Homily for February 28, 2021 (2nd Sunday of Lent B)

 

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There is something beautiful about the top of a mountain. You can see things from the top of a mountain that you cannot see in the valley. You can look out and see the trees and the hills and the houses and the lakes and the cities in the distance from the top of a mountain. There is something beautiful about the top of a mountain. We even refer to great experiences, especially spiritual ones, as going to the mountaintop.

Noah went to the mountaintop. Abraham went to the mountaintop. Moses went to the mountaintop. Isaiah went to the mountaintop. Today Jesus invites Peter, James and John, and you and me to the top of a mountain. We go to the mountaintop to witness the transfiguration of Jesus.

The Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus is an invitation to draw near to the mountaintop.  Peter, James, and John were invited up a high mountain by the Lord Jesus. And there, the three disciples saw the glory of the only Son of God. Jesus Christ was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzlingly bright. Peter, James, and John looked upon the face of a man and they saw the face of the Eternal God. In the transfigured glory of Christ, the disciples saw Moses and Elijah. They saw the law and the prophets standing with him who is the fulfillment of all law and all prophecy. They heard the voice of the Father declaring the identity of his Son. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Now earlier in the gospel, Peter had proclaimed the identity of Jesus in faith. Now the voice of the Father announces his identity in fact. The three disciples had been invited up a high mountain.  They had entered into the holy presence of the Most Holy God. There is something beautiful about the top of a mountain.

But they could not remain on the mountaintop. Three tents could not hold the presence of the law and the prophets and the Savior of the world. The Transfiguration was a moment of encouragement and consolation for the disciples in anticipation of the suffering of the servant in Jerusalem. The visit to the mountaintop was a gift to them in anticipation of the greatest gift, which is the Resurrection. The Lord Jesus called them from their vision of glory, and told them not to be afraid.  He invited them to give up their fear and their comfort on the mountain and to be consoled by Jesus alone. Three tents on a high mountain could not hold the divine presence . . . but three crosses on a low mountain would.  

On the cross on the low mountain of Calvary, the Son of God would offer the perfect response in obedience to the invitation of the Father.  

The Lord Jesus did not invite us to a high mountain today. And yet, in our midst, the words of the prophets and the precepts of the law are announced. The voice of a man will speak with the power of the Son of God and veiled in the simple gifts that only faith can recognize, Jesus Christ is made present to us. The Lord has invited us. By faith, we have come to the mountaintop. Here we receive the word of consolation. Here, we receive the word of divine promise. In this place and at this moment we proclaim with Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here.”  Amen. 

Homily for February 21, 2021 (1st Sunday of Lent B)

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Every Lent I seem to do the same things.  I think about the great season of Lent and the joy of preparing for the great feast of Easter, and I start to plan.  I will make this sacrifice.  I will not eat this particular food.  I will say these additional prayers.  I will take more time to be alone with God alone.  I will be nicer.  I will be more patient. 
        And then, in the midst of all of those plans, I am surprised when Lent begins.  It happens so quickly.  One evening it is Ordinary Time and the next morning is Ash Wednesday.  I have to make my list of prayers.  I have to remember which foods I promised not to eat.  I need to choose another sacrifice for Lent.  I need to make another promise to God.  I need to slow down, but quickly.  There is so much to do.  There are so many promises to make and promises to keep.
        Every Lent I seem to do the same things.  But maybe this Lent, things could be different.  Maybe this Lent, I will not worry so much about the sacrifices that I should make.  Maybe this Lent, I will not worry so much about eating this food or that one.  Maybe this Lent, I will not try to add any more prayers to my day.  Maybe this Lent I will choose only one thing, because only one thing is truly important.  Only one thing really matters: following Jesus Christ.
        We will follow Jesus Christ, from the baptism to the desert, and from the desert to his preaching.  We will follow him with the sick and we will follow him with the sinners.  We will follow him up the mountain.  We will follow him to the Upper Room.  We will follow him to a court room, and to a lonely cross.  We will follow Jesus Christ this Lent.
        This Lent, things will be different.  We will not focus on our sacrifices, but on His Sacrifice.  We will not focus on eating this food or that one, but on being fed by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.  This Lent, we will say our prayers, but we will focus not on the number of prayers, but on the God to whom we pray.  This Lent, things will be different.
        The Lord Jesus began his preaching with a simple message: “The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” We begin this season of Lent with a simple goal: to follow Jesus Christ.  He will lead and we will follow.  He will speak and we will hear.  He will feed us and we will be filled.  He will promise, and we will be changed.
        This Lent will be different.  Amen.  

Homily for February 14, 2021 (Our Lady of Lourdes Sunday)

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“There is something you need to understand, Father,” a man said to me a few years ago. “There is something you need to understand. Our Lady comes to the forgotten places. Our Lady comes to bring the light of Christ to the darkness. Our Lady came to the place where there was only garbage and she made it a place of healing. This is something you need to understand, Father.”
When Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, there was no giant and glorious basilica near the Grotto. Our Lady did not appear inside the building of the parish church. She did not appear to the rich and the powerful. She did not appear to the benefactors of society. Our Lady appeared in a cave to a very poor little girl named Bernadette. The place where Our Lady appeared in Lourdes was used to pasture animals, to find firewood, and as the city garbage dump. And Our Lady changed that. St. Bernadette changed that. The people of God changed that. Ultimately, God has transformed a land for animals and for garbage into a place of mercy, grace, and healing. 
Our Lady comes to the forgotten places. Our Lady comes to bring light in the darkness. Our Lady comes to take possession not only of forgotten places and damaged places and dirty places. Our Lady comes to extend her motherly care to forgotten persons and damaged persons and sinful persons. She is always extending a mother’s love.
        Our Lady did not wait inside a building. She did not wait where it was safe and warm and comfortable. Our Lady is not simply waiting. Our Lady is looking. She comes to find those who are lost. She goes out to seek out those who are seeking. She looks for the poor and the humble and the neglected. 
        “There is something you need to understand, Father,” a man said to me a few years ago. “There is something you need to understand. Our Lady comes to the forgotten places. Our Lady comes to bring the light of Christ to the darkness. Our Lady came to the place where there was only garbage and she made it a place of healing. This is something you need to understand, Father.”
        “I love the story of Our Lady of Lourdes,” I said to the man. “She came to the forgotten places, to the neglected places, to bring light in the darkness. Our Lady of Lourdes came to the city garbage dump and made it beautiful and holy.” And the man, taking a deep breath, said to me, “I love the story of Our Lady of Lourdes, too. But I am telling you my story. The love of Our Lady came to me when I was forgotten and lost and sinful and my life was like the city garbage dump. I am not saying that she appeared to me, but her love and her message, and her healing came to me. She received me as broken as I was and I hope that she has made me something beautiful for her Son.”
        I looked back at the man, and I knew that Our Lady had made something beautiful for her Son. And there were only six words that I could muster to say to this man who had shared the love and healing and mercy of Our Lady with me. I said simply, “Father, please give me your blessing.”
        And now I look to you, o people of Our Lady of Lourdes, and I see that Our Lady has made you, and hopefully us, something beautiful for her Son. 

Homily for Sunday, February 7, 2021 (5th Sunday B)

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    My grandmother was born in Statesville, North Carolina. My grandfather, on the other hand, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Those two facts alone make it seem unlikely that they would ever meet. A few years ago I asked them, “Where did you meet?” It’s an ordinary question, where did you meet? My grandmother told me that her father and her brother were working on some big project in Tennessee and she went with them to take care of her father and brother. My grandfather was in the Navy and he was there in Tennessee as a guard for some big project that was going on there. This was during the final year of the Second World War, and the project they were probably talking about is far more interesting to history, than the meeting of two people. But for me, the question that I care about is, “Where did you meet?”
    It’s a pretty ordinary question. Where did you meet? Sometimes it’s the beginning of a good story. Sometimes it’s the beginning of a great story. It could tell us about a friendship, about a marriage, about a career, about a life. We met in a combined fourth and fifth grade class. We met in college. We met at a wedding. We met at a funeral. We met when we were standing in line at the grocery store. We met at our parish. We met as we were walking along the road. Where did you meet?
    Peter and Andrew and James and John met the Lord Jesus while they were at work. They were on the sea and Jesus called them from the shore. They went to the Synagogue and then Peter and Andrew brought Jesus to their home. They met Jesus at work. They joined Jesus in worship. They invited him into their home. Jesus was not simply someone they met at work. Jesus was not simply someone from their synagogue. Jesus came to their home and he came to their lives. There would not be a public relationship with Jesus Christ without a personal one. And there would not be a personal relationship with Jesus without a communal one. Where did you meet? We met at the house where Jesus was visiting.
    Peter’s mother in law met Jesus in her sickness. She was probably isolated. She was sick and separated. She was alone and in pain. And Jesus came to her. He said nothing and he took her by the hand. She met Jesus and she was restored to life in the place where she was preparing to die. Jesus took her by the hand. Jesus raised her up. Jesus set her free from isolation and from illness. Jesus set her free for service to his kingdom. Jesus healed her and she served him. Where did you meet? I met Jesus in the place where I thought I was going to die.
    Where did you meet Jesus? I was at work at the tax collectors’ office. Where did you meet Jesus? I was at a wedding and they ran out of wine. Where did you meet Jesus? I was at a funeral in Bethany and I heard Jesus say, “Roll back the stone.”  Where did you meet Jesus? I was on the road to Damascus.
    Where did you meet Jesus? Were you sick and he reached out and took you by the hand? Were you trapped in sin and he called you to freedom? Were you a child and Jesus claimed you? Were you grieving and Jesus spoke words of hope and consolation? Where did you meet Jesus for the first time?
    Where will you meet Jesus today? He comes to us in the Word proclaimed. Jesus comes to us in the community that is gathered here. We came here as individuals. We worship as a body. Here and now, we shall meet Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
Where did you meet Jesus? It’s the beginning of a great story. Amen.

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.