My friends, yes, Lent is upon us once again. For some, just mention of the word brings up negative feelings – for others, Lent may be about “inviting” a “welcome” time of 40 Days into your life to look more introspectively, trying to see, as we reflect each week during Mass, “if we have been the people that Jesus calls us to be.”  So, wherever you may be on the continuum of “yah to nah” on Lent, let’s start there. 

   As always, let’s begin with the chosen readings for today:  You know from previous homilies that for the most part, I always stick to the chosen readings because I want us to be in step with our Universal Church.  And even when it is the case that the readings aren’t that good, as with the 1^st two for today, it is a place to start and we can then go further.

   Take the first reading from Genesis today—did anyone other than me think it strange that we start out with the “earth creature” whom we assume from other translations to be Adam, enjoying the beauties of the garden that God has created, and then the jump of a chapter to introduce the woman just in time to bring “sin” into the world? 

   Granted, “our sinfulness” is what is trying to be lifted up throughout the readings, but I also suspect that the ages-old tendency, “to blame the woman” is afoot here as well, even though in a few lines not included in this reading, we hear that God put the “earth creature” to sleep and divided it into [equal parts], creating male and female entities.  So, this tendency, “to blame the woman” even though, a subtle thing, in a patriarchal culture,  is one to note just the same.

   Then, moving into the 2^nd reading from Paul to the Romans – in my mind, he protests too much.  His intent in preaching to the Romans who knew little or nothing of Jesus, was no doubt to have them get a clear picture of who Jesus was, but I for one, object to the picture he is portraying here.  Why does the act of making a human choice have to be carried on through all of humanity and their history, in order that Jesus can then come and save us from ourselves? This is faulty reasoning if we are to believe in the graciousness and mercy of God. 

   It is probably this reading where the notion of original sin comes from, and the need for God—and not a loving God, at that, to be appeased through the death of Jesus.  This so-called “theology” is so flawed, as it makes God so small-minded, so small-hearted, as Sister Joan Chittister would say of such theology, so vindictive—more like us than God, who in other places—we are told, “is all-loving and all-merciful.”  Theologian, Sister Sandra Schneiders speaks of Jesus’ God, thus, “God was not only compassionate, but compassion itself.”  We can’t believe both narratives—that of a vindictive God and that of an all-loving, all-understanding God—as in the God of the “Prodigal,” a story of over-the-top love which we will read later on in Lent. 

   Then, we have the gospel from Matthew that you will recall is all about Jesus’ “temptations to power,” as he prepares for his public ministry.  Anyone called to leadership will always be tempted by the power that can come with the role.  Jesus is aware of this and thus tries to make himself strong through fasting and prayer, in order to avoid this very strong temptation and keep focused on his mission. 

   Fasting from food, as all “good Catholics” are counseled to do during Lent, has its place in our lives if it prepares us to better focus on moving out of ourselves to see the needs of others, to in fact be better people.  I personally tend, as you know, to shy away from fasting as prescribed by the Church during Lent as I can’t seem to separate it from the notion of “dieting” and this conundrum was validated for me a few years back in a piece that I read in the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) on fasting and the different take that many women have on the topic.  Of course, this article was written by a woman!

   Because many women have grown up with the false impression, created by our male-centered culture, that women are only acceptable if they have a certain body type and shape, fasting takes on a whole different notion for women than it does for men, the writer said.  There is a reason friends, why more women than men, in our culture, suffer from anorexia and bulimia.

   The men in charge, the writer continues, say that you can’t unite the two, that is, using a time of fasting to lose a few extra pounds.  And that is why I have stopped trying.   If I happen to be dieting during Lent, (when am I not trying to lose those extra pounds?!),  I call it “dieting” and forget about fasting, for what that is worth.

   So, let’s take what we have here and go deeper, as we are always called to do.  The Church hierarchy wants us to get the notion, and never forget it, “that we are a sinful people, mea culpa, mea culpa,” thus the 1^st two readings from Genesis and Romans. I spoke of my objections to both readings from the way in Genesis that the message is parsed out, emphasizing the “woman” as the chief sinner, and in the 2^nd reading where Paul lays out the “apparent need” that this “original” sin be passed on through all of our human history, so that every newborn baby coming into our “Catholic” world is considered “sin” instead of “blessing” as the Creator intended.

   Again, this is a time to let God be God, and not create a God that appears like us, mean and despicable at times.  As I said above, later on in Lent, we will read of a “Prodigal God” who will always “run to meet us” when we “want to come home.”

   So, what are we to do with these 40 Days?  If the counsel to “fast and pray and give alms,” as our bishop apparently suggests, not even connected to any of the injustices in our society, doesn’t quite do it for us, how shall we observe this time and make it meaningful?   As we suggested last week in discussing the commandment, “that we not kill,” there are many ways to “kill” – through words and inaction, there are also many ways to “fast.” 

   But 1^st off, I must say,  if fasting from food helps you to grow closer to Jesus and live in our world as he did in his, speaking truth to power, and advocating for “the least among us,” I am not discouraging it, but if it simply leaves you with an “ugh” feeling, then you may want to “fast” in a different way:  you can fast perhaps from nagging a loved one, or from using your sharp tongue, tone, or wit to denigrate another,  or from selfishness with your time, or from judgmentalism, or snobbishness, or the need to have things done your way, and the list can go on.  I am sure we can each find ourselves somewhere in that list. 

   And in the end, if we don’t come out on the other side of Lent knowing that we are mightily loved by our God, flawed as we are, then, I would think we had missed something important.  When you really look at Jesus’ earthly life, you have to conclude that he was an astounding person, and to follow in his ways—actions and words—we certainly could do worse!  He was one who saw the goodness of his Abba in all he met and continually worked for the good of all—he saw all as, “his Body and Blood—the eucharist, in the best sense of that word…and so should we.

   So, my friends, I hope that I have instilled today the notion, that “religious practices,” fasting, prayer and almsgiving, “set on a shelf,” as it were, apart from our lives – our day in and day out encounters with the Christ, in the humanity of all who come into our lives, kind of misses the point. Lent isn’t intended to be a feat to be accomplished, but as a path forward.

   And we do need to be strong to respond as Pastor Chad Ellenburg of Pleasant Valley church did with his community last Sunday here in Winona.  Keeping in mind that his community, unlike in traditional Catholic churches, can fire him if they don’t like the message he is preaching, what he had to say was quite astounding and prophetic. I shared the link to his homily earlier in the week, and if you haven’t yet listened to it, I would encourage you to do so.  We should pray for each other that we could have such strength. One of the lines he gave in addressing why he felt he needed to connect the Scriptures to all that is happening in our world, was this: He said, “I don’t want to be late on this!”

   And let’s pray for our world and each other that we can more often remember that we came into this world as “blessings” and must strive to be a blessing to all we meet.  If we do that on a regular basis, I think we can consider humbly not only “Lenten Days,” but most days of our lives successful!  Amen? Amen!

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And with that spirit in mind, I would invite you, if you wish, to come up to receive ashes, remembering that “We have come from the good earth, and will return there one day.”  This beautiful Lenten ritual should help us remember our place among all created life in our world.

My friends, I had planned on addressing the gospel selection which I just read for you, first thing, because on face value, it seems so harsh, but instead, (we will get to that gospel) because I believe that as Father Richard Rohr is fond of saying, “everything fits,” I will first lift up briefly some of the “learnings” of our recent trip to Norway. 

   Because we usually take such a trip just once a year, we had been planning this one for a long time – dates on  the calendar, all the prep work done, or getting done, and on the night before we were to leave, checking in 24 hours ahead for our boarding passes for the flight that would take us to our ship headed for Norway, we discovered that we had made a major error – we were not 24 hours ahead, but 24 hours behind.  As we sat in the comfort of our home that night, we were supposed to be on a flight to London! 

   Due to our great travel agent, Liz, our trip was salvaged with us flying on the same flight the next day and having a couple of unplanned days in London, wherein we visited Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Oxford, connecting up with our ship just a few days late, only missing 3 days at sea, with no port calls. 

   We came to see that as the first few days of our trip played out, they were really quite serendipitous, giving us unexpected adventures and ending with a chance meeting of 2 flight attendants, Mary and Jeffery, sitting right next to us at the Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. 

   In the course of our shared conversation – where are you from? –what do you do? – it came out that I am a priest with Roman Catholic Women Priests, and pastor this parish in Winona, Minnesota.  Mary was thrilled to know this as she comes out of a very Catholic family, the only girl in a family of 6 brothers. Even though Mary presented herself as a very competent woman, she expressed a feeling, growing up of not being quite as good as her brothers.  As is often the case, women feeling inadequate in Church or State, if that feeling is not countered by someone, through the growing years, it can take root and becomes very hard to uproot. 

   Through the Spirit putting Mary and I in the same place, enabling us to share rather deeply, she was able to come to a place of appreciating herself more, by the affirmation that I was able to give her.  So, even though our trip started out with “kicking ourselves” for our human mistake, by being open to what this change might bring, something unexpected was able to happen. 

   And this is a good place to jump into the gospel today that seems, as I said, “rather harsh.”  First, it must be remembered that the gospels and other readings chosen for each Sunday are but “a slice in time,” and for the most part, should not be taken literally.  There is usually a “back story” that fleshes out, and makes clear, what the words included actually mean. 

   A case in point is Jesus’ discussion of divorce and remarriage.  Remembering that women and children had no status in the society in which Jesus lived, this discussion, which does seem harsh, and was probably intended to be, was given primarily for the men.  As the laws of the time were written, men could divorce their wives for little or no cause and once that happened, women and their children, if they had no home to return to, were usually in quite a fix. 

   A similar story – the woman caught in adultery, who was brought to Jesus for judgment, is yet another case of the unevenness of the law.  Exegetes raise up for us the fact that the Scriptures don’t designate which person, the woman, or the man was committing adultery – we always assume it was the woman. It may have been the case that this woman was mistreated in a marriage contract, divorced, and the only way she could take care of herself, and her children was through the “oldest profession.”

   This gospel of many layers of human living is coupled well with the first reading from Sirach.  This reading, in its entirety can be summed up in two words, “free will.”  Sirach says simply, “No one is commanded to sin, none given the strength for lies…” “Before [us] is life and death –whichever [we] choose will be given” [us]. 

   Having a “free will” is a great gift given us by our God – God wanted us to have this gift to choose our path in life – but that doesn’t mean that it will always be easy.  Paul, in his letter selection to the Corinthians today says as much:  It takes a “certain maturity” to live “wisely” and this comes from our relationship with the Spirit, to live as our “best selves,” choosing good over evil, and of course, this means, good for us, but for others too!

   Today, the prophecy of Isaiah, repeated by Paul is good for us to remember in the troubling times in which we live: “Eye has not seen and ear not heard …what God has prepared for those who love God.”  And of course, “love of God” must always be coupled with compassionate action for God’s people.

      My friends, the gift of life that each of us has, complete with a free will to choose our own path in life is based upon faith in a God who loves us, who has given us commandments to follow in living our best.  And yet there is more…

   If we look at the commandments for right living in a very surface way, we could walk away thinking, as in the case, “not to kill” that we have not physically taken another’s life, and therefore are safe.  It must be remembered though that our words, our inaction, when action is needed, can “kill” too. 

   Our brother Jesus was often accused of wanting to “abolish the law,” and he said, “No,” – I have come to “fulfill” the law, to help you see there is more than one way to kill, for instance.  In challenging his followers to a fuller way to keep the law, Jesus often uplifted what most of us know as the Golden Rule – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Also, the two-fold command of, “Loving God, and loving your neighbor as yourself.”  And in the end, if obeying a sterile law gets in the way of the law to love, that sterile law needs to be changed!  When we exclude anyone, or say that anyone is not worthy, not acceptable, or that “we are better,” we have failed to love. 

   So, every time we go on a trip, we try to see what new places and new people can teach us. In conclusion then, I will share just a few more things that were lifted up for us, because it all, somehow, fits:

• I had always wanted to see Stonehenge – that marvelous feat of construction, begun 3,000-2,000 B.C. as Robert shared over the years how nearly 60 years ago, he and a friend rode their motorcycles into this place in England and were able to get up close and personal with these monoliths, touching them, even.  Now, 50 years later since more people know of them, and have the privilege of visiting, 150-200 feet away is as close as one can get. Seems Robert’s earlier experience might have been more meaningful…perhaps this says that over the years, these structures began to be taken for granted instead of held in awe…
• Windsor Castle –it was somewhat exciting to think of King Charles III and his Queen Consort, Camilla, being somewhere within the castle as we toured, but at the end of the day, came the realization that they are humans too, just like us, with their own path to follow…
• Robert and I had to laugh throughout our time in London over the fact that as we toured around the city on foot, we often got lost, which in my memory, Robert never has – basically, if we got off our street, we just couldn’t find our way back! Even asking directions many times…we often heard –“it’s just one street over!” A word to the wise –London has no street signs!  All in all, it was humbling…
• On everyone’s bucket list going to Norway is to see the Northern Lights – most of us didn’t see them – too cloudy, moon gave off too much light, lights on ship too bright – this was one of those times not to get stuck in one way of thinking – we did see some quite stunning sunrises and sets though!
• A man by the name of Arran Smith, our cruise director gave us the privilege one evening of hearing a selection of music that he sang from popular musicals and from individuals of note.  We were completely in awe of his rendition from Les Misérables of “Bring Him Home,” which as you may know was sung by the character, Jean Valjean in this musical.  It was about a young man who was like a son to Valjean, and it expressed his great love, compassion and willingness to sacrifice everything for the beloved.  I mention this performance to lift up how we sometimes see others only on the surface – I would never have imagined that this seemingly quiet and really non-descript  cruise director could sing the way he did … never to underestimate, I guess. 

   The prayer of the psalmist seems a good place to end all of this that seems “to fit.”  The psalmist prays for “goodness” from God, that their eyes “would be opened,” that they would be able to discern God’s law, … and keep it with all their heart.  The times that we are living in are truly calling us to our very best – it’s “heart” work and hard work too.  Let’s do it together! Amen? Amen!

My friends, I wrote this homily on Friday morning, a very cold day that, as you know, stopped school, and forced many inside to keep warm and protect themselves from harm, me included.  And except for the sun peeking out, trying to address the cold, the day laid heavy on my heart. So, I apologize right off for the negative beginning here, but I promise a more positive ending.  I must also add that I struggled over even giving this, but realized that truth-telling is important, even as we try to sort out what being our best really means, and this was before the 2^nd murder of Alex in Minneapolis on Saturday.   

   What I described above initially, was about material manifestations of the weather, but it added to what I was already feeling on a more spiritual/emotional level, and again, before Saturday’s most recent murder by our federal government.  These spiritual/emotional feelings, as you might well guess, were swirling around the overall, day-in, day-out mean, arrogant, and selfish tone, lacking truth of most of what is coming out of our nation’s capital, and the present administration there – now.

   The rhetoric from there adds to my feelings of disbelief that so-called leaders, both religious and political, can be so lacking in kindness, truth, and spouting one-sided statements, with every ill perceived as someone else’s fault, taking no personal responsibility for their own actions.  The lack of moral actions disguised as law in our beautiful state of Minnesota, and with no repercussions to those dealing out this pain and suffering to those unfortunate ones among us with dark skin, or to those supporting them, is something that simply breaks one’s heart –those with a heart yet to break.  This is why I had us sing the psalm response today, as music addresses the pain we feel better than words at times.

   And into this sadness, we hear the prophet Isaiah say, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

   So, my friends, what are we to make of this?  I think sadness, at least for me, comes when those who should know better speak lies, when truth is needed. This past week gave us two examples of this: First, our local bishop offered his plan to ease tensions  in Minneapolis, and I will paraphrase: He said, perhaps if the ICE agents would take a pause and only arrest the worst criminals… Now, in my mind, that should be their mission at all times, and it begs the question – after this pause, bishop, ICE should go back to arresting everyone with dark skin, whether a criminal or not as they are presently doing? I would expect more from a spiritual leader, Bishop Barron, than this!

   Also, this past week, our Vice President from Washington visited our city to say: “All would be better with just a little cooperation from the officials in Minneapolis.”  And to Mr. Vance I would say, “Are you really asking Minneapolis officials to stand by and affirm a pack of thugs beating down the doors of U.S. citizens, most law-abiding, with no warrants to do so, showing no respect for individuals’ rights, to appease the hurt feelings of their commander-in-chief? And to that we add yet, another murder.

   And yet, we hear the prophet speaking additionally today, through Matthew, again quoting Isaiah’s words, “on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” Matthew’s gospel today goes on to relate how the brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John, future apostles, were called by our brother Jesus, and each set, Scriptures say, immediately answered his call leaving their boats behind. 

   I believe in the midst of the sad times in which we are presently living, we need to hear and truly understand this story.  These men, and if Scripture told the full story, women too – wives, mothers, and so on followed this man, Jesus. The story doesn’t say, “they told Jesus that they would think about it, and get back to him,” but, immediately!  …they said “yes” and followed.

   One does have to wonder at how Jesus presented himself so that people left all that they knew, to follow him, remembering that one’s name and job, their way to make a living meant everything to them. We call that quality, “charismatic,” but unfortunately, people can be “charismatic” in evil ways as well, but for our purposes today, let us concentrate on the charismatic goodness of Jesus.

   We hear from Paul today in his letter to the Corinthians as he tries to help those who are quarreling with each other: “Remember who you follow, in whose name you were baptized.” Wouldn’t it be good if our bishop remembered Paul’s words, and V.P. Vance who claims to be a Catholic? 

   The times in which we are living are calling forth the very best from each of us.  We need to “shine our own particular lights” in whatever way that we can, as we spoke of last week. 

   This past Friday – a national women’s group was calling for work to shut down, schools to close, and buying to stop, to simply say, we are watching, we know what is going on, and we want change!

   This may sound like I am not aware of what many of you are doing and that is truly not the case:

·      Many, if not all of us are praying every day for those downtrodden and persecuted in our world and for God to show us how to make a difference, perhaps give us the strength to make a differenc.

·      Many are writing letters, postcards and making calls to legislators demanding that they address the needs of all in our country, reminding them that no one is above the law.

·      Many are demonstrating in very cold weather on Mondays, Saturdays, in Winona, our state’s capital, and our nation’s capital, along with cities around our country. 

·      Many are talking with friends/family members, trying to listen, and also speaking their truth with as much strength as possible and encouraging peace-filled responses to the evil being presented, keeping in mind that there needs to be a balance between law and love, and when love is violated, law must change. 

   And my dear friends, at the end of the day we must simply hold onto hope that good eventually wins out over hate.  Hate destroys us all from within, love’s warmth can melt the coldness of evil actions.  And we must remember that our brother Jesus walks with us – don’t forget to ask him for the help you need to stand strong, to remain hopeful, to make a call, demanding change.

   In today’s gospel we hear about fisher people leaving their boats to become “fishers of humans” so I think the words of Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourner Magazine are fitting today – “Let Jesus into your boat,”  [if he isn’t already there]when all of what we are called to do seems too great.  Jesus truly is a strength for these times, and won’t fail to help us, if we ask, to shine the light that our world needs now!

   When I began this homily, as I said, my heart was heavy, and my spirit sad as I struggled to address so much that we all feel is wrong – how much to say, how little to say, to strike a balance between addressing the problem, without wallowing in it, and moving on in hope, believing – never doubting that the good will win out in the end. 

   I have to admit that I was slugging my way through on Friday trying to give you the hope that generally “springs eternal” within me, and feeling somewhat “hopeless.”

   So, rather than spend overly much time reading “about the darkness, Robert and I have been trying to concentrate on the “light,” that I spoke of earlier … and more.  And we gain hope from each of you, knowing all that you are doing to make a difference – testament I believe of the good of folks gathering in community – to support each other and be strength when some are down, so that they can be the hope when others are down.

   And finally, I have called to mind those greater than me, such as Gandhi who said, “The way of truth and love has always won. There are tyrants but in the end, they always fall. Think of it …  Always.”

And our brother Jesus who promised that he would be with us – always – so that we should not be afraid.  Amen? Amen!

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My friends, those of you who have been part of All Are One for several years are aware that each year I tell you not once, but several times during the year that “Ordinary Time” in our Church Year, is anything but ordinary in the common understanding of that word. In fact, one year, in trying to make that point, I addressed this time which really takes up more than one-half of our Year of Grace, as “Extra-Ordinary Time” to make clear to us that the challenge is always there, “to be our best selves,” as modeled by our brother, Jesus of Nazareth. 

   In a very general way then, looking at today’s Scriptures from the prophets, Isaiah, Paul and John, we learn from Isaiah that we are to be “lights” [in our dark world], [and minister as] “servants.”  Paul tells us that we are “called to be a holy people,” and John assures us that the “Spirit will show us the way, help us to believe and trust” [in what is right]. You may wonder at me naming John and Paul, “prophets,” but I consider anyone who is willing to speak wise words of truth and challenge, a prophet.

   The other very important idea that John the Evangelist addresses, if we look deeper, in today’s gospel, is that we would strive to see Jesus in places where we might not think he would be.  Now, initially, for John the Baptist, who is recognizing Jesus for the 1^st time, it would seem, we see that he needs “the Spirit” to point him out.  That should give us some encouragement as we attempt in our own lives to recognize “Jesus” in our world, because, my friends, that is our true mission as Jesus’ followers, “to see him in others” in our world.

   Our good Pope Leo XIV has just completed an Apostolic Exhortation, begun by his predecessor, Pope Francis, entitled , Dilexi Te – On Love for the Poor.  Before I get into the fine points of this written message, perhaps an explanation of terms is in order, as I wondered myself, what is the difference between “an Apostolic Exhortation and an Encyclical, which we may be more familiar with.  Beginning with the more familiar, an encyclical is usually more important as it deals with a specific doctrine wherein that doctrine is clarified or explained in greater detail. An apostolic exhortation is a piece that is written to encourage an action on a set of recommendations. 

   Interestingly enough, I have just begun a series of classes with Sister Dawn Nothwehr, a Rochester, Minnesota Franciscan looking at Catholic social teaching from Pope Leo XIII to our present Pope Leo XIV. 

   If you recall Catholic social teaching, you will remember Leo XIII having written the encyclical, Rerum Novarum in 1891.  It is more simply known to the laity as a document for the working class, primarily, discussing the relationships and mutual duties between labor and capital, government and its citizens.  Pope Leo XIII is considered a social justice pope and Pope Leo XIV signaled the kind of papacy he would attempt to have in choosing his predecessor’s name. 

   Sister Dawn began her class this past week by giving us an overview of the chapters and basic ideas of this Apostolic Exhortation.  In a general way, she shared that the Pope is calling us to look at “poverty” in our world as a “call to conversion,” understanding that people can be “poor” in many ways, experiencing not just “physical deprivation” – not enough food and shelter, but spiritual emptiness and physical loneliness. 

   Looking deeperinto these general ideas, she lets us know of the pope’s reminder to each of us that our God, in Jesus chooses to minister to the poor because God, “hears the cry of the poor.”  You may be familiar with the term, “preferential option “ for the poor, or in simpler terms, God, in Jesus has chosen, above all, to serve the poor.  Jesus has chosen the ultimate act of humility in becoming one of us in a very poor way as we just recently reflected on throughout the Christmas season.

   Pope Leo XIV reminds us, Sister Dawn shared, that, “Love of God equals love for the poor.”  I would add, in the larger context of the chosen readings for today, that if we can’t see our brother Jesus in the humans we see and meet in our day-to-day lives, then we can’t say we love God, whom we can’t see!  Jesus always directs us back to our every day lives to find him. 

   Pope Leo XIV ups the game, as it were, in saying that “the poor are the true evangelizers” – unique individuals with unique stories – they aren’t “problems to fix,” but by “listening” to their stories, we can indeed, if we are willing, learn from them – perhaps about, “simplicity in living.”  Pope Leo reminds us that as we attempt to serve others, to make a difference, it is about “solidarity,” not superiority.”  “Standing with” others, realizing on a whole deeper level, that life’s turns could place us in physical poverty too.

   Earlier I stated my belief that Ordinary Time in our Church Year continually challenges us to be our best, and Pope Leo, in his apostolic exhortation states that, [it is],  “a constant challenge,” [if we label ourselves as Christian] and he underlines the special task for those of us who are “white,” to understand our special “privilege” in this world.  He adds that there is the “need for continuous formation, asking ourselves, “how comfortable am I?”

   Leo goes on to say that “faith requires active expression, witnessing through our lived experiences.”  And again, he stresses that this task isn’t, one time and then we are done, but that our, “trying to bring change” is a “continuous” stance – a stance really that is about being “prophetic,” perhaps saying what no one else will say.  In many ways we are all called to be prophets – speaking the truth as we come to know it. 

   Leo speaks further about “confronting  structural sin” and here he addresses wealth versus poverty in our world, commenting that the very rich in our world make 281 times the pay that regular workers do.

   And in the footsteps of his predecessor, Leo XIII, Leo XIV raises the justice issues of decent wages for work done, time off, and so on …  this is about “building inclusive communities” where the needs of each and all are addressed. 

   Now, all of this is juxtaposed with the stance, far from prophetic, in my mind, of our bishop here in the Winona/Rochester diocese, Robert Barron.  I picked up the most recent copy of our diocesan paper, The Courier this past week and read parts of a very long piece by the bishop delineating what he gleaned from the recent Synod on Synodality in Rome.  As you will recall, the Synod on Synodality was a two-year process begun and completed by Pope Francis wherein the whole Church, clergy and laity, was encouraged to listen and dialog on not just one issue, but all issues concerning our Church in order that we could become a more communal, participatory, and mission-oriented Church. 

   The bishops were then sent home to do their own Synod on Synodality within their dioceses. Now, keeping in mind what it means to be a Synodal Church, one that is communal and participatory, our bishop made this statement in part: “I didn’t want this to be an open-ended affair during which we would debate a variety of matters of controversy within the Church. [He felt such an exercise would be]“fruitless.” He thus decided on two issues [underscore he],  “as Shepherd of the Diocese” which [he] “felt were of paramount importance to the flourishing of our local Church. “Evangelization” [and these are his words] “getting more people in the pews” and “vocations – getting more priests [male, of course], at the altar.”  Now, I don’t know about you, but this makes me absolutely crazy, given all I have shared of what the Leos encouraged and are encouraging about basically tying the Scriptures to our daily lives. And that being the case, I will leave the above with you to discern on your own. 

   Coming back then to our readings for today wherein the prophets of old instructed us “to be lights” in a dark world, to be servants – a holy people, who don’t turn to the lowest common denominator, “people in the pews” and male priests at the altar,” but to inclusivity where God’s beautiful and varied people are concerned, listening to and taking advantage of all the wonderful gifts within the People of God. If our bishop is truly concerned about “people in the pews,” he might want to take a look at “his message,” because I would suggest that is more the problem with the dwindling numbers. 

   Finally, then my friends, a hope-filled message to end with. Often times we are challenged as followers of our brother Jesus to love those who are hard to love, and God knows, there are many in our present-day world. 

   Martin Luther King, Jr. struggled with this issue too in his life, and his ultimate message, come to, no doubt through prayer, for himself and “his flock,” went deeper than “an emotional type” of love.  More profoundly, he encouraged those who wanted to love as our God does, to “love what could be – should be, in all of us, and a commitment to the society we must build together.” 

   The psalmist today gives us a command, perhaps a prayer for these very trying times.  “Here I am, I come to do your will.”  Now, we may not know what that “will” is, but we must trust that the Spirit will make that clear, just as she did for John.

Amen? Amen!  

My friends, I don’t know about you, but I have always looked forward to new beginnings – a new year, a new job, a new class – whatever it might be because with each new event, there is the opportunity to “do better,” what I may have attempted before, or simply to try something new that I have never done. All these new beginnings bring hope – a virtue that we must hold onto in these very trying times!

   Today, we see our brother Jesus beginning a new phase of his life – his public ministry, and he begins by doing, in his mind, “what is right” – baptism by John.  Putting ourselves into the heart and mind of Jesus, he probably had a sense as he came to know himself, and his abilities, that on the one hand, he had “a light” to share with others, and at the same time, a realization that the strength, we might say, grace, that would come to him through his baptism by John, was something that would help him immensely in his life of service, for and with others. 

   I think my friends, it is important for each of us to remember and never forget that our brother Jesus, as one of us, was completely human, thus he needed to deal with all the human emotions, pains and joys that each of us does.  If Jesus will ever be someone that we can follow, this piece – his completely human self must not be set aside, in deference to his spiritual-divine self.  There had to be a balance between the two natures, wherein Jesus, like us, had to continually say “yes” to the good, or better, and “no” to all that was not good, not about love. 

   Prior to Jesus’ baptism account in today’s gospel, we heard of how he was tempted in the wilderness – the struggle we all face between power and control in our lives, and the good we are capable of when choosing “the right,” or likewise, the evil we are capable of, for ourselves, and others, if we do not choose wisely. 

   If we choose wisely as Jesus did consistently throughout his earthly life – his “light,”  his actions in our world, ours will probably resemble his as spoken of today by the prophet Isaiah:

• You will bring justice to the nations…
• You will not break a bruised reed or quench a wavering flame…
• You will be a light…to open the eyes of the blind – last week you will recall that we talked about “a-ha moments,” and one of you said, “that in order to have such a moment, we must listen to others.” 
• The prophet continues – you will free captives from prison…here it is good to remember that people live in captivity, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually too.  Our ability to reach out to others in love, to listen, to try and understand another’s pain can do so much toward “freeing” others in whatever ways they may be held captive.

   And our God who sees it all will let us know that we have “ chosen wisely” by the peace we experience in our hearts. 

   So, how do we really know that our choices may not have been the best, for ourselves and for others? The lack of peace and goodwill that tends to swirl about those who choose selfishly, with no regard for others, would seem to be an indication.  And, at the end of the day, whether we choose rightly, or wrongly, we may not always be sure, but for the most part, peace should be present when our choices have been about justice, compassion, care, and love. 

   When we keep our eyes on Jesus, and his actions, I think we are more apt to see our God  as Jesus did – with awe and reverence, instead of fear.  “Fear of God” as addressed in the 2^nd reading from Acts today, I would suggest is better understood through the original Hebrew word, “yirah,” which means, wonder, honor, and a much more positive view of God than the word, “fear” gives us. Jesus, our brother gave us this more positive view of his Abba God, through his entire earthly life with us. 

   So my friends, with today’s gospel,  we get a positive view that our brother Jesus is here, as an adult, come to fruition through an earlier life of love and support given by his human parents, Mary and Joseph, as we spoke of during Advent.  Again, he probably learned of what God truly wanted from him, a bit at a time, just as we come to understand the “piece” that is ours to do, as Saint Francis of Assisi always encouraged his followers – we can only do what is ours to do.  And if we don’t do our part, shine our own particular “light,” that “piece of God,” as Sister Joan Chittister is fond of saying, will not be shown to our world!  Now, there is a responsibility…

   And if we are looking for concrete examples in both Church and State of choosing unwisely, today’s world has enough to go around.  Beginning with our own Church, so many times over the years of my life, and the lives of others, when imploring the hierarchical men “to change,” some outdated law that no longer serves, we hear, “the Church moves slowly.”  I, for one, would encourage them to get “a move on!” Such a statement given as an excuse for why they haven’t made the changes that the “sensus fidelium” – the voice of the people who have for so long been asking is an insult to the memory of Jesus of Nazareth.  The Spirit of the Living God is forever renewing the face of the earth, and she speaks to the laity as well as to the clergy. 

   Our Church needs women deacons and priests, it needs women in leadership now, it needs a compassionate and loving response to the wonders and awe in all created human life –LGBTQ’s and more, animals and plants upon our beautiful earth, and voices that aren’t afraid to speak truth to power, now!

  The state of our country is obvious to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear, and now is the time to engage our hearts as well.  Our baptisms call us to all this and more, and if we don’t know where to start, the practice of doing each thing that we do each day, inordinately well, the “light we shine” for others will be reflected and passed on.

Amen? Amen!