Homily for Christmas 2015

Homily for Our Lady of Guadalupe 2015 (December 12, 2015)

Last Summer I went to see our Mother. I went to Guadalupe to see the Mother of the Lord Jesus and our Mother. I went to Guadalupe to pray for you. I went to Guadalupe to pray for me and for my priesthood. I went to pray at Guadalupe because I knew in the early days of June that our beloved Bishop was entrusting to me and to our parish a new priest. I went to Guadalupe to pray for you, and for him, and for me. Last Summer I went see our Mother at Guadalupe.

Today, we come to see our Mother. We come to our parish Church where Christ is preached and the Sacraments are celebrated. We come to this holy ground on this holy day to honor our Holy Mother. We come to celebrate her for every generation calls her blessed. We come to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Mother of Jesus Christ, because through her we meet Him. Through the Virgin Mother Mary, we receive the Lord Jesus. Through the Virgin Mother the Church, we receive the gift of the Lord Jesus. We receive his Word. We receive his Body and Blood. We receive the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of the All Powerful Father. We receive Mercy.

The Virgin of Guadalupe looked upon Juan Diego with the eyes of mercy. She loved and honored him, even though the world did not love and honor him. She embraced and celebrated his culture, even though the world did not. The Virgin of Guadalupe welcomed Juan Diego onto the land where she stood. She looked upon him with eyes of mercy.

And she spoke words of mercy. The Virgin of Guadalupe spoke to Juan Diego with the invitation of mercy. She asked for a chapel to be built. The Virgin of Guadalupe asked for a place where mercy could be announced. In a land where violence had prevailed, the Virgin wanted mercy to be proclaimed. She looked at Juan Diego with eyes of mercy. She spoke to Juan Diego with words of mercy.

And the Virgin of Guadalupe opened the Door of Mercy. With the flowers that she gave to Juan Diego and her own image, the Virgin of Guadalupe opened the door of Mercy for the heart of the bishop. When the bishop saw the image, he knew the message was true. When the bishop saw the image, his heart was opened in love for his people. When the bishop saw the image, he received the gift of mercy.

Today we come to see the Virgin and she looks at us with eyes of mercy. She looks at each of us with the tender compassion of a mother. She looks at each of us and wants to bring us closer to her. She looks at each of us with the eyes of mercy. She speaks to each of us the word of mercy. She tells us that we are loved. She tells us that we are welcomed. She recognizes each of us as her beloved child and calls each of us by name.

The Virgin of Guadalupe opens the door of mercy for us. She invites us to worship her Son. She invites us to seek his mercy. The Virgin of Guadalupe opens the door of mercy for each of us so that each of us can know the mercy of God.

The Virgin of Guadalupe of looks at us with eyes of mercy. She speaks to us the words of mercy. She opens for us the door of mercy. My brothers and sisters, let us go and see our Mother.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for Christmas (December 24-25, 2012)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

In the season of Advent we have been preparing to welcome Jesus Christ.  Tonight, Jesus Christ welcomes us.  We have been preparing to welcome the Lord Jesus as this fulfillment of the promise made to the prophets, as the Savior who has come to redeem us, and as the one who will reveal to us the face of God.  Tonight, Jesus Christ welcomes us to the celebration of his birth.

I was born nine days before Christmas, though ten days earlier than expected.  Normally ten days on the calendar do not make that great of a difference.  However, being born on the sixteenth of December, rather than on the twenty-sixth meant that I was entitled to a Christmas present that year.  My younger sister is certain that the additional Christmas present is the reason that I was born early.  Within the day after I was born, my father asked my mother, “What do you think he will want for Christmas?”  My mother, knowing her new-born son as only a mother can, informed my father that there was a Christmas ornament, a small wooden train, which would be the perfect gift.  My father was sent from the hospital to obtain the small and precious ornament.  This year that ornament is hanging on the Christmas tree in the home of my parents.  Next year the train is moving to Monroe!

“What do you think he will want for Christmas?”  What, my dear brothers and sisters, is the appropriate gift for the Son of God, as we celebrate his birth and Christmas day?  The scriptures reveal to us again and again that the desire of the Lord is that we should live justly, that we should love mercy, and that we should walk humbly with our God.  Those, however, are the gifts that we are called to offer to God every day.  On this special day, on this day when we celebrate his humble birth of the humble Virgin, there must be some small and precious gift that we can give to the Lord Jesus.

“What do you think he will want?”  The animals shared their home, and the angels shared their song.  The shepherds came in haste because a new shepherd had been born.  On this most holy night, the Lord Jesus welcomes us to his cradle, as we have prepared to welcome him.  The gift that the Lord Jesus desires for his birthday, the gift that is so very precious that He would come down from heaven in the silent watches of the night, is us.  All that the Lord Jesus wants is for us to join him at the manger.  The precious gift, desired and treasured by the Lord of heaven and earth, is you and me.  My dear brother and sisters, Jesus wants each of us as his gift for Christmas.  Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC 

We've Made Room in the Inn for You in Monroe this Christmas!

Homily for November 29, 2015 (1st Sunday of Advent)

Every now and then I will get a card in the mail from a friend or an acquaintance or someone else and it’s not a greeting card or a get well card or a happy birthday card or even an invitation. The card is an announcement about some important event that will be happening on some particular day in the distant future. The card in the mail is telling me a few little details about the event and asking me to Save the Date. Even though the event is in the distant future whoever sent this announcement wants to reserve a place in my mind and a space on my calendar.

Sometimes these announcements are for smaller events. From stores and businesses we get announcements to save the date for grand openings and sales and theaters invite us to save the date so that we can see the latest movie on its opening day. But sometimes these announcements are for much bigger events. Save the date – I’m turning 15 . . . or 39. Save the date- I’m graduating. Save the date- we’re getting married. Some events are just so important that they need to be announced early. They are announced in plenty of time so that we can prepare a place in our minds and a space on our calendar. These are the events that we think about and places where we spend the precious gift of our time. Some things are just that important. Some things deserve to be announced early.

Like the promise of the one who will open the gates of Paradise. That was announced early. Even as the gates were closing on the Garden of Eden, there was the announcement that one day someone would come with a cross shaped key to open them.  Even as Moses was dying before entering into the Promised Land, there was the announcement that the Lord would raise up a prophet like him to the lead the people. And even as the prophets spoke in times of war and exile, there was the announcement that a child would be born and a son given in whose reign is everlasting peace. Some things are just so important that they deserve to be announced early.    

The season of Advent is our Save the Date announcement. We are given this time to prepare a place in our minds and in our hearts and even a place in our busy schedules so that we can join in the celebration of the Son of God. As we prepare for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the return of the Lord Jesus in glory, we meet him here. The promise that was announced at the gates of the Garden of Eden and made to Moses on the edge of the Promised Land is fulfilled in our midst on the Altar. Jesus himself invites us to join in the celebration. Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for November 22, 2015 (Christ the King B)

This is a strange choice for the Gospel reading today. This passage seems like a pretty strange choice to me. After all, this is Christ the King Sunday. This is the Sunday that begins the final week of the liturgical year. This is the last Sunday before Advent and a new year of grace. And this Gospel just seems like a strange choice.

The reading from the prophet Daniel and the reading from the book of Revelation seem like good choices. They speak about power and glory and kingship and majesty and victory. This are the things I want to hear about on Christ the King Sunday. These are the words from the Lord that I want to hear. I want to hear about Jesus’ power and glory and kingship and majesty and victory over the forces of evil and darkness and violence. I want to hear the words of comfort that Jesus will conquer the darkness of the world by the light of his power and his glory. I want to hear about the judge of the nations who separates the good from the bad, the righteous from the unrighteous, and the saints from the sinners. That is what I want to hear about on Christ the King Sunday.

And yet the Gospel shows us Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Jesus is on trial. He is captive. He is suffering and rejected. Jesus is a man of sorrows. Is this really the image of the victorious king? Is this really the sign of power and authority and victory that we want to see on Christ the King Sunday?  I want to see Jesus in his power and today we meet him in weakness.

But isn’t that where Jesus meets us? Is it not when we are captive in sin that Jesus comes with the promise of his mercy? Is it not when we are bound in sorrow that Jesus comes with the promise of the resurrection? Is it not when we are suffering and rejected by the powers of the world that the Lord Jesus comes to meet us with the promise of our acceptance in him? In our weakness we meet the King of Glory. In the midst of our trials the Lord Jesus comes to meet us. He comes to meet us in the humility of one who suffers. He comes to conquer the bitterness in our hearts by the power of his bitter sufferings.

This is a good Gospel passage for today. This is good news on the Christ the King Sunday for you and for me. Our King is not so far away. He meets us in our weakness. We meet him in his humility.

In a few weeks we will meet him in a manger. In a few minutes we will meet him in bread and wine transformed by the power of his Word. Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe NC

Homily for November 15, 2015 (33rd Sunday B)

On the day that I moved into my room at Seminary, I placed my favorite image of Our Lady on a nail that was already in the wall in my room. I thought that since the previous resident of this room had a picture hanging there, that it was probably a good place. It is an image of the Blessed Virgin holding the child Jesus. It is an image of tender compassion, loving concern and protection, and that is why it was the first thing that I hung up on the wall.

But then the image started to move. The image started to move slightly from the wall and then back. This was not any kind of supernatural event. It was perfectly natural because on the other side of my wall was the wall in the room of another seminarian who had recently purchased a large speaker for listening to music. The vibrations from the speaker from the music were causing the image of peace and tranquility in my room to move. So I carefully and calmly walked to the next room. I gently knocked on the door, and as it opened, I said, “My name is Benjamin Roberts from the Diocese of Charlotte. What are we listening to?”

What are we listening to? It’s pretty important what we listen to. We listen to advertisements and we buy things. We listen to political speeches and debates and we think and eventually vote a certain way. We listen to music and our emotions are moved and some people, not me but some people, dance. We listen to the news and our hearts are broken at the horrific violence in cities throughout the world, throughout the country, and even throughout our own area. What we listen to is pretty important.

And it’s so much easier to listen to what is bad. It’s easier to listen to a rumor about someone’s sins than it is to hear a story about someone’s good deeds. It’s so much easier to listen to the bad news, to focus on the bad news, to pay attention to the bad news. And when we do that, we can easily miss the Good News.

The prophet Daniel told the people some pretty bad news. He talked about a time of unsurpassed distress. Jesus told of some pretty bad news too. There will be days of tribulation and darkness. Heaven and earth will pass away. Everything in creation will be changed. The world as we know it will end. It’s pretty bad news, and it’s really easy to listen to only the bad news.

But the prophet Daniel and certainly the Lord Jesus tell us the Good News. Daniel talks about Michael, a guardian of the Lord’s people, who brings the protecting power of God to his people. Jesus promises that he will send his angels to gather his people from the ends of the earth. In the midst of all of the bad news of tribulation and darkness, the Lord shows us tender compassion, loving concern and protection. Jesus tells us the Good News. Jesus invites us to listen to the Good News.

And he tells us to tell the Good News.  When we listen to sadness and suffering, we then tell the Good News of the Lord’s presence. When we listen to trials and tribulations and tragedies, we then tell the Good News of God’s mercy. When we listen to accomplishment and achievement, we then tell the Good News of God’s protection.

There is so much bad news that we could listen to. Let’s share the Good News instead. Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC