St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for September 24, 2019

In response to the people telling Him that family members were looking for Him, Jesus said that His real family “are those who hear the Word of God and act on it.” It is clear from His response that Jesus wants to relate to us as His family. He calls us His brothers and sisters and wants us to belong to His spiritual family. For us to become His family is simple in theory: we need to hear the Word of God and put it into practice in our everyday lives.

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus’ focus was on the Word of God and the will of God. He heard that Word so fully that it shaped everything He said and did. John’s Gospel even calls Jesus the Word made flesh. (John 1:14)

As Christians, we are called to hear the Word of God and to act on it in everything that we say and do. Like the seed that fell on rich soil, we must take the Word to our deepest selves and yield an abundant harvest. (Matthew 13:18) If we listen to the God’s Word and let it shape us and our lives, then we are brothers and sisters to Jesus our LORD. +

Homily for September 23, 2019

The lamp about which Jesus speaks in our Gospel passage today was an oil lamp with a wick that could be lit. These lamps were an everyday household item in the time of Jesus and, really, for thousands of years. They were so common that, even today, it is not unusual to find one in the Mediterranean area completely intact. These lamps would light up an entire house at night. So, as Jesus said, no one would light such a lamp and then hide it under a bowl or a bed; that would make no sense.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses that light of the lamp as a metaphor for our faith. If the “light” of faith has been ignited in our hearts, minds, and souls, it is not meant to be covered or hidden. Rather, it should be shared, that it may cast light on others, so that they, too, may know and have faith in God.

The light of our faith needs to shine in our lives. It should be seen in how we live: in what we do and how we do it. To make that light of faith shine brightly, we must kindle it by listening to God’s Word. Jesus says, “Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given.” After listening to His Word, we must let that light of faith shine forth through our own words and through our way of life. +

Homily for September 22, 2019

Imagine spending hours and hours creating a beautiful work of art — and then, as a prayer, destroying it. That’s actually a ritual performed in many Tibetan monasteries to introduce students to the principles of Buddhism. Over a nine-day period, with prayers and chanting, the monks create an elaborate and beautiful sand “painting” called a mandala.

The painting, seven feet in diameter, is made of colored sand, chalk, saffron spice and wheat. The finished mandala includes representations from all the sacred principles of Buddhism.

The monks pray that the gods and saints descend from their sacred dwelling places and temporarily “live” in the mandala. When the mandala is completed, the students are then invited to come and study, with the monks, the meanings of the various symbols and signs and, through the mandala, be reborn in faith.

In the final part of the ritual, the monks thank the deities for their presence and request that they “leave” the mandala. Then the sands of the mandala are ritually defaced, swept up, and placed in urns. The monks solemnly take the urns to a nearby lake or river and prayerfully pour the sands into the waters. Like the passing of all things, the mandala is washed away, but existing forever in the memories of those who created it and in those who discovered God in it.

It is a part of human nature that we move about our lives believing that we are building a life and a world that will last forever. But everything that we have or create, or use are like the sands of the monks’ paintings: someday, sooner rather than later, it will all be washed away 

Today’s Gospel reading calls us to let go of the things that fill our lives and, instead, to seek to possess the lasting treasures of God: love of family and friends, the sense of meaning that comes from living the principles of justice and mercy, the joy of helping others realize their dreams and hopes for themselves and their families.

The loving relationships that we develop in this life are relationships that gain for us treasure in heaven. No act of terrorism, injustice, violence, or indifference can take away the love that we share with one another. These things may change the way that we are able to express that love — we will not see our loved ones when they die, we will not relate to them in the ways to which we have grown accustomed — but nothing can take that love away and nothing can keep that love from being fulfilled in the kingdom of God. All love comes from God and it is, indeed, the greatest treasure we have in this life and the only treasure that we will bring from this life into the next.

As we pray about our Gospel reading this week, may we recognize those areas of our lives that keep us from the love of God and the love one another; may we have the courage and the wisdom, to change our lives in ways that will bring us closer to the love of God and thus, closer to our salvation. +

Homily for September 21, 2019

Our story in today’s Gospel passage is one that we know well. Matthew, whose feast day we celebrate today, is a tax collector and, presumably, a sinful man, and followed Jesus and ate with Him, as did other sinners. The Pharisees objected to this because it violated their laws regarding ritual purity.

In Jesus’ response to the objections of the Pharisees, He echoed Hosea when He said, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” Jesus was referring the acts of Temple sacrifice. If mercy is above these sacrifices, then how much more is it above the rules of ritual purity?

The Pharisees knew Scripture well; they knew the law well, and they saw adherence to these strict laws in every aspect of life as doing the will of God. Yet, Jesus put mercy and love above these laws and traditions.

St. Paul affirmed this in his first letter to the people of Corinth when he said, “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-4a)

Mercy springs forth from love and not righteousness. Mercy is the voice of God’s love for us and His desire that we have life, and have it to the fullest, on earth and in the kingdom to come. Exclusion and criticism of sinners – of those whom Jesus came to save – is not a part of a merciful response.

In late June of 2018, Pope Francis addressed the fourteen people whom he had elevated to the rank of cardinal with these words: “None of us must feel superior to anyone. None of us should look down at others from above. The only time we can look at a person in this way is when we are helping them to stand up.”

As we seek to answer the call to spread the Good News, let us pray that the mercy and love of God may be the source of all our actions, words, and attitudes, toward and on behalf of the people we are called to serve. +

 

Homily for September 20, 2019

Throughout His ministry, Jesus made it clear that He came not to be served but to serve. Although Jesus lived on this earth both as God and as human, at times He still needed the help of others in order to fulfill His mission. Today’s Gospel calls us to focus on some of the ways in which He was helped by a number of women who were His followers and supported His mission. Luke says that as Jesus made is way preaching throughout many towns and villages, a number of women provided for Him out of their own resources. Their service to Him enabled Him to serve others.

It stands to reason that if Jesus needed the help of others to complete His mission, then we are also in need of such help. By virtue of our Baptism, we are called to serve others, and we are also to accept the service of others, because we really do need their help; we cannot answer God’s call to us simply on our own resources.

Serving others calls for a spirit of generosity and for a spirit of humility, wanting to do for others recognizing our need for interdependence with others. Saint Paul taught us that within the Church, the Body of Christ on earth, we are all interdependent. The Spirit is at work in all our lives in many different ways. We need others and others need us. We all have something worthwhile to give and something worthwhile to receive. Let us recognize our need for, and be grateful for, those who journey with us and who help us through life. +

Homily for September 19, 2019

Most people would never even consider showing up at a meal unless they were invited. Yet, the woman in today’s Gospel passage does just that. It is important to note that she did so, not out of selfishness, but because she so anxiously wanted to be near Jesus and to show Him a service of hospitality and love. This uninvited guest showed Jesus the hospitality that His host should have shown Him, but he failed to do so. The woman honored Jesus in an overstated way in return for what she had already received from Him. She had felt God’s forgiving love through Jesus, and such was her gratitude for this gift that she wanted to offer love in return.

The woman should be an example to all who wish to be true followers of Jesus. Like her, all of us have received abundant gifts and, as John’s Gospel tells us, “from His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace.” [1] And like her, if we have a sense that we have been greatly gifted with grace, it will, hopefully, prompt us to do something great in return. 

The woman in the house of the Pharisee shows us how to receive from the LORD and how to love Him in return, not only in our prayers of praise, but also in the ways that we serve Him in our service to the least fortunate among us.

 

[1] John 1:16

Homily for September 18, 2019

There were some very good and conscientious people in the time of Jesus who criticized John the Baptist. Some found his ascetic lifestyle to be crazy. Many of these same people also whined about Jesus and how he associated with sinners and pagans. The habit of filtering reality through our own prejudices can lead us to reject things that are genuinely of God. This really isn’t faith nor is it healthy logic; it is seeking to fit God neatly into our own self-conceived and prearranged perception of reality.

What we really need to do is to become pliable in the ways of faith and let ourselves be shaped by the will of God, rather than seeking it to be the other way around. In the words of Isaiah the Prophet:

Yet, LORD, you are our father;

we are the clay and you our potter:

we are all the work of your hand.[1]

 

[1] Isaiah 64:7

Homily for September 17, 2019

In the ancient world – and even in some parts of the world today - widows were the most financially and socially vulnerable group, where women had little personal means of self-support. When their spouses died, they were dependent on their children, particularly their sons, to provide for them. So, a widow who lost her only son through death was the most vulnerable of all. It was just such a woman who met Jesus in today’s gospel passage.

The passage tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion by this woman’s dilemma. His compassion toward the woman was followed by action on His part as He restored her son to life and gave him back to his mother. It is remarkable that the widow in this story did not take any initiative towards Jesus; she did not cry out to Him for help. Without waiting to be asked, Jesus simply responded with compassion to a situation of human grief and loss.

The same Risen LORD reaches out to us today in our experiences of grief and loss, without waiting to be asked. When we are at our lowest and most vulnerable, His compassion, often experienced through others acting as His ambassadors, is our support. We do not need to carry our grief on our own; Jesus carries it with us. Literally, He suffers with us; “to suffer with” is the literal meaning of compassion. The LORD who shows us compassionate love wants us to be ambassadors of His compassion to others in their time of need, to carry each other’s burdens just as He carries ours. +

Homily for September 16, 2019

The words we hear from the mouth of the Roman Centurion in today’s Gospel passage are echoed in the Communion Rite of the Mass when we say, “LORD, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…” When the Centurion spoke to Jesus, he spoke as a pagan who was concerned for Jesus; he did not want Jesus who, of course, was Jewish, to be in violation of the Jewish Law by entering the house of a pagan. The Centurion also showed great faith in the life-giving power of Jesus’ word. Jesus acknowledged his remarkable faith and declared it to be greater than any faith He had found in Israel.

Today’s Gospel passage teaches us that the least likely person can come to possess faith in Jesus and in His power to heal and to save. Part of this lesson is that we should be very slow to judge who is and who is not a person of faith. God knows what is in the heart of every person. The words of this Centurion inspire us every time we receive the Eucharist. May we strive to always grow in our faith and to inspire others by it. +

 

 

 

Homily for September 15, 2019

Have you ever been in a group listening to a joke, and, when the person gives the punch line, everyone laughs or grins; but you didn't get it? You smile awkwardly as you try to figure out why everyone is laughing. Somewhere, somehow, you didn't grasp some detail that was central to the twist that made the story funny. You quickly go over it again in your mind to see what little thing you must have missed.

It's almost like an ice cream company years ago whose slogan was, "It's the subtle little difference that makes all the difference." They claimed that there was some secret in their ice cream formula that, no matter how apparently similar it was to other ice creams, there was the slightest difference that made ALL the difference in the flavor of their ice cream.

And, that is precisely what Jesus' parables are. They are intended to inspire the listener in a new way. But each has a very subtle twist, which requires attention to details, or you won't 'get' Jesus' teaching or challenge.

So it is today. We have heard these parables of forgiveness so many times that we may have missed Jesus' real point. But we might ask: Is it even proper to call them parables of “forgiveness”?   We hear it said: "Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.' So, to them he addressed this parable."

Those to whom Jesus addressed the parables were the complainers, the leaders and people who didn't want sinners to have a place in Jesus' life and ministry. The parable is NOT a word to sinners about God's mercy; it is a parable of challenge and judgment to anyone who lacks mercy. The images of a shepherd seeking his one lost sheep, the woman searching for her one lost coin, the father welcoming back the promiscuous son, are all meant to challenge these religious leaders out of their righteousness, their unwillingness to accept a God whose mercy and hospitality extends to all peoples in all times.

From the earliest experience of Israel in the desert in our first reading, through the amazing mercy that Paul acknowledges in the second reading, God has always been, first and foremost, God of mercy, God of patience, God, who seeks out the lost. How then, Jesus demands of the leaders of his time, do you dare to create a god of your rules, your narrowness, your elitism, and ignore the true God?

For us, then, today becomes a Sunday of self-reflection. If we have been or are now in sin, God's mercy is seeking us, searching for our deepest souls, with a love beyond imagining, ready to receive and welcome us no less than Jesus welcomed sinners in his time.

If, however, we are leading lights of the Church, of the parish, of the diocese, the examination must be about our hospitality or lack thereof to those “outside” our system. No matter how wise and true and accurate our teaching, our moral laws, our Church norms, we must be people of mercy and welcome as we answer the call to lead others to the life and light of Christ. +