Homily – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2018 – Mission Ready

Amos 7:12-15

Ephesians 1:3-10

Mark 6:7-13

______________________________________________________________________

Today, Jesus is getting us mission ready.

All of us are called to be missionaries in this world. By our baptism, each and every Christian is a missionary disciple commissioned to go into the world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

When we step into mission we are asked by Christ to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We are asked by Christ to prepare properly and pack the right things for the journey. That’s the message to the Twelve today.

Pope Francis shared in detail what being a missionary disciple means in 2013’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium or Joy of the Gospel, co-written by Bishop of Rome Emeritus Benedict XVI.

In it Pope Francis explains how to prepare for missionary discipleship, the state of our world today, and our place in it. 

Here’s what the Holy Father said in the opening of Evangelii Gaudium:

“The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.”

Missionary discipleship begins and grows from a friendship with the person of Jesus Christ. Once we’ve experienced this close personal encounter our lives are never the same.

Like the first disciples — who moved from being fearful and discouraged to fearless and zealous as missionary disciples — we too can become transformed into messengers of grace and hope in the world.

This transformation happens here and now if we are open to it. Just as Jesus called his disciples as they went about their daily work, he calls us to missionary discipleship in our everyday lives, too.

We are sustained in our mission by praying, studying scripture, celebrating the sacraments, and striving to live a good Christian moral life.

This is the only path to peace and contentment in the world today. But first we must prepare, pack, and become mission ready.

Today, Jesus is getting his Twelve Apostles mission ready. He’s preparing them to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And He’s telling them what to bring, and what not to bring, for the journey, a divine packing list of sorts.

  Whenever I hear this Gospel I always think about packing for a trip and the unique ways each of us does this:

Some, like my wife Mary, are very prepared. The process starts weeks in advance, as lists are developed of what to bring and what not to bring. These people are very detailed in their preparations for the journey.

Others, like me, just pack the night before, using only a mental check-list. No actual list. And, yes, sometimes I forget things using this method.

                Notice how Jesus is telling the Apostles how to pack for their journey.

            Jesus instructs them “to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money…”  Yes, they can wear sandals, but no second tunic.

Scripture scholars see three big things happening here.

One is Jesus is asking his disciples to detach themselves from personal possessions.

       The best way to think of this today is to imagine telling a loved one not to bring their smart phone on vacation so that they might better enjoy the experience. I think we all know how that would go over.

           Jesus knows our attachments provide us with security and comfort in what we have. Jesus wants us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and rely solely on what God provides.

This allows us to be more focused on who we might meet along the way, on receiving hospitality from these new friends, and on a dependence on God for everything.

            The second big thing happening here is Jesus is sending out the disciples in pairs. Bible scholars suggest with two people the virtue of charity is better witnessed by those observing the actions of the disciples as they go about sharing the Good News.

     Jesus knows the two together will show charity toward each other, prompting observers to marvel at how these two collaborate, listen to each other, understand each other, and love each other.

      We are not on our mission as soloists for Christ. We best perform in concert with others. This is why Jesus is sending out pairs on their first mission.

Isn’t this true for each of us? Aren’t our journeys more rewarding and meaningful when we do them with another person. We see things differently because no trip is the same for everyone. Besides solo travel also can be quite lonely and not as much fun.

      The third big thing happening here: Bible scholars note the similarities in instructions to the Mission of Twelve to the Israelites at the First Passover before their Exodus from Egypt. Moses told them to be ready to leave with nothing, but the clothes on their backs. Moses said the Israelites could trust God to provide all that they need. 

As we saw in the Exodus, the grumbling Israelites seemed more comfortable trapped in slavery in Egypt than being free and relying on God’s providence in their lives.

Isn’t that true of us sometimes? We, too, can become comfortable trapped in our sin, not trusting in God enough to set us truly free from this enslavement. 

This is why mission is so important. In mission, we take our focus off ourselves and our own needs, and instead focus on others and their needs. In mission, we find Christ.

     Mission can be a scary place. Just ask the 21 parishioners who accompanied us to Guatemala in 2015 and got comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We have to be prepared to step into this new world. We must be open to learning from the people we meet and the relationships we build. If we’ve packed appropriately, we will be transformed by people who have so little (by our first world standards), but who have more joy than we do. Just experiencing Church in the third world can open our eyes to this reality. As Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium, the poor have much to teach us.  Let us keep in our prayers the missionaries from our parish headed to Haiti in a few weeks.

But mission isn’t always traveling to faraway lands. Mission can be right here in our community.

Our missionaries doing homeless outreach and street medicine have learned how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and have prepared and packed for this mission.

     Experiencing others trapped in slavery to addiction, mental health crisis and poverty can be a powerful place to witness Christ.

         These missionary disciples trust in Jesus to take us to the people who need us the most. They are able to pray in the name of Jesus with many of the 50-75 people we meet with each night.

            It’s too early to tell if we’ve driven out any demons or cured anyone, but we know we are bringing Jesus to human souls living on the margins of our society. We’re also building wonderful relationships with our friends experiencing homelessness in the area.

        And this is just what Jesus calls each of us to do – to witness Christ to the world and share the Good News -- especially to the outcast, the despised, the poor and marginalized.

      Pope Francis says we cannot witness Christ locked inside of the Church. We have to be prepared to take Jesus out into the streets.

            Maybe it's time to check our own packing list to see if we are ready to travel as missionary disciples, ready to bring the Kingdom’s message of liberation and freedom to those we meet along the way.

So, I ask: Are you prepared to get comfortable with being uncomfortable?  Are you able to shed some attachments to help lighten the load for the journey?  Are you mission ready? 

Homily – 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Keep It Civil

                                                                                                                         Genesis 3:9-15

2 Corinthians 4:13 – 5:1:1

Mark 3:20-35

______________________________________________________________________

My friends, we’re back in Ordinary time!

And this week our Gospel reading is one that’s rarely heard.

Due to when Easter falls most years, the 10^th week in Ordinary Time usually gets missed, covered up by Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, or Corpus Christi.

This important reading couldn’t come at a better time as we continue on our path to becoming the ordinary, living saints Pope Francis is calling us all to become.

But to do this, we must resist our seedier human instincts and heed Christ’s voice calling us to a holier path.

We live in a time of great divide in our nation.

We were all reminded this past week of another time of great divide in America: 1968.

50 years ago this week Bobby Kennedy was assassinated moments after winning the California Democratic Presidential Primary. Two months earlier that very same year we lost Martin Luther King Jr. to an assassin’s bullet.  Riots and social unrest dominated news headlines then.

As a kid, I remember my dad debating our next door neighbor on those hot summer nights in ‘68. The two rarely saw eye-to-eye and their arguments could be heard all over our small neighborhood. But my dad and our neighbor were still great friends and would always tip a few beers while debating the news of the day.

How is it that we’ve lost our ability to engage in civil discourse and debate without it getting personal, hurtful or hateful? This is even a problem in our families today. I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about -- especially in this time of great political division.

Social media is exacerbating our polarization.

It’s always a best practice to be open to hearing the viewpoints of others. I had one of those opportunities shortly after ordination. A friend wanted to talk to me about my Central American pilgrimage with Maryknoll. This person was concerned and wanted to see me in person to talk about it.

When we met, he told me, “You know, Maryknoll is socialist!”          

I’ll admit to being taken aback by his assertion. Perhaps there were others who thought I was “out of my mind” for going on such a trip.

After listening to his perspective, I shared with him my own experience with Maryknoll. The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers I met on pilgrimage were all over the political spectrum (some liberal, some conservative, some in between).

Then, my friend told me about a website where he gets most of his news about the Catholic Church. He encouraged me to visit this site if I wanted to know the truth. I was unfamiliar with this website and promised to take a look.

What I saw shocked me. The host focused his hate-filled rants on Catholics he deems not to be in lock step with the faith. He’s quick to label others as heretics.

Satan’s voice always condemns, confuses and breeds hate.  God’s voice always encourages, enlightens and engenders loves.

Fast forward a few years, and this same host has been condemned by several of America’s Bishops for fomenting hate and division, and he now stands accused of not being in lock step with the full breadth, depth and beauty of our Catholic faith.

In fact, in 2015 the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (under the direction of Archbishop Charles Chaput) put out this warning:  “XXXXXX XXXXXX (has) proven once again that they are not interested in presenting information in any useful way…. The sole desire of … XXXXXX XXXXXX is to create division, confusion and conflict within the Church. Actions of that nature run contrary to Christian tradition. Their reports are not to be taken seriously.” 

I’ve always seen the various tribes in our Catholic Church as colors in a mosaic. Some have a passion for tradition. Some have a passion for sacred liturgy. Some have a passion for the charisms of the Holy Spirit. Some have a passion for Catholic Social Teachings and social justice. All of these tribes in our Catholic faith reflect their own unique color and together form a mosaic that makes up the face of Christ.

Catholic journalist John L. Allen wrote about these many different tribes in the Catholic faith in his book “The Future Church,” saying “Diversity is wealth, but division is impoverishment.”

We may not always see eye to eye in our Church family.  We may not always see eye to eye in our own families. We may not always see eye to eye in our circle of friends. But we all called to keep our eyes firmly affixed to Christ and imitate what he did to build up the Kingdom. That’s how we become holy.

This is what Jesus is teaching us today.  Jesus is seen by his family as “out of his mind.” The religious Scribes are demonizing His actions. But “Jesus has the ability to overcome evil without becoming like it.”

As Seattle’s new Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg says in his book on Mark’s Gospel: “Evil destroys communion and is made evident in division.” 

            Isn’t it true -- that all of us can sometimes misinterpret the good actions of others by attributing evil motivations?

        Bishop Daniel says “(Today’s) passage cautions us to interpret good actions with a principle of charity that seeks to give others the benefit of the doubt rather than rashly concluding sinister motives.”

       Pope Francis cautioned against the destructive power of demonizing others in our Catholic faith, especially with what is found online and in social media today.

         In his latest Apostolic Exhortation “Rejoice and Be Glad” or Gaudete Et Exultate, the Holy Father had this important message for us all, “Christians too can be caught up in networks of verbal violence through the internet and the various forums of digital communication. Even in Catholic media, limits can be overstepped, defamation and slander can become commonplace, and all ethical standards and respect for the good name of others can be abandoned. The result is a dangerous dichotomy, since things can be said there that would be unacceptable in public discourse, and people look to compensate for their own discontent by lashing out at others. It is striking that at times, in claiming to uphold the other commandments, they completely ignore the eighth, which forbids bearing false witness or lying, and ruthlessly vilify others. Here we see how the unguarded tongue, set on fire by hell, sets all things ablaze (cf. James 3:6)” (§ 115).

As a priest friend reminded me this week, “Jesus' ministry was of love, healing, compassion, reconciliation. His opponents were of anger, division, jealousy and exclusion.”

Whichever path we choose will either draw us closer to, or distance us from the will of God in our lives.    

Just as Adam turned his back on God, and even pointed a finger of blame for his sinning on his partner Eve, may we not be tricked by the serpent into fomenting hate and division in our communities by demonizing each other.

May we be guided by the Holy Spirit to forgive those who demonize us and our motives. And may this forgiveness become the cornerstones that build up the Kingdom of God.

May Jesus, our true eternal brother, guide our hearts, guide our lips, guide our online actions as we strive together to become ordinary, living saints in a troubled and divided world.

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.