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CYCLE C 7TH

Brothers and Sisters, Greetings from Blessed Sacrament Parish.

1. The work of the church can be described in 1 word. Evangelization. That work, under the leadership of Bishop Nickless, Fr. Guenther and the rest of the Catholic Parishes of Sioux City, is what ties the local church together in this work. I have come to encourage each of you to Heartily join in on ALL aspects of that work…but one especially this Lent…Let’s go in search for the IN-ACTIVE CATHOLIC.

There is a sobering statistic facing us in this daunting task of bringing people back to Christ. Easily 50%-60% of Catholics do not give the Savior of the world his due worship on Sundays.

2. Our readings, while not directly relatable to Evangelization of the In-Active, they do give us some valuable insight to the problem.

The Gospel contains some of the hardest teachings of Christ and His Church. Because the morality Jesus demands of his disciples is not something we can KICK UP a few notches beyond what we normally give, and say we are there. The gospel tells us the distance from ‘Love your Neighbor’ to ‘Love your enemies’ is a long and arduous road. It’s only in carrying a ‘CROSS’ of Faith that does the difficulty of the road make sense.

For those who have been Lost, Alienated or Hurt from the Sunday Liturgy, Sacraments and the life of the church; our Understanding of their experience tells us, the distance they must travel, from where they are SPIRITUALLY now to where they ‘COME BACK’ is also a long-LONG road. But we are called by the church, to be a ‘SIMON of Cyrene’ to help them carry their Crosses.

For they are dealing with the other ‘Hard Teachings’ of Christ and His church. And these dealings are compounded additionally with an ATTITUDE of self-described LAZINESS.

3. A 2nd point comes from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. In the last few weeks we have heard Paul trying to be ‘APOLOGETIC’ to the Corinthians who were having trouble putting faith in the teachings that Jesus was Crucified and then was Raised to life.

So he laid it our for them in words that those beliefs could be estified to in 2 ways. We can point to the truth of the paschal mystery both SCRIPTURALLY, and we can point to it as today’s readings remind us through the human Witnesses that were there to those events. And this is handed down in the TRADITION of the Church. St Paul reminded them that if these were not true and Jesus has not been raised…our faith in him is in vain.

And while the In-Active in our church are dealing their own set of DOUBTS, The point I want to make is…the church needs to be able to clearly teach, over and over, to help people through every difficult problem. Not just about the Resurrected Christ, but the many other hard Truths that the In-Active deal with. Teachings on marriage, Eucharist, Reconciliation and Sunday Obligation.
If I told you HOW I was going to give you a million dollars, and you really believed me, WILD HORSES would not keep you from coming to get it. Well, we are promised far, far greater things, but they don’t understand and they don’t believe, so they don’t come.

4. Re-membering Church, the process by which we here in Sioux City are trying bring Catholics Back to an active faith life, has looked at some important stats. Here’s what we know after 15 years:

a) It’s a Big Problem. We have talked to 2500 Sioux City people.

b) It’s a Big Step. We have brought back at least for a while 120 people.
c) We need Helping hands. You see, we had at least another 250 on the Line ready to pull them in and THEY let go of the hook.

5. So this year we are asking YOU more IMPERATIVELY for help.

A. Don’t be Afraid. Evangelization is a part of our Baptismal call. Ministry to the In-Active is hard work, and unnerving at times, But it is extremely rewarding and it is our duty.

B. The yellow Remembering slips in your pews, give you a Lenten opportunity of a superior nature. To help ‘BRING ONE (Lost Sheep) BACK to church’

C. SIGN UP to help this program grow. Many hands make light work. SIGN UP and ‘Bring one with you.’ With your help they won’t get away. Or AT LEAST SIGN UP to give us a name of ONE so REMEMBERING can call & invite them.

D. Pertinent program information is on the back. Take one and Give it to someone you love. Your Spouse, Child, Friend. What is the distance of you having the slip in your hands and bearing the cross bravely.

Let’s DO IT…. with the Reckless Abandon of the shepherd described in the parable of the ‘Lost Sheep’, Let’s TURN our House Upside down as the woman did in the parable of the ‘Lost Coin’. And with the same JOY and LAVISH LOVE the Prodigal Father had for his son, let us desire to WELCOME back our ‘Prodigal Brother or Sister’.

‘BRING ONE (lost sheep) WITH YOU’

Help to…’Rekindle the Flame’ 2 Tim 1-6

Reconcilers (Print)
Your Name:_______________________

Phone:____________________________

/ / Also, I am interested also in being apart of the
RE-MEMBERING community evangelization team.

Returnee (I will invite to come)
(RE-MEMBERING TEAM WILL ALSO CALL)
Their Name:______________________

Address: _________________________

Phone: ___________________________

PRAY – PRAY – PRAY – INVITE

Return this slip to your parish office or call
with information.

2 Samuel 7:1-5, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1: 26-38

Prologue: In 1989 Beth and I had 4 Children. Youngest at 6 Years old. It was time for her to go back to Teaching. 6 months into the school year she became pregnant with our 5th Child. To break the news to the other 4, we called a meeting at the family table. We told them we were expecting a baby. Great joy abounded, excitement was rampant. Things went normally. Then when Dan was about 8 moths old, again we found out that Beth was pregnant again. This one was tougher to endure. Yet we called the family to the table and told them we were expecting again. At this news everyone just broke down and bald. How are we going to do it.

Every birth or marriage announcement brings something to the table and it demands people to prepare. I now that we would do it all over again and the only lament would be the tear that we spent.

1. Gabriel’s announcement and Mary’s acceptance in the Gospel to be the Mother of the Messiah was a PIVOTOL moment in salvation History. It was the moment when all that the prophets had spoken about, began to be FULLFILLED. It’s where, as Paul declares in our Epistle, that the MYSTERIES kept SECRET since before the foundation of the world, are NOW to be made KNOWN.

2. I can’t speak much about ‘before the foundations’, but if we start In the Book of Genesis 3:15, just after Adam and Eve had sinned, God pronounced the curse on the snake and punishments on Adam and Eve for their Sin. Yet before they were ushered OUT of the Garden, we heard what we call the ‘Protoevangelium’ or 1st Gospel. In a PROMISE of SALVATION, God told the snake and man, “He would put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. They will strike at your head while you strike at their heals.” Those mysterious words, easy to understand in hind site, were the basis of mankind’s HOPE, that God had not abandoned us to the ‘POWER OF DEATH’.

3. God, at SELECTED times and in a GUARDED way, worked to restore mankind to Himself. In the series of events known as the Covenants, God first spoke with ABRAHAM, where He established the Israelites as His chosen People. With Promises that they would be: 1) A GREAT NATION, 2) a GREAT NAME, and 3) a BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS. Through them, God would eventually reveal His plan of Salvation, to all Nations. In a Covenant with MOSES, God established them in LAND and LAW. By this they became a ‘Great Nation’. Today we are reminded that DAVID in a Covenant, became the King with a promise to make of him an ‘Everlasting House’. This move let them become a ‘Great Name’.

4. To the 1st reading now. A King of Israel was to never have absolute power. Israel’s Kings were servants of God and it was the prophet who communicated God’s instructions to the King. Today, the Prophet Nathan gets the word from God, to go tell David, that He wants to build a ‘HOUSE”, not like the other pagans gods confined to building, but a HOUSE or DYNANSTY that will be everywhere and never end. David also heard, the Heir to the throne would be his son and their son’s after that. And that God would be ‘like a father to them’. He would punish them for misdeeds, but He would never withhold His love from them.

While the lineage was to be on going, for all practical purposes it died out under King Zedekiah; as Jerusalem was Captured, the temple Destroyed and the nation was forced into slavery in Babylon. Through the Promises of other Prophets, the hope of Israel’s Messiah-King to bring Salvation would drag on.

5. So 500 years later when the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary, who along with Joseph her spouse, was of the House of David, Mary and the whole Israelite Nation, would especially recall Nathan’s prophecy. The Messiah, the one who would restore Israel, would be a descendant of the House of David.

In the Gospel, what was announced by the Angel Gabriel not only full filled Nathan’s Prophecy, but also many others. Mary is also seen in the Gospel as the ‘Woman’ whose ‘Offspring’ will crush the serpent. Mary is also seen as the ‘Virgin’ who would bear a son. Mary is the ‘Daughter of Zion’ who would rejoice in her King. For all things to be accepted, Jesus and Mary would have to be seen as the full fillment of all PROPHECIES made, concerning the Messiah.

6. In the 2nd reading we are no longer waiting for the promises to be fulfilled. Yet , the plan of salvation had not always been fully understood, especially by the Gentiles. For God in His wisdom controlled it’s dissemination. So when Jesus came, the GOOD NEWS of the Promise that ‘the woman and her offspring would crush the serpents head’, was seen to have been full filled, Paul, armed with the knowledge of both the Incarnation and Resurrection, was compelled to spread this WONDERFUL NEWS to the Gentiles…to “Bring all nation to the obedience of Faith”.

7. As we contemplate a world that is mired in sin, we feel liberated, as we rejoice in God’s Gift to the world, through Mary…their Son Jesus. So today on this 4th Sunday of Advent, we can let the Revelry begin ever anew, as we hear the Announcement of Gabriel and Mary’s PIVOTOL words, “Let It be done unto me”. Today, in the Annunciation, as God’s plan of Salvation begins to come true, let HOPE EXPLODE and UNBRIDLED joy break everywhere. HOPE based on the moment God’s Son broke through eternity into time. UNBRIDLE JOY as the Son left heaven’s throne to assume mortal flesh. Our Prayers, our Liturgy, our Singing and even our hearts, should demonstrate our belief in the miracle of the INCARNATION as being the great Mystery hidden before the foundations of the world, now revealed.

With such great news, that a Birth of a Child is coming, we must all prepare for it’s arrival. (For the 5th child Beth and I built a Bedroom and on the 6th we added onto the Kitchen.) We must prepare spiritually as well. In this PIVITOL moment of Advent, spend more time in prayer, give more to charity and for yourself, Go to confession. Let Jesus CRUSH the serpent heads of sin in your life, let Jesus CRUSH the burden of the hardships in life because only JESUS can save us from the ‘Power of Death’. Jesus is the ‘Blessing to all Nations”.

The Sioux City area has a tremendous history of immigrant people.

1. “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.” Exodus 22:21

2. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt he made a covenant or pact with them on Mount Sinai. In this pact he promised to bring them into the promised land and to be ever with them, provided they, on their part, kept certain rules of conduct which are written down in the “Book of the Covenant” in Exodus 19: 1-24 : 18. The verses read to us today cover the Israelites’ duties toward strangers (non-Israelites), widows and orphans and the poor in general. They are a practical application of the law of charity in their dealings with their neighbors.

3. The Great Commandment is …‘You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart…and the second is like it…you shall love your neighbor as your self.”

4. In this section of his gospel (21: 23-22: 46), Matthew, after describing Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his crucifixion, gives us a series of the attempts made by his enemies, the Pharisees and Sadducees, to catch Jesus in some legalistic or political error. Today’s question concerned the greatest commandment in the law of Moses. They had many disputes among themselves as regard this question. Christ’s clear-cut answer was that the two commandments of love of God and neighbor were the essence of the Old Testament and the basis for the New Testament. This was not only an answer for the Pharisees but an answer and a rule of life for all of us for all time.

5. There is a BIG LIST of persons/nationalities that deserve our attention as Catholics and inheritors of God’s Covenantal Law.
Any immigrant, Native Americans,

Ex 22:20-26, 1Thes 1:5-10, Mt. 22:34-40

1. I hope you’re not, tuning out as irrelevant, the Political-Religious Turmoil that is taking place (Pause), …in our Sunday READINGS over the last 4 weeks, punctuated in chapters 20-22 of Matthew’s Gospel. We are apprised of the SWIRLING debate and growing controversy surrounding Jesus. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Elders, Scribes, and even the Roman Herodians; all have been questioning Jesus’ claim to having a Divine Mission and teaching Authority. In the end, the hard hitting CONFRONTATIONS, ACCUSATIONS, JUDGEMENTS and teachings; is what ultimately leads to Jesus’ Crucifixion.

There is another notable POINT of Scripture coming through. At every event, in the face of heavy debate and opposition to the Revelation of His plan, God remains true, faithful and steadfast. For us, God has always provided someone TO IMITATE those virtues, TO LEAD others though the troubled times. The Patriarchs, the Prophets, Jesus and Paul: people like them, to CALL others to conversion. People to SPEAK the truth despite opposition. People who won’t BACK DOWN to heavy handed tactics. We live in ‘ONE DAY’, so the TURMOIL, the ongoing DEBATE and the STRONG WITNESS to truth is a part of even our time under the sun.

The ‘Issues of Contention’ are many and none FADE away. Today, we wrestle with the GREAT Gospel and Societal question of IDENTIFYING our NEIGHBOR. Debating over what should be our response toward their needs.

2. The Book of Exodus contains the BINDING LAW on the Israelites. And the Law speaks of the LOVING relationship DEMANDED by God, that His people should have towards the stranger and the disadvantaged The Mosaic Laws commanded individuals and communities to be WARM and HELPFUL to those who are less fortunate. Reminding them, they too, were once ‘Less Fortunate’ and ‘Aliens’ while living in Egypt.

The STRANGERS were the aliens (or immigrants), who were forced to leave their homes because of circumstances such as wars, plagues or famines. In our reading today, the Israelite men were to lead in the loving obligation to take care of the DISADVANTAGED; the WIDOWS and ORPHANS. The more fortunate Israelites were reminded to IMITATE Gods’ Care. If the widows and orphans were neglected or abused and their cries reached out to Heaven, God would hear them and His anger would punish the aggressors. Their families would suffer the same consequences, THEIR WIVES becoming widows, THEIR CHILDREN becoming Orphans.

3. In his First letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminded them how his living example among them, was for their sake so that they may grow in Christ. Paul’s example was the Lord’s example. And he encouraged them to …”Be IMITATORS of me as I am of Christ.”

Paul was glowing in how his example to the Thessaloniki’s, became the example they showed to the Macedonians and Achaians . The love of Christ shined through them, so Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to continue to be IMITATORS. He praises them for their DYNAMIC FAITH, that is belief expressed in their daily spiritual practices. Then he praises them in how this belief played out in their LOVING ACTIONS, often in actions that where difficult. And lastly he praises them for STEADY HOPE; the patient expectation of the 2nd coming of the Lord despite the tribulations of that age.

4. In our Gospel, the swirl of confrontation, is not just with Jesus. Obvious is the confrontation between the Pharisee and Sadducees as well. The Pharisees were happy Jesus had shut them down in last weeks Gospel. So today the Pharisees were ready to present themselves well. They sent a LEARNED man of the Law to ask Jesus, “Teacher, what commandment in the law is the GREATEST?” Debate was common among the Learned, over which Mosaic laws were the MOST BINDING upon the people. Debate like: whether or not, Offerings and Animal Sacrifice to God were more binding than Honoring Parents? Or how do we show Love to God, family and Neighbor?

Jesus today combined his answer using 2 scripture sources. The 1st “great commandment of charity”, about ‘Loving God’ from Deuteronomy and the 2nd about ‘Loving Neighbor’ from Leviticus. By putting His answer in paradoxical terms, He sets both up for Continual debate. Yet he also recognized both as GREAT…making action BINDING on both.

5. The debates of scripture are in many cases, the same issues we have today. The GREAT scripture issue of Care for our Neighbors, Strangers and Disadvantaged is always with us. And too, we must realize there are other GREAT Issues today where TRUTH and ACTION, is BINDING on us all. Debate is good, it will allow us to hear the TRUTH, forming for the Better our conscience; that DEMANDS that we live according to it. Therefore we must include in our Debate of today, the GREAT issues of Right to Life, Family Life, Euthanasia, Marriage and Religious Freedom. Don’t tell me there is no need for debate.

Importantly, we must IMITATE Jesus in debate and we must IMITATE Him in Gospel Action as well. When we (Church and Laity) IMITATE Jesus, the truth is heard, CARE is given to the benefit of others. It is the BINDING/LOVING ACTION on an issue that we take, that God hears and sees and will reward. Now you have just heard the word of God and shortly will receive Jesus in the Eucharist. You are keeping the first Binding commandment of loving God. Now after Mass, GO…GO and do the BINDING thing for your neighbor!

1. What’s Your OPINION? How do you like my Mutton Chops?

2. What is your OPINION of the Punishment that Mankind received because of Adam and Eve’s personal, unrepentant sin that led God to levee His supposedly JUST condemnation on us all. Was this FAIR?

FAIR or NOT, it’s a Reality. Yet reality teaches we LIVE in a time of HOPE, because Scripture teaches us God has PROFFERED an option, where we are assured of God’s MERCY, FORGIVENESS and RESTORATION. That option is to live in HUMILITY and REPENTANCE. Living this way, God will bring us out of a life of Exile and move us on to the way of Salvation.

3. Every Generation wants to give their OPINION about God actions. In our first reading we hear from Ezekiel, the Great Prophet/Leader to the Israelites while in Exile in Babylon. The story line today is, the Israelites had been complaining to Ezekiel, that God had HARSHLY judged the nation because of their sins, when He sent them into Exile. They were especially upset, at the fact that God was also PUNISHING them as a Nation and as individuals, for the sins of the people of the past. They felt God should take into account, that some had lived fairly Virtuous lives and were an example to the nation. And their OPINION was this PUNISHMENT by the LORD was UNFAIR!

Ezekiel then preaches that their Exile was only the FIRST step in the punishment. He was there also to prepare them for the immanent and complete destruction of Jerusalem that was to soon come, including their beloved temple. Yet, even with this bad news, he tells the people that all of this should be seen as necessary REDEMPTIVE JUDGEMENT by God.

Ezekiel was tackling the Question of the people: “If a sinner must live with the consequences of his Sins, what is the purpose of repentance?” The answer we hear is one of the most beautiful summaries of ‘Divine Mercy’ in Scripture. “…If you turn from the wickedness you have committed, and do what is right and just, you shall preserve you life.” God’s forgiveness and restoration to fellowship will be given to the HUMBLED and REPENTANT. In the reality of condemnation and punishment, comes a message of HOPE.

4. The 2nd reading from Paul to the Philippians deals with the perfect stance of HUMILITY that is displayed in the Incarnation of Jesus our Lord. “Do nothing out of Selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourself.” Paul is describing for us the HUMBLED life of Jesus that we are called to imitate.

What’s your OPINION? We have Jesus the New Adam and the Adam of the Old Testament. Jesus the New Adam refused to grasp Divinity and Equality with God. He Humbled Himself. “Jesus, though he was in the form of God, he emptied Himself, taking the form of a Slave…even to the point of accepting Death…the ultimate EXILE.” Adam’s sin of Disobedience caused all suffering. He tried to become like God. Which son did the Fathers will?

5. In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to give our OPINION, as He did with the Priests and Elders, in the parable of ‘Which of the two did his Father’s will?”

Jesus was calling out the CHIEF PRIESTS, the SPIRITUAL Leaders of the Israelites, and ELDERS, their CIVIL Leaders on the Sanhedrin, as following in the foot steps of the 2nd Son. While they too said ‘YES’ to God, their actions served only themselves and therefore failed as Shepherds, to lead Israel to righteousness . They are convicted, BECAUSE they didn’t recognize John the Baptist as a righteous prophet of God, just as they were failing to recognize Him as the Messiah.

Jesus then points out, that the Prostitutes and Tax Collectors, Jewish Society outcasts considered to be beyond redemption, are like the FIRST Son. They at first said ‘NO’ to repentance, BUT later in Humility, changed their minds upon hearing John and Jesus. This further implicates the Priests and Elders as failed Shepherds; they didn’t respond to God’s Call to Humility and Repentance even when they saw the Prostitutes or Tax Collectors REPENT.

The truth of the story tells us that the will of the Father demands that ALL sons and daughters perform any task the Father requests in Humility and in Obedience. And when asked to give our opinion, and if it is we who identify with the 2nd Son; to give Jesus the only reasonable and logical answer of ‘First Son’, means that just like the Chief Priests and Elders, were are trapped into personally condemning our selves.

6. What’s your OPINION of yourself then? Is your YES to lead, backed up in your personal and church Family, Neighborhood or work circles, by word and action? Do you attend Mass Faithfully? Do you go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation when necessary. Do the teachings of the Church on Abortion, Gay Marriage, Living Together before Marriage and the use of Contraceptives , receive fair hearing from your ACTIONS and then your LIPS? Does your ‘YES’ get backed up by activity from your Hands, Feet, Back or Pocket Book toward Societies Outcasts and down trodden ?

Your OPINION of my Mutton Chops, while duly noted, is just Human Opinion about my chops. So to you I say..”Thanks for Mutton”. What we need to hear and value, is God’s Divine Opinion of how our soul are looking. We need to VALUE the Opinion that can convict to us in Church teachings, in Scripture, in Prayer or from a trusted Spiritual Confessor.

As Baptized people we all have been asked to go out to the VINEYARD to work? Have we been paying lip service to God’s will with a ‘YES’ and then failing to follow through. Or did we answer ‘NO’ and later repent. Either way we NEED TO KNOW, so we can continue to live Humbly or act to Repent. God’s ways and punishments are FAIR. That’s My OPINION!

1. Last week we began the readings which bear witness to God’s PROVIDENTIAL CARE. In the Gospel of Feeding 5000, we see that CARE for our physical needs as He prefigures his CARE for our Spiritual in the Eucharist. Today we learn by 3 stories, God is always present to us, with the specific purpose of Strengthening our Faith in Him, as we go through life’s STORMS AND STRUGGLES.

2. We all have personal storms and trials: Over the years, Beth and I have felt the need for and got, God’s Providential care in events like:
1) the Sudden or early Deaths of family members.
2) When we Faced the Perry Creek Flash Flood.
Or as we, 3) struggled with the Health Issues of our Grand Daughter Josie.

Each generation goes through unsettling social problems and events. From the 50’s I remember the scare of the Polio out break and the cry of Nikita Khrushchev of ‘We will bury You’. The 60’s had the Cuban Missal Crisis, Assassinations, Civil unrest and the Pill. The 70’s brought widespread Abortion, Vietnam War, and Drug Culture. In the 80’s we had the AIDS Epidemic, the 90’s Gulf War and 2000’s 9/11 event and more Terrorist acts. Today, we’re fighting the redefinition of Marriage, Religious Persecution and a Down Turn of people practicing their faith. We have much to be anxious about. Maybe we’re still in the 1st Watch of the night. The STORMS, STRUGGLES and SINS just keep coming. .

3. Elijah was a great prophet, and defender of the true faith in Israel. On a mission for the LORD, he defeated in a contest the priests of the pagan god Baal. Because of that, the wicked Queen Jezebel, murdered many brother prophets and was after him. As this was going on, his fellow Israelites were backsliding in the practices of their Covenantal Faith. All this STRESS, left Elijah in a state of depression and Physical exhaustion. Elijah STOPPED EATING and PRAYED for DEATH. God took pity on His servant and sent an angel to feed him to health, When he was able to, he journeyed to the Mountain of the Covenant and there he took shelter in a cave and WAITED for God to ‘PASS BY’.

Today, we find Elijah in the cave entrance, where he stood in the midst of a mighty wind, an earthquake and a fire before he heard a TINY whisper. The mighty manifestations of WIND, EARTHQUAKE and FIRE, showed God’s great power, but it was only in that gentle voice that Elijah recognized God’s gentle Spirit and he experienced intimacy with God who called him to trust and faithfulness under trial.

3. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul is Feeling the PAIN of rejection by his fellow Jews for His preaching Christ to them. He was explaining to the Roman Jews and Gentiles, now Christians, how the Israelites were the Chosen people by DIVINE ELECTION. To them, God gave His GLORIUS PRESENCE, the LAW, the COVENANT, the PROPHETS, LITURGICAL WORSHIP and promise of the REDEEMER. Yet MANY were unable to connect to the New Covenant.

He told them that even though, the PROMISE of salvation does ‘Come from the Jews’, it is meant for all though Jesus Christ. He goes on to say that in order to help those Jews who would not profess belief in Jesus as the Messiah, he CARES enough to Personally SUFFER hardship and offer his life as SACRIFICE, if it will bring all Israelites into the New Covenant, the Church with Christ.

4. In the Gospel, Our Lord must have purposely sent his disciples to row across the lake, knowing that they would meet strong, gale-force head-winds and be in danger. It was NOT uncommon for the Sea of Galilee to act up. He would come to their aid at the last moment, in the ‘4th WATCH’ of early light, when their STRESS level would be high, after being beaten by the waves and fighting the wind, all night.

Jesus work two miracles—walking on the water and calming the storm, with the specific purpose of STRENGTHENING their faith in Him. It worked. Jesus saved them from physical harm, but they also made spiritual strides, declaring Jesus the Messiah, the Chosen of God.

Jesus wanted to especially strengthen Peter. Already the recognized leader of the Apostles and soon to be leader of the Church. Always the most daring among them, Peter showed himself ready to risk drowning in order to prove his trust and confidence in Christ. While he trusted in Christ, all went well, but when his faith weakened he would have been lost were it not for the outstretched helping hand of his master. This is the most important lesson for Peter, his companions and now us…GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US.

In each of our stories today, we are reminded that God is working somehow, someway to show us His FAITHFULLNESS and bring us His LOVE and PROTECTION. By making His Leaders strong in Faith, as He did with Elijah, Paul and Peter, He is making His People, His Church strong. And a strong Church, through the Lord’s Presence, the Covenant, it’s Sacraments and Liturgy, the Word and Law, reaches out to help all disciples to become strong. Pulling those swirling in Sin or the consequences of Sin to Safety.

The next time you encounter a tough situation pray Peter’s Prayer aloud: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” But like Elijah listen for the answer in a Whisper: (Whisper) COME!

Ex. 34: 4-6, 8-9; 2-Cor. 13: 11-13; John 3: 16-18;

1. Have you ever asked and answered yourself the Question: Who Am I? If I was to describe ‘Who I am’, it would range from, I am Fun to be around, a Good Singer, to being a hard worker. In word and action we reveal ourselves for others see. We celebrated ‘Fathers Day’ last week in Lincoln, and my Daughter-in-Law (Caitlyn) gave me a Picture Frame with a saying on it from 1 Corinthians (15:58), which said: “…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” And at the bottom of the Frame was the word…DAD. We have not known her that long, but I must have revealed a bit more of myself that impressed her…my faith and love of God as a Dad and a desire to openly live and proclaim it.

2. Our Liturgy today begs us to ask, “Who is God? We believe that God had to REVEAL Himself in word and action. And getting straight to the point, we believe that there are 3 persons in 1 God…a TRINITY. This mystery about God, is a most fundamental and essential truth in the Church’s ‘HIERARCY OF TRUTH’. Because of our sinful nature and weakness of our intellects, it took a while for God to Reveal this Mystery to us. Even now, some people believe there is NO GOD. Some believe there are MANY gods. Some perceive God as an ANGRY, UNCARING, or DISTANT God. We believe the TRINITY is a self revelation that God is a COMMUNION of LOVE of 3 PERSONS, trying to establish a beneficial relationship with man.

3. We believe the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, was only fully revealed when Jesus came on earth. That in the Old Testament, this Mystery was only foreshadowed in events that took place. Our Best Explanation is that God felt the Israelites, were not ready to accept this truth. Surrounded as they were by nations that practiced polytheism, there would be danger that the Jews would see three Gods in the Trinity, and then they too would profess a form of Polytheism.

Since there is no Trinitarian text in the Old Testament which could be read on this feast of the Blessed Trinity, this text chosen from Exodus, where Moses goes up the mountain a 3rd time, is one of those orchestrated events that underlies its eventual, full revelation. (Many other OT accounts begin to reveal God as Trinity, such as the Story of Creation for Father-Son and Spirit. In the Story of Abraham and Isaac for the Father and Son. Others undercover, reveal the Trinity in the way the Word, Wisdom and Spirit in the Old Testament is personified).

The back ground for this reading reminds us that Yahweh had given the Law (10 Commandments) to Israel through Moses. Yet almost immediately, they sinned by worshiping the Golden Calf. So today God CRIES OUT His (Thrice) Holy Name to Moses; “The Lord, the Lord, God” as another foreshadowing of the 3 persons in one God. Then He describes His Divine Attributes for the benefit of the Israelite People. So when they fail to live the law, He wants to be known as a God who is “Merciful, Gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

4. We are able to celebrate the feast of the three divine Persons today, because it was a Mystery REVEALED by Jesus, but also TAUGHT by the Apostles from day one. St. Paul shows us this by his invoking on the Corinthians the blessings of TRINITARIAN LIFE. “The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

St. Paul teaches us to imagine God (Father-Son- Spirit) as GRACE, LOVE and FELLOWSHIP. We call this Blessing upon ourselves in our Liturgy to help us to live in the Kingdom of God here and now. It’s then our words and actions that reveal God to others. St. Paul says, God will come to us when we try to live the love of the Trinity. So…”Mend your ways…agree with one another,…live in peace”. “Greet one another with a Holy Kiss.”

5. The Gospel Teaches us, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life” Although the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in St. John’s gospel, the text is included in the readings for the feast of the Blessed Trinity because two of the Persons are mentioned. They are clearly distinguished, ONE from the OTHER, yet both are the one God. God the Father sent God the Son into the world, in human nature, NOT to JUDGE us, but in fulfillment of the attempted Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. God’s Sacrifice of Himself to bring eternal life within the reach of all men.

6. From the very first chapter in Genesis we learn that we are created in the image of God as Trinity. The one God with 3 persons in a relationship with us. Father, who is Creator, Son who is our Redeemer and Holy Spirit who Sanctifies us. Not a god who is Angry, or Uncaring or Distant.

As we celebrate the Mystery of the Trinity today, we can do it best studying scripture word by word, event by event, or Person by Person. One of the Best Expressions of the Trinity, that we can actually see, is the call of God to FATHERHOOD. To see a ‘GREAT DAD’, living his faith and taking on the responsibilities of life in the context of the Domestic Family, Church Family or in Brotherly Love we find in society; Fatherhood in the Trinity comes alive. We understand ‘Who God is’ as Trinity, when we see a father here on earth…STANDING FRIM, GIVING himself FULLY and LABORING in the Lord, knowing his words and actions will NOT BE IN VAIN.

1. There is a THEME that runs through the 1st reading, the psalm and our Gospel. They each take the ROLE of a SHEPHERD and the tasks of herding SHEEP and apply them to our earthly or Spiritual lives. The 1st reading and Gospel both employ the task of a shepherd separating his flock: sheep from the rams or sheep from the goats. In EZEKIEL, “As for you my sheep, says the Lord God, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats”. In MATTHEW, Jesus says, “When the Son of Man comes, …he will separate them…as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” It was common practice to keep goats and sheep in the same flock. In bad weather, the shepherd had to separate them at night and take the goats into a warmer enclosure since their coats were insufficient to keep them warm. He also had to separate them, because goats were also stubborn, disobedient and destructive at times. The males would not protect the their ‘mates’ from other male goats. Rams on the other hand would and as a whole sheep stayed together for protection. So goats needed extra attention.

A shepherd performed these ‘Tasks’ as acts of CARE for his flock. Scripture uses it today as a way to give us a CAREFILLED WARNING. Jesus will employ that same shepherding task at the ‘End of the time’, to separate not sheep from goats, but the good people from the bad. This separation to allow ‘Divine Judgment’ to be rendered upon all nations…all people. Where upon the SENTENCE will be carried out. Until then, these scripture verses are ‘Words to the Wise’. For now Jesus will ‘TEND’ all peoples, with the CARE of a good shepherd of Psalm 23.

2. We are celebrating the feast of Christ the King, yet what we hear is how He is a Shepherd. In Jewish theology, the one and only God was viewed as a FATHER-CREATOR. They believed that God had a universal ROLE over all creation and creatures, man included, simply because He is the creator. Yet God also had other titles as well. The Israelites had Him in the ROLE of a ruler, so he was also called a SHEPHERD- KING. In Ezekiel we heard God speak; “I myself will look after and tend my sheep.” In this role, for His flock, He personally is responsible for the CARE and SALVATION of His people. In JUST governance of His Territory, the ‘Kingdom of God’, the Shepherd-King brings about the well-being and happiness of His people.

In Old Testament scripture MANY times, we see how God Himself (as Father-Creator-Shepherd & King) cared for the Israelites, His Flock by powerful manifestations ie: their Exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, the establishment of Israel as a Kingdom and their return from Babylonian Exile.

3. In the New Testament, we also have great manifestations of God, as Creator-Father or Shepherd-King. Only this time the manifestations are seen in the life of His Son, Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of that Ezekiel Verse, “I myself..will tend My sheep”. Great Manifestations in His Virgin Birth, in His miracles and teachings, in His Resurrection and establishment of the Church.

Jesus even identifies Himself as God, Shepherd & King. In these roles, He came to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. We become citizens of that Kingdom of Christ by faith, repentance, and baptism. These Actions signify and produce an interior remake of ourselves, whereby Christ the SHEPHERD-KING , will establish his reign in our hearts. Thus we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

And with the formation of His Church, His presence and His Ministry to that Kingdom continues today. It is through the Church, its’ Sacraments and our actions, that Jesus can reign in our hearts.

4. Today we also see another ROLE revealed. Jesus Shepherd-King is also DIVING JUDGE. As citizens we are called to account for this privileged status. It ‘Means Something’ to live in the Kingdom of God and with it comes responsibility. Therefore Christ the DIVINE JUDGE will rend judgment at the end of time on how well be live that citizenship.

To live righteously in the Kingdom, Jesus lists 6 human CONDITIONS; these are the concerns of the Shepherd-King for His flock. He also lists 6 acts of COMPASSION. We are called to share in the Royal work of His Kingdom through acts of justice, self-sacrifice, peace and freedom, on behalf of those who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick and broken.

5. The theme today is all about DIVINE CARE, that comes to us in those roles of that ‘Total Package’ we call God. Some of it STERN, some of it TENDER. Psalm 23 tells us, that Divine Care starts right here on our earthly pilgrimage and continues with us to our final destination… God’s house forever.

Therefore we need to pay attention to that CAREFILLED WARNING in the Gospel. Yes, we are a Royal People, a people set apart. And we share in our Kings Crown and Throne, but while here on earth, that crown is a wreath of thorns. And His throne is the wood of the cross. As our King Lives, so we must live. We too, must care for and protect others as He does.

If we are wise like Sheep, we will banned together. Quietly, submissively and persistently caring for others. The reward will be peace and contentment forever in the HOUSE of God. If we are like goats, we will scatter and disregard others in the herd. We will be stubborn and destructive to the end for our own gain. For those actions, Jesus will separate us from His care, and that has its reward too… we will live forever in the HOUSE of Hell.

CYCLE C 32ND ORDINARY 2013

2 Maccabees 7:1-2 9-14, 2Thesalonians 2:16- 3:5, Luke 20, 27-38

1. In a quote from the 1963 Vatican II Document Gaudium et Spes No. 43 (whose 50th year we are celebrating), it spoke to the problem of Catholics living the faith. It said, the “split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” Now in 2013, when those same words are said about today, the words ‘serious error’ could said as ‘GRAVE ERROR’ . This SPLIT today manifests itself to a point where Catholics openly step all over the teachings and still claim to be Catholic. That document again and our readings present to us an abiding TRUTH; that having faith in God and Jesus, obliges us more than ever to measure up to the duties that are proper to our Catholic faith. Today if we say ‘we believe’ we must answer some tough questions: From… *Maccabees: Are you ready to or will you DIE for your Faith? *Paul’s Thessalonian Letter: Since the way of discipleship is HARD, will you seek the grace to PERSERVERE in your (Catholic) faith, and BEG God to grace others as well? *And from Luke, will you make the effort to KNOW and TRUST the truth of EVERY teaching and mystery of our Faith?

2. The 1st Book of Maccabees in essentially a historical reading of a war and persecutions on the 2nd century BC Jewish people, to eradicate their religion. The 2nd book of Maccabees from which our reading comes, gives many INSPIRING sermons and EDIFYING stories designed to keep the Jewish people STRONG in their Jewish faith. A INSPIRING story today centers around the persecutors who hoped to accomplish that goal, by forcing 7 loyal Jewish brothers to EAT PORK, a food forbidden by the law of Moses. Those brothers chose to die rather than violate God’s law. The persecutors turned up the heat, by having their mother present. They thought that her love for them and her anguish at seeing them tortured would move her to beg them to give in and save their lives. Instead, she encouraged them to ‘STAY TRUE’ in bearing their tortures. She was martyred last of all.

3. St. Paul was a man of God and one full of human understanding. He knew and appreciated the difficulties that the Thessalonian converts from paganism to Christianity had to endure. He was ever ready to help them. He tells them that he is begging God, to console and strengthen them so that they may PERSEVERE in living their faith. He then asks for their prayers. Prayers not for personal needs, but that the Gospel. The prayer request is that the word of the Lord, might make PROGRESS, might REACH more and more people.

4. In our Gospel, the Sadducees were a ‘Party’ of believers, from the time of the Maccabees. They held political and theological views not generally accepted by the Pharisees or ordinary people. Today the article of faith in question was about the resurrection of the dead. They came to our Lord with, what they thought was, a case that would make the doctrine of the resurrection look very RIDICULOUS. It would have appeared so, if we were to understand it in the crude sense which they gave it. Namely, that at the Resurrection, we will RISE from the grave in the very same bodies which we now have, with all their needs and instincts. Jesus corrected that erroneous idea and TAUGHT the truth. The TRUTH is, we are going to rise to a new and eternal life, in a form and an existence that is very different from that of our present life. Thus, the question of ownership of wives or property will not, and cannot, arise in our new life. Jesus ALSO included a BRIEF but BASIC description of what marriage is all about. Jesus alludes to there being no marriage in heaven. Marriage here on earth is for spiritual and physical purposes; Salvation of souls and propagation of more souls. We should all want to know a lot more about what our future state in Heaven OR Hell will be like. Yet if we knew all, where then would our FREEDOM, FAITH and TRUST in God come in?

5. It would be very hard to give a SURE answer to the question ‘will I willingly accept torture and death for the sake of my faith’. The SPLIT comes from the question WE CAN and MUST give an answer to: ‘Do I willingly and truly live my Catholic faith in my daily life’? No martyr ever died for the faith unless he firmly believed and lived his daily life in accordance with its teachings. And for the Church it is a serious (every day) concern and a false picture of what TRUTH is, when the Church Teaches one thing and many, MANY of its members live it or teach it another way. The Teaching Authority and Weighty Insight of Jesus’ Church CANNOT be casually cast aside! Like Paul, the church knows living out many of the Tenants of our faith is hard. That’s why Mother Church encourages us to PRAY, receive the SACRAMENTS and come together on Sundays and other ways to SUPPORT each other. We were obligated in 1963 and now in 2013, to form a right conscience on all moral concerns. Like the increased pervasiveness of Secularism and Materialism in our society, like the right use of our financial resources, like the religious education of children and adults, especially on all the marriage and sexuality issues. Our morality and actions must flow out of Church Teachings. Today, the most important thing you can do is to PRAY for yourself, to PRAY for each other, so that we can receive the GRACE to PERSEVERE. Our life must be seen as inspiring, our story as edifying. It is a GREVIOUS ERROR to SPLIT your faith! That is to profess it one way and then to live it another.