September 20, 2011, Homily, Saturday, September 24, 2011

Luke 9:43b-45.

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

The Gospel of the Lord.

How lonely he sounds.

"[I]ts meaning was hidden" but revealed in Friday's gospel: the Son of Man must suffer greatly, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead.

At Fort Dix in a chapel reading of the Passion, a 2nd grader calls out, "Where were the marines?"

St. John Chrysostom comments: "Let no one be scandalized by

this imperfection in the Apostles; for the Cross had not yet been reached nor

the grace of the Spirit given" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 65).

To lie is to look away from the truth, because I'm afraid of it. Lies are evasions for the sake of comfort. Lies are afraid of nothing so much as the truth, because it has power to destroy them.

September 20, 2011, Homily, Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Luke 8:19-21

The Mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and wish to see you."

He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Take that.

A parable of Jesus is a container made of words. We pour into it what we know from our life experiences and we pour our of it what we need. So here, we have our own experience of our mother and our brothers and our sisters and of those times when they have disturbed us at our work and our reactions to that. But this is Jesus and the mother of Jesus and the reaction of Jesus to His mother, and we know that the mother of Jesus is the perfect vessel of the will of God, for when God through the archangel Gabriel asked for her obedience she said "Yes". And we know that Jesus loved His mother and that His mother's life was to do the will of God. We saw that at the wedding feast of Cana, when she asked the help of Jesus, and Jesus said, "Woman, my time has not yet come" and Mary said to the servants, "Do whatever he asks." And Jesus asked the servant to fill the water vessels and then performed the miracle of water into wine. And so here, Jesus answers the messenger by elevating the disciples of Jesus, us, to the status of brother of Jesus, sister of Jesus, and even mother of Jesus.

Posted by Daniel Murphy at 4:24 AM 0 comments

Sept. 6, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Luke 7: 11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst,"and "God has visited his people." This report about him spread throughout the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Introduction

1. Widows are a helpless group in any society regardless of their age, time and culture. They could easily become destitute in the society unable to earn a living.

2. They are vulnerable and that makes them an easy target for sexual predators, robbers and other unwelcomed people.

3. This was the situation of the widow from Nain. Her only son was her protector, supporter and hope.

4. Now that he is gone, her future was full of uncertainty – At least she thought so.

5. Then she meets our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

6. Let’s see how she was helped out of her situation by Jesus.

Read: Luke 7:11-17

A. Jesus was compassionate about her

Compassion: “Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it” (www.thefreedictionary.com)

1. Jesus’ heart broke the moment he saw the weeping widow. He didn’t wanted to put up a show with his power but to help her.

2. There are approximately 22 major religions. Approximately 42 major deities. My Sri Lankan non-Christian friends believe in a host of 33,000,000 (thirty three million) deities.

3. These deities possess power but not compassion. They wont help unless you please them with a good offering first.

4. What shall we do then? Come to Jesus in faith.

B. Jesus put himself in the widow’s shoes

1. Scholars believe that Mary – Jesus’ guardian mother was a widow too.

2. It’s possible that Joseph died long before Jesus launched his public ministry,

3. Therefore Jesus was used to support her.

4. Jesus had been there – done that!

5. Jesus is God who came down to our level. Thus he knows our sufferings.

C. Our faith turns His compassion into action

1. Jesus said to the widow and the mourners “don’t cry”. He wasn’t soothing nor ridiculing her either. He was asking her to believe in God’s power.

2. The tradition: In those days professional mourners were hired to be mourn the death of a person. Secondly Jesus was supposed to not to touch the coffin. The tradition neither permitted stopping the funeral procession. Jesus and his disciples were supposed to turn back and follow the crowd to the grave yard.

3. These traditions could have hindered God’s move if the crowd protested Jesus’ actions.

4. Don’t frame Jesus in your own culture and tradition. (Most Sri Lankans continue with their problems because for them believing in Jesus is betrayal against the culture and generational beliefs). When you come to Jesus, believe that nothing is beyond his control. Remember he was the only person among those people who could tell others not to cry.

5. This same Jesus who said, “Don’t cry”, has the power to bring His answer in His time.

D. Jesus’ word is more powerful than any other situation

1. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise. (The Greek word for “arise” is “egeir?” meaning to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life)

2. The dead man sat up and began to speak upon Jesus’ command.

3. This message itself I am preaching today is powerful enough to change situations if you believe.

E. Conclusion

1. It’s a one thing to heal the sick but another thing to raise the dead.

2. The crowd was filled with awe and praised God upon seeing this great miracle.

3. They said that a great prophet has appeared among them and God has visited his people.

4. The 2 great mistakes: A great prophet not the great prophet (Messiah, Saviour). They thought God has come to help them. But they didn’t recognize that Jesus is God himself.

5. It’s true Jesus can help you regardless of how serious is your situation. But that’s not the only thing he wants you to receive. He wants you to receive him!

6. Would you like to surrender your life to Jesus the God of compassion, love and power?

September 6, 2011, Homily, Saturday, September 10, 2011

Luke 6:43-49:

Jesus said to his disciples: "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundations on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like one who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

This is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. And in the Gospel we hear the words of Jesus: "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit." Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. We have on December 8th the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Church dogma that conception of the Virgin Mary was without any stain ("macula" in Latin is "stain") of sin, solemnly defined as dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854 (Our Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Hope, was built on the 100th anniversary of that declaration by the Pope and declared ex cathedra, under the Pope's doctrine of infallibility in 1950, the only exercise of the infallibility power.

Jesus was a carpenter, a builder, so that we should pay especial attention to the images Jesus uses from construction of edifices. Sirach says that we know a person, judge his character, by what he reveals about himself through his speech, but Jesus says that the better criterion is that we know a person, judge her character, by what she reveals about herself through her acts, her deeds. The lazy way to judge is through one's words, but the thorough way to judge is through a careful examination of one's deeds. If we lay a firm foundation upon rock, our judgment will be proof against the storm surges of life. And our Christian life based on baptism, the teachings of the Church given to us by our parents and then CCD, and then confirmation, and a life of grace.

August 30, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

Luke 6: 12-19.

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve whom he also named Apostles: Simon whom he named Peter and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew [Nathaniel], Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be cured of their diseases, and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

The Gospel of the Lord.

"Jesus departed to the mountain to pray." A mountain is good place to pray. We live here in a place named for a mountain, "Calvary", the mountain on which Jesus dies, in order for Him to conquer death and rise again. This "Calvary" is a good place to pray.

An "apostle" is one sent forth on a mission, one sent forth to preach the Gospel.

At the end of Mass, the priest or deacon says, "The mass is ended. Go in peace." Originally, the dismissal was in Latin, "Ite, Missa est." which means "Ite" or "Go", "missa est" means "the message has been completed" or "Go and preach the completed message which you have heard."

August 30, 2011. Homily, Tuesday, September 2, 2011.

AUgust 30, 2011. Homily, Saturday, September 2, 2011.

Luke 6: 1-5

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."

The Gospel of the Lord.

His disciples were picking the heads of grain [reaping/harvesting], rubbing them in their hands [threshing; removing the chaff from the grain {winnowing}], and eating them [preparing food]. reaping [harvesting], gleaning [to collect the leavings from a field], winnowing [to blow away the chaff], threshing [rubbing the grain in one's hands, to crush the wheat head thus separating the grain from the chaff/husks]

Under the Old Testament, one could go through one's neighbor's fields and take grain by hand but could not use a sickle, but this was the sabbath where no work was permitted.

The Pharisees were spying on Jesus and the disciples and made this charge. Jesus did not deny it; instead he defended it; in the end by saying that He, Son of Man, was Lord of the sabbath. And 1 Samuel 21, David received showbread from the high priest of the Temple, Ahimelech the priest of Nob.

Jesus also restored to the people the true meaning of the Sabbath. Look at verse 27. “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” In the clutter of detailed rules derived by the Pharisees, the original purpose and meaning of the Sabbath had been lost. With this one word, Jesus restored to them God’s purpose for the Sabbath (Gen 2:3; Ex 20:8-11). God did not give the Sabbath to burden man. God gave the Sabbath to bless man. The Sabbath is a gift from God, a day of rest to restore his body, mind and spirit after a week of hard work. It was not given to oppress man, but to edify and heal and encourage man. The Sabbath was made for man.