Weekly HOMILY for February 24, 2013: 2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C -- Life: a Journey with No Tents

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

2^nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

Parish Mission Saint Clement Parish, Lansdowne, MD

February 24, 2013

Life: a Journey with No Tents

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Rothschild Mansion

During the 1800s, The Rothschild family is believed to have possessed by far the largest private fortune in the world as well as by far the largest fortune in modern world history.

A story is told that back then, some tourists were passing by the family’s famous mansion in London and they noticed that, at one end of the mansion, the cornices and exterior wall were unfinished. 

They wondered about was since the Rothschilds were the wealthiest family in Europe at the time

The explanation is interesting.  Lord Rothschild explained that he was an orthodox Jew and according to Orthodox tradition, the house of every Jew was to have some part of it left unfinished. 

“Why?” one would ask.  The reply was, “To bear witness that the occupant of the house is like Abraham, in a sense unfinished, a person on a journey with no lasting home on this earth.”    

Life as Circle

That practice helps us to appreciate today’s Scripture readings.

It helps us to realize that we are all on a journey.  Some ten years ago, I read a book entitled The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill.

One of Cahill’s main points is that up until the time of Abraham, whom we hear about in today’s first reading, ancient peoples viewed life as a circle.  They believed that what has happened in the past will happen again in a continuous circle.

They also believed that everything that happens in our lives is determined by heavenly powers.  Our task is to meditate on the ceaseless and circular flow of life.

We are to do this until we came to peace with this fact and with our own death as part of that great circle. 

Now, as I said, that was the ancient view of life, but one of the gifts of the Jews was that Abraham changed this ancient and venerated way of thinking.

Life as Journey

The background to today’s first reading is that Abraham has listened to God’s call and set out to an unknown land.

He sets out on a journey and ever since then, the way to look at human life is as an open ended linear journey. 

This change of outlook now means that there is much more to life than the past simply repeating itself.

Now there is the possibility of a different future and we have responsibility for creating it. 

The Old Testament also reveals that this journey is not just from one country to another, as it was for Abraham and Moses.

It is not just an outer journey, a journey outside me.  Instead, it is primarily a journey within, a journey in to our inner self, in to our center where we will find God.

It is a journey of becoming one with God and becoming God-like in the process.  It is, in the final analysis, a journey back to God and to our heavenly home.

A Journey with No Tents

This very same understanding carries right over into Christianity.

The gospels consistently show Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem.  The gospels also call us to see our lives as a journey and they add an important caution about this.

The caution is that we have to resist the temptation to pitch our tents, as Peter wants to do in today’s gospel.  Jesus will not let Peter do this because he knows that there is still a lot of the journey ahead and a lot of work to do.

The question is: how might we “pitch our tents” today? 

We might be doing this when we say things like: “This is the way I’ve always done it.” Or, “This is the way I learned it and have always understood it.” 

Statements like these might be saying that we are pitching our tents and closing ourselves off to learning more or looking at things differently or doing things differently. 

For example, we can “pitch our tents” in the understanding of ourselves.  We may be inclined to turn off any comment from a family member, friend or a homily that calls us to examine our attitude or way of speaking about certain individuals or groups of people.

We can also “pitch our tents” in the understanding of our faith.  We may resist seeing faith primarily as a relationship with God that involves growth and deepening of the way see God and of our relationship with God. Perhaps we resist seeing it as a dynamic reality instead of just a static list of truths, as in “I believe in God, the Father Almighty….”

Conclusion

As Peter is tempted in the gospel, we need to resist pitching our tents and we need to stay on the journey that is ever unfolding, ever new and unique. 

This is why we have the Season of Lent that calls us to repentance – to keep us growing, to keep us on the real journey of life.

Daily HOMILY for February 19, 2013: Tuesday of 1st Week of Lent, Cycle C

LENT: GETTING TO THE HEART OF THINGS  +++++++++

Ø  As Lent begins Jesus teaches us how to pray

Ø  “Don’t babble on. Get to the heart of things.”

Ø  Turn to Abba, the one who sent me”

Ø  Say, “Your kingdom come; your will be done”

Ø  Say, “I trust you”

Ø  Say, “Give me each day what you know I need”

JOHN & PAUL +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Although John the Baptist exclaimed upon seeing Jesus, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” Jesus still urged his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come”

Ø  St. Paul said that the kingdom is “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit”

Ø  So the kingdom requires us to fill in the human reality of what God has mysteriously begun

ECKHART ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  For people struggling with compulsions over where to begin or how to get it right, Meister Eckhart’s advice is helpful

Ø  “God expects but one thing of you – that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being and let God be God in you”

Ø  Put simply, “Look away from yourself and look to God”

Ø  As long as you focus on yourself, you will find reason after reason why you aren’t loveable or attractive or worth much to anybody

THE MARVEL +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  If you turn your gaze to the Father, you will see this marvel

Ø  God is offering you “daily bread,” forgiveness and love

Ø  You will see yourself being loved

Ø  This is how we exit the domain of self-preoccupation and enter the Kingdom of God

CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  This is how we learn to stop babbling

Ø  This is how we learn that our Father knows what we need even before we ask

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Daily HOMILY for February 20, 2013: Wednesday of 1st Week of Lent, Cycle C

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

The Ursula Parish Mission

1^st Wednesday of Lent

February 20, 2013

THE STORY OF JONAH ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  God says GO! Jonah says NO!

Ø  God sends a storm to remind Jonah who’s in charge

Ø  Jonah is thrown overboard by the others

Ø  He makes the choice to keep running from God

Ø  And you know what happens when Jonah is thrown overboard—slurp—swallowed by the big fish

Ø  We don’t know what happens—we just know he was in its belly for 3 days

Ø  The fish spits him up & finally Jonah’s able to say

Ø  “I’ll do what I promised I’d do! Salvation belongs to God”

A STORY ABOUT US ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  This isn’t just Jonah’s story

Ø  This is the story of any one of us who has tried to run from God at any particular time

Ø  I certainly have

Ø  Jonah isn’t the only one whose plans are interrupted by God

Ø  It about our plans being interrupted by God

APPLICATION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  How many times have we experienced a storm in our life and have come to a new realization, like Jonah?

Ø  And when the ugly circumstances of life finally throw us up on solid ground, we can almost hear God say, "Wake up! You can make a new choice, one that leads to life!"

CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  We have indeed been called by God

Ø  The call may be as simple as moving in a new direction

Ø  Deepening our trust and faith in God

Ø  It may be growing in mercy and forgiveness

Ø  Or the call may be to renew a commitment in a relationship or respond to a ministry in my parish

Ø  Whatever God has called us to, God will not set us up to fail

Ø  Jonah is a great example of how God’s will is accomplished often in spite of his human agents

Ø  It just takes us a long to finally get it!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Daily HOMILY for February 18, 2013: Monday of 1st Week of Lent, Cycle C

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

Monday of the First Week of Lent

St. Ursula

February 18, 2013

THE STORY +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  What about this story of the sheep and the Goats?

Ø  Is says right there that the sheep go to heaven and the goats go to hell

SHEEP +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  How many of you, even once in your life, have done what Jesus asks at the beginning of that passage and have helped feed a hungry person or given used clothes to someone in need?

Ø  That’s great. You’re all sheep!

GOATS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  How many of you even once didn’t give something to someone begging at a stoplight or visited someone in prison?

Ø  That’s too bad. You’re all goats!

THE INSIGHT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  The insight is that we’re all good goats!

Ø  Let me explain. The language about heaven and hell is symbolic language

Ø  Heaven and hell are not specific geographical places. They are symbols of inner experiences, inner states of being

Ø  All of us who have felt alienated, unloved, overwhelmed by shame or helplessly caught in an addition know what it’s like to be in hell

Ø  And all of us who have been welcomed home, who have seen our goodness reflected in the affirming eyes of another or who have been loved into recovery know what it’s like to be in heaven

CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Just as we all have wheat and weeds within us, we are also sheep and goats at different time

Ø  The Kingdom of God is within us, and we’re all good goats!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Weekly HOMILY for February 17, 2013: 1st Sunday of Lent, Cycle C -- The Desert As a Life-giving Place

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

1^st Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

St. Ursula, St. Joseph, St. Isaac Jogues, and Immaculate Heart of Mary

February 16-17, 2013

The Desert As a Life-giving Place

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Desert and Demons

Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus goes into the Judean desert east of Jerusalem to face his demons. 

This act at the beginning of his ministry symbolizes the need we all have to wrestle with the dark side of our own life and to do it in a desert like place, that is, in the silence of our hearts, without the comforts of life to which we’re accustomed: just me and my dark side. 

If Jesus, who is like us in all things, save sin, finds it necessary to wrestle with his own dark side, shouldn’t we also need to do the same before our life can really come together? 

In the gospel, we see that the demons Jesus has to face are the same with which we must wrestle.

1. Stones into Bread

The first demon is the temptation to change stones into bread. And he responds, “One does not live on bread alone.”  

Those who first heard Jesus and observed his lifestyle realized that he was in touch with a life that went beyond the physical and the earthly. What Jesus is saying is, “Yes, we are to live on bread, but not on bread alone.” 

Thus his followers believed this and attended to feeding hungry spirits with the food of God’s Word, as well as hungry stomachs with bread.

Seeing all men and w   omen as God’s children would take a 180-degree turn in what they valued and the choices they made.

They realized, as do we, that it’s not just bread I need to make available to you, if you are hungry, but to put into practice God’s Word that addresses the very structures that helped create the lack of food in the first place. 

Jesus’ plan to change social and political structures is more difficult and it will take longer, but it will be the way to make a difference in hunger for the world. 

So, the demon we need to face within is the temptation of doing nothing when I see you hungry or doing nothing to change what created your hunger.

2. Power over All

The second demon is the temptation to gain power over every aspect of our lives.

In Jesus’ time, people were expecting a Savior to come with great power.  His response once again presents his hearers with a different plan: “You shall worship God alone.”

It is tempting to worship power, to resort to the solution of force to do even good things.  The problem is that this way usually leaves some death and destruction in its path. Today we call that “collateral damage.” 

We can see this in our relationship with other nations and we can see it in our personal relationships as well.  Jesus is cautioning us about power and force and calls us to be respectful of others and seek what is good for all sides. 

While not always possible, Jesus does hold this way of acting as the way to go.

We are to stop playing the power games of win/lose and right/wrong with each other and, rather, seek mutual well-being for ourselves and others whenever possible. 

The demon we are confronting is the temptation not to give up power or brute force.

3. Proving Our Greatness

The third demon is the temptation to jump off the parapet of the temple to prove his greatness as God and Jesus responds, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” 

The issue here is that often we want to make ourselves the center of focus. We want to impress others with how much we know or how successful we are. 

We may do this by not listening to others and interrupting so as to get things focused back on ourselves.

We need to recall that the risen Jesus did not feel the need to appear at the front door of Caiphas’ home or Pilate’s home with a TV crew and say, “Look at who I really am and how wrong you were.”  On the contrary, he is simply present to his followers as a way to continue his work.

In a similar way, we become more God-like and feel better and better about ourselves not by calling attention to ourselves, but by living responsibly and doing the best we can in everyday life. 

The demon in this final temptation is to reject Jesus’ example of having to prove his greatness.

Conclusion

Bread, power, greatness – the demons Jesus confronts in the desert are the same ones we need to confront in the silence of our own hearts, in our own deserts. 

Lent invites us to go the desert within, with no comforts or illusions, and to deal with the demons we will find lurking there.

Daily HOMILY for February 12, 2013: Tuesday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

5^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time

St. Luke’s Institute

February 12, 2013

GOD’S ORDERING  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  “Making order” is a quick way of describing God’s creative work

Ø  God spends five days out of seven ordering time, space, and the first interactions of created being

Ø  Only then does God set human beings down into an ordered cosmos, suggesting that a certain amount of order is essential to human survival

ORDERING AND CHAOS ++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  But God is not tied down to the kind of linear order laid out in your typical planner

Ø  And God’s creative work always starts with chaos:

o   The rather terrifying primal chaos of Genesis 1:1-2

o   The degenerate human chaos before the prophets’ promised return from exile in Babylon

o   Or the world gone awry which Christ came to put right

CREATIVITY AND CHAOS +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  So when God says, “Let us make humankind in our image,” that image necessarily begins with creativity

Ø  As creative people, we must start where God starts: with chaos, with that I call “the seething cauldron of possibilities” as yet unnamed, unsorted, apparently purposeless

Ø  Too often, though, we see “chaos” as an enemy to be confronted with the whip of our planners and licked into submission so we can get on with life

Ø  Human beings do need order, especially the truly primal order of purpose, to survive

Ø  But I wonder what would happen if I were finally to succeed in wrestling every breath of time, every corner of space, every piece of paper and dust bunny in my own small universe into the kind of careful order for which I seem to hanker

CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  I wonder if I would find that excessive order, neatly packaged in linear rows, is sterile

Ø  And that chaos is the perpetual treasure chest from which spill out all the possibilities that fuel creative work in all its forms

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Daily HOMILY for February 11, 2013: Monday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen

5^th Monday in Ordinary Time

St. Luke’s Institute

February 11, 2013

SCURRIERS  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  An interesting thing about the sick whom Jesus heals in today’s Gospel is that they could not come to him under their own power   

Ø  Neither did he seek them out

Ø  The real heroes of today’s story are the scrurriers, the folks who recognized Jesus when he disembarks, and “scurry” through Genesaret, bringing the sick to the marketplace where they could find healing by touching Jesus’ cloak as he passes

VIRTUES OF SURRIERS +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  The virture of the surriers is threefold:

Ø  First, they recognize the Savior

Ø  Second, they believe in his power to heal

Ø  And third, the make the effort – in haste, because who knows how much time they have? – to find the sick and transport them to the place where Jesus is

OURSELVES OF SURRIERS +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Today let us pray for the grace to be a scurrier

Ø  Do I know the Lord?

Ø  Have I paid attention to him in prayer and sought him in the sacraments?

Ø  Do I believe in his power and willingness to heal sickness and sinfulness and hopelessness?

Ø  And do I love others enough to seek them out and bring them closer to Jesus?

APPLICATION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Instead of, “I’ll pray for you,” I want the grace to say to someone, “Look, you are hurting. Come, pray with me.”

Ø  In that way I become, as Jesus intends, like the tassel of his cloak: an extension of his loving desire to heal his people, a Channel of his peace and a minister of his presence

Ø  And the man or woman in need of healing?

Ø  He or she becomes that “tassel” for me!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Weekly HOMILY for February 10, 2013: 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C -- Nothing and Proud About It!

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen 

5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Terranuova Hermitage

February 10, 2013

Nothing and Proud About It!

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Nothing…And Proud About It

There is an anecdote about a rabbi and a cantor who are in the synagogue one afternoon.

They are preparing for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.  The rabbi beats his breast and says: “I am nothing, O Lord; I am nothing.”

And the cantor then follows suit and begins beating his breast and saying: “I am nothing, O Lord; I am nothing.” 

And then, from the back of the synagogue, a third voice is heard – the maintenance man.

He is also heard saying: “I am nothing, O Lord; I am nothing.”  And with that, the rabbi whispers to the cantor, “Just look who thinks he’s nothing.”

 

Being Aware of Who We Are

That anecdote, in a humorous way, helps us to appreciate the lesson of today’s readings.

Isaiah in the first reading, Paul in the second, and Peter in the gospel, all have the same experience.  Let’s just look at Peter.

Peter becomes aware of the presence of the divine in Jesus with the great catch of fish.  He responds by saying, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

So Peter has this intense experience of God, of the holiness and power of God in Jesus.  And with this awareness, he in turn becomes aware of himself and his own humanity – his dark side, his weakness and limitations in comparison.

This awareness – first of God, and then of self – enables Peter to do great things.  It enables him to grow toward being the kind of person God creates and calls us to be.

This awareness is also important for us – for all of us, equally, whether rabbi, cantor, or maintenance man.  We all need this awareness.

There are three moments right here in the celebration of Mass when we have the opportunity for this.  There are three opportunities to be aware of the presence and holiness of God, and then aware of our humanity and our need for God.

Opportunities for Awareness

The first opportunity comes right at the beginning of Mass.  It happens in what we call the Penitential Act.

The core of this is our first becoming aware of God, of God’s presence with us.  With this awareness, we can then get in touch with ourselves.

We are to realize that we are not God – that we are human, a mix of light and darkness, still unfinished and on our journey to God.  With the openness that this awareness brings, we are to allow the Lord to make us whole and permeate our lives more and more.

Then the second opportunity for being aware of who we are with the proclamation of God’s Word in the readings.  We believe that these are inspired passages – that human authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit and this is the very Word of God.

Consistently, placed before us is the unconditional love of God.  Consistently, placed before us, are the compassion, goodness, wisdom, and holiness of Jesus.

And so again, with this awareness and comfort, we also become aware of some discomfort, some area where we need to respond more fully to God and live better, our side of the relationship.  Again, this is an opportunity to be aware of our humanity.

Finally, the third opportunity for being aware of who we are is when we receive Communion.  We believe that Jesus is really present and comes to us in the bread and wine.

Our receiving the Eucharist – Jesus’ body and blood – gives us a very intimate relationship with God.  This is why we call it Holy Comm-union.

And so again, with this awareness of God’s presence and of the holy gift we receive, we are also aware of our dire need for relationship with the divine and for grounding our lives on the One who is at our center so we don’t spin out of control. 

We are aware that without this center, we will be lost, without purpose, and probably sinful.

Conclusion

So we have these opportunities for awareness right here at Mass – to be aware of God and aware of self.

And perhaps the important insight in the experience of Peter, Isaiah, and Paul today is this.  We will only really be aware of our humanity when we are aware of God.

It is only in the presence of God, the all-holy One, that we can gain the fullest and most accurate sense of self.  This is one reason why our celebration and participation in Mass is so very important week after week.

Weekly HOMILY for February 3, 2013: 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C -- Growing into God’s Call for Us

PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to listen 

4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

St. John the Evangelist, Frederick, MD

February 3, 2013

Growing into God’s Call for Us

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Bonheoffer’s Outer Self and Inner Self

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and prisoner at Flossenburg Concentration Camp in Bavaria, Germany where the Nazis executed him in 1945.

In a poem written from his prison cell Bonhoeffer speaks of the battle that is being waged within him as he attempts to heed the call of God.

“Who am I? They often tell me I stepped from my cell’s confinement calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a Squire from his country house.

They tell me I used to speak with my warden freely, friendly and clearly, as though it were mine to command.

They also tell me I bore the days of misfortune equably, smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win.

Am I what others tell of me or am I only what I know of myself? That I’m restless, longing and sick … struggling … powerlessly trembling … weary and empty …

Who am I? This (within) or the other (without)?

They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, you know, O God, I am yours!”

Bonheoffer’s Deepest Self

Bonheoffer’s poem helps us get clear about who we really are.

It sets within us an inner anchor of understanding about who I am (deepest level), in spite of my emotions or feelings (next level), so I can act with calm and understanding as I live each day (top level), no matter what the challenges.

It’s as if there are three levels of awareness for Bonhoeffer: his calm exterior before his Nazis guards, his inner turmoil, and his deepest self that is able to pray, “Whoever I am, you know, O God, I am yours!”

It was this deepest self that knew, no matter what might happen to him or how he felt about his ever-changing circumstances, that he belonged to God and God belonged to him.

Jeremiah’s Empowerment

Jeremiah also knew he belonged to God and God to him and we see it in the opening lines of the first reading where God is speaking: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

So at our deepest level of existence we are known, dedicated and appointed by God.

(1) That reality continues no matter what the inner turmoil, no matter what the challenges we face.

(2) But that reality also gives us a ground on which to stand, a place from which to move, move through our emotions and into life-giving choices.

Application

This reality applies to whatever hand life has dealt us.

We may be in a job or career path that we don’t like or find troublesome. Instead of simply reacting without thinking, I can move from my deepest sense of self as knowing how much God loves me and empowers me with my talents and personality traits to deal with the situation.

Or perhaps an illness or tragedy has touched the health of a loved one. Rather than moving from emotions of anger or self-pity, I can come from the assurance that God has dedicated me or given me this particular task of caring for another.

Finally, our family life may be filled with the challenges of raising children, making time for each other, or forgiveness. Rather than a sense of hopelessness and doing nothing, it could be empowering to have the assurance that at our deepest level we were appointed by God to be the parent in this family.

Conclusion

The struggles and conflicts will come for us, just as surely as they came for Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Jeremiah.

The inner turmoil will also be there.

And today we know God’s Word of assurance regarding who we really are. That will serve us well.