Sunday, March 8, 2015

Homily 3rd Sunday of Lent - Cycle B - Spring-cleaning and cleansing our temples


It looks like winter is finally coming to an end and spring is just around the corner.   After being cooped up in the house for the last few weeks of cold and snow I bet you’re ready for some warmer weather and a change from the drab scenery.   Along with the warmer weather comes everyone’s favorite activity: Spring-cleaning.   It’s time to do some deep cleaning and get rid of the clutter that’s accumulated in the house and garage over the winter, and freshen things up.   It’s amazing after a thorough cleaning how you can see things in a new light.   This season of Lent helps us to clean up and get rid of the clutter in our spiritual lives, so we can get ready for the new season of Easter.
Jesus was doing some clean up today as we hear the Gospel of the cleansing of the temple. He was doing this with an attitude to make a point.  We hear he made a whip out of cords, overturned table of coins, and drove animals out of the temple area.  Why would he do this?  The moneychangers and merchants were necessary for the pilgrims’ visit to the temple.   People had traveled a long way on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and had to make an offering to God in the temple.  They weren’t able to bring offerings with them on these long trips so they needed to purchase them when they got to Jerusalem.   They also needed to exchange the Roman coins that had pagan symbols on them, which were prohibited in the temple, for Jewish money that was acceptable for use in the temple.  These merchants & moneychangers were located in the court of the Gentiles and outside of the temple proper and weren’t interfering with worship. So both of these services seemed to be legitimate to the needs of the people, but their presence was probably distracting.
When Jesus enters the temple it makes these offerings obsolete, because the temple was no longer necessary to worship God.    Jesus is the incarnate Word of God, the person of God in human flesh and blood.  He was there to fully reveal God to humanity through His presence.  Jesus is making the point that He is the new temple, through the temple of His body.   He will reveal who he is through the miracles of healing, casting out demons, and forgiving sins. But he knew the people of Israel would be slow to accept this.  They were too caught up in their old ways of worship and could not recognize who Jesus is, the Messiah and Son of God. So he stirs things up by cleansing the temple.   When challenged by Jews in the temple of why he did this his response is: “To destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews had no idea of what he meant by this.   It took forty-six years to build the temple, and they could not fathom what he meant by rebuilding in three day.    This would only make sense to those who heard it after his crucifixion and resurrection.
We can as well get caught up in our old routines that clutter up our ability to recognize Jesus and who he is if we don’t take time to do some spiritual cleaning of our own temples. As baptized Christians we make up the Body of Christ.  If Jesus is the new temple, we participate in it as being part of the Body of Christ.  How do we clean up our own temples individually and as a community:  Through our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and alms giving that bring us to repentance.   During Lent we have plenty of opportunities to clean up our temples by assessing what’s cluttering up our spiritual lives and receiving the sacrament of reconciliation.  
If we are going to make a good confession, we need to take some time and do a good assessment of our relationship with God and our neighbor.  Last week Father Vince gave us some good ideas to start on this assessment by reflecting on attitudes we need to fast from and also feast on.  This week we read about the Ten Commandments to given to Moses.  By following these it helps us to live as Jesus teaches: to love God and neighbor.  These commandments help us assess what clutter to remove from our lives. Most of the commandments are written in a negative context: thou shall not.  In the Lenten spirit of the changing our hearts & repenting it may be better to think of these as actions to avoid or in some cases to do, so we can be free from sin and love God and neighbor. When we review the commandants its a good idea examine our sins of omissions as well which the actions we should be doing, but may not be doing that well, to show our love for our neighbor.  For example have I been generous with the gifts God have given me and shared them with those who are most in need?  The beatitudes are a good tool to reflect on this as they help us determine if our actions are being Christ like.
So as you do some spring-cleaning at home remember to clean out the clutter that keeps you from being in relationship with Jesus, so you can be prepared at Easter to recognize Jesus as our Savior who builds up the Body of Christ.  May God bless all of you!

Homily for 1st Sunday of Lent - Cycle B - Set your sights on the Kingdom of God


Have you ever longed to be somewhere else to take you away from your cares and troubles?  I bet today is one of those days with the cold and snowy weather we’re having. The rainbow in today’s first reading reminded me of favorite childhood movie where someone longed to be taken away from her cares at the end of the rainbow:  The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy longed to be in a perfect land beyond the horizon.  She got her wish and wound up in munchkin land and then journeyed to Oz. We may yearn to
escape from our troubles, but we don’t need to search over the rainbow to find it. In today’s first reading God makes a covenant with Noah to never again destroy all the men and creatures of the earth through a flood. God’s reminder of this covenant is the rainbow. It’s fulfilled through Jesus who brings about the Kingdom of God. 
Today’s Gospel is brief, but has a powerful message.  In the first part we hear about Jesus overcoming the temptation by Satan in the desert.  There aren’t a lot of details about this encounter, but it gives us great hope.  We’re told that, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert”.  Just prior to this John had just baptized Jesus, and the Holy Spirit had descended upon him.  Jesus’ immediate action after baptism is to battle Satan and the wild beasts in the desert.  Jesus resists the temptations of Satan with the help of Holy Spirit and angels.  His victory over the temptations reverses the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin. Jesus wasn’t in need of baptism, he’s without sin, but by being baptized and tested in the desert, he unites himself with our struggles to overcome sin.   His obedience in following God’s will triumphs over Satan, and is also triumph for us.   This is Good News!
In the second part Jesus proclaims:  “Now is the time of fulfillment.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.” The Kingdom of God is a prominent theme of Jesus’ ministry.  In proclaiming the Kingdom He’s announces that God’s reign has come through himself.   The people of Israel had longed for God’s reign to come in a Messiah who would overcome the political powers to restore a rightful ruler to Israel. But Jesus was not the mighty ruler they were expecting.  He is a humble servant, who not only came for the people of Israel, but for everyone.
Jesus continues John’s ministry of calling to repentance and baptism, but adds a new dimension.  Jesus proclaims to “Repent AND believe in the Gospel.”  Another word for Gospel is good news. What is the good news: Jesus miraculous healings and forgiveness of sins to bring about the Kingdom of God. Also, the salvation made possible for us through his obedience in suffering and sacrifice. This indeed is good news!
Lent can be a challenging time.  It’s a time that we deny ourselves through daily sacrifice.  We’re giving up things that we like and committing our time in prayer or serving others. It’s a time set apart by the Church to repent through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  While these practices are a challenge, they’re meant to lead us to where we should really want be: the Kingdom of God celebrating the Easter Joy of the Risen Lord.   If we keep this destination in mind and unite our sufferings with Jesus it can make the time of Lent a time of joyful anticipation. 
We don’t need to go it alone during Lent. Through our baptism we can rely on the Holy Spirit to bring about the virtues to help us in our journey.   We can call on our guardian angel to help fight the temptations the devil puts in our way.   We also have our families and faith community who can support us.  But even with this help we may fail in keeping our Lenten observances and yield to our temptations.   These failures may not be all that bad, as they help us to realize we need a savior.  When we struggle with our temptations please that remember Jesus faced the same challenges and is united with us in our struggles.  He understands what we’re going through and has compassion for us.  If we fail in our Lenten disciplines or fall into sin don’t give up.  Ask Jesus for help and start over.  If you need to go to confession there are plenty of times to receive Jesus’ forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation.
If you haven’t chosen a Lenten discipline yet or are struggling in keeping yours, I’d like to offer three for consideration.   The first is to slowly pray the Our Father daily. Meditate on how you’re living out this prayer in your daily life.   Really focus is on, “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.  Think about how you are bringing about the Kingdom of God to those close to you and also to those most in need.  A second suggestion is to read Mark’s Gospel from start to finish.  This is the shortest Gospel and is being read throughout the Church year. One of the best ways to come to know the good news of Jesus is to read the story about him.   If you finish before the end of Lent is over, read it again.  Finally, plan on coming to Mass twenty minutes early to participate in the Stations of the Cross devotions. These practices will help you “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
Instead of longing to be somewhere over the rainbow during Lent set your sights on the Kingdom of God, recalling the covenant of God’s love.  Through God’s love the waters of baptism bring us new life in Christ.  Through baptism the grace of the Holy Spirit provides strength to live a virtuous life and resist temptations to sin.  It also helps to make the Kingdom of God present to those around us through our acts of service to others.   As we prepare to receive the Eucharist let us all thank God for the Holy Spirit and His angels who help us on our Lenten journey.