An Angry Bee - Homily 24th Sunday OTA

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Praise be Jesus Christ – forever and ever. Amen

Jesus Christ invites us to love: love ourselves, love others as we love ourselves, and love God, as He has loved us.

Forgiveness is essential to hold this trilogy of love together. Today contemplate forgiveness.  

Wrath and anger are hateful things. Each and every one of us are sinners so we tend to hold on to them.  We find it hard to forgive. And as long as we live, we are probably going to experience these feelings, even if we try to avoid them.

God gives us the freedom to hold these unnecessary things. But God also gives us the freedom to let them go.

If we truly follow Christ and are obedient to God’s will. We need to be able to forgive. To forgive someone who hurts us or caused seemingly irreparable damage in our lives seems to be difficult task.  Many times, we get angry for the same hurt over and over again.

Do not forget, the evil one will pick at those hurts to bring them back again and again.

That may have been the reason behind Peter’s question. Peter thinking that he was good and generous when he  asked Jesus how often must he forgive, is it seven times? (Jewish law said to forgive 3 times. Peter must have thought seven was very generous.)

Jesus answered Peter: “Forgive…not up to seven times but seventy seven times.” Then Jesus throws a further twist into his teaching -  those who will not forgive will not be forgiven!

Why we must forgive? This is what we must contemplate. Here are three reasons:

First, forgive because we have been forgiven first. We are the servant  in today’s gospel who owes a great debt to the king. It was such a great debt, the servant could have never paid it back. With mercy, the king forgave his debt.

We are just like that servant. We cannot pay back all that God has given us. Jesus Christ paid the debt for our sins to forgive them all. In return we are asked to do the same for our brothers and sisters.

Second, forgive for our own good especially for our healing.  Not being able to forgive is a spiritual pollution.  The pollution of wrath and anger can keep us from happiness, joy, and love.

When I thought about this,  the children’s story of The Angry Bee came to my mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aEUjlxOK-Y 

In a beautiful meadow, there lived a colony of bees. The bees were all friends and enjoyed doing bee things together. Flying around in the sunshine and hunting for flowers. When they would find a flower, they would do their happy bee dance, and work together to make honey.

Sometimes flying around, the bees would accidentally run into to each other. “I’m sorry,” one bee would say.

 “That’s OK. I forgive you.” The other would answer and bees were happy flying and doing the things bee’s do together.

One day, something different happened when two bees crashed into each other. “I’m sorry.” said the first bee.

“You got in my way!” said the second bee. “I’m not flying with you anymore.”

The angry bee flew away. “I’ll show that bee!” said the angry bee. He sat on the leaf and waited for the other bee to feel bad.

Later, all the other bees went to fly in the sunshine and hunt flowers together; not the angry bee. He sat on his leaf being angry. He thought, “I’ll show that bee.”

The other bees hunted flowers, did the happy bee dance, and had fun doing things bees do. Not the angry bee, he just sat on the leaf being angry. “I’ll show that bee.”

When it was time to work together to make honey, all the bees happily worked together. Not the angry bee, he sat on the leaf being angry thinking, “I’ll show that bee.”

But it wasn’t working, the other bees were still happy.

The next day, the  bees came to the angry bee and asked if the bee would come fly in the sunshine and hunt for flowers. The angry bee said, “No, I am still mad at that bee.”

“Ok” said the other bees, see you later. They flew off and were happy.

The angry bee felt sad. He wanted to fly in the sunshine, hunt for flowers, do the happy bee dance, and make honey with the other bees.  The bee thought, “I can be happy again, all I need to do is forgive.” And, He did.

Third, forgive because if we do not forgive we shall not be forgiven.

Jesus taught us to pray this way, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”  By our own prayers, we ask God - If there is someone I have not forgiven, then do not forgive me!

Do we really mean this part of the Lord’s Prayer? Every time we pray this and refuse to forgive others, our prayer is not sincere. If our prayer is to be truly sincere, we must forgive others.

We are adopted children of God. Love should be the way we think and act towards others in a reflection of the Father’s goodness. If we believe this truth, we live love others as Jesus taught us.

Love ourselves, love others as we love ourselves, and love God as He has loved us. Forgiveness is the essential element that hold this trilogy of love together.

Wrath and anger are hateful things. By His love, God gives us the freedom and grace to let them go.

Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way we live our life, love, and forgive one another. Praise be Jesus Christ – forever and ever. Amen

Make Your Own Good Dirt - HomiLy 20th Sunday OTa

 

6-7; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mt 15:21-28

Praise be Jesus Christ 4 ever and ever – Amen.

Have you ever had someone say something to you in one context, but when you think about it means so much moreLet me tell you about mine…

My good friend and brother in Christ is a landscape architect. He has traveled the world in that career working with large international companies. He not only shared his green thumb and professional talents, he shared his faith as a witness of Jesus Christ.

Even though he has been successful in the business world, he still loves to garden at his home in Alexandria. He has a beautiful raised bed garden with clean wide walkways and strives to keep it immaculate. What the garden produces is magnificent!

At a recent gathering at the Jesuit Spirituality Center, I asked if he had any pictures of his garden to show my wife.

He said “Sorry, Brother Bill but I do not have my phone. I can tell you the secret of a good garden is to make your own good dirt. You have to have good soil.  If you compost, you make good dirt and will not need any artificial chemical fertilizers. The secret making things grow is to have good dirt.”

I thought about composting on the 3-hour drive back to Monroe. God wanted me to learn something else and the Holy Spirit showed me what God wanted me to learn from that advice.  It was about God's mercy, faith, and salvation.

Those are the subjects of our scripture.

Isaiah that begins with this message from God - “Do what is right and do what is just.” The secret of making things grow is to make your own good dirt

Isaiah raised a few eyebrows when he pointed out God’s mercy is not just for the people that would normally be consider the fertile soil (tribe of Israel.) God’s mercy is for all people not just the people. If people Love the Lord – keep the Sabbath free from profanation - and uphold God’s covenant –they will make themselves good dirt.  The LORD will plant the seed of faith in that good soil and from that seed of faith in God comes mercy that reveals his salvation and justice.

“My salvation is about to come, my justice about to be revealed.”

Even those raised in a good Christian home can reject God’s mercy.  They have little or even no faith. They turn their back on God with excuses like I‘m too broken of a person. I made a mess of my life. I done such bad things. God could never love me. That part of them, the soil where the seed of faith is planted has been poisoned.

The injustice that is the evil of this world has been planted in hearts. Those who should know God’s mercy by knowing Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and are washed clean of sin in Baptism have become poison by what is around them. Their faith has become starved or choked or has withered under the heat of the deceivers influence. The evil of this world poisons them and the good  is overshadowed by what is not good. .

This becomes their truth – God does not know me. God does not love me.  I have done such bad things God could never forgive me. I am too far from God for his mercy.

Although the grace of God’s mercy is given to all, there little good dirt in the hearts of those whose allegiance is this world. They do not know or recognize God’s mercy around them.

The evil one justifies all that he does by boasting that this world is too broken for God to love.

The proof that we are loved is in the Gospel today.  The Canaanite woman comes to Jesus in faith seeking his mercy. She was fighting her demons. And, the disciples try to run her off. 

She was a foreigner and they did not think her good enough for Jesus’ message. Jesus even says -   my message is for the good soil – the people of Israel.

In never ending faith, this foreign woman asked Jesus for mercy. Let some of your goodness fall upon my child and me. Even dogs get the scraps from their master’s table.

Jesus looked at her and saw her faith. She was good soil made by faith.  This woman, a foreigner testifies to all - the justice of His mercy. The truth of his salvation. Because of her faith, her child was healed from that hour.

Friends composting takes all the scraps, refuse, and discarded materials from the yard, garden, and kitchen and makes it into something new. It is brought to the compost pile or bin and thrown in to be changed and to become good dirt.

It is the same for us- our sins, disobedience, all the bad things we have done that make us believe God will never love us can become  the best of soils to receive God’s mercy and justice.

The message St. Paul gave to the Romans is still true. It is a message so many need to hear.  You receive mercy because of disobedience; by the virtue of mercy we receive mercy. God’s mercy is for all.

Take it all to the confessional where our sins and the bad is thrown out and by the grace of God’s mercy we receive forgiveness. Work to be made good soil. It is not easy. There is going to be some stench coming out of us. By grace we become a good dirt and who we are meant to be.

Friends come and kneel at God’s table. Pray and ask for his mercy. Pray for justice. Let faith be in all that we bring to Jesus to make us good soil

Be good, be holy and make yourself good soil so that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ can grow in you to share with others by the way you live your life and love one another.

Praise be Jesus Christ – 4 ever and ever. Amen.

The Naked Truth - Homily 15th Sunday OTA

Readings - Is 55:10-11; Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14; Rom 8:18-23:Rom 8:18-23

Praise Be to Jesus Christ, for ever and ever.  Amen

When my children were babies and my grandchildren were small they loved to run around naked. They would get out of the bathtub and you would have to chase them down to put clothes on them. The truth was the loved to be naked.

Here is another - Our first parents, Adam & Eve walked in the garden with God. They were naked.  The serpent tempted them, do you want to know the truth of what it is to be like God, then eat of what is forbidden. They did, the truth they realized was nakedness, so they hid from God.

From those two little hints, maybe you guess that I want to talk about Truth. Or even more exact The Naked Truth.

Truth walks into town and Truth is naked. All the people ran from the naked truth and closed themselves to the truth. Truth became troubled. 

Then one day, someone approached him and offered to be his friend.

Truth asks his new friend, why is everyone running from me.

His new friends say, because you are naked. But, my friend if you come with me I will be able to help you. My name is Story. I am a tailor. Come with me, I will clothe you so you are no longer naked.

Truth’s new friend Story, made Truth many fine suits of clothes, among them were myth, poetry, and parable.  Because of these fine suits, people opened themselves to Truth.

That is why I like to tells stories. That is why Jesus uses parables. So that people would be open to the truth. Today, Jesus shares the parable of the sower.  However, reflect on the truths of that parable in a slightly different way. 

Most of the time, we focus on where the seed is sown – the hard path, the rocky grown, the shallow soil, the patch of thorns or the fertile ground. A lot of times the focus is which one am I.

That is one of humanity’s sins, focusing on our selves instead of God. God is the sower. Focus on the sower. Focus on that truth.

One truth is that God loves each and every one of us. God loves us so much He sows seeds with abundance. Seeds of his grace. Seeds of his mercy. Seeds in the Word of God.

The sower gives each the seeds of his grace and mercy. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. God loves us and sees in us fertile ground.

A second truth of this parable is God’s mercy. God, who is rich in mercy, shows this truth to those who go astray. The seeds of God’s mercy falls on the hard path, rocky ground, the shallow soil, and even it the thorn patch. He gives mercy to those in poor soil the same as he gives mercy to those on fertile ground.

The truth of God’s mercy is like the rain and snow, which comes down to water the earth. If we open our hearts to God’s grace and mercy, it makes good, fertile, and fruitful soil.

Sadly, we are too much like our first parents. We want our own truth.

The evil one comes and steals away what is sown in the heart with trials, tribulation, or persecution of the world. With thorns of worldly anxiety and false narratives the devil convinces many to run and hide from God. Those worldly truths choke the grace, mercy, and word of God from our hearts.

And even now all creation is groaning in labor pains. Pain from those in the world who want to be God and make their own truths. This makes poor soil that rejects the sowers seeds.

At his trial, Jesus said to Pontius Pilate – “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.' 

Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?'

There is a 3^rd truth, found in the very first words of today’s Gospel. It tells the truth of Jesus. Jesus does not give up on us. 

He got up and leaves the house, goes to the sea (the place where he promise to make his disciples fishers of men), and large crowds were there.

Scripture does not give specifics about the house. Maybe it was a disciple’s house or a friend’s house. However, the truth is Jesus left the Father’s house to come to this world. This world represented by the sea. In biblical scripture, the sea represents the chaos and turmoil of creation. The large crowds reveal that Jesus came for everyone.

Jesus does not give them the naked truth. He preaches the truth by this parable because he wanted them to come to the truth.  I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.

Pray that we all are rich and fertile soil for the seed God sows in our heart through the Word of God. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God. Many longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear.

Be good, be holy, and preach the truth of the gospel in the story and parable of how we live our life and love one another.

Praise Be to Jesus Christ, for ever and ever.  Amen

Whoever Disregard This Disregard God - First Friday 9/1/23

Readings - 1 Thes 4:1-8; Lk 21:36; Mt 25:1-13

There is a profound message in today’s scripture.  I want you to hear it. I want you to share it with all who will hear you - The will of God is our holiness.

St Paul writes - God did not call us to impurity but to holiness; whoever disregard this disregards God.

Holiness is to draw near to God.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how to answer the call to holiness - “Pray Constantly.”  Be vigilant; pray so you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.

Then Jesus gives us the parable of 5 wise virgins and 5 foolish virgins. 

The 5 wise virgins prepared themselves for the coming of the bridegroom. The brought out their lamps, trimmed the wicks, and brought extra flasks of oil.

They were waiting for the LORD to come. They had the light of faith.  The wicks trimmed so the flame would burn bright. They stayed vigilant and brought extra oil to keep the flame burning.

They did everything they needed to do be able to draw near to the LORD.

The 5 foolish virgins were unprepared. When the bridegroom came, their light was out. They were not vigilant.

They had run out of oil. Not ready for the coming of the bridegroom.

See Christians today.

Those who seek holiness are vigilant in prayer, worship, and praise of God.

The foolish want God on their terms. Cafeteria Catholics choosing what is easy. Ignoring what is right or hard.

Catholics who do not come to mass or confession. There are those who do not rightfully receive the Blessed Sacrament.  There are those who do not pray.

Christians worshipping the popular of the world rather than following truth in God’s will. Many choose to identify as spiritual but not religious and follow the will of the world expressed in human voice.

Just like the foolish virgins, people consider themselves good. They identify as Catholics, Christians, or even something else.  How many are answering a call to holiness?

Are we following God’s will?

God calls us to holiness through Jesus Christ. Whoever disregard this disregards God.

One day the foolish will be knocking at the gates of Paradise – calling – “Lord, Lord, open the door for us.”

He will say in reply, “I do not know you.”

There is a profound message in today’s scripture.  Hear it & share it with all who will hear - The will of God is our holiness. God wants us to draw near to Him. 

Whoever disregard this disregards God.