Homily – Sixth Sunday of Easter – Love = Charity

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

______________________________________________________________________

Have you heard of America’s newest Superhero? His name is President Austin and he’s an adorable four year old living in Birmingham, Alabama. Austin Perine doesn’t want toys or an allowance; instead he wants all his money to go to feeding the homeless in his town. He flies around the streets with a red cape, an abundance of energy, a big smile, and a bag of chicken sandwiches and sodas, handing them out to those living without a home. His refrain to all he meets on the streets is “Don’t forget to show love.”  Anyone who meets Austin leaves the encounter with hope.

As Catholics, we are called by our Church to read scripture not literally, but in cultural context. That means we are to read scripture for an understanding of what the words meant to the earliest of Christians who were the intended audience.

As we know, language can be a tricky thing. One word can have many different meanings.

The same is true with the word Jesus uses in today’s Gospel message: Love. In our English language, the word love has many different meanings.  Lots of room for ambiguity.

The Gospel of John was originally written in the Greek language.

The Greeks had four words for the word love. No room for misunderstanding the message of Jesus. 

C.S. Lewis wrote about this in the book The Four Loves.

Phileo is the word used for non-romantic affection between people sharing a strong bond (like "brotherly love").

Eros is the word used for romantic feelings (like "being in love").

Storge is the word used for fondness of someone or something through familiarity (like I love pizza or I love my sister).
            Then there’s the word used in today’s Gospel message:  Agape.  This word is used for love that is selflessly committed to the well-being of another and meant to be lifelong.

This is the word Jesus chose for this important message to his disciples. No confusion. No room for personal interpretation. 

In our culture, love has become a cerebral practice.

In John’s Gospel, love is an action. 

Remember the three theological virtues?  Faith, hope and love. 

As we hear from St. Paul, love is the most important for us Christians.

That echoes what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.

In St. Paul’s letter the word used is also agape. So what’s the context for this word for love?

If you look at what theological virtues, you can find the answer.

The theological virtues are traits or qualities of a person who conducts him or herself in a good moral manner.

Paul’s so-called “Hymn of Love” is 1^st Corinthians 13.

There, he points out that love, or the better word charity, is the most important.  In the theological virtues, the word love means charity. The two words are interchangeable.  

Charity is a concrete action from one person to person.

As one Christian writer puts it, “Charity means participating in tangible acts of loving kindness toward all others (friend or enemy) in unconditional and self-sacrificial ways. Or to put it simply, to practice charity is to be compassionate.” Or as President Austin says “show love!”

This is what the Gospel message of love is all about. Not an abstract command “to love,” but what Jesus did his entire earthly ministry to love others by compassionately serving their needs – and showing love. 

In the early Christian community we see a wonderful representation of what love or charity meant to the ancient world. It’s what allowed the Christian message to explode in popularity in spite of persecution and martyrdom. Without it, the Christian faith would have withered and died.

            Here’s something to ponder:  At the time of St. Paul in Rome (around 67 AD), there were only about 25-hundred Christians scattered in small communities throughout the Roman Empire.  By the time of the Nicene Council and the end of Christian persecution (around 325 AD), the number was nearly 34-Million or a majority of the Roman Empire’s population. How did that happen?

             As we heard in today's first reading from Acts of the Apostles, Peter opens the door for gentiles to become followers of Jesus.
            But experts say the real reason is because Christians took care of each other (loved each other), and often even their pagan neighbors. Christians took seriously Jesus’ command to feed the hungry and visit the sick.

            Rome was a bit of a hell hole in the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Centuries. Despite its many impressive monuments (some still exist today) it was filthy in many parts. Chaos and human cruelty reigned.

            Most people were packed into close quarters, which became breeding grounds for disease and plague.

            In the Roman Empire, when sickness or plague would break out, most people would run away. The Christians instead would run in and care for those infected.

            As some experts contend, simply nursing back to health and feeding the sick increased Christian chances of survival.

            In addition, women enjoyed a higher social status in Christian communities than elsewhere in Rome, making them ready converts.  As we see in Paul’s letters, they were leaders, benefactors of churches and deaconesses, especially when it came to dispensing charity in the community.

            Abortion and infanticide were forbidden in the early Christian culture, meaning baby girls survived in greater numbers. And many Christian women married Pagan men and many times converted their husbands and their children to Christianity.

            All of these things are what changed Christian fortunes over three centuries of persecution and martyrdom.

            This is what made faith real and tangible in a dark, scary world that desperately needed the early Christian community.

            And this is what Pope Francis is asking us to do in today’s modern world. To live the lives of ordinary, everyday saints. Be examples of Christian virtue (and love) to a broken world.

            At the heart of Pope Francis’s new Apostolic Exhortation (Gaudete Et Exsultate or “Rejoice and Be Glad”) is a beautiful reflection on the criterion Christ will use in the Final Judgment (found in Matthew 25):  “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” 

The Pope said, “Given these uncompromising demands of Jesus, it is my duty to ask Christians to acknowledge and accept them in a spirit of genuine openness… Our Lord made it very clear that holiness cannot be understood or lived apart from these demands.”

This is how the early Christians spread The Way of Jesus Christ in the ancient world. This is the way we can revitalize Christianity. By loving one another as Christ loves us (by showing charity to all). By loving our neighbor as ourselves (and not questioning “And who is my neighbor” especially in the poor, marginalized and outcast). By modeling Christian behavior in what we say and do. 

In Gaudete Et Exsultate, holiness is understood best in terms of community:  “We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone.” (§ 6)

Pope Francis calls us to boldly live our Christian faith as a community of everyday saints. This is how we bring Christ to a troubled world.  

As we ready for Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, may we hear and heed the urging of our Holy Father and Jesus to model Christ, to be like President Austin, and show the world what love is all about.

Homily – Third Sunday of Easter – Rescue Mission

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

1 John 2:1-5a

Luke 24:35-48

______________________________________________________________________

In this weekend’s Gospel reading we are witnessing a full scale rescue mission. Jesus is here to save humanity.

Moments after two disciples return with hearts burning from their Road to Emmaus experience, Jesus appears before the Apostles.

At first, they think he’s a ghost, but Jesus shows them his flesh and bones.

Then, in an almost comical way, he asks, “Hey, you got something to eat?”

All hope was gone with the disciples after Jesus’ crucifixion. There were reports from the women disciples about meeting angels at the tomb who said “Jesus is alive!” The men were amazed by this news, but still had doubts.

Then the men on the Road to Emmaus say they encountered Christ in the breaking of the bread. Still more doubts.

Now Jesus appears -- alive and in the flesh! And he’s even asking for something to eat.

Then, taking a piece of baked fish, he sits down and interprets for them the Law of Moses and all the words of the prophets and Psalms to show that He is the fulfillment of Jewish scripture. And then tells them to proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His name.

They’re about to write a new story – the very story we hear about today in Acts of the Apostles. And in this story everyone can be saved by Jesus. Today, Jesus tells the Apostles about their role in this divine rescue mission. 

Their encounter with the Risen Christ changes everything. No more doubts. No more fears. No more hiding out. 

We are now His witnesses, bearing our own wounds from sin, wounds healed by Jesus. 

Each of us has been scarred by sin. Our wounds may not be visible, but we all bear wounds healed by Christ – wounds not unlike those of Jesus, the nail marks in His hands and feet shown to the disciples today.

Jesus was dead from the wounds of our human sinfulness, but now he lives again. And his power is strong enough to not only heal our wounds, but save us.

This past week, Pope Francis put out an apostolic exhortation called “Gaudete et Exsultate” or “Rejoice and Be Glad.” (Link to Gaudete Et Exultate)

In many ways, this, too, is a divine rescue mission.

In his third exhortation, the Holy Father puts “exhort” back in exhortation by creating a lovingly urgent call to live lives of holiness. And the ways he suggests may surprise you.

Francis has created a beautiful reflection on becoming a holy, living saint. It all starts with being kind and continues with bearing witness to God in the things we say and do every day -- all of it in love.

“Gaudete et Exsultate” is considered the most important magisterial text of the Roman Catholic Church on the “universal call to holiness” since Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium.

It’s a must-read for every Catholic and all Christians.

If we don’t see ourselves in its reflection then we’re not looking hard enough.

The truth is we all sin, and we all are saved by Christ alone.

And when Jesus saves us, we can help Him to save others by our witness of holy lives -- what Pope Francis calls “the most attractive face of the Church.”

Pope Francis is reminding us that “God saves humanity via the incarnation – in fleshy, concrete human reality – not via precepts and laws and complex ideas.”

The Holy Father packs this important document with easy to understand ways of turning away from sin and embracing our holiness. It’s “a meditation on ordinary, next-door holiness.”

No, we’re not expected to lead perfect lives.

Here’s a brief snippet of “Gaudete et Exsultate" that proves my point:

“Not everything a saint says is completely faithful to the Gospel; not everything he or she does is authentic or perfect. What we need to contemplate is the totality of their life, their entire journey of growth in holiness, the reflection of Jesus Christ that emerges when we grasp their overall meaning as a person.” (P. 22)

Francis is building on Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical Deus Caritas Est (“God is Love”) released in 2005. Here’s what Benedict said then, “being a Christian is not the result of choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”  That person is Jesus Christ. That event is the resurrection.

   Pope Francis also warns us to avoid certain kinds of Catholic mindsets that are obstacles to salvation. In fact, they are called enemies of holiness.

            One is a modern form of a very old heresy: Gnosticism. Gnostics believe what matters most is what you know. No need to be charitable or do good works. All you need is the correct intellectual approach. These are the modern day know-it-alls of faith.  

The second is another old heresy: Pelagianism. Pelagians believe they control their own salvation through their own efforts. They don’t believe they need God’s grace and can act superior to others because they observe certain rules.

Our Holy Father is putting up a mirror to us all and asking us to take a good hard look.  

Pope Francis also is calling on all Catholics to have an equal passion in our defense of every stage of human life, and in every condition, from conception to natural death. Some have called this a consistent life ethic or “seamless garment.” Single issue Catholics are called to reexamine their approach to faith.

            Got you intrigued enough to read it?  Good!

            The entire exhortation is an easy read.  We’ve posted links to it on our parish Facebook page and my homily blog at deacondennis.com, and linked through the parish website. (Link to Gaudete Et Exsultate)

I’ll preach more on it in the coming weeks.

Jesus tells the disciples today to preach repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, in His name to all nations -- repentance, and not condemnation. Repentance always requires humility, mercy and love.

            Jesus wants to rescue us all from sin and death. Pope Francis is calling the faithful to lives of everyday holiness, to become real saints in the world today.

This is how we change the world. This is how we bring others closer to Christ. This is how we invite others onto the divine life boat piloted by our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who has power alone to rescue and save us.

Homily – Holy Thursday – Sowing the Seeds of Love

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

John 13:1-15

______________________________________________________________________

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.