Once again this week, we hear Jesus saying, “In your hearing, the Scriptures are fulfilled.”  We can only imagine what that was like for his family, friends and acquaintances to hear.  There was no doubt jealousy on the parts of some, hatred even on the parts of others—how can this be?—they more than likely asked. We have known him all our lives—we know where he came from? A good man perhaps, but not the Messiah! And when one thinks about it—who of us ever can totally know another?  After 46 years of marriage, I know quite a lot about Robert, but not all!

What indeed was it like for his mother to hear these words?  Were his words something that once again she, “treasured in her heart?”—for she and Joseph carried throughout his growing years and into adulthood the knowledge of the special way that he came into their lives.  How does one ever convey a miracle?  How do any of us ever adequately make known what God has done within our lives and not seem pompous, arrogant, or simply, self-serving?

Jesus probably knew the answer best and conveyed that to all who would listen to his words, then and down through history. “You will know them by watching their actions,”  he was known to have said.  The section that comes just before today’s text spoke of there being a new time when the blind would see, the deaf would hear, those in prison would be set free and so on; so even though Jesus’ neighbors and acquaintances couldn’t see past his words, rejecting him, it would be the wider “village” who would see his actions and make the connections. As an aside, it is interesting to think about the fact that in order for a miracle to be seen, belief is part of the equation.

But going back to the rejection piece—in our own lives; we know that rejection is part of the day to day.  The same human qualities demonstrated in Jesus’ time that got in the way of him being clearly heard and understood about who he was, what God had called him to do and be, will plague us as well when we try to be who God has called us to be.

Jeremiah the prophet, a forerunner to Jesus spoke the words that would comfort our brother and us in those times of rejection, misunderstanding and lack of acceptance. The prophet said, “They will fight against you, but will not overcome you!”

It would seem that truth and truth-telling was a great deal of what Jesus’ mission on earth was all about.  First, and foremost, he wanted us to know of Abba God’s desire that each of us would know that we are loved.  This was the one over-riding message he wished to convey throughout his entire earthly life—we are loved by God and God asks that we love in return.  Pretty simple concept—but perhaps not so simple though, in living out.

Paul, in his well-known selection today to the Corinthians, used at many weddings, says well what our “loving” should be about.  If we were to say it simply, in a few words; the message of this beautiful reading, a piece that all committed couples would do well to reflect on each year of their married lives, it would be, “without love, we are nothing!”  We can do every good deed out there, but if love isn’t behind the action, it is nothing!

So, what is love?  Paul says that it is being patient and that there can be no limit to our patience.  Love, he continues, is kind; not jealous, not putting on airs, not being a snob.  Love, he says, is never rude or self-seeking and is not prone to anger. Love does not brood over injuries and it does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices in the truth.

I read an editorial from the staff of the National Catholic Reporter recently that was basically decrying the untruths coming from the commander-in-chief of our United States with regard to the made-up crisis on our southern border.  This made-up crisis is adding to the growing national unease, the author stated.  The bishop of El Paso, Texas, Mark Seitz, shed some light on this situation and seemingly, some truth too when he said, [the border can seem] “a place where one reality ends and another begins…For us it’s a place of passage; it’s a place of encounter; it’s a place you cross in order to join your family; it’s not this place of armies confronting one another.”

I applaud this man of God for his willingness to speak the truth as given him by God—would that more of his brother bishops would do the same! The times in which we live call for more than one issue people who see so narrowly what constitutes life.  To embrace the self-serving lies and deceit of a man in power who promises life to the unborn, yet is willing to snatch it away from immigrants seeking a better life, from women that he sees as mere objects and from the earth that we all call home by refusing to care for and protect it from global warming is, at the least, tragic and at the worst, criminal.

So, my friends, it is all about love.  Love is the only law that any of us ever need remember when we come up against the question of what is the right thing to do.  If love is served, than right is too!  Paul says, “Love never fails.”  How much better would be our world if more people, whether in Church or State applied the law of love in all its wonderful manifestations to their daily dealings with others?

Paul concludes his piece on love by saying that love trusts, love has hope—which is something, by the way, that we all need to hold onto in these uneasy times. Sister Joan Chittister says it like this: “Life is not one long party. That’s exactly why parties are so important.  They remind us of God’s eternal goodness.  They help us to remember on difficult days that the sun of the heart will surely rise again for us.” She is surely a prophet!  And finally, Paul says—“Love has the power to endure.”

This again brings us back to the prophetic words of Jesus in his home town synagogue: “Today, in your hearing, these Scriptures are fulfilled!”  My friends, it isn’t enough that people saw Jesus doing the loving thing once in time, even if it got him into trouble: our world now continues to need to see, through us, Jesus doing the loving thing, even if it gets us into trouble! Amen? Amen!

My friends, we continue our 2019 journey of faith just a month old with this third Sunday in Ordinary Time.  And as we always say, “ordinary,” meaning no major feast time, but never “ordinary” in the message of the Scriptures for us.  Our daily lives as Christians call us to so much more than ordinary, “run-of-the mill” responses.

Each day, we are called to be good listeners, hearers of other’s stories and to respond in the ways that we can.  Sometimes, as we look at the inaction in Washington, at the lack of openness in our Church to hear the voices of all the baptized; we wonder what can be done.  Sometimes we feel hopeless, but we cannot stop praying, asking for guidance from the Spirit of Jesus, asking for the strength we need to speak our truth to the powers-that-be, to our elected officials, to our Church fathers.  We cannot let them remain inactive when we know they can do more.

I personally have gained a bit of hope recently as I work on a spreadsheet recording the ministries of the Rochester Franciscan Sisters and Cojourners.  Many Sisters after countless years of ministry in education, nursing, social services and more still record in later years that their ministry continues—that of “prayer ministry.”  They do not stop and nor should we!

Sometimes we are like the people in the first reading today from Nehemiah. This reading reminds me of the Mayan people that I spoke of in last week’s homily. If you recall, their approach to worshipping their Goddess was always to be “stooped” before the all-powerful one—their way to show respect for her.  You will also recall, the doorways into their temples were built low so as to keep them in the posture of being bent low before their God.

Nehemiah finds the same thing going on within the Chosen People of Israel.  Today’s reading finds them just newly back from exile and presenting themselves as “bowed down” before God and worshipping their God with their faces to the ground.  There is a definite fear within them because of their past failings with regard to serving God as they should.  But fear should never be our response to our God who loves us so completely and Nehemiah says as much!

He, as all good and true prophets do, tells them the truth—“Today is holy, do not be sad, do not weep—for the joy of our God is your strength.”  In other words, where God is concerned; we need never fear, but only trust, only believe, and know that we are loved.  What we can understand within this context, when it comes to God and our relationship with God is that we will always be given another chance to do that which we were given life to do.

With regard to the stalemate in Washington, somewhat relieved as of yesterday, the reckless disregard for the needs of real people versus the need of one in power to have his way like a petulant child, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians has some words of wisdom for us as we try to respond.  We are one body and what one does affects the rest of the body.  We all have been given gifts with which to respond to our world and we must discover those gifts and use them every day of our lives. At the very least; we can pray as the Sisters do every day!

Some of us have the gift to speak words of wisdom to others (tongues, as Paul says), some, the gift of writing, discerning for others the words of wisdom (interpreting, as he would say), some the gift of advocacy—standing with those who are suffering and working for justice for them.

A branch of the Winona Interfaith Council, The Sanctuary Movement in Winona is attempting to do just that.  The Wesley United Methodist church in Winona has become the host church to assist the undocumented among us find their way toward legal status in our country.  People from many different church denominations came together for an initial training time yesterday to prepare themselves to assist our undocumented sisters and brothers as needed.

There are so many ways among all of us to help and I know that all of you are involved in countless ways—from feeding the hungry through our city’s food shelf, to Home Delivered Meals, staffing Winona’s Warming Center so that the homeless or those in need of a warm place to be can have that respite.  Many of you gave warm clothing this winter when asked and I want you to know of my gratitude for your generosity.

Every bit of this helps—please know that it does! Sometimes we feel that we can’t do much to affect the bigger issues of Church and State, but know that you do, every time, as Joan Chittister says, “You listen with the ear of your hearts.” ( the Rule of St. Benedict).

“Listening with the ear of our hearts” in the small everyday things of a city, feeding and clothing those in need strengths us for the larger tasks of speaking up to our Congress, our president, our bishop and our pope.  Listening with the ear of our hearts will not let us rest or say that I can’t do what needs to be done in any situation.

Sometimes we just need to try to do a new thing that we haven’t done before and we may surprise ourselves—we may find that the words we need to say or the words we need to write are suddenly there! Remember the Spirit is continually renewing the face of the earth, through us if we allow her to!

I list all these good actions that all of you are already doing not so that you will become complacent and say, “I’ve done my part,” but that you will know that you are making a difference and to keep at it!

“Listening with the ear of our hearts” is what allows us to speak kindly to another, to show patience in the midst of upset, to try and see another point of view, to understand that others may be carrying a heavy load and are doing the best that they can.

We know from the gospel of Luke today that our model in all of this, Jesus, prepared most of his life for his public ministry—no doubt much prayer and reflection went into the day when he was able to walk into his home town synagogue, knowing perhaps that he would be rejected, read the words of Isaiah and speak his truth, given by God, that yes, today these words, telling of the coming of the Messiah, in your hearing, are fulfilled!

My friends, to follow Jesus, our brother, calls us to the same—lest his strength, his courage, his vision, his listening with the ear of his heart stop there; we too must step up and let his words be evident through us—that glad tidings are being brought to the poor, so many poor in so many ways, that the blind, who cannot see, in so many ways, now have sight, that those who are prisoners in body, mind and spirit have been set free and that truly these Scriptures are continuing to be fulfilled! Amen? Amen!

 

My friends, it is good to be back! Good to go and good to return and as we always say to one another, good to have a home to return to as that is not the case for many of our sisters and brothers in this world, even in our own country.

We have returned to the Season of Ordinary Time in our Church Year with the commemorating of Jesus’ baptism last weekend.  As a homilist, Sr. Mary McGlone, from the National Catholic Reporter, whose reflection I read for today’s gospel on the wedding feast at Cana said well, [The problem] “is not wine, but passivity.”  We might say that “passivity” is always the danger that we have to be conscious of in our lives as Jesus’ followers; but more on that later.

Our time away took us to the Mexican island of Cozumel, which means, “Island of the Swallows.”  We were able to visit several Mayan ruins while there and at one particular site the emphasis was placed on the fact that their culture was about three key ideas: family, birth and love.  Equal emphasis and more was placed upon the fact that their culture did not practice human sacrifice, even though on the mainland, they did. This particular Mayan culture was all about birth and love with the family gathered round.

The goddess that they worshipped was pictured as an old, wise woman, looking almost more masculine than feminine, with the emphasis being on strength. In all the temples where she was worshipped, the doorways were purposefully kept low so as to keep the people in the proper position with regard to her.

The Mayan peoples’ emphasis on family, birth and love is a good jumping-off place it would seem in looking at the dynamics going on in today’s readings.  The prophet Isaiah reminds us that as a couple in love rejoice in each other, so our God rejoices in us. When we think of our ability as humans, at our best to love and care for each other; we should not be surprised that our God would love us in the same way and so much more.  A bit different focus it seems from the Mayan notion of keeping low to the ground in regard to their goddess.

The story of the wedding feast at Cana is not so much about the marriage of the particular couple on that particular day, Mary McGlone tells us, but about “the extravagance of our God.”  We see that God, through Jesus produces not only enough wine, but much more than enough wine!—150 gallons would go a long way to keep the new couple from being embarrassed for lack of wine.

But as the NCR homilist goes on to say, this story really isn’t about the wine—as we see with so many stories, parables where Jesus is concerned; it is the deeper message that he wants us to get.

Mary McGlone said we know this story isn’t just about a particular couple that Jesus helps out of their predicament of “lack of wine” by performing a miracle that establishes who he really is in the presence of those gathered at Cana because the story is really lacking in details about this couple.  We know no names, nothing about the ceremony—the only one really mentioned is the groom who is eventually congratulated for keeping the best wine till the end.

No, we are to see more in this simple story McGlone says.  Because we always know that the particulars of Jesus’ stories have deeper meanings; she suggests that the six empty stone jars represent the old ways, old rules that the people prescribe to because it has always been done that way—so long in fact, that the people no longer know why they do what they do.  Probably some truth in that in our religious practices today.

Mary, Jesus’ mother represents the Mother of Israel, who like all good mothers is always looking out for “her children.”  Her instruction to the servants lets us know that, Mary McGlone says, in the words, “Do whatever he tells you!”

Friends, we are called to the same today as the Israelites of old—we are called out of our passivity as we might think we can be during, “Ordinary Time” to be people of passion, expressed in the good wine, the best we have to offer—to extravagance in our loving and caring, like our God, who loves us all, unconditionally, and over-the-top! Like the Mayan people who are most concerned that visitors know them to be people of new life, love—surrounded by family.

Being Jesus’ followers won’t allow us to be less than this good!  It is interesting and sad to know that 83% of our elected officials in Congress in Washington claim to be Christian, yet so few seem able to follow Jesus’ lead, to lead themselves, to work for and stand up for what is best in all of us, for all of us!

This isn’t always easy to do that is true—even our brother Jesus, in his humanity responded to his mother’s request that he step up, with, “What does this have to do with me?”  She seems to believe in him more than he does in himself at this point. She knows what he is capable of and therefore instructs the servants, “to do whatever he says!” Mary McGlone suggests that because Jesus is present, his time is now!

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians and to us says that God is working through the Spirit in all the gifts bestowed within each of us, in all the ministries we partake in to produce that “very best wine.”  We are here now, my friends, our time is upon us! Amen?  Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends, 

Below find Pastor Dick Dahl’s homily from last weekend–thank you Dick! –Pastor Kathy

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Today’s homily builds on four related reflections. Here is the first:

In December Father Richard Rohr released a new book titled, “What Do
We Do With the Bible?” In it Fr. Rohr speaks of how since the time of the
the Reformation and the Enlightenment–in other words the last three to five
hundred years–Christians have reduced their way of reading Scripture to a
narrow lens that was supposedly rational, literal and historical—a severely
narrow view that he and many would say is the least spiritually helpful view.
Father Rohr writes, “Such a narrow approach largely creates…a
transactional religion much more than transformational spirituality. It
idealizes individual conformity and group belonging over love, service, or
actual change of heart.”

He goes on to say, “The earlier centuries of Christianity were much closer
to the trans-rational world of Jesus and his storytelling style of teaching
(which does not lend itself to dogmatic or systematic theology). As stated in
Matthew 13:34, ‘He would never speak to them except in parables.’ The
indirect, metaphorical, symbolic language of a story or parable seems to be
Jesus’ strongly preferred way of teaching spiritual realities.”

Now, the second reflection: I went though this background about ways of
reading scripture because when I first read the Gospel account of Jesus’
baptism today, I found myself trapped in a narrow literal understanding. I
questioned why was Jesus even going through a ritual in which John the
Baptist called people to reform their behavior? Did he have to reform his
behavior? And did anyone really hear the voice of God the Father speaking
or see the holy Spirit coming upon Jesus in some visible form?

I was inclined to interpret this description as the much later understanding
of Christians after Jesus’ resurrection and the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit
who made clear to them what it had all meant.

Now, however, I am inclined to read this account with a broader and, I
hope, deeper viewpoint. A crucially longer historical awareness gives the
event deeper meaning than a mere literal approach does. For example,
John the Baptist’s preaching is associated in Luke’s gospel, unlike in any of
the other gospels, with a call from God. This presents him just like the
prophets before him, such as Elijah, whose ministries also began with a
similar call. John the Baptist then prepares the crowds for a major change–
the more than thousand-year-long phase in God’s plan for mankind was
about to change, namely the Time of Promise. He tells them “One is
coming after me who is mightier than I, one who will baptize you with fire
and the holy Spirit.”

Jesus’ baptism then powerfully opens a new phase in history—the Time of
Fulfillment. A voice from heaven identifies the man Jesus as his Son. It
reflects almost word for word the words from the prophet Isaiah in our first
reading today: “Here is my Servant …my Chosen One with whom I am
pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the
nations.” The baptism of Jesus was really an anointing.

The man Jesus was so powerfully affected by the voice of the Father and
the coming on him of the holy Spirit that the next thing he is described as
doing in Luke’s gospel is to go into the wilderness of the desert to come to
terms with it all, to figure it all out. When he emerges from the desert, Luke
writes, “After this, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” One
of the first things Jesus is described doing is to stand up in his home synagogue in Nazareth and read from the scroll of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the
poor…to captives…to the blind…(and) the oppressed.”

Now, the third reflection: I have tried to describe for you a way of reading
today’s Gospel that isn’t like a movie, but is more a meditative revelation
with much deeper meaning than simply a plunge in the Jordan. This
reading opens the door to a revolution, a message that turns the
established order upside down.

This message was and remains revolutionary in that it was and is not first
of all for the people with power and great wealth. As Mary declared in her
Magnificat, “The Mighty One… has shown might with his arm, dispersed
the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their
thrones, but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”

In fact, more than any other Gospel writer, Luke is concerned with Jesus’
attitude toward the economically and socially poor. At times the poor in
Luke’s gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and
afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected. It is they who most readily accept
Jesus’ message of salvation.

So, now we come to the last reflection in this homily: The second reading
today from the Acts of the Apostles. We hear Peter being called to go to the
home, not only of a Gentile, but of a Centurian of the occupying Roman
army. In a more modern context, that may have been like being sent to the
home of a Nazi commandant in World War II.

To Peter’s amazement, as he was telling Cornelius and those with him the
story of Jesus, “the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.”
When Peter realized that they had received the holy Spirit even as he had,
he had them all baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Today it is hard for us to realize and appreciate what a revelation it was for
the Jewish people, like Peter and later Paul, to recognize that God’s
covenant which had made the Jews his special people for over a thousand
years, was now open to all people in an inclusive New Covenant–sealed in
the blood of Jesus and which we are celebrating in this Eucharistic meal.
In the words of the old Negro spiritual, “He’s got the whole world in his
hands” or today’s alternate version, “She’s got the whole world in her
hands.” In other words, no more exclusion. No more dualism! No more
separating people into who is right and who is wrong, who is in and who is
out. We are all included, not because we are better or worse than others,
but because God’s love is a transforming power. We are each sinners, yet
the transforming mercy of God has made us temples of the holy Spirit
through baptism.

Before we think or say, “This is obvious and clear to us,” we need to ask,
“Is it really?” If the total embrace of God’s love was truly recognized,
accepted and believed, how could anyone be viewed as an outsider? In the
book by Father Rohr that I mentiohned earlier, he states, “Well over sixty
percent of Jesus’ stories make the outsider the hero of the story….”
What people have we excluded, and perhaps continue to exclude? For
centuries it was the Jews. The Church sponsored crusades and the
Crusaders carried out pogroms against Jews on their way to fight Muslims.
After the Reformation Christians who did not accept each other’s version of
the truth were burned at the stake. More recently it has been the
homosexual, the divorced. The list may today go on to include others
whose political views as well as whose religious beliefs (or lack of them) we
find offensive and hate.

In short, I suggest that the Scripture readings today, read from a more
profound viewpoint, proclaim the clear and fundamental message of Jesus.
He loves each person and has in fact a preferential love for the poor, the
outsider, the outcast. This was the lesson that Peter learned when he met
with Cornelius. The affirmation of Jesus by the Father and the Spirit at his
baptism began his emergence from his hidden years into his public
ministry. His actions were his message. Jesus came to change the minds of people about God, and in doing so, to change our minds about ourselves and literally everyone and everything else in the universe.

The feast of the Epiphany or more, familiarly, “The Feast of the Three Kings,” is all about manifestation, which is the definition of Epiphany.  It is about sharing what one has seen and heard.

Pope Francis said as much in a January 6, 2018 homily, just one year ago today. I will use some of his key ideas and then go from there.  Francis said that there are three actions that these astrologers from the east accomplished that can “guide our journey toward” [God]. Another term used for these ancient visitors is, “The Magi,” a term referring to the priestly class, also meaning, “wise men.”  Francis goes on to say, “The Magi, see the star, they set out, and they bring gifts.” 

If we look to the Scriptures for today; we hear the prophet, Isaiah, proclaim, “Arise, shine, for your light has come!” And we might ask, “Who is this light for?” All of us, or just some?”

The writer to the Ephesians says basically that, Jesus is for everyone, no exceptions!  Matthew, in his gospel, the only one by the way who records this visitation of “wise men,” says that the Three Kings, “saw the star and followed it.”  Now this seems to be the connecting piece to the words of Francis—not only did they “see the star,” but they “followed” it—in other words, they did something!

Being a Christian, a follower of our brother Jesus is not a stagnant thing, but a state that calls forth something in return for the gift we have received with our faith.  We must respond by bringing our gifts to bear in our world.

Pope Francis makes a point of saying that the Star of Bethlehem was there for all to see and then he asks, “Why didn’t everyone see it?” He goes on to simply say and I paraphrase, perhaps those who didn’t see the star weren’t “looking up.”  Perhaps they had their eyes on the ground.

So, it would seem that being a Christian is not just something we say about ourselves, so as to claim credit, but something that we must act upon, knowing that it is not about gaining a reward, but simply about doing what is right and just and true—the loving thing, as Jesus always did.

Francis goes on to indicate that some didn’t see the star, even if they did look up because they didn’t know what they were looking for.  We have talked many times here about how we will find Jesus—God, in our world, always hopefully realizing that if we are looking for glitz and power, than we will miss Jesus.

From all the cards and art produced around the Christmas mystery, the Star of Bethlehem is always depicted as the brightest one in the heavens—perhaps, as Francis says, it wasn’t so “bright” as it was, “constant.”

In the terminology of astrologers, this Star of Bethlehem wasn’t a “shooting star”—one that dazzles and is quickly gone, but one that is more gentle, yet true and constant.  The pope compares the Bethlehem Star to how our God invites, rather than demands, a relationship with us.  Our loving God then promises to stay close—this relationship will never be fleeting as some other “stars” we may choose to follow: money, power, prestige.  They are more like “shooting stars”—here today, gone tomorrow!  Not so with our God!

Going back then to the three actions of the kings that we are to follow; we are told that after they, “see the star,” “they set out.”  In other words, they take a risk! Because after all; they don’t know where the journey will lead, they don’t know if it will come to a good end—only that they must go.  We often see this response to God’s call—this urgency.  We saw it in Mary when she hurried to visit Elizabeth during their mutual time of waiting.

If we are truly living our Christian calls to follow Jesus, we likewise must take risks.  We can’t wait for the affirmation of others to answer the call of our hearts to follow Jesus.  And from studying his life, we know that taking a risk won’t always be easy—we may lose friends and family, but we will know that we have brought the “gifts” that we have to bring to the “Christ Child” in all the places that we find “the child”—the poor, the lonely, the sad, the forgotten, the mistreated.

A final point that Francis challenges us with reflects the story of the Magi as we have come to know it—“they kept moving.”  The Magi, Francis says, “set out, went in and fell down and worshipped him, and they, went back.”  The piece we must understand is that their “setting out” once they “saw the star” had no ending, as our journey in the faith must be, in our life here.  We must be a Christian always, Jesus’ follower, every day, in every way.

With today’s feast, our formal Christmas time is over—the 12 days.  Now we must leave the relative comfort of the crib and continue “to see” and to do that which is ours to do as Jesus’ followers.  Amen? Amen!