Homily for 27 July 2014, the 7th Sunday after Pentecost--Cooperate to Build up the Community

Homily for 27 July 2014:  Cooperate to Build Up the Community

7^th Sunday after Pentecost (Romans 15:1-7)                    (Matthew 9:27-35)

 

St Paul was the first Christian theologian, trying to explain the meaning of Christ’s life and teaching in letters to newly-established churches all around the Mediterranean.  But he didn’t do that in an academic or purely intellectual way.  He did it in a pastoral way.  He was a theologian because he was trying to help people believe, and understand what they believed, and figure out how what they believed should shape their lives.

That’s why reading the letters of St Paul is still so valuable for us, almost 2000 years later.  For example, today’s reading from the Letter to the Romans is full of practical advice, based on faith in Jesus Christ.

St Paul knew that communities are made up of people who don’t always get along.  He knew that some people have very strong ideas and are always sure that their ideas are right.  He knew that other people are less sure about things, or have confused ideas, or just need more time to think about things.  And he knew that the strong, decisive people often get impatient with those who are less sure or less strong.  He even recognized himself as one of the impatient ones.

So he advises:  “We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”  He’s saying that the strong people should not insist on getting their way just for their own satisfaction.

He goes on to say, “Let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up.”  We don’t insist on having our own way, but neither do we just give in.  We have to work out among ourselves what will be best for building up the whole community, then get together to work on it.

We all know that we face this kind of problem sometimes here in St Joseph parish.  People come up with good ideas, but sometimes getting “my” idea accepted becomes more important than uniting behind the idea that’s best for the whole parish.

Neither priests nor lay people can put their personal, individual goals or needs or pride above the good of the whole community.  In fact, it is especially the priest’s job to focus on the good of the whole community.  He has to keep that always in mind and try to lead the whole community in the right direction, whether he enjoys it or not, whether it’s easy or not, whether it makes him look good or not.

As St Paul points out, Christian communities really have only one goal:  to glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Whatever we do—choir practice, coffee hour, parties, picnics, food festivals, collections, council meetings, youth group, ladies society, house blessings, baptisms, weddings, funerals—is all for the glory of God.  Having a nice church building, pulling weeds, paving the parking lot, fixing the roof, paying the bills—we do all these things so that we can come together in unity to give glory to God.

So St Paul prays that God will let us “think in harmony with one another” and Jesus Christ, and he urges us to “welcome one another, as Christ welcomed” us.  He wants us to remember that Christ welcomed us as His brothers and sisters, all loved by the same Heavenly Father.

So, beloved sisters and brothers, let us always work together in unity, cooperating to do what is best to build up our community and giving thanks and praise and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

Homily for Sunday 20 July 2014, the Feast of the Prophet Elias--"The Prayer of the Righteous is Powerful and Effective"

Homily for 20 July 2014:  The Holy Prophet Elias the Thesbite

(James 5:10-20)                    (Luke 4:22-30)

 

Today is the feast day of the Holy Prophet Elias.  He is called the “Thesbite” or the “Tishbite” from the place he came from.  Sometimes he is called St Elias “the Living” because he was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot, apparently without dying.  After Moses, we consider him the greatest of the prophets.

Both of today’s readings mention Elias.  The Letter of St James says, “The prayer of the righteous person is powerful and effective.”  And James uses Elias as an example of this truth.  Elias was a human being like us, but he prayed to God to stop the rain from falling in Israel, and it stopped for three and a half years.  He prayed again and the rain came back.

The Bible (in the First and Second Books of Kings) gives us many other examples of the power of St Elias’ prayers.  He prayed that the widow’s son would return to life—and he did.  He prayed that God would send fire from heaven upon the altar of sacrifice to demonstrate the He is the True God—and God did.  He went into the desert to escape from the Lord, but an angel brought him food and water so that he could continue to Mt Horeb to encounter the Lord.  There God revealed God’s self to Elias in a “still, small voice,” not in wind or earth­quake or fire.

We enjoy these stories of what Elias did, and we honor him as a wonderworker and a protector of the people.  But we need to remember that it’s not his “miracles,” not his mighty deeds, that are important.

What is important is that Elias was a righteous man, and he prayed.

So his prayer was “powerful and effective.”

But the mighty deeds were done by God’s power and accomplished God’s will.  By himself, Elias had no power.  Speaking to God in the desert, he said, “I am no better than my ancestors.”  And even though he was doing God’s will, he was always harassed and chased and attacked by the soldiers of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.  Even the widow of Sarepta, who was kept alive because God sent Elias for her to care for, accused him of bringing judgement on her and letting her son die.

And when Elias tried to do what he wanted instead of what God wanted, he didn’t succeed.  He ran away into the desert and prayed for death, but God sent the angel to feed him and get him moving.  His work for God wasn’t finished.

St James’ point is that we Christians face many temptations and hardships in life, but if we have faith God provides what we need to persevere and to strengthen our relationship with God.  He says that the suffering should pray, the cheerful should sing songs of praise, the sick should call the priests to anoint them and pray for them, and we should confess our sins and pray for one another.

If we do these things, we will be righteous—not in our own eyes, but according to our relationship with God.  We will be in right relationship with God.

And then our prayer will be powerful and effective—like Elias’ prayers—because “the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”

God called ordinary people—like Elias, like us—to be prophets and they accomplished mighty works of power by their prayers because they were righteous:  they were doing what God wanted, not what they wanted.

God has also called us to be prophets.  God has called us, ordinary people, to stand up and show others by our actions and teach others by our words that God is our Creator and Father, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father to lead us into all truth.

When we live what we believe, we are righteous and our prayers are powerful and effective.  For this, and for everything, we give thanks and praise and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

Homily for 13 July 2014, the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils--Are We Being the Light of the World?

Homily for 13 July 2014:  The Holy Fathers of the 1^st Six Ecumenical Councils

(Titus 3:8-15)                    (Matthew 5:14-19)

 

Today the Church remembers and honors all the Holy Fathers who participated in the first six Ecumenical Councils.  At these councils, held between 325 and 681, all of the essential, fundamental teachings of the Christian faith were examined, discussed, explained, and authorized.

The readings for today, from St Paul’s Letter to Titus and the Gospel according to St Matthew, obviously apply to the Holy Fathers and their job of teaching, protecting, and exemplifying Christian faith.

And it would be easy to say that these readings and their lessons apply only to the Holy Fathers and to their successors, our bishops.  And maybe also to priests, who share the job of keeping and teaching the faith, and living it in a way that shows a good example to the people.

But it would be wrong—totally wrong—to limit the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and of St Paul so that they would apply only to our Holy Fathers and our bishops and our priests.  It would be completely wrong to think that they apply only to “professionals.”

It’s wrong, first of all, because Jesus wasn’t talking only to His Twelve Apostles in this passage from the Gospel of Matthew.  The words of Jesus that we hear today—“You are the light of the world . . . your light must shine before others . . . whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”—these words are part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus preached to crowds of people about how to live in a way pleasing to God.  So these words apply to all followers of Jesus—all Christians.

Second, although St Paul was writing to his younger friend and assistant, Titus, who was assigned to be bishop in charge of the developing Christian community in Crete, his teaching is for all the Christian believers.  He tells Titus that he must “insist that those who have believed in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works [and] avoid foolish arguments, genealogies, rivalries, and quarrels about the Law.”  He continues, at the very end of the letter, “Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works to supply urgent needs.”

So, both Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave His life on the Cross to take away our sins and rose from the dead to give us eternal life, and St Paul, the Apostle chosen by Christ to carry the Gospel to those who were not Jews, teach all believers to hold on to the true faith and to teach not only by words but also by the example of our lives.

We have to ask ourselves—Are we being the light of the world?  Are we showing people who encounter us how believing in Jesus Christ makes us act differently from those who don’t believe?  Are we letting the light of our faith shine—individually and as a community of Christians—so that others see our good works and give glory to God?  Are we obeying and teaching God’s commandments?  Are we devoting ourselves to good works and helping those who are in need?

Or are we still getting involved in foolish arguments, worrying about what country or town people come from, taking offense at other people for what they do or say—or what they don’t do or say, and quarreling about the Old Testament laws?

St Paul says that all these things are useless and futile.  They don’t accomplish anything, and they separate us from God and from our brothers and sisters.  They are sins, and when we act this way, we are sinning and condemning ourselves.

So we have to try—all the time, consciously and intentionally—to live in a way that demonstrates our faith and gives glory to our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

Homily for 6 July 2014, the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost--Christians Can't be Normal

Homily for 6 July 2014:  4^th Sunday after Pentecost

(Romans 6:18-23)                    (Matthew 8:5-13)

 

Today’s reading from the Gospel of St Matthew shows us once again how Jesus upsets ordinary expectations of how things should be.  What Jesus does in this short incident is not normal; in fact, it is far from normal.

First, the centurion who comes to Jesus is a Roman, or at least an officer in the Roman Army.  He is not a Jews and he belongs to a force that is occupying the Jews’ country—the country that God gave them.  So this centurion is doubly not one of Jesus’ people.  The “normal” thing for Jesus to do would be to say, “I don’t have anything to do with you, you stinking foreigner and unbeliever!”  But Jesus doesn’t do what is normal; He says, “I will come and cure your slave.”

Second, the centurion doesn’t ask for help for himself, but for his slave.  This is highly unusual—slaves were usually treated like animals; they would be killed if they got too sick to work.  But this centurion evidently cares deeply about his slave; he has recognized him and accepted him as a fellow human person.  Surely this attitude catches Jesus’ attention.  It is what Jesus has been preaching and practicing himself, not caring about the distinctions of race, class, religion, nationality, or physical handicap, but accepting people as children of God and therefore his brothers and sisters.

The third surprise is the centurion’s reaction.  He has such strong faith that he believes just the word of the Lord will cure his slave’s illness.  And he has a sense of his unworthiness, which is very unusual for a Roman officer dealing with a wandering Jewish rabbi.  Still, he tells Jesus, “I’m not worthy to have you in my home.  Just say that my slave is healed, and I believe that he will be healed.”  He says that’s the way things work in the army, and he shows his respect for Jesus by trusting that Jesus will do what He says.  And that is exactly what happens, though Jesus makes it clear that the slave will be healed because of his master’s faith.

The fourth and final upset in this story comes in the lesson Jesus draws from the centurion’s faith.  Basically, Jesus tells his fellow Jews that “this foreigner, this Gentile, this invader and oppressor of our country, who doesn’t observe the Law that God gave our ancestor Moses, has more faith than you or anyone else in Israel.”  The point is clear:  they ought to be ashamed.  Jesus carries the point further by saying that in the future the Kingdom of heaven will be open to anyone who believes, not just those born in the right place to the right parents.  Once again, this is radically not normal.

And how does all of this apply to us?  We are the descendants of the outsiders to whom Jesus opened the Kingdom, yet we often think of ourselves as deserving salvation, as the rightful heirs of the Kingdom, simply because we were born into Christian families, and were baptized and raised Christian.  It’s easy for us to become like the complacent Jews of Jesus’ time.

But we really have to be like the centurion, full of faith and humility and respect and trust.  We have to decide every day to have faith in our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and to be humble, and to live as Christians, so that Jesus will also say to us, “Go in peace; let it be done for you according to your faith.”

Christian life can never be normal.  Christians are called to be different from and apart from the world around us.  And for this we give thanks and praise and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

Homily for 22 June 2014, the Second Sunday after Pentecost--God Shows No Partiality

Homily for 22 June 2014:  2^nd Sunday after Pentecost

(Romans 2:10-16)                    (Matthew 4:18-23)

 

St Paul writes to the Christian community in Rome that “God shows no partiality.”  In a world where everyone believed that the God of the Jews and all of the pagan gods always showed partiality, this was a remarkable change.

The Jews believed that God had chosen them for His specially-favored people, above all other nations.  And they worshipped God and kept the Law—the Torah—so that God would continue to favor them.

The Greeks and the Romans, the Persians and the Egyptians, and all the other people of the Roman Empire believed that the gods had to be pleased and flattered and kept happy by sacrifices and offerings and prayers, so that they would show partiality—that is, so that they would take care of the people with good weather, abundant crops, victory in battle, and so on.

But Jesus Christ changed all that.  As God, He established a new kind of relationship with people.  A relationship of love and willing cooperation, instead of a relationship of fear and enforced service.

In today’s Gospel reading, we see an example of this—Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee when He sees four fishermen—Andrew and Peter and James and John.  And He calls to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  He doesn’t force them or threaten them.  He invites them, and He promises to make them something more than they are.  He promises to make them His co-workers in the work of salvation—not servants or slaves, but brothers.

And his ministry of healing and proclamation also shows no partiality—Jesus goes all over the country healing “every disease and sickness among the people.”  Not just certain diseases, and not just the sicknesses of a certain class of people.  This is truly a new relationship—a New Covenant—between God and people.

When St Paul says, “God shows no partiality,” he means that God doesn’t judge us on the basis of who we are by birth, or nationality, or social class; wealth or poverty, skin color or language.  God judges us on the basis of what we do—how we act in relationship with God and with other people.

St Paul explains that God’s law is the same for everyone, Jews and Gentiles, but it is given differently.  The Jews must obey and be judged according to the written Law of Moses, but Gentiles must obey and be judged according to the law revealed by God in the human conscience.

This is harder, actually, because it means we must always try to understand God’s will and figure out for ourselves how to live it in our everyday decisions and actions.  We can’t just point to the written law and say, “Well, according to the rule-book this is OK.”  We must willingly choose, freely decide, to do what is right according to the will of God—as revealed to us in the Holy Bible and explained in the teachings of the Church.

God shows no partiality.  God loves all his children and wants us all to be saved.  God shows no partiality, but God imposes different kinds of responsibility on different people, all with the same purpose—so that all who follow God’s law and do God’s will may be justified and saved, to the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Amen.