Sunday, April 26, 2015

Daily HOMILY for March 30, 2015: Monday of Holy Week


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Monday of Holy Week
St. Luke’s Institute
March 30, 2015
IRONY ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Irony, the American Heritage Dict. Of the English Language says, is, “The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning”
Ø  It’s irony we hear in John’s Gospel
Ø  And it’s not rare in ordinary life; we all use it at times
Ø  We say to friends when tempting them to the triple dark chocolate cheesecake, “Sure, no calories in that”
Ø  Not only words, but events in John are presented with irony
IRONY IN THE GOSPEL +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  In today’s reading, Christ has given Lazarus back his life, raised him from the dead, and his opponents want to end Jesus’ life
Ø  They want to kill the very one who gives and restores life!
Ø  What irony!
Ø  His enemies may not have seen it that way, but John does, and he expects that we, his readers, too will see what irony there is in their plotting against Christ
Ø  It says something larger about the perversity of human nature …
Ø  That we are all capable of doing the opposite of what we claim to believe and missing the inconsistency entirely
IRONY IN OURSELVES +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Unfortunately w/ age we let devious patterns of thought dev & shut selves off from seeing things as they R or accepting anything new
Ø  Prayer for an open heart & mind, for more of the child’s simplicity and wonder is always in order
Ø  It would help us to C that at times R actions & words R so opposed 2 what we claim 2 hold dear
Ø  If R actions, words, beliefs, & ideals were all 2B truly united & consistent, we would avoid the kind of irony present in today’s Gospel reading
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  We could leave it for more innocent matters, like the calories in cheesecake!

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