HOMILY for January 19, 2020: 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

January 19, 2020

Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

 

 

The Beloved Lamb

There is a old story about two men who were living in the same small town.

The one man was rich and powerful; the other was poor and powerless. The rich man owned so many sheep that he lost count of them, but the poor man had only one, tiny lamb.  

The poor man’s children loved this little lamb so much that they treated it like a member of the family. They played with it all day long and even brought it to the dinner table to share the little food they had to eat. 

Then one day an important visitor came to the rich man’s house for dinner.  The rich man wanted to serve a special meal but he didn’t want to kill any of his own lambs to feed the guest.  

So, he had his servants go over to the poor man’s house, take that family’s only lamb, and slaughter it for dinner. Now, the prophet Nathan tells this story in the Old Testament.  

And, this story of the beloved lamb is one of the images that John the Baptist must have had in mind in today’s gospel. John points to Jesus and says, “There is the lamb of God.”

John means, “There is God’s beloved lamb.”Like the one beloved lamb of that poor family, Jesus is God’s beloved Son and he is unjustly put to death.  

 

The Sacrificial Lamb 

Now besides this image of the beloved lamb, there is a second image that John must have had in mind.

This is the image of the lambs that were sacrificed everyday in the Temple in Jerusalem. These lambs were seen as sacrifices to atone for sin. 

So, John points to Jesus and says, “There is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”Jesus is like those sacrificial lambs because he sacrifices himself for our sins.

But, he is also unlike those lambs because, as John says today, he is “the sacrificial lamb of God.”Jesus is the sacrifice above all others that brings us reconciliation with God.

The Victorious Lamb 

Finally, John must have also had a third image in mind.

The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, pictures a victorious lamb. The author describes his vision of a lamb on a heavenly throne with   people from all over the earth giving him honor.

So, John speaks of Jesus as “the Lamb of God …the one who ranks ahead of me because he is before me.”John’s idea is that Jesus ranks first, above him and above everyone else in the human family.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who rose from the dead. This is why he now receives honor and praise as the victorious lamb.   

The Lamb of God for Us

So, John the Baptist has these three images in mind about Jesus – the beloved lamb, the sacrificial lamb, and the victoriuous lamb.

Before we receive communion here at Mass, we sing three times: “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”It is helpful to remember these three images as we sing these acclamations.

First, we remember the image of the one beloved lamb of the poor family. And we express our love for Jesus as the beloved Son and Lamb of God.

Here we can also recall that we are also beloved. Each of is is a beloved daughter or son of God.  

Then we remember the image of the sacrificial lamb of the Temple. Here in the sacrifice of the Mass we offer Jesus himself under the forms of bread and wine.

Here we can also recall that we are to be sacrificial. Our sacrifice is to give consciously and intentionally our daily lives to Christ by acceptijg him as our way. 

  

And finally, we remember the image of the victorious lamb in heaven. We do this when we say at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer: “Through him, with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever.  Amen”

And as we do that, here we can also recall that we too have the promise and hope of heaven. That victory over death will also be ours through the victorious lamb.

HOMILY for January 12, 2020: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A

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Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A

St. Mark, Fallston

January 12, 2020   

Baptism: Empowering Us to Live 

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

Adam and Eve 

One day a religion teacher asked her class of second graders to take out their crayons and draw a picture of their favorite Old Testament story.

One little guy drew a picture of a man dressed up in a tuxedo, with a top hat, driving an old car. In the back seat were two passengers, a man and a woman, both dressed in bathing suits.

The teacher said,“Brian, that’s a nice picture, but what story does it tell?” Little Brian was surprised at the question.

He responded, “Well, doesn’t it say in the Bible that God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden?” That little boy’s picture helps to introduce what I want to talk about today.

As we celebrate Jesus’ baptism, I want to reflect with you on the meaning of our own baptism. And that starts out with something called Original Sin.

Human Condition

Little Brian was trying to depict what happened after Adam and Eve sinned – God drove them out of the garden. We call Adam and Eve’s wrongdoing Original Sin. 

In our Catholic teaching, we have also said that we all inherit Original Sin and that baptism cleanses us from this. Well, we have to understand this carefully.

We do not inherit Original Sin in the way that we inherit blond hair or brown eyes. Innocent little babies whom we bring here for baptism cannot be personally made sinful by something they didn’t do.

Instead we can say that Original Sin is the human condition into which we are all born. The truth is that our world is fractured and imperfect and that fracturing and imperfection came about through Adam and Eve.

Just think about our unconscious, knee-jerk reaction when someone offends us. We usually react by wanting to do something to get back at them.

That is the human condition, the imperfect, broken world we live in and into which we are all born. It is helpful to know this — and I might add — is Catholic teaching on Original Sin.

Symbols of Water, Garment, Candle and Community 

That brings us to an important question: “What does baptism offer us in relation to this sinful or broken human condition” we find ourselves in?

I would say that baptism is the resource we have, the grace given to us, to live in the world and not be of the world.

The sacrament does this by giving us a community of faith that’ll (1) model and (2) sustain us as we grow in love of God.

So picture it: you’ve brought your first child or grandchild to the font, gathered with your family and friends. Water is poured, while the words, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” are spoken, the child is clothed in a white garment and given a lit candle.

And a new life begins for an infant that is secured within a loving family and a community of faith. 

Living Out Our Baptism

Amidst these symbols and safeguarded within a faith family that will model and support us, our personal struggle within the broken world of Original Sin begins.

I would like to share some concrete examples of this struggle we all face today.

(1) We grow amidst the community as we come to know that ll comes from God – the One who transcends the heavens and the earth.      

And so, we now live with a clear reverence for all that lives – especially for human lifefrom conception through natural death and a respect for the earth and are clear that we have to use our resources thoughtfully.

The opportunity to live in this way comes from our baptism in the name of the Father and so I ask, “Have we grown in that dimension?” It’s an important question, but I won’t ask for a show of hands! 

(2) We grow amidst the community to know who God is and who we are called to be like.

We have the Word of God made flesh in Jesus Christ. And so, through Jesus, we now see God as loving, forgiving, and universal in his plan of salvation.

Through Jesus, we see ourselves as called to become merciful, peacemaking, and compassionate – the attributes that Jesus highlights in the Beatitudes. The opportunity to live this way comes from our baptism in the name of the Son and so I ask, “Have we grown in that dimension?”

(3) And finally, we grow amidst the community to live with God close to us. 

Jesus, who is Emmanuel – a name that means God-with-us – has promised to be with us always through the Spirit. And so, we can now live an inner, interior life, where we know for sure that God is present at our deepest core, our soul.

Even in our darkest moments and loneliest times, we are assured of God’s presence. The opportunity to live this way comes from our baptism in the name of the Holy Spirit and so I ask, “Have we grown in that dimension?”

  

Conclusion

So, we find ourselves in a human condition that is imperfect and sinful, but with the tremendous gifts that Baptism offers us, the life of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and a community that makes living that way possible.

On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord we give thanks and celebrate that the baptism of a new quality of life is a reality we can experience. 

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HOMILY for January 5, 2020: Feast of the Epiphany, Cycle A

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Feast of the Epiphany, Cycle A

Mercy Ridge Hermitage

January 5, 2020

Gifts and Givers; Gifts and Receivers

(Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Magi’s Gifts 

Today’s gospel story is very familiar to us – we hear it every year at Christmastime.

We hear about these somewhat mysterious people called magi who come from some country east of Israel. They apparently are priests or recognized spiritual leaders in some other religion.

And they bring gifts to the newborn Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts are symbolic in two ways.

First, gold has long been considered as the most precious of all metals and so, in Jesus’ day, it was seen as an appropriate gift for a king. These magi are then recognizing Jesus as in some way a king – the King of the Jews, but more than that, the king of everyone on this earth. 

This must be so because the magi themselves are not Jews. So, the gold symbolizes Jesus’ unique spiritual authority.

Then, the myrrh was a fragrant resin that came from a tree. It was used in making lotions or creams for the body and also in preparing the body of a deceased person for burial.

So, myrrh symbolizes the humanity of Jesus. He is human, like you and me.

And then, frankincense was a substance made from wood chips and fragrant oils. In Jesus’ day, it was used in the temple services and at times, we still use incense here at Mass to worship God.

This gift symbolizes that Jesus is divine. In fact, it expresses that in some amazing way he is God, here on earth, among us.

So, the gifts of the magi are symbolic because of what they represent about the newborn Jesus. But they are also symbolic because they speak of what the magi are giving to God.

The giving of their best material gifts to God symbolizes the giving of their best personal gift to God – the gift of themselves. We also see this giving of themselves in the time and energy they expend in finding the newborn Jesus.

Our Gifts

These gifts of the magi recall for me our gifts here at Mass.

As we begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist, bread and wine are brought to the altar. These gifts are also symbolic in two ways.

First, they symbolize Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on the cross. Jesus gave us these gifts at the Last Supper and told us to use them as a way to remember what he did for us.

In fact, these gifts of bread and wine are even more than symbolic of Jesus. We believe that they actually become the body and blood of Christ himself.

And then, these gifts also symbolize the gift of ourselves to God. They symbolize that we, much like the magi, choose to God the very best that we have. 

At this point in the Mass, we are to offer ourselves and our lives to God – how we live, how we relate to others, how we go about our jobs or our studies or household responsibilities, our goals and our sufferings and on it goes.

This is the underlying meaning of the words that the priest speaks soon after the bread and wine are presented at the altar. The priest says: “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.”

On one level, we are speaking of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. But on another level, the words of the priest are a reminder that each of us makes our own gift or offering or sacrifice here. 

That’s why the priest says: “Pray, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable…” The bread and wine also symbolize this giving of ourselves to God. 

  

Conclusion

So, the gifts of the magi say something about who Jesus is and about who the magi are and what they are really giving.

In a similar way, our gifts of bread and wine here at Mass say something about Christ and Christ’s presence and also about who we are and what we are really giving to God. Let’s keep that in mind especially today as the bread and wine are brought to the altar.

HOMILY for December 29, 2019: Feast of the Holy Family, Cycle A

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Feast of the Holy Family

Church of the Nativity

December 29, 2019

Family Inspirations

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

Inspiration from My Family

As I reflected on the readings for this Feast of the Holy Family, I found myself looking for the inspiration that my family offered me as a child and out of which I live today.

What comes to mind? Well, for starters, our Sunday dinners together. Every Sunday spaghetti and meat balls, followed by veal cutlets, salad and ricotta cheesecake. 

I also remember the one line I had in my 3^rd grade play — “Come warm yourself by the fire” — and catching my mother’s eye in the audience, as I spoke those words, and how proud she was of me. 

Today, that eye-to-eye connection and joy return when I congratulate a child or teen on playing a great game, performing in a recital, or winning an award.

And then there’s the night as a teenager, when my dad was laid off from work and I saw him cry for the first time, as he told my mother the sad news. Today, the power of that vulnerability comes back to me when one of the guys in my men’s group shares a painful experience.

These are all experiences from my family that are an inspiration for much of who I am today. 

I’m no sociologist, but those three elements of Sunday dinners, my mother’s pride in me, and my dad’s vulnerability continue in my experiences today.

Inspiration from the Holy Family

Lest I get too caught up in my childhood, let’s look at Jesus, Mary and Joseph and see what made their family tick, see what family values lived on in the man that Jesus became. 

There was Mary’s humility. She wasn’t a pushy mom, but she did speak up and act authoritatively when she needed to, as at the wedding feast of Cana, when they ran out of wine.

And there was Joseph’s care for her, not a patriarchal male oppressor, out to stake a claim or win a war against evil, but a compassionate protector, a constantly committed presence when Mary could have been stoned for having a child out of wedlock or Jesus being lost to them forever. 

Of course we can’t forget Jesus as an outspoken teen who at the age of 13 is asserting who he is and what he must do, things that weren’t exactly his parents’ plan for him.

While theirexperience of family was different, as was mine, I’d ask you, “What values do you espouse today that were the gifts of your family?”

Inspiration from the Sacred Scripture

Adding to mine and the Holy Family’s, what are some other values that the readings would suggest as experiences in your family?

From the first reading from Sirach:

Ø A father being honored by his daughter 

Ø A mother's authority over her son

Ø Children revering their parents

Ø A sibling’s kindness 

From the second reading from Colossians:

Ø Where St. Paul asks us to put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience

Ø To have had a family where bearing with one another and forgiving one another was a regular experience

Ø Where holidays were greeted with a sense of thankfulness

Ø Where gratitude and giving thanks to God were the norm, not the exception

Application

Now — if I may — I’d like to challenge you to name values in you todaythat you received from your family. 

Your family is where the seeds were planted; your growing older is where they flouris,hed and made you who you are today.

Let me quickly add that in some cases our family experience may not have been the best, but as a wise man once said, “We learn from what was lacking as well as from what was present in our lives.”

Let’s take 2 minutes of silent reflection now to name them, to claim them as our own.

(Al Walsh strums Silent Night.)

Conclusion

As a way of celebrating this Feast of the Holy Family by claiming and naming who you are because of your family, I would ask you, “Who needs to know? Who needs to be thanked?” How can we do a better job of living out of what we received?

Your next step in doing that this very day would be the greatest testimony to what your family has given you. 

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