February 15, 2010. Homily, Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mark 8, 14-21

The Disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus explained to them, "Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod." They concluded amongst themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, "Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?" They answered him, "Twelve." "When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?" They answered him, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mardi Gra [Fat Tuesday].

Our God is a jealous god.

"Do you still not understand?" What does that mean? The homilies on this Gospel do not explain. Perhaps we can explain for ourselves.

Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, Beware of the leaven of Herod. Jesus is saying, Beware of dependency upon others than the Lord. Do you have eyes to see and not see, ears to hear and not hear? You have been traveling with Jesus and seen His acts, how He cares for His disciples and even for all who follow Him. Having seen His acts, believe in Him.

The "Twelve" is when Jesus fed the 5,000, the Israelites. The "Seven" is when Jesus fed the 4000, the Gentiles. Our help is in the hand of the Lord. Jesus is telling the disciples to depend on Him, who feeds both the Jews and the Gentiles, who in fact feeds the whole world who believes in Him.

Do you allow anxiety or fear to keep you from trusting in God's provision for your life? How easy it is to forget what God has already done for us and to doubt what he promises to do as well. Jesus warned his disciples to avoid the way of the Pharisees and of Herod who sought their own counsels rather than the will of God. As the apostles continued to worry about their lack of bread, Jesus reminded them of his miraculous provision of bread in the feeding of the four thousand. He then upbraided them for their lack of trust in God. Do you not yet understand? It's easy to get preoccupied with the problems and needs of the present moment and to forget the most important reality of all -- God's abiding presence with us and his abundant provision for our lives as well. Do you pray with joyful confidence, Father, give us this day our daily bread?

February 10, 2010. Homily, Saturday, February 13, 2010

13 February Mk 8:1-10

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

All four gospels include the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. Mark's Gospel has two versions of which this is the second. The first is at Mk. 6:34-44. John's gospel, fourth and last chronologically, includes it as one of the seven miracles in his Book of Signs (water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana, the curing at a distance of the son of the royal official, the curing on the sabbath of the man ill for 38 years at the pool at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, the feeding of the multitude with five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus walks on the sea, the curing of the man blind from birth, the raising of Lazarus from the dead). John's gospel does not include the breaking of the bread and the consecration of the wine at the Last Supper but does have Jesus give thanks for the bread before he feeds the multitude. Matthew 14:19 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Mark 6:17 two hundred denarii [a denarius was a day's wages]. Luke 10:12-17. John has the barley loaves. All agree to the deserted place, to the teaching of Jesus before the miracle, to the 5,000 men, to the 12 baskets of fragments, the synoptic gospels that he looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to distribute. And the synoptic gospels each have Jesus consecrating and distributing the bread and wine at the Last Supper.

February 8, 2010, Homily, February 9, 2010.

Mark 7: 1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God's commandments but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "how well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, 'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is gorban [meaning, dedicated to God]," you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The Pharisees and the scribes are seeking to denigrate or criticize Jesus by criticizing His disciples. The details of the criticism are valid: One should clean one's hands before dining. But the overall intent of the criticism by the Pharisees is not valid, for in focusing on the acts of the disciples of Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes seek to ignore the words of Jesus. We do the same thing in critiquing the story of the creation of the world in Genesis. The point of Genesis is not the details of the seven days; the point of Genesis is that God created the universe and everything in it. The rest of Genesis is poetry. So, here the point of this Gospel is that our worship is in vain if our hearts are far from God. We must not merely honor God with our lips. We must place our hearts close to God. The disciples of Jesus are close to God. The Pharisees and scribes should recognize that the disciples of Jesus are close to God, as does Solomon in his prayer in the first reading, "Lord, there is no God like you. You keep your covenant of mercy with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart." That faithfulness is shown in giving God our heart. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

February 1, 2010. Homily, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

Luke 2:22-40.

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 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, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

[Nunc dimmitimus]

"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."

The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted - and you yourself a sword will pierce - so that the thoughts of m any hearts will be revealed." There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after he marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Israel.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

According to the Mosaic law [Lv. 12, 2-8], the woman who gives birth to a boy is unable for forty days to touch anything sacred or to enter the temple by reason of her legal impurity. At the end of this period she is required to offer a year old lamb as a burnt offering and a turtledove or young pigeon as an expiation of sin. The woman who could not afford a lamb offered instead two turtledoves or two young pigeons as Mary does here.

"awaiting the consolation of Israel": Simeon here and later Anna speak about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem represent the hopes and expectations of faithful and devout Jews who at this time were looking forward to the restoration of God's rule in Israel. The birth of Jesus brings these hopes to fulfillment.

"and you yourself a sword will pierce": Mary herself will not be untouched by the reactions to the role of Jesus. Her blessedness as mother of the Lord will be challenged by her son who describes true blessedness as "hearing the word of God and observing it." [Lk. 11, 27-28 and 8, 20-21].

It took an old man, Simeon, and an old woman, Anna, to discern the new thing that was happening. They are examples of the clarity that can be found in old people. Every night of life, the Church's Night Prayer repeats Simeon's canticle. "Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace. Mine eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." It is deeply meaningful. Every day is like a short lifetime, and nightfall reminds us of approaching death. The end is therefore not to be dreaded as something we have always excluded from our consciousness. but welcomed as a fulfillment - much as the body welcomes the prospect of rest and sleep.

Now we have Simeon as an old man and Jesus as a babe and both contemplating life:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

And if I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

January 20, 2010; Homily, January 23, 2010.

Mark 3:20-21.

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again, the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

The Gospel of the Lord.

They said Jesus was "out of his mind". In effect they called Jesus "crazy". Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me. Think for yourself. If you are right, have the courage of your conviction, and stick with it, no matter what you are called. Yes, we may be persuaded by logic, but never by mere name-calling.

The point of Mark's Gospel is set forth in its first words, "The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." The point of Mark's Gospel is that Jesus was the Son of God. Mark proves that point by what Jesus did, his miracles ending in his Passion, death and resurrection and by what He said.

God does not see as man sees, for man judges by appearances but God looks within.

"He is out of his mind." The word "He" is a pronoun which in Greek can mean either "he", "she" or "it" depending on context. The Gospel translators said the Greek pronoun meant "he" but in fact it makes more sense to translate the pronoun as meaning "it", in that "It [the crowd, not 'He" Jesus] is out of its [not his] mind."

I knew a man who had spent some time in a psychiatric hospital. On his discharge he went drinking with a few of his old friends. When a argument arose among them, one of them dismissed some opinion of his by saying he was only a madman anyway. “On the contrary,” he replied, “I’m the only man here who can prove that he’s sane!” “Prove it then!” they challenged. He invited bets, and when he had secured bets of several pints of Guinness he put his hand in his pocket and drew out the certificate of discharge from the psychiatric hospital. It stated there in black and white that he was sane! Who is sane and who is mad? Today’s reading is ambiguous, though the translations all say that it was Jesus who was mad. But a scholar noted that the Greek could also be translated, “they (the family) set about controlling it (the crowd) because it was beside itself.” (In Greek the word for ‘he’ and the word ‘it’ are the same in this case.) Was Jesus mad, or was the crowd mad? But what’s the difference? The contrast between them is the same whether Jesus is described as mad and the crowd as sane, or Jesus is described as sane and the crowd as mad. But look at who’s calling Jesus mad. The crowd – the same people who once said to him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a devil?” (John 8:48). So you have a choice: do you want to identify with the crowd calling Jesus mad, or with Jesus calling the crowd mad? Who do you believe in your heart of hearts? What is madness but a definition by some group who are probably madder themselves? In the 4th century, Abba Antony, the founder of monasticism, said: “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, ‘You are mad, you are not like us.’”

January 18, 2010; Homily January 19, 2010.

Mark 3:23-28.

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" He said to them,, "Have you not read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priest could lawfully eat and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
The Gospel of the Lord.

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.

Abiathar: Ahimelech

when David ate the show bread and shared it with his men.

reaping: plucking or picking the heads of grain, harvesting
gleaning: act of collecting left over crops from harvested fields
threshing: loosening the edible grain from chaff
winnowing: separating the grain from loosened chaff

primogeniture.

January 11, 2010. Homily, January 12, 2010.

Mark 1:21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

center - the Holy One of God

1 cried out with a loud cry

2 astonished amazed

3 taught as one having authority teaching with authority

4 entered the synagogue and taught fame spread throughout

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.