Homily – Holy Thursday – Sowing the Seeds of Love

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

John 13:1-15

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Tonight we are sowing the seeds of love.

Esta noche estamos sembrando las semillas del amor.

Jesus said just prior to this Gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

Jesus loved agricultural references since these were easily understood by the listeners of his time.

The interesting thing about seeds is they can remain dormant for many years and need certain conditions to start the germination process to bring about new life.

Lo interesante de las semillas es que permanecen inactivas durante muchos años y necesitan ciertas condiciones para comenzar el proceso de germinación y traer una nueva vida.

On this Holy night, by washing the Apostle’s feet, Jesus is germinating the seeds of love, the seeds of service, in the hearts of his closest followers.

En esta noche santa, al lavar los pies de los apóstoles, Jesús está germinando las semillas del amor, las semillas del servicio, en los corazones de sus seguidores más cercanos.

Old beliefs must die in order to make way for the new teaching of Jesus.

Las viejas creencias deben morir para abrir el paso a la nueva enseñanza de Jesús.

But when these old beliefs die, new beliefs demonstrated by Jesus can bring much new life in our hearts.

Pero cuando estas viejas creencias mueren, las nuevas creencias demostradas por Jesús pueden tener una nueva vida en nuestros corazones.

Pedro inicialmente se reusa a que Jesus le lave los pies.

Peter initially refuses to let Jesus wash his feet.  Only the lowest of slaves would wash the master’s feet.  That’s Jesus’ point:

How willing are we to lower our status to serve someone in need?

¿Qué tan dispuestos estamos a despojarnos de puestos o categorias para servir a alguien necesitado?

Our pride needs to die in order to inherit His Kingdom. 

This is the message of this night.

As we approach Easter, with hearts anew, may God grant us the grace to let old beliefs die to bring about new life.  May these dormant seeds of love in our own hearts germinate and blossom to produce much fruit.

This is the divine model Jesus is asking us to follow on this Holy Thursday.

Al acercarnos a la Pascua, con corazones renovados, que Dios nos otorgue la gracia de dejar morir viejas creencias para traer una nueva vida. Que las semillas dormidas del amor en nuestros propios corazones germinen y florezcan para producir mucho fruto.

Este es el modelo divino que Jesús nos pide que sigamos en este Jueves Santo.

Jesus is the grain of wheat. He’s about to die for us, for our sinfulness.

When we open our hearts to His model of love and service, we, too, can join Jesus in bringing His new life to the world.

Cuando abrimos nuestros corazones a Sú modelo de amor y servicio, también podemos unirnos a Jesús para traer Sú nueva vida al mundo.

Homily – 4th Sunday in Lent – Shadows or Light

                                                                                                  2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Ephesians 2:4-10

John 3:14-21

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I had the blessing to spend last weekend at our deacon Lenten retreat led by our new Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg.

What an energetic, affable guy, and gifted storyteller.

Hopefully, we can have him in our parish community soon.

Bishop Daniel shared an interesting story about his time in Italy serving as Vice Rector of the North American College. This is where many of the priests from our archdiocese are formed in Rome.

His story was about the seedy side of our human nature when met with the light of Christ.

The Vice Rector’s role is similar to a Chief Operating Officer at a corporation. The CEO is the Rector, his boss.

One day around Christmastime, Bishop Daniel was invited to lunch by one of the contractors doing construction work on campus. It was a thank you lunch for the opportunity to do business with the college. The two went to a fancy restaurant and had a nice meal and conversation.

As they were saying their goodbyes, the man told the now Bishop how he looked forward to working with him more in the future, then handed the Vice Rector what he thought was a Christmas card as they parted.

When Bishop Daniel later opened the envelope, he found 15-thousand dollars in cash inside.

Bishop Daniel didn’t hesitate. He immediately reported what had happened to his boss, the Rector, who pulled out stationary to write a thank you note to the man for his very generous public donation.

What was meant to be something done in the shadows (a bribe) was brought into the light of Christ. 

According to stewardship experts there are three kinds of Catholic donors:

“The first, and the largest, group consist(s) of those Catholics who love the Church and simply want to assist in its mission. The second group is more or less interested in the Church’s mission, but they really value the acclaim…, the picture with the Bishop, their name on some building. They, too, are not really problematic. The third group does not give, it seeks to buy. They want control. They will make a bishop’s life hell.”

I have no doubt we’re all in the first category of givers. Right?

Not sure where the Italian businessman’s bribe fits on that scale. But thankfully, due to the integrity of our new Bishop, the man's secret action was brought into the light of Christ.

And shouldn’t all our actions come into the light of Christ, never ever remaining solely in the shadows of our own human hearts? 

How many of us feel convicted when all of our actions are held up to the light of Christ?  

The time we got angry in traffic and raged against the motorist who cut us off? The time we scolded a teenage waitress for getting our order wrong? The time we said or did something hurtful or rude to someone we love, or a colleague, or even a total stranger? 

The evil side of our human nature is getting the better of us these days. In fact, unethical behavior, nastiness and rudeness seem to be in vogue.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves, Why? Why do we feel free to be this way?

Last week we heard about Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers outside the Temple in Jerusalem. Maybe some of us justify our actions by saying, “Look, even Jesus got angry.”

Yes, but Jesus got angry only once in the Gospels. His anger was measured and appropriate, and directed at those polluting the Holy Temple experience. 

Every time we take Holy Communion we become a Holy Temple of the Lord. Do we not pollute this Temple when we do such sinful things?

This is what the second Book of Chronicles is addressing -- infidelities leading to exile into slavery and destruction of the Temple. We pollute the Lord’s Temple with such abominations. 

And this is what Jesus is talking about, too, when he said, “everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.”

But God gives us an abundance of second chances. In God’s eyes, we’re all works in progress.      

In the dark of night, Nicodemus comes to Jesus, the light of the world.

Nicodemus is a member of the Pharisees and many of his brothers are not fans of this man called Jesus. Hypocrites rarely like the person who points out their hypocrisy.

Nicodemus is also part of the Sanhedrin (the court of Jewish law). They’re not happy because Jesus is calling them out for their sinful behavior, deeds done many times in the shadows, in darkness.

But Nicodemus sees in Jesus’ teachings a bright light of wisdom, and in His healings an amazing connection to God. He’s curious about the man and comes in the dark of night when no one can see him for a personal chat.

Nicodemus refers to Jesus as rabbi, or teacher, but is still missing a key fact about who He is.

In this conversation, Jesus is talking about second chances, about being “born again.” Nicodemus appears to be missing the point.  Jesus is talking about a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one, but Nicodemus is still confused. So, Jesus reveals his true identity.

It comes in one the most-quoted passages of the bible: 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.”

This passage sums up God’s loving plan for the world. 

God calls us to follow the example of Jesus; to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls, and love our neighbors as ourselves -- as we follow the Holy Spirit and live in the light, not in the shadows.

The words “faith” and “belief” never appear as nouns in John’s Gospel. These words always appear as verbs. Our faith and our belief in the Son of God must always be put into action.

So as we take Holy Communion and turn our bodies into Holy Temples for the Lord, let us ask ourselves. Are we modeling Christ?

I read something recently that hits on this point.

Here’s what it said,

“Being rude is easy. It does not take any effort and is a sign of weakness and insecurity. Kindness shows great self-discipline and strong self-esteem. Being kind is not always easy when dealing with rude people. Kindness is a sign of a person who has done a lot of personal work and has come to a great self-understanding and wisdom.”

So, who do we choose to be? 

Followers of Christ who let their lights shine before others?

Or Christian who prefer the shadows and darkness, afraid to expose everything they say and do to the light of Christ?

Are we, as St. Paul said, “dead in our transgressions”?  No, we are not. 

On this Laetare Sunday, let us rejoice and thank God for His abundant Mercy.

Lent means spring, and spring is a time of new life and the promise of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What a blessing to be focused on our repentance in this Lenten season.  What a blessing to have the Sacrament of Reconciliation and rediscover God’s forgiveness. What a blessing to practice prayer, fasting and almsgiving to keep us connected to our salvation.

May the light of Christ permeate our every action, our every thought, and our every word. May this light transform us, and conform us better to Christ.

Homily–2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time–Welcome Home

                                                                                                        Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46

1 Corinthians 10:31 – 11:1

Mark 1:40-45

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I spent last weekend in Monterrey, Mexico, helping bring a deacon classmate to his final resting place.

Deacon Jose Alfredo Blakely-Perez was born in nearby Ciudad Madero, Mexico. He got his Bachelor’s degree at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and went to work at a local company in Monterrey where he met the girl of his dreams. The two eventually married and moved to Canada, to pursue advanced degrees. Jose eventually attained a PhD in Computer Science, and even taught for a time at Indiana University in Bloomington.

24-years ago, Jose went to work at Microsoft as a software architect and later became a senior executive. He led a brilliant career there. In fact, he holds 19 patents for his work at Microsoft.

He was a faithful, practicing Catholic, but wanted to do more for his Church.

So, he became involved in, and eventually a leader, in the Cursillo Movement of adult retreats. There, he felt called by God to the diaconate and entered the long, grueling five year formation.

Once ordained with our class, Deacon Jose served at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church in Bothell for five years until his death in early January. 

On January 12^th, his Memorial Mass was held before a crowd packed to overflowing at St. Brendan’s. Archbishop Sartain presided, along with concelebrants Bishop Eusebio, and a few close priest friends of Deacon Jose and his wife Luci, and over 30 deacons, including most of his classmates.

Father Steve Sallis and Jose’s 29-year-old son Alfredo (himself a PhD candidate in Genome Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville) both gave beautiful, moving eulogies about an amazing man who died way too young.

Our deacon class wanted someone to be present to Deacon Jose’s wife Lucinda, son Alfredo, and their family as they took Jose home to his final resting place. After much discussion, I was asked to go.  

At first, I must admit to being a little fearful and nervous about traveling to northern Mexico. The area is under a U.S. State Department travel advisory for dangerous criminal activity. But what I found in Monterrey was nothing like what I expected. I found a sprawling city of eight million people, a modern city, a proud city, known as being the heart of industry in Mexico.

I think we’re fearful of a lot in our country. Fearful of people who are just like us, but who live south of the border. There’s even talk of building a wall between our two countries.

We are so fearful of the world, a fear that mostly comes from ignorance.

Fear is what drove the Israelites to create special rules for people with leprosy. They were to declare themselves “unclean” and were banished from the community. The Israelites believed the disease was a divine punishment by God for a sinful life.

Jesus knew this was nonsense – and broke the rules to heal the man with leprosy. Jesus saw beyond the reality created by His society, to the real human dignity of a man standing before him who believed in a miracle.

Imagine the fear of the Apostles, and the crowd around them, as a leper approaches Jesus and asks to be “made clean.” Jesus did not fear. He even did what was forbidden by the rules of his Jewish faith. He reached out, touched the man and healed him. 

Do we sometimes insulate ourselves from the suffering of others out of fear? What would Jesus say about how we treat others we consider outcasts in our society? Are our actions or inactions driven by our fears?

Ever heard of Denver Moore? Denver was a homeless man living in the streets near the Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas. 

He was born in Louisiana in the 30s and lived a hard life as a boy in the cotton fields of the Jim Crow South. Denver once tried to help the mother of a friend, a white woman, whose car had broken down. Some white men came upon the scene, tied a rope around Denver and dragged him around for several miles. He survived and left town on a train, hoping to find a better place.  But he didn't.

Denver became an angry man, a scary man, a homeless man known for violent outbursts, usually while carrying a baseball bat.

But one woman saw beyond her own fears to the heart and soul of a man needing Jesus’ healing. She imitated Christ with her life. In fact, in a dream, Debbie Hall saw this very man and knew he would do something miraculous to change what people thought about homelessness in her city.

Debbie Hall and her husband Ron volunteered at the Union Gospel Mission feeding those experiencing homelessness.  Debbie was an eager volunteer, her husband Ron, not so much. He was scared to even park his car in the neighborhood.

When they both met Denver for the first time, he broke into the feed swinging his trademark baseball bat, breaking glass windows and smashing tables, angry because someone stole something from his encampment.

Debbie told Ron, “That’s the man from my dream!  That’s the man who is going change everything!”

So, Ron reluctantly went after him. Afraid and cautious, he asked the man his name: Denver Moore. He then asked Denver if he could be a little friendlier at the shelter feed. To which Denver said, “You wanna be my friend? I’m gonna have to think about that.”

Over time, Ron and Debbie got to know Denver, and Denver began to change. He was no longer scary or angry or violent. He started dressing and acting differently.

Denver warned Ron to keep an eye on Miss Debbie. He said she was very precious in the eyes of God, and the devil was making her his target. Shortly after that conversation, Debbie was diagnosed with incurable cancer. But she kept coming to the Mission several times a week and led a community transformation of the neighborhood and mission.

Debbie died just two years after meeting her homeless friend. For her funeral, she had one request of her pastor, that Denver be allowed to speak.

During his eulogy, the overflow crowd of rich and poor witnessed a miracle transformation come to completion and Debbie’s dream come to fruition.

This is what Denver Moore said, in his own words, 
“I didn’t meet Miss Debbie. She met me. I didn’t want to know Miss Debbie or any other white woman for that matter. But ever since I known her Miss Debbie wants to be my friend. I’m sure she was a friend to every soul in here. I still haven’t figured out why she wanted to know a fella like me. I sure wasn’t nothin’ to be proud of.

I was captive in a devil’s prison most of my life. Many folks see me there locked up and pass me by. I don’t blame them. I was not nice. Dangerous. I was probably just as happy to stay in prison.

 She was different. She seen me behind them bars. And reached way down in her pocket and pulled out the key God gave her to set me free. She’s the only person to love me enough not to give up.

Now I stand here a changed man. A free man.

I just spent a lot of time worrying I was different than other people -- even all the homeless folk. But after I met Miss Debbie and Mr. Ron I worry I was so different than them that we was never going to have no kind of future. But what I found out was everybody's different--same kind of different as me. We are all regular folks walking down the street God done set in front of us.

Miss Debbie, she’s a whole nother kind of different. Miss Debbie, she dream of a better place for the homeless.  And I ain’t talkin’ about heaven now. I’m talkin’ about right here… in your town.

Now I’m gonna pick up Miss Debbie’s torch and I’m going to carry it well.  And it would make Miss Debbie real happy if you will make her dream come true, and pick up her torch and carry it around, too.

Whether we is rich or whether we is poor, or something in between, we’s all homeless. Every last one of us. Just working our way back home. Welcome home, Miss Debbie. Welcome home.”

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Welcome home, my dear brother Deacon Jose. Welcome home.

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                   (Here's a preview of the movie about Denver Moore's life. Peace)