February 27, 2013. Homily Mt. 20:[17-]20-28

Matthew 20:[17-]20-28
[As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."]

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.  He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in  your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking.  Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied,  "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give, but for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among  you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a a ransom for many."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The mother of the sons of Zebedee, the "sons" being james and John, asked Jesus for a special favor for her sons, but at the time of the Transfiguration, Jeus took James and John, with Peter, up on the mountain.

James was the first of the apostles to be martyred. Acts 12:2.  He [King Herod] had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. But John lived on as the guardian of Mary and as the evangelist who wrote the final gospel. John 21:20-23. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"  So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to  him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"


Mark 3:17.  James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder). Mark 10:35. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, [made the request of Jesus].  James and John were Sons of Thunder because they were outspoken zealots.  And from that, and from this story, we get the flavor  of the zealotry of their mother.


Letter of James:


James 1:17  Every generous act of giving is from above, coming down from the  Father of lights.
James 1:20    let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
James 1:22    be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
James 1:27  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 2:8  You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
James 2:14  What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you says you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  /15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, /16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? /17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
/18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

Tuesday, February 26, 2010

Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

This year marks the 155th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother to St. Bernadette in Lourdes. On this day in 1858 the Blessed other is believed to have made her 10th appearance.

Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday.  Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of the holy mountain.

        While Jesus was praying, his face changed in 
        appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

The Transfiguration was not an isolated event in the life of Jesus but an event connected with his whole life.

There was an echo of his baptism: "This is my chosen Son."

There is a foreshadowing of the future (his death) because Moses and Elijah talk with Jesus about "His passage" [Jesus's passage], the greatest journey of all, from this life through death to the next life.

There is also a glimpse of Jesus' resurrection - Jesus appears with his face transfigured, his garments dazzling white in his risen form.

The Transfiguration if a moment when Jesus rises above the present moment and experiences all of who he is and where he has come from and where he is going.

Through prayer we can spend some quiet time with the Lord.




phylacteries: Scripture prayers [dedicate your first son to God; the Shema - Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind and strength; the 1st Commandment - I am the Lord your God, you shall not have false gods before you] written on parchment and worn on one's forehead and around one's left arm.

tassels: fringe on the ends of a prayer shawl [originally used to hang up a cloak by tying it to a hook]

reb: the Hebrew word for "great". "Rabbi" means "great one".

Homily, Saturday, February 23, 2013

Matthew 5: 43-48.
Jesus said to His disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
The Gospel of the Lord.

How hard this Gospel is. But then do we not want God to be perfect, and do we not want His standard to be one we may strive for.  Remember Sister Mary Ann?  She used to be the chaplain of the sixth floor. One day I was visiting the patients on the sixth floor. I went into one patient in the back right of the north wing. The patient ended up yelling at me and kicking me out of his room.  I footnote here that that is very unusual in my time here at Calvary and in fact this is the only time that happened to me.  Nevertheless, I retreated out to the hall. And Sister Mary Ann was waiting there. "That was hard, wasn't it?", she said. Then she added, "This is God's work. And that is a good thing, for it is God who is doing it." I interpret that to mean, that it is God doing our work here at the hospital through us.

Have you ever been to a resort and noticed that everyone you pass seems to be smiling and that each one takes a moment to give you a quick wave or a hello?  Doesn't that make you feel great?  Isn't that an up? So Jesus says, "Do you greet your brothers only" or "If you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?"  But when we greet all, as Nurse Vivian on the third floor reminds me to do, we greet all, brothers and non-brothers. But when we greet all, then all become our brothers.  

When I started as a lawyer at a big firm, the firm had different departments representing different fields of law, and I was placed in the Litigation Department, because, they explained, it better fit my personality. I thought, "Great. I would be able to tell my opponents what-for." But I started by being nice, and I found that I did so well being nice that I never gave my opponent what-for. But what about when the case was over?  Well, when I won, I did not have to be mean because I had won.  And when I lost, I could not be mean, because I had lost. An abiding truth about the Gospels of Jesus, is that when we try to follow them, they work.

Saint Polycarp, martyr, who knew that he would be thrown to the lions who would crush my bones until they became fine flour; a martyr's body and blood are the food of the Church.