I Found Jeezee - Homily Reflection 25th Sunday OTA

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Father asked me Wednesday to share a homily this week. I prayed for it to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. I read the scriptures and prayed “Come Holy Spirit, inspire these words to kindle the fire of your love.

The first thing put on my heart was St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian. Wednesday was their feast day. They are great examples of workers in God’s vineyard.  

In 251 AD, they fought the heresy of Novatainism, which taught if a person lapsed in faith even if being tortured; they were no longer a Christian. They could not return to the church to ask forgiveness. This heresy wanted the Church to say “no” to forgiveness.

There are lapsed Christians; but, was that the message God wanted me to share. I prayed and as I sat in my recliner reading scripture, my 2 year old grandson comes running into the room.

“Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’, I found ‘Jeezee.’” He was giggling, smiling, and clutching something tight to his belly.

He opens his hands to show me a small crucifix I keep on my desk. “Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’”. He was happy holding Jesus tight.

On the lips of children Lord you have found perfect praise. God is so great. He sent a child with his message that this parable is about finding “Jeezee” Jesus.

This parable has different interpretations. The one most familiar is this; workers come early and they are paid a full day’s wage. Workers come at mid-morning and they are paid a full day’s wage. Workers come at noon and they are paid a full day’s wage. They come at three and even at the end of the day and they are paid a full day’s wage.

That shouldn’t surprise us. In Jesus’ parables, the landowner is God. The one who goes out into the world is Jesus.

To earn the wage the Lord is paying, it doesn’t matter when one comes to the Lord. He pays all the same wage, That wage is the gift of forgiveness, the reward of salvation, the joy of the resurrection, and the promise of eternal life. The righteous receive this reward no matter if they are the early believers of a thousand years ago or us today.

It doesn’t make any difference when you come to God, Jesus forgives the same.  “Turn to the LORD for mercy - our God is generous in forgiveness.”

The workers complained it wasn’t fair.

It is unfair. It’s unfair because it’s far beyond what we can comprehend as fair. God's goodness goes way beyond our small sense of “what is right.”  God's ways are not ours. As high as the heavens are above the earth are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.

In the parable, the landowner asks the complaining workers “are you jealous because I am generous.” The literal translation is “are you giving me the evil eye because I am good.”

The world doesn’t want goodness. People in the world do not want to forgive each other and the world doesn’t want God to forgive either. Remember, the heresy in the early church St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian fought against. It said “no” to forgiveness.

That is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel tells of God’s generous mercy and forgiveness. It proclaims the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven..

It doesn’t matter if you found “Jeezee” in youth or old age; because, God is good. God is generous. And, God is loving.

We know this. The Church teaches this. But, instead of being a happy, giggly child of God holding tight to Jesus, yearning for the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, people give each other the envious, jealous, evil eye.

Wednesday night, I was reading these words, for to me life is Christ … and Liam full of life and joy comes running with this message “Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’, I found ‘Jeezee.’”

Today we come to find Jesus. We come to worship God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We come to partake in the Holy Eucharist. We wait for the master to call us. We wait for our reward.

Friends, wait as a child of God, happy and holding tight to Jesus.

Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ by the way you live and love. Amen

Mostly Good is not What God Asks of Us - Reflection 24th Sunday OTA

 The Word of God is there with the answer. And today, scripture begins with this answer: Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.

We are all sinners.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream about an injustice some in my family are experiencing. I woke up in the middle of the night so angry I scared myself. My heart was racing. I was trembling all over. I lay in bed and couldn't put the dream and the anger out of my mind.

I have forgiven the person that is source of this injustice many, many, many times. I constantly pray for the strength to forgive and to forgive again; but, the person does not change, in fact, vile actions continue.

In a dream, my unconscious thoughts asked, “Why should I keep forgiving?” I try to be good in everything else that I do. I am good in most things.

Mostly good is not what God asks of us.

Sirach’s wisdom tells us “You cannot nourish anger and wrath against another and expect God’s healing. You cannot refuse mercy and expect mercy. “

These things make our heart vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair. These feelings are the suffering experience by the absence of mercy we have for others and ourselves. It destroys the goodness of our soul.

Isn’t that what we see in the world? The world ignores and does not care about the human soul.

As Christian we cannot ignore the human soul. Jesus came to heal our soul. He taught that each person is more than the worse thing they have done. That is why Jesus tells his disciple to forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Forgiveness is hard when the badness of the worse thing a person has done affects you.

Yet, the Word of God is there with the answer.

Even though, it is hard to forgive others, Jesus has done the hardest thing and forgiven us. And, Jesus, the source of forgiveness, our salvation, the way the truth and the light, tells us we must forgive others from our heart.

St. Paul tells the Roman Christians and us: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.

If Christians are to represent Christ by how we act and how we love and how we live, remember almost is not good enough.  To illuminate the image and likeness of God in the world we must live our lives in a conscious union with God.

A conscious union with God is something you have to make an effort to attain. It is decisions deliberately made; not to be angry and vengeful. It is the choice of mercy. It is the act of forgiving. 

It is continuous. It is something to pray about. Mostly good is not what God asks of us

And, the Word of God will  be there with the answer.

Friends - Set enmity aside of the world. Pray unceasingly in these days where it is so easy to be angry. Love one another enough to forgive. This love is a moment by moment choice and surrender.

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

AMEN

Brother's Keeper - Homily Reflection 23rd Sunday OTA

God asked Cain where his brother Able was; Cain answered “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?” We say the same thing even today - Am I my brother’s keeper?

Our answer is not necessary the one God asks of us.

From the gospel: If you see someone doing wrong, tell them. If they do not listen take one of two more with you and tell them. If they continue to do wrong bring it to the church.

Then God’s message by the prophet Ezekiel: If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.

God says “we are our brother’s keeper?

In this world, that is a tremendous and formidable responsibility. Regrettably, many never take this task God has given us to heart. They balk at the thought of telling someone they are doing wrong and to give up sinful ways.

They the answer of Cain, “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?” or maybe their excuse is "I have enough just to keep myself from sin"

But friends, love call us to be our brothers' keepers.

We shall never overcome our own temptations to sin if we have no time to think of our neighbors' need.

The model of sin shared by us and others becomes the examples to the weak and young.  The lack of example impedes many non-Christians to the possible acceptance of the faith.

If Christians had lived these instructions of charity the prophet Ezekiel and Christ himself gave to us, maybe there would not have been great fractures in the Church that have caused so many in the world to lose faith in Christ and in God.,

Most of us will say, I don’t know where or how to do this.

Friends, if we are parents or godparents or grandparents or aunts or uncles, the first neighbors and fellow Christians we must correct are our children. Their salvation and our own depend on how well we do this.

Families obedient to Christ in this will have opportunities to share these acts of love and help to those outside the household.

Yet, those who are lax, who give little or no thought to getting to heaven or to their children getting there in God's good time, will hardly bother with their neighbor's salvation.

If we are to bring Christ to the world, then we must give the world Christ and that includes telling our neighbors to go and sin no more.

I’ve been lucky in my life with many concerned about my salvation; my brothers, parents, wife, friends, and even my children over the years have taken the time and love to tell me I was wrong. They told me I was on the wrong path. Some knew they were correcting me, most did not; we all need this type of love.

From experience, following Christ’s instructions are not easy. People become angry. People will not listen. They will tell you to mind your own business. It not only the person that errs, others in the community as well.

Today, many are lost. The world is looking for something.

Maybe they are looking for happiness, peace, and love but they are searching in things and experiences that are not love. They don’t know happiness, peace, and love Christ Jesus can bring. 

We are called to be our brother’s keeper. Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; Love does no evil to neighbor;

Look around to see, Love is where the world fails. Yet, the greatest commandment is a call to be our brother’s keeper. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We truly love when Christ is in our midst.

Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel to your children, brothers, sisters, neighbors and the world, by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.