prophesied the agony to come to this family. “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted  —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Jesus is the LORD’s salvation. His life was for the forgiveness of our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ gave his life, his humanity for our humanity. I am here for you. I give my life to you. I will die for you.

And Bishop Malone’s words:  “To my new family, I am here for you. I give my life to you. I will die for you.”

As I finished my week up in New Orleans. I walked out of the hotel to my truck and noticed a young couple unloading their car. They had been transferred to the area for work and were in for a short stay at the hotel.  The young man said, our whole life is in the trunk of this car.

I wished the young couple good luck in the new job and new community. I told them I hoped they found a place to live soon, made plenty of new friends, and enjoyed the area.

As I drove home, I thought of what I should have told this young couple - the thoughts of my heart.

Stuff is not what you are. Stuff is not their whole life. You have so much more. You have each other. You have who you are.

Give all that you have to each other. Give all that you have to God.

Go to the nearest Church. Knock on the door. Present yourself before the community and the LORD as children of God. Make a new community of family, brothers and sisters, in your new home. That makes a place home. Give all that you have.

That is what Christ Jesus did. Bishop Malone looks to emulate Christ.

Friends, take the opportunity to invite those around you to come and be part of our family.

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