HOMILY for November 24, 2019: Solemnity of Christ the King, Cycle C

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Solemnity of Christ the King, Cycle C

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

November 24, 2019

 

A King and Yet Not a King

(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

 

A King?

“Above him there was an inscription that read, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’”

Our Church has picked up on this title “King” and created this day in honor of Christ, as King. For us, in a leading democratic country that elects its presidents, this may seem like an odd way to honor Christ.

But, if we look closely at today’s Gospel, we get some wonderful insights into what it means for Jesus Christ, to be a king. This means something very different than it has meant for Henry VIII of England or Salman of Saudi Arabia.

And Yet Not a King!

First, we see that Jesus does not rule from a throne, but hangs on a cross.  This conveys that Jesus does not selfishly take life from us like some of the notorious rulers of history have done.

Instead, he gives his life for us on the cross.  And he gives God’s life to us.

Then, we see that Jesus knows the value of silence. He remains silent in the face of ridicule and mockery. 

He doesn’t strike back verbally. His silence shows his goodness and peace, and creates the space for others to calm down. 

Then, connected with that, Jesus does not grow hardened, much less, vengeful. Instead, he remains compassionate and forgiving.

To the one repentant thief who is crucified with him, he responds: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” For those who actually are crucifying him, he prays: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  

And finally, in all of this, we see that Jesus is not excluding. He does not shun or push away or refuse to have anything to do with those who are imperfect or unacceptable.

Instead, Jesus remains welcoming and inclusive. This is his consistent way of drawing others to God and we see this all throughout the Gospels.      

Conclusion

So,this title “King” helps us to see Jesus as a leader or ruler in an entirely different way.

He leads by example, by spiritual power, not by coercive power. The conclusions for us as individuals and for us as an institutional Church are obvious. 

He has empowered us to be like him, to foster his kingdom, to be sons and daughters of God. 

HOMILY for November 17, 2019: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

November 17, 2019

Being Ready NOW, for the Future

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

 

Someday Is Now

Some years ago, I read a story about a man whose wife, Jan, had just died.

This man opened the bottom drawer of his wife’s bureau and pulled out a tissue-wrapped package. He unfolded it and showed his sister-in-law, his wife’s sister, a beautiful silk and lace slip.

He said, “Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, about eight years ago. She never wore it.

“She was saving it for a special occasion. I guess this is the occasion.”

He then placed the slip on the bed with the other clothes they would bring to the funeral home. Then he said to his sister-in-law, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion; every day is a special occasion.” 

Jan’s sister remembered these words. She kept thinking about all the things she herself had done without realizing they were special. 

The words of her brother-in-law began to have a real impact on her. She writes this: “I’m reading more and dusting less.  

“I’m sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.  

“We use our good dishes for every event, like after getting the sink unstopped. I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter or luster to our lives.

“And every moment I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath…is a gift of God.”      

The Gospel and Now

This widowed man and his sister-in-law express the same point Jesus is making in today’s gospel.  

Jesus talks about a time when all kinds of threatening things will happen. But Jesus is not trying to get us to focus on that future end-time and to live with fear and gloom.  

Instead, he is trying to get us to focus on the present. And, he wants us to live with peace and hope.

In other words, yes, someday there will be an end-time. Someday we will pass on from this earth.

But Jesus wants us to be ready for that by being aware that today is special. He wants us to make the present moment special, to live today well, and that is the way to be ready for the future.

Making Now Special

I want to propose two ways to help us make the present moment, the now special. 

First, each day do something good for one person important in our life. Maybe it will be asking your husband or wife or close friend what their day was like and really meaning it. 

Maybe it will be a text message or phone call to our parents or children, just to let them know you are thinking about them. Maybe it will be writing a note or sending an email to a family member or friend with whom we have just lost contact. 

And second, each day spend some time with God. Reserve a few minutes maybe just to be quiet and aware of God’s presence. 

Pray some prayer that we know by heart or speak to God in our own words. Allow this quiet and maybe alone time to put us in touch with our need to slow down and be compassionate, even as our heavenly parent is compassionate with each of us.   

Conclusion

So, two ways to help us make today, the now special:

1.    each day do something good for one person important in our life;

2.    and each day spend some time with God.

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That’s what God wants us to do in the present moment. And that will also be the best way to prepare for the future.

HOMILY for November 10, 2019: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

November 10, 2019

Marriage in the Resurrection 

By Nicholas Amato 

A Strange Regulation 

In the Book of Deuteronomy, one of the first five books of the Bible, there is a rather strange regulation.

The rule stipulates what is to happen if a husband dies, leaving his wife widowed and with no children. The rule says that the deceased husband’s brother is to marry this woman.

Hopefully, they will have a child and this will be a way for the deceased husband to live on. In fact, it is the only way they could imagine that he would be able to live on after death.

Dispute over Resurrection 

Now to us that ancient rule sounds very strange and, in fact, the Jewish people seldom observed it.    

But, it forms the background to today’s Gospel. A group of the Jewish religious leaders are bothered by Jesus’ talk about resurrection.

They cannot accept this because it is not in the first five books of the Bible. So, they concoct an extreme example of a man who dies and, in succession, each of his six brothers marries his widow and each of them also dies.

And all of these brothers also die childless. So, these religious leaders ask Jesus who will be this woman’s husband in the resurrection.

They feel certain that this extreme scenario will discredit Jesus’ teaching. Well, Jesus doesn’t comment about the Old Testament rule, but he does teach some things about resurrection.

1.    Resurrection as Transformation 

Most importantly, Jesus says that resurrected life will not be just a continuation of this life.

For example, he says that in resurrected life people do not marry. Now let’s be clear that Jesus is not putting down marriage.

He actually lifts up the dignity of marriage on other occasions. Here Jesus is simply saying that resurrected life is very different from this life.

We will be transformed. We will have a transformed life in and with God and we can’t think about this just in terms of our human life experience. 

2.    Resurrection through Relationship 

And then, Jesus makes it clear that resurrection happens through our relationship with God.

Jesus says that God isthe God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. These great religious figures are dead, but Jesus uses the present tense in speaking of them – God istheir God right now. 

So, Jesus is saying that God’s relationship with them continues on. The idea is that God’s love for us and God’s relationship with us has no end.  

This means that we are to do whatever we can to live in this relationship – by coming to know Jesus more and more in the Gospels and by having Communion with Him through the Eucharist. So, this relationship with God that we have rightnowleads to resurrected life in the future.

3.    Resurrection through Respect 

And then the last thing that Jesus teaches here is a bit hidden, but it is still present.

Notice that Jesus completely ignores that ancient rule of a brother marrying his deceased brother’s widow. Jesus just ignores this and in doing that, he is teaching something. 

That ancient rule was very male-centered. It was focused only on the husband and hisbeing able to live on in some way through offspring.  

The rule showed no respect for the woman, the wife. It treated her more as an object.

By not even acknowledging this rule, Jesus is sending a message. We are to be respectful of all persons, including women.

This is a living out of our relationship with God who respects each person equally. Being respectful of women and of all persons rightnowopens us to resurrection in the future.

Conclusion

So that’s my take on this interesting, to say the least, interesting passage of Scripture.

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I hope it is helpful for all of you. Amen!

HOMILY for November 2, 2019: Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Cycle C

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Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Cycle C 

Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours

Wisdom 3:1-9 / Romans 6:3-9 / John 6:37-40

November 2, 2019

The Journey Home

(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

 

 

Imagine – Around 1875

Take yourself back to the year 1875.

It is rural America, out in the farm country of the Midwest.  There are no cars, only horses and horse-drawn wagons.

In that setting, there lives a little boy named Tom – and this is a true story!  Both of Tom’s parents die and he is left an orphan.

His Aunt Katherine takes him in and raises him.  Then, years later, Tom receives a letter from his dear Aunt Katherine.

She has a terminal illness and, from the tone of the letter, Tom knows that she is afraid of death.  So he writes a letter in response.

Letter from Tom 

Dear Aunt Katherine, thirty-five years ago, when I was six-years-old, I was left alone in the world. You sent me word that you would give me a home and be a mother to me.

“I’ve never forgotten the day when I made the long journey of ten miles to your house.  I can still recall my disappointment when, instead of coming to me yourself, you sent your hired-hand Joseph to fetch me.

“I remember my tears and anxiety as, perched high on the horse and clinging tight to Joseph, I rode off to my new home.  Night fell before we finished the journey and, as it grew dark, I became even more afraid. 

“‘Do you think she’ll go to bed before I get there?’ I asked Joseph.  ‘Oh, no,’ Joseph answered, ‘she’s sure to stay up.  When we get out of these woods, you’ll see her light shining in the window.’

“We did ride out into the clearing and there was your light.  I remember that you were waiting at the door; that you put your arms tight around me; that you lifted me – a tired, frightened, little boy – down from the horse.

“You had a fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting on the stove.  After supper you took me to my new room.

“You heard me say my prayers.  Then you sat with me until I fell asleep.

“You very probably realize why I am now trying to recall this to your memory.  Very soon, God is going to send for you, and take you to a new home.

“I’m trying to tell you that you needn’t be afraid of the summons or of the strange journey.  God can be trusted.

“God can be trusted to do as much for you as you did for me so many years ago.  At the end of the road you’ll find love and a welcome waiting for you.

“And you’ll be safe in God’s care.  I’m going to watch and pray for you until you’re out of sight.  

“And I shall wait for the day when I make the same journey myself and find you waiting at the end of the road to greet me.”  

Our Faith 

Tom’s letter to his Aunt Katherine is very touching.

It shows a simple, but clear, strong, and trusting faith. It reflects so beautifully Jesus’ words in today’s gospel.

Jesus says: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.  This is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me.”

Jesus is so clear in his promise and in the hope he gives us. He is affirming what one writer calls the circle of God’s love.

God’s love creates us.  God’s love is with us in Jesus.

God’s love sustains us on this earth.  And God’s love re-creates us when we pass on from this earth and go to our heavenly home.

This is the circle of God’s love.  This circle includes all of us and that is why we believe that we remain and will remain in relationship with our loved ones and with all of God’s sons and daughters.

This is how we understand Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel.  

And this is why we celebrate All Souls Day, a day to remember afnd pray for all the faithful departed who’ve made the journey we too will one day make.