Homily for January 31, 2021 (4th Sunday B)

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On most of the Sundays in Ordinary Time this year, we will hear from the Gospel of Mark. We will hear the words of Mark, which probably reflect the preaching of Peter the Apostle, and we will walk with the Lord Jesus. We are traveling with Jesus and Mark serves as our guide this year.

Each of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, emphasize different things and sometimes give us different pieces of the story. They originally wrote for different groups of people and in different places. For Mark, every story and every miracle and every teaching shows us two things. In every story and every miracle and every teaching, Mark shows us who Jesus is and he shows us what it means to follow Jesus. Who do we follow and how do we follow? That is what we will hear every time we hear from the Gospel of Mark. Who do we follow and how do we follow?

Today we follow Jesus into the synagogue at Capernaum. In the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus teaches and Jesus casts out an unclean spirit. The people in the synagogue at Capernaum are amazed and astonished. Who do we follow and how do we follow?

Jesus has the authority to teach. It isn’t like the authority of scribes and the scholars. The authority of Jesus comes from within him. He is a prophet greater than Moses. Jesus has the teaching authority of Almighty God. Moses led the people out of Egypt and freed them from the bondage of Pharaoh. Jesus, in the synagogue at Capernaum, frees a man from the bondage of an unclean spirit. Jesus teaches with the authority of God and liberates with the power of God. Who do we follow and how do we follow?

We follow Jesus, the Son of God. We follow the one who has divine authority and divine power. And today we are simply invited to be amazed and astonished. That is how we follow the Lord Jesus on this Sunday in Ordinary Time. To be amazed and astonished once again by the authority and power of Jesus. Who do we follow and how do we follow?

We have heard this story from Mark, which he heard from Peter, many times. It is easy to lose our amazement and astonishment when we hear such a familiar story. The words can easily pass by our ears and by our minds. It was probably the same way for the people in the synagogue at Capernaum on that sabbath day. They heard familiar readings from the scriptures. They heard teaching about those scriptures. There was something ordinary about the sabbath. Except, in the midst of his teaching, Jesus freed someone from an unclean spirit. In the midst of his amazing teaching on the sabbath day in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus performed a miracle of liberation and freedom. At his word, Jesus set someone free.

And Jesus wants to set us free. Whatever holds you bound this morning, let the word of Christ free you. Jesus is more than a teacher. Jesus is the one who will set us free. It is amazing.

Homily for January 24, 2021 (3rd Sunday B)

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    There is an ancient tradition that the Gospel of Mark is based on the preaching of Peter the Apostle. We think Mark traveled with Peter. Most likely, Mark was originally from Palestine. He is probably the same Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles who is a nephew of Barnabas and who traveled for a little while with Paul. It seems like Mark had a very interesting life.

    Think about this for just a moment. Mark traveled with Peter and he heard the stories of Jesus. Over and over again as Peter preached in different places and to different peoples, Mark heard the stories of Jesus. He heard about the call of the first disciples. He heard about some of the miracles. He heard about the battles with the demons. He heard about some of the healings, and he heard about the suffering and the death of Jesus. Again and again, Mark heard the story of Jesus from the voice of Peter.

    And then he wrote it down. He heard it. He thought about it. He organized it. Mark wrote down the story of Jesus that he heard from the voice of Peter. He listened and he believed and he shared.

    We will hear from the Gospel of Mark on most of the Sundays of Ordinary Time this year. We will hear an echo of the voice of Peter on most of the Sundays of Ordinary Time this year. In a certain way, we get to travel with Peter the Apostle and Mark the evangelist. 

    But the story we will hear is not centered on Peter and does not even mention Mark. The story that Mark writes that he heard from Peter is about Jesus. We come to know the Lord Jesus through the writing of Mark and the preaching of Peter.

    Our Holy Father Francis, who speaks with the voice of Peter, invites us on this Sunday to a deeper embrace of the Word of God in the Bible. The Pope invites us to pick up the Scriptures, to read the words of Mark, to hear the voice of Peter, and to know the Lord Jesus. And as we take up the scriptures and allow ourselves to be nourished by the Word, we are prepared more and more to be nourished by the Eucharist. When we come to know the Lord in his Word we will come to recognize him more and more at his table. The Lord invites us to be nourished. He wants to feed us. Amen.

Homily for January 17, 2021 (2nd Sunday B)

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    We return to the Sundays of Ordinary time in a time that is anything but ordinary. The gold of Christmas and Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord now gives way to the green for a short time before we will take up the purple of Lent. In this ordinary time which is anything but ordinary, we take the time to walk with Jesus and those first disciples.

    Words are ordinary. We use words all of the time. We speak them. We write them. We read them. Words are an ordinary part of our days and of our lives. But first words are special. The first words of a child are eagerly awaited and always remembered. The first words of a book and the first words of a song are carefully chosen so that they hold the interest of the reader and the listener. First words are important.

    And today, we hear the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Is it a call to repentance? No, that is in Mark. Is it a request to be baptized in the Jordan river? No, that is in Matthew. Perhaps it is the 12-year-old Jesus asking his parents a question in the Temple? No, that is in Luke. The first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John are a question to two people who were following him. And what is the question? What are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John?

    What are you looking for? These are the first words. What are you looking for? The ultimate answer to this first question is, in fact, the person who is asking the question. What are you looking for? We are looking for you.

    We are looking for you, Lord Jesus, in an ordinary time that is anything but ordinary. We are looking for you, O Divine Physician, in a time of sickness and pandemic. We are looking for you, O Prince of Peace, as violence breaks out in our nation and threatens our world. We are looking for you, O Lord of Life, to give us a word of hope and a word of grace and a word of life. What are you looking for? We are looking for you.

    We are looking for the Lord Jesus and we have come where he has promised to be. In the Word proclaimed, in the holy people gathered, in the ministry of his apostles, in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, Jesus has promised to meet us. Here we meet him. Here we find him. For a moment, and just for a moment, we do not need to search. We do not need to look for another.

    On Easter morning, in the Gospel of John, Jesus will ask a question of Mary Magdalene. It is similar, but not the same. He does not ask her, “What are you looking for?” Jesus askes Mary Magdalene, “Whom are you looking for?” We have come here not because we are looking for something, but because here we have found someone. Amen.

Homily for Sunday, January 10, 2021 The Baptism of the Lord

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       This has been a strange and unusual week. I saw so many things that I never imagined that I would see. I heard so many things that I never imagined that I would hear. And yet, in the midst of all of the various things in the various places, there was one verse of Scripture, a brief statement from our friend Paul, that kept coming to mind. Our citizenship is in heaven.

    Our citizenship is in heaven. Paul does not say that we will be citizens of heaven. It is not a word of prophecy. It is a word of reality. He says that our citizenship is in heaven. At this moment, right now, we are citizens of heaven.

How did that happen? How did we, who were born on earth and who live on earth, become citizens of heaven? The Son of the Eternal Father came down from heaven. The Son of God joined the story of earth and he joined the story of the earth to the song of heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven because Christ came from heaven and claimed us as his own.

We were claimed in the waters of our baptism. We were baptized into the death and more importantly into the life of Jesus. We were made a member of his body and we were claimed as a citizen of heaven. Christ Jesus entered into the waters of the Jordan to make the water holy so that in the waters of baptism we would be united to Christ Jesus.

Our citizenship is in heaven. Christ has come from heaven to join us to himself. He claimed us in the waters of our baptism. And in the waters of our baptism, he consecrated each of us to join in his great feast. In the celebration of the Eucharist, all who are baptized are joined to the offering of Christ and we celebrate here and now the Wedding Feast of the Lamb of God who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Homily for January 3, 2021 The Epiphany of the Lord

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 One of the last gifts that my maternal grandfather gave to me was a book.  I think that I was about thirteen years old.  It was a book of prayers.  It was a book of prayers written specifically for a teenage boy, and my grandfather said that the book was something he thought I might need.  Normally a book tells a story. This particular book foretold my future. The gift was an indication of the life ahead.

    It is the same with the three gifts that were given to the Lord Jesus by the magi from the east.  The gifts that the magi brought to the Lord Jesus were an indication of the identity of the child and of his mission.  In these gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that were given to the child Jesus, we see who he is and what he is sent to do.

    Gold is the gift for a king. It is a sign of royal dignity. The Lord Jesus was born to be king of Israel, yet from all eternity he reigned in heaven. Jesus Christ is the king who will establish a universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.  He is the king who conquers sin and he will conquer death forever.  Jesus Christ is the king who will take his place at the right hand of the power and majesty of God the Father.  The magi bring him gold, because the child is a king.

    Frankincense is the gift for a priest. Frankincense is used as a sign of honor and reverence and it is a symbol of prayer. We use incense in the celebration of the liturgy to signify and honor the presence of Christ in the altar, the words of the Gospel, the holy gifts, the priest, and the holy people of God. Christ is the High Priest of our confession of faith. He is the one who was sent from the Father and he unites us to heaven’s unceasing song of praise. He is the one who returns to the Father offering the blood of sacrifice. The Lord Jesus is the high priest who enters the temple that was not made by human hands. He is the high priest who lives forever to make intercession for us. The magi bring him frankincense because the child is a priest.

    The gift of myrrh is prophetic. Myrrh is very, very expensive. It is possible that the gift of myrrh was more valuable than the gold or the frankincense. Myrrh is used to prepare a body for burial.  This gift is given because the Lord Jesus was born to die. The Lord Jesus is the king of the universe, the high priest of our confession, and he is the lamb of sacrifice. He is the victim and the acceptable offering for the sins of the world. Through him, all of the other sacrifices of the temple will come to an end. Through him, and with him, and in him, all of the sacrifices of our lives of faith will be received in the presence of the Most High God. The magi bring him the gift of myrrh because the Lord Jesus will die for the sins of the world.

    In the early years of his earthly life, the magi brought the child Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were an indication of who the child was called to be. We were not brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but in the waters of baptism, we were given faith, hope, and love.  These divine gifts were given to each of us as an indication of who we are called to be.  Our faith, which is more precious than gold, our hope, which does not disappoint, and our love, which is stronger than sin and death, brings us closer to the Lord Jesus and prepares us for the eternal life ahead. Amen.