Sunday Homilies Year B series III by Sombat Ngamvong

Sunday Homilies Series III YEAR B

Mark Link, S.J.

Allen, Texas

IMPRIMI POTEST: Richard J. Baumann, S.J. August 1, 2002 NIHIL OBSTAT: Rev. Msgr. Glenn D. Gardner, J.C.D. Censor Deputatus IMPRIMATUR: † Most Reverend Charles V. Grahmann Bishop of Dallas July 15, 2002 The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that the work contains nothing contrary to Faith and Morals. It is not implied thereby that those granting the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from or based on the Good News Bible, the Bible in Today’s English Version. Copyright © American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2002 Mark Link, S.J. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information or retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher. Send all inquiries to: RCL Benziger 200 East Bethany Drive Allen, Texas 75002 To order: Toll free: 877-275-4725 Fax: 800-688-8356 972-390-6620 (International) Customer Service e-mail: cservice@RCLBenziger.com Web site: www.RCLBenziger.com

25612 ISBN 978-0-7829-0987-6 (Sunday Homilies, Series III, Year B) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 • 14 13 12 11 10 09

About the Homilies Don’t believe anything you can’t put in colored pictures.

G.K. Chesterton

Mark Link takes this great Catholic theologian and humorist seriously. He makes the “picture,” or story, the heart of his homiletic approach. Instead of suggesting what might be done with the daily Scripture readings, he shows you what he did with them. Mark Link’s homilies sow the seeds from which your own creative thoughts will develop and grow. Sunday Homilies, Series III, Year B, is part of a three-volume, three-year series that covers the A, B, and C Lectionary cycles. Sunday Homilies, Series III, Year B, follows the Lectionary and fits every year B. The movable Sundays are also included.

About the Author For the first seventeen years of his priestly ministry, Father Mark Link taught at the high-school, college, and seminary levels. For the past twenty years, he has been active in parish preaching, writing, and mentoring priests. He has written over sixty books, including the high-school textbooks Path Through Scripture and Path Through Catholicism and his daily Scripture meditation books in the Vision series, primarily Vision, Mission, Action, and Challenge.

SUNDAY HOMILIES—YEAR B SCHEDULE ADVENT

CHRISTMAS

LENT

EASTER

ORDINARY TIME

1st Sunday of Advent

6th Sunday of the Year

2nd Sunday of Advent

7th Sunday of the Year

Immaculate Conception

8th Sunday of the Year

3rd Sunday of Advent

Trinity Sunday

4th Sunday of Advent

Body and Blood of Christ

9th Sunday of the Year

Christmas

10th Sunday of the Year

Holy Family

11th Sunday of the Year

Mother of God

12th Sunday of the Year

Epiphany

13th Sunday of the Year

14th Sunday of the Year

1st Sunday of Lent

15th Sunday of the Year

2nd Sunday of Lent

16th Sunday of the Year

3rd Sunday of Lent

17th Sunday of the Year

4th Sunday of Lent

18th Sunday of the Year

5th Sunday of Lent

19th Sunday of the Year

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Assumption

20th Sunday of the Year

Easter Sunday

21st Sunday of the Year

2nd Sunday of Easter

22nd Sunday of the Year

101

3rd Sunday of Easter

23rd Sunday of the Year

103

4th Sunday of Easter

24th Sunday of the Year

105

5th Sunday of Easter

25th Sunday of the Year

107

6th Sunday of Easter

26th Sunday of the Year

109

Ascension

27th Sunday of the Year

111

7th Sunday of Easter

28th Sunday of the Year

113

Pentecost

29th Sunday of the Year

115

30th Sunday of the Year

117

31st Sunday of the Year

119

All Saints

121

Baptism of the Lord (1st Sunday)

2nd Sunday of the Year

32nd Sunday of the Year

123

3rd Sunday of the Year

33rd Sunday of the Year

125

4th Sunday of the Year

34th Sunday (Christ the King)

127

5th Sunday of the Year

1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 63:16b–17, 19b; 64:2–7; 1 Corinthians 1:3–9; Mark 13:33–37

Second coming Be prepared, you know not the hour.

o one knows . . . when that day or hour will come. . . . Be on watch.” Mark 13:32–33

he very next day a Newsweek editor called the White House to verify the story. When Carter heard about it, he got really upset—so much so that Newsweek agreed to delete the remark.

he following Monday, Tip said to Rostenkowski—without telling him about the Newsweek phone call— “Danny, tomorrow morning you’d better be prepared to say grace at the president’s prayer breakfast.

ip O’Neill of Massachusetts served 34 years in Congress. Ten of these years were as Speaker of the House, the longest consecutive term of any speaker in history.

“Don’t be silly!” Danny said, “we’ve been through all that.” “You’d better be prepared, anyway,” laughed Tip.

After retiring October 1986, he wrote the story of his political life. It was called Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O’Neill.

ext morning, at the prayer breakfast, after they had all joined hands and bowed their heads, sure enough, the president said, “Danny, will you say grace for us this morning?”

n one part of the book, he talks about the White House leadership breakfasts under President Jimmy Carter.

Tip said, “To my surprise and everyone’s total astonishment, Danny gave the most eloquent prayer any of us had ever heard. It was definitely ‘a ten.’ ”

They began with everyone joining hands and bowing their heads. The president would then call on someone to say grace. Some of Tip’s friends used to irreverently give the prayers a one to ten rating. ne morning after returning to Capitol Hill after a prayer breakfast, Representative Dan Rostenkowski from Chicago was sitting in Tip’s office along with Henry Hubbard, a writer from Newsweek magazine. Dan said to Tip, “Did you ever notice that President Carter never invites Catholics to say grace?”

President Carter himself was so impressed that he made it a special point to compliment Danny on his truly inspiring prayer.

Tip laughed and said, “Come on, Danny, you know the Protestants are a lot better at impromptu praying than we are.”

“When I got back to my room last night after talking to you, I said to myself, ‘That big Irishman always knows what’s going on around here. If he says Carter’s going to call on me, I’d better be prepared.’

Hubbard filed Rostenkowski’s remarks for possible future use in Newsweek’s “Periscope” section.

“So I got up at five o’clock this morning, wrote a prayer, and spent a long time polishing it until even I liked it a lot.”

Year B

ater, back at Capitol Hill, Tip said to Danny, “That prayer was absolutely beautiful. How in the world did you ever do it?” Danny said, “It wasn’t easy.

Lectionary 2

4 Advent 5

think Jesus would have liked that story also. If he were living today, he might even have used it to illustrate his point in today’s Gospel.

Danny heeded Tip’s warning, because he figured, correctly, that Tip knew what he was talking about. e have something even more certain in today’s Gospel. Jesus definitely knows what he is talking about.

Now the ball’s in our court. Will we heed his warning, as Danny heeded Tip’s warning? Will we heed today’s Gospel and do the kind of preparing Danny did? I hope to God that we do, because a lot more is riding on the warning Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel than was riding on the warning O’Neill gave to Rostenkowski the night before the prayer breakfast. I can’t imagine anyone walking out of church this morning without making some kind of response to Jesus’ warning in today’s Gospel— even if it is simply to try to be a little kinder and gentler during Advent to the people closest to us. What would be even worse! I can’t imagine someone walking out of church, saying of Jesus’ warning, “I’ll take care of that tomorrow.” here’s a story which I heard from a reliable source but have never been able to verify. It’s about a famous author. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for a novel that went on to sell millions of copies and was translated into 30 different languages.

After it was made into a popular movie, she became even more famous and in demand as a lecturer and a party guest. 6 Advent 4 Lectionary

Then tragedy came. She was hit by a speeding car in Atlanta and died five days later. An obituary that I consulted read—and I quote: Fame disrupted her life and writing. She said recently, “I haven’t had time to sit down at my typewriter since 1936.” hat obituary fits the story I heard. It is that she was an inactive Catholic. A close friend of hers repeatedly urged her to do something about her faith. She always responded the same way: “I’ll take care of that tomorrow.”

Reportedly, while she lay in a coma, she kept saying over and over, “I’ll take care of that tomorrow!” he stories of Dan Rostenkowski and the famous author both stress the same important point Jesus stresses in today’s parable:

“Be on watch, be alert, for you do not know when . . . the master of the house is coming— it may be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!” Mark 13:33–37

et us close with an old prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, you have not revealed to us the day or the hour when you will come and knock at our door. We only know that you will come. When you do come, may you find our house swept and clean, ready for your arrival. May you find us standing at the window watching and praying, waiting to receive you. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11; 2 Peter 3:8–14; Mark 1:1–8

Conversion Three moments: zero, surrender, power.

et the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!’ . . . Turn away from your sins . . . and God will forgive your sins.” Mark 1:3–4 (adapted)

ennis Alessi was walking along a street in downtown Baltimore. Coming to a busy street corner, he came upon an elderly man who was calling out to passersby, “Return to Jesus! Return to Jesus!”

The elderly man’s pulpit was a clean metal trash can. On it was a well-worn Bible. The man was bald and wore glasses. He was dressed in a clean white shirt and neatly pressed pants. His plea to the passersby was clearly sincere and deeply dignified. Alessi said there was something about the man that touched him deeply. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Whatever it was, for some mysterious reason, it motivated him to think about his relationship with Jesus. The upshot of that thinking was that he returned to the Catholic Church after having been separated from it for over seven years. n retrospect, he saw that the man standing on the busy corner was a kind of modern-day version of John the Baptist. And the man’s call, “Return to Jesus,” was a kind of modern-day version of John’s call:

Year B

“ ‘Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!’ . . . Turn away from your sins . . . and God will forgive your sins.” Mark 1:3–4 Finally, Alessi’s conversion was a kind of modern-day illustration of how many people in biblical times responded to the call of John the Baptist to turn away from their sins. onsider yet another modern example of the kind of conversion to which John the Baptist called people.

Charles de Foucauld was born into a wealthy family in France. During his youth, he lived totally for himself and for his own pleasure. Eventually, he enlisted in the army. But in no time he was dismissed because of scandalous conduct. Concerning those years, he wrote: I was so completely selfish, so completely vain, so completely irreligious, and utterly given over to wickedness, that I was only a step away from insanity. In this state of mind, he realized that he needed help. At this point, he began visiting the Church of Saint Augustine in Paris. There he would kneel, repeating over and over, “My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.” ne day, during one of these visits, Mass was in progress. At the elevation of the sacred host, he felt the gift of faith enter his heart. “In that single moment,” he wrote later, “my heart was touched and I believed.”

To make a long story short, he went on to found a religious order, called the Little Brothers of Jesus. It was modeled after Jesus’ own life at Nazareth. Lectionary 5

4 Advent 7

It was a life of simply identifying with the poor by living among them, working with them, and praying for them. A line from the constitutions of the Little Brothers of Jesus reads: The whole of our existence, the whole of our lives is to preach the Gospel from the rooftops . . . not by words but by example. closer look at the dramatic conversion of Charles de Foucauld reveals that it followed the textbook pattern that so many conversions follow. It involved three distinct moments: a zero moment—realizing I need help; a surrender moment—asking for help; and a power moment—experiencing help.

he zero moment for Charles de Foucauld was recognizing and admitting to himself that his life was totally out of control. The surrender moment was his decision to go regularly to the Church of Saint Augustine, kneel in the back, and pray for help, saying over and over, “My God, if you exist, let me come to know you.”

The power moment came suddenly and by surprise during the elevation of the host at Mass. Faith entered his life and transformed it.

ow do we reduce all of this to a practical application to our lives?

I think it is the realization that all of us have certain things in our lives that are out of control to some extent. Even the best of us have to admit that there are things that we find hard— if not impossible—to control. Maybe it’s a prejudice that we picked up. Maybe it’s a judgmental attitude we have. Maybe it’s a habit of sin we slipped into. The most difficult thing to do is to admit that we have this problem. 8 Advent 4 Lectionary

Members of Alcoholics Anonymous testify to this difficulty and to the importance of taking this first step. For Charles de Foucauld, the first step toward regaining control of his life was the admission that through sin, he had lost control of his life. And that brings us to the second moment: the surrender moment. It is the moment when we swallow our pride and reach out for help. For de Foucauld it was the decision to go regularly to the Church of Saint Augustine and pray for help. That was the important second step in regaining control of his life. Finally, there is the power moment. It is the moment when we experience God’s help. We may struggle a long time for this moment to come, but if we persevere, it will come. It may come in the form of faith in God, as de Foucauld experienced it. But regardless of how it comes, it will come. One man said of the power moment: When I felt God’s help, I wanted to throw my arms around the whole world and share the experience with everybody. A few minutes before I had no such desire, because I had nothing to share.

hat brings us to Advent and this Mass. Both are occasions of special grace.

Today’s Gospel, therefore, invites us to heed the words of John the Baptist and take to heart his invitation to “get the road ready for the Lord; make straight a path for him to travel!” Today’s Gospel is the good news that Jesus wants to help us. He wants to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. All we have to do is to ask and to persevere in asking, as de Foucauld did. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

Immaculate Conception Genesis 3:9–15, 20; Ephesians 1:3–6, 11–12; Luke 1:26–38

Mary A mother who understands our suffering.

ary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant.

Luke 1:29

German veteran of World War I describes an experience during the war that affected him so deeply it changed his entire life.

One day he was sent to explore a woods to determine if it were occupied by any sizable force of French troops. When he found it empty, he prepared to leave. Just then a lone French soldier showed up, probably scouting it out for the French.

The German soldier studied him for several minutes. Then he took his finger off the trigger and quietly left the woods. Afterward, that German soldier entered a religious order. hat moving scene in the woods helps us to appreciate the tremendous attraction Mary holds for all peoples of all nations. This attraction is true especially of citizens of our own nation.

Year B

n past centuries, people tended to put Mary on a pedestal and emphasize the fact that she was far, far above all women and far, far above all of us. She was Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven.

The German soldier took aim and was just about to fire when the French soldier took a rosary from his pocket, knelt down, and began to pray.

Years before Pius IX defined Mary to be sinless from the moment of conception, the U. S. bishops chose her to be patron of our nation under the title of the Immaculate Conception.

Today, however, an interesting shift is taking place. It is a shift that still keeps Mary on the pedestal she rightly deserves. But it also stresses that she was deeply human, like ourselves. She was a poor Jewish peasant woman, brought up in a small town. Her life was filled not only with moments of joy but also with moments of hardship and suffering, just as our own is. he point of this shift is the recognition that Mary deserves our honor not solely because she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.

The new stress grows out of the realization that Mary experienced pain and sorrow, just as we do. For example, she experienced the pain of traveling over hilly terrain to be with Elizabeth while she gave birth to John the Baptist. All the while Mary was pregnant with Jesus. She felt the pain and sorrow of having Joseph prepare to break their engagement because of confusion over her pregnancy. Lectionary 689

4 Immaculate

Conception

She felt the pain of giving birth to her child in a cold, drafty animal shelter, with only Joseph to help her. She felt the pain and sorrow of being told that a sword would pierce her heart and that her son would be widely rejected.

This is what makes her truly the Queen of Heaven.

She felt the pain of seeing her son driven out of a synagogue in their own home town by their own friends and neighbors. She felt the pain of seeing her son crucified before her very eyes, like a common criminal. Mary, indeed, can relate to pain and suffering. She, indeed, is a model and inspiration for all peoples and all nations.

Conception

4 Lectionary

And this is what makes her so approachable, so lovable, so loving.

She felt the pain of having her young son disappear for three days, not knowing where he had gone or why he had gone.

10 Immaculate

he, indeed, was the Mother of God. But, just as importantly, she was a mother who knew every sorrow that human mothers know— and then some.

689

et us close with a tribute to Mary, borrowing the words of Carey Landry’s hymn to Our Lady.

Hail Mary . . . gentle woman . . . peaceful dove, teach us wisdom; teach us love. You were chosen by the Father; you were chosen for the Son. . . . Blessed are you among women.

Year B

3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1–2a, 10–11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24; John 1:6–8, 19–28

Witness Like John, we have been called to testify to the light.

od sent . . . a man named John . . . to tell people about the light, so that all should hear . . . and believe.

a happiness that all the pearls in the world could never bring. like that story because it fits in so well with the spirit and message of today’s Gospel. A portion of that Gospel reads:

God sent . . . a man named John . . . to tell people about the light, so that all should hear . . . and believe.

John 1:6–7

ne beautiful morning, an old monk was walking along the seashore, deep in meditation.

Suddenly his eyes fell upon a huge pearl, sparkling in the sand. It was the largest pearl he had ever seen. An old woman saw him pick it up. She ran up to him and demanded that he give her the pearl. He gave it to her cheerfully and with a smile. The woman ran off shouting and singing at the top of her voice. She was now wealthy beyond her wildest dreams. week later, the woman sought out the old monk. She surprised him by giving the pearl back to him, saying:

“Give me that which is more valuable than the pearl. “Give me that which enabled you to give the pearl to me cheerfully and with a smile.”

John then went on to explain who the light was. He said: “[T]here is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me.”

John 1:26–27 (NAB)

nd that brings us back to the story of the old monk and the pearl.

The old monk is a perfect image of John the Baptist. He did for the old woman what John the Baptist did for the people of his day. He testified to the light. And how did he testify to the light? He did it the way Jesus told people to do it in his Sermon on the Mount, saying: “You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. . . . “In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14, 16

The old monk then told her about Jesus. He explained how Jesus came into the world to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

In other words, the old monk testified to the light by the surprising way that he responded to the old woman’s demand to give her the pearl.

He came into the world to forgive our sins and to bring us

He responded to it in a way that allowed the light of Christ—

Year B

John 1:6–7

Lectionary 8

4 Advent 11

which was burning in his own soul— to radiate out to all who saw him. He responded in a way that allowed the old woman to recognize that the light radiating from him was truly Jesus, shining through him. He responded in a way that Cardinal Newman was asking for when he prayed to God in these words: “Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my spirit.” It was in this way that the monk did for the old woman what John the Baptist did for the people of his time. He testified to the light by letting it shine through him into the lives of those around him.

hat brings us to each of us in this church.

By our baptism and by our confirmation we have been called by God. Saint Peter explains our calling this way in his first letter to the Christians of his time, saying: [Y]ou are . . . God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 In other words, we have been called to testify to the light, just as John the Baptist was called to testify to it, and just as the old monk was called to testify to it.

e have been called to testify to it, first of all, by our example.

It was the monk’s example that motivated the old woman 12 Advent 4 Lectionary

to ask him to share with her the secret that enabled him to act with such kindness and gentleness to her unreasonable demand. hat brings us back to the challenge that Advent and today’s Gospel hold out to each one of us.

Pope John Paul II expressed that challenge this way to the young people of the world, at the end of World Youth Day in the United States some years ago. He challenged them to lead the way for the rest of the world in doing two things. First, in undergoing a personal conversion to Jesus. Second, in developing a personal relationship with Jesus. n the spirit and words of today’s Gospel, the Holy Father was challenging the youth to become for our world what John the Baptist was for his world.

He was challenging them to testify to the light. First of all, he was challenging them to enkindle the light of Christ within themselves. Second, he was challenging them to let the light of Christ shine within them so that all who met them would recognize the presence of Christ within them. And in so doing, people everywhere would soon begin requesting from them what the old woman requested from the monk: “Give me that which is more valuable than the pearl. Give me that which enabled you to give the pearl to me cheerfully.”

Year B

4th Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1–5, 8b–12, 14a, 16; Romans 16:25–27; Luke 1:26–38

Jesus in our midst

And that brings us to the season of Advent which is drawing to a close.

In history, mystery, and majesty— and in word, worship, and witness.

here is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me.”

John 1:26 (NAB)

or years, a small marble statue stood in the entrance hall of the French Embassy building in New York City.

The statue’s arms and face were badly damaged, but it had a quaint charm that made it a good conversation piece. So the embassy kept it in a prominent place in the entrance hall. One day the statue attracted the attention of art expert Dr. Brandt, a professor at New York University. As she studied it, her heart began to beat faster, because it matched the description of a long-lost statue by Michelangelo. Further study—and consultation with other art experts— confirmed her wildest dream. It was a statue of Cupid, sculpted by Michelangelo in his early years. Amazingly, it had stood there, all these years, without being recognized. like that story, because it serves as a kind of parable of something John the Baptist said while baptizing people in the Jordan River. He told the people:

Year B

e have heard many times that Advent is a preparation for the celebration of two comings of Jesus: his first coming in history 2,000 years ago and his last coming in majesty at the end of the world.

“There is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me.”

In other words, just as the statue of Cupid stood in the embassy for years without being recognized, so Jesus lived— and continues to live among us— without being recognized.

John 1:26 (NAB)

Saint Bernard observed, however, that, in its widest sense, Advent is really a preparation for not two but three comings of Jesus. He went on to explain. Jesus’ first coming in history and his last coming in majesty are visible comings. Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds saw the first coming. And every person who ever lived will see the last coming. Saint Bernard went on to say that Jesus also comes in an invisible way in mystery, that is, in a way that is visible only through eyes of faith. This coming of Jesus in mystery is a kind of spiritual bridge spanning the gap between Jesus’ first coming and his last. The invisible comings of Jesus in mystery takes place in three ways: word—listening to Scripture; worship—gathering as church; witness—living out Jesus’ teaching. Let’s take a closer look at each of these three ways: word, worship, and witness.

oncerning Jesus’ coming when we listen to his word, Lectionary 11

4 Advent 13

Jesus said to his followers, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” Luke 10:16 Concerning his coming when we worship together, Jesus said: “[W]here two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20 Finally, concerning his coming when we witness to his teaching, Jesus said: “Those who . . . obey my teaching . . . my Father and I will come to them and live with them.” John 14:23

We begin our preparation right after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. We commit ourselves to living out in daily life what we have just celebrated: our oneness through and in Christ with one another and with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Above all, we pledge to love and serve our brothers and sisters, especially those who have special needs.

In summary, then, Jesus comes into our lives in mystery during three graced times—when we:

listen to Scripture (word), gather as church (worship), live out his teaching (witness).

And of these three comings, the most immediate is Christ’s coming in mystery. It is also especially important. Why?

That raises an important question. How do we prepare to meet Jesus in each of these graced moments?

Because it is a graced moment, we resolve to try to live out what Jesus taught us in his first coming. And in so doing, we prepare for Christ’s final coming in majesty.

Take the first graced moment: Jesus’ coming in Scripture. We should prepare for it by listening attentively with an open mind, lovingly with an open heart, and trustingly with an open soul. hat brings us to the second graced moment: Jesus’ coming among us when we gather as church.

We prepare for this moment, especially, by consciously uniting ourselves in love and faith as a worshiping community that offers itself in and with Jesus to the Father. For example, as we walk up to receive Communion, we make a conscious effort to realize who it is that we receive. We are to receive the same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem. We are to receive the same Jesus who healed the sick and forgave sinners. We are to receive the same Jesus who died on the cross for us. 14 Advent 4 Lectionary

n conclusion, then, in its widest sense, Advent celebrates Christ’s coming among us in history, mystery, and majesty.

Furthermore, unless we learn to recognize Jesus’ presence among us in mystery— that is, in word, worship, and witness— we may not recognize him when he comes in majesty at the end of time. et us close with a prayer asking Mary to help us prepare for Jesus’ three comings in our life, as she prepared for them in her life:

Hail Holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Be merciful to us, loving advocate, Virgin Mary, and after our exile, show us your son, Jesus. Adapted Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

Christmas Isaiah 52:7–10, Hebrews 1:1–6, John 1:1–18

Christmas

an did not have the courage to return to church again until Easter. But the experience did lead him to do a lot of reading and reflecting.

A special time of special grace.

ut of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.

O T

John 1:16

his is a true Christmas story about a real man named Dan Wakefield.

He was riding high in life. Four of his novels were Literary Guild selections. One was made into a movie. Yet, Dan was not happy. His autobiography, called Returning: A Spiritual Journey, explains why. When he abandoned his faith in college, he was left with a deep spiritual void. He tried to fill it with drugs, but they only made it worse. Then one morning in Hollywood he woke up screaming. Some instinct told him to return to the one place where he felt most at home: Boston. So he returned home to Boston. ust before Christmas, he was sitting in “The Sevens,” a neighborhood bar on Charles Street.

A housepainter named Tony was at the table with him. Suddenly, out of the blue, Tony said he thought he might go to midnight Mass on Christmas. Dan didn’t say anything, but for the first time in years, he felt a similar desire to reconnect with his faith. Year B

And so on Christmas Eve, he found himself in church, listening to the Christmas story, and he knew what he must do.

Slowly, the dying embers of his faith began to glow inside him once again. But he still had a distance to go. Twice, he slipped back to taking drugs. But these failures did not extinguish the spiritual hunger within him. Rather, they only served to intensify it. Then, one day, the storm within him broke like a fever. He writes: “I felt in touch again, and in the light.”

hree things, especially, helped Dan get in touch with the light again.

The first was a firm decision to put daily prayer back into his daily life. He says that implementing this decision gave him an interior calm. More importantly, it gradually built up and strengthened his faith, just as physical exercise builds up and strengthens the body. But it was not easy. People who embark on programs of physical exercise have mornings when the last thing they want to do is get out of a warm bed and jog. Dan found the same temptation present as he embarked on his program of spiritual exercise. There were days when the last thing he wanted to do was to keep his appointment with God. But he stayed with it, and the cumulative impact began to change his life in a tremendous way. Lectionary 16

4 Christmas 15

he second thing that helped Dan, in a special way, was a decision to reconnect with the Christian community on a weekly basis.

t is our Christmas prayer that the Christ child will bless each one of you and your families with a similar Christmas gift— whatever it may be.

And so he returned to the practice of worshiping in community each Sunday. Again, it was not easy, but he persevered.

And may you share that gift with all you meet in the year ahead.

inally, the third thing that helped him was a conscious effort to help others who, like him, had special needs.

In the process of doing this, Dan learned firsthand the truth of those famous words by Albert Schweitzer, the great missionary doctor:

Today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. . . .

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know, the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found a way to serve. he story of Dan is a story that has been repeated in one form or another Christmas after Christmas.

Some people who come to Christmas Mass have never been to Mass all year— or merely on occasions. Like the shepherds in the field, they hear in their Christmas hearts a song being sung by heavenly beings. They suddenly find themselves being drawn to church to worship the Christ child. And like Dan, they end up receiving the greatest gift from the Christ child that anyone could ever receive: the grace to reconnect with their faith. And that brings us to each one of us in this church.

16 Christmas 4 Lectionary

et’s close with a passage adapted from an ancient Christmas homily by Pope Saint Leo the Great. It reads:

No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. . . . Let the saint rejoice as he sees the hope of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the person without faith take courage as he hears the call to believe. For in the fullness of time . . . the Son of God took unto himself the common humanity we share in order to reconcile it with its creator. . . . And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: “Glory to God in the highest . . . I am here with good news for you. . . . “This is the very day in David’s town your Savior was born— Christ the Lord!”

Year B

Holy Family Sirach 3:2–7, Colossians 3:12–21, Luke 2:22–40

Changing your life

Rather, it was slow and gradual. Josh had a lot to work through. Eventually, the process ended in his making a complete surrender of his life to Jesus.

Do a little bit more than you think you can.

ith my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all people.” Luke 2:30–31

osh McDowell is a well-known author and lecturer. One of his books about Jesus is called More than a Carpenter. In it he also talks about his own teenage years. He writes:

I hated one man more than anyone else in the world. And that was my father. . . . To me he was the town alcoholic. . . . My friends would . . . make jokes about him. . . . They didn’t think it bothered me . . . but it did. I was laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside. Josh goes on to say that on one occasion, some friends were on their way over to visit his family. To save everyone from embarrassment, he took his drunken father out in the barn and tied him up. Then he parked the family car around the back of the barn. When the friends arrived, he told them that his father had been called away for something. hen Josh left home for college, he began thinking seriously about his life and where it was going.

That inner dialogue within himself triggered a change in his life. It wasn’t an overnight change. Year B

hen things really changed. He writes:

A love from God through Jesus Christ entered my life and was so strong that it took my hatred and turned it upside down. I was able to look my father squarely in the eyes and say, “Dad, I love you.” And I really meant it. Then came a major surprise. Josh’s change of heart had a dramatic impact on his father. It brought about an end to his father’s alcoholism, which was even more dramatic than his own conversion. Commenting on his father’s change, he writes: “It was as if somebody reached down and turned on a light bulb.” Josh concludes: “I’ve come to one conclusion. A relationship with Jesus Christ changes lives.” hat brings us to an important point about families. Often a change in one family member will work a change in the whole family.

And that one family member— as we saw in the case of Josh— can be any member of the family. It goes without saying that doing this is not easy for any family member. It takes a strong member with a strong conviction. ut the big secret in changing ourselves is the secret Josh unveils in his story. It is turning our own life over to Jesus. And when we do this, miracles can and do happen. Why?

Lectionary 17

4 Holy

Family

It’s because the power of Jesus, acting in and through us, can do what they could never do alone.

it would change not only our families but also our world.

Here it is also important to keep in mind the point that Josh makes in his story. His own conversion did not take place overnight, because he had a lot to work through.

’ll never forget a front-page photo that appeared in USA Today some years back.

On the other hand, it is also true that the grace of God is so powerful that it can, indeed, work suddenly and powerfully, as it did in the case of Josh’s father.

hat brings us to another important point to keep in mind.

Of all the family members whose change in their own lives can work a change in the whole family, is the change that can take place in one or both parents. nd that brings us to the feast of the Holy Family, which we celebrate today.

In many ways, it ranks high among the most important feasts of the liturgical year. It is certainly one of the most practical feasts. Why?

It was the photo of Lady Bird Johnson holding a bouquet of yellow swamp flowers on her ranch on her 75th birthday. When the interviewer asked her if she had any advice to give people on her 75th birthday, she said, “Yes!” Then she added, “Each day, do a little bit more than you think you can.” like that advice. It’s the kind of advice the Holy Family might give if we asked them for one simple suggestion. They might well say:

Each day love a little bit more than you think you can. Each day forgive a little bit more than you think you can. Each day be a little bit more patient than you think you can. Each day be a little bit kinder and gentler than you think you can.

Because it goes to the heart of God’s will for 95 percent of the people in the world. So often a priest hears a parent of a family—or a grandparent—say, “I’m not sure what God’s will for me is.”

I wish the answer to all questions was as clear-cut as that one. God’s will is being a good father or a good mother. It’s being a good son or a good daughter.

It would bring joy to ourselves, joy to our family, joy to our friends, and joy to the world.

This is the primary calling for the vast majority of people today.

f each one of us in this church made that resolution, it would be one of the best and most practical gifts we could give ourselves and one another.

Then, in addition to singing “Joy to the World,” we would be doing something about it.

And if family members took that calling seriously, 18 Holy

Family

4 Lectionary

Year B

Mother of God Numbers 6:22–27, Galatians 4:4–7, Luke 2:16–21

Title “Mother of God” Mary gave flesh to God.

he shepherds . . . found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. Luke 2:16

aint Francis de Sales was born in France in the 16th century, about 20 years after the death of Martin Luther.

The Reformation was in full swing and all kinds of religious teachings were being spread about. One of the cruelest and most devastating was the Calvinist belief of predestination. It held that we were predestined at birth for either heaven or hell. It went on to say that most people were predestined for hell. This teaching slowly began to impact not only on the thinking of Protestants but also on the thinking of some Catholics. At one point in his youthful life, Francis de Sales began to fear that he was predestined for hell. That fear brought on a depression that tore his soul apart and destroyed his health. In spite of his fear and depression, however, Francis promised that even if he were predestined for hell, he would never curse God, as some people of his day were doing. hortly after making that prayer, he knelt at the statue of Mary and recited a prayer called the Memorare. It had been composed centuries earlier by Saint Bernard and reads:

Year B

Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we turn to you, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To you we come, before you we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen. By the time he finished the prayer, his fear and depression had vanished. They never returned again. In place of the depression came a deep peace and a deep conviction born of faith that God intended all people to be saved. Saint Paul himself had written to Timothy, saying, Jesus “gave himself to redeem the whole human race. . . . God wants everyone to be saved.” 1 Timothy 2:6 nd that brings us to today’s feast, the Mother of God. The title “Mother of God” does not mean that Mary is God’s mother from all eternity. What does it mean? It means that since Jesus is God become man, in this sense, we may call Mary the “Mother of God.”

In other words, Mary is the mother of Jesus. And Jesus is God become man. Therefore, in a very true sense, she may be called the “Mother of God.” Historically, the title “Mother of God” dates back to the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 C.E. Lectionary 18

4 Mother

of God

That council affirmed that Jesus has two natures (divine and human) but was not two persons, as some wrongly taught.

A final way that Mary prayed was to meditate on God’s activity not only in human history but also in her own daily life.

In affirming that Jesus was only “one” person, the council added that Mary could, therefore, be called the Mother of God. For, most certainly, Jesus is God— according to the flesh.

Again, Luke gives us an insight into this way of praying when he tells us in today’s Gospel:

t is particularly fitting that the Church should choose January 1 as the day on which to celebrate the feast of the Mother of God.

Let us close with a meditation on Mary. It sums up on this New Year’s Day one of the major messages of the feast:

For it reminds us that because Mary gave birth to Jesus, we were given a whole new life. We were given new hope, the kind of hope only God can give.

Mary gave flesh to God— flesh to be visible to human eyes, flesh to touch the leper’s wounds.

If we are looking for a New Year’s resolution, we could do no better than to resolve to give Mary a greater role in our lives. And one way to do this is through prayer. We can ask Mary to intercede for us as she did for Saint Francis de Sales. A simple way to ask Mary’s help is to say a special prayer to her daily, for example, the Memorare or the Hail Mary.

nother way to seek Mary’s help is to imitate her way of praying.

One of the ways she prayed was spontaneously from her heart. Luke gives us an insight into this way of praying when he describes the prayer she made during her visit to Elizabeth. She prayed: “My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!” Luke 1:46–48 20 Mother

of God

4 Lectionary

Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. Luke 2:19

Mary gave hands to God— hands to bless the little children, hands to break bread for the hungry. Mary gave feet to God— feet to walk among the sick, feet to go in search of the sinner. Mary gave eyes to God— eyes to weep at a friend’s grave, eyes to look into the human heart. Jesus no longer walks in flesh today. If he is to be seen by human eyes, it must be in and through us. If he is to continue to heal the sick, touch the leper, and bless the children, it must be with our hands and feet. If he is to continue to feed the hungry, and look into the human heart, it must be with our hands and our eyes. As Mary gave flesh to Jesus in her day, we must give flesh to Jesus in our day. And if we do as Mary did, Jesus will walk among us once again and make our world new again.

Year B

Epiphany Isaiah 60:1–6; Ephesians 3:2–3a, 5–6; Matthew 2:1–12

Christian calling To be “stars” or “sparks of light” pointing to Jesus.

e saw his star, and . . . have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1–2

illiam James was a famous American psychologist. He wrote a ground-breaking book called Varieties of Religious Experience.

One story in the book is about a man who lived in a rural area. One summer night he went for a long walk across a field. He ended up on a hilltop. As he stood there gazing at the starry sky, something amazing happened inside him. The nearest he could describe it was to say that it was like music, swelling up inside him and filling his soul to the point that he thought it would explode. Then, with every fiber of his being, he felt a mysterious presence engulf him. He said later: I could not any more have doubted that He was there than that I was there. Indeed, I felt myself to be, if possible, the less real of the two. The man said that hilltop experience blessed him with the strongest faith and truest idea of God that he’d ever experienced in his life. hether the man’s experience was merely a beautiful coincidence, or whether it was one of those rare, divine surprises that only angels can explain, neither you, nor I, nor the man on the hilltop will ever know.

W Year B

This much we do know, however. His story makes a beautiful illustration of what the feast of the Epiphany is all about. he word epiphany means a manifestation of God’s presence in our midst.

The feast of the Epiphany celebrates a manifestation of God’s presence in Jesus, not just to the Jewish world, but also to all the world, both Jews and non-Jews.

his brings us to the story of the magi in today’s Gospel.

Actually, the magi were not kings; they were the advisors to kings. They were scholars who studied the stars and things of that sort. When they saw the new star in the sky, they reasoned that it might signal the birth of some great new king. So they set out to investigate. The rest of the story we all know.

his brings us to our personal response to the feast of the Epiphany.

How ought we to respond to it in a practical way in our lives? Perhaps the best way to begin is to say that many people today struggle with their faith. They hunger for some sort of an epiphany or religious experience, like the one experienced by the man on the hilltop. It is in this sense that Jesus intended his followers to be a kind of epiphany for other people. He said to his disciples: “Your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Lectionary 20

4 Epiphany 21

Saint Paul expressed the same idea. Writing to the Christians of Philippi, he said: “You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky.” Philippians 2:15 More recently Pope John XXIII said, “Every believer must become a spark of light.” nd so using the imagery of the magi story, each Christian is called to become a star. Every Christian is called to be a spark of light amidst the darkness of our world. Every Christian is called to be an “epiphany,” pointing the way to Jesus.

How do we do this? How do we become a star or spark of light in the darkness of today’s world? The answer is simple, but difficult. We do this by living according to the teachings of Jesus. In other words, we let Jesus, the Light of the World, shine through us by doing his will.

hat does this mean in practical terms?

It means that every time we forgive someone who has treated us wrongly, a star lights up the darkness of our world, pointing the way to Jesus. It means that every time we open the door of our heart to the least, the lost, or the lonely, a star lights up the darkness in our world and points the way to Jesus. It means that every time we treat those about us with gentleness and kindness, a star shines through the darkness and points the way to Jesus. It means that every time we resist the temptation to live by worldly values 22 Epiphany 4 Lectionary

rather than Christian values, a star shines through the darkness and points the way to Jesus.

his is what the feast of the Epiphany is all about.

It’s about living according to the teachings of Jesus, and letting the light of Jesus shine through our lives into our world. It’s about becoming a star or spark of light in the darkness of our world, so that modern magi may find their way to Jesus.

his is the good news we celebrate on this feast of the Epiphany.

This is the good news contained in today’s Gospel. It is the good news that by following Jesus and living according to his teaching, we can find our way to Bethlehem and help others find their way, also.

et us close with a meditation by Howard Thurman.

It sums up the response Jesus is inviting us to make beginning tomorrow morning as we begin our journey into the New Year. He writes: When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with the flocks, then the work of Christmas begins: to feed the hungry, to release the prisoners, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among brothers, to make music with the heart.

Year B

1st Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8–15, 1 Peter 3:18–22, Mark 1:12–15

“What is it?” they shout. “What is it? Tell us! For God’s sake tell us! We must burn it for the good of our children.”

Season of grace

The man says:

The Kingdom of God is near.

“We must burn the human heart. For unless we find a way to put love and respect back into the human heart, all the things we are burning now will soon resurrect again from the fire.”

fter John had been put into prison, Jesus went to Galilee and preached the Good News from God. “The right time has come,” he said, “and the Kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1:14–15

athaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story called “Earth’s Holocaust.” As you read it, you must keep in mind that he wrote it in the mid 1800s when the world was incredibly simpler than it is today.

I don’t know all the details of the story, but it goes something like this. he people of the world decide to take matters into their own hands to secure world peace for their children. They collect everything linked to violence— guns, swords, canons, even books— and throw them onto a huge bonfire.

As the flames roar higher and brighter, the people begin to celebrate: clapping, singing, and dancing.

dwin Feulner, president of a Washington institute, recalled the story after the Littleton, Colorado, shootings years ago, saying:

“The story’s lesson is crystal clear. Goodness is a necessary cornerstone of any free, self-governing society.” His point is that goodness and virtue are essential in a nation like ours. Unfortunately, however, they can’t be legislated or imposed from without. They must come freely from within. They must come from the human heart. That doesn’t mean that we should not do everything humanly possible to rid our world of violence— as the people in Hawthorne’s story were trying to do. It simply means something more is needed. What is it?

ut then something happens. A speaker gets the attention of the crowd and he warns them, saying:

“There is one thing more we must burn. It is a more dangerous threat to peace than all the other things we have thrown on the fire.”

We must take to heart the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. Saint Mark writes:

Year B

t is the same thing that the man in Hawthorne’s story was saying we needed. We need a change of heart in society today.

Lectionary 23

4 Lent 23

Jesus preached the Good News from God [saying] . . . “The Kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins and believe in the Good News.”

don’t know about you, but I think those words are turning out to be truly prophetic for this moment in our history.

I Mark 1:15

We need to reattach ourselves to the spiritual roots that made our nation great. he great French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville admired America greatly. He was convinced that America held the secret for all governments of the future to go.

And so, in the mid 1800s he traveled to America to learn the secret of her genius and greatness. n his last campaign speech in Boston, President Eisenhower revealed the secret that de Tocqueville discovered. The French statesman wrote:

If there is one message that our nation needs to hear and take to heart right now, it is the message of de Tocqueville. If there is one message that resonates with the words of Jesus’ message in the Gospel reading for this first Sunday of Lent, it is this message of de Tocqueville. What Jesus said to the people of his day, Jesus is saying even more so to the people of our day: “The Kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News!”

Mark 1:15

he first step in heeding the message of Jesus and de Tocqueville is to begin with ourselves.

I sought for the genius and greatness of America . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests— and it was not there. . . . [I sought for it] in her rich mines and her vast world commerce— and it was not there. . . .

It is to take to heart the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel and to begin to put them to work beginning this first Sunday of Lent.

[I sought for it] in her democratic Congress and matchless Constitution— and it was not there.

It’s a season when Jesus invites us to look into our hearts and rediscover the secret of our greatness.

Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.

It’s a season when Jesus calls us to return to the roots of our greatness.

America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good America will cease to be great.

24 Lent 4 Lectionary

raditionally, the season of Lent is a season of special grace.

It’s a season when Jesus graces us to new resolve and new determination to become the kind of persons our Father in heaven created us to be.

Year B

2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1–2, 9a, 10–13, 15–18; Romans 8:31b–34; Mark 9:2–10

Who is Jesus? “With our own eyes we saw his greatness!”

voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son— listen to him!” Mark 9:7

illiam Blattey wrote a novel called Legion.

In a dramatic scene in the novel a Jewish detective, named Lt. Kinderman, sits all alone in an empty church. An elderly priest has been murdered while hearing confessions, and Lt. Kinderman is trying to piece together the clues.

fter a while, he lifts his eyes, slowly, to a large crucifix above the altar.

As he gazes at the face of Jesus, his own face softens, and a quiet wonder comes to his eyes. He begins to speak to Jesus, saying: “Who are you? God’s Son? No, you know I don’t believe that. I just asked to be polite. . . . I don’t know who you are, but you are Someone. . . . “Do you know how I know? From what you said. When I read, ‘Love your enemy,’ I tingle. . . . No one on earth could ever say what you said. No one could even make it up. Who could imagine it? The words knock you down. . . . Who are you, and what do you want from us?”

Year B

ho are you and what do you want from us?” This is the most important question anyone can ask about Jesus.

Today’s Gospel answers that question in a most dramatic way. It describes Jesus taking Peter, James, and John up a mountain to pray. Luke 9:28 As they pray, Jesus is suddenly transfigured before their eyes. The three disciples see Jesus in a way they have never seen him before. They see his divinity blaze forth from him. Then a cloud appears, and from it a voice says, “This is my own dear Son— listen to him!” Mark 9:7 It is an awesome moment. The three disciples would never forget it. Years later, Peter wrote in a letter: With our own eyes we saw his greatness. We were there . . . when the voice came to him. . . . We ourselves heard this voice . . . when we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Peter 1:16–18 et us now do a fast-forward to a second awesome moment. It also takes place on a mountain: the Mount of Olives.

Significantly, the same three disciples, Peter, James, and John, are with Jesus. This time the event is not a moment of ecstasy, but a moment of agony. It happened this way. After the Last Supper, Jesus went with his disciples to Gethsemane, located on the lower level of the Mount of Olives. Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him.

Lectionary 26

4 Lent 25

Distress and anguish came over him, and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.” He went a little farther on, threw himself on the ground and prayed. . . . “Father, my Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” Mark 14:32–36 In this moment of agony the three disciples see Jesus, again, in a way they had never seen him before. Earlier on Mount Tabor, they saw him in a moment of ecstacy. Then his divinity blazed forth from him. Now on the Mount of Olives they see him in a moment of agony. This time his humanity shows through him in a way they had never seen before. hat brings us back to the question Lt. Kinderman asked as he gazed at the image of Jesus on the cross, “Who are you, and what do you want from us?”

Jesus’ ecstasy and his agony answer Lt. Kinderman’s question in the most dramatic way imaginable. Jesus is both divine and human. He is the Son of the eternal Father, come into our world to save us and show us in the most unimaginable way that he loves us. Saint John writes: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16

nd that brings us to the second half of Lt. Kinderman’s question.

He wants us to believe. And those who do will “not die but have eternal life.” And so today’s Gospel helps us answer the most important question we will ever have to answer: Who is Jesus, and what does he want from us? aint Paul answers the question “Who is Jesus, and what does he want from us” this way in his Letter to the Philippians. He writes:

Christ Jesus . . . always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—his death on the cross. For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. . . . [So, then, dear friends] you must shine among [the people of this world] . . . like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. Philippians 2:6–12, 15–16

What does Jesus want from us? 26 Lent 4 Lectionary

Year B

3rd Sunday of Lent Exodus 20:1–17, 1 Corinthians 1:22–25, John 2:13–25

Sunday Mass Why do we go?

bserve the Sabbath and keep it holy. . . . I, the LORD, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. Exodus 20:8, 11

ome students were discussing Sunday Mass in their religion class. One boy told how at one Sunday Mass, the adults of his parish had to fill out a questionnaire.

When his father came to the question “Why do you go to Mass?” he wrote: “To be a good example to my kids.” The boy said, “I didn’t think that is a very good answer.” It would be interesting for each person here to write down the main reason why we come to Mass each Sunday. For example, if it were not for the Sunday obligation, would we be here Sunday after Sunday? here’s a story you may have heard. An angel was walking down the street carrying a bucket of water in one hand and a flaming torch in the other. Someone asked, “What are you going to do with those?”

The angel said, “With the bucket of water, I’m going to put out the fires of hell. And with the flaming torch, I’m going to burn the mansions of heaven. Then we’ll see who really loves God.” His point was that many people go to Mass, for example, not out of love of God, but out of fear of hell or loss of heaven.

N Year B

ot long ago, the Barna Research group did a nationwide survey.

It included this question: Why do you go to church each Sunday? The most frequently response given to that question was “to connect with God.” When asked if they felt they connected with God, three-fourths said no. What was really amazing, said the report, is that these people return to church week after week, in spite of their failure to accomplish their main purpose for coming. The report concludes, saying: Eventually, these people ceased expecting to connect with God and simply came for a pleasant experience. et’s take a look at three major reasons why many Catholics come to Mass Sunday after Sunday.

ne afternoon Osborne Jera went over to church to get something. As he entered, he heard someone singing at the top of his voice. The voice was coming from the choir loft.

So he tiptoed up the steps to check. There stood a man in an old overcoat holding a tattered hat in his hand, and singing with all his heart. When he saw Jera, he stopped and said, “I just felt like singing to God. Such awful things happening today. I felt a little singing might cheer God up.” Then the man flashed his empty hands, saying, “I haven’t touched anything.” Jera thought, “How wondrously wrong he was to say, ‘I haven’t touched anything!’ ” For starters, he touched Jera deeply. He had come to church for one thing— not to fulfill an obligation, not to ask God for anything, not to complain to God. He had come for only one thing: to give praise and glory to his God. Lectionary 29

4 Lent 27

hat brings us to the second episode and the second reason why we Catholics come to Mass Sunday after Sunday.

In his book God of the Oppressed, James Cone writes: On Sunday morning, after spending six days of struggling to create meaning out of life, the people of Bearden would go to church because they knew Jesus was going to be there. . . . Through song, prayer, and sermon the community affirmed his presence and their willingness to make it through their troubled situation. . . . How could they know that they were somebody when everything in their environment said that they were nobody? . . . Only because they knew that Jesus was there with them and that his presence included the divine promise to come again and take them to the “New Jerusalem.” nd so a second reason why we come to Mass week after week is because Jesus is there.

And how is Jesus there in a special way? First, in the community of believers. “Where two or three come together in my name,” Jesus said, “I am there.” Matthew 18:20 Second, Jesus is there is the Liturgy of the Word. Jesus promised his ministers, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” Luke 10:16 Finally, he is there in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At the Last Supper, after sharing his Body and Blood with his disciples, he said, “Do this in memory of me!” Luke 22:19 And so the second way Jesus is present is in the community of believers, in the reading and explaining of Scripture, in the breaking of the bread: the Eucharist. 28 Lent 4 Lectionary

hat brings us to a third major reason why we come Sunday after Sunday to Mass.

In his book Returning: A Spiritual Journey, screenwriter Dan Wakefield tells why he reconnected with Sunday worship after years of absence. He writes: The practice of regular attendance at Sunday service, which such a short time ago seemed religiously “excessive,” no longer seemed enough. Whatever it was that I was getting from church . . . I wanted and needed. . . . I experienced what is a common phenomenon for people who . . . begin a journey of this kind . . . a feeling . . . best described as a “thirst for God.” A third reason why we Catholics return Sunday after Sunday to celebrate Mass together is because down deep in our hearts, we feel a thirst for God. In the words of the psalmist: As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for you. Psalm 42:1–2 Like Jesus in today’s Gospel, a zeal for “our Father’s house” and the mystery of God’s love keep us coming back Sunday after Sunday. nd so by way of review, there are three main reasons why we Catholics go to “our Father’s house”each Sunday:

First, to give praise and glory to God. Second, to meet Jesus in the community of believers, the readings of Scripture, and the sacrificial meal of the Lord’s Supper. Third, because there is in us a spiritual hunger and thirst that only God can fill. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

4th Sunday of Lent 2 Chronicles 36:14–16, 19–23; Ephesians 2:4–10; John 3:14–21

Eternal Life We are made for something more.

he Son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:15

ne Monday night the Lehrer Report concluded its news coverage by doing a closing tribute to the great Mexican poet Octavio Paz, who had just died.

In the course of the tribute, reference was made to his book The Labyrinth of Solitude, which is something of a Spanish classic. A passage from the book reads: The New Yorker, the Parisian, and the Londoner never use the word “death” for it would burn his lips. Rather, the book went on, they use words like deceased or passed away. he Mexican, however, chases after death: hugs it, mocks it, courts it, sleeps with it; it is one of his favorite playthings and most lasting loves.

The Mexicans believe profoundly in Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel: “Everyone who believes in me will not die but have eternal life.”

In the book he speaks about “signals of transcendence.” A signal of transcendence is something in this life that points to something beyond this life. One of these signals of transcendence is the hunger of the human heart for something more than this world is able to offer. For example, we all experience love, but the love that we experience— beautiful as it is— does not satisfy us completely. It leaves us hungering for something more. It does not satisfy the hunger for infinite love that we find in our heart. ake another example. We all experience happiness in this world. But this happiness—beautiful as it is— does not satisfy us either.

It leaves us hungering for something more. It does not satisfy the hunger for infinite happiness that lies in our heart. This unsatisfied desire for infinite love and infinite happiness, says Peter Berger, is a “signal of transcendence.” It is something in this world that points to something beyond it. The British theologian C. S. Lewis put it this way: If I find in myself a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. or is this all wishful thinking on the part of Octavio Paz, Peter Berger, and C. S. Lewis.

For them, death is not the end of life, but merely a change in life.

ears ago Peter Berger wrote a best-selling book entitled A Rumor of Angels.

When Wernher von Braun died, Time magazine called him the “twentieth-century Columbus.”

Year B

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4 Lent 29

More than any other scientist on earth, von Braun deserves credit for putting us on the moon. Sometime before von Braun died, he wrote: Many people seem to think that science has somehow made “religious ideas” untimely or old-fashioned. But I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics. Science, for instance, tells us that nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation. Now, if God applied this fundamental principle to the most minute and insignificant parts of his universe, doesn’t it make sense to assume that he applied it also to the human soul? I think it does. And everything science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death. Quoted in the Reader’s Digest (June 1960)

And so what the heart has always taught us, and what Jesus taught, modern science is also now teaching. We were made for something more. We were made for eternal life. his raises an all-important question. If God’s plan is for us to live forever, what kind of an impact should the reality of eternal life have on our daily lives right now?

Put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed. . . . At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires. . . . But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. . . . Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:5, 7–10, 17 his is the practical impact that the reality of love, life, and happiness ought to have on our lives right now.

We ought to strive to live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loved, pray as Jesus prayed, and forgive as Jesus forgave— so as to attain the eternal life Jesus promised to those who believe. his is the good news of today’s Gospel reading. This is what we celebrate in today’s liturgy:

By his death and resurrection, Jesus changed the dark door of death into a shining gate of immortality.

Saint Paul answered that question this way in his Letter to the Colossians. In his unvarnished, blunt style, he writes: 30 Lent 4 Lectionary

Year B

5th Sunday of Lent Wisdom 9:13–18, Philemon 9–10, John 12:20–33

Crosses Crosses often turn into great blessings.

esus said, “A grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die . . . it produces many grains.” John 12:24

mily Kingsley is the mother of a disabled child. To help people understand what this is like, she penned a lovely parable called “Welcome to Holland.” It goes something like this.

lanning the birth of a baby is like planning a glorious trip to Italy. You buy a guide book, map an itinerary, and even learn a few Italian phrases.

Finally, the exciting day arrives. You tag your bags, double-check your passport and plane tickets, and leave for the airport. Your flight is called. You say good-bye to your friends, board the plane, take off, and settle back to enjoy the trip. A few hours later, the plane lands, and the stewardess says in a cheery voice, “Welcome to Holland!” “Holland?” you ask. “I’m supposed to go to Italy!” All my life I’ve been planning to go to Italy. The flight attendant says, “I’m so sorry. There’s been a change in plans.” Year B

ou get off the plane in shock, get your bags, and go through customs.

As you leave the airport, you can’t believe what has happened. But soon you begin to notice that Holland isn’t a terrible place. It’s just a different place. You go to a hotel, buy a guide book, and set out on a tour bus. You notice that Holland is less flashy and much slower paced than Italy. But it does have tulips, quaint windmills, and even Rembrandt paintings. n the days ahead, you meet people coming and going to Italy. Everybody raves about it.

And for the rest of your life, you’ll say, “That’s where I was supposed to go! That’s where I always dream of going.” And the pain of that lost dream never, never goes away. But if you spend the rest of your life regretting the loss of your dream, you will never enjoy the many lovely things Holland has to offer. hat lovely parable fits in beautifully with these words of Jesus in today’s Gospel:

“A grain of wheat remains not more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die . . . it produces many grains.” John 12:24 If Emily Kingsley had spend the rest of her life regretting the loss of her dream, she would have never enjoyed the many lovely things Holland had to offer. Instead, like the grain of wheat that fell into the ground, died, and bore many grains, Lectionary 35

4 Lent 31

she let her dream fall into the ground and die. As a result, it bore much fruit— not the least of which was to discover the many lovely things that remained in her life. It also allowed her to put in writing a beautiful parable that inspired many other people to accept the death of their dreams. More importantly, it inspired them to get on with their lives and discover the many lovely things that remained in their lives.

hat brings us to each one of us in this church today.

We have all had beautiful dreams that have died. For example, we dreamed of doing great things. We dream of being successful. We dreamed of having the perfect marriage or perfect family. But things just didn’t quite work out, and the dream didn’t pan out as we had hoped it would. Perhaps it even turned into a nightmare. sychologists talk about the “midlife” crisis or “crisis of limits.” As I understand the concept, there comes a time in our lives when we become aware that our dreams are not going to be realized in the way we had hoped.

When that time comes, we can respond by blaming other people for the loss of our dream. Or we can blame bad breaks for interfering with the realization of those dreams. When we do this, we are like the grain of wheat that refuses to die. 32 Lent 4 Lectionary

We allow regret or anger or depression to take over our lives. As a result, we never discover the many lovely things that “Holland” has to offer. Or to put it in another way, we are reluctant to pick up our “cross” and “loss” of a dream and follow Jesus. As a result, instead of letting sorrow and heartbreak draw us closer to Jesus, we let it drive us further away from him. In so doing we overlook one of the beautiful mysteries of the Gospel. When we do not hold on to regret but pick up our cross and follow Jesus, we discover something we never anticipated or dreamed of. What we feared would be a heavy cross often turns into a great blessing. Malcolm Muggeridge, the British TV celebrity who had such a powerful influence in making Mother Teresa’s ministry known to the world, had this to say about the cross and its blessing. He wrote: I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness. Malcolm Muggeridge To put it in another way: Troubles are often the means God uses to fashion us into people we never thought we could ever become. Anonymous Or to put it yet another way: For every hill I’ve had to climb . . . For all the blood and sweat and grime . . . My heart sings but a grateful song— These were things that made me strong. Anonymous

Year B

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion John 12:12–16, Isaiah 50:4–7, Philippians 2:6–11, Mark 15:1–39

The Messiah He will not wear a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns.

hen Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered that the scripture said this about him and they had done this for him.

Procession reading: John 12:16

TV commercial showed a little girl holding a camera and snapping a picture. Immediately, out of the camera rolled a blank sheet of white paper.

Then something remarkable happened. As the light of the sun fell upon the blank sheet of paper, it slowly turned into a beautiful colored photograph. hat TV commercial helps us to better understand these words of Jesus. He says:

“When, however, the Spirit comes . . . he will lead you into all the truth.” John 16:12–13 Before the coming of the Spirit, many events in Jesus’ life seemed like those blank sheets of paper that rolled out of the little girl’s camera. They seemed to his disciples to be blank and devoid of any special meaning.

transformed the events of Jesus’ life into something meaningful and beautiful. ake Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, which we read before the procession of palms. It reads:

[When the crowd saw Jesus riding on the donkey, they shouted,] “God bless the King of Israel!” Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the scripture says . . . “Here comes your king, riding on a young donkey.” John 12:13–15 ommenting on the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding on the donkey, John writes:

His disciples did not understand this at the time; but when Jesus had been raised to glory, they remembered that the scripture said this about him and they had done this for him. John 12:16 In other words, not until Jesus ascended to his Father and sent the Holy Spirit did the event reveal its special meaning.

nd what was the meaning of the event?

Oddly enough, the key to the answer lies in the donkey Jesus was riding.

Not until the light of the Holy Spirit fell upon them did his disciples discover that these events were not blank. They were filled with special meaning.

Our modern notion of a donkey is not a very flattering one. We regard the donkey as a stupid animal and make fun of it. But in biblical times people held the donkey in high regard.

nd so just as the light of the sun transformed the sheet of white paper into something meaningful and beautiful, so the light of the Holy Spirit

Year B

he donkey was an animal of peace, as opposed to the horse, which was an animal of war and violence. It carried soldiers into battle and to death. Lectionary 37, 38

4 Palm

Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Centuries before Jesus, Zechariah had prophesied that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah wrote:

It reveals that the mission of the Messiah is not to be a warrior-king, like David. He would defeat Israel’s enemies in battle and rule over them.

Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you! He comes . . . humble and riding on a donkey. . . .

Jesus makes it clear that he did not come to sit on a throne and be served by conquered nations. He has come not to be served by others, but to serve them.

Your king will make peace among the nations; he will rule from sea to sea . . . to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:9–10

He has come to kneel on the floor and wash the feet of his disciples.

n today’s processional reading, Jesus fulfills Zechariah’s prophesy, affirming that he is, indeed, the Messiah.

More importantly, Jesus clarifies for his followers the kind of messiah he is. And this revelation comes as a shocking surprise to many of them. They were expecting a political messiah. They were expecting a leader like David. They were expecting a messiah who would catapult Israel into a position of international power and prestige. esus had to correct these wrong notions. He had to reeducate the people gradually to understand the different kind of messiah he would be. Until he did, he could not reveal himself as the Messiah who was to come.

This explains why he continually told people he healed not to broadcast what he had done for him. It would reenforce their wrong notions about the Messiah and the kingdom he had come to inaugurate.

Jesus hasn’t come to rally people behind him to do battle against other nations. He has come to rally them behind him and do battle against poverty, hunger, hatred, and all forms of injustice. Jesus has come not to condemn people. He has come to forgive them and teach them how to live and love. Jesus hasn’t come to destroy people’s dreams. He has come to fulfill them in the most wonderful way imaginable. t is this Jesus whom we greet today. It is this Jesus who wants to enter our hearts, in a special way, in the Holy Week ahead.

It is this Jesus who is in our midst right now as we celebrate this very special event in the life of Jesus. So let us rejoice and sing with Christians everywhere: Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

n other words, Jesus’ action of riding into Jerusalem on an animal of peace delivers just the opposite message of what many people expected.

34 Palm

Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

4 Lectionary

37, 38

Year B

Easter Sunday Acts of the Apostles 10:34a, 37–43; Colossians 3:1–4; John 20:1–9

Meaning of Easter I have called you by name. Arise and be re-created!

arly on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb.

John 20:1

he movie It’s a Wonderful Life has become a kind of Christmas classic. The movie was inspired by a parable by author Philip Van Doren Stern. He had printed the story and sent it out as a Christmas card to all his friends.

he movie version revolves around a man named George Bailey. In his youth, he dreamed of leaving the small town of Bedford Falls, Ohio, and traveling to exciting far-off places.

But as he grew to manhood, one thing after another kept him from realizing this dream. Finally, the responsibility of keeping the family business going fell on his shoulders. His fate was sealed; his dreams ended. And so he began the boring routine of plodding along day after day, doing his duty— and helping people wherever he could. To him, his life seemed a waste of time and talent— a total failure. He might just as well not have been born. nd so one winter night, he drank a bit too much and wobbled to a bridge outside of town. He stood there totally depressed. His depression grew to the point that he considered jumping off the bridge.

Year B

ust then he a noticed a star in the sky glowing brighter and brighter. And as it grew closer and closer it turned out to be an angel, with the unlikely name of Clarence.

Clarence’s assignment was to show George that far from being a failure, in God’s eyes, his life was a huge success. He shows George how his kindness and his goodness to the people of Bedford Falls had changed the lives of many people in a most beautiful way. Of course, George is utterly amazed and surprised by what he sees. He had no idea of all the good he had done and of what a difference he had made in so many people’s lives. t this point, you are probably asking, What does this lovely Christmas story have to do with Easter? I think it has everything to do with it. Let me explain.

We tend to forget that Jesus was both divine and human. We tend to forget that Jesus was like us in all things but sin. We tend to forget that he got discouraged, just as George did and just as we do. For example, when Jesus told the people he would give them his body and blood to eat and drink, many of them stopped listening to him and walked away in disgust. At that point, he turned to his close disciples and said, “And you—would you also like to leave?”

John 6:67

ater, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to Peter, James, and John: “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me.” Mark 14:34

Lectionary 43

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Sunday

Finally, an hour later, when a mob took him prisoner, these same three closest friends fled and left him to face the mob totally alone.

but also wants to share this new life and power with us.

ike George Bailey, the human side of Jesus must have wondered if something had gone terribly wrong. Had he actually failed in the mission his Father had given him? Small wonder, he cried out on the cross: “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” Matthew 27:46

He wants to show us that we have done many beautiful things in our life, just as George Bailey did— things we have forgotten about or didn’t even realize we did.

hen three days later, something marvelous happened: Jesus awoke to a transformed life.

His time on earth was not a failure. It was a success: the most glorious success anyone could ever dream or hope for. It was a life that would change the whole course of human history. It would become the source of hope and courage and grace to billions of people yet unborn. his brings us to each one of us in this church on this day of days. Like George Bailey, many of us began lives filled with dreams—and, perhaps, even dreams of doing great things for God.

But as the years faded, one after the other, so did our dreams. All of us at one time or another have experienced moments of anguish, as George Bailey and Jesus himself did. All of us at one time or another have wondered if we had failed at the most important thing we could fail at— being the kind of person God created us to be.

nd that brings us to the message of Easter.

It is the message that Jesus not only was raised to new life and power, 36 Easter

Sunday

4 Lectionary

He wants to do for us what the angel did for George Bailey.

nd one of those things is being here on this Easter morning.

We are here because Jesus has touched our heart with his grace and brought us here. We are here because Jesus wants to give us a share in his own life and power. He wants to give us the power to rise from our tombs of doubt, depression, and discouragement. He wants to free us by his saving power so that no tomb can hold us anymore— no tomb of sin, no tomb of depression, no tomb of discouragement, not even the dark tomb of death. his is why Jesus called each one of us here this morning. This is what Easter is all about.

It’s about being called by Jesus, who wants to do for us what his Father did for him. And so, as we return to the altar to celebrate the Eucharist together, let us thank Jesus as we have never thanked him before. Above all, let us share our joy and gratitude with all we meet, so that they, too, may open their hearts that Jesus might do for them what he has done for us.

Year B

2nd Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 4:32–35, 1 John 5:1–6, John 20:19–31

Faith Faith needs to be nourished and exercised.

esus said to Thomas, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!” John 20:29

uly 20, 1969, was one of the most eventful days in modern history. On that day, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the face of the moon.

A whole series of preparatory flights had paved the way for that event. One was the flight of Gemini 4 in 1965. It was a four-day mission manned by astronauts Ed White and Jim McDivitt. n that flight, Ed White stepped outside the space capsule and made his famous 20-minute space walk.

When that famous flight returned to earth, a reporter interviewed White at length. One questions he asked him was what personal items he took with him on the flight. White said one was a Saint Christopher medal, which had been given to him by Pope John XXIII. White went on to explain to the reporter: “I took it to express my faith in myself, in Jim McDivitt, my partner, and especially in God. Faith was the most important thing we had going for us on that journey.” After that interview, someone said, “The Gemini 4 journey from the earth to outer space is a lot like our own spiritual journey from this life to the next life. Year B

The most important thing we’ve got going for us on that journey is faith— faith in ourselves, in one another, and, especially, in God.” ew stories in the Gospel better illustrate the importance of faith than the story of Thomas the Apostle in today’s Gospel.

Thomas had followed Jesus ever since he had met him. If anyone’s faith should have been strong, it should have been Thomas’s. But then came Good Friday. The faith that Thomas thought was strong turned out to be shockingly fragile. It was so fragile that when the other apostles said, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas said: “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

John 20:25

fter reading today’s Gospel, someone asked this question: Why do some people have a strong faith and others a fragile faith?

In a way this is almost like asking, Why do some people have strong physical health and others do not? Consider just two possible reasons. Some people have poor health because their parents did. They inherited a fragile body. On the other hand, some people have poor health because they don’t take care of themselves. For example, they don’t eat intelligently and they do not exercise regularly.

hat is true of physical health is also true of spiritual health.

Some people have a weak faith because their parents had a weak faith. Lectionary 45

4 Easter

Season

They inherit it, so to speak. If parents are lukewarm in their faith, this usually affects their children. On the other hand, our faith may be weak because we neglect it. For example, we fail to receive the Eucharist in a prayerful way or we fail to live out our faith in daily life. This brings us to a second question.

egardless of the reason for our weak faith, what can we do to strengthen it?

First of all, we need to keep in mind that faith is a gift. Having said this, however, it is up to us to dispose ourselves to receive the gift— an increase in faith. Disposing ourselves for the gift of faith or an increase in faith is not unlike keeping physically fit. If we don’t eat well or exercise regularly, our body tends to grow weak or sickly. On the other hand, if we eat intelligently and exercise regularly, our body tends to grow stronger and healthier. ur faith is somewhat like that too. It responds to nourishment and exercise. For example, when we receive the Eucharist prayerfully and live our lives according to the Gospel, our faith tends to grow stronger. Consider an example.

ears ago, a magazine carried an article about a man who was vacationing alone in a remote mountain cabin. Something was seriously wrong in his life, and he wanted to come to grips with it.

But instead of coming to grips with it, he grew more desperate and depressed. Finally, one night, he called out into the darkness, “God, if you are out there, help me! Help me! Help me!” His plea was met only with silence. Then, a few minutes later, 38 Easter 4 Lectionary

a strange thought popped into his mind. It was almost like a command, saying: Start living the Gospel, even though you do not fully understand it yet. In the process of living it, you will begin to see that it is true. The thought was so clear and powerful that the man resolved to try. He wrote later: That experience taught me a lesson I never forgot. It taught me that the way to a stronger faith is to begin living the teachings of Jesus in my everyday life. Just as we embark on a program of physical exercise to build up our physical health, so we can embark upon a spiritual program to build up our spiritual health. And an important dimension of any spiritual program is to begin living the Gospel—to begin putting into practice the teachings of Jesus. he Gemini 4 space journey from the earth to outer space is, indeed, a lot like our spiritual journey from this life to the next life. The most important thing we’ve got going for us on that journey is faith—in ourselves, in one another, and, especially, in God.

et us close with these words of Albert Schwietzer, the great missionary doctor:

Do you want to believe in Jesus? Do you really want to believe in him? Then you must do something for him. In this age of doubt there is no other way. If for his sake you give someone something to eat, or drink, or wear— which Jesus promised to bless as though it were done to him—then you will see that you really did it for him. Then he will reveal himself to you, as one who is alive. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

3rd Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 3:13–15, 17–19; 1 John 2:1–5a; Luke 24:35–48

Redemption We are God’s twice: he made us and bought us back.

esus said to his disciples, “[R]epentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations.” Luke 24:47

little boy had been working for weeks building a foot-long sailboat. He painted it white, printed the name “Mickey” on the side of it, and mounted a bright red sail on the deck. Then he attached a ball of string to it.

He could hardly wait to take it to the lake and put it in the water. As the boat skimmed and bobbed along, he leaped with joy and excitement. Slowly he let out the string, and the boat floated further and further out onto the lake. Then something terrible happened. A gust of wind snapped the string. Slowly the boat disappeared from sight. Heartbroken, the little boy began the long walk home—without his boat Mickey. hen one day he was walking by an arts and crafts store. Sitting in the window, big and beautiful, was Mickey.

Overjoyed, the boy went in and explained that the boat belonged to him. “Sorry,” said the owner, “I purchased it from another boy who claimed it was his. If it is yours and you really want it back, you’ll have to give me back the money I paid for it.” The boy left the store, determined to buy Mickey back— no matter how much it cost. Year B

or three months, he saved the money he got from odd jobs. Then came the day when he went back into the store, counted out the price, and bought back his boat.

As the man gave it to him, the boy’s face lit up. He held Mickey close and said, “You’re mine again—twice mine! I made you, and I bought you back.” Adapted from Dale Galloway, Rebuilding Your Life

hat story makes a beautiful Easter story.

The boy stands for the Son of God. The boat, for each of us created by God. Like the wind that snapped the string connecting the boat and the boy, sin snapped our relationship with God, and we drifted away from God. Then came the day when the Son of God found us and bought us back at a great price. On Easter morning Jesus could say what the little boy said of his boat. “You’re mine again—twice mine! I made you, and I bought you back.” his invites each of us to ask: What ought we do in return to Jesus for all he has done for us?

Or to put it another way: What have we done for Jesus in the past? What are we doing for Jesus now? What ought we do for Jesus in the future? Each of us will have our own answer to the first two questions. But let us consider the third and most important question together. What ought we do for Jesus in the days ahead?

wo things come to mind immediately. A story will illustrate the first one. Lectionary 48

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Season

For years, every Friday night in Florida, an old man named Ed used to follow the same after-supper ritual. He’d walk slowly down to the beach carrying a bucket of shrimp. By the time he reached the pier, the air above it was alive with sea gulls, darting about and calling out excitedly. Old Ed would dip his hand into the bucket, take out a handful of shrimp, and throw them to the gulls. As he did, you could almost hear him say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” ld Ed is Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. He and a crew of seven crashed into the Pacific during World War II. For seven days they floated on rubber rafts with no food. All they had was rain water, which they caught in their rafts. On the eighth day, they needed a miracle to stay alive.

That afternoon a sea gull landed on Ed’s head. He caught it, feathered it, and shared it with the others. Then they used the gull’s insides for fish bait. With the fish they caught and the rain that fell in their rubber rafts, they survived for 21 days and were eventually rescued. Ed’s Friday night ritual was his way of thanking the sea gulls and never forgetting what he owed them. Adapted from Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm

And so the answer to the third question, What ought we do for Jesus? is that we ought always to give thanks and never to forget to whom we owe our life. his brings us to the second thing we should do. Luke refers to it in today’s Gospel when he speaks of repentance for sin. Again, let’s illustrate with a story.

40 Easter

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4 Lectionary

Former presidential candidate John McCain was a POW for five and a half years. During that time, he spent months alone, in solitary. At one point he was in solitary for two straight years. He writes in his autobiography: When you’re left alone with your thoughts for years, it’s hard not to reflect on how better you could have spent your time as a free man. . . . I regretted I hadn’t read more books so I could keep my mind better occupied in solitary. I regretted much of the foolishness that had characterized my youth, seeing in it, at last, its obvious insignificance. I regretted I hadn’t worked harder at the [Naval] Academy. . . . And I resolved that when I regained my freedom, I would seize opportunities to spend what remained of my life in more important pursuits. And so the second thing we ought to do for Jesus for all he has done for us is to repent our past and use our future to do for others what he has done for us. n brief, then, each of us owes to Jesus a double gift of gratitude— for creating us and for buying us back.

Like Eddie Rickenbacher, we ought to strive to build into our lives a ritual for giving thanks to him lest we forget what he has done for us. And like John McCain, we ought to resolve to repent our past by showing forth—by word and example— the goodness of God who could say of us what the little boy said of his boat: “You’re mine again—twice mine! I made you, and I bought you back.”

Year B

4th Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 4:8–12, 1 John 3:1–2, John 10:11–18

Good Shepherd Jesus calls us to unity and shows us the way.

am the good shepherd. . . . There are other sheep which belong to me. . . . They will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock.” John 10:14, 16

ome time ago, someone handed me a newspaper clipping of a “letter to the editor.” Allow me to read it to you:

Dr. Jim Kelly was not a celebrity and he was not famous in the traditional sense, but he was a hero. He was a doctor who served the community for fifty years. His passing . . . drew an enormous crowd of mourners who stood for hours in the heat and humidity without complaint, to pay him honor. The funeral home, in business more than sixty years, said they had never seen such a crowd. . . . As they waited, these people shared stories about this man, known affectionately as “Doc” and “Papa Doc.” The themes of these stories . . . told of a man . . . who reached into his own pocket to cover expenses for those who could not afford it. A man who helped to establish a facility for handicapped children. A man who bestowed on his little girl patients the title “Princess.” . . . Year B

A doctor who made house calls and worried along with mothers and encouraged them to call him at any hour. . . . The stories told of a man who made everyone . . . feel like the most important person in the universe from the moment they encountered his compassionate smile and gentle manner. The nurses and staff who worked with him consistently recalled how he never failed to thank them for their efforts. . . . Generosity, unconditional love, compassion, and faith were the trademarks of this “good doctor.” hat inspiring letter about that “good doctor” moved me deeply. It also reminded me of something that biblical scholar William Barclay said in reference to Jesus the “good shepherd.”

He said that ancient Greeks had two words for “good.” The first word was agathos. They used it to describe a moral act, which can be either good or bad. The second word was kalos. It was this word the gospel writer used in calling Jesus the “good shepherd.” To describe the meaning of kalos, Barclay used the example of calling someone the “good doctor.” He says that when people do this, they are not referring to his skill as a physician. Rather, they are thinking more of his compassion and loving-kindness. In the case of Jesus, he is the “good shepherd” to the point that he will gladly die for his sheep. Lectionary 51

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hat brings us to a second point about Jesus, the “good shepherd.”

He has come to bring all people into one flock. William Barclay comments on this point by telling a story from the life of Egerton Young. He was a missionary to the Native Americans of Saskatchewan, Canada. An old chief once said to Egerton: “When you spoke of the great Spirit just now, did I hear you say, ‘Our Father’?” “Yes,” said Egerton. “That is very new and sweet to me,” said the chief. “We never thought of the great Spirit as Father. We heard him in thunder; we saw him in lightning . . . and the blizzard, and we were afraid. So when you tell us that the great Spirit is our Father, that is very beautiful to us.” The old man paused, and went on. . . . “Missionary, did you say that the great Spirit is your Father?” “Yes,” said the missionary. . . . “Then,” said the old chief . . . “you and I are brothers!” he old chief had put his finger on the second point Jesus says he has come to do.

He has come to teach us that we are brothers and sisters, because we have the same Father. And in this amazing revelation lies the sole hope for the possibility for unity and peace in our world. s we look out across our world we see huge divisions: nation against nation, race against race, social class against social class.

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Without the Good Shepherd, there is no hope of healing these divisions.

here is no hope for achieving unity and peace between nations.

There is no hope for achieving unity and peace between races. There is no hope for achieving unity and peace between social classes. he only thing that can break down the barriers between nations, races, and classes is the good news of the Gospel.

It is the good news that God is “Our Father.”

nd that brings us to our role in all of this.

What Jesus revealed to us we must live out in our lives. We must not only preach it to our world by our words but also— and more importantly—by our actions. If there is to be peace in our world, it must begin with us— in the depths of our soul. An old Chinese proverb puts it well when it reminds us: If there is right in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

Year B

5th Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 9:26, 1 John 3:18–24, John 15:1–8

Christian calling

John 15:5

im Chi Ha is a South Korean poet. In the 1980s he was sentenced to life in prison by a repressive Korean regime.

And what was his crime? It was writing a series of poems protesting Korea’s treatment of the poor. In the midst of his ordeal, Kim Chi Ha never lost his Christian joy or his sense of humor. When an angry judge added seven years to his life sentence, he joked to his mother, “I must stay in prison seven more years after I die.” Kim’s mother supports her son totally, saying: “Jesus was always for the poor. As his followers, we, too, must be for the poor and oppressed.”

im wrote a play entitled The Gold-Crowned Jesus.

In it, a leper discovers the risen Jesus sick and suffering in a state prison. When the leper recovers from shock, he asks Jesus: “Why do you stay in prison? Why don’t you use your divine power to free yourself and destroy evil in the world?” Jesus surprises him, saying: “My power alone can neither free myself nor destroy evil in the world. Year B

hese words of Jesus remind us that when he walked about on earth, he taught and healed people through the members of his earthly body. He taught and healed people through his own flesh-and-blood hands, arms, mouth.

Remain united to me and bear much fruit.

hose who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

There is only one way I can do these things: It is people like you. With people like you, I can do all things. Without people like you, I can do nothing.”

But in these modern times, Jesus teaches and heals not through the members of his physical body, but through the members of his mystical body, the Church. We are the hands, arms, and mouth of Jesus’ mystical body. This prompted Saint Teresa of Avila to say to the Christians of her time: Yours are the only hands with which Jesus can do his work. . . . Yours are the only eyes through which the compassion of Jesus can shine upon a troubled world. he words of Jesus in Kim’s play and the words of Saint Teresa of Avila fit in beautifully with today’s Gospel. There Jesus tells us:

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. . . . “My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and this is the way you become my disciples.” John 15:5, 8 his raises the critical question: How do we remain in union with Jesus in order that we may bear much fruit?

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We do this in three ways, especially. First, we do it by gathering each Sunday in his name, as we are doing now. Second, we do it by listening to his word, as we are doing right now. Third, we do it by receiving his Body and Blood, as we will do in a few minutes.

et’s take a brief look at each of these three ways.

Take the first way: gathering in his name. Jesus told his disciples, “Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20 When we come together as a community, as we are doing now, we have the promise of Jesus himself that he is with us, supporting and empowering us. That brings us to the second way: listening to his word. Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” Luke 10:16 When we hear the Gospel read and explained, we have Jesus’ promise that we listen to him, inspiring and enlightening us. He told his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” Luke 10:16 Finally, concerning eating and drinking his Body and Blood, Jesus said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.” John 6:56 When we do this, we have Jesus’ promise that he is with us, sharing with us his very life.

his brings us back to Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel:

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

John 15:5

In effect, Jesus is saying that if we want to become the kind of person 44 Easter

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his Father intended us to become, we must remain united to him. An example will illustrate. The movie La Dolce Vita opens with a statue of Jesus being towed across the Italian sky by a helicopter. Behind it is a second helicopter carrying a writer named Marcello. Marcello grew up in a religious family in a small Italian village. As a young man he moved to the city, where he abandoned his faith. Instead of finding fulfillment, however, he found only emptiness. The movie ends with Marcello standing on a beach, looking down at a decaying fish and studying it. Cut off from the sea, the fish has died. The message for Marcello is clear: He is dying also. He is dying the worst kind of death, a spiritual death, cut off from Jesus.

nd that brings us back to each one of us here.

Unless we remain united to Jesus, we are also doomed to die, like the fish, cut off from the sea. We are doomed to die, like Marcello, cut off from Jesus. We are doomed to die, like a branch, cut off from the vine. And the chief way we remain united to Jesus is by doing what we are doing now. First, by gathering each Sunday in his name, as we are doing now. Second, we do it by listening to his word, as we are doing right now. Third, we do it by receiving his Body and Blood, as we will do in a few minutes. If we do this, we will fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Jesus put it this way: “My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit.” John 15:8 Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

6th Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 10:25–48 passim, 1 John 1:7–10, John 15:9–17

Our spiritual journey Three key moments.

And I wondered if they sang like this all year round and I’d never noticed it. . . . Then, I came to where the sun was setting over the playing fields. . . . As the sunset faded everything grew still. . . . I remember now the feeling of awe that came over me. I felt inclined to kneel on the ground. . . .

call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father.” John 15:15

Now that I look back on it, it seems to me that it was one of the decisive events of my life.

aint John of the Cross was a 16th-century Spanish mystic and spiritual writer. He identified a series of significant moments that are typical of the spiritual journey of most people.

Up to that time I had lived the life of a normal schoolboy, quite content with the world as I found it. Now I was suddenly made aware of another world of beauty and mystery. . . . It was as though I had begun to see and smell and hear for the first time.

By the term moment, he doesn’t mean an instant happening. Technically, it would be more accurate to call it a stage in a person’s spiritual growth. In other words, the moment might extend over a long time. The first moment is the moment of fervor. It’s a moment when God touches our heart and stirs our spirit tangibly. This moment is the foundation of the spiritual life. Why? Because it awakens in us the mystery of God and of a world infinitely greater than the one we’ve experienced up to this point in our lives. onsider an example. Bede Griffiths is a modern spiritual giant. One evening, as a boy, he was out walking. Suddenly he became aware of the sound of birds singing in chorus. He writes:

I remember the shock of surprise with which the sound broke on my ears. It seemed to me that I had never heard the birds singing before. Year B

And so the moment of fervor is the first step of the spiritual journey. Poet William Blake says of that moment: It is a moment when God places in our hands the end of a golden string. If we wind it into a ball, it will lead us to heaven’s gate in Jerusalem’s wall.

his brings us to the second moment. It is the moment of generosity. It is a moment when love invites us to go beyond what we would ordinarily do in a given situation. What is more, our generosity inspires those around us to imitate it.

Father John Canary, rector of the diocesan seminary in Chicago, gives this example. John reluctantly agreed to volunteer with a friend to help out at a shelter for the homeless. One night a fight erupted between two street people at the shelter. His friend rushed in and literally pulled the two men from the room, threatening to call the police if they didn’t settle down. Lectionary 57

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Later that evening the same friend came to John and said, “There’s a man here with lice. He needs to be taken to a detox center.” When John’s friend saw his hesitancy, he said, “John, I’ll go with you.” In spite of John’s efforts to avoid putting a man with lice in his car, he drove them to the detox center. After it was all over, the street person thanked them profusely. John said the episode reminded him of the lepers of Jesus’ time. People tried to avoid all contact with them. Jesus, on the other hand, reached out to them, touched them, and healed them. John wanted to avoid direct contact with the street people. His friend went out of his way to help them in various ways throughout that entire night. John said of his friend’s generosity: Love had moved him into action. It was contagious. I knew I would never change my feelings about being at the shelter, but I knew I wanted to live in this spirit. I think love works this way. When we see it in action, we want to imitate it. But to imitate it, we need courage, because it involves risk. We never know how our efforts will be received, or what they will cost us. We may be rejected and we will probably have to stretch more than we’d like to. Father Canary concludes his comments on this step of reaching out in love, saying to us, “Take a chance. Do it. It’ll make a difference.” hat brings us to a third moment of the spiritual journey: the moment of flatness. It inevitably comes to all who take the spiritual life seriously. It is the moment when enthusiasm wanes and we tend to lose interest.

In other words, the things that once excited and motivated us to reach out heroically in love no longer do. It is the moment when we experience utter flatness or dryness. 46 Easter

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To use the language of John of the Cross, it is the moment when we undergo purification. That is, we no longer do something, because it gives us a warm glow or makes us feel good. We do it because it is the right thing to do. It is what Jesus asked us to do. It is the moment when we make the leap from adolescent love to mature love— from romantic love to committed love. This purification happens in marriage, in friendship, and in every life of service to God’s people, especially the needy. If we rise to the challenge, the moment of flatness will launch us into a new orbit of the spiritual life. It is the moment when—out of love— we freely choose to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. It is the moment when we choose to love others as Jesus loved us. It is a moment when saints are born. It is to this kind of moment that Jesus invites us in today’s Gospel. He invites us to stay the course and love— whether it be in marriage, friendship, or service to others. It is an invitation to walk the second mile in life. And here’s the beautiful part. If we rise to the challenge, not only will it transform our own life and put it into a new orbit, but our generosity will also inspire and motivate others to do the same.

nd so with Saint Ignatius we pray:

Lord, teach us to be generous. Teach us to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for reward, except to know that we are doing your will. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

Ascension Acts of the Apostles 1:1–11; Ephesians 4:1–13, 22–23; Mark 16:15–20

Other Christs We are called to be “doubles” for Jesus.

he disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them. Based on Mark 16:15

he star of every major movie usually has a double. The purpose of the double is to fill in for the star during the shooting of difficult or dangerous scenes.

For example, the double will fill in for the star on a runaway horse or on a leap from a moving car. In other words, the double does what the star can’t do or shouldn’t risk doing.

Jesus needs doubles who will be willing to live with him—so to speak— and study him, in order to resemble him more closely. To borrow the words of Saint Paul, Jesus needs doubles who will strive to be able to say what Paul was able to say: It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave his life for me. Galatians 2:20

ome years ago, Time magazine ran a story on what it called “The New Missionaries.”

These are Christians who study Jesus in detail and do for people today what Jesus can no longer do, now that he has ascended to the Father.

Sometimes the double even lives with the star for a while. The reason for this is to better study the star’s mannerisms and bodily movements.

Time focused on one particular missionary, especially, to illustrate. It focused on Sister Emmanuelle, whose ministry is in Cairo, Egypt.

This helps the double fill in for the star with such skill that the average person won’t be aware that a substitution has been made.

Her day begins at 4:30 each morning. She wakes up in a dirt-floor hut that has a gaping hole in the roof.

his brings us to the feast that we celebrate today: the Ascension of Jesus to his Father in heaven. Above all, it brings us to the practical meaning of the feast for each one of us.

Jesus needs doubles today. Jesus needs them because he can no longer do what he used to do when he walked about on earth— teaching people, blessing people, healing people, and forgiving them. Year B

After washing in a bucket of water, she puts on a plain white dress and hangs a small crucifix around her neck. Then guided by an old battered flashlight, she walks through the darkness to the nearest church to attend Mass. Her walk takes her past piles of rotting garbage, heaps of junk, and packs of snarling dogs. ister Emmanuelle is a double, or stand-in, for Jesus to several thousand garbage pickers.

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Cairo’s poorest of the poor keep body and soul together by salvaging whatever they can from the city’s garbage dump bout nine o’clock, she begins a class for about 40 children. She teaches them how to speak, correctly, their native Arabic tongue.

But her eyes really light up and sparkle when she moves from language study to Bible study. All the while, she waves away clouds of buzzing flies that fill the air around the garbage dump. After her Bible class Sister Emmanuelle makes her rounds, visiting families to find out what their most pressing needs are. She writes these down in a little notebook that she carries in her pocket. Sister Emmanuelle is a very gentle person. But as Time magazine points out, she can become tough as nails, especially when she is seeking government help for her garbage pickers. ime ends its story saying that Sister Emmanuelle epitomizes the new missionaries. They are people who double, or stand in, for Jesus.

They do for the hungry, the homeless, and the powerless what Jesus can no longer do for them. How long will Sister Emmanuelle be able to do all this? Her answer is as firm as it is joyful: “I want to stay here until the day I die. I don’t want to go anywhere else.” ew of us are called or gifted to do what Sister Emmanuelle does. But all of us have been called and gifted in some way to double for Jesus—

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whether this be in our own home, the workplace, or a classroom. What the story of Sister Emmanuelle does is to remind us of our own unique gifts and calling. Saint Paul writes: The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another he gives the power to heal. . . . The same Spirit . . . gives a different gift to each person. 1 Corinthians 12:7–9, 11 In other words, each of us has been called and empowered by our baptism and our confirmation to double for Jesus in some way for the good of all. From a practical point of view, this is what the feast of the Ascension is all about. It’s about taking to heart the words Jesus spoke to his disciples just before ascending to his Father. He said: “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me . . . to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles 1:8 It’s about taking to heart the words of Jesus to his disciples in his Sermon on the Mount: “You are like salt for the whole human race. . . . You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. . . . “In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13–14, 16

Year B

7th Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 1:15–17, 20a, 20c–26; 1 John 4:11–16; John 17:11b–19

Wait and pray Sometimes that’s all we can do, and it’s the best thing to do.

eep them safe by the power of your name. . . . Keep them safe from the Evil One.”

John 17:11, 15

hose of us who were living during those unforgettable days of World War II may recall a poem called “Conversion.”

Movie stars quoted it at bond rallies. Politicians cited it in their speeches. Disc jockeys read it against a musical background on radio stations. After it was featured on one station, the network had to hire a staff of people to fill the thousands of requests for it. In the jungles of the South Pacific, the poem was found tacked to trees. In England, a handwritten copy was found in the pocket of a badly wounded turret gunner, pulled from a crashed plane. On D-Day, a chaplain found it clutched in the hands of dying soldiers on Normandy Beach. One critic said of the poem, “Its appeal is its simple expression of a great spiritual truth in a way that people of that era could relate to.” Unless we transport ourselves back to an era far less sophisticated than our own— when thousands of soldiers were dying daily— we may find it hard to appreciate or relate to. The poem is written from the perspective of a young soldier about to go into a dangerous battle. It goes like this: Year B

Look, God, I have never spoken to You. . . . You see, God, They told me You didn’t exist— And like a fool—I believed all of this. Last night from a shell hole I saw Your sky— I figured right then they had told me a lie. Funny—I had to come to this hellish place, Before I had the time to see Your face. . . . But I’m sure glad, God, I met You today. . . . The signal!—Well, God—I’ll have to go. . . . Look now—this will be a horrible fight— Who knows— I may come to Your house tonight— Though I wasn’t friendly with You before, I wonder, God— If You’d wait at Your Door— Look—I’m crying! Me! Shedding tears!— I wish I’d known You these many years. . . . Strange—since I met You— I’m not afraid to die.

he poem was written by Frances Angermayer of Kansas City, in the early hours of June 3, 1943.

It was a hot night and she couldn’t sleep. She began thinking about her brother who was in service. But all she could do was to wait and pray for his safe return. Then she began thinking about the terrible reality of thousands of other men and women going into battle that night and, maybe, not returning. She wondered what a GI who had never prayed before might say to God in a situation like that. It was at this point that her waiting and her praying bore fruit. Lectionary 61

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She got out of bed and wrote the poem “Conversion.” Little did she dream that it would touch the hearts of millions.

nd that brings us to today’s Mass readings.

In the reading for today’s Gospel, we find the apostles and Jesus gathered in a room in Jerusalem. They, too, are thinking about terrible reality brewing in the city of Jerusalem that night. But all they, too, can do is wait and pray. Little did they dream that the fruit of their waiting and praying would be an event—only hours away— that would save the human race: the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find the apostles and Mary gathered in a room. They, too, are waiting and praying. Jesus had just ascended to heaven. Now they were without him— terribly afraid of what lay ahead for them: persecution and even crucifixion. And the fruit of their waiting and praying was an event that would give them the strength and the courage to go forth and tell the good news of Jesus to all the world. The Holy Spirit came upon them and formed them into a single body: the Body of Christ, the Church. It, in turn, transformed their lives— and through them— the lives of billions of people yet unborn.

nd that brings us to how we can apply all this to our lives.

Waiting is something we all do every day. And it drives some of us crazy. Instead of waiting and praying, we wait and shout. 50 Easter

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To use a simple example, we find ourselves waiting at a traffic light. When it is slow to change, we shout at it, as if it had ears and could hear us. Or, at a more serious level, we find ourselves, as a parent, waiting for the kids to act maturely. Meanwhile, we shout at them, thinking this will hasten the process. Or at an even more serious level, we find ourselves waiting for a spouse to conform to our way of thinking. Meanwhile, we shout, thinking that will effect such a miracle. Today’s Gospel suggests a totally different approach to these trying situations. It suggests we follow the example of Jesus and the apostles, of Mary and the apostles, and of Frances Angermayer. It suggests we substitute waiting and shouting for waiting and praying. Such an approach would allow the Holy Spirit to act through us and do for us what we could never do on our own. Such a change in approach would allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives the same miracle the Spirit worked in the lives of the apostles and Jesus, the apostles and Mary— and millions of people since their time. his is the good news contained in today’s Scripture readings. This is what we are gathered here to celebrate in this liturgy. This is the change that the Holy Spirit invites us to make in our lives as we go forth from this church today.

Year B

Pentecost Acts of the Apostles 2:1–11; 1 Corinthians 12:3–7, 12–13; John 20:19–23

Mystery of Pentecost The Holy Spirit is with us individually and collectively.

ongues of fire . . . spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts of the Apostles 2:3–4

n the movie Network, Peter Finch plays a television commentator. He craves popularity and acceptance, so he tells people only what they like to hear.

One day he hears a voice say, “It’s time to tell the truth.” He is shocked, but the voice has the ring of someone he knows he must obey. And so he goes before his TV audience and explains everything to them, saying: This voice told me, “It’s time to tell people the truth. This won’t be easy for you, because most of them don’t want to hear the truth.” I said to the voice: “Why did you pick me for this! What do I know about the truth?” Then the voice said, “Don’t worry about what is truth. I will teach you what is truth. I will put the truth in your mouth.” I said to the voice, “Hey! This isn’t the burning bush and I’m not Moses. This is TV and I’m just a commentator.” (Adapted)

And just before ascending to heaven, Jesus gave his disciples this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift . . . my Father promised . . . the Holy Spirit.” Acts of the Apostles 1:4–5 So they returned to Jerusalem and waited and prayed. Then came the day of Pentecost. uddenly there was a noise . . . like a strong wind blowing. . . . Tongues of fire . . . spread out . . . They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

There were Jews living in Jerusalem . . . who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. Acts of the Apostles 2:2–6 hen Peter explained to the crowd what had happened. They asked Peter, “What shall we do?” Peter said:

“You must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit. . . .” About three thousand people were added to the group that day. Acts of the Apostles 2:38, 41 hat brings us to the feast of Pentecost: the coming of the Holy Spirit. This great event transforms the disciples of Jesus into the Church, the Body of Christ.

fter reading that passage from the movie, I thought to myself, That’s probably the way the disciples must have felt when Jesus told them one day:

It is into this same Body that we have been baptized and confirmed. Through Baptism and Confirmation we received the Holy Spirit as fully as did the disciples on the first Pentecost.

“I shall not be with you very much longer. . . . I will ask the Father, and he will give you . . . the Spirit. . . . He will lead you into all truth.” John 13:33, 14:16–17, 16:13

Like them, along with receiving the Holy Spirit, we received the mission to participate in the work of spreading the Kingdom of God on earth.

Year B

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or every serious Christian, this poses a critical question in terms of action. When we look at our limited talents, we wonder where to begin and how to begin.

For example, we see the millions of people homeless and hungry in the world. We think, “I can barely make ends meet in my own family. How can I begin to address this enormous world problem?” We see age-old hatreds between nations threatening to boil into war, and we say, “I can hardly keep my own anger down at times. How can I do anything about this anger between nations?” We see the apathy of Christians who no longer practice their faith, and we say, “I’m struggling with my own faith. What can I do about their loss of faith?” It is right here that Pentecost takes on a down-to-earth, practical meaning for us. It is right here that we have the answer to our question, Where to begin and what to do? Jesus promised his followers that he would send the Spirit and that the Spirit would guide and inspire our every action. It would be the Holy Spirit who would support and strengthen them in their mission of spreading God’s Kingdom. his leads us to the answer to “Where and how should we begin?” It tells us, first of all, that we should begin by believing that the Holy Spirit is with each one of us individually and in the Church collectively.

That means we must listen prayerfully with and in our hearts to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Second, we must keep in mind that we are part of the Church, the Body of Christ. We are not alone. The Holy Spirit formed us into one Body and intends us to work, pray, and worship together as a one Body. 52 Pentecost 4 Lectionary

Third, we must keep in mind that Christ is the head of the Body. We are united to him as vines are united to a branch. Separated from Christ we can do nothing. United with him, we can do anything.

nd so this is the good news we celebrate on this feast of Pentecost.

We are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with us, individually and collectively. The Holy Spirit wants to take our human talents— small as they may seem— and transform them into something beautiful and magnificent— something we never dreamed possible. his is where Pentecost takes on a practical here-and-now meaning in our lives.

This is why we return to the altar now to celebrate and give thanks. Let us close with a poem adapted from the Mexican poet and mystic Armado Nervo. It sums up in a beautiful way what we have been trying to say. It reads: Alone we are only a spark, but in the Spirit we are a raging fire. Alone we are only an anthill, but in the Spirit we are a soaring mountain. Alone we are a drop of water, but in the Spirit we are a roaring fountain. Alone we are only a beggar, but in the Spirit we are a king. (Adapted)

Year B

Baptism of the Lord

He also had to struggle in pain to develop his mind and body—as we do.

Isaiah 55:1–11, Acts of the Apostles 2:34–38, Mark 1:7–11

Jesus, the Way We must imitate Jesus and follow his example.

esus came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee, and was baptized by John. Mark 1:9

ome years ago, Joel Weldon developed a program designed to help people develop their full potential. It was much in demand, because experts claim we use only a fraction of our potential, perhaps as little as 10 percent.

One of the talks in the program was entitled “The Chinese Bamboo Tree.” In it he explains that, once planted, this particular bamboo tree seed takes five years to sprout. But, once it sprouts, it literally explodes— growing 90 feet tall in six weeks. Weldon explains that during the five years of apparent inactivity, the bamboo seed, in reality, has been working hard, putting down an elaborate system of roots. It is this incredible root system that makes the plant grow so explosively in such a short time. hat story helps us understand one of the two reasons why Jesus waited 30 years to begin his ministry.

He was putting down an elaborate system of spiritual roots, so to speak. That is, he was preparing spiritually for the mission his Father gave him. Here we need to keep in mind something we often forget. Jesus possessed a human nature— just as we do. Therefore, he grew and developed slowly “in body and in wisdom”—as we do. Luke 2:52 Year B

hat brings us to the second reason why Jesus waited 30 years before beginning his public ministry. The Scottish theologian William Barclay explains why.

He begins by noting that Jews practiced baptism only for converts to Judaism. He writes, and I quote: No Jew ever conceived that he, a member of God’s chosen people . . . could ever need baptism. Baptism was for sinners, and no Jew ever conceived of himself as a sinner shut off from God. Now for the first time in their national history, the Jews realized their own sin and . . . need for God. Never before had there been such a unique national movement of penitence and of search for God. This was the moment for which Jesus had been waiting. Jews were conscious of their sin and conscious of their need for God [in the sense that they were, indeed, shut off from God by sin]. The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Vol. 1 nd so the second reason why Jesus waited so long to begin his ministry was that the people were not ready for it.

They needed someone like John the Baptist to seize the national mood of repentance and channel it into sincere and genuine repentance. When Jesus saw this taking place, he rejoiced. Jesus also demonstrated solidarity with the people he had come to redeem by going down to the Jordan River and presenting himself for baptism. When he stepped out of the water, something remarkable happened: the sky opened, the Spirit descended, and a heavenly voice said, “You are my Son.” Lectionary 21

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To understand the meaning of these three images—especially the sky opening up— we need to recall that after Adam’s sin the world became more and more evil with each passing year. Good Jews pleaded with God to come down and set things right. Thus, the prophet Isaiah prayed to God in these blunt words: “Why don’t you tear the sky open and come down?” Isaiah 64:1 The opening of the sky, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the voice from heaven— these were dramatic signs. They dramatized that God, in the person of Jesus, had come down from heaven to set things right.

his brings us to the application of all this to our personal lives.

Just as Jesus spent long periods in prayer, preparing for the important mission that his heavenly Father gave him, so we need to pray for the grace to carry out the mission God has given us. We sometimes forget that we each have received a mission from God. Just as Jesus’ baptism inaugurated his mission, so our baptism inaugurated our own mission. Reflecting on that remarkable fact, Cardinal Newman writes: God has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission— I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. . . . [Therefore] I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. . . . [God] does nothing in vain. . . .

nd so an application of today’s Gospel to our own lives is to recall and take seriously the fact that:

God has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission— I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. And the way I carry out my mission is to look at my present life in whatever state of life I may be and strive to live it in a loving, caring, gentle way, as Jesus himself did. To do this, however, I need to spend time in prayer each day, as Jesus did. I need to keep in touch with Jesus, who alone can help me carry out my mission faithfully, as he carried out his. his is the message of today’s feast. It is a message that Jesus wants us to take to heart, beginning today, right now, at this Mass.

et us close with an excerpt from a beautiful 17th-century prayer, quoted in the 19th-century writings of Cardinal Newman. It reads:

Into Your hands I commit myself and all who are dear to me. Watch over us with Your loving care while we sleep and bring us safely to another day, refreshed and ready for Your service. Support us, O Lord, all days of this earthly life, till the shadows lengthen, the evening comes, and our work is done. Then in Your mercy, give us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at last.

O my God, I put myself without reserve into your hands. 54 Baptism

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Year B

2nd Sunday of the Year 1 Samuel 3:3b–10, 19; 1 Corinthians 6:13c–15a, 17–20; John 1:35–42

Share your faith Bring someone to the faith—or back to it.

esus saw two disciples following him, and he asked, “What are you looking for?” John 1:37 (adapted)

striking photograph in Atlanta’s leading newspaper showed a man and a woman kneeling side by side in Atlanta’s Catholic cathedral. What made the photo especially striking was the deep spirit of prayerfulness that radiated from each one.

he man was Eugene Genovese, a highly respected American historian. His book Roll Jordan Roll won several awards. The woman was his wife, Elizabeth, also a historian and the author of a prize-winning book entitled Within the Plantation Household.

Elizabeth once described herself as an adult nonbeliever, the product of an atheistic father and an agnostic Jewish mother. In time she became a feminist scholar and the founder of the women’s study program at Emory College.

One of the people who shared her views and exerted a positive influence on her was a Catholic professor and colleague. To make a long story short, Elizabeth came to the Catholic Church, becoming a Catholic in 1995. Once in the Church, she took a very active role in it, becoming a eucharistic minister and a lector in her parish. hat brings us back to Eugene. He grew up in an inactive Catholic family. At 15, he became a communist and a dedicated Marxist, with “no room for God” in his life. Eventually, he became one of the top Marxist scholars in the nation.

In the 1960s President Nixon tried to have him dismissed from the faculty of Rutgers University because of his communist sympathies during the Vietnam War. He, too, became attracted to the Catholic Church. Through his experience and study, he became more and more convinced that Catholic social teaching— and not Marxism—provided “the only sound basis” for a worldview that was honorable and just. This conviction, and his wife’s example, led him to return to the Church— after being away from it almost all his life. Retold from an interview by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda in Our Sunday Visitor (December 1999)

As she progressed in her work, she became more and more troubled by the moral and intellectual stances of many of her peers.

The joy of these two people upon entering the Church was great, and the desire to share their newfound faith with others brings us to today’s Gospel.

Especially troubling was their stance on basic moral issues, like abortion. The bottom-line issue on abortion, she said, is not a woman’s rights over an unborn child’s rights. The bottom-line issue is the basic sanctity of human life.

It describes Andrew discovering Jesus and sharing his newfound faith with his brother Peter. Significantly, Andrew is mentioned only three times in John’s Gospel, but each time it is to bring someone to Jesus.

Year B

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In today’s reading, he brings his brother. Later on, he brings a boy with five loaves and two fish. John 6:8–9 Later, it is some Greek people. John 12:20–22 Had Andrew not brought his brother Peter to Jesus, Peter may never have become the rock on which Jesus built his Church. Had Andrew not brought the boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus, the crowd Jesus fed with them would have gone home hungry, and the Gospel would have gone without one of its most inspiring miracles. And had Andrew not brought the Greeks to Jesus, a vast segment of people may never have met Jesus. This brings us to an important point. e all know people like the two historians and Peter in today’s Gospel. That is, we know people who are searching for a faith that they can embrace with all their heart. Or we know people— family members, relatives, or friends— who are inactive in their faith. Case studies of such people show that their conversion or return to the Church dated from the inspiration or invitation of a family member, friend, or relative. Take an example.

ne Sunday morning, author Harry Paige went to Mass, as usual, in his parish church. He was surprised to see large sections of pews roped off with signs reading “Reserved.” He figured special guests were coming and wondered who they might be.

Mass began without anyone showing up. Then, when it came time for the homily, the priest said, “No doubt you’re wondering for whom we have reserved the seats.” Then he paused and said, “They’re for friends and family members— especially sons and daughters—who used to worship with us but no longer do.” 56 Ordinary

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hat episode inspired Paige to invite a friend who was inactive in his faith to attend Mass with him the next Sunday.

Paige was surprised when his friend accepted eagerly. In fact, he seemed to have been waiting for someone to invite him back. How tragic it would be had Paige failed to extend that invitation to his friend. People often ask what they can do to spread the good news of the Gospel. One thing we all can do is to imitate Andrew and invite others to share the good news of our faith. It goes without saying that we need to use tact and common sense in extending such an invitation. Ideally, it will help if we can offer a specific reason for inviting people. For example, there may be a special talk being given some evening during the week. Or we might invite them to attend Easter Sunday Mass with us and be our guests at breakfast. In the final analysis, we should extend the invitation in a way we feel comfortable doing so. And we should extend it in a way that respects the people we invite. Finally, it goes without saying that we should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit in whatever we do.

et’s close with this thought:

To reach out to people who are not ready to receive the Good News is a waste of time. But not to reach out to people who are ready is to deprive them of the greatest gift one human being can give another human being: the gift of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of us all. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

3rd Sunday of the Year John 3:1–5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29–31; Mark 1:14–20

Call of Jesus Jesus continues to invite us to a closer walk with him.

esus said . . . “Come. . . .” At once they left their nets and went with him. Mark 1:17–18

ecently, someone was explaining an idea for a new trivia game. He called it “Past and Present.”

“I’m more in touch with the heart of the acting profession now than I was as a young actress.” Sister Delores went on to say that she still retains her membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy still sends her all first-run movies, and she still casts her vote each year for the Oscar awards. hat brings us to a question that people often ask about Sister Delores. Why would a young film star give up an exciting career in the movies and enter a convent?

The first card deals with a celebrity’s past and contains two questions. The second card deals with a celebrity’s present and also contains two questions. Here’s an example.

She said it wasn’t a sudden bolt of lightning coming out of the blue. Rather, it was a slow-dawning awareness that Jesus was calling her to a life of special witness as a nun.

Card 1: Entertainment Tonight did a feature on TV of the film star who gave Elvis Presley his first screen kiss. First question: Who is she? Second question: Why did she stop acting? Card 2: People magazine recently interviewed the same film star. First question: Where did they find her? Second question: What is she doing now?

Clearly, a seed was planted when, at age ten, she got permission from her parents to become a Catholic.

The answer to the first set of questions is Delores Hart. She gave Elvis his first screen kiss in the movie King Creole. Five years later, in 1963, she stunned the film industry by entering a convent and becoming a nun. The answer to the second set of questions is that she is still a nun at the same convent in Connecticut. When asked what it was like to give Elvis his first screen kiss, Sister Delores laughed and said jokingly, “That one has lasted 40 years.” When asked if she still thinks about the movies, she gave this surprising answer: Year B

And, no doubt, the seed began to sprout when, as a busy film star, she began to take time off to make informal retreats at a Benedictine convent in Connecticut. Finally, the seed began to bear fruit during her role in the film Lisa, which dealt with the Holocaust and the suffering of its innocent victims. I like the story of Delores Hart for two reasons: First, it illustrates how Jesus still calls people today to a special relationship with him— just as he called Simon and Andrew and James and John in today’s Gospel. Second, it illustrates how, if our hearts are open to Jesus, he can use us to do very special things. nd that brings us to ourselves. What might the call of Sister Delores and the call of the disciples in today’s Gospel be saying to us?

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Speaking for many, these calls challenge us to ask ourselves two questions: How open is our own heart to Jesus? What might Jesus be inviting us to do at this stage of our life?

onsider how one man answered those two questions.

Tom Schuman was a general counsel for a Fortune 500 company. He had a six-figure salary and all the comforts and perks that go with it. Then, at 54, he did the unthinkable. It happened one morning at Sunday Mass. His pastor announced that unless a volunteer director could be found, they might have to close a shelter for the homeless that the parish ran jointly with Christ Lutheran Church. After praying over the matter and consulting with several people, Tom retired from his job and volunteered. He says that in the first year alone, he learned more about life than in all the previous years put together. Tom also said that what was true of him was true also of the many volunteers with whom he worked at the shelter. Before volunteering, they were barely aware of the homeless problem. When they did see a homeless person, they were critical of why someone would deliberately choose to live in such a humiliating fashion. Like Tom, the volunteers soon learned that few homeless people deliberately choose to live that way. Being homeless is often the result of mental illness or alcohol or substance abuse, which renders people virtually unemployable. hat brings us back to ourselves. What might Jesus be saying to us through the life stories of Delores Hart and Tom Schuman?

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First of all, both stories make it clear that Jesus still invites people to a closer walk with him today, just as he invited Simon and Andrew and James and John. Second, the stories illustrate that, if our hearts are open to the call of Jesus, he can do very special things through us. More importantly, they tell us something that may come as a surprise to us: When Jesus invites us to walk more closely with him, that invitation doesn’t take the joy out of our lives. On the contrary! As in the case of Hart and Schuman, it gives our life a joy and a sense of fulfillment that we never dreamed our life could ever have. This is the good news that Jesus invites us to ponder as we prepare to celebrate the mystery of our faith at the table of the Lord.

et’s close with a meditation that sums up the two options of life open to us:

I watched them tear a building down; A gang of men in a busy town. With a mighty heave and lusty yell, They swung a beam and a side wall fell. I said to the foreman, “Are these men as skilled As the men you’d hire if you had to build?” He laughed and said, “No indeed! Just a common laborer is all I need. And I can wreck in a day or two What it took the builder a year to do.” And I thought to myself as I went my way, “Just which of these roles have I tried to play? “Am I a builder who works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square, Or am I a wrecker as I walk the town, Content with the labor of tearing down?” Anonymous

Year B

4th Sunday of the Year Deuteronomy 18:15–20, 1 Corinthians 7:32–35, Mark 1:21–28

The Kingdom of God We are called to proclaim the Kingdom of God by our worship and witness.

t is . . . by means of God’s power that I drive out demons, and this proves that the Kingdom of God has already come to you.” Luke 11:20

hat brings us to today’s Gospel. It is a lot like the clay-coated statue. At first sight, it seems to be simply a story about a man with an evil spirit who came into a synagogue one day while Jesus was preaching.

When the evil spirit began screaming, Jesus ordered it to be quiet and to come out of the man. To the amazement of all, it obeyed Jesus. When the people saw this, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

ome monks in Thailand were moving a large clay statue of Buddha to a new temple. The government had condemned the old temple and was tearing it down to make way for a modern freeway.

Suddenly, the cart carrying the statue hit a pothole in the road. The jolt created an enormous crack right down the center of the statue. The monks cried out in agony and horror.

Jesus’ power over the evil spirit revealed that he housed within himself a treasure, just as the clay statue housed within itself a treasure.

Then something unexpected happened. The monks saw something shiny inside the huge crack. They checked it and found, to their utter amazement, that the clay was only one inch thick. Beneath the clay lay a solid-gold statue.

he evil spirit’s obedience to Jesus was like the jolt that cracked the clay statue. Suddenly, people saw there was more to Jesus than met the eye, just as there was more to the clay statue than met the eye.

We might compare the humanity of Jesus to the layer of clay covering the statue— it concealed Jesus’ true identity. And so when Jesus showed that he had power over evil spirits, people asked, “What does this mean?”

The gold had apparently been coated with clay centuries earlier to keep invading armies from taking it. Apparently, the monks had all lost their lives in the invasion. Thus, the solid-gold statue—valued at $200 million—remained concealed beneath the clay all these centuries.

In all this time, thousands of monks had meditated before it. But not one of them ever dreamed that beneath the clay lay a great treasure.

“No, it is rather by means of God’s power that I drive out demons, and this proves that the Kingdom of God has already come to you.” Luke 11:20

Only when the jolt accidentally cracked the clay did it become clear that there was something more to the clay statue than had met the eye. It housed a priceless treasure.

By his response, Jesus made it clear who he is and what he came to do. He is the long-awaited Messiah, whom the prophets foretold would do such things. But Jesus is more—much, much more!

Year B

esus himself answered that question on another occasion. It happened like this: One day he was, again, driving out evil spirits. Someone accused him of being able to do so because Satan gave him the power. But Jesus said:

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esus is the Son of God, who came to destroy the kingdom of Satan that had held the world in slavery since the sin of Adam.

But this raises yet another question, an even bigger question: If Jesus came to destroy the kingdom of Satan and inaugurate the Kingdom of God, why is there still so much evil in the world? Alluding to this vexing question, author Morris West said the world is so filled with evil and tragedy that it seems madness to try to relate it to any divine plan. He writes: You are conceived without consent . . . with the sentence of death already written in your helpless hand: a cancer will eat your guts . . . a drunken fool with an automobile will mow you down. Testimony of a 20th-Century Catholic hat is the answer to the question, Why is there still so much evil in the world?

Jesus did, indeed, inaugurate the Kingdom of God. But he did not bring it to completion. He sent the Holy Spirit upon his followers, forming them into the Church. The Church may be compared to the “seed,” which will eventually grow into the Kingdom of God in all its fullness. The task of the Church—under the headship of Christ and the guidance and power of the Spirit—is to proclaim and pray for the coming of the Kingdom in all its fullness to all nations. This was Jesus’ final instruction to his followers. He said: “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey 60 Ordinary

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everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 29:19 As members of the Church, the Body of Christ, we all share in the responsibility of proclaiming the good news of God’s Kingdom to all the world. We must proclaim it both by our collective worship together each Sunday and by our collective witness the rest of the week. Both of these dimensions must be present if our proclamation is to be effective. It is not enough to pray in the Lord’s Prayer each Sunday at Mass, “Thy Kingdom come.” We must also live out our proclamation. A famous story illustrates this point: One day a Brahman said to a Christian missionary, “If you Christians in India, in Britain, or in America were like your Bible, you would conquer India in five years.” hat brings us to the answer to the question, If Jesus instituted God’s Kingdom, why is there still so much evil in our world?

It is because we are not proclaiming as we should the presence of God among us. We are not carrying out as we should the mission that Jesus gave us. n brief, then, Jesus did, indeed, inaugurate the Kingdom of God. But he did not bring it to completion. He sent the Holy Spirit upon his followers, forming them into the Church.

The task of the Church is to proclaim by our worship and daily example the presence of the Kingdom among us. This is the calling to which each of us is called. This is the challenge today’s Gospel sets before each one of us. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

5th Sunday of the Year Job 7:1–4, 6–7; 1 Corinthians 9:16–19, 22–23; Matthew 1:29–39

Making Jesus present Be for our world what Jesus was for his world.

imon and his companions went out searching for Jesus.

Mark 1:36

missionary was excited. She was about to begin the most important class of the year.

It was a class for children of new Catholic families. The reason it was so important was that the class was to be about Jesus. She began by saying: Today I want to tell you about a man you must meet. He’s a person who loves you and cares for you, even more than your own family and friends. He is a person who is more kind than the kindest person you’ve ever met. He’s a person who wants to help you, in any way he can. Suddenly, the missionary noticed a little boy in the back of the room, waving his hand and getting more and more excited by the minute. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he blurted out, “I know that man! I know who you’re talking about. He lives on our street; he’s the reason why my family is Christian.” I like that story, because it describes in a simple way what we Christians are called to do. We are called to make Jesus present in our world, just as that man made him present to the people on his street. What does it mean to make Jesus present in our world? Year B

f all the Sunday Gospels, today’s illustrates better than most what it means to make Jesus present in our world.

It means to show forth the same compassion Jesus did. He reached out to heal people who were sick, either physically or spiritually. It means to show forth the same prayerfulness Jesus did. He got up early, before daylight, to go off by himself to pray. It means to show forth the same witness Jesus did. He went throughout all of Galilee preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom by his example and his word. et’s take a closer look at each of these three dimensions of Jesus. First, the compassion of Jesus.

In October 1967, John McCain took off from an aircraft carrier for North Vietnam. Minutes into his flight a SAM missile blew off the right wing of his A-4 plane. As he ejected, his body hit part of the plane, breaking his right arm and knee. He landed in a shallow pond in the middle of Hanoi. An angry mob fished him out of the water and started stripping off his clothes. A man smashed rifle butt against his shoulder, breaking it. Another man stuck a bayonet into his ankle and his groin. Then something amazing happened. A woman—probably a Hanoi nurse— began yelling at the crowd to keep it from harming McCain further. Then she knelt down and applied bamboo splints to his arm and his leg. Then an army truck arrived. As they prepared to load him on the truck, the nurse gave him tea to drink. Lectionary 75

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his brings us to the prayerful dimension of Jesus. Again, a story illustrates how we are called to similar prayerfulness:

The solution he hit upon was ingenious. Each month, he spent a percentage of his earnings on Catholic pamphlets and placed them in hospital lobbies and other similar places. One day he overheard someone say, “My introduction to the Catholic Church came in a strange way: through a pamphlet I found in a hospital lobby.”

Bob Westenberg was on his early morning walk when a garbage truck pulled up beside him. He thought the driver was going to ask him for directions.

Overhearing that was a great blessing for Ruddell. It was as if an angel spoke to him, saying, “Jesus just wanted to let you know that your efforts are bearing fruit.”

That woman’s courage and compassion is an example of the courage and compassion Jesus showed forth and calls us to imitate.

Instead, the driver pulled out a photo of a small boy, saying, “This is my grandson. He’s on life-support in a Phoenix hospital.” Thinking the driver was begging for money to help cover the hospital bill, Bob reached for his wallet. But the driver wanted something much more than money. He said to Bob, “I’m asking people on my route to pray for my grandson. Would you help us pray for him, please?” Bob promised. The driver thanked him and drove off. From an unpublished article by George Pence That driver’s commitment to prayer is an example of the commitment that Jesus had and calls us to have. inally, there’s the preaching, or witness, dimension of Jesus as he went throughout Galilee preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom by his example and his word.

Like Jesus, we too are called to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom, regardless of who we are. Young Ruddell Norris was aware that every Christian is called by Baptism to preach the Gospel. But he had a problem: he was very shy. How could he preach it? 62 Ordinary

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nd so today’s Gospel provides us with a graphic picture of our Christian calling. We are called to be for our world what Jesus was for his world.

Concretely, this means we are called to show forth in our lives the same three dimensions that Jesus did. We are called to show forth the compassion of Jesus— as did the woman in Hanoi. We are called to show forth the prayerfulness of Jesus— as did the driver of the garbage truck, asking prayers for his sick grandson. We are called to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom by word and example— as did Ruddell Norris, in spite of his shyness. This is our calling as Christians— to be for our world what Jesus was for his world. This is the good news contained in today’s Gospel. This is the good news Jesus invites us to take to heart and implement in our lives. This is the good news our world is hungering to hear and longing to see lived out by us in our everyday life. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

6th Sunday of the Year Leviticus 13:1–2, 44–46; 1 Corinthians 1:18–22; Mark 1:40–45

Modern lepers We tend to treat addicts today the way ancients treated lepers.

The response is usually family breakup, often traceable to substance abuse or other drug-related problems. Then I ask the priests, “How many sermons have you preached on addiction and substance abuse?” The answer is usually, “None.” Califano continues, saying:

leper said to Jesus, “If you want to, you can make me clean.” Mark 1:40 (adapted)

oseph Califano Jr. was a top assistant of President Lyndon Johnson. One day the two were driving around in Johnson City, Texas, in Lyndon’s big white convertible. The top was down.

They came upon a man by the roadside. Unshaven and red-faced, he was clutching a bottle in his hand. Steering with his left hand, Johnson held his right thumb and forefinger slightly apart and said: “Joe, as long as you work for me, don’t ever forget that the difference between that man and you and that man and me is about this much.” After Califano had finished his term on Johnson’s staff, he accepted the position of president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. In a recent article in America magazine, he compared the addicts of modern times to the lepers of biblical times. Lepers were isolated from ancient society and forced to live in caves. Similarly, we are trying to isolate addicts from modern society by imprisoning them. But this solution isn’t working any better for us than it did in ancient times. Califano goes on to say: I often ask parish priests, “What’s the biggest problem among parishioners?” Year B

A year before he died, Cardinal O’Connor said with regret, “[Substance abuse] is so common a sickness that I should have been writing and preaching about it for years.” ollowing up on Cardinal O’Connor’s observation, let’s say a few words about addiction and substance abuse.

To understand how difficult addiction is to overcome, Califano uses this example. He says: Think about the will power it takes . . . to give up candy or ice cream for Lent. Multiply that by a million [and you get some idea of the control addiction holds over a person]. Moreover, control over addiction must be maintained not just for six short weeks of Lent, but as long as one lives. aving made this observation, let’s take a closer look at the problem of addiction in our country today.

In the year 2000, almost $100 billion was being spent by the 50 states of the union on addiction and substance abuse. Incredibly, a whopping 96 cents out of every one of those dollars was spent on trying to deal with the wreckage caused by addiction and substance abuse. This means that only four cents of every dollar went for prevention and treatment. This situation has to be dramatically reversed if we are ever to get control of the drug problem in our country. Lectionary 78

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A second problem that we must address more aggressively is stopping the flow of drugs into our country. In a recent White House speech, President Bush admitted point blank that drugs flow into the United States, not by invasion, but by invitation. In other words, drugs flow across our borders because Americans want them and are willing to pay for them. Califano says: Americans are about 5 percent of the world’s population, but they consume 50 percent of the world’s cocaine. s concerned Catholics, this brings us to the bottom-line question: Where do we begin to tackle the drug problem?

Califano answers, “In our own homes!” Nine years of research make it perfectly clear why this is where we must begin. First of all, it reveals that young people who get to age 21 without smoking or without using illegal drugs are virtually certain to remain drug-free the rest of their lives. This means that if we can help our children remain drug-free in their adolescent years, they are virtually certain to remain drug-free the rest of their lives. What an incredible gift we can give to our kids—and to our nation— if we can motivate them to do this. hat leads us to a second important point that research reveals. It is this: Parents are the most powerful but least used resource in our war against drugs. Califano says:

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Prevention efforts that target only illegal drugs [miss the point]. Beer and other forms of alcohol are implicated in far more teen violence, suicide, and deadly accidents than are all illegal drugs. Teens who have drunk alcohol and smoked nicotine cigarettes in the last month are thirty times likelier to smoke pot. If we can help our kids keep free of alcohol and cigarettes, we will have won a major battle in the war against drugs. his brings us to a final point that Califano makes in his article. He reminds us of what the Holy Father has said about drugs and substance abuse:

Exerting all efforts to rehabilitate drug addicts falls within the Christian obligation to help individuals fulfill the potential with which God endowed them. Califano continues: Putting that papal pronouncement into practice requires us to use all the carrots and sticks we can . . . to induce those who are addicted to seek treatment, stay the course, and continue in aftercare. This applies in a special way to parents. They need to exert every effort and use every motive they can to help their children remain drug-free. Their children’s future—and the future of our nation—depends on their success or failure in doing this. It is for this effort that we pray as we return to the altar to continue our celebration of this Eucharist. All quotes from “Carrots, Sticks and Children: A Revolution in Drug Policy,” America magazine (June 4–11, 2001)

Year B

7th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 43:18–19, 21–22, 24b–25; 2 Corinthians 1:18–22; Mark 2:1–12

Breaking open the Word Put yourself in the shoes of the characters in the gospel event.

hey were all completely amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:12

n the film To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says the only way to understand people is to crawl inside their skins and walk around in them.

The same is true of the Gospel. We will never understand it by reading it, as we do the evening newspaper. We must meditate on it. We must crawl into the skins of its characters and try to see what they saw and hear what they heard. Take the story of the paralytic in today’s Gospel. Here’s how one high school student meditated on it. He writes: When friends came for me, I cursed them and told them to let me be. But they paid no attention to my protests and carried me through the twisting streets of Capernaum. When we reached the house where Jesus was, it was so crowded, my friends decided to lift me to the roof and to lower me from there. As they dropped me down, I felt everyone’s eyes fix on me. There was one pair of eyes, however, that I felt more than all the others. Suddenly, I began to feel badly about what I’d done in my life. I had the feeling that this man knew everything about me. Year B

I started to think: “Maybe my friends were right to bring me here!” Then he spoke. His voice matched his eyes. It was a voice that could shake the foundations of a building, yet calm a frightened child. He told me, “Your sins are forgiven.” How could I not believe that voice— and those eyes? . . . I felt joy surge through my body. Even my legs tingled. Yes! They tingled. Then he said to me, “Get up and walk!” And I did! I did! And people crowded around me. I had a great feeling of being born again. I ran off to shout the news to my family. But I forgot to thank him. Oh God! How could I forget to thank him? By the time I realized I hadn’t thanked him, he had gone. I resolved to tell everyone about this incredible man. . . . I told the merchants; I told the shepherds. . . . I told everyone who would listen. I even told people who wouldn’t listen. I hoped that, in this way, I thanked him. That beautiful meditation helps us to understand why Mark was inspired to record it and what Jesus wants to say to us through it. o understand the deeper meaning behind this important gospel story, we need to recall that when Adam sinned, three evils entered the world: sin, sickness, and death.

This is another way of saying that through Adam’s sin, the kingdom of Satan entered the world and the entire human family fell victim to sin, sickness, and death. For centuries, people prayed that God would send someone who would overthrow the kingdom of Satan and reestablish the Kingdom of God. Lectionary 81

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And so when Jesus began healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and raising the dead, people began to see him as the answer to their prayers. By forgiving sinners, he showed his power over sin. By healing the sick, he showed his power over sickness. By raising the dead, he showed his power over death. And this brings us to what Jesus wants to say to each of us, personally, through this story. ears ago, the British TV celebrity Malcolm Muggeridge— inspired by the life of Mother Teresa— did something he said he would never do. He entered the Catholic Church. Sometime after his conversion, he wrote:

Everything I have learned . . . everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience has been through affliction, and not through happiness. In other words, he is saying that the crosses of his life—sin, sickness, and death— turned out to be the real blessings of his life.

e see this same truth dramatized in the story of the paralytic.

Had the young man not been paralyzed, he may never have met Jesus. He may well have gone through life living selfishly for himself and ending up losing his immortal soul— the most precious thing he possessed.

his brings us back to the high school student’s meditation. He has the paralytic going off, rejoicing in his blessing— but forgetting to thank Jesus.

Then the student ends it beautifully, by having the paralytic say: I resolved to tell everyone about this incredible man. . . . I told the merchants; I told the shepherds. . . . I told everyone who would listen. I even told people who wouldn’t listen. I hoped that, in this way, I thanked him. n that note, and in that spirit, let us conclude with a brief meditation of our own.

Lord, help us never to forget that what sometimes seems to be a cross is really a blessing in disguise. Help us never to forget to thank you for the gift of friends, especially those friends whom you have often used to act as channels of grace for us. Help us never to forget that these blessings are signs that the Kingdom of God has been reestablished among us. Above all, help us never to forget to do for others what the friends of the paralytic did for him: to bring the good news of your Kingdom to all around us. And, in this way, help us to show our gratitude for your blessings to us and to our world.

Had it not been for the aggressiveness of the young man’s friends, he may never have met Jesus. He may never have had his sins forgiven. Worse yet, he may have grown old, closed in on himself, become embittered, and ended up losing his immortal soul. 66 Ordinary

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Year B

8th Sunday of the Year

It is not about fasting on a certain number of days of the week.

Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21–22; 2 Corinthians 3:1b–6; Mark 2:18–22

External religious acts We must never lose sight of why we do them.

ome people came to Jesus and asked him, “Why is it that . . . the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but yours do not?” Mark 2:18

troop carrier of marines stopped outside a harbor in Taiwan. Minutes later, a harbor pilot boarded it and took the wheel.

Suddenly, it started weaving this way and that way, even though the dock lay straight ahead. The marines standing at the ship’s rail began to joke that the old man had a little too much to drink. But then word was passed around that the harbor was heavily mined. If the hull of the ship nudged just one of those mines, a disaster would occur. Finally, the ship reached the dock, amid the applause and cheers of the marines. The old harbor pilot makes a good image of Jesus. In so many of the gospel stories— like the one we just read—we find Jesus trying to steer the Pharisees through the mine fields of this life to bring them safely to the dock of eternal life. In episode after episode, we find Jesus stressing with the Pharisees that religion is not about performing external acts. It is not about healing sick people only on certain days. It is not about washing your hands in a certain way before eating. Year B

hen the Pharisees eventually asked Jesus why his disciples didn’t fast, Jesus responded with a parable to illustrate his point. He said that when the bridegroom is present, it is a time for celebrating and feasting, not fasting.

His point is that the Pharisees had forgotten one of the main reasons for fasting. They had forgotten that it was a way of preparing and praying for the coming of the promised Messiah and the promised Kingdom of God. For example, the Pharisees had become so preoccupied with spying on Jesus to see if he would heal people on the Sabbath that they missed the deeper meaning behind these miracles. They forgot that the prophets foretold that such miracles were the signs that would announce the arrival of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. And so the Pharisees failed to see that Jesus was the promised Messiah, come to inaugurate the Kingdom of God. They failed to see that it was no longer a time for fasting, but a time for feasting and rejoicing. To continue fasting would be like continuing to keep an arm in a sling once it was fully healed. To continue fasting would be like continuing to do a search on a computer once you found the site you were looking for. And so the Pharisees had gotten themselves into the situation of the townspeople of a certain European town a number of years ago. The townspeople used to bless themselves each time they passed by a certain section of the town wall. Lectionary 84

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When asked why they did this, they could give no reason, other than it was a town custom, handed down by their ancestors. One day workers were cleaning the wall. As they scraped away centuries of dirt, they found a mural of Mary and Jesus. Now they realized why their ancestors blessed themselves as they passed this section of the wall. It was a sign of devotion to Jesus and Mary. But now people did it mechanically and out of habit—without knowing why they were doing it. any Pharisees had gotten themselves into a similar situation. They followed certain customs, like fasting, blindly, mechanically, and out of habit. Jesus challenged this mentality, which was gradually distorting religion into something God never intended it to be.

It was changing it from a conscious act of love of God and neighbor into a series of external practices that had nothing to do with love of God or neighbor. It was robbing these acts of their meaning.

ouching on this mentality, Saint Francis de Sales once said:

One Our Father said with conscious devotion had greater value than many Our Fathers said hurriedly and out of habit. Let’s be clear. Religion is an area of life where habit can be very helpful. For example, there is no substitute for a habit of daily prayer. But there are also times in religion when habit can be extremely hurtful. For example, signing ourselves with holy water upon entering a church 68 Ordinary

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can become so mechanical and habitual that it loses all meaning for us. Originally, it was intended to remind us of our baptism and to serve as a conscious renewal of it. Similarly, external actions—like standing, kneeling, and sitting at Mass— can become so habitual that they, too, lose all meaning for us. We forget that the purpose of kneeling is to show special reverence at a very special action of the Mass. The purpose of sitting is to help us listen and reflect better on what is being said. And the purpose of standing for the Gospel and the Creed is to emphasize that this is what we Christians stand for— and are willing to die for. Finally, signing our forehead, lips, and heart in anticipation of reading the Gospel is to ask God’s help to keep the Gospel ever in our minds, ever on our lips, and ever in our hearts. his brings us back to our original point. Habit and routine can be very helpful in the spiritual life. But they can also become what they did for many Pharisees—a substitute for true religion: love of God and neighbor.

Jesus is, indeed, our harbor pilot. He is the way, the truth, and the life. His message in today’s Gospel is clear. He is saying to the Pharisees, and through them to each of us: Let me take the wheel of your lives. Let me be your harbor pilot. Turn your lives over to me. And I will lead you through the mine fields of this life safely to the dock of eternal life in heaven.

Year B

Trinity Sunday Deuteronomy 4:32–34, 39–40; Romans 8:14–17; Matthew 28:16–20

Focus of Faith The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of our faith.

aptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

n the evening of Thursday, May 7, 1937, a huge crowd was gathered at the U. S. Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, N.J.

They came to watch the landing of a spectacular dirigible, the Hindenburg. As it arrived from Germany with its passengers, it was an incredible sight. Its length exceeded three football fields placed end to end. As the Hindenburg hovered over the landing tower, the crew dropped two lines to secure it. Seconds later, there was a loud boom and the airship exploded into a giant fire ball. Since that tragic event, hardly a year has passed that the newsreel footage of it has not been shown on television. ust one year earlier, almost to the day, the Hindenburg had made its glorious maiden voyage from Germany. A highpoint of that voyage was a Mass celebrated high in the sky over the Atlantic Ocean by Father Paul Schulte.

The homily he gave at that Mass was unforgettable and captures the spirit of the feast we celebrate today: the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.

and to God the Holy Spirit who hallowed the earth. Let the “Amen” be pronounced by the skies that soar above us, by the marvelous clouds that surround us, and by the ocean that sparkles beneath us. . . . Glory be to thee, Most Holy Trinity, today, tomorrow, and forever. Glory be to thee. That passage has an elegance that lifts the mind and heart to prayer and worship. It unites the whole universe into a cosmic chorus of praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. ome years ago, environmentalist Denis Hayes wrote a book entitled Ray of Hope. The “ray of hope” is the sun. The book inspired some believers to view the sun as an image of the Trinity.

The light of the sun is an image of God the Father, who created us by the mighty power of his word, when he said, “ ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” The heat of the sun is an image of God the Son, who redeemed us by the warmth of his loving heart. And finally, the energy of the sun is an image of the God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the earth by the transforming power of divine grace. Thus, the one sun blesses us in three ways and, in the process, serves as an image of the Most Holy Trinity.

Allow me to share a portion of it with you:

Its light is an image of God the Father. Its heat is an image of God the Son. And its energy is an image of God the Holy Spirit.

Glory to God the Father who created the earth, and to God the Son who redeemed the earth,

here’s an ancient story that you may have heard. It has been passed down over the centuries:

Year B

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It seems that Saint Augustine was walking along a sandy beach meditating on the Holy Trinity. He kept saying over and over to himself, “How can God be both three and one? How can God be both three and one? How can God be both three and one?” Suddenly, he was distracted from his meditation by the sight of a small child with a toy bucket, carrying water from the sea to a hole in the beach. Smiling at the child, Augustine asked, “And what are you doing?” The innocent child said, “I’m emptying the ocean into this hole.” Augustine stopped dead in his tracks and thought, “I’m trying to do what the child is doing. I’m trying to pour the infinite God into my finite little mind.” ater, saints engaged in similar meditation on the Trinity, trying to get some partial glimpse into this central mystery of our faith.

For example, Saint Ignatius of Loyola likened the three Persons in one God to three musical notes, united in the harmony of a single sound. Saint Luke does not say so explicitly in his Gospel or his Acts of the Apostles, but he clearly views Sacred Scripture as being trinitarian in structure. The Old Testament focuses on the Father, who created the world. The Gospel focuses on the Son, who redeemed the world. The Acts of the Apostles and the letters of the apostles focus on the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the world. hat brings us to ourselves. What might we do to make the Trinity come alive for us in our daily lives?

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One way some people try to do this is a prayer exercise they follow each night before going to bed. They do a three-minute replay of their day. During the first minute, they pick out a highpoint of the day, for example, going out of their way to help someone. They speak to the Father about it and give thanks for the grace to do it. During the second minute, they pick out something bad that happened, like ignoring someone to whom they could have spoken a kind word. They speak to Jesus about it and ask him to forgive them and to give them the opportunity to make it up to that person. During the third minute, they look ahead to tomorrow to some critical point, for example, something they ought to do but have been putting off. They speak to the Holy Spirit about it and ask for the courage to deal with it in the day ahead. This exercise combines prayer with a simple examination of conscience. In a very practical way, therefore, it brings the Holy Trinity into the nitty-gritty of our daily lives. et us conclude by repeating the passage from the homily delivered high in the sky on the maiden voyage of the Hindenburg:

Glory to God the Father who created the earth, and to God the Son who redeemed the earth, and to God the Holy Spirit who hallowed the earth. . . . Glory be to thee, Most Holy Trinity, today, tomorrow, and forever. Glory be to thee. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

Body and Blood of Christ Exodus 24:3–8; Hebrews 9:11–15; Mark 14:12–16, 22–26

The Eucharist When we eat ordinary food, it is changed into us; when we eat the Eucharist, we are changed into it.

No one may share the eucharist with us unless 1) he believes what we teach is true, 2) has been washed in the regenerating waters of baptism . . . and 3) lives according to the principles given us by Christ. Justin goes on to say:

esus broke bread, and gave it to his disciples. “Take it,” he said, “this is my body.” Mark 14:22 (adapted)

We believe that Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of God’s word.

aint Justin is a remarkable saint. He was born of non-Jewish parents around A.D. 100 in a Samaritan town about 40 miles north of Jerusalem. Jesus may have passed through this very town on his trips to Jerusalem.

In a similar way, we believe that the bread and wine become the flesh and blood of Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the eucharistic prayer.

Since Justin was born around A.D. 100, his grandparents may have been living about the same time Jesus was living. As a young man, Justin devoted himself to philosophy and the search for truth. One day he came across some Old Testament writings and some New Testament writings. They led to his conversion to Christianity. Justin became a Christian apologist. That is, he became a writer who presented the Christian faith in a way that made sense to non-Christians. Justin explained that just as Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, so the New Testament fulfilled the philosopher’s search for truth. That brings us to a famous letter that Justin wrote to the Roman emperor. In it, he described how Christians celebrate the Eucharist. It’s amazing how closely his description matches what we are doing right now at this Mass. Justin begins by describing who may share in the Eucharist. He writes: Year B

This brings us to Justin’s description of how Christians celebrate the Eucharist. He writes: On the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country, gather in the same place. The recollections of the apostles [Gospels] and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. After the readings, the one who presides over the assembly instructs and challenges everyone to imitate the beautiful things they have just heard read to them [Homily]. Next, we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves . . . and for all others . . . [Prayers of the Faithful]. When the prayers are ended . . . someone brings bread and a cup of wine mixed with water to the presider [Presentation of the Gifts]. The presider takes the gifts and offers praise, glory, and thanks to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . . [Eucharistic Prayer]. Lectionary 169

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When he has concluded the prayers, the congregation says, “Amen.” . . .

May they be one . . . just as you and I are one.”

[Then] those whom we call deacons give to those present the “eucharisted” bread, wine and water [Communion] and then take them to those who are absent.

Similarly, Saint Paul writes:

That description tallies beautifully with the way we celebrate the Eucharist nearly 2,000 years later. hat brings us to the practical application of all this to our daily lives.

A monthly feature in Catholic Digest is called “A Place for Shared Inspiration.” Each month, readers share thoughts on a given topic. One such topic dealt with this question: What do you do after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ? One person wrote: [As a child I used] to close my eyes and say a prayer of thanks after receiving the Body of Christ. But recently I did something unintentionally that really [had a profound effect on me]. One Sunday, I raised my head and opened my eyes and realized for the first time that all these people were becoming one— united in Christ through the reception of his Body. . . . Mass had always been a very private thing for me, but since that day, the feeling of family has greatly enhanced the experience. I view it as a gift of God. Catholic Digest (April 1997) I really liked that insight, because it gibes so perfectly with what Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, saying: “I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. 72 Body

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John 17:21–22

Because the bread is one, we, the many who all partake of that one bread, form one body. 1 Corinthians 10:17 (adapted) Pope Saint Gregory the Great expresses the same idea this way. He says that when we eat ordinary food, it is changed into us; but when we eat the Body of Christ, we are changed into it. We grow in closer union with our head, Jesus Christ, and with the members of his Body, our brothers and sisters. That brings us to the challenge that Saint Justin referred to in his letter to the Roman emperor— the challenge to live out in our daily lives the wonderful truths just read to us from the writings of the prophets and the apostles. That challenge is beautifully spelled out in the well-known prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. Let us close with it. It reads: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born into eternal life. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

9th Sunday of the Year Deuteronomy 5:12–15, 2 Corinthians 4:6–11, Mark 2:23–28

Priorities Like the Pharisees, we can get the cart before the horse.

he Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

Suddenly he found himself confronted with the two big questions that any person who takes life seriously must answer. First, for what purpose were we created? Second, to what extent are we using our talents for this purpose?

ometime later, Paul was discussing these two questions with singer Bob Dylan.

At the end of their conversation, Dylan suggested that Paul begin reading the New Testament. Paul took his advice. Later Paul said in an interview:

Paul is, perhaps, best remembered today for writing “The Wedding Song,” a perennial favorite at weddings.

I started reading the New Testament. Dylan was right, because I began discovering that all the truths I sought were contained in the life of this Man who was being described in the New Testament.

aul Stookey was a member of the singing group “Peter, Paul, and Mary.” He and the group began their careers singing in the coffee houses of New York’s Greenwich Village.

A highpoint in Paul’s career was the day the group performed before almost half a million people at the Washington Monument. It was before the same audience that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. A low point came when the excitement of being a celebrity began to fade for Paul. It happened like this: One night the group was giving a concert before an audience of some 10,000 people in Kansas. At one point in the concert, Paul was doing what he called “Paul talk.” This was a one-way conversation with the audience to give Peter time to repair a broken string on his guitar. In the middle of his “Paul talk,” it suddenly dawned upon him that he was using his musical talent mostly for selfish purposes. He was using it to advance his own career and to enjoy celebrity status and the perks that accompanied it. Year B

It was fantastic . . . he set a good example, but it never occurred to me that he could be the Son of God. . . . I started to carry the Scriptures around with me. It was almost like having a brother with you. To make a long story short, that experience changed Paul’s life. Before the experience, Paul had everything backward. He had become so preoccupied with using his musical talents selfishly that he had forgotten that God gave him his talents for a much nobler purpose. hat brings us to today’s Gospel. There we find the Pharisees making a mistake similar to the one Stookey made.

They had become so preoccupied with observance of Jewish laws that they forgot the purpose of the laws. Lectionary 87

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For example, they became so intent on observing the Sabbath that they forgot the purpose of the Sabbath. It was made for people, not people for it. In other words, God did not make the Sabbath first and then say, “Now I will create people to keep it.” nd this brings us to the practical application of all this to our own lives.

Take the fathers among us. Every father in this church today works hard to support his family. That is noble! But now comes the rub. A father can become so preoccupied with earning a living to support his family that his job ends up getting more attention than his family. In other words, we can lose sight of why we work. When this happens our job takes first place in our lives and our family takes second place. Our job begins to occupy all of our time and to sap all of our energy. We can even come to regard our family as interfering with our job. The result? The very loved ones we sought to help end up being short-changed and hurt. What we intend to be a blessing for them ends up being just another cross for them to carry. Our job, which was meant primarily to be a means to an end, becomes an end in itself. In other words, the talents God gave us to share with others and to build up the Body of Christ end up doing neither.

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nd that brings us back to Paul Stookey and our opening story.

I’m sure there are moments when, like Paul Stookey, we begin to lose the zip and excitement of everyday life. Even success no longer excites us. When this happens, we have two routes open to us. We can try to distract ourselves in ways that will eventually prove destructive not only to our own lives but also to the lives of our loved ones, and, above all, to our relationship with God. Or we can do what Paul Stookey did. We can take inventory of our lives to see if, perhaps, we have lost sight of the purpose of life. To put it in another way, we find ourselves confronting those two big questions that we all must answer sooner or later: For what purpose did God create us? How have we been using the talents God gave us for this purpose? nd if we find ourselves in the position in which Paul found himself, then we must do what he did.

We must pick up the Gospels again, rediscover Jesus and his teaching, and take both of them seriously.

his is the challenge set before us in today’s Gospel.

How we respond to that challenge will make all the difference in the world— not only to our lives but also to the lives of our loved ones and, above all, to our relationship with God. How will we respond?

Year B

10th Sunday of the Year Genesis 3:9–15, 2 Corinthians 4:13–5, Mark 3:20–35

Kingdom of God Where God’s will is done, there we find God’s Kingdom.

were killed by a 17-year-old drunk driver. He was released on furlough to his parents to attend the funeral. The sight of the four coffins destroyed him. He cursed God, rejecting him as unloving.

hoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother.” Mark 3:35

ware of his rejection of God, the priest who presided at the funeral Mass visited him regularly in prison. Eventually he made his peace with God and returned to the faith.

he Catholic Digest contains a feature called “The Open Door.” It consists of first-hand accounts of how people happened to enter the Catholic Church. One account begins:

It took him another ten years, but he was finally able to write a letter of forgiveness to the young man who caused the deaths of his loved ones. The man concluded his account, saying:

I was born and raised the son of a Protestant minister. I graduated from high school at fifteen and began college.

The Church was there to help me. It not only saved my soul, but helped me to find peace of mind and forgiveness.

The author, who identifies himself only with the initials D. S., says that in college he met a Catholic girl. They married in the Catholic Church; but he didn’t consider conversion, because it would hurt his parents too much. Seven years later, and after the births of three children, he finished law school. By that time, however, he was dealing big time in cocaine. He was caught and sentenced up to 50 years in prison. He was afraid he would lose his wife and children, but they remained faithful to him. Soon the violence in prison got him to thinking about death. He began to attend instruction classes conducted by the Catholic chaplain.

Retold from Catholic Digest (June 1998)

hat moving story underscores the main theme in today’s readings: the presence of evil in our world.

Crimes traceable to the misuse of drugs and alcohol are concrete evidence that Satan in still very active in our world. This makes us ask this question: If Jesus established God’s Kingdom on earth, why is Satan’s kingdom still so active in our world? The answer is that Jesus has, indeed, established God’s Kingdom on earth. But Satan’s kingdom has not yet been destroyed.

In 1988, after 13 years in prison, he was baptized and confirmed, with his wife and children in attendance.

In other words, the coming of God’s Kingdom on earth is not an instant happening but a gradual process. It is not a one-time event but an ongoing movement.

Less than a year later, his wife, his eldest daughter, his son-in-law, and his grandson

This is why we continue to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come.”

Year B

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e might compare the Kingdom of God to a plant. It is alive and growing. But it has not yet borne its intended fruit. Until it does, evil will always be with us.

In other words, the kingdom of Satan has not yet come to an end. It is only under the sentence of death. his brings us to a second question: What do we mean by the phrase “Kingdom of God”?

Let us begin by noting that the New Testament uses two phrases: “Kingdom of God” and “Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew almost always uses the phrase “Kingdom of heaven,” while Mark and Luke almost always use the phrase “Kingdom of God.” The reason for this practice is traceable to the fact that devout Jews had a deep reverence for the divine name. Wherever possible, they would use a substitute word rather than pronounce it. Matthew’s primary audience was Jewish. Therefore, out of reverence for the divine name, he avoided speaking of the Kingdom of God, and used in its place Kingdom of heaven. Mark and Luke, being less influenced by Jewish customs, did not hesitate to speak of the Kingdom of God. Surprisingly, the Gospels contain no definition of what Jesus meant by the phrase “Kingdom of God.” Although Jesus does not define what he means by the “Kingdom of God,” he refers to it in a variety of ways. For example, he says that the Kingdom of God is like a seed planted in the ground—and so on. hat brings us to its basic meaning. Let us approach it this way. Again, let us begin by noting that Hebrew prayers often use parallelisms.

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For example, the psalmist frequently repeats the same idea in slightly different ways. For example, Psalm 139 says of God: Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding.

Psalm 139:6

A closer look a parallelisms shows that the second half of the parallelism explains or clarifies the first half. And so when the psalmist says in the first half of the parallelism, “Your knowledge of me is too deep,” he repeats and clarifies the same idea in the second half of the parallelism. He says, “it is beyond my understanding.” any scholars feel that the Lord’s Prayer contains such a parallelism, when it says: “thy kingdom come; thy will be done.”

Assuming this is the case, the “Kingdom of God” and the “will of God” turn out to be the same. This gibes with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21, where he says: “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do.” This also gibes with Jesus’ words in Luke 17:21. There he says, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

his brings us to an application of all this to our own personal lives.

When we pray “thy kingdom come,” above all, we are praying for ourselves: that we begin to do God’s will on earth as it is done by the saints in heaven. In a few minutes we will be praying for this as we prepare to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Let’s do it today with truly profound sincerity and devotion.

Year B

11th Sunday of the Year Ezekiel 17:22–24, 2 Corinthians 5:6–10, Mark 4:26–34

The Kingdom and the Church Seed and sign of the Kingdom.

Slowly, it grows bigger and bigger inside you, so that when you’re older, nobody can take it from you. “And so, the secret is this, Sharon. If you want to be happy later on start putting good habits inside you now.”

esus said, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.” Mark 4:30–31

ne day five-year-old Sharon was visiting her grandmother. During her visit her grandmother gave her a cucumber inside a bottle.

He has planted the tiny mustard seed of God’s kingdom inside each of us. There it is “sprouting and growing” without our being aware of it.

Sharon was fascinated by it and said: “Grandma how did it get inside the bottle through such a tiny hole?” Her grandmother smiled and said:

Our job is to nourish it with prayer and good works until it grows so big nobody can take it from us— not misfortune, not persecution, not even death itself.

“Sharon, if I told you the secret right away, it would spoil a bigger secret that I want to tell you later. Think about it for a while. “I’m sure you will discover the answer. And when you do, I’ll tell you an even bigger secret.” bout a week later, Sharon was picking flowers in her grandmother’s garden.

Suddenly, she spotted a bottle into which her grandmother had inserted a little vine with a tiny cucumber on it. Now she knew how her grandmother did it: she inserted it in the bottle when it was little and let to grow big there. She hurried to her grandmother. Dancing up and down, she said, “Grandma, now that I know the little secret, tell me the big secret. I can hardly wait!” Her grandmother began: “The secret is this: a good habit that you form now is like putting a tiny cucumber in a bottle. Year B

n today’s gospel Jesus tells us a secret not unlike the one Sharon’s grandmother told her.

Here is it important to note that the growth of God’s kingdom within each of us is a slow, gradual process. Just as it takes time for a tiny cucumber to grow into a large one in a bottle, so it is with the Kingdom of God. This is why there is still evil inside our hearts and, especially, inside our world. The seed of God’s kingdom has been planted; it is growing, but it has not yet reached its fullness. This is why we still pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come!”

eanwhile, the “kingdom of Satan” continues to do battle with the Kingdom of God.

In other words, the kingdom of Satan is only under sentence of death. It has not yet been destroyed. As a result it is still waging war in our world. Lectionary 93

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his brings us to a second important point about the Kingdom of God.

Unlike the visible plant that emerges from the tiny mustard seed, for all to see, the Kingdom of God is invisible and can’t be seen. It is spiritual. Jesus said: “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one can say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20–21 hat leads us to the role of the Church in all this. Jesus instituted the Church to serve a twofold purpose.

First, it serves as the “seed” from which the Kingdom of God emerges. Second, it is the visible “sign” of God’s kingdom in our world. The Church, like Jesus himself, has a twofold dimension: a divine dimension and human dimension. he divine dimension is invisible. It is none other than Christ himself, who is the head and life of the Church.

The human dimension, on the other hand, is visible. It is the members of the Church. By our witness and worship, we, the members of Christ’s body, make it visibly present and active in our world. The human dimension of the Church is like everything human; it is flawed. This includes not only its membership, but also its leadership: its bishops and priests. Because it is flawed, it does not always show forth the “face of Christ” to our world as it should. 78 Ordinary

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It, too, is vulnerable to sin and still struggling to be what God called it to be. As a result the Church in its pilgrimage on earth will always be a mixture of light and darkness. There will always be enough light for those who sincerely want to see and enough darkness for those whose disposition is otherwise. his is how it should be. The light should never overpower us. It should only invite us.

To put it another way: when it comes to the presence in the Church, it will never shine forth so clearly as to leave us without questions. Nor will it be concealed so completely as to mislead the sincere searcher. It will always leave open both possibilities. And this is how it should be. Jesus respects our human freedom. He will not force us to follow him. llow me to conclude with an excerpt from a delightful poem by an unknown author.

It pretty much sums up what we have been trying to say. The poem reads: I think I shall never see a Church that’s all it ought to be: A Church whose members never stray beyond the straight and narrow way. A Church that has no empty pews, whose pastor never has the blues. Such perfect Churches there may be but none of them are known to me. But still, we’ll work and play and plan to make our own the best we can. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

12th Sunday of the Year Job 38:1, 8–11; 2 Corinthians 5:14–17; Mark 4:35–41

Prayer Do what you can and then pray that God will give you the power to do what you cannot. Saint Augustine

esus said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

hose of us who were living during those unforgettable days of World War II may recall a poem called “Conversion.”

Movie stars quoted it at bond rallies. Politicians cited it on the floor of Congress. Disc jockeys read it against a musical background on radio stations. After it was featured on one station, the network had to hire a staff of people to fill the thousands of requests for it. n the jungles of the South Pacific, the poem was found tacked to trees. In England, a handwritten copy was found in the pocket of a badly wounded turret gunner, pulled from a crashed plane.

On D-Day, a chaplain found it clutched in the hands of dying soldiers on Normandy Beach. One critic said of the poem: Its appeal is its simple expression of a great spiritual truth in a way that people of that era could relate to. Unless we transport ourselves back to an era far less sophisticated than our own—when thousands of soldiers were dying daily— we may find it hard to appreciate or relate to. Year B

he poem was written by Frances Angermayer of Kansas City, in the early hours of June 3, 1943.

It was a hot night and she couldn’t sleep. She began thinking about her brother who was in service. Then her thoughts drifted to the thousands of other young men and women who would be going into battle that night and, maybe, not returning. She wondered what a soldier who had never prayed before might say to God before going into a dangerous battle. She got out of bed and wrote the poem “Conversion.” Little did she dream that it would touch the hearts of millions. The poem read: Look, God, I have never spoken to You . . . You see, God, They told me You didn’t exist— And like a fool— I believed all of this. Last night from a shell hole I saw Your sky— I figured right then they had told me a lie. Funny—I had to come to this hellish place, Before I had the time to see Your Face. . . . But I’m sure glad, God, I met You today. . . . The signal!—Well, God— I’ll have to go. . . Look now— this will be a horrible fight— Who knows— I may come to Your House tonight— Though I wasn’t friendly with You before, I wonder, God— If You’d wait at Your Door— Lectionary 96

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Look—I’m crying! Me! Shedding tears!— I wish I’d known You these many years. . . . Strange—since I met You— I’m not afraid to die. That poem was written some 60 years ago. But the message contained in the poem and in the story behind it is just as relevant today as it was the night it was written. t is the same message contained in today’s readings, especially the Gospel.

There comes a time in every life when we find ourselves in a situation that is beyond our ability to control or cope with. Like the disciples during their storm at sea, all of us have experienced terrible storms in our own life. Not storms at sea involving high winds and huge waves, but storms nonetheless. or example, it may be a spiritual storm that threatens to blow out the light of our faith in God.

It may be an emotional storm that threatens to destroy our marriage or an important relationship with someone we love and care about deeply. Or it may be a psychological storm— a misunderstanding that is hard to deal with. he storms of life can blow up and can become life-threatening, driving us further from God and ending in spiritual death.

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Or they can draw us closer to God, becoming a source of new spiritual life. The difference between a storm that draws us closer to God and one that drives us further away is doing what Frances Angermayer did— and what the apostles did. They prayed. But it is not any prayer. It is the kind of prayer that Jesus taught his followers to pray. It is the kind of prayer that places all of our trust in God. It is the kind of prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said to his Father, “Not my will . . . but your will be done.”

Luke 22:42

It is the kind of prayer that completely trusts that God knows what is best for us. It is the kind of prayer that Jesus had in mind when he said to his disciples, “Ask, and you will receive.” Matthew 7:7 We many not receive in the way we prayed for or anticipated. But our prayer will always be answered— in a way befitting infinite wisdom and infinite love. Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak. Isaiah 40:31 I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. These are my promises, and I will keep them without fail.

Isaiah 42:16

Year B

13th Sunday of the Year Wisdom 1:13–15, 2:23–24; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13–15; Mark 5:21–43

Petitionary prayer Ask, but let God decide. You could be pleasantly surprised.

he touched his cloak, and . . . had the feeling . . . that she was healed. Mark 5:29

priest was giving a talk on Scripture in Canada.

After the talk a woman came up and gave him a note to read on his flight home. When the priest settled on the plane, he took out the note. Permit me to share a portion of the note. It reads: We’ve had many prayers answered in our family, but none so meaningful as the answer to our daughter’s recovery from an emotional problem. On the twelfth anniversary of my daughter’s emotional illness, I prayed in a special way to Jesus to heal her as he did the woman in the Gospel who had a hemorrhage for twelve years. As you recall, the woman in the Gospel believed that if she could only touch the hem of his garment, she’d be healed. After she touched his garment, Jesus turned to her and said, “Woman, your faith has healed you.” With that same kind of faith, I told Jesus that I believed he could heal my sick daughter, and that I had enough faith for both of us. Year B

The next day we noticed small, positive signs pointing to her recovery. They continued in the days ahead. And after each one, we thanked Jesus— whom we truly believed was answering our prayers. That was six years ago. Today she is a happy young woman. And what is even more marvelous, Jesus is now using her to help other people. he Canadian mother ended the story of her daughter’s healing with this observation:

God cannot answer prayers unless we pray. And if we pray, God will answer our prayers in his own time— and often in a way more marvelous than that for which we prayed. Note to author od did this in the case of the mother’s daughter. God used her illness to prepare her to help other people in need.

Commenting on how God often uses our trials to prepare us to help others, Saint Paul writes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians: [God] helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others . . . using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4–5 That is a remarkable statement. It ranks among my favorite passages in Saint Paul’s letters. Let me repeat it for you: [God] helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others . . . using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. Lectionary 99

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hat brings us back to the Canadian mother’s statement that God often answers our prayers in a way more marvelous than what we prayed for.

Years ago, a man named Bruno Hagspiel lived in a rural area where clothing stores carried only the bare essential items: underwear, socks, work clothes. So he used to buy his dress clothes from a mail order house. At the bottom of each order form was this question: If we don’t have in stock the article you ordered, may we substitute another article similar to the one you ordered? On one of his orders, Bruno wrote “yes.” A week later, he was thrilled to death when the mail order house sent him a beautiful substitute at no extra cost—that listed at double the price of the item he ordered. From that point on, Bruno always printed a big, bold “YES” after that question: If we don’t have in stock the article you ordered, may we substitute another article similar to the one you ordered? He even hoped they didn’t have the item in stock, so they would send him something better.

than what we asked for, or thought we needed. Let us close with a brief meditation that sums up in a beautiful way what we have been trying to say about how God answers prayers in ways we never dreamed of. I’m sure many of you are familiar with it. It was found in the pocket of a dead Confederate soldier. Widely reprinted by a rehabilitation center under the title “A Creed for Those Who Have Suffered,” it reads: I asked for health, that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. . . . I asked for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise. . . . I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God. . . . I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. . . . I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed.

runo compared the mail order episode to our prayer requests to God. He wrote:

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Year B

14th Sunday of the Year Ezekiel 2:2–5, 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Mark 6:1–6

Prejudice

And so it happened that a brilliant young doctor died at the age of 45—at the height of his career—because a segregated hospital denied him the benefit of his own discovery.

Rejecting people because they don’t fit our preconceived patterns of race, creed, or social standing.

here did he get all this?” they asked. “Isn’t he the carpenter, son of Mary . . . ?” And so they rejected him. Mark 6:2–3

There we read how people could not understand where Jesus, son of a poor carpenter, got his knowledge and miraculous power.

r. Charles Drew was the eldest of five children. He graduated from McGill in Canada with a degree of Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery.

At Columbia College in New York, he developed a technique for the long-term preservation of blood plasma, for use in blood transfusions. During World War II, he became director of the nation’s blood banks, providing blood for the army and navy.

hat incredibly tragic story brings us to today’s Gospel.

So, too, people could not understand where Dr. Drew, son of black ancestors, got his knowledge and brilliant skill. Jesus was rejected by people he loved in spite of the wonderful things he did. Likewise, Dr. Drew was widely rejected in spite of his remarkable achievements. Finally, Jesus, who healed and saved so many people, had his life taken from him by the very people he healed and saved.

In this capacity, he laid the groundwork for the Red Cross’s procedures for collecting and banking blood.

Likewise, Dr. Drew, who healed and saved so many people, had his life taken from him by people he healed and saved.

Ironically, he was black and therefore not permitted to contribute his own blood to the Red Cross Blood Bank.

What God said to the prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading could be said of both Jesus and Dr. Drew:

In 1944, he became chief of staff and medical director at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. He received scores of awards and was widely regarded in the medical field as one of the world’s leading physicians.

I am sending you to a people who have turned against me. Whether they listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them. Ezekiel 2:3–5 (adapted)

In 1950, he was in a serious auto accident and lost a great deal of blood. A segregated hospital in Burlington, North Carolina, refused to admit him for a transfusion. He died during the long ride to a hospital that would accept blacks. Year B

hat brings us to each one of us in this church. How do the stories of Jesus in today’s Gospel and of Dr. Charles Drew apply to our lives?

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about the coming persecutions that many of them would endure. He said:

We are tempted to become resentful and spiteful.

“Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. . . . [Many] will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. . . .

Should this ever happen, we should not give in to our feelings. Rather, we must imitate Jesus, who said we should forgive our enemies and “pray for those who mistreat us.” Luke 6:28

“No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master.” Matthew 10:16, 22, 24 n other words, Jesus is saying that if people rejected him in his lifetime, we should not be surprised if people also reject us, his followers, in our lifetime.

For example, we should not be surprised if people reject us because we oppose destroying innocent life through abortion. We should not be surprised if people reject us because we speak out in defense of exploited minorities. We should not be surprised if people reject us because we stand up for what we believe to be right. We should not even be surprised if other Christians reject us because of our nationality or our economic or social status. Nor should we be surprised if our own families reject us. Jesus said this would happen, saying: “People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents.” Matthew 10:21 For example, a parent may refuse to forgive a child from the heart. Or a child may refuse to forgive a father or a mother from the heart. When rejection like this occurs, we are tempted to give up. We are tempted to stop loving. 84 Ordinary

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onsider a concrete example. In 1861, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy of America, was looking for someone to fill a key post in his administration. So he asked General Robert E. Lee about a certain man named Whiting. Lee recommended the man highly.

One of Lee’s officers called Lee aside and asked him if he was aware of the derogatory remarks Whiting had made about him. Lee replied, “I understand that the President wanted to know my opinion of Whiting, not Whiting’s opinion of me.” General Lee rejected the temptation to be governed by hurt feelings rather than by truth and love. In brief, then, today’s readings teach us two things. First, people will reject us, at times, just as they rejected Jesus. Second, we must not let this rejection keep us from loving, even as Jesus never let rejection keep him from loving. et us close by listening to these word of Jesus, spoken during his Sermon on the Mount:

“Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and say that you are evil, all because of the Son of Man! Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven.” Luke 6:22–23 Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

15th Sunday of the Year Amos 7:12–15, Ephesians 1:3–10, Mark 6:7–13

Roos’s pilgrimage Preach and heal by your example.

esus said, “Don’t take anything with you . . . no bread . . . no beggar’s bag . . . no money.” Mark 6:8

hen Jesus sent his disciples out to preach and to heal, he gave them this unusual instruction: “Don’t take anything with you.”

Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to take anything with them, but to beg for everything? Would Jesus give this same instruction to modern disciples if he were living in modern times? What would happen if he did? How would people react if such a disciple showed up asking for food and lodging? And even if people did give him food and lodging, how would he go about inviting his hosts to repent their sins and be healed—at least spiritually? ome years ago, a young Jesuit priest, Richard Roos, wondered about these very questions. He decided to find the answers to them.

He got permission from his superiors to spend the 40 days of Lent making an 800-mile walking pilgrimage from San Diego to San Francisco. Early Christians made such pilgrimages for various reasons—for example, to express trust in God, to deepen faith in people’s goodness, to experience what it is like to be poor. Year B

nd so he set out following the old Spanish mission trail— now a highway—that the early missionaries followed in evangelizing California in the 1700s.

Father Roos walked through sunshine, rain, and high winds. He walked and walked, day after day, in spite of aching legs and blistered feet— just as the early missionaries did. There was one difference, however. He identified himself only as a Christian on a Lenten pilgrimage. What answers did he get to his questions? He writes: Every afternoon at two or three o’clock I’d begin to feel a growing anxiety about where I would wind up spending the night. . . . And of course, I felt the powerlessness of poverty. When you go to a door . . . and ask for food and lodging . . . you find yourself feeling very humble. You’ve just handed over the whole deck to the other person, and it’s their deal. You have no rights or power. How did people react to him when Father Roos showed up? He writes: I was never treated harshly or unkindly. The people who hosted me were of all denominations of Christianity and even no religion at all. All were fascinated by the concept of a pilgrimage. He concluded his report with an unexpected observation. It relates directly to how he preached the Gospel. He writes: Generally, I found that my presence and our conversation gave or strengthened them in their hope in God and in the goodness of people. Lectionary 105

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I don’t know Father Roos personally. But I do know from what he writes that he is a prayerful person with a deep faith and a deep trust in God and in people. think it is right here that we have the answer to how he preached the Gospel on his pilgrimage.

He did it by his faith and his example. It was this faith and this example that came through when he talked with people. In other words, he did not preach the Gospel by words. He preached by a more powerful way: by his presence, his faith, and his example. Some years ago, a number of young Christians were attending an international summer camp. They came from many nations around the world. One project assigned them was to come up with effective ways to preach the Gospel in our modern world. After the young people talked about using television, radio, rock concerts, and shopping malls, an African girl said something that touched the heart of everyone. She said: When Christians in my country think a pagan village is ready for Christianity, they don’t send books or missionaries. They send a good Christian family. The example of the family converts the village. nd that brings us to an application of today’s Gospel to each and every one of us here.

Jesus wants us to preach the Gospel today. He wants us to do it the way Father Roos did it, but with one exception. He does not want us to do it on a Lenten pilgrimage. 86 Ordinary

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He wants us to do it in our homes, in our work places, and in our communities. He wants us to do it the way the African girl suggested. He wants us to do it by living as prayerful people with a deep faith in God and in people. He wants us to do it by our presence and by our example, more than by our words. And if we do it in this manner, not only will we strengthen the faith of those around us, but we will also invite them to imitate our own faith and prayerfulness. The poet Edgar Guest had it right when he said years ago: It is all in vain to preach the truth, To the eager ears of trusting youth. . . . Fine words may grace the advice you give, But youth will learn from the way you live. And a Brahman in India had it right when he said to a Christian missionary: If you Christians in India, in Britain, or in America were like your Bible, you would conquer India in five years.

et us close with this prayer of Cardinal Newman. It says it all:

Lord Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate my whole being. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence. . . . None of it will be mine, all of it will be yours shining on others through me. Let me praise you in the way that you love best . . . without preaching by word, but by my example. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

16th Sunday of the Year Jeremiah 23:1–6, Ephesians 2:13–18, Mark 6:30–34

Monk’s decision Prayer and action need to be kept in balance.

esus said to his apostles, “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest awhile.” Mark 6:31

here’s a story about an old monk who had prayed his whole life for a vision that would reassure him that his faith was true. But it never came.

Then one morning, while he was praying, the vision came. It was the most joyous moment of his life. Then something heartbreaking happened. At the very moment that the vision appeared, the monestary bell rang. It was the signal that it was time to feed the poor who gathered daily outside the monestary gate. And wouldn’t you know, it was the old monk’s turn to take the food harvested the day before and distribute it to the poor. Naturally, the old monk was torn between staying and praying to God and leaving and feeding the poor outside the gate. If he turned his back on the vision, he would risk being ungrateful to God for the gift of the heavenly vision that he had prayed for all his life. On the other hand, if he turned his back on the hungry, they would leave without anything to eat, thinking there was no available food that day to feed their hungry families. What should he do? Year B

Before the echo of the monestary bell had faded, the monk made his decision. He turned his back on the vision, went to the kitchen, put the available food on a cart, and distributed it to the people standing outside the gate. An hour later, after he was finished, he returned to his room. He was tired and not really certain that he had done the right thing by turning his back on the vision. When he opened the door of his room, he couldn’t believe what he saw. He fell on his knees. There, waiting for his return, was the vision. While he wept for joy, the vision said, “Had you not gone to feed the poor, I would not have stayed.” Retold from Lawrence LeShan, How to Meditate

ne day several people were discussing the story.

One man said he disagreed with the story. He said the monk was dead wrong in making the decision that he did. He said the monk should have stayed and prayed to God. After all, God is far greater and far more important than a group of people. It would be interesting to see how each one of us here would respond to the man. But since we cannot, allow me to share my feelings about the man’s view. They are that Jesus would have done exactly what the monk did. In fact, that is what we see Jesus doing in today’s Gospel. When he sees the crowd of people— like sheep without a shepherd— he doesn’t ignore them; he postpones his own plans to spend the time with his apostles. Lectionary 108

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If there is one thing clear in the Gospel, it is that Jesus is deeply concerned with helping the needy, and not simply with praying for them.

Prayer and action are both important in the living out of our Christian lives. Both are like the two rails of a train track. They must flow along in life together. Both are absolutely necessary.

ake Jesus’ portrayal of the Last Judgment. There Jesus makes it crystal clear that we will not be judged on whether or not we prayed for the hungry, the homeless, and the needy. Rather, we will be judged on whether we did something concrete to help them.

The danger is that we give priority to one at the expense of the other. For example, there’s the danger of reasoning that just because I can do only a little to help the poor that I’ll simply pray for them and leave it go at that.

Jesus concludes his portrayal of the Last Judgment, saying to those standing at his right:

We ought to do both. Recall how Saint Ignatius of Loyola expressed this idea, saying:

“I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!”

Work as though everything depends on us, but pray as though everything depends on God.

Then he will say to those on his left, “Away from me. . . . I was hungry but you would not feed me . . . naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, but you would not take care of me.”

Finally, there’s another old story, with which many of us are familiar. It speaks directly to the issue at hand and bears repeating. It goes like this: Matthew 25:40–43

n a similar vein, the apostle James writes in his letter to the Christians of his day:

My friends, what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? . . .

One day a person was praying to God to help the needy people of our world. Finally, in utter frustration, he shouted, “Lord, why don’t you do something about this ugly situation down here?” There was a pause. Then a heavenly voice spoke out and said, “I did do something. I made you.”

Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well”— if you don’t give them the necessities of life? . . . Faith without actions is useless. James 2:14–16, 20

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Year B

17th Sunday of the Year 2 Kings 4:42–44, Ephesians 4:1–6, John 6:1–15

Ministry Let’s all share in the miracle together.

here is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish.” John 6:9

ric Zorn is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. One day his work took him to Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.

Suddenly, 51-year-old Dennis Dunn pulled up to the curb in his Ford Explorer. Dressed in a blue sports jacket and white pants, he emerged holding an empty coffee can with a slit in its plastic lid. Then he began begging money from the street people. Zorn says it was one of the craziest things he had ever seen in his life. They stood there dumbfounded at what was happening,

t first, he used the empty coffee can as a gimmick to solicit funds from affluent suburbanites.

Then one day his wife, Nancy, suggested that, ideally, some of the money should come from the neighborhood people who would see the van drive up and down the street with the kids. It would give these neighborhood people a sense of dignity in knowing that they were part of a ministry to help kids. That’s when Dunn began soliciting funds from the street people and area people. t first the street people turned away in utter disbelief. But when Dunn persisted and explained that the funds were to help kids stay out of jail, they stopped to listen.

A waitress at Edna’s Soul Food Restaurant emptied her tip apron into his can. One person sitting on the curb with a bottle in a brown paper bag put in a pair of dimes. A homeless person emerged from a doorway and dropped in a few sticky coins of his own.

unn explained that he worked for Making Choices, a Catholic prison ministry.

Dunn says, “No matter what you may have heard, these neighborhoods are filled with people who care”— even the most dysfunctional street people understand and care.

He said it provided guidance and support for juveniles who had been released from the detention center just down the street but who still had to attend regular meetings.

What is needed is to explain the project in a way that the people can understand and share in the dignity and privilege of being a part of the project.

To get to these meetings, many of these young people had to cross dangerous gang boundaries. So adult volunteers began picking them up and transporting them to the detention center in an old broken-down van.

If we do this, we’ll find that their response can be absolutely beautiful.

When the van conked out, Dunn, an ordained Catholic deacon, took it upon himself to solicit money to buy a new van. Year B

really like that story, and I like it for two reasons, especially.

First, what the deacon did is exactly what Jesus did in today’s Gospel. Jesus involved others in the miracle of feeding the hungry. He involved his disciples and the boy. Lectionary 111

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econd, what the deacon and Jesus did provides us with a paradigm for undertaking similar projects.

Nor is it simply to be generous in giving money to help the needy. That could be onerous to both of us if that is all we did.

In last Sunday’s homily, we recalled the story of a person who begged God to work a great miracle to help the hungry and the needy of our world.

Rather, our job is to do both of these things— and something more. It is to do what Jesus did. It is to do what the deacon did.

In utter frustration, the person shouted, “Lord, why don’t you do something about this ugly situation down here?”

It is to seek ways to involve everyone in the privilege and dignity of changing our world— even involving those whom we think are a part of the world’s problems.

There was a pause. Then a heavenly voice replied, “I did do something. I made you.”

hat story reminds us of a statement by Edward Everett Hale. He said:

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, let me not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Our job is to realize that Jesus wants to work miracles for the hungry and needy of our time, just as he did for them in his time. ut Jesus needs us to look around and see what needs most to be done in our home, our school, our parish.

He needs us to do what the boy in the Gospel did—and what the deacon did.

The point is this: God wants to help people. But God wants to do it in a way that allows us to participate with dignity in his miracle of helping the needy.

Jesus needs us to invite others to join him and to find ways to involve even those less gifted than ourselves in making our world a better place.

And that’s what Jesus did and that’s what the Chicago deacon did.

nd that brings us to each one of us in this church.

Today’s Gospel offers us a paradigm for changing our world— a paradigm for multiplying anew the loaves and fish to feed the hungry and needy of our world. Our job is not simply to pray for the hungry and the needy during the prayers of the faithful at Mass. That could be a mockery if that is all we did. 90 Ordinary

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his is the good news of today’s Gospel. It is the good news we celebrate in this liturgy. It is the good news that: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, let me not refuse to do the something that I can do. It is the good news that if we give our loaves and fish to Jesus—as the boy in today’s Gospel did and as the Chicago deacon did— Jesus will help us change our world in ways we never dreamed possible.

Year B

18th Sunday of the Year Exodus 16:2–4, 12–15; Ephesians 4:17, 20–24; John 6:24–35

Coming home “Our hearts have a God-shaped hole in them that only God can fill.”

am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

ometime ago, the Wall Street Journal carried an article about the number of professionals who have returned to church after being separated from it for a while.

Lisa Miller, “Can You Go Back? in the Wall Street Journal (April 10, 1998)

A case in point is Kenny. The Journal describes him this way: He’s got a job with a top brokerage firm . . . a $600,000 bachelor pad and a blue Jaguar with vanity plates. . . . But last year, he found himself saying, “Here I am forty-five years old, and . . . my life is empty.” So what did Kenny do? He went back to church. The Wall Street Journal commented that in the past, people like Kenny got serious about a relationship with God only at some critical moment: a death in the family, a loss of a job, and so on. Now successful people are breaking the mold and returning to their faith. “They’re dissatisfied,” says the Rev. Steve Stroope. . . .

Year B

“They’ve landed on the moon and they’re saying, ‘Is this all there is?’ ” Interestingly, the spiritual emptiness that people like Kenny experience does not always take them straight back to church. Frequently they turn to such things as self-help books, volunteer programs, or evening courses in philosophy. The Wall Street Journal says that one reason for choosing that path is that in “certain professional circles” going to church is frowned upon. Our friend Kenny said that he resisted his first impulse to return to the Catholic Church. Now he’s a regular at Sunday Mass, but he keeps that part of his life to himself in conversations at work. He’s afraid that he will be written off as a “Jesus freak” or something equally unpopular in the eyes of his colleagues nother successful Hollywood professional, Marykay, left her Catholic faith behind when she left home.

Years of 80-hour workweeks brought her to the presidency of a Hollywood production company. Weekends found her winging to some luxury resort on a private jet. It was an exciting life. Then one day a profound emptiness set in. In spite of her success and excitement, something important was missing. She felt a deep spiritual hunger. To address this spiritual hunger, she turned to New Age lectures and took courses in Buddhism and biblical history at the University of California.

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But her emptiness and the hunger persisted. inally, she decided to return “home.” She decided to go back to her Catholic faith that she had left behind when she left home. Commenting on her return, she said:

“I’m going to sound nuts,” she says, but it wasn’t until she asked God to forgive her for being away that she was comfortable going back to church again. “I had to say, ‘Please take me back. Please help me.’ ” he stories of Kenny and Marykay illustrate that the spiritual hunger that we all feel from time to time is a hunger for God.

It is the same inner hunger and thirst that people have experienced since the beginning of time. Sixteen centuries ago, Saint Augustine explained it this way: “Our hearts are made for God, and they will not rest until they rest in God.” A later writer put it more poetically, saying, “Our hearts have a God-shaped hole in them that only God can fill.” his leads us to the great tragedy of modern times. It is this:

We are trying to fill the God-hole in our hearts with something other than God.

He wrote the human heart has a deep spiritual hunger. But instead of helping people satisfy this spiritual hunger in a spiritual way, we give people material things. We try to distract people from what is troubling them, the same way that we try to distract a crying baby by giving it candy and by making funny faces at it. Trying to satisfy a spiritual hunger or thirst with material food or drink is like trying to satisfy a physical thirst with salt water. The more we drink, the thirstier we get.

his brings us to the good news contained in today’s Gospel.

Jesus, and Jesus alone, can satisfy the hunger in our hearts. Jesus, and Jesus alone, can fill the void in our lives. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the Son of God, come into the world to fill the God-hole in our hearts. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the Prince of Peace, come into our world to calm the restlessness in our hearts. For Jesus, and Jesus alone, said: “I am the bread of life. . . . Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

Years ago the British writer Frank Sheed talked about this tragedy in his book called Theology and Sanity.

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Year B

19th Sunday of the Year 1 Kings 19:4–8, Ephesians 4:30–5:2, John 6:41–51

Holy Communion Holy Communion is receiving the same Jesus who was born in a cave outside Bethlehem.

am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51

ot far from Munich, Germany, is the picturesque town of Dachau. For decades it was a popular spot for tourists and artists. Then in 1933 all that changed.

The Nazis took over Germany and built a concentration camp just outside Dachau. During the next 12 years nearly one quarter of a million prisoners were confined there. Official records certify that over 30,000 of these prisoners were cruelly executed in the camp. But this figure does not include the thousands of prisoners who were put to death without being registered or who were sent elsewhere to be executed. oday, tourists are returning to Dachau in greater numbers than ever before.

You see them walking prayerfully around the grounds of the camp. You see them moving slowly through the museum that has been built there. Above all, you see them praying silently in one of the camp’s several memorial chapels. Year B

n 1986, Father Albert Haase paid a visit to Dachau. After returning to the United States, he wrote a book in which he describes a portion of his visit to Dachau. He writes:

One Wednesday afternoon in June 1986, I walked the grounds of Dachau concentration camp. . . . I remember pausing to pray at the spot where Barracks 26 once stood. It was the prison dormitory that housed so many Roman Catholics. . . . Every day Catholic prisoners at Dachau got one meal, which consisted of a chunk of bread the size of a dinner role, and a cup of watered-down soup. But each day, one Catholic prisoner would voluntarily sacrifice his or her meager bread ration for the celebration of the Mass. That chunk of bread would be consecrated by a priest and then secretly passed around as communion for prisoners. Swimming in the Sun (pages 141–42)

e can imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of those Catholic prisoners as they shared in what would be for them their “Last Supper.”

And we can imagine what went on in the mind and heart of a prisoner who had just sacrificed his ration of bread— the only meal he would have that day— to make the Mass possible for the rest of the prisoners. And finally, we can imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of all the prisoners as they listened to these words of Jesus during the reading of the Gospel: Lectionary 117

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“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51 s we listen to the story of the Catholic prisoners of Barracks 26, we find ourselves asking:

“What goes on in my mind and heart as I walk down the aisle at communion time with my brothers and sisters to be nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lord? “What goes on in my mind and heart at the moment I receive the Body and Blood of the Lord?” ost of us receive the Eucharist each time we go to Mass. Moreover, we receive it without having to sacrifice our only meal for that day.

Unfortunately, because of the ready and convenient availability of the Eucharist, we can slip into the habit of receiving it routinely and unthinkingly. This raises a question: How can we reverse that pattern if we have, perhaps, slipped into the habit of receiving the Eucharist in this manner? Permit me to make a suggestion that I, personally, found helpful. As you walk down the aisle to receive the Eucharist, try to focus your mind and heart on what you are about to do. It is not to meet, personally, with the president of the United States. It is not to meet, personally, with some famous celebrity.

And when the priest or deacon or the eucharistic minister holds up the Eucharist and says to you, “The Body of Christ,” try to realize what you are doing when you say “Amen.” You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was born in a cave in a hillside outside Bethlehem.” You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who restored health to the sick, sight to the blind, and life to Lazarus.” You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who said to the hungry crowd on the mountainside”: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51 You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was nailed to a cross and after three hours died for me, my family, and my friends, was raised from the dead, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.” t is this great mystery of our faith that we celebrate each time we gather for the Eucharist.

It is this great mystery of our faith that gives us the hope of eternal life. It is this great mystery of our faith that we now return to the altar to celebrate. Let us celebrate it with deep faith and profound gratitude.

It is not even to meet, personally, with the Holy Father himself. It is to meet, personally, with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 94 Ordinary

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Year B

Assumption Revelation 11:19a, 12:1–6a, 10ab; 1 Corinthians 15:20–27; Luke 1:39–56

In a very real sense, that unpainted statue in Kansas portrays Mary the way she would like us to think of her on this great feast.

God’s promise We will join Mary body and soul.

rom now on all people will call me [blessed], because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me.”

don’t know if they ever repainted that statue of Mary, but I hope they didn’t.

We tend to forget that Mary is in heaven as she was on earth. Luke 1:48

ears ago there was an outdoor shrine to Mary on the grounds of the Catholic church in Saint Marys, Kansas.

The shrine was especially popular with a tribe of Native Americans living nearby. As the years passed, the statue lost most of its paint. As a result, it looked drab and colorless. Worse yet, Mary’s face looked old and her eyes looked as if she were blind. hen a new pastor wanted to repaint the statue, the tribal chief opposed it vigorously.

She is not just the loving, caring mother of Jesus, but also the loving, caring, spiritual mother of each one of us.

hat brings us to something else we tend to forget about Mary.

Mary’s assumption, body and soul, into heaven is a promise that we, too, are destined to join her in heaven— body and soul. eople sometimes ask, “How can we join our mother, Mary, body and soul, if our own body is going to die and decay.”

The answer to that question is as simple as it is beautiful.

“Why?” asked the new pastor. “Don’t you want Mary to look beautiful? She looks old and blind this way!”

Each year we see the answer dramatized in nature. Listen to Saint Paul. He writes:

“Yes,” said the elderly chief. “But we could never make her look as beautiful as she is in heaven.

Someone will ask, “How can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have?” . . .

“On the other hand, if we keep the statue the way it is now, it reminds us of how Mary looks down on us from heaven.

When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life unless it dies.

“Her eyes are blind to our faults, but her ears are open to our prayers.”

Year B

And what you plant is a bare seed . . . not the full-bodied plant that will later grow up.

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God provides that seed with the body he wishes; he gives each seed its own proper body. . . . This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life.

There we will join her in the never-ending presence and joy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:35–42

t is this good news that we celebrate in today’s feast.

It is the good news that Mary’s assumption is God’s promise that we, too, will join her in heaven someday—body and soul.

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And so we can say with Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans: I consider what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

Year B

20th Sunday of the Year Proverbs 9:1–6, Ephesians 5:15–20, John 6:51–58

Incredible gift It is the same Jesus who died on a cross for us on Calvary.

esus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

J O

John 6:51

ne day, years ago, a priest walked into a church in Germany. As he knelt there, his attention was drawn to the large bronze tabernacle door. It was divided into four panels. he first panel showed six water jars, symbolizing the miracle at Cana, when Jesus changed water into wine.

The second panel showed five loaves, symbolizing the miracle at Capernaum, when Jesus multiplied the bread for the hungry crowd on the hillside. The third panel showed 13 people at table, symbolizing the miracle at Jerusalem, when Jesus transformed bread and wine into his own body and blood. The fourth showed three people at table, symbolizing the miracle at Emmaus, when Jesus manifested his risen presence on Easter night to two downcast disciples. The artist picked these four miracles for the tabernacle door because they told the beautiful story of the Eucharist housed inside that tabernacle.

The important thing, however, is not how Jesus worked the miracle at Cana, but why he worked it. Besides saving the young married couple from social embarrassment, Jesus did it to prepare people for the day when he would change this same wine into the sacrament of his own blood. Next, take the miracle of the loaves, which led to the discussion in today’s Gospel reading. Again, some 20th-century Christians find this miracle hard to comprehend. But, again, most first-century Christians had no problem with it at all. As with the miracle of the wine, they saw a similar miracle take place each year in their wheat fields. In the spring, the farmers planted a few bushels of wheat. And in the course of the summer, nature multiplied the few bushels into a hundred bushels of golden wheat. Once again, the important thing is not how Jesus worked this miracle, but why. Besides feeding a hungry crowd, Jesus also used it to prepare the same hungry crowd for the day when he would feed them in an even more marvelous way— in a spiritual way. hat brings us to the third panel, depicting the Last Supper. Mark describes the Last Supper this way:

Take the first panel: the miracle at Cana. Some 20th-century Christians find this miracle a stumbling block.

While they were eating, Jesus took . . . bread, gave . . . thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take it,” he said, “this is my body.”

However, most first-century Christians lived off the soil and saw a similar miracle take place annually before their eyes. Each summer, grapevines drew water from the soil, changed it into grape juice, and then, later on, fermented it into wine.

Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and handed it to them; and they all drank from it. Jesus said, “This is my blood which is poured out for many, my blood which seals God’s covenant.” Mark 14:22–24

Year B

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At that moment Jesus gave us a gift that only God could give. And it leads us directly to the last panel: the Emmaus supper on Easter night with two disciples. Recall how they were walking along when Jesus appeared to them as a stranger and explained the Scriptures to them. When they arrived home in Emmaus, they invited Jesus to eat with them. Luke says: [Jesus] sat down to eat with them, took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke the bread and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. Luke 24:30–31 The artist interprets the Emmaus supper as the first celebration of the Eucharist. And so the tabernacle door summarizes the four stages in Jesus’ gift of the Eucharist. It was: prefigured at the marriage feast at Cana, promised on the hillside at Capernaum, instituted at the Last Supper in Jerusalem, and celebrated in Emmaus

his brings us to how the Eucharist touches our lives.

First, it is our spiritual nourishment. Just as the manna nourished the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, so the Eucharist nourishes us on our journey to our promised land: heaven. Second, besides nourishing us on our journey, it also makes present, sacramentally, the real presence of Jesus in our midst. Recall that before Jesus ascended to heaven, he made this promise: “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

ather Joseph Hogan was a chaplain in Europe with the U.S. Third Army.

One Sunday, he felt the impact of this twofold gift of the Eucharist in a way that he had never experienced it before. He writes: 98 Ordinary

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I was celebrating Mass on top of a jeep on a battlefield in France. The men were attending with helmets on and their guns slung over their shoulders. The ack-ack was pecking at the planes upstairs, and a torrent of rain was falling. The battlefield was a sea of mud. So I told the men not to kneel down. They didn’t until the Eucharistic Prayer. Then every man went down on his knees into the mud and the mud puddles. Minutes later, when they slogged up to receive Holy Communion, they, again, knelt in the mud puddles. It was an incredible manifestation of their faith in the real presence of Jesus. He was present in a twofold way: with them as their support and for them as nourishment in this awful hour of human misery. It was their way of declaring who it was they were receiving. t was the same Jesus who changed the water into wine at Cana, prefiguring the Eucharist.

It was the same Jesus who multiplied the loaves at Capernaum, as a promise of the Eucharist. It was the same Jesus who changed bread and wine into his own body and blood at the Last Supper, instituting the Eucharist. It was same Jesus who celebrated the first Eucharist at Emmaus, after its institution. It is this incredible gift that we return to the altar to celebrate. It staggers our imagination, but we know by faith that it is true. Only an incredible person like Jesus could have conceived of and given us such an incredible gift. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

21st Sunday of the Year Joshua 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b; Ephesians 5:21–32; John 6:60–69

Prayer The role and importance of prayer in the faith process.

isten! I stand at the door and knock.” Revelation 3:20

ulton Oursler was a senior editor of Reader’s Digest during the years when it was the most widely read magazine in the world.

In his youth, Fulton Oursler had searched in vain for a satisfying answer to the question, Is there really a God? He said he couldn’t understand why other people were not as concerned about that question as he was. His search continued in his adult years. But no answer came. He was at an impasse. He writes: I could not, as an intelligent man, command myself to believe. . . . The most I could do was to say that I wished—with all my heart— that I could believe. One day, in sheer desperation, he walked into St. Patrick’s cathedral in New York City. He knelt down and prayed earnestly for the gift of faith. His prayer went something like this: Ten minutes from now I may change my mind and scoff at what I am now doing. Pay no attention to me then. Right now I am in my right mind and heart. This is my best—take it. If you’re there, help me. That desperate prayer was answered with a certitude beyond anything Oursler could have hoped for. All doubts and questions vanished. Year B

He was left with only a deep-down, unshakable conviction that God is real. That dramatic moment was the beginning of a new life for him. He writes: I learned that prayer is not only the way to come to the knowledge that God is real, but also the way to the knowledge that God is our Father and our friend. his brings us to today’s Gospel. It describes how the disciples of Jesus faced a question not unlike the one Fulton Oursler faced.

They had to answer a question just as critical and difficult. It was this: Could Jesus really give them his flesh and blood as food and drink? But today’s Gospel raises a further question—perhaps an even more important one for us. It is this: What enabled some disciples to accept Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist while others were not able to accept it? nd that bring us right back to Fulton Oursler. What enabled him to resolve his doubts and questions about God when other intellectuals, like him, were unable to do so?

Oursler’s own answer to that question comes down to one word: Prayer! Prayer made all the difference in the world. Commenting on the importance of prayer in the faith process and the reluctance of intellectuals to pray, Oursler writes: It is precisely when it comes to prayer that intellectuals turn away in scorn. I can’t figure out why they won’t pray. For example, why won’t they, personally, put prayer to the test in their own lives?

he Greek philosopher Plato taught that there are three valid sources of knowledge. Lectionary 123

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The first is our five senses: taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. We share them with the animal kingdom. The second source is reason. It sets us apart from the animal kingdom. The third source is what Plato called “divine madness,” namely, that divine beings communicate with human beings. This third source of knowledge corresponds closely to our own Christian belief, namely, that God has given us two incredible gifts for the purpose of communicating with us. The first is the gift of revelation, by which God in the person of Jesus came among us and taught us what is for our happiness in this world and in the world to come. The second is the gift of faith, by which God gives us the grace to believe and accept what Jesus taught us. For example, take the gospel episode in which Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is. Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” [Jesus replied:] “Good for you, Simon son of John! . . . For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16:16–17 nd this brings us back to the key question: Why did some disciples accept Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist while others rejected it?

It is because God does not force his way into our hearts and make us believe. The only way God can enter our hearts is if we open our hearts to him in prayer, as Fulton Oursler did. 100 Ordinary

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Even more important, it means staying in touch with God through prayer on a daily basis, as Oursler did. Why is it even more important to stay in touch with God on a daily basis? I like the way Jamie Buckingham answers that important question in his book Power for Living. He writes: I often drive from my home in Melbourne, on the east coast of Florida, to the central Florida city of Orlando— about seventy miles away. . . . We have an excellent Christian radio station in Melbourne, and I enjoy listening to its music on my car radio. However, as I drive away from Melbourne I begin to lose the station on my radio. . . . The station back in Melbourne is still broadcasting. My radio is still working. The trouble is I have moved too far away to get clear reception. This simple example illustrates why heartfelt prayer, on a daily basis, made from the heart, is so important. It keeps us within range of God’s voice. Only by keeping within range of God’s voice can we hear God knocking at the door of our hearts, seeking entrance, that he may be with us, personally. Jesus puts it this way in the third chapter of the Book of Revelation: “Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me.” Revelation 3:20

Year B

22nd Sunday of the Year Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8; James 1:17–18, 21b–22, 27; Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23

The greatest treason To do the right thing for the wrong reason.

. S. Eliot ranks among the great poets of modern times.

Finally, Jesus tells his disciples not to give to the poor the way the Pharisees do. They make a big show of it. And why do they make a big show of it? Once again, Jesus does not pull any punches. He replies bluntly, “[S]o that people will praise them.” Matthew 6:2 These are terribly strong words coming from the gentle Jesus.

When he died in 1965, he was claimed both by the United States— where he was born in the late 1800s— and by England—where he studied and became a naturalized citizen.

One of his most quoted passages reflects the thoughtfulness of his poetry. It goes like this: “The greatest treason is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”

They were mostly laypeople who wanted to reform Judaism. They felt that it had become too lax.

ho were these Pharisees, anyway? And how did they get into the practice of doing the right things for the wrong reason?

Let me repeat that. “The greatest treason is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”

And so, in their minds, they became self-appointed models of what every good Jew ought to be.

e have an example of that in today’s Gospel. There we find Jesus confronting the Pharisees for doing many right things but for the wrong reason.

Their reform focused on two points, especially: a more rigid observance of the Law of Moses and a more rigid observance of human traditions.

For example, they prayed, they fasted, they gave money to the poor; but they did these things for the wrong reason. And what was that wrong reason? Jesus refers to it in Matthew 6. There he tells his disciples not to pray as the Pharisees do. They like to pray on street corners. And why do they like to pray on street corners? Jesus replies bluntly, “[S]o that everyone will see them.” Matthew 6:5 Jesus continues by telling his disciples not to fast the way the Pharisees do. They put on a sad face when they fast. And why do they put on a sad face? Again, Jesus replies bluntly, “[S]o everyone will see that they are fasting.” Matthew 6:16 Year B

It was their rigid observance of human traditions, especially, that led them to do things for the wrong reason. For example, among the human traditions were the endless ritual washings that Jesus referred to in today’s Gospel. Worse yet, the Pharisees got so caught up in these highly visible human traditions that, in some cases, they put them ahead of the Law of Moses. This is why Jesus spoke out so bluntly to the Pharisees, saying to them in today’s Gospel’ “You put aside God’s command and obey human teachings.” Mark 7:8 Lectionary 126

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hat brings us to the practical question you may be wondering about. It is this: How does this distortion of religion by the Pharisees apply to us in our lives today?

It applies in a very important way. It reminds us that we, too, need to guard against turning religion into something God never intended it to be. We can, unwittingly, do something similar to what the Pharisees did. For example, we can do or say things so much out of habit that they lose their original meaning. Consider just one example. Taking holy water upon entering a church and signing ourselves was originally intended to remind us of our baptism and to be a renewal of it. Unfortunately, however, we can get so used to performing this act that it loses its beauty and meaning. The bottom line is this: God does not want us to perform acts and to say prayers mechanically and out of habit. God wants us to do our acts and say our prayers consciously and out of love. The apostle James refers to this in today’s second reading. There he says it is not enough for us to simply listen to God’s word. We must translate it into acts of love directed to God and our neighbor. Paul makes the same point in his First Letter to the Corinthians. He writes:

I may give away everything I have . . . but if I have no love, this does me no good. . . . It is love, then, that you should strive for. 1 Corinthians 13:2–3, 14:1 et me conclude with a story. You may have heard it before. But it bears repeating, because it is a good illustration of doing the right thing for the right reason.

A mother went into the bedroom of her six-year-old son, Danny, where he was watching TV. She said, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need my shoes shined. I’ve got to run to the hospital for a few minutes. “I’ve put the shoes outside on the sidewalk in the backyard. That way if you accidentally spill any polish, it won’t hurt anything.” When Danny picked up the first shoe, he noticed something inside it. It was a dollar bill. A note attached to it said, “Thanks. This is for you.” It was signed “Mom.” Later, when Danny’s mother slipped her foot into the first shined shoe, she felt something inside it. She took it out. It was Danny’s dollar bill. A note was attached to it. It read: “Thanks, Mom. But I shined your shoes not for money—but out of love. Danny.”

I may have all the faith needed to move mountains— but if I have no love, I am nothing.

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Year B

23rd Sunday of the Year Isaiah 35:4–7a, James 2:1–5, Mark 7:31–37

Spiritual deafness There is a remedy, if we are willing to apply it.

ome people brought [Jesus] a man who was deaf. Mark 7:32

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are unable to speak to God in prayer, and they are unable to hear God speak to them in the depths of their heart. This spiritual tragedy is as old as the world, but it is increasingly becoming a tragedy in our day. The great playwright Tennessee Williams refers to it in his famous play The Night of the Iguana.

his morning many people woke up not to the sound of an alarm clock, but to the whir of a vibrator under their pillow. These people are totally deaf.

At one point in the play, he has this conversation take place between Hannah Jelkes and Mr. Shannon. Hannah says to Mr. Shannon, “Liquor isn’t your problem.”

Most of us think that blindness is worse than deafness. Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, said deafness is the greater handicap.

Shannon says, “What is my problem?” Hannah answers, “The oldest problem in the world—the need to believe in something or in someone.”

When you are totally deaf, a door to the world around you closes. You begin to feel lonely and abandoned. You become a stranger in your own land. The Scottish theologian William Barclay quotes a prayer written by a deaf person. A portion of it reads: O God, the trouble with being deaf is that most people find deaf folks a nuisance. They sympathize with people who are blind and lame, but they get irritated and annoyed with people who are deaf. As a result, deaf people are apt to avoid other people and become isolated from the hearing world. That poignant prayer gives us an insight into how it feels to be deaf—much less deaf and dumb. his brings us to a point that very few people think about. It is this: There is a situation that is even worse than being physically deaf and dumb.

That situation is being spiritually deaf and dumb. People who are spiritually deaf and dumb Year B

hat raises a practical question about spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness. What can we do about the problem? Lawrence Gould answers bluntly, “For one thing, we must stop gagging on the word spiritual. We must rediscover and reassert our faith.”

But how do we rediscover and reassert our faith? For example, what if we are a Christian who is experiencing this problem to some degree? How can we learn again to hear and to speak to God again? oday’s Gospel points to the answer. We must ask Jesus to do for us what he did for the man in the Gospel. Recall what happened when he was brought to Jesus for healing.

Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in his ears, and touched his tongue. Then he said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!” Mark concludes by saying: At once the man was able to hear, and his speech impediment Lectionary 129

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was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble. . . . And all who heard were completely amazed. “How well he does everything!” they exclaimed. “He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!” Mark 7:35–37 To be healed of our spiritual deafness and dumbness, we must turn to Jesus, as the man in the Gospel did. We must break away from the crowd. We must go off alone with Jesus and spend time with him in prayer. Concretely, this means we must set aside time each day to be with Jesus. hen two people want to get to know each other better, they agree on specific times and places to meet. Their time together is not left to chance. It is scheduled right into their day.

The same is true about developing a closer relationship with Jesus. The demands of modern life are such that unless we schedule a time for daily prayer into our day, we probably won’t pray at all. The important thing, however, is this: Whether we schedule five minutes or ten minutes for prayer, we need to be faithful about setting aside that time. Moreover, just as we need a program to follow when we get serious about physical fitness, so we need a program to follow when we get serious about spiritual fitness. One simple procedure is: follow the Bible and use it as your program. Using the Gospel according to Mark is a good place to start. In it Jesus is always going somewhere, doing something, or saying something. Simply read ten or so verses slowly at each daily prayer session. 104 Ordinary

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Stop briefly after every verse or so— as the Spirit leads you. Speak to Jesus about the verse from your heart and listen to him respond to you in your heart. Finally, it helps to keep a notepad handy on a table next to your “prayer chair.” This allows you to jot down any special thought or idea that may have come to you during your prayer time with Jesus. Many people find writing to be an excellent way to conclude their prayer. It only takes only a minute or so, but it often becomes the most fruitful aspect of the prayer. et’s close with an example of a note written after such a prayer session. It was found by a mother whose young daughter had to wear a hearing aid. It read:

Dear God, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I wish you hadn’t made me deaf. Could you change me back? [signed] Sue. P.S. Say hello to my guardian angel. The next day Sue found a note. It was written in gold ink and obviously the work of a mother who was as creative as she was loving. It read: Dear Sue, I am your guardian angel, and I asked God to answer your note. You see, God made me deaf, too. But God did give me two fast legs, so I can run like the wind; two lovely arms, so I can hug everybody; and an imagination, so I can fly anywhere. But what I really like best is being able to turn off my hearing aid when the other angels are yelling. It makes things quiet so I can better hear God singing love songs to me in my heart. [signed] Your guardian angel. P.S. I love you more and more every day! Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

24th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 50:5–9a, James 2:14–18, Mark 8:27–35

Jesus How do I experience Jesus; how does Jesus experience me?

esus asked, “Who do people say I am?” Mark 8:27

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eith Miller was a Texas businessman who underwent a conversion from being a nominal Christian to being a deeply committed Christian. He describes it in his book A Taste of New Wine. The seed of the conversion was planted in his first year in college, when he had a serious car accident on a remote stretch of highway. He lay by the side of the road for a full hour and a half with a broken neck, waiting for an ambulance. He writes: I remember lying beside the highway and praying very simply. I was very much awake. As I prayed I had a strange feeling of peace. . . . I thought to myself, “What a shame to find out so late in life that this kind of peace is a reality.” Like so many things that begin as tragedies or crosses in life, that accident eventually became a great blessing for Keith. He writes: I realized at that moment that even in this tragedy which might be the end of my life there was Something very personal, very real, which was more important than anything else I had ever known. Once Keith recovered, however, he resumed life pretty much the way it was before his roadside experience. But the seed had been planted and was germinating. Year B

Some years after graduation from college, the seed began to sprout. Keith’s job took him regularly across a long stretch of Texas desert. He writes: I came to love the silence, the stillness, and the vastness very much. I became fascinated by the changes in the desert. . . . The magnificent sunsets hinted at something wonderful and very real beyond the horizon. . . . I began to sense something of the majesty of God in the world. There awoke in me a realization that I must somehow learn more about God and find out about Jesus Christ. . . . This restlessness grew until one night at home in the middle of the night I woke up my wife and said, “Honey, I’ve got to go back to school to find out about God and [Jesus Christ].” A Taste of New Wine

To make a long story short, these two episodes launched Keith on a journey that led to a conversion that profoundly enriched not only his life but also the lives of many others. wo points stand out in his story. They are the very same two points that stand out in today’s Gospel.

The first is the importance of answering the question Jesus put to Peter: “Who do you say I am?” Mark 8:29 It’s a question that everyone who has read or heard about Jesus must answer. Another way to put this same question is, How do I experience Jesus in my life? For example, do I experience him as Keith did as he lay by the side of the highway? Do I experience him as someone very personal and very real, more real and more important than anything or anyone I have ever known? If not, how do I experience Jesus? Lectionary 132

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And so the first point in today’s Gospel is the importance of answering the most important question of our lives: Who is Jesus?

he second point the Gospel makes is—in some sense—equally important.

If I answer the first question as Peter and Keith did, what is my answer to the second question, namely, Am I willing to pay the price it will cost me to follow Jesus? Jesus put it this way: “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life?” Mark 8:34–36 In other words, how willing am I to step out in faith, as Keith Miller did? How willing am I to pay whatever price it might cost me to get to know Jesus better? How willing am I to pick up my cross and follow Jesus every day of the week— and not just on Sundays? To put the second point in another way: How does Jesus experience me? Does he experience me the way he experienced Keith: as someone who truly wants to follow him? In other words, does Jesus experience me as a follower?

No one can answer these two questions for us. We must answer them ourselves. And the way we answer them will make all the difference in the world. By that we mean that—as in the case of Peter and of Keith Miller—our answer will profoundly affect not only our lives but also the lives of those around us, especially our families. This is the challenge Jesus sets before each one of us in today’s Gospel. et us close with a reflection by James Carroll in his book Prayer from Where You Are.

It sums up in ordinary terms the challenge of today’s Gospel and goes something like this: Years ago, before the advent of television, every Sunday newspaper carried a large puzzle page. A favorite puzzle was the drawing of a scene— like a family picnic. Under it were the words: “Can you find the hidden person in this scene?” You look and look and see nothing. You rotate the paper this way and that way to get a different view. Still nothing! Then, suddenly, in a cloud you see an eye. Then in a tree branch you see a mouth. Eventually, you see the entire face.

Or does Jesus experience me only as an admirer or fan? Does he experience me only as someone who sits on the curb and applauds as he stumbles by carrying his cross alone?

It is that way in our own lives. We Christians know, by faith, that there’s a man hidden away in every scene of our lives. And that man’s name is Jesus.

hese are the two important questions the Gospel puts before each of us today: How do I experience Jesus? and How does Jesus experience me?

Once we find him and meet him up close and personal, no scene in life will ever be the same again. It will always be special.

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Year B

25th Sunday of the Year Wisdom 2:12, 17–20; James 3:16–4:3; Mark 9:30–37

Community service Once a dream and a vision, it is now a dire necessity.

hoever wants to be first must be the servant of all.” Mark 9:37

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to cure him of a rare disease, but without success. The son who invented the magic carpet told his two brothers to sit down with him on the magic carpet. Then they flew home to their father. The third son then took his magic medicine and cured their father, saving his life.

uthor Martin Simon composed a fanciful story that contains a great truth. It goes something like this:

When the father learned what had happened, he could not decide which son should succeed him.

A great king was growing old. He realized it was time to designate one of his three sons, who were triplets, to succeed him.

For it took all three to save his life. If any one son had failed to help, the inventions of the other two would have been useless.

The big question was, Which of the three should it be? So he decided on this solution. He would send all three to a distant land that had great schools of learning.

And so the king and his three sons discovered a great truth. Saint John of the Cross expressed it in Christian terms this way:

Just before they left, he called them together and said that the one who returned with the most useful invention would succeed him as king. And so the three sons set off and buried themselves in study. The results were amazing. The first son invented a magic telescope that could focus in on anything on earth. The second invented a magic carpet that could fly anywhere on earth in a minute. The third invented a magic medicine that could cure any disease on earth. As the time to return home approached, the three sons gathered for a birthday party, at which they showed each other their inventions. The first pointed his magic telescope to their homeland to see how their father was preparing for their joyful return. The sons were shocked at what they saw. Their father was in a coma, surrounded by doctors who were trying Year B

As every one of the saints received the gifts of God in a different way, so every one of them sings God’s praises in a different way, and yet all harmonize in one concert of love. nd that brings us to today’s Gospel. Like the king in our story, Jesus realized that his days on earth were numbered. He would soon die. And like the king in our story, one of Jesus’ major concerns was a successor to continue the work that he began.

Unlike the king in the story, however, Jesus’ plan for a successor was a team of 12 disciples. And so one of Jesus’ tasks was to teach them to work together as a true Christian community. We can imagine his consternation when he saw them walking along one day, arguing about who was the most important member of the team. Lectionary 135

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That was far from the spirit Jesus wanted to establish among them. For as James points out in today’s second reading, “Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also . . . disorder and every kind of evil.” James 3:16 And that was what Jesus was seeing among them: jealousy, selfishness, disorders, and every kind of evil. And so Jesus did what all leaders must do at one time or another. Mark says: Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” Mark 9:35 nd that brings us to all of us in this church today. Modern society has become so complex that one person can no longer function autonomously in a given field.

The byword among business operations today is teamwork, and the byword in international affairs is brotherhood. Louis Mann summed up the situation in today’s world this way: Teamwork and brotherhood, once a dream and a vision, has now become a dire necessity. In his acceptance of the Nobel Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took it a step further, saying that our situation in today’s world is so complex and fragile that “we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” ome years ago, Philip Yancey wrote an article in Campus Life magazine. In it he used a striking image from nature to illustrate the kind of teamwork and brotherhood we are talking about.

He began by noting that twice a year geese migrate “as a flock.” Those three words, “as a flock,” reveal the secret of their ability to fly long distances. Yancey writes: 108 Ordinary

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Cooperating as a flock, geese can fly a 70-percent longer range. . . . The lead goose cuts a swath through the air resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the two birds behind him. In turn, their beating makes it easier on the birds behind them. . . . Each bird takes his turn as the leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V for a breather, and the rested ones surge forward to the point of the V to drive the flock onward. If a goose becomes sick and needs to rest, another goose will stay with it until it can continue again.

t is this kind of teamwork that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel.

It is this kind of teamwork that the Christian community must strive for if it is to be what Jesus made it to be: the salt of the earth and a light to the world. And the place where it must all begin is in the soul of each individual Christian. Recall our opening story. If any one of the three brothers had failed to use his talents properly and diligently, their father would have died. So it is with the Christian community. If we are to become a light to the world, each one of us must do our part. An old Chinese proverb puts it well: If there is right in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

26th Sunday of the Year Numbers 11:25–29; James 5:1–6; Mark 9:38–43, 47–48

The Gospel One person’s decision to live the Gospel can change thousands.

t is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell.”

Mark 9:45

illard Fuller attended law school at the University of Alabama in the early 1970s. His goal was to become “fabulously rich.” He was “obsessed with making money.”

Incredibly—and you can check this out, if you doubt it—they decided to give away every cent of their millions. Their friends, families, and associates were shocked and disbelieving. After giving away everything, Millard and Linda moved into an interracial community in Georgia, called Koinonia. It was founded by Clarence Jordan, author of the Cotton Patch Version of the New Testament.

Fuller married his wife, Linda, in his senior year in college and they began a family immediately. His drive to become rich, however, took its toll on his family.

Thus, in 1976 the idea behind Habitat for Humanity was born.

He was spending all of his time at work and virtually no time with his family. It got to the point where Linda was seriously considering leaving him. hen one night they sat down together and talked out their situation. The conclusion they came to brings us to today’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “If your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off.”

In other words, Jesus is saying: If money is keeping you from living the Gospel, then you’d better make a few changes. It’s better to make the changes now than to lose your life in the world to come. And that’s exactly what Millard and Linda decided to do. They were millionaires, but their wealth was destroying both of their lives. Worse yet, it was threatening to destroy their lives in the world to come. Year B

o make a long story short, it was through his Koinonia experience that Fuller got the idea to begin building nonprofit homes with no-interest loans for and in partnership with the poor, who would occupy them.

he idea captured the imagination of all kinds of concerned people. So much so that by the year 2000, Habitat was building 10,000 homes a year with volunteer help of many people and sources.

For example, four presidents— Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton— have all spent time working side by side with volunteers carrying lumber, sawing, and swinging a hammer. Others became involved, not only in contributing money but actually doing on-site work. Among those who undertook to sponsor homes by soliciting contributions are Oprah Winfrey, the United States Congress, Fortune 500 companies, college students, and high school students. Most recently, corporations like AT&T, McDonalds, Bell South, Maxwell House Coffee, and GMAC have become involved. Lectionary 138

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ow well built are the Habitat homes? Habitat points out proudly that when Hurricane Andrew ripped through southern Florida in 1992, the 27 Habitat homes in its path survived with little or no damage.

“Thank God for Habitat for Humanity. It brought my husband back to the church. He hadn’t been to church in twenty years. “He started volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, and three months ago he woke up on Sunday morning and said, ‘I want to go to church with you.’”

his brings us back today’s Gospel. When we listen to it, it never fails to get our attention. To make his point, Jesus uses a shocking image. It is this:

We must be prepared to take drastic measures to separate ourselves from whatever might be keeping us from living the Gospel.

They illustrate that the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes continues to repeat itself whenever and wherever just one person decides to live the Gospel.

What Jesus has in mind is beautifully illustrated by the story behind Habitat for Humanity. When Millard Fuller saw what his obsession for money was doing to his life and family, he performed the kind of radical surgery Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel. ut the story behind Habitat goes even a step beyond that. It shows how the courageous decision of two people to live the Gospel can work miracles.

Not only did Millard and Linda’s decision change their lives, but it has since changed the lives of millions of others. Today, Habitat for Humanity is helping the poor in 40 different nations. But it does not stop even here. Apart from the hope it gives the poor, it inspires those who get involved to change their own lives for the better. It inspires them to begin living as Jesus taught us to live. Typical is the woman who said to Fuller:

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oday’s Gospel story and the story of Habitat for Humanity are stories that we all need to hear.

Had Millard Fuller decided to pursue his obsession for money, everything we have been describing would never have happened. And what a tragedy that would have been. It becomes scary—at least to me— to think about what might happen in our world if no other Christians decided to live the gospel message as Millard and Linda Fuller decided to do. et’s close with these words of Albert Schweitzer. You may recall that he gave up a career on the concert stage of Europe to work as a medical doctor among Africa’s poor. He said:

I have always held firmly to the thought that each of us can do something to bring to an end some portion of the world’s misery. . . . [And I have become convinced] that the only ones among us who will be really happy are those who have sought and found a way to serve.

Year B

27th Sunday of the Year Genesis 2:18–24, Hebrews 2:9–11, Mark 10:2–16

Marriage A wedding is an event; marriage is an achievement

od made them male and female . . . and the two will become one. So they are no longer two, but one.” Mark 10:6–8

n her book A Marriage Made in Heaven, Erma Bombeck describes her 25th wedding anniversary. It goes like this:

I had fantasized a large white tent with hundreds of guests milling around. The orchestra would be playing our song, while my husband and I swayed gracefully on the dance floor. The truth is our twenty-fifth anniversary turned out quite differently. Our kids simply threw some hamburgers on the grill, scarfed them down and split, leaving my husband and me to clean up. As my husband put away the last things, I just sat there quietly studying him. Together, we’d survived three children, five houses, and nine cars. Then my husband walked over to where I was sitting. He had that look about him. He said, “I’ve got a surprise for you!” “What is it?” I asked excitedly. He said, “Close your eyes.”

A contract protects the parties in advance. It spells out what is expected of each party. A covenant does not. It’s an unconditional mutual pledge to love and serve one another forever: for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, in good times and bad. Obviously a covenant demands a great deal of maturity. here’s an ancient story about a young man who knocked at the door of a house. A voice from inside said, “Who is it?” The young man said, “It is I. I’ve come to ask your permission to marry your daughter.” The voice from inside said, “Go away! You’re not ready! Come back in a year!”

A year later the young man returned and knocked again. The voice from inside said, “Who is it?” The man said, “It is your daughter and I. We’ve come to ask your permission to marry.” The voice said, “You are now ready. Please come in.” ccording to counselors, most relationships that end in marriage go through four stages. First, there is the attraction stage. It’s the thrilling experience of being drawn together in a way that makes life explode with excitement. It takes place at four human levels: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

When I opened them, I sat holding a jar of cauliflower, packed in pickle juice. He said gleefully, “I hid them from the kids, because I knew how much you like cauliflower packed in pickle juice.” Erma concludes, saying, “Maybe love is just that simple.”

The challenge of this stage is to keep these four levels in harmony and balance and not let one—like the physical or the emotional—overwhelm the others. If a couple meets this challenge, their attraction will flower into a commitment to marry.

oday, we hear a lot of talk about marriage contracts. But this is not what marriage is about. Marriage is not a contract but a covenant.

Second, there is the integration stage. Once a couple marries, they begin the process of integrating the excitement of love with the ordinariness of daily life.

Year B

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The challenge of this stage is to retain love as the couple’s top priority. It is to keep love from becoming routine. hird, there is the conflict stage. It begins when marriage partners fail to meet the challenge of the second phase. When this happens—as it does to some degree in every marriage— the relationship enters a critical stage.

Faults that were once overlooked now ignite sharp conflict. Slowly the atmosphere deteriorates. The adoring lover becomes the nagging adversary. The challenge of this stage is to steer conflict into constructive direction. The danger is to avoid or suppress conflict rather than deal with it. If avoided or suppressed, communication breaks down and resentment builds. he fourth stage is the maturation stage. It begins when the partners resolve to deal constructively with conflict and rediscover love. This process can be the most beautiful time in a marriage.

To understand how it works, one marriage counselor described human intimacy as being like a rubber band. When the two lovers drift apart— for whatever reason— the residual power of their affection is usually strong enough to draw them back together again. The challenge of this stage is to forgive the other’s faults and rediscover the other’s goodness. The danger is to give up and let love die rather than be reborn. If marriage partners meet the challenge, the experience will launch them into a mature and more lofty level of love. Those who have experienced this stage are unanimous in agreeing that the love 112 Ordinary

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it brings is more beautiful and more romantic than the original love they shared. his brings us to a painful reality in our modern society. It is a marriage that deteriorates so badly that sincere prayer and professional counseling fail to revive it. The Church compassionately recognizes the sad reality of such a marriage. It permits physical separation of the couple whenever ardent prayer and counseling fail. Remarriage, however, is possible only when one’s spouse dies or an annulment is granted.

An annulment is not a divorce. It is a careful study and prayerful judgment by the Church that what seemed to be a marriage was not. One basis for an annulment is a lack of maturity on the part of one or both parties to enter into a sacred covenant to marry. Another is a lack of freedom to marry, for example, when a premarital pregnancy occurs and parents pressure one or both partners into marriage. A third basis is concealing a defect to gain consent to marry, for example, the silent intention of one or both not to have children. Catholics who remarry when they are not free to do so are encouraged to continue to worship with the community and seek its support—even though they may not receive Communion. et’s conclude our brief reflection on the sacredness of the marriage covenant with these words of Saint Paul:

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but happy with the truth. Love never gives up. . . . Love is eternal. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

28th Sunday of the Year

“Start tomorrow, Mother! Better yet, start today.”

Wisdom 7:7–11, Hebrews 4:12–13, Mark 10:17–30

Retold from Jaroldeen Edwards, Things I Wish I’d Known Sooner

Grace God’s incredible twofold gift that leads to eternal life.

man asked Jesus this important question, “What must I do to attain eternal life?”

Mark 10:17

ne day, Jaroldeen Edwards was accompanying her daughter on a drive up a mountain. Near the top, her daughter turned off the main road onto a twisting road.

A few minutes later, Jaroldeen saw something that took her breath away. As far as the eye could see, there stretched a garden of lovely flowers: yellow daffodils, purple hyacinths, and coral-colored tulips. Birds and butterflies flitted everywhere. Jaroldeen could hardly speak! When she recovered, she asked, “Who created this mountain garden?” A sign next to a tiny house nearby anticipated the question. It read: This mountain garden is the work of one woman who planted it one flower at a time, starting in 1958. After reading the sign Jaroldeen said to her daughter: “One woman changed this mountain world one flower at a time. She began forty years ago, probably with just a glimmer of a vision. But she kept at it. Imagine what I could accomplish if I had a vision and worked at it just a little bit every day, as she did?” Her daughter smiled, and said: Year B

hat inspiring story gives us an insight into how God calls us to work to transform our world— both physically and spiritually.

Each of us, regardless of who we are, is called to play some role in this process of transformation. Recall these words of Cardinal Newman: God has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission— I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. . . . [Therefore] if I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. . . . God does nothing in vain. He knows what he is about. o help us carry out our mission or role, God has given each of us a set of unique talents. To some these talents are high profile; to others they are low profile. To help all of us—whether our talents be high profile or low profile— God has given us two great gifts: sanctifying grace and actual grace.

ohn Newton, the 18th-century slave trader, refers to both of these great gifts— sanctifying grace and actual grace— in his beautiful hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Recall how one night a great storm threatened his ship and its cargo of slaves. He promised God that if they survived, He would quit the slave trade. Lectionary 144

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The ship and cargo survived, and he quit. He not only quit; he became a minister and a composer of hymns. One of his hymns was “Amazing Grace.” He wrote: ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear . . . how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed! . . . ’Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. he words “how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed” refers to sanctifying grace, which gives us a share in God’s own divine life.

The words “ ’Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home” refer to actual grace, which is given us, especially, in times of special need. Let’s take a brief closer look at each gift.

It means to do that job as faithfully and as best we can in our situation. hat brings us to actual grace and how it helps us carry out our role or mission in God’s plan of salvation.

Actual grace is God’s gift to us in times of special need, for example, in times of trial and temptation. Or to put it in another way, it is God’s gift to help us live out our mission in this world in such a way as to attain eternal life in the next world.

ll this sheds light on today’s Gospel in two important ways.

First, God does not force us to accept his plan for our world and for ourselves. God gives us the freedom to accept or to reject it—just as he gave the rich man in today’s Gospel this awesome freedom.

anctifying grace is given to us in Baptism and makes us sharers in God’s own divine life. It also gives us the responsibility and privilege of participating in God’s work of salvation.

Second, we all know from experience how difficult it is to live our lives, day in and day out, in full harmony with the teachings of Jesus. As Peter observes in today’s Gospel, it is downright hard, if not impossible.

Concretely, what do we mean by God’s work of salvation?

And that is where grace comes in, especially actual grace. Actual grace is God’s amazing gift that helps us not only to live by the teachings of Jesus but also to share this gift with others.

We mean the transformation of our world— physically and spiritually— into what God intended it to be before sin nearly destroyed it. It means to work at it faithfully— one day at a time— the way the woman in the story did. It means to do whatever job we have to do—for example, raise a family— in a way in keeping with the teachings of Jesus.

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his is the good news of today’s Gospel.

This is what we celebrate in this liturgy. This is the good news we must carry forth from this church and share by word and example with all those we meet.

Year B

29th Sunday of the Year Isaiah 53:10–11, Hebrews 4:14–16, Mark 10:35–45

Christian service A yardstick of our faith and love.

he Son of Man did not come to be served.”

T D

Mark 10:45

r. Bill Magee and his wife, Kathy, decided to do some volunteer work among the very poor in the Philippines. The experience touched them deeply. When they returned home, they formed a nonprofit volunteer organization called “Operation Smile.” It provides free corrective surgery for poor children, especially those with cleft palates and facial tumors. One in every 500 children in poor nations suffers from some facial deformity. Too often the families of these children isolate them from public notice. Since its inception, “Operation Smile” has funded and staffed 23 two-week missions a year in 12 different countries. It also conducts ongoing volunteer programs in 25 American cities. When “Operation Smile” announces its presence in a developing country, people ride donkeys, paddle canoes up jungle rivers, or simply walk for miles to seek help. Kathy says that she and Bill were both raised in Catholic families, who taught and inspired them to do this kind of service outreach to the most needy of God’s people. The Magees have passed on that same spirit to their children. Kathy says: We took the eldest on the first mission. Since then, all five of our children have served as volunteers on medical teams. Retold from “Changing the world . . . one smile at a time,” “Premiere” issue, Biography magazine (1997)

Year B

he story of the Magees brings us to the theme of today’s Gospel. Jesus puts it this way: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

Christian service is not just the theme of today’s Gospel. It is the criterion by which each of us will be judged at the end of our lives on earth. Jesus put it this way: “When the Son of Man comes as King . . . he will divide [the people of all the nations] into two groups. . . . [To those] on his right he will say, ‘Come . . . I was hungry and you fed me . . . naked and you clothed me.’ . . . “To those on his left [he will say], ‘Away . . . I was hungry but you would not feed me . . . naked but you would not clothe me.’ . . . “Whenever you refused to help one of these least . . . you refused to help me.” Matthew 25:31–45 passim The Letter of James puts it this way: What good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? Can faith save you? Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”— if you don’t give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. James 2:16–17 hus, for James, our service to the needy is a kind of “CAT scan” of our faith to determine if it is alive or dead.

An interesting footnote here is the research of Dr. Kubler-Ross at the University of Chicago. Her interviews with hundreds of patients in terminal or near-death situations Lectionary 147

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led her to this remarkable conclusion about such people. She says:

Msgr. Cunningham, his pastor, gave him a small steel crucifix, saying:

When you come to this point, there are only two things that are relevant: the service you have rendered to others and love.

“Gary, hang on to this tight. When the pain gets really bad, squeeze it to remind yourself to unite your pain with the pain of Jesus for the salvation of souls.” That crucifix never left Gary’s hand from that moment until he died.

ow does all this apply to our lives?

I like the way Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the missionary doctor to Africa, answered that question. He said:

And so all of us, regardless of our situation, must find a way to serve the needy.

I have always held firmly to the thought that each of us can do something to bring to an end some portion of the world’s misery.

The TV celebrity Art Linkletter used to suggest this handy guide for those would like to get started but don’t know how:

We may not have the talent or resources to do something similar to what the Magees are doing. But that’s not the point.

Do a little more than you need to; Give a little more than you have to; Try a little harder than you want to; Aim a little higher than you think possible.

The point is this: God has given each of us some way to serve God’s people.

You may ask, “How can a person dying from cancer in a nursing home do anything to serve God’s people?” Today’s first reading answers that question. In a prophetic reference to the suffering of Jesus, God says that through his servant’s suffering many shall be justified. Applying this to an elderly person dying of cancer in a nursing home, we may say, “United to Jesus’ suffering on the cross, the suffering of the elderly person can perform a huge service for God’s people.” You may recall the example of actor Gary Cooper, who entered the Catholic Church just a few years before his death. In the final months of his life, he began to experience intense pain from his cancer. 116 Ordinary

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et us close with another handy guide for serving the needy. It spells out in fuller detail the spirit of Art Linkletter’s guide. Better yet, it puts it in prayer form. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born into eternal life.

Year B

30th Sunday of the Year Jeremiah 31:7–9, Hebrews 5:1–6, Mark 10:46–52

Courage To face all conditions by the power Christ gives me. Philippians 4:13

eople scolded [the blind man] and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly.

Mark 10:48

n 1998, Hollywood did a remake of the classic movie 12 Angry Men. It headlined such stars as Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, and Tony Danza.

In the film, a young Hispanic is accused of stabbing his abusive and alcoholic father. The two key witnesses are a woman with poor eyesight and a man with a crippled leg. In the course of the testimony, the son’s lawyer does little to defend him. At the close of the testimony, the judge gives his instruction to the jurors, and they retire to the deliberation room. They enter it laughing and commenting on what an easy decision this will be. The son is guilty— even his own lawyer sensed that. They decide to take a quick vote, confident that all 12 will vote, “Guilty.” To their dismay, one juror, an architect, casts a “Not guilty” vote. When several jurors grow angry and challenge him, he stands his ground and says, “I’m not sure! I don’t think he’s guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.” After more discussion, the jurors decide to vote again, feeling they may have convinced the architect to join them in voting “Guilty.” Year B

To their surprise, a second man joins the architect and switches his vote to “Not guilty.” A big argument ensues. After a while, one juror suggests they reenact the murder according to the description given by the two witnesses. To the surprise of most of the jurors, the description is filled with holes and inconsistencies. The two witnesses could not have witnessed the murder as they swore they did. To make a long story short, the jury ends up acquitting the son, giving him a 12-man “Not guilty” vote.

hat movie fits in with today’s Gospel.

The blind beggar, Bartimaeus, suffers the same abuse from the crowd that the architect, at first, suffered from the other 11 jurors. When Bartimaeus calls out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” the crowd tells him to shut up. But the blind beggar—like the architect— stands his ground. He refuses to be bullied into doing what the crowd wants. Instead he does what he thinks is right. nd what happens then? When Jesus calls for Bartimaeus, the crowd changes its attitude totally— as the jurors did. Now they encourage him.

ears ago, a team of psychologists staged an experiment in several high schools. Groups of ten students were shown three cards, each with a different length of line drawn on it.

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to vote each time for the second longest line. The tenth student was told nothing. Each time a vote took place, the nine students voted as a block for the second longest line. In 75 percent of the experiments, the tenth student would glance around, frown, and then vote for the second longest line, also.

In his agony in the Garden, he had to turn to his Father for help. He did so by repeating over and over again: “My Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want but what you want.” Mark 14:36 His Father helped him, not by taking away his suffering, but by giving him the strength and courage to bear it.

r. James Dobson describes this series of experiments in his book Hide or Seek.

God often chooses to help us in this way.

He uses them to stress how important it is for parents to teach their children early on in their lives about peer pressure.

In other words, God does not always answer our prayers in the way that we want. God answers them in a way that will be better for us in the long run.

He tells them, “Some day your son or daughter may be hanging out with friends when, suddenly, one or two of them pull out some drugs.” He goes on to say that your advance preparation for just such a situation could save them from making a tragic mistake. Just as important, that preparation could save their friends as well— just as the architect saved the young man and the 11 jurors from a terrible tragedy. his brings us to a second point that grows out of today’s Gospel. It, too, is something every young person needs to be aware of.

There comes a time in every life when, like the blind man in the Gospel, we can’t help ourselves. Not even our family or our best friend can help us. We’re all alone! At times like this, we need to do what the blind man in the Gospel did. We need to turn to Jesus for help.

et’s illustrate with a familiar poem. It was found in the pocket of a dead Confederate soldier and illustrates what we mean by being “better for us in the long run.” It reads:

I asked for health, that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. . . . I ask for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise. . . . I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God. . . . I ask for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. . . . I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed.

The model of how to do this is none other than Jesus himself. 118 Ordinary

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Year B

31st Sunday of the Year Deuteronomy 6:2–6, Hebrews 7:23–28, Mark 12:28–34

Love Three levels: essence, logic, and folly of love.

esus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

hris’s example is a good illustration of what Jesus means when he says we should love God with all our strength. It puts the focus of love right where it should be.

The reason is that the love for God in our hearts, our minds, and our souls must eventually be translated into action. And that’s where “loving God with all our strength” comes into play.

ears ago, a little boy named Chris lived alone with his mother in the fourthfloor apartment of a tenement house.

In Chris’s case it took “all” the strength he had to translate his love for his mother into action.

Each apartment in the tenement house was heated by a single coal stove— usually located in the kitchen because it was also used for cooking.

The main coal supply for the stoves was in the basement. That meant coal for the apartment that Chris lived in had to be carried up four flights of stairs.

his brings us to something we tend to forget. It is this: There are three levels or degrees of loving God and loving our neighbor. The three levels are often referred to as: 1. the “essence” of love, 2. the “logic” of love, and 3. the “folly”of love.

Chris’s mother was not well, so he had to carry all the coal himself. In the winter, that meant he had to make several trips a day.

To illustrate the first level— the essence of love— take the love of a husband and wife. At this level, they stay faithful in their love and do nothing to hurt the other.

At school one day, Chris’s teacher asked the class what Jesus meant when he said we should love God with all our strength.

In the movie Fiddler on the Roof there’s a delightful dialogue that illustrates this first level of love. It goes something like this:

Chris volunteered by answering, “It means to love God the way I love my mother.”

Tevye asks his wife, Golde, “Do you love me?” Golde replies, “I’m your wife!” Tevye says, “I know that! But do you love me?”

The teacher asked Chris what he meant by that. Chris said: “Well, my mother and I live alone in a small apartment on the fourth floor of a tenement house. “There is no elevator and my mother can’t carry heavy things. So I have to carry the coal in a bucket from the basement to the fourth floor. That takes all my strength.” Year B

Golde replies, “For 25 years, I’ve cleaned your house, cooked your meals, and washed your clothes.” Again, Tevye says, “I know that! But do you love me?” Again Golde replies, “For 25 years, I’ve worked with you, Lectionary 153

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laughed with you, and cried with you. If that’s not love, what is?”

Golde’s point is that for 25 years she has been faithful to Tevye— both in good times and bad times.

The first level is the essence of love. It consists in staying faithful to the other and doing nothing to hurt them.

And that’s the essence of love: remaining faithful to the beloved.

The second level is the logic of love. It wants to do more than stay faithful. It wants to surprise and delight the other.

hat brings us to the second level— the logic of love.

At this level, the lover is not content with just remaining faithful to the other. The lover wants to do more. The lover wants to do things that will surprise and delight the beloved. he third level is called the folly of love. At this level, the lover does what ordinary people consider to be foolish or mad. The show-stopping song “Some Enchanted Evening” from the musical South Pacific refers to this level of love when it says:

n brief, then, there are three levels of love.

Finally, the third level is the folly of love. It is this kind of love that Jesus had for us and invites us to strive to have for one another. Speaking of this level of love, Jesus said, “The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them.”

John 15:13

ost of us, in our love relationships with God and one another, love at the first level most of the time. We remain faithful to the beloved and do nothing to hurt them.

Who can explain it? Who can tell you why? Fools give you reasons. Wise men never try.

So, too, most of us experience moments in our love relationship when our love rises to the second level. We go out of our way to do things that will surprise and delight the other.

A beautiful example of this level is the love of Jesus for each of us. Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Philippians:

And, finally, many of us have enjoyed grace-filled occasions when our love reaches the third level.

[Although Jesus] had the nature of God . . . he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant . . . and walked the path of obedience all the way to death— his death on the cross. Philippians 2:6–8 To people who do not love with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength, the love of Jesus for us seems like madness. It is utter folly. 120 Ordinary

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Like little Chris, we have loved with all our minds, with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength. Today’s Gospel invites us to strive more and more—with the help of God’s grace— to reach this level of love. It is this kind of love that is capable of transforming not only those we love, but also ourselves, and, eventually, the world we live in. Sunday Homilies Series III by Mark Link, S.J. © 2002 Mark Link

Year B

All Saints Revelation 7:2–4, 9–14; 1 John 3:1–3; Matthew 5:1–12a

Commitment The courage and readiness to do what needs to be done.

appy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.”

Matthew 5:6

ust before the Civil War broke out, Katharine Drexel was born into one of the wealthiest families in America.

She was the youngest of three sisters. Her father was a successful banker and a partner of J. P. Morgan. Many a weekday morning you would see him walking from his nearby office to Old Saint Joseph’s to attend Mass. Katharine never knew her mother. She died five weeks after her birth. A year later, her father married Emma Bouvier. Emma’s brother John was the great-grandfather of Jacqueline Bouvier, wife of President John F. Kennedy.

Katharine supported Native American missions in 15 western states and territories t the age of 29 Katharine made the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius to discern if she might be called to the religious life.

Her notes are still extent and reflect the honest thoughts of a practical, plain-spoken woman. For example, three objections were: 1. I have never been without luxuries. 2. Weariness and disgust might lead me to leave the convent. 3. I should hate to owe obedience to a woman whom I felt to be stupid. In the end, she decided to become a religious, making her novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy. In 1891 Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Soon the order was funding and staffing some 100 schools for Native Americans and African Americans in 25 disoceses.

hen Katharine’s father died in 1885, he established a 14 million dollar trust for his three daughters. That was a lot of money in those days.

Katharine died in 1955 at the age of 96. She was beatified in 1988 and canonized in the millennium year 2000.

Katharine’s sister Elizabeth built an industrial school for boys from destitute families.

Her sister Louise contributed substantially to the work of the Josephite Fathers in their work among African Americans.

The purpose of this feast is not only to pay tribute to saints like Katharine Drexel,

Year B

hat brings us to the feast of All Saints.

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but also to hold them up as reminders and as inspirations for ourselves.

First of all, they remind us of our own calling to be saints. That is, we are called to live our lives in such a way that, after death, we too will be welcomed into eternal life.

To everyone there opens a way— a high way and a low way.

Second, Mother Drexel’s commitment to the truly needy of our society inspires us to reflect on our own commitment to those with whom Jesus identified himself so closely. And so we are gathered here to celebrate the achievement of saints, like Mother Katharine Drexel, and to pray for the grace to emulate them.

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et’s close with these words of John Oxenham:

The high soul takes the high way; and the low soul takes the low way. And in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to everyone there opens a way— a high way and a low way. And everyone decides the way his soul shall go. Slightly adapted ay all the saints who have gone before us pray for each one of us that we may have the courage to choose the high way.

Year B

32nd Sunday of the Year 1 Kings 17:10–16, Hebrews 9:24–28, Mark 12:38–44

ive years later, after President Wilson’s death, Mrs. Wilson was going through his belongings.

An opportunity to love God and be like God.

When she came to his billfold, she opened it. In a special pocket inside was something tiny, wrapped neatly in a piece of paper.

hen a poor widow . . . dropped in two little copper coins . . . all she had to live on. Mark 12:43–44

When she unwrapped it, she was moved to tears.

Almsgiving

oodrow Wilson was president of the United States during World War I. When it ended on November 11, 1918, he set to work outlining a plan for a new world order.

The heart of the plan was a “League of Nations.” It had as its goal cooperation among nations and mutual protection against aggression. Upon returning home after presenting the plan at the peace talks in Paris, Wilson set out on a train journey across the nation to get the backing of the American people for his plan. At one of the train’s stops in Billings, Montana, two little boys managed to evade police lines. They positioned themselves directly in front of President and Mrs. Wilson, who were standing on the outside platform of the observation car. One of the boys was waving a small American flag. When the boy caught the president’s eye, he extended the flag upward to him. Wilson bent down and graciously accepted it. When the other boy realized that he had no gift for the president, he reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a dime, and held it to the president. Once again, Wilson bent down to the boy, accepted the gift, and thanked him warmly. Year B

It was the dime the boy had given him in Billings, Montana. Wilson treasured it so much that he kept it on his person the rest of his life. hat wonderful story helps us understand how Jesus must have felt in today’s Gospel.

There he watched as the poor widow drop into the Temple offering box all she had to live on—two copper coins. It moved Jesus to say to his disciples, “This poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others.” Of the thousands of things Jesus said and did, Saint Mark chose this story as one that should be preserved and retold over and over again until the end of the time.

hy did Saint Mark choose this story? We can think of three reasons.

First, it gives us an insight into the human warmth of Jesus— just as the story of the boy’s dime gives us an insight into the true human warmth of Wilson, who often appeared cold. ut there’s a second reason why Mark preserved the story of the poor widow. No one has expressed it better than Saint Teresa of Avila.

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as it is the love that motivates it. This makes us all equal in God’s sight when it comes to giving. It makes it possible for a school boy to give a gift more precious in the sight of a president than a priceless gift from a head of state. And it makes it possible for a poor widow to give a gift more precious in God’s sight than the priceless gifts of kings.

In other words, one of the ways we have been made in the image and likeness of God is our ability to share with others our time, talent, and treasure. Everything we have is a gift from God. And how better to use our gifts from God than to share them with brothers and sisters who for various reasons have special needs.

nd so by way of conclusion, Saint Mark preserves the story of the poor widow for three reasons.

A true story by author Ensworth Reisner explains why:

First, it gives us a beautiful insight into the profound human warmth of Jesus. That same human warmth is echoed in the boy who gave his dime to the president—and in the president who graciously received and cherished it so profoundly.

hat brings us to the third reason why Mark preserved the story of the widow and her offering. In a way, it is the most beautiful reason of the three.

There was a minister who, from a modern perspective, was as poor as the widow in today’s Gospel. He was barely able to make ends meet. One day a family showed up at his door and asked him for help. After hearing their story, he ended up giving them every cent he had on hand. As the family was leaving, the minister took the hands of the mother and father in his own hands and said, “Thank you for coming to me and giving me the opportunity to help you.” “Those words,” said Reisner, “taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.” When people give me the opportunity to help them, they give me the opportunity to be like God. And for that I owe them profound gratitude. That is such a beautiful thought that it needs to be repeated. When people give me the opportunity to help them, they give me the opportunity to be like God. And for that I owe them profound gratitude. 124 Ordinary

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Second, the widow’s gift reminds us that what God values most from us is not our gift, but the love that prompts it. That made it possible for the widow to give a gift more precious in God’s sight than the large gifts of the rich and famous. And it made it possible for a boy to give a gift to a president that was valued more highly than a gift from a head of state. Third, the story of the widow’s gift reminds us that when people ask us to give or to help, they give us an opportunity to be like God. And, indeed, for that opportunity we owe them profound gratitude.

et us close with these words of the British poet George Herbert:

O Thou, who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more— a grateful heart.

Year B

33rd Sunday of the Year Daniel 12:1–3; Hebrews 10:11–14, 18; Mark 13:24–32

contains a permanent record of the operative events of our life. We might compare this record to a movie complete with sound track.

End of the world

More amazing still:

A final judgment awaits us.

This record also includes a record of the emotions which these events originally produced in us.

hen the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:26

r. Wilder Penfield is revered by many in the medical profession as one of the greatest neurosurgeons who ever lived.

His research and drawings of the human brain pinpoint with precise accuracy which locations in the brain control what activities of the human body. Penfield wrote several books and several hundred scientific articles detailing his experiments and discoveries at Montreal’s Neurological Institute. One discovery involved touching the temporal cortex of the brain with a gentle electric current while patients were under local anesthesia. Thus they could describe to him what they experienced. What they told Penfield was amazing. One patient, for example, heard an old tune. Another relived the experience of bearing her baby.

For example, if we relived stealing something from a store when our conscience told us it was a sin, this, too, is part of the recording.

ow does all this relate to today’s Gospel and the end of the world?

A basic teaching of the Bible is that every person will be judged after death. Thus Saint Paul writes: For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged [and] . . . receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life. 2 Corinthians 5:10 The Bible speaks of two judgments: a particular judgment right after death and a last judgment at the end of the world. Let’s take a closer look at each. irst, take the particular judgment. Jesus alludes to it in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Recall it briefly.

Commenting on these discoveries, Dr. Penfield reported:

Two men died about the same time. Lazarus ended up in heaven. The rich man, who ignored the plight and poverty of Lazarus on earth, ended up in a place of torment.

The psychical experience, thus produced, [by touching the brain] stops when the electrode is withdrawn and repeats itself when the electrode is reapplied.

He pleaded with Abraham to let Lazarus return to earth and warn his brothers to change their ways, lest they end up as he did.

Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry

The particular judgment takes place immediately after death. It will result in one of three destinies:

In a report to the Smithsonian Institute, Dr. Penfield said that the human brain Year B

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heaven—eternal union with God, hell—eternal separation from God, or purgatory—temporary purification to prepare us for union with God. hat brings us to the second judgment, called the Last Judgment. Jesus referred to it one day, saying to his disciples:

“When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him . . . the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. . . . “Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. . . . “Then the king will say to the people on the right, ‘Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. “ ‘I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink . . . naked and you clothed me. . . .’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Away from me. . . . I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.’ ” Matthew 25:31–45 passim The Last Judgment serves as a kind of closure or, if you will, a kind of “grand finale” to human history. As such, it reveals to the entire world what each of us has done and has become in the course of our lives. his brings us back to Dr. Penfield’s statement that the human brain contains a permanent record of our entire life.

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a kind of movie and sound track of the operative events of our life. It not only activates them but replays them and shows how we interpreted them—good or bad— at the time they took place. For example, if one of these events involved stealing, it also includes whether we thought and felt the act to be sinful. Thus it records not only the operative events of our life but also their morality—that is, their moral “goodness” or “badness.” This prompted one person to say: “I will tell you a secret, my friend. When you appear before Christ to be judged, you won’t need an angel to read off your good and bad deeds from a great big book. “Those deeds are already available for replay in your brain. All that is needed is for them to be activated.” et us conclude. The message of today’s Gospel is terribly important, because it deals with the bottom line of the purpose of our life on earth.

Therefore, as we return to the table of the Lord to continue our celebration, let us pray for the grace to take to heart the word of the Lord in today’s Gospel. Let us pray that we may live it out in such a way that when we appear before Christ for judgment, we will hear him say: “Well done, you good and faithful servant! . . . Come on in and share my happiness.” Matthew 25:21

Year B

34th Sunday (Christ the King) Daniel 7:13–14, Revelation 1:5–8, John 18:33b–37

Christ the King Christ is Lord of my life, if only I’ll let him be.

esus said, “I came . . . to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.” John 18:37

ngland’s Arnold Toynbee is generally regarded as one of the great historians of all time. His masterpiece is a 12-volume work called A Study of History.

It studies in detail the history of 26 civilizations. It analyzes how they began, how they developed, and how and why they declined and eventually died. Summing up the place of Jesus in the parade of these civilizations and their people, Toynbee writes, poetically: When we set out on this study, we found ourselves moving in the midst of a mighty host. But as we pressed forward, the marchers, company by company, have fallen. . . . And now as we stand and gaze with our eyes fixed on the farther shore, a single figure . . . fills the whole horizon. That figure is Jesus of Nazareth. Another student of history spelled out Toynbee’s summary of Jesus’ place in history this way—and I quote: He is a man who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. Year B

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. . . . He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. . . . While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying— and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down, and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Such was His human life. . . . Nineteen hundred centuries have come and gone and today He is the Centerpiece of the human race. . . . I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built . . . and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life. James C. Hefley, quoted in J. B. Fowler Jr., Great Words of the New Testament

ll of this prompted another British historian, H. G. Wells, to draw this conclusion about Jesus. He said:

The reader and I live in countries where to millions of persons, Jesus is more than a man. But the historian must disregard that fact. He must adhere to the evidence that would pass unchallenged if his book were to be read in every nation under the sun. Lectionary 161

4 Ordinary

Time

127

Now it is interesting and significant that a historian . . . like myself who does not even call himself a Christian finds the picture centering irresistibly around the life and character of this most significant man. . . . The historian’s test of an individual’s greatness is “What did he leave to grow?” Did he start men to thinking along fresh new lines with a vigor that persisted after him? By this test Jesus stands first. “The Three Greatest Men in History,” Reader’s Digest (May 1935)

hat brings us to today’s feast: the feast of Christ the King. It serves as a kind grand finale to the entire liturgical year. As such, it invites us to do two things.

First, it invites us to honor Jesus as the Lord and King of all creation and of all human history, as we are doing here at this Mass. Second—and more importantly— it invites us to express that honor in a practical and personal way in our lives. Rather than talk about it in prose, let us turn once again to a story and to poetry. onsider this true story of a young woman who, for anonymity, we shall call Christine. She was excited about being received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Service.

She had one apprehension, however. Her deceased father had been active in a church that was openly hostile toward the Catholic Church. She feared he would not approve. 128 Ordinary

Time

4 Lectionary

161

The priest at the Easter Vigil Service had prepared a keepsake for each of the candidates being received into the Church. On it was typed a poem dealing with the kingship of Christ.The poem was entitled “I Carry a Cross in My Pocket.” It read: I carry a cross in my pocket. . . . It is not for identification For all the world to see. It’s simply an understanding Between my Savior and me. . . . It reminds me to be thankful For my blessings day by day And strive to serve him better In all that I do and say. . . . Reminding no one but me That Jesus is Lord of my life If only I’ll let him be. Anonymous When the priest handed Christine the card, she looked at the poem and burst into tears. She told the priest later that just before her father died, he reached into his wallet, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to her as a keepsake. On it was a copy of the poem “I Carry a Cross in My Pocket.” She told the priest that when he gave her the poem, it was as if her father was reaching down from heaven, putting his hand on her shoulder, and saying, “It’s all right, Christine. I approve!” hat poem and that story explain in a heartwarming way what the feast of Christ the King is all about.

It’s about inviting Christ into my heart and asking him to become Lord of my life. This is my hope and my prayer on this feast of Christ the King for all of us, including me.

Year B