Homily Notes: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Does Jesus want us to be unhappy? Does He want us to be poor or hungry? Is it His desire for us to be hated?

Is that the meaning of the Beatitudes?

We just heard St. Luke's account of the Beatitudes which are slightly different from the version found in the Gospel of Matthew. The catechism says that they are "at the heart of Jesus' preaching" (1716), so it makes sense that He would have given this sermon more than once. In Matthew, it's the Sermon on the Mount. Luke's version has been called the "sermon on the plain."

But what do these statements mean? They seem paradoxical and sort of inhuman. We instinctively know that it's a bad thing to poor or hungry or sad. We rebel against those things and often do whatever we can to avoid them.

Jesus invites us to see things differently - and I would say that the key to understanding these "blessings and woes" is asking ourselves, "where do I put my trust?"

Think back to our first reading from the prophet Jeremiah:

Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,

                        who seeks his strength in flesh,

                        whose heart turns away from the LORD.

            He is like a barren bush in the desert

                        that enjoys no change of season,

            but stands in a lava waste,

                        a salt and empty earth.

            Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,

                        whose hope is the LORD.

            He is like a tree planted beside the waters

                        that stretches out its roots to the stream:

            it fears not the heat when it comes;

                        its leaves stay green;

            in the year of drought it shows no distress,

                        but still bears fruit.

Being cursed comes from relying on ourselves, on human strength. Being blessed comes from trusting in the Lord. In Jeremiah's illustration, both trees experience heat and drought, but the one who trusts in God is planted beside a stream. Even in the midst of trial and suffering, he has what he needs because he receives everything from God.

When Jesus says "blessed are you ..." poor or hungry, weeping or hated, He's not wishing for His followers to suffer - He's describing the simple fact that, in this world, we will suffer. When that happens, it doesn't mean that God has abandoned us or is out to get us.

On the contrary, our sufferings are an opportunity to learn to trust the Lord. All the ways that the world disappoints us are signs pointing toward our true purpose and our ultimate end.

The world will not, in the end, make us happy. It will not satisfy us. As St. Augustine said, "God alone satisfies." In these Beatitudes, Jesus points forward to eternal life when we will be fulfilled, happy, and truly alive.

St. Luke's gospel, the Beatitudes are followed by a list of "woes," statements that present the opposite outlook: "woe to you who are rich ... who are filled now ... who laugh now ... when all speak well of you ..."

Again, Jesus is telling us that, if we think we have found everything we need in this world, we are going to be sorely disappointed. Our possessions won't make us ultimately happy. We will always need more. The temporary happiness or admiration we experience now is going to pass. Then what will we have? What will satisfy us?

God alone satisfies.

Does this feel like bad news? It certainly can, but it's necessary for us to hear.

Think about going on a vacation. Before we go, we have so many expectations. It's going to feel good to get away from our normal life. We get to step away from stress and responsibilities. We're probably looking forward to doing interesting things - or doing nothing at all. Personally, I just want to read on a beach.

There's nothing wrong with any of that, but, the vacation is going to end. Our responsibilities will be waiting when we come back. Even our experience of relaxation or travel are going to fall short of the ideals in our minds.

To quote St. Therese of Lisieux: "The world is thy ship, not thy home."

We are on our way to a destination. We long for happiness and fulfillment, because it is truly out there.

What we need to remember is where we can actually find it.

Homily Notes: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

40 days ago, we celebrated Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

40 days after His birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the law of the Jewish people - that after giving birth, a new mother would be ritually purified by offering a sacrifice to the Lord; the law also required a sacrifice for every firstborn son, a reminder of the way God freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are the first people we encounter in this gospel reading and we learn some important things about them almost immediately.

First, they are obedient to the law of God. That's significant.

They are not an ordinary family - their child is the Son of God; but they still follow the commands that God gave them. That is aligned with everything we know about Joseph and Mary. They desired to do God's will in everything, whether they understood it or not.

Second, the reading mentions the sacrifice they would have made: "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons ..."

Technically, the sacrifice that is called for is a lamb, but the turtledoves or pigeons are a substitute for those who are poor.

Jesus did not live a life of luxury or privilege when he came into our world. He embraced humility and poverty, showing us that having a lot of stuff or being wealthy is not the path to fulfillment or happiness.

This poor family came because God called them. Just like He entrusted Mary and Joseph with His Son through the message of the angel. Above all, they trust in God and want to do what He asks of them. They know that God will give them what they need.

Next, we meet a man named Simeon - whose name means "He [God] has heard."

Simeon was a man who had listened and was listening to the voice of God. The reading tells that God had revealed to him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah, and now that time has come.

Simeon recognizes the Messiah in this poor family from Nazareth. This baby - who looks like every other baby - is the Christ and Simeon rejoices. His prayer is actually something that priests and religious and many other Catholics pray every night for night prayer:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go 

        in peace, according to your word,

    for my eyes have seen your salvation,

        which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

    a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

        and glory for your people Israel.”

Finally, the Holy Family runs into Anna who is described as prophetess and a widow. She spent all her time around the Temple praying and fasting and waiting on the Lord. We certainly still have many great people like that today - older people who seem to always be praying.

She spreads the word about Jesus "to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem."

All of these people - Joseph, Mary, Simeon, and Anna - exemplify for us an attitude of attention to God.

They are waiting for God to move, to act. And they don't wait in a spirit of impatience or frustration but in one of trust. They know that God is faithful and will fulfill His promises. Even if they don't know when that will happen, they don't doubt that God will do it.

This feast of the Presentation encourages us to be people who listen to God and who trust in Him.

What are we listening for? Is there something that we are waiting for God to do?

Jesus has appeared as a light for the world. A light that has come to show us the way to the Father and a light that is for every singe human being.

The answer to every human question and suffering and cry for help has come to us - and not everyone knows. Sometimes we ourselves don't see that.

Simeon and Anna recognized it. We can live like them - in trust, hope, and expectation. We can announce to the world that God is real and He has come to save us.

Remember blogs?

 I certainly miss them.

Then I accidentally learned that Blogger still exists.

So, this might be a place where I post some homilies and other random ideas.