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.

Homily for August 19, 2018 (20th Sunday B)

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I may have mentioned, once or twice, my goddaughter. She is a little more than three and a half. A few weeks ago, when the calendars of a busy three-and-a-half-year-old child and a busy parish priest aligned, I met Madeline and her family at one of the newly constructed eateries near Charlotte. The family arrived first; they were seated and beginning to eat when I walked through the door of the restaurant. My goddaughter immediately got up from her chair, ran toward me cheerfully saying the closest and cutest approximation of Father Benjamin that she can muster, and jumped into my open arms. The joy in her eyes and the smile on her face were sharp contrasts to the angry and concerned eyes and disapproving looks of the other people seated in the restaurant. I saw their faces and I knew why they looked the way that they did: they were horrified and concerned to see a priest holding a child. I imagine that it will be that way for the rest of my life.

If there was any trust left after the scandals revealed in 2002, and if any trust had been rebuilt in the sixteen years since then, it is now gone. I am utterly horrified. I am ashamed. I am broken hearted. I am angry. I am disappointed. I am furious that consecrated men abused children and young people, that they abused their authority and the trust of their sacred office. I am horrified that predators were promoted rather than being punished. It’s tough to preach, and to pray.

But let us be clear: I and other faithful priests are not the victims here. We are, at best, collateral damage. The victims are the young people and children that were violated by those who should have protected them. The victims are those who were rejected and neglected by Church and legal systems. They are the ones who need our prayers and support. They are the ones who deserve our compassion, our consolation, and our care. Our eyes can never look away from those who are suffering, because to do so would be to take our eyes off of the Suffering Savior.

This is not a time of persecution: it is a season of purification. We as a Church must face the examination of conscience and the examination of conduct. This will not be pretty. The depths of depravity and dishonesty must be brought to the light. It will be painful. It will be disappointing and disheartening. But we pray that it will also be purifying and healing.

Knowledge and admission of sin and a desire to reform are the first steps on the path to holiness . . . and holiness is our only option. There is no path forward that does not involve a deeper commitment and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. We need an investigation and a review board and screenings and policies. Those must be part of the process, and they will be. But there is no abiding change, no change of heart or change of practice or change of behavior without a change of direction from the ways of the world to the way of the Lord Jesus. Holiness is our only answer. Holiness is our only path. Holiness is the only credible witness that can testify before the victims of abuse and the world. We have no choice. We must seek to be holy.

There is a great consolation in our long history. In the times of greatest disobedience and debauchery, in the days when faithfulness is cast aside, and sin is set up as the ideal, it is in those times when God raises up his greatest saints. I am consoled that in the face of these scandals the purifying fire of God’s justice will make way for the glorifying power of God’s holiness. God will raise up his saints. God will raise up his witnesses. The ever-faithful God remains ever faithful and ever merciful. That is our consolation and our challenge.

You see, it is from this room and from this community that God will raise up his saints. We will support each other on the way of holiness. As a priest, I cannot become holy without you. I am not a hermit, nor a monk. My path to holiness is not a cave in the desert nor a cell in a monastery; it is here, with you and for you. We walk the road to the Kingdom together. We struggle to be holy together. And together, with the trust and joy and expectation of a child of God, we run to the open arms of Jesus.

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

 

Homily for August 12, 2018 (19th Sunday B)

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The women in my family bake things. They do many other things too, but they bake things. They bake many things. Recipes for cookies and pies and pound cakes are treasured and they are handed on as reservedly and reverently as bishops lay on hands. Actually, my grandmother protected the recipes a little more. I have been ordained twice and I never got the pound cake recipe!

Whenever I was getting ready to go back to school after a break, my grandmother would always make sure that I had plenty of food in the car for the ten hour drive to Philadelphia. There were homemade biscuits and sausage, wrapped in aluminum foil, in packs of two, so that I could easily eat them along the way. There were packs of crackers, water, and soda. There was a pound cake and sometimes two, baked in the shape of a loaf so it was easy for me to pack and easy to carry. It was a ten hour trip; I had enough food for ten days. My grandmother made sure that I had an abundance of food for the trip back. There was plenty of food for the journey.

It was different for Elijah, he was on the run from the queen and king who wanted to have him killed. Nobody packed a snack for Elijah. After a day on the journey he was tired, his was disheartened, he was hopeless and he was ready to give up. And he laid down and fell asleep beneath the shade of a tree. It was an angel that woke him up, with a hearth cake and a jug of water. The angel told him to eat, and Elijah ate, and then he went back to sleep. The angel woke him again and said, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you.” Elijah needed food for the journey and Lord provided through the voice of an angel.

Jesus promised food for the journey. The five thousand who were fed on the mountain side when the little boy shared his lunch with Jesus were given food for the journey. They had followed Jesus to that hillside and he fed them so that they could make the journey home. It was food for a day and the twelve wicker baskets were probably enough for the next day. It was abundant and sufficient; it was food for the journey. But now Jesus promised something more. On the side of the mountain, Jesus gave them food for the journey to Cana and Nazareth and Capernaum and Jerusalem. But now Jesus promises food for the journey to the house of his Father. I am the bread of life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven and whoever eats this bread will live forever. He promised to those who had eaten with him on the side of the mountain that he would give them more than simply the daily bread, but the bread of eternal life. Jesus promised them food for the journey to heaven.

And he promises it to you and to me.

Most of us remember with great joy and power the day of our first Communion. There might have been a white dress or a white suit. Maybe some family members made a journey to celebrate this part of your journey. You had prepared. You had learned your prayers. You had made the journey to meet Jesus in the bread of life. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, you were meeting Jesus in the breaking of the bread. As Jesus once did for his disciples on the side of the mountain and in the upper room, Jesus was breaking the bread for you.

And now months and years and decades have passed, and maybe the journey has been long, but Jesus still comes to feed you and me. As once we prepared to receive the Bread of Life, so now every time we receive the Bread of Life, we are being prepared to be received by the Lord Jesus on the day that the Father calls us unto himself.

Jesus is our food for the journey and he will lead us to that kingdom where he lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Homily for July 29, 2018 (17th Sunday B)

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On most Sundays there is a woman I see walking into the Church. It always surprises me a little. A few years ago the hospital chaplain called me and said, “Father, come quickly, we are certain the end is near.” And on that day a few years ago I gave the anointing of the sick, the apostolic pardon at the hour of death, and prayed the prayers for the dying over the same woman. I left the hospital and waited for a call about a funeral. A few weeks later she walked into the Church. It was a miracle and I got to be part of it.

There’s a baby I see on Sundays. He, like all babies, makes me smile. Some months ago, only hours after he was born, I baptized and later confirmed him in the NIC-U. They didn’t think he would survive. I left the hospital and waited for the dreaded phone call. That phone call never came and the baby comes to Church each week. It was a miracle and I got to be part of it.

Some of those miracles are dramatic and some are more private, like the person in the narthex who says, “I’ve been away from the Church and today I decided to come back.” It is a miracle and I got to be part of it.

It was a miracle and I got to be part of it. I wonder if that is what the young boy who gave his five loaves and two fish away told his mother at the end of the day. “Mom, it was amazing. There were five thousand people and there was no food and I shared my lunch with a man named Jesus and we had so much food left over. It was a miracle and I got to be part of it.”

When you think about it, the little boy was more than just part of that miracle. If the little boy does not share his lunch with Jesus, the feeding of the five thousand does not happen. If Andrew does not notice the little boy who offers to share his five loaves and two fish, the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand does not happen. If Philip does not recognize the need for so much food on the side of the mountain, then the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand does not happen. And if the crowd had not followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee, then the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand does not happen. It was a miracle. And the little boy and Andrew and Philip and the other disciples and each of the people in the crowd were part of it.

They each got to be part of one of the miracles of Jesus. They each got to see the Lord Jesus take the bread and give thanks and give it to those who were hungry. They each got to hear the words, “Gather the fragments, so that none will be wasted.” They each got to see the twelve wicker baskets filled with the abundance of bread from the five loaves that were placed in the hands of Jesus. They each got to be part of the miracle. Jesus wanted each of them to have a part in his miracle. The little boy and Philip and Andrew and the disciples and each person in the crowd were part of the miracle of Jesus.

And so are we. 

Jesus wants you and Jesus wants me to be part of the miracles that he is doing. Jesus invites you and Jesus invites me to be part of the miracles that he is doing. You might be like Philip and you recognize what the need is and what will be needed. You might be like Andrew and have the eyes to see the gifts in the life of child and bring that child in prayer to the Lord Jesus. You might be like the little boy who was willing to share the food that he had with those who had no food. You might make the wicker baskets and gather the fragments. And we each are part of the crowd as we are fed by the hand of the Lord Jesus.

And now, as he once did for his disciples and for the little boy and for the five thousand on the hillside, Jesus Christ feeds you and me.

It’s a miracle and we get to be part of it. Amen.

Homily for July 8, 2018 (14th Sunday B)

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Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. It is such a sad sentence to conclude the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. Couldn’t we hear something more hopeful? Could there be some good news for us on this weekend in early July? I want something more than “Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Maybe Ezekiel can help us. Maybe there is good news from the prophet who lived by the river in Babylon and had visions of the court of heaven. Certainly he can give us a word of hope and a word of grace, but not today. His message is about rejection. His message is about a people who refuse to hear the Word of the Lord. The message of Ezekiel today is about hardness of heart and rebellion. It seems to be a sad message too. It seems like so much bad news.

And we hear enough bad news. We hear bad news about the treatment of children along the border and bad news about the treatment of children in our community. We hear bad news about gang violence and drug violence and school violence and violence against the unborn. There is so much bad news. I almost want to stop listening. I almost want to stop listening to the noise and the conflict and the violence and the hatred. I almost want to stop listening.

But if I stop listening, I might miss something important. I might not hear the story about the great young people who sit in this Church who can see a future better than the present. I might not hear the parents and grandparents who look back with pride and forward in hope. If I stop listening I could not hear the pastor who says, “I am amazed at the abundance of their faith.” If I stop listening, I will not hear the words that Jesus gave to Paul and that Jesus gives to you and to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.

We are a community of amazing faith. For more than seventy-six years, the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes has kept the faith alive from generation to generation. It has not been easy. We know those stories well. We have our wounds and our scars. We have our regrets and our resentments. We have our disagreements and our divisions. We cannot deny them. They are part of who we are . . . today.

But Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” We have the promise of Jesus that his grace surrounds us and supports us. We have the promise of Jesus that his grace will leads us on our way to the kingdom where communion conquers division, where wounds become trophies of victory, and all resentments are overcome by the resurrection. We have the promise of Jesus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

We have the promise. We have the grace. We have the victory in Christ Jesus. We have the Good News. Amen.