Homily – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Safety Bubble

Wisdom 7:7-11

Hebrews 4:12-13

Mark 10:17-30

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Jesus has just burst the bubble of a rich young man who thinks he’s doing everything right. He’s following the Law of the Church. He gives to the poor. But Jesus expects more of us.  Much more.    

           Remember the story years ago about the Bubble Boy?

Young American boy David Vetter suffered from a severe immunodeficiency disease. It required him to live inside a bubble, a sterile chamber where his parents could only touch him through the use of plastic gloves attached to the chamber walls. 

Bubble boy was such an intriguing news story that it was featured in a memorable 70’s movie starring John Travolta, in a popular 80s song by musician Paul Simon, and was even part of a popular episode on the TV show Seinfeld in the 90s.

            Isn’t it true that we all tend to live inside our own safety bubbles?  These are physical, psychological and spiritual bubbles of security. 

Jesus is here to pop our bubbles.

For some, our safety bubble is the size of our 401K or retirement pension. For others, our safety bubble is our nice home or fancy car. For others, our safety bubble is our circle of like-minded friends or our political persuasion.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is focused on the rich young man and his inordinate attachment to his wealth. The man has put his faith and trust in his riches, not in Jesus.

Jesus knows “security in possessions and in money can pull people away from depending on God as the true source of (our) lives, here and hereafter.”

In Jesus’ day, riches were seen as a sign of God’s favor, blessing and right relation.

 Do we sometimes think the same thing today?

            Jesus is telling us there’s so much more to life if we just allow him to pop our bubbles, put our trust solely in Him, and follow Him into the Kingdom, and to the poor.  This is God's mission of love for us. 

            I was reminded of these bubbles we tend to live in during a recent Maryknoll mission immersion trip to Jamaica.  For most Americans, Montego Bay, Jamaica, is the place of white sandy beaches and all-inclusive luxury resorts. This is the safety bubble most live in when visiting Jamaica.

            But this is not where the real beauty of Jamaica is found.

            We found that beauty working with a group of Korean nuns, serving in the barrios of Montego Bay, handing out bags of groceries and school supplies to those living in shacks in the poorest part of town. The smiles on the faces of the adults and children were a just glimpse at the expected smiles to be found in Heaven.

            We found that beauty spending the day with physically and intellectually disabled young people at a place called Blessed Assurance located in a mountainous area just outside town. There we experienced joy and laughter like never before.  Our presence was met with an abundance of happiness and love, as we helped these young people with their art projects, told jokes, played, and at lunchtime helped to feed those who could not feed themselves.

                
             
          We found that beauty visiting a Catholic hospice where we met Jesus. His real name was Renville.  He fell out of a bread fruit tree nine years ago and is permanently confined to a bed due to a broken back. He lost the use of his lower body and has only partial use of his upper body. But Renville proceeded to share with us his own love of Jesus, a joy for living, and proclaimed a homily that would put any homily to shame.  We spoke for a long time, and at the end of our chat, he drew me in close for a big hug, and whispered in my ear, “If I get to heaven first, I’ll save you a seat next to me. I’ll be the first to welcome you home.”

My brothers and sisters, this is the real beauty of the Kingdom of God. This was the real beauty on our mission trip to Jamaica. Not the artificial beauty found at luxury resorts, behind locked security gates and all-you-can-eat gourmet restaurants. 

When Jesus pops our safety bubbles, we enter into the Kingdom. And in these encounters we find more beauty than is found at any beach resort.

The bubbles we live in even extend to how we see the world.

            Catholic blogger Elizabeth Scalia recently wrote on Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire website, “Informationally, the world is ever-broadening, but our interests continue to shrink as we close in on ourselves. In our reading, our entertainment, our news venues, our social media, our political involvements, we seek out echo chambers we may depend upon to repeat US back to ourselves in a reassuring loop, with dissenting ideas continually pruned away for the sake of purity. Settled within virtual enclaves of the like-minded, we bask in an illusion that most sensible people think as we do, and when we are forced to venture out beyond our unsullied orthodoxies and ideologies the world feels increasingly dangerous and disordered. We cannot wait to get back to our ‘safe zones’ which are really just aspects of ourselves reflected back to US.”

            She goes on to say, “We used to read about ‘the boy in the bubble’ and feel sorry for him. He was trapped within a limited world free of exposure to even the ‘good’ germs and bacteria that keep our immune systems adept, functional, and ready to withstand and beat back infection. Now, we have become him. Though our bodies may wander freely, we keep our minds and spirits tethered to what is comfortable, unchallenging, and pristine, until our mental and spiritual immune systems become so weakened that a mere difference of opinion feels like an assault.”

            These are just a sampling of safety bubbles Jesus wants to pop in our lives.

            So, what bubble do you need Jesus to pop in your life?

Jesus is calling us all to greater encounters and relationship-building far beyond our comfort zones.

But will we walk away like the rich young man, or join Jesus in serving the Kingdom?

Homily – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cries of the Poor

Isaiah 35:4-7a

James 2:1-5

Mark 7:31-37

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          “Be strong, fear not.”

These powerful words come from this week’s readings and are meant to help settle our hearts.  But are our ears open to hearing this hope-filled message?

Let’s face it, our hearts are heavy, angry, confused and burdened by weeks and weeks of bad news about the Catholic Church.

It’s a painful and ugly mess.  For many, it’s just too much.

Our first reading from Isaiah is a reminder of how suffering is always followed by salvation. This is God’s Covenant promise with His people.

Our Catechism teaches us that God will ultimately provide justice for the victims and the perpetrators. Only He can bring good out of even the gravest evils.

As the Catechism states, “The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil.”

"Two thousand years ago, while he hung on the Cross, Jesus saw the filth that would threaten to obscure the holiness of his Church. He saw each egregious sin now detailed in grand jury reports and victims’ testimonies. He knew that some of his clergy would abandon him like Judas. He knew that some people—right in the heart of the Church—would commit evil, abhorrent acts and others would work to cover them up. He knew that people would leave the Church, offended and wounded by these sins against God. Jesus cried tears of blood as these heartrending scenes flashed before his eyes. These sins and their effects were so burdensome, so unimaginably painful that the Son of God cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46)," the words of Sr. Theresa Aletheia on social media this week.

Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain issued the following official statement on the crisis last month:

“The sexual abuse of a minor is an intrinsic moral evil and a crime, and anyone responsible for such an act, or for shielding those who do, including bishops and other Church leaders, must be held accountable for their actions.”

In the flood of all this bad news, it was encouraging to read a story this past week about how young Catholics are reacting to all of this bad news.

Yes, some are walking away from the faith because of the scandals.  But many other young people are staying -- staying to fight for church reform, staying to help bring healing to the victims, staying because of the Eucharist and because of Jesus Christ.  “They are looking for a spiritual tradition to guide their lives.”  They are the future of our Church!

Yes, they’re angry. Some say they can defend the Catholic faith, but cannot defend the Catholic Church right now.  Many of them are channeling their anger into action.

This is the #MeToo generation and they have something to say – if our ears are open to hearing their message.

As one young adult put it, “That’s part of why the younger generation is having a different response: not because it’s new information, but because it’s the only story of the church we’ve known.”

So, many young people are organizing prayer vigils for the victims and signing petitions calling on Bishops and the Vatican to bring justice and transparency to this issue. 

A noted deacon and popular author had a powerful blog post this past week that may offer us all a way forward.

Deacon William Ditewig is a theologian who once headed up the office of the permanent diaconate at the USCCB. He’s also a retired Naval Commander who taught at Santa Clara University in recent years.

In his blog post he said this on the sex abuse issue: “It’s past time for action.”

He suggests we all (the People of God and our leaders) get “back to the basics.”

First, Ditewig says we have to live the profession of faith, the Credo, or Creed, we recite every week. We have to give our hearts to God, the Father Almighty; to Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord; and give our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the giver of life.  “Everything builds on that; without it nothing else matters.”

 Second, Ditewig says we have to rebuild from the bottom and become ones who serve. Recalling the lesson Jesus taught with the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, Ditewig says, “The reforms we need right now start from that perspective of humility, compassion and service, and the Church must be one which is in a constant state of reform, renewal and conversion.”

Lastly, Ditewig says, “’Religion’ refers to binding ourselves to God.  Our religion should be known first and foremost for how we care for those most in need, not by our vestments, our grand churches, our rituals or the brilliance of our teaching.  When people think of Christianity, may they come to think first of the thousands upon thousands of selfless people – laity, religious, clergy – who pour their lives out in service.”

This is how we bind ourselves to God.  

This week’s Gospel reading gives us an instruction manual of sorts for discipleship.

Jesus has headed into hostile territory. Today he’s healing in the District of Decapolis, an area known for pagan idolatry.  These people would have rejected Jesus’ message. Their ears would have been closed. 

The Aramaic language of Jesus is rarely used in the Gospels. In Mark’s Gospel it is used only twice. Today, we hear the Aramaic word, “ephphatha” or “be opened.”

Jesus’ powerful command helps him to make two important points to us, His disciples:  opening our ears to His voice – and –  opening our mouths to speak out on behalf of the poor.

To do this better we must first ask ourselves:  How is my prayer life?  Am I spending enough time with Jesus? Am I taking time from the distractions of daily life to hear what he’s trying to tell me? How do I know when I’m becoming deaf to the voice of Christ? 

Now is a time to increase our time with Jesus so as to make sure our connection to Christ is plugged-in and recharging us daily. 

Are we actively witnessing Christ in our daily lives? This is another sign of mature discipleship and precisely what the Letter of Saint James is sharing with us today.

Am I using my voice to speak out for the victims and to call on the bishops and the Pope to do the right thing? The victims should be our priority now.

How we treat the poor versus how we treat the powerful is a good indicator of understanding the message of Jesus Christ.

As we all step forward as Church to clean up this ugly mess, let us commit ourselves to working together in humility with our bishops and our Pope to promote accountability and transparency. Let us compassionately listen to our young people, our future, to hear their wisdom on how to fix things. Let our words and our actions help promote healing to those who have been hurt by the Church.

Deacon Ditewig has a dream.  His dream is that someday when a person googles images of the “Catholic Church” the first pictures shown will not be of St. Peter’s and the Vatican, but of advocates working humbly, tirelessly and fearlessly to meet the needs of others: teachers, medical professionals, volunteers and yes, spouses and parents giving their all for each other and their children.”

            This should be our dream, too.

Homily – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – God’s Eye View

                                                                                                               1^st Kings 19:4-8

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

John 6:41-51

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In today’s readings, we hear about Jesus experiencing murmuring from the Jewish people. Those opposed to what Jesus is saying about the Bread of Life also doubted the truth about God.

We see the Prophet Elijah both discouraged and despairing, fleeing into the desert in order to save his life from those who did not like his message. And yet once there, praying that he dies. Elijah would become one of the Jewish faith’s most important prophets for telling the truth despite stiff opposition.  He was also with Jesus at this week’s Feast of the Transfiguration.

And we hear St. Paul reminding us to remove all anger and bitterness, and instead be kind, compassionate and forgiving. And so be imitators of God.

These are stories of our complex human condition, our difficulty in trusting in our creator and our inability, at times, to hear the truth. 

I heard an amazing story about Pope Francis during my recent Maryknoll mission to the U.S./Mexico border to learn about border issues.

Days after being elevated to Pope, the Holy Father went to his Secretary of State and said, “I want to go to Lampedusa.” This is an island on the southernmost tip of Italy. The place has become a tragic shore for immigrants and migrants who risk life and limb to find a better world. Many have lost lives from capsized boats in the Mediterranean and washed up on those shores. Perhaps you’ve seen the pictures of these tragedies. 

The Secretary of State firmly reminded the new Pope that such a visit would take a year to plan and execute. It could not be done immediately. Pope Francis thanked the Vatican official, but said he still wanted to go to Lampedusa. The Secretary of State figured his new boss would come to his senses and realize the impossibility of his request.

A few weeks later Pope Francis returned to the office of the Secretary of State and again repeated his request: “I want to go to Lampedusa.”

At that point, the Secretary of State sternly told the Pope, you don’t want your first official action as Pope to be such a controversial trip. Immigration and Migration are political hot button issues in European nations, too.

But the Pope was insistent.  

A few weeks later, the Secretary of State got a call from the CEO of Alitalia Airline saying, “I think you should know a man named Jorge Bergoglio has just booked a ticket on our airline to Lampedusa.”

Francis did go to Lampedusa four short months after becoming Pope and his trip would set the stage for one of the biggest priorities of his Pontificate: changing the global conversation about immigrants and migrants to a Catholic perspective.

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus saying something that brings the same kind of murmuring heard every time Pope Francis discusses Catholic teaching on the issue of immigration and migration. 

I’d like to ask you to go on a journey with me. First, if you would be so inclined, please close your eyes and try to envision what heaven will look like. Now, find your neighborhood in the Kingdom. Look around the streets and look at the faces of those there with you in the New Jerusalem. Notice anything? 

My bet is our neighbors in heaven will be the same people some might not want as our neighbors in this country now. There we will see neighbors of Mexican or Guatemalan descent or neighbors of Middle Eastern descent.

Now open your eyes.

Pope Francis sees the world through the eyes of God. As Catholics, he encourages us to do the same. 

The border issue is a complicated mess. No one would disagree with that. But it is one in desperate need of our Catholic common good, urgent attention and our prayers.

The U.S. Bishops, including our own, following the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the example of the popes, have been resolute in their support of the duty of Catholics to welcome migrants and refugees. The Bishops affirm the right of nations to secure their borders while at the same time calling for immigration reform. They also firmly oppose any actions that break up families, dividing children from their parents, and husbands from their wives.

The Bishops in our state have a new website on the issue. I’ve linked it to our parish Facebook page (Link to Washington Bishop's website HERE).

Our trip to the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez border was eye opening and transformational in many ways.

There, we met with the Border Guard to hear what they do to protect lives at our borders. In many ways, we found angels not unlike those caring for Elijah’s physical needs in today’s first reading. When encountering people trying to cross the border illegally, they find and minister first to those needing food and water. Many times this means letting the so-called “Coyotes” go. “Coyotes” is a nickname for those who smuggling immigrants into the US illegally. 

We also met with families who had just been reunited after two months of separation. It was evident to us that the children and the adults had been traumatized.

Most we met had legally presented themselves at the border as asylum seekers, only to be separated and put into detention for two months. Men would go to one facility. Women to another. And the children would be taken from their mothers and fathers and put someplace else. 

Next we served at a Sisters of Loreto nursing home, where dozens of families were staying short-term until their cases were resolved. All the men wore ankle bracelets and all families had court dates scheduled on their asylum cases.

One mission participant is originally from Peru. Helena’s lived in the U.S. now for seven years and teaches kindergarten on a Native American reservation in Wisconsin. The minute the staff found out her background and fluency in Spanish, my friend was immediately placed with the kids.

Your’s truly was assigned bathroom cleaning duties. 

After finishing my assignment, I went down to see how Helena’s experience was going. There in the middle of the floor was a four year old boy crying, with his crying father looking on. Helena was comforting the boy. 

As we were leaving, the boy wouldn’t let go of Helena. His father cried all the harder. As Helena finally handed the boy back to his father, she turned to me and said, “The boy asked me if I would be his mommy. I told him I could not be.”

Helena immediately broke down in a puddle of tears as we departed the center.

Saint John Paul II said during his pontificate: “If the ‘dream’ of a peaceful world is shared by all, if the refugees’ and migrants’ contribution is properly evaluated, then humanity can become more and more a universal family and our earth a true ‘common home.’”  

Pope Francis reminded us during his 2015 trip to the United States of an important point to consider when thinking about immigrants and migrants: “We, the people of this (American) continent (north, south and central), are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as a son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.”

Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to welcome the stranger. Solidarity with our neighbors and strangers are actually commands from Christ. 

Pope Francis wrote in his Message of Peace released on New Year’s Day something worthy of reflection: “Many destination countries have seen the spread of rhetoric decrying the risks posed to national security or the high cost of welcoming new arrivals, and thus demeaning the human dignity due to all sons and daughters of God. Those who, for what may be political reasons, foment fear of migrants instead of building peace are sowing violence, racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are matters of great concern for all those concerned for the safety of every human being.” 

As St. Paul reminds us today: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God.” 

So, as we ponder what our neighbors will look like in heaven and who will be in our neighborhoods here on earth, let us reflect on our human actions in this world and ask ourselves: am I building up the Kingdom or tearing it down?” 

For in the Kingdom of God there are no borders.