Monday, December 14, 2015

Weekly HOMILY for December 13, 2015: 3rd Sunday of Advent, Cycle C


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3rd Sunday of Advent, C
December 13, 2016
Mepkin Abbey

John: Not a Disciple ++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Ever wonder why John didn’t become a recognized disciple of J?
Ø  No question, John respected him, saying he wasn’t even worthy to untie Js’ sandal strap
Ø  Or that he should be baptized by J & not J by him
Ø  So why didn’t he become a disciple?
Ø  The answer lies in how John & J viewed K/G  
John and Kingdom +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  John has a very traditional understanding of K/G
Ø  Believes God will come as a judge & separate good from bad, like wheat from chaff in Gospel
Ø  G will reward good & punish bad, including good & excluding bad from his K
Ø  & G would successfully defeat all enemies of his people & K would be triumphant & powerful
Jesus and Kingdom +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Js’ view is very different
Ø  J begins by making himself the K & in him we C the difference between John & J’s approach
Ø  No question J addresses evil & darkness
Ø  No question there’ll B an accounting 4 R behavior
Ø  But J’s way of doing this, the K, would B different
Ø  Comes 2 save, not condemn/invite, not intimidate
Ø  J begins w/ a relationship that’s grounded in understanding & mercy, not judgment
Ø  So dines w/ sinners & includes all, excludes no 1
Ø  His way of being K/G very different from John’s
Ø  Little wonder John doesn’t become a disciple!
Jesus’ mercy or John’s Judgment? +++++++++++
Ø  Last Sunday Francis answered the question people in Gospel ask, “What are we to do?” by launching his yearlong push for a global Catholic Church of mercy and forgiveness
Ø  He did it by opening the holy door at St. Peter’s & calling for a Ch that puts mercy before judgment
Ø  2 enter thru Holy Door is 2 rediscover F’s mercy, F who welcomes all & goes 2 meet all, personally
Ø  Perhaps doors 2 R bedrooms can become holy doors & each night I pass thru it 2 go in2 my room I leave the judgment of a brother behind
Ø  Each morn I go thru, take mercy 4 bro in my heart
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  That would be the spirit of J and not of John
Ø  It would be living this holy year in a very real way

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Sunday, December 13, 2015

Daily HOMILY for December 2, 2015: Wednesday of the 1st Week of Advent


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Wednesday 1st Week Advent
The Institute
December 2, 2015
HUMAN HUNGERS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Goethe wrote, “The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection”
Ø  Seeing more rightly is less about the self-kudos we put on our resume
Ø  It is about admitting the things we need to work on and the hungers that take up our life
Ø  Do we hunger for comfort or for challenge?
Ø  Do we thirst for satisfaction or for the true happiness that comes from being there for others?
DEEPER HUNGERS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  The Gospel reading tells of Jesus’ healing of physical infirmity and satisfying daily hunger
Ø  These works of mercy show that he is the authentic Messiah who ushers in God’s kingdom
Ø  Often in the Gospels, people misread the fuller message of what Jesus does and offers
Ø  They think bread from heaven is all about belly hunger
Ø  Newly seeing, hearing, or walking is freedom from bodily preoccupations, working more on emotional and spiritual growth
JESUS FEEDING OUR HUNGERS +++++++++++++++++
Ø  The feeding of the multitude is a foretaste of the Eucharist and the coming banquet of God’s kingdom
Ø  A few handfuls of food feed a multitude
Ø  The leftovers are treasured and not discarded
Ø  No one goes away hungry and empty
Ø  That is an insight worth remembering
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  During the Advent season, we will hear about Jesus’ simple origins and birth in a stable
Ø  Matthew recounts the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt to escape persecution
Ø  Luke tells of poor shepherds visiting the Prince of Peace
Ø  Let these simple and often overlooked insights inform our anticipation of the Christmas season
Ø  And let us not forget that the poor are the first to receive the Good News

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