Homily - Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Numbers 21:4b-9

Philippians 2:6-11

John 3:13-17

 

            What is it about these Christians exalting an instrument of torture? 

That’s exactly what we’re doing this weekend as we commemorate the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

            We are rejoicing in something so terrible, yet so beautiful.

             I’m sure this is confusing to non-Christians all over the world.  It even was confusing to Jews in the early Christian Church.

            I had an interesting experience this past week while speaking to our new International students at Archbishop Murphy High School as we prepared them for participation in our Joy and Hope Mass celebrated Wednesday.  

Our namesake Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy had the Episcopal motto:  “In Christ there is Joy and Hope.”  His birthday is coming up in a few weeks and our first all school Mass was a beautiful way to celebrate his belief that Christ is our source of all human joy and hope.

Most of our International students are from China and claim no faith tradition.

            To a young person from Asia, Christianity probably seems odd. 

An explanation of how Catholics believe the living presence of Jesus, the son of God, is truly found in the Eucharist produced astonished looks, laughter and heads shaken in disbelief.

This weekend we all get to wrap our heads around how a device of torture and death is a means of redemption for the whole human race, a living symbol of our salvation.

The cross was used by Rome to keep conquered cultures in line. It stood outside many city walls in the Roman Empire, adorned only with decaying human corpses. It was the terror method of its day.

For Jews, the cross was a stumbling block in the early Christian Church to understanding the divinity of Christ.  How could the Jewish messiah, the expected one, who would lead the people of Israel out of centuries of oppression at the hands of so many evil empires, be killed on the cross?  How could God let this happen?

These thoughts brought much shame, disgrace and misunderstanding to so many in the Jewish world two thousand years ago.

For us today who take the cross and its symbol of our salvation for granted, we must remember that it took a long while for early Christians to understand how a tool of evil and darkness could become a symbol of holiness and light.

The Gospel of John gives us today the key to understanding this transformation:  God so loves every human creature that He gave us His only son to save us from the pits of Hell, to put an end to death forever and bring about eternal life for all who believe. 

Here’s an interesting fact you may or may not know.  When the Catholic Church gets serious it pulls out the Gospel of John. 

Christmas, Easter and many other important dates on our liturgical calendar, the Gospel is John is the Gold Standard.

            This weekend, as we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we hear one of John’s most-quoted passages.  In fact, it’s so popular that for decades we’ve seen it on posters at sporting events both here and around the world -- John 3:16:   

            “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life.”

In the Gospels, this is what is called a greatest hit -- a passage so often used that many Christians can quote it from memory.

How interesting it appears this Sunday!   How interesting it appears on a weekend we honor something that created so much shame, so much disgrace, so much misunderstanding to early Christians.

It’s an amazing and beautiful paradox; something that is seen one way as evil and terrible, but when looked at in another way appears life-giving and wondrous.

In our first reading from Numbers we hear a paradoxical story of the people of Israel asking for God’s deliverance from bad food, harsh desert conditions and an abundance of serpents.  How interesting that Moses prayed for the people and the Lord told him to “Make a saraph (a type of venomous snake) and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.”

A snake that takes away lives is replaced by a snake that is a symbol of life.

I’m sure you’ve read the news about the recent beheadings of Americans at the hands of the terror group ISIS. 

Or read about the slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities by terrorists labeled as “diabolical” by a leading Catholic scholar on Islam.

This is a group hell-bent on imposing its will to dominate the whole world with its methods of terror and vows to kill anyone who does not submit to its narrow interpretation of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed.

But remember, in Christ there is Joy and Hope.

American journalist James Foley understood that.  This devout Catholic reportedly regularly prayed the rosary while in captivity.  He was the first American executed by ISIS.

Foley wrote an email to a friend after being released from captivity in 2011 in Libya.  I think it shows how strong his faith grew during his imprisonment.  I’d like to share it with you:

“I’m writing to thank you for your efforts to publicize my captivity.  My family and I are forever grateful.  It meant so much to my family to provide a platform to reach others who helped secure our release.

While I was in captivity, I was unaware of the tremendous efforts that were being made on my behalf.  I prayed to be permitted to call my mother and let her know I was all right.  When I was finally able to call home my mother told me that (my alma mater) Marquette University was holding a prayer vigil for me and that my friends from Marquette were constantly calling her in support. 

These words boosted my spirit tremendously for the final weeks of in captivity.

I hadn’t truly lived the values of seeing God in all people and things until my freedom was taken from me for 44 days.  I prayed every day that my family would know I was alive and for the soul of our colleague (the photographer Anton Hammerl) who was killed.  I was truly humbled and broken.  But the faith of so many kept my spirits alive and the series of miracles that led to my actual release cannot be described as anything but.”

In Christ there is Joy and Hope.

Last month, James Foley was videotaped kneeling in a bright orange prison jumpsuit before a man dressed all in black who said a few words then beheaded this Catholic journalist on a video posted all over the internet.  

When the Gospel of John today talks about the Son of Man being lifted up it refers to both the cross and to heaven.  As Jesus returns to the Father, the cross is “the first step on the ladder of the ascension.” But “take way the Cross and Christianity is nonsense.”

We may see evil and darkness in the Cross James Foley carried on his final day on earth.  But the light of Christ burned brightly in his heart.  The forces of darkness may have taken his life, but we all should find joy and hope in James Foley’s belief in God, and trust in Jesus.

There are some calling Foley the first Christian martyr of this conflict.

What can we do in the face of such evil and cruelty?

Let our prayers be for those living under the oppression of terror the world over and those who are its victims.

Let our actions be of kindness, love and compassion to counter this cruelty, hate and violence. 

Let our voices not be complacently silent, but speaking out loudly against these forces and their diabolical agenda. 

Recently Cardinal Donald Wuerl poignantly spoke from his heart at the end of the Mass of the Holy Spirit marking the start of the school year at Catholic University in Washington DC.  He asked:

“Where are the voices of Parliaments?  Where are the voices of Congresses?  Where are the voices of campuses?  Where are the voices of community leaders?  …  Why such silence?  

I think each one of us has at least the power to raise our voice and in solidarity for people distant from us, unknown to us… not a part of our nation, but they are a part of our human community. 

It rests on the conscious of all of us.  Atrocities happen because there are those who commit them and those who remain simply silent.”  Thoughts to ponder today from Cardinal Wuerl.

Maybe by lifting up OUR voices something beautiful will emerge from all this ugliness in the world. 

May the light of Christ shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.   And may they find joy and hope amidst an abundance of evil and despair.  

Homily – Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Walking On Stormy Seas

 

Isaiah 55:10-11

Romans 8:18-23

Matthew 13:1-23

 

            I love the great outdoors. More specifically, I love doing things in the great outdoors: biking, running, hiking, kayaking.  If you asked about my passions in life, besides my family, faith and friends, these things would be high on the list.

It was exactly two summers ago this month I went on a nearly fatal kayaking trip from the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal area.  A buddy joined me.  He’s a meteorologist and longtime TV forecaster.

As we were about to set off, I asked him if he was at all worried about the odd skies looming over Whidbey Island.  He told me he’d keep an eye on it, but otherwise wasn’t too concerned.

So, we launched, slowly paddling around the Mukilteo Tank Farm toward Everett.  As we cleared the long pier of the Tank Farm and entered open waters the waves started to get a little rougher.  That crazy sky was starting to move overhead.   Winds were kicking up.  We kept paddling. 

Eventually, waves of two to three feet were breaking over the boat.  So, we decided to turn around and head back to our launch point.

Just off the end of the Mukilteo Tank Farm pier, a rogue wave sideswiped my kayak, flipping the boat in rough waters.  I quickly climbed out from under a capsized boat.

Seconds before this all happened I was in deep prayer, asking, “Lord, I’m only two months away from ordination and now I’m going to drown on Puget Sound? Why make me go through four grueling years of formation only to take my life now? What did I do wrong?  Are you telling me something?”

But the minute my body hit the cold Puget Sound water, an unexplainable calm came over me and I knew I was going to be fine.  Truly, it was an indescribable peace.

Just like Elijah, I didn’t hear the voice of God in the roaring of the seas or the rushing of the wind, but in a quiet whisper -- underwater.

 

It was almost as if Jesus was saying to me in the quiet of my heart, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Now I must confess.  Kayaking was a new endeavor for me that summer.  To be truthful, I had not taken any safety classes yet and had never learned how to get back in a boat once capsized or roll a boat from a capsized position.  These are things every experienced kayaker knows how to do.  

I emerged from underwater, thankful I was wearing a good life vest, grabbed my 17-foot kayak and started to swim around the Mukilteo Tank Farm and toward shore. 

We were nearly a quarter mile from the beach and knew I’d have to pace myself to get there and not let go of my boat. 

But the whole time I paddled to shore, all 45-minutes of it, I knew I’d be OK.  Rough waters, salty gulps of seawater, and all. There was absolutely no fear.  No panic.  Just calm.

Now, perhaps you were thinking I was going to say Christ appeared, I picked up my boat and walked across the water with Jesus?

My faith is strong, but I guess, like Peter, not that strong.  But Christ was present in my experience in a deep and meaningful way, calming the stormy seas of my heart, grabbing my hand and silencing all my fears. 

The only embarrassing moment was calling my wife Mary to have her come get us since we had to ditch our boats on shore in front of a locked chained-linked fence and walk a mile or so down the rocky shore to an exit point. 

There’s a popular song on Christian radio these days. If you listen to Spirit 105.3 perhaps you’ve probably heard it.  The song is Oceans by Hillsong United. 

The lyrics beautifully peg what I experienced on stormy seas:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown - where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

             Don’t we all experience moments of fear in our lives? 

Lately, the news of the world is causing much fear and anxiety, testing all our faiths...

                 -          Christians being crucified and children beheaded or families evicted from their longtime homes, threatened with death, or left to starve or die of thirst by the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (I.S.I.S.)

-          A deadly Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, killing hundreds, with the potential to spread to many more countries, killing many more people


-          An armed conflict in Gaza pitting the Israeli Army against Hamas militants with hundreds to thousands of innocents killed in the fray        

So many terrifying things in the news these days, it's no surprise so many people are walking around fearful, on edge or even angry.
That’s why I like the song Oceans.  It helps my spirit know who’s in control in this messed up world.  One lyric says it all…

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Sadly, this fear is even found today in our Catholic Church among people who do not like Pope Francis and his message, especially Catholics here in the United States.

As most of you know, I’m a big fan of the Holy Father for the way he shows love and mercy to a broken world. 

 

In fact, I’ve been asked by the Archdiocese to speak on this topic at Theology on Tap on August 27^th at Finn MacCool’s Irish Pub in the U-District.

 

Archbishop Sartain kicked off the event this past Wednesday and hit it out of the park.  If you know a young adult struggling with faith, encourage him or her to attend.

 

Full Recap of Archbishop Sartain's Theology on Tap talk

 

For those who like what Pope Francis has to say, perhaps you saw his Top 10 Secrets for Happiness this week.  It’s a great read and posted here.

Click to link to Pope Francis' Top 10 Secrets for Happiness

 

But not everyone likes Pope Francis.

A popular conservative priest blogger has some sound advice for these Catholics.  And he referenced today’s Gospel message sharing his advice in a blog post entitled:  Ten Things to Remember if Pope Francis Upsets You (below are links to all 10).

 

Fr. Longenecker's 10 Things to Rememeber if Pope Francis Upsets You - Pt. I

Fr. Longenecker's 10 Things to Rememeber if Pope Francis Upsets You - Pt. II

 

Here are just a few from Fr. Dwight Longenecker.  He said:

“Remember Francis is from Argentina. The church scene there is very different from the atmosphere in the USA and Europe. He surprises us in many ways. He surprises right wing conservative American Catholics with what seems to be left leaning economic positions. He surprises liberal Catholics with his emphasis on the devil and the battle against demons. He surprises those in the developed world with his passion for the poor and his ability to turn over some tables. This is part of his gift to the church: that he is an outsider and as such he surprises and disturbs. Isn’t that part of what the gospel should do? It’s supposed to make us uncomfortable. It’s supposed to make us re-examine our preconceptions, our self righteousness and our certain certainties. Isn’t that what Jesus did to the religious establishment?”

Fr. Dwight goes on to say…

“God knows what he’s doing, and if a particular pope challenges your faith…well, faith isn’t much good unless it’s challenged.  What kind of faith is it if it’s nothing but certainty and confidence all the time? Think of St. Peter walking on the water. That’s faith.”

Perhaps it’s a personal crisis that’s gripped your heart with fear: a cancer diagnosis, a failing marriage, an estrangement with an adult child, or loss of a job. 

 If your heart is ever troubled -- for any reason -- today’s Gospel message encourages us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we walk on stormy waters.  Or like me keep treading water and swimming to shore. 

Christ will be right by your side calling you to a trust that’s without borders.  “And your faith will be made stronger - In the presence of your Savior.”

Homily – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Garden of Our Soul

                                                                                                                                  Isaiah 55:10-11

Romans 8:18-23

Matthew 13:1-23

 

I‘m a big fan of the best-selling book called The Shack and recommend it to people who suffer a great loss in their lives. Perhaps you’ve read it. 

The story is a beautiful parable about faith, loss, great pain, and eventually healing and forgiveness through the guidance of the Holy Trinity.  It’s been called a modern retelling of the Book of Job.

The story centers on a father whose young daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered by a serial killer while on a family vacation in the Wallowa Lake area of eastern Oregon. 

“The last trace of his daughter, a blood-stained dress, is found on the floor of a dilapidated shack set deep in the woods.  In the wake of the murder, a crushing depression settles on (the protagonist) and he (begins) to question his belief in God.  As the novel opens, (the man) receives a mysterious invitation to come to the shack.”  The man thinks the letter is penned by the killer, but it turns out the letter is sent by God.

Noted theologian Father Robert Barron also recommends the book for any Catholic who has suffered a great loss in their lives in spite of some reservations about its Protestant take on faith.

He said reading The Shack is kind of like eating a sweet, tasty watermelon.  “You got to spit out a few seeds!”

I’ve posted Fr. Barron’s thoughtful comments and recommendation on my blog.

The link to Fr. Robert Barron's review of The Shack

For the purposes of this homily, I’d like to borrow The Shack author’s metaphor of the human soul as being like a beautiful garden when tended properly. 

In our lifetimes, many thorns develop in the gardens of our souls and need constant care and tending to create a thing of beauty in the eyes of God.

Some of us may think we are immune to these thorns cropping up in the gardens of our souls. But we are not.  None of us.  Not even this deacon.  And I think that’s what Jesus is telling us this weekend.  We need to keep our gardens tilled with rich, fertile soil for the word of God to continue to take root in our hearts and souls.

One thing we Catholics have to help us clean out our overgrown garden is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  This is where we can examine closely each and every thorn bush that’s growing in our hearts and through the healing power of our savior’s love start the process of removing these thorns and tilling the soil so good seed can grow abundantly. 

I have a question for us all today.

Is our soil rich and fertile creating conditions required for the Word of God to be nurtured and come to fruition as a Disciples of Christ?

How about the soil of our children?  As Catholic adults, are we helping them to keep their soil rich and fertile so as to keep their faith fully alive and thriving? 

As some of you know, I have a new job.  On the very day Fr. Hersey returned from Guest House in Minnesota, I was asked to become the Campus Minister at Archbishop Murphy High School.  After much prayer and discernment, I accepted the job a few weeks later.

It’s been an eye-opening experience to see faith through the eyes of our teenagers.

You see, our teens pay close attention to what we say and do and are quick to point out any hypocrisy.  Especially hypocrisy to the teachings of Christ.  As parents of teens, we know how this story goes. 

Right now, our parish community is cultivating a renewal of our youth ministry.  It’s trying to create a new garden with rich, fertile soil so the Word of God can grow in the hearts of our young people.

This is so important and so vital, because so many young Catholics today walk away from faith because we fail to help them clean out their thorny gardens. 

We talk about the lessons of Jesus, but we sometimes fail to live up to Jesus’ example.  We fail to tend to our own thorny gardens and don’t see that our own hypocrisy is one of the main reasons our young people leave the faith.

Our judgments of others without showing mercy and understanding, our unkind and unloving words about our enemies, our intolerance of those we disagree with, our failure to help the least of our brothers and sisters in need, our focus on material wealth and all its trappings, all these things are enabling young people to question what this Jesus thing is all about -- what this Church is all about.

That’s why Pope Francis could not have come at a better time in our troubled world.  The Pope prefers to teach not only by his words, but more importantly by his actions. 

Ask any effective parish youth minister and you will hear the same thing, “kids are paying attention to everything Pope Francis is saying and doing.”

His appearance at last summer’s World Youth Day in Rio captivated three-point-seven million of our Catholic young people as  he called them to “make a mess” with their love of the Gospel. 

The Pope told them to make “a mess in the dioceses! I want people to go out! I want the Church to go out to the street!

I want us to defend ourselves against everything that is worldliness… that is comfortableness, that is clericalism, that is being shut-in on ourselves.  The parishes, the schools, the institutions, exist to go out!

He also told them, “Jesus, with His Cross, walks with us and takes upon Himself our fears, our problems, and our sufferings, even those which are deepest and most painful.

With the Cross, Jesus unites Himself to the silence of the victims of violence, those who can no longer cry out, especially the innocent and the defenseless.”

The Pope also did something remarkable this past week.  He said to victims of sexual child abuse gathered at the Vatican:

“I beg your forgiveness.”

He told them, “The scene where Peter sees Jesus emerge after a terrible interrogation…  Peter whose eyes meet the gaze of Jesus and weeps…  This scene comes to my mind as I look at you, and think of so many men and women, boys and girls.  I feel the gaze of Jesus and I ask for the grace to weep, the grace for the Church to weep and make reparation for her sons and daughters who betrayed their mission, who abused innocent persons.” 

Some may say, “Well, Pope Benedict did the same thing.”

Yes, he did apologize to sex abuse victims on behalf of the Church, but what ‘s remarkable about Pope Francis’ actions is the Pontiff publicly pledged himself to accountability, and not just accountability for clergy who abuse, but for bishops who cover it up.

  Powerful words on the most important crisis in our Church’s history -- what some might call the biggest thorn bush to spring up in our collective souls as Catholics.

This is why when I arrived at the campus ministry office at Murphy and noticed not a single image of Pope Francis on its walls, I immediately had numerous framed pictures made of some of the Holy Father’s most impactful teaching by example moments and put them up for all the students to see.

The lesson learned for us all can be found in a quote attributed by some to Francis’ namesake, St. Francis of Assisi: 

“Preach the Gospel always.  And if necessary use words.”

This is how we make rich, fertile soil in our souls and the souls of our children.  When there is harmony between our words and our actions and when we let our actions speak louder than our words, we create soil rich, fertile for the Word of God to take root.

If we teach the lessons of Christ, but fail to live them in our own lives, we allow thorns to grow not only in our own gardens, but the gardens of our children.

“Whoever has ears ought to hear."

At Archbishop Murphy, with the help of the students, we recently erected a Marian Grotto.  Around the Grotto and lovely statue of the Virgin Mary is a beautiful flower garden.  One of my favorite things to do daily is tend the garden, water its flowers and make sure it looks beautiful.  I suppose in a few months I’ll be tending to the weeds and thorns that may try to take root in the now rich, fertile soil.  And so it goes…