OPRAH IS NOT EQUAL TO JESUS (Shocker, isn’t it?)

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Sunday November 15, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/111509.shtml . I appreciate you’re reading this and sharing it as well as all of your comments and feedback

God Bless- Father Jim

HOMILY:

I am not an Oprah Winfrey fan. This may or may not shock you. It’s nothing personal. I’m not much of a talk show fan, period. So I could just as easily (and accurately say) I am not a Jay Leno fan or a David Letterman fan. I can’t stand their shows. I'd much rather watch episodes of “The Office” or “Seinfeld.” Anyway, back to Oprah, no, I’m not a fan of hers. And I realize that puts me at odds with what is popular or what is considered “mainstream” in America.

Because, by many standards, Oprah is the epitome of “mainstream”. Actually, to give credit where credit is due, she helps define what is mainstream. She sticks an “O” sticker on a book, and it’s #1 in the NY Times Best Sellers' list. That’s why former Vice President nominee, Sarah Palin, who was a political rival to the ticket Oprah was supporting in last year’s presidential election, will make her first appearance on Oprah’s show this week in anticipation of her book’s release – after all, it can’t hurt.

Oprah is a multi-media phenomenon; she has her own radio channel on XM satellite Radio, her own magazine (with her own picture on it every month – a little much, isn’t that?). She’s been involved in TV shows, movies, broadway musicals. Commentator Bill O’Reilly said about her, "This is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world."

O’Reilly has a point. After being a dominating presence in the United States, conquering every realm of media, Oprah can be seen in 140 countries. According to the 'Wall Street Journal', one channel in Saudi Arabia centers their entire programming on reruns of her television show because of the record number of female viewers it draws. The reason, they say is because women in that culture see Winfrey dressed modestly, telling her own story of how she overcame adversity and abuse to get where she is today.

For those of us who are used to (and maybe a bit tired of) her media influence, we've probably forgotten that’s why she has captured so many people’s attention. People see this successful women, speaking candidly and in some cases heroically about her own struggles and how she overcame them. This, in turn, taps into people’s own pains, their own struggles, their own fears and so they become optimistic – if she can do it, well, so can I. And so they listen to her words. They buy her books, they follow her advice and endorsements. Oprah in many ways epitomizes optimism, and optimism, especially in times of adversity, sells.

Fr. Willian O’Malley, who is a Jesuit priest, who is hysterically, brutally honest and real made the following observation. He said, “I’ve learned the big difference between optimism and hope. Optimism is 'Annie' [that’s the little orphan red curl-headed kid] belting out, 'The sun’ll come out tomorrow! Bet yer bottom dollar there’ll be sun.' Good luck, kid. The forecast says rain for the rest of the week. Hope’s different. Hope says, 'Okay, so it’s gonna rain. We’ll get the job done anyway.' Hope says, 'It’s the last inning, and we’re down by three, but let’s go out swinging!' Unlike optimism, hope knows that quite often nice guys do finish last, but that it’s a helluva lot better to be a nice guy than to be first.”

Which is why Jesus is different from Oprah (wow, never imagined I’d be saying that sentence). Jesus isn’t selling us optimism. Jesus is offering us Hope.

Today’s Gospel passage has Jesus telling us how the world is going to end – tribulations - the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, stars will be falling from the sky, the powers in the heavens will be shaken - and this is some pretty scary stuff. For many people, though, it remains a distant event they don’t worry about right now because they've got more frightening things to deal with. The family going through a rough time. A loved one sick. Unemployment. Someone they're close to dying. Struggling with addiction. Any one of those things - or a combination of them - can definitely make someone feel as if the sun has truly disappeared.

In the midst of those struggles, we want optimistic words. We want someone to tell us it’s going to be alright. Everything’s going to be fine. We want things to go back to the way they were. 'The sun will come out, tomorrow.' And if it doesn’t? Then what?

If things don't turn out the way we want them to, we don't have to give into pessimism. But we do need to be honest.

Jesus is honest; He doesn’t sugarcoat this truth. Yes, there will be tribulation and darkness - not just at the end of the world, but probably through many moments of our lives. Things might get so terrible that we feel things will 'never be the same.' But – wait for it - here are the words of hope from tonight’s Gospel – listen to them once again:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

If we’re looking for a quick fix, these words will pass away. Because Jesus isn’t promising a quick fix. He’s not promising to make things the way they were before, or the way we would likr them to be in the future. His words are not going to get you a job tomorrow morning, immediately cure your illness or miraculously pull up your GPA.

The point it, if that’s just what we’re looking for - a quick fix, an increase of pleasure and a decrease in pain - we will, ultimately, be disappointed in life - disappointed not just by Jesus, but by Oprah and any who market the 'power of positive thinking' as a religion, or tell us the Gospel is all about 'prosperity' ('pie in the sky when you die, and steak on the plate while you wait'). The Gospel, Jesus - the Word of God - is all about Hope. Hope is borne of deep love and trust in the One who loved us into existence, the One who constantly lifts us up after we fall, the One who promises us - even though the road ahead of us may be difficult, will be difficult - that He will never leave us, and that His words of hope will never pass away.

A FOOLISH, RECKLESS LOVE

A FOOLISH, RECKLESS LOVE

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary - November 8, 2009. The readings for today’s Mass can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/110809.shtml. Thanks for reading and all your comments and feedback - God Bless, Father Jim

HOMILY:

A few weeks ago, one of my closest and oldest of friends – we’ve known each other since I was 4 and he was 3 years old – called me. We don’t get to see each other or talk on a regular basis, but it’s the type of friendship that we can go two months without talking and seem to be able to simply pick up where we left off. So I wasn’t alarmed or surprised when I saw his name on my cell phone as it was ringing. I picked up the phone and said “Hey Brett, what’s up man...” - I could tell something was wrong by the sound of his voice. He told me“Hey buddy - listen, I just wanted to call to tell you, my dad died a couple of nights ago.”

It was a pretty sudden shock. Mr. Ashley hadn’t been seriously sick. So I was pretty stunned. In the days after I found myself recalling different memories of growing up 2 doors down from my friends. When something like this happens, you might be surprised at how many memories you can have locked away in your heart and mind. Especially when you know someone basically your whole life. All of a sudden it was like taking a photograph book out and looking at pictures (something us older people did before digital pictures were saved on hard drives...)

Some things came back with all the details - Like I could remember Fourths of July where Mr. Ashley would light up the entire backyard with M80s, bottle rockets, and other illegal fireworks he had gotten. At Mr. Ashley’s memorial service, Brett told a story about how one day he pushed his father’s leaf blower, this gas powered piece of equipment that you’d push around (like a lawn mower) right into their in-ground pool. And how his Father didn’t kill him for doing that. As Brett was telling this story, I could see the entire episode replaying in my head (It was something I had forgotten, but I had been there when it happened, can’t recall exactly what my role in that whole experience was. Something tells me I wasn’t shouting “No Brett - stop, don’t...”)

Other memories though, I realize now how much detail was missing. Only now learning the full story, can I appreciate the beauty of those mental pictures so much more. For example, Brett talked about this one summer when I was maybe 8 years old. Brett was probably 7 his younger brother Drew was about 5 and their family took this cross country trip in a Winnebago. I remembered them being away - you remember when one of your closest friends is gone all summer, especially when they have an in-ground pool.

But at the Memorial service, Brett explained the reason for the trip. They had just gotten news that his younger brother Drew had a relapse of Leukemia. With this relapse, and fears over Drew’s prognosis, Mr. Ashley decided to sell his business, buy this Winnegbago and go and take his sons and his wife to every National Park across the country. I had remembered hearing about the trip when they had gotten home – looking at pictures of them fishing, hearing stories of places they had visited together. But I didn’t realize why this was such an important trip or what the cost really was to Mr. Ashley until his son recounted it at that memorial.

To some friends, family members, colleagues at the time this probably seemed like a reckless - even foolish thing to do. Sure on one level, people would think it sounds sweet. But upon hearing Mr Ashley’s plans, I’m sure many tried to “talk sense” into him. Arguing, “You’re just being emotional” - “you’re not thinking clearly”. To put your livelihood, your career aside for a trip?

But the thing was, it wasn’t about a trip. It was about a Father wanting to give all that he could for his son, for his family. When you have this little guy fighting a deadly disease. When you’ve gone to all the doctors, done all that you could do, and you’re not sure what’s going to happen, what is a Father left to do? So he completely emptied himself of all that the world tells us is necessary like finances, career. He let go of things like time and energy in order to obtain those things... And he offered them for his family, realizing that whether Drew was alive a year from then or not, he would never regret offering not just something, but everything he could out of love for his son.

That is what this beautiful Gospel story is about - offering something out of Love. Not just something - everything... This widow, this lady is as poor as poor can be. Her entire life savings basically amounts to one cent. And what does she do with that one cent? She gives it to the treasury (basically an offering to the temple)

What difference is that going to make to the temple? There are wealthy people making offerings of substantial amounts. Maybe one guy is a billionaire, and so he drops a million in the collection. That’s no small deal, is it? So what does that penny mean? Now instead of having 1 million dollars they have 1 million dollars and one cent... So, what, they can build that new temple now? That one cent sealed the deal? Meanwhile, she’s can’t afford to do that... that’s all she has left... what’s she going to do now. Again, in our moments of rational thinking, we would argue it seems quite foolish and reckless for her to do such a thing.

But you know what - she didn’t ask us for our opinion. She didn’t ask to be noticed. This isn’t about her contribution being compared to another on some spread sheet. It’s simply her way of putting her money where her mouth and her life is... She’s come to the realization that the only thing that matters to her is God. Yes her husband has died, she’s lost a lot already. Yet, that didn’t make her bitter - it made her cling to the one thing - the ONLY thing she knew for certain she had in her life - which was God. And so, out of love for him, she offers all that she has. She gives the only thing she physically possesses – a seemingly insignificant amount of money.

Over the last 11 years of being a priest I’ve come to realize that many people have never experienced true love so they don’t know how to offer it themselves. A guy hooks up with a girl for a night and they whisper “I love you”– that’s not Love. A parent makes outrageous, guilt ridden demands and says “If you love me you’ll do this” - that’s not Love either. There are countless other stories or examples of destructive, or manipulative behavior that people have been told or led to believe is loving behavior and that is shockingly sad.

And for those who’ve gone through such experiences, all of what I’m talking about probably does seem unreal or like a fairy tale. The rational, reasonable arguments from the world saying “how foolish and reckless these people offering their entire selves out of love are”- suddenly seem valid.

For those who’ve gone through that or have been led to believe that, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Because - the reality is my brothers and sisters, you can’t read the Gospels, you can’t read the scriptures and not walk away with an overwhelming, earth shattering revelation.: Jesus Christ loves us with this foolish, reckless love. God loves us like this. The creator of the Universe - who LOVED YOU AND ME INTO EXISTENCE. He keeps loving us by giving us His son Jesus Christ - by telling us we are to follow Him and His example - which is a life of complete self-emptying, giving up his life, giving up everything for you and for me.

That’s why he’s touched and moved when he sees the poor widow acting with that same foolish, reckless abandon. He sees that she gets it. That she’s been changed by the God who has so foolishly, recklessly loved her, and that she loves Him like that - by giving all that she has left to Him, knowing he won’t abandon her or let her faith be shown to be foolish or reckless.

I know for my friends, Brett and Drew, as much as they mourn the loss of their father, they have been forever changed by their dad’s loving example. They are two of the most generous, selfless men I know.

What about us? I don’t think Jesus is putting to us a challenge -- where he sends us home to “prove” whether we love him with that selfless, self-emptying, giving love for him tonight or not (and saying, if you do, you’ll empty your savings accounts to show that – anytime you hear a preacher recommending that, run away as fast as you can). The Gospel is not about our bank accounts. It’s about our hearts. And that takes a lifetime for us to truly offer to Him. In order for that to even happen, I think Jesus challenges us with the radical but essential starting point - do we actually believe that He loves us like that?

NOT A JERRY SPRINGER EPISODE: SURPRISED TO BE RELATED

Here is my homily for the FEAST OF ALL SAINTS - November 1, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/110109.shtml. Thanks for reading and all your feedback! God Bless - Fr. Jim

HOMILY:
James Crowley - Henry Gates. You hear those names and for a majority of people, they sound like regular names - like John Smith. There might be some familiarity. You might say “where have I heard that name before?” but for the most part, unless you’re really focused on the news and have a great memory, most people, probably don’t really recognize those names.
If we add a few details though, for example that James Crowley is a Police Officer and that Henry Gates is a Professor at Harvard University, it’s a good bet that their “name recognition” would increase. Especially since, this past summer, both men were pretty prominent names in the news. For those who might not remember, Henry Gates, had been returning home from an international trip. He and his driver were having difficulty trying to open the front door of his house. A concerned neighbor called the police thinking that she was witnessing someone trying to break into the house. When Police Sargent Crowley arrived to investigate, Gates, who is an African-American, accused him of racial profiling. Tensions escalated, words were exchanged and well, as they say, the rest is history. Things got even more contentious when President Obama was asked about the incident at a press conference and characterized Gate’s arrest as “stupid.” After that, something that had already been controversial in the media became even more so. The police officer, his union, and many law enforcement personnel all came out in support of Crowley. Gates had his own supporters. It seemed to bring to the forefront debates about whether white people and black people can understand one another’s perspective. Things seemed to be boiling out of control. You might remember that things seemed to come to a conclusion with what was being called “the Beer summit” - where the President invited both men to sit outside the White House on the porch, have a beer and talk.
With a media that is constantly out to out-scoop one another, a story came out that didn’t catch a lot of people’s attention, but was incredibly fascinating. In the midst of the daily coverage over this incident (you can tell how slow the news was over the summer) ABC news discovered something. They reported a story with a headline saying “Harvard Professor Gates, who is Half Irish, related to Cop who arrested him.” The story told that Gates had discovered after having his DNA analyzed in 2008 that he was descended from an Irish immigrant from the 4th century. James Crowley, ironically is descended from that same line. You’d have to imagine for these two men that had to be pretty surprising. Here you have a white Irish Cop and a Black scholar. In so many ways seemingly coming from completely different worlds. As things became more and more contentious, the thought that they must have absolutely nothing in common with each other and that one another had no idea what the other must go through, think, experience on a daily basis must have gone through their heads. And for the most part, had there two paths never crossed, as they did in this unfortunate encounter, they could have gone through their lives thinking that. You could almost imagine the cop working a shift, maybe driving on patrol passing the professor walking to a classroom, never imagining they had anything in common with one another.
Yet in this amazing “coincidence” - they turn out to be distant relatives. True maybe their not like second cousins or something, but it had to surprise them at least a little bit, don’t you think? Perhaps this knowledge helped ease their tensions with each other. (Well, probably the beer from the beer summit helped too) But when people discover some connection to one another, it seems to be able to break down walls. Maybe it’s not something like a DNA test proving a connection of centuries to some Irish ancestry like it was for Crowley and Gates. Maybe you’re talking to a co-worker or a classmate and discover you’re from a neighboring high school or that you’re both Italian. You both are Yankee fans (and both hate the Phillies) - up until that moment you might have never perceived one similarity between each other - but now that you discover a connection, it’s hard not to appreciate that connection and feel differently. You’re able to stop seeing the differences so much and see something similar to each other.
Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. And like so many things in our faith, we often misunderstand what it’s all about. We often look at these Saints just as really holy people who we have nothing in common with. These are holy people who love God and God loves them. They’ve died, they’re in heaven - they got it all together, while we focus on how we struggle. We think, hey it’s great if I get to Mass on Sunday , what connection can I have with the saints?
The reality is, today’s feast is meant to remind us, (or perhaps it’s sudden, new, shocking information to us) that we’re related to these Holy people. By our Baptisms we’ve been joined into God’s family, which is why throughout the Mass we refer to each other as brothers and sisters (not something we should be limiting just to Mass, by the way, but that’s something for another day)
So the Saints are in a sense our older brothers and sisters. Men and women like you and me. Who in their day and age struggled to be good people, holy people. Tried to find God in their lives and the world around them and to respond to his direction and activity. Which is why we had the Gospel reading we had today, Jesus Beatitudes. If we go up and down that list of all the people Jesus is calling “Blessed” - the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek (when have the meek ever been high on anyone’s list?) those who hunger and thirst (yeah them too) - would anyone of them consider themselves “Blessed?” Most of us when we experience moments of those things consider them “difficult time” or we’re “having a bad day.” But what makes a saint a saint is that they understand they are “blessed” not because it’s great these rough things are happening, but because they remain absolutely convinced that God is with them through that. And they pick themselves up, they struggle and try to live that reality in the face of those trials.
And the world notices them. Even with our 30 second- attention spans - names like Francis of Assisi, Therese of the Little Flower, Augustine, from hundreds and thousands of years ago somehow resonate in our memories. And more current heroes like John Paul II or Mother Teresa witnessed to us that saying “no” to the way the world operates and “yes” to the Lord is possible.
And there’s so many others that come in and out of life that might not elicit the global attention like those Saints, but there holiness impacted our lives. I can think of relatives, friends, or good holy priests who affected my life. I’m sure you can too. This feast day calls us not to idolize them from afar but to see our connection, see our relationship, see how we’re related to them. Our older brothers and sisters call out to us to recognize how God is active and present at all times in all things. In the joys and the sorrows - when we are mourning, when we are comforting those who are mourning - and everywhere in between. Our older brothers and sisters are encouraging and rooting for us too, looking for that banquet, that heavenly “summit” when we will be united together for much more than a brewsky in the sky - rather God’s eternal banquet.

ASK A STUPID QUESTION

Hi everyone - so here’s my homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 25, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/102509.shtml , Thanks for checking in, for reading and all your feedback and comments. Much appreciated! God Bless - have a great week!
Father Jim

HOMILY:

Here’s a stupid question - did any of you know that there’s an “ASK A STUPID QUESTION DAY” that’s considered a holiday? It’s true - supposedly September 28th has been “Ask a Stupid question day” for over 20 years or so. It was started by school teachers to encourage their students not to be reluctant to ask a question when they are in class.

Thanks to the marvels of the internet, you are able to get multiple lists of stupid questions. So out of love for all of you, I went through list upon list to come up with my own top ten list of stupid questions that have been asked:

10-Why is Grape Nuts cereal called that, when it contains neither grapes, nor nuts?
9-If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
8-If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
7-If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?
6-If a cat always lands on its feet, and buttered bread always lands butter side down, what would happen if you tied buttered bread on top of a cat?
5-What color would a smurf turn if you choked it?
4-If a kid refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest?
3-If laughter is the best medicine, who's the idiot who said they 'died laughing'?
2-If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why's it still #2?
1-If pro and con are opposites, wouldn't the opposite of progress be congress?

Stupid or dumb questions... Those seem to fit that category, don’t they?

In hearing today’s Gospel, no offence to Jesus (he knows me, I think he knows I mean no offence ... ) but - in reading the Gospel we hear that there’s a blind guy on the road trying to get his attention. After the blind guy finally gets his attention - He calls him over, Jesus walks over to him, and asks “What do you want me to do for you?”

Again, no offence to Jesus - but, doesn’t that seem to fall in the “dumb/stupid question” category???? I mean, what did he think the blind guy was going to answer with? “I’d like a new cloak to sit by the side of the road with Jesus, thanks???”

Perhaps Jesus was a believer in the old axiom or cliche that goes ‘there’s no dumb questions (or stupid questions) only dumb answers?”

Because throughout the scriptures, we encounter a bunch of times where Jesus asks somewhat straightforward questions and if we’re honest and think about it, were he to ask us, we might not have the “smartest” of responses to those questions Jesus asked. For example, Jesus asked “What is your name?” Why, aren’t you God, shouldn’t you know? Or when he asked another person“why do you call me good?” Because I’m hoping to get on your GOOD side! Or in that famous encounter with the apostles when Jesus asked them “Who do people say that I am?” Can’t even begin to tell you the gamut of answers. Jesus turns to the twelve and asks “Who do you say I am?” Uh....

So maybe with tonight’s Gospel, Jesus wasn’t asking a stupid question of Bartimeus (I know you’re all shocked) Maybe he was trying to help the blind man realize what was happening. Because we need to go a little bit deeper in that Gospel. It’s easy for us to get hung up or focused just on the cure. But there’s so much more going on here. It’s getting “late” for Jesus. He’s going to Jerusalem to face his coming Passion and Death. Many of the people in Jerusalem will be debating who Jesus is and what to do about it in the coming days. The miracle was that the blind man saw Jesus. He saw God. He saw Love incarnate. And so as the blind man has this encounter with Jesus his first reaction, his first desire wasn’t to ask for anything other than Jesus himself ... What does he cry out - “JESUS SON OF DAVID HAVE PITY ON ME.”

The first thing he asks for from Jesus isn’t the cure. The first thing he desires is simply Jesus’ attention. Jesus - feel sorrow for me... You who are all good, all love - see how sad my life is. See how I suffer. Have pity for me. Jesus asking the question “What can I do for you?”is a moment of hope. God is paying attention. God is present. God is there in the midst of the misery the poor guy is going through. So it’s anything but a stupid question.

But there could be a bunch of stupid answers - “What can you do for me? WOE IS ME”
“Nothing, no one else has been able to do anything” “What does it matter - you’ll let me down, like everyone else”

Not too far-fetched when we think about it. Often times as we bring our prayers, our petitions, our concerns, the things that weigh on our hearts to Jesus it’s with that type of attitude. We know he’s the one to go to. But we’re still blinded from seeing who he truly is. Jesus comes to us, through one another - through this word that we’re hearing - through his own Body and Blood that we will receive in a little while. In all of those ways, he keeps telling us how he is paying attention how he is present. How he is there in the midst of whatever misery or struggles we are going through. “What can I do for you?” our loving Lord continues to ask us.

For Bartimaeus the eyes of faith enables him to have the right answer - Jesus I want to see...

For us to be the true disciples we claim to be, the challenge for us is that we must always want to see as Jesus sees. That’s incredibly difficult for us. Tempted to despair and disbelief, we don’t seem to be able to have that pure faith and trust that our Lord is always with us – wanting what is best for us. When that happens we must follow Bartimaeus' example and ask for help: Jesus can you help me see? And he never considers that a stupid question.

EVERYDAY SERVANTS

Hi everyone - here’s my homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 18, 2009. We’ve had a “lock-in” here at Montclair State over the weekend, which is basically an overnight retreat. So this Sunday night Mass is kind of the close to that retreat (hence the more “local” examples) - but perhaps these examples will help trigger local examples for you as well.

The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/101809.shtml

God Bless - Father Jim

HOMILY:

So it’s 12:30 on Thursday night. Or more accurately Friday morning. I’ve been working on this homily most of the week – prayed with this gospel trying to listen to what Jesus is speaking to me through the readings. A variety of ideas and thoughts come to mind on what direction to go. Nothing seems to work.

I just deleted another Word Perfect document draft of my homily (Yeah, I use Word Perfect and I’m proud of it), when Matt Higgins (our recent college graduate who’s a campus minister here with me) stops by. He wanted to talk about this weekend’s Lock-in (a mini-overnight retreat we have on campus). He had a couple of questions about some of the retreat talks. Final counts for the weekend - questions about supplies and other details... He leaves and I’m thinking to myself, it’s Thursday night - Matt’s 23 years old. Yet he’s been working hours upon hours on this Lock-in for weeks with our lock-in team. This is one thing among a variety of other things that people don’t even know about or realize that Matt does. He’s a smart, good guy... could be doing anything - yet here he is, investing his time and energy, selflessly giving them...

As he leaves, I can still hear people downstairs (remember it’s after midnight) It’s one of our 5 FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Missionaries. Now those of you who know them or met them in the last 7 weeks or so, probably realize what awesome people they are. They’re recent college graduates. Smart, diverse, gifted people. Even with this terrible economy and high unemployment, all 5 of them could be employed - without a doubt. They’re hardworking. They’re intelligent. Yet, here it is after midnight and one of them is still working (and laughing with their helpers) as they stuff envelopes – writing to people and asking for their financial support so that they can pay their rent, get gas for their cars, take care of all their bills as they work here, serving YOU. Come to think of it, I’ve seen that all week. In between doing their multiple Bible studies, meetings to try to make sure as many of you who want to go to the conference over Christmas break can go – sitting and spending time with students, after ALL OF THAT, our missionaries have been working - whether it was later on Friday evening last week, or various hours they found during the week in between meetings, etc, all of them doing the same appeal letters to people. They’re doing all of this; they are here, putting their lives, careers on hold; sacrificing their comfort and all; AND doing fundraising appeals- for the privilege of being able to minister to you (and yes, it is a privilege).

And while we’re at it - we can’t forget Mary our Office Manager and Pastoral Associate. She’s a highly intelligent, gifted women who’s been successful in the world, worked in the garment industry, has her own family- and she’s here.... Look (or listen) to Bruce our Music Director, he too has his own family. The guy’s so talented and joyful as a musician - he could be working anywhere and he’s here - every Sunday night for this his third year.

Me, well, the Archbishop sent me, I didn’t have a choice. Just kidding - you know (or I hope you know) how much I love you guys and love being here.

Yes it’s 12:45 in the morning on Friday and all of this is dawning on me. It’s so obvious, that I take it for granted. We can take it for granted - not only how blessed we are. But even more, the living witnesses we have to what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel.

Because when we hear and read this Gospel where Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all” - it’s a little unfathomable. It becomes a nice pious sentiment. It’s a beautiful ideal that the Gospel presents that we hear every so often - but it’s not really real to us. Maybe - we will call to mind Mother Teresa as an example of someone who did that and while that’s an accurate one, she cannot be the only one - and she’s not. Which is why it’s good for us to take a moment to look around. Not in an awards-style ceremony where we acknowledge achievement, but in a more personal, loving way at our own everyday examples.

Simply for us to take a moment and recognize – living the Gospel, right here, right now is possible. Is it difficult? Absolutely. But it’s also life-giving; life altering; radical; and utterly amazing as we see what is possible when we allow Jesus to take the wheel, as we put aside our wants and desires, as we in a sense learn and practice what true love is - something that seems more and more foreign, rare, unknown to people in this day and age.

That’s why as we keep reading this Gospel of Mark, something sticks out. It’s more and more obvious that the apostles haven’t a clue what Jesus is talking about. Sure they’ve been with him for years by this point. More than a couple of times, they have heard him predict his passion and death. More than a couple of times they’ve heard him explain what “greatness” in the kingdom of God means.

None of it will make sense though until the Cross. As Jesus dies on that cross, pours out his entire life for humanity - then everything will click for them. No, just as he had been saying over and over, Jesus will not be conquering the Romans with armies of people raising arms against one another in a war-time battle. Jesus’ battle will be won one heart at a time. And the first ones that will finally be conquered are those of the apostles who will be able to start living the life that Jesus has called them to. Some better at it than others, but at least trying each day to get up, hear his voice and respond...

And it’s been the same ever since. People still try to do the same thing each day. So when we look around us here, no these people are not saints ... They’re just like you guys. They are people, who are Catholic Christians. Some went to Catholic School. Some had awful CCD classes. Some have really devout Catholic Families. Some have families who haven’t a clue why they are doing what they are doing. All of them could be doing better (financially, at least, and in other ways the world deems important) than they are doing by being here - as a part of the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry here at Montclair State University.

Yet they happily, joyfully serve here. Why? Because the voice of Jesus in today’s Gospel resonates in their hearts and souls — whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first must be the slave of all.

Where are you in that line? How is Jesus calling you?

What pops into your head, that you immediately shake your head about and say, “Nah - I could never do that for Christ, for others - that’s a crazy thought”? Is it a call to be a priest or a religious? Is it some career of service that may not be as financially successful or significant in stature to the world, but the thought of it brings joy to your heart in a way that nothing else does? Maybe it’s just an invitation to grow closer to Jesus and one another right here, right now in a smaller but meaningful way - community service, bible studies... How is Jesus trying to conquer your heart so that you can help him win over someone else’s? How can you become a servant to all? It may be crazy, at least in the view of the world, but, done lovingly, with God, all things are possible.

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT

Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 11, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/101109.shtml. Thanks for reading and all of your feedback! Fr. Jim

What more do you want????

You ever feel like saying that?

Maybe it’s to the professor who seems to pile more homework on top of already assigned papers with exams looming in the not too distant future - forgetting that you have four other classes...

Maybe it’s to your boss who isn’t so much as “suggesting” as much as “expecting” that you’ll work more - (perhaps without even getting the money or recognition you deserve for the extra work)

Maybe it’s to family members who put whatever ethnicity-you’re-from guilt on you for a variety of reasons (we Italians think we’ve got this market cornered. We might have perfected the guilt factor, but I have to say, I’ve seen other nationalities do pretty well in this realm).

We all seem, at one point or another, to get exasperated or stressed or pushed to a breaking point. We feel we’ve done all we could - we don’t have another ounce to give and if someone (anyone) comes forward with one more request, suggestion or demand we’re going to snap and say “WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?”

In reading this Gospel passage I sense that this young man, and even the apostles, are in a similar position. They might be acting respectful by not saying it, but you can almost read their minds - they’re almost at the breaking point and they want to say “WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, JESUS?”

This rich man approaches Jesus with a question of eternal importance: What must I do for eternal life? Because he’s a wealthy individual, it seems that he’s a practical, successful type of individual. Perhaps he’s a businessman - “Jesus I’d like to confirm my reservation for eternity? Deluxe suite please. If we review my record, I’d like to make sure everything’s covered. As you know, I haven’t killed anyone... no adultery, either – looks good, huh? Maybe I can get a penthouse in this eternal kingdom you keep talking about....”

Jesus, lovingly looks at the rich man and says, “Yeah, you’re doing the right things, but maybe not entirely for the right reasons. You want the deluxe room? You want eternal life? You can experience it all right now... Sell all your riches and come follow me.”

The guy leaves.

It’s almost as if he’s saying “I could have killed a couple of people or committed some other sins that seemed kind of attractive at the time, and I didn’t... WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT???”

And, interestingly, the Apostles seem a bit perplexed as well. Confused probably because they had mistakenly seen wealth and abundance as signs of God “taking care of someone.” So here they were. They had left all they had behind. Fishing careers, government jobs, maybe not the most exhilarating things in our minds, but hey, they liked their jobs, they paid the bills, they took care of things. So they had left all of those things, and now they hear Jesus tell this wealthy guy – maybe the richest person they’ve seen in a long time – to give all that up and follow Jesus. To join the rest of this materially poor group.

Maybe Peter was getting a bit frustrated with the lack of accommodations, security, wealth, power or prestige that those in authority are used to. Instead, Peter and the crew are basically waiting for the next miracle for their next meal. And so he kind of barks out - We have given up everything and followed you – or - What more do you want?

For the rich man, the apostles, for you and I - eternal life, being a disciple, following Jesus - it’s not only about doing all the right things, avoiding the wrong things (or hoping that God didn’t see it when we screwed up)

We follow the commandments that God gave us because we recognize the goodness of them. That they are (as the popular Protestant preacher Dr. Robert Schuller once said) commands meant for our happiness. And when we follow them - we start to see how they are designed to get us in touch with the Father’s heart. Breaking the commandments isn't about breaking the Father’s law as much as it's about His heart.

When we follow them, they bring us closer to God. And what Jesus sees in the young man and the apostles is people who DO see the goodness of the commandments - the rightness in walking in the light - and that they follow them, and they struggle, and they try and they fail and they pick themselves up again and try and they keep going.

Jesus looks at that with Love. He looks at us with Love He’s trying to help us by giving us the key. Why do we struggle? Why do we fall? Why do we make the wrong choices when we know what is right? Why does temptation still wreak havoc in our lives when we know that when we choose not to go down those paths God has laid out for us, they are designed to do just that, wreak havoc?

Because we’re still not detached enough from the things of this world. Jesus is saying “Rich guy - you want the joy that comes from being a righteous man - you must drop that gold that you're clinging to in your hand in order to grab my hand”

For Peter and the apostles he’s saying - “Look guys, you must drop these ideas in your heads that following the Messiah is going to lead to some powerful reign where you are going to be “taken care of” in the possessions and positions the world deems as signs of greatness... the reality is you’re already being taken care of.”

He’s asking us what is it that’s holding us back? Am I rich in popularity, in friendships? Or am I rich in gifts and talents? Maybe I'm a person of considerable intellect and smarts? Instead of asking God “What more do you want” the proper question we need to ask is Do we want any of those things more than what Jesus wants for us, namely to experience eternal life now? Do we want these riches, or do we want Jesus Himself?

MARRIAGE WITHOUT LOOPHOLES

MARRIAGE WITHOUT LOOPHOLES....

Hi everyone. Thanks for checking out my blog and reading my Sunday Homily. I’m grateful for your feedback and reactions. Here’s my homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 4, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/100409.shtml. The Gospel is Mark 10: 2-12:

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

HOMILY:

A gospel that’s asking for a homily on marriage here in USA in 2009 - there’s nothing controversial there, huh? I would imagine that for a lot of people hearing this Gospel, there’s a great temptation to shut down or tune it out or explain it away or look for some loophole...(even as a priest, maybe I can just talk about the second reading this week)

After all, statistics tell us that all of us know people, (or are people) who’ve experienced divorce. We hear how Politicians are becoming very bold in saying that they will change the definition of marriage from what has been understood as one thing for thousands upon thousands of years to what present day society claims to be a more enlightened understanding of marriage being simply about people loving one another. (Particularly here in New Jersey, politicians boast that, no matter what the results of the election, they plan on passing “Gay marriage” in the lame duck session after the election) If you take a look at all the prime time television shows - almost every night there’s something in prime-time that tries to legitimize or normalize divorce, out of wedlock relationships (that are usually sexual) and gay marriage.

Society seems to keep telling us that things have changed and that religion needs to get with the times. If you should happen to disagree or question any of these things that society has accepted, well then you’re conservative or you’re closed minded o r worst of all you’re being hateful.

So we’re bombarded with these realities in our world and hear this Gospel and what do we think? Jesus must have been misquoted? Or, maybe Jesus didn’t really mean what he said ? There are some who will argue those theories. In fact I know of a few ministers who will work REALLY REALLY hard on this theory and confuse the issue (and their people) by asking questions upon questions that are designed just to muddy and confuse things just enough so that their people aren’t sure. They provide just enough cover for people to claim ignorance since, they can argue “we’re not biblical experts,” and because these ministers are saying things that will make religion a bit more acceptable to the world around us with it’s ever changing realities, some buy into what they’re teaching...( In this instance, it is those ministers who are the ones who are ignorant, but that’s for another time, another place)

The notion of marriage being a s acred bond between a man and a woman who become a husband and wife for life is treated more and more as a novelty or a relic of a former era.

The thing that is striking in reading this Gospel is how little things have changed in 2,000 years. Sure we have evolved over a couple of millennium with twitter and you-tube and all now. But if you look at what the Pharisees are saying and doing here - they’re simply looking for a loophole. Jesus is asked this religious question “Is it okay for a man to divorce his wife?” The fact that the Pharisees asked the question tells me that they already knew it was wrong. Have you ever noticed that no one ever asks “Hey Jesus is it okay to give a starving person some food?” People seem to know on some level instinctually what is right and what is wrong. So they knew on some level that there was something wrong about divorce.

But they also knew it was a controversial issue that divided people Heck, it had been since Moses was around. Moses in fact got to the point that he couldn’t deal with the c onstant whining and complaining and arguing by the people over this issue. At the same time, Moses was worried about all the abuses that were being done and how women were being treated like property. Yes, he saw that sin had deeply wounded an institution that God had created. God gave this gift of marriage so that when a man and a woman come together in this committed relationship, sacrifice their individual selves for the other and live that commitment for the rest of their lives - that would enable them to participate in the divine act of creating new life. Thousands of years ago, people struggled, some failed and some more (a vocal group to be sure) looked for a loophole and so Moses relented and relaxed God’s mandate.

Yes, Moses allowed divorce because he couldn’t speak to his people’s hearts or change them. Moses was a great man, but even he knew he couldn’t do that. No God himself would have to do that. Enter Jesus. That is Jesus’ mission - to change hearts, to reclaim them to what they were originally designed and created for. To make us stop looking at God’s commandments and rules and laws as things that inhibit who we are or what we want to do (and looking for ways to do that without getting him angry at us) and=2 0instead realize that God’s law, God’s commandments are designed to give us the instructions on how to make God’s heart our own.

This isn’t about bashing people who’ve suffered through divorce or have made bad choices or struggle with different sinful temptations. It’s about recognizing the pain of those things and trying to help others not go down those same roads. We do that by revering God’s law, not by redefining it or making clauses, exemptions. Misery doesn’t love company, it just brings together more and more miserable people.

A few weeks ago, I was attending a Mass for the installation of a new pastor. Before Mass began, this middle-aged woman came in to ask the Bishop to do a blessing for her parents who were celebrating their anniversary that night. I must admit, knowing how long these Installation Masses can be, coupled by the fact that I wasn’t sure where I parked in Hoboken was a great location and all - well, I wasn’t exactly overjoyed or excited that Mass was going to go even longer.

After communion, the Bishop invited the couple up, and these two older people started to walk up the aisle. Holding their hands - already with tears in their eyes. They got to the foot of the altar and the Bishop asked them how many years they were married, and the wife responded 60 years. And then when he asked them, where did they get married and she said right here - I don’t think there was a dry eye in the Church.

I watched them and how they couldn’t even really look at each other. But that they, very lovingly kept holding and rubbing each other’s hands. What had they lived through? What struggles, which seemed insurmountable at times, had they conquered? What joys and moments of pride, what sleepless nights of worry had they had over their children? What twists and turns, ups and downs did they encounter? How often did they think “THAT’S IT - I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE” - and yet found the grace from God to give them the strength to try and return to that commitment they had made. I have no idea - I don’t even remember their names - I don’t know their story. But I know that I witnessed something radically sacred. I know that those were two people who weren’t perfect - but kept trying, 60 years and counting, to live those radical, life altering vows.

I wonder what they think today... They probably don’t even watch or know of the top rated shows that lampoon and mock their commitment and label it as cute nostalgia (their probably too busy chasing after their 15 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren) I bet For them, there’s nothing controversial about marriage - as the simply live everyday of their lives bearing witness to the beauty of God’s truth. Yeah, I bet they’re glad they’re weren’t any loopholes.