Even the dogs eat the scraps from the table of their master: Jesus came to save all people - Homily 20th Sunday Cycle A

 

One of the activities that my wife and I really enjoy doing together is watching shows about cooking. Some of our favorite shows are Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Chopped, and Parts Unknown. We enjoy watching the shows because they involve some of the favorite things we like to do: eating, cooking, and travel. It’s very interesting to learn about all the different cultures, nationalities, and the unique types of food they eat and ways they cook. It’s opened us up to have a better understanding of people who are different from us.  Food is a common element among all peoples of the world, because we all need it to live, and it brings people together of all diverse cultures and nations. Today’s Gospel has a focus on food that may seem a divisive, but eventually leads to a better understanding of God’s salvation for all people. 

Jesus’ encounter with the Gentile Canaanite woman sure doesn’t sound like the Jesus

Artist: Jean Germain Drouais, 1784.

we’re used to. The woman is very respectful to Jesus, calling him Lord, Son of David, but Jesus ignores her. When Jesus says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, it is not at all what we’d expect him say. The woman’s second request for help is met with an insult, “It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs.” Jews of the day would call Gentiles dogs as a demeaning reference to them. Gentiles were considered a class below the Jews, and they had nothing to do with them.  So, to the disciples, Jesus’ response would be what a Jew was expected say to a Gentile.

Undaunted by the insult the woman gives Jesus spirited comeback: “Please Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  The woman speaks boldly because of her faith in Jesus’ healing power. He was so impressed by her great faith, that he healed her daughter. This probably stunned the disciples, because Gentiles, were not worthy from a Jewish perspective.  In healing the woman Jesus was teaching them that he was not just a Jewish man, but the Messiah of God, who came not only for the people of Israel, but for all people. Jesus goes along with the cultural norm, ignoring and insulting the Gentiles, in order to change the norm of the culture, that God’s kingdom is for everyone who has faith in Him, regardless of their ethnicity or class in the culture.

This parable is a reminder for us of the universal role of the Church to carry out the Lord’s missionary mandate: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Mt 28:18-19). All persons are created in God’s image and likeness and deserve the opportunity to learn about Jesus so they can freely choose to have faith in him as their savior.

How can we help the Church to carry out this mission to make Jesus known to all people?  It’s not just the clergy and religious that carry out this mission.  They play a big part in leading this mission, but it takes all of us in our own unique way in, planting the tiny seeds of faith that grow over time. There are many people we encounter every day at home, work, school, and where we play or serve that still don’t know Jesus. They may not look, speak, or act like us and we can be apprehensive in getting to know them. We can be like disciples thinking they are not worth paying attention to.  But if we take some time to personally get to know them, learning about their interests, family, and challenges, it can be a first step in showing them God’s love through our friendship.

We might start with some common ground of a favorite food we both like and sharing a meal with them. Henry Nouwen said, “A desire to eat together is an expression of the deeper desire to be food for one another, by being Christ for one another”. There are many people in the world today who don’t experience any love at all, because they are lonely or isolated. By sharing our love with them, they are experiencing God, because God is love.        That could be the first step in carrying out the Church’s mission.

I recently read a story about a ministry reaching out to the people who beg for help at stop lights or exit ramps. We’ve all seen them, and quite often it seems to be the same person day after day.  We can be skeptical and cynical of why they are there, but we can give the benefit of the doubt that they really do need help. It can be so easy to be like the Jews who ignored the Gentiles thinking of them as not worthy of our attention. One of the recommendations to minister to these people was to ask them their names and to give them some socks, a bottle of water, soft snacks along with a prayer card.   Many of these people are alone, homeless, have a mental illness and no family. One person who responded to a ministry volunteer said it was the first time in over two weeks that someone had spoken his name. A few weeks later the volunteer saw the same person again and greeted him by his name and asked how he was doing.  The person recognized the volunteer and responded, “I’m much better now hearing you say my name again and asking how I am doing.  Thanks so much.” This simple action was a sign of God’s love to the person down on their luck.

Simple acts of love and kindness in friendship can open the opportunity for us to share our faith in Jesus with others.  It may be offering to say a prayer with them when they share a struggle with us.   It could be an invitation for them to join us at Mass or to share a book with them. By sharing our friendship with them it shows us we care, and they’ll be receptive to listening to us and our faith in Jesus. May the Eucharist we soon receive strengthen our faith in Jesus and give us the courage to share in friendship our love and faith with all the People of God.

 

Connecting with the lonely and isolated to proclaim God's Kingdom - Homily 11th Sunday Cycle A

 

The Gospel that we heard today comes right after Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his travels to towns and villages proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and curing many of their illnesses and diseases.  

Many of those whom he cured were thought to have been enduring punishment from God because of their illness.  

As a result of their conditions, they not only suffered physically or mentally but were also excluded from worship in their faith communities.  

The synagogue was the center of worship for the Jews and was also the hub of social interaction for the people. 

This exclusion resulted in isolation and loneliness.

For many this isolation was much worse than the effects of their illness. 

Jesus knew their conditions were not due to punishment, and he cured them to restore their relationship with their faith community to make them whole again.  

These people needed to be treated with love, not isolation and exclusion.

Jesus is moved with compassion, and he takes the initiative to do something about it.

As I was traveling this past week, I heard the news on the radio of a US Surgeon General health advisory that was occurring in the United States, an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. 

It was said that this epidemic was occurring prior to the COVID-19 pandemic where over half of U.S. adults were experiencing significant levels of loneliness. 

The COVID-19 pandemic made it even worse.

The effects of loneliness on physical health can increase risk for premature death comparable to smoking daily.   

The impact of loneliness on mental health can double the risk in developing depression.   

The US Surgeon General stated: While the epidemic of loneliness and isolation is widespread and has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being, there is a medicine hiding in plain sight: social connection.

A Harvard Study, Loneliness in America, indicated that the pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness.  

It reported young adults are some of the most significantly affected by loneliness. 

Over half of the lonely young adults in the study reported that in the past few weeks that no one “had taken more than just a few minutes” to ask how they were doing to make them feel like the person “genuinely cared”.  

A recommendation of the study to alleviate loneliness was “Working to restore our commitment to each other and the common good.”

It stated: Loneliness is a bellwether not only of our country’s emotional and physical but moral health.

In this age of hyper-individualism, the degree to which Americans have prioritized self-concerns and self-advancement and demoted concern for others in many communities has left many Americans stranded and disconnected.

We need to return to an idea that was central to our founding and is at the heart of many great religious traditions: We have commitments to ourselves, but we also have vital commitments to each other, including to those who are vulnerable.  

To carry out His mission to care for the people Jesus appoints the twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and illness.   

They are then sent out with the instruction, not go to pagan territory or Samaritan town, but to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to proclaim the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand” and to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. 

These twelve disciples, except for Judas Iscariot, are the apostles who would become the first bishops to go out to establish the Church after Jesus' Ascension.  

Their mission was to not only cure the people of their diseases but to restore their relationship with the community.

Jesus in his great love for us gave his life in sacrifice to reconcile us with God and save us, even though we were sinners. 

This is the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus sent his apostles to proclaim. 

He continues to care for us today through His Church, the Body of Christ, made up of bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and lay people who gather in worship through the Eucharist to remember and participate in His saving action of love. 

When we come together as a Church community each week do so because of our need for God and each other.

There are so many people today in isolation and loneliness in our culture who are like the people Jesus had pity for who were troubled and abandoned.  

How can we proclaim the Kingdom of God to them and cure their illnesses and diseases and drive out demons?  

We can start by following Jesus' instructions to go to the lost people of Israel, which for us is our own family, friends, and neighbors. 

If there is someone we have not seen or heard from in a long time we can send a card or a letter to let them know we are thinking about them.  

Or we can make a phone call to see how they are doing and really take time to listen to them. 

That may be followed up with an invitation to meet them for a meal, an activity they enjoy doing, or even to join you at Mass. 

Connecting with people on a human level and letting them know you care for them may be just what they need to break out of their loneliness and isolation.  

And through this human connection, we can share with them the good news of the God who takes the initiative to save us because of his great love for us and to make his Kingdom present in our world.

 

 

Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension: Don't just stand there looking at the sky, call on the Holy Spirit

 

We heard in the first reading today of the two men saying to the disciples after Jesus was taken up into the clouds, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?”     

 

The disciples must have been dumbfounded thinking what in the world just happened here?  

 

Jesus had miraculously risen from the dead 40 days earlier, and now he has vanished into the clouds. 

 

This must have been a shock and they were probably in fear of what is going to happen now that Jesus is gone.

 

They are given some reassurance by the two men that Jesus would return just as he was seen going away to the heavens.

 

He would also continue to be with them always in Sacraments which would only be possible by the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension.  

 

This is the belief of our faith that we proclaim each time we recite the Creed, “He Ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”  

 

What did the Ascension mean to the disciples and what does it mean to us today?

 

Jesus had ministered public for three years, suffered and died on the cross, rose from the dead, and appeared to the disciples in his Glorified body for forty days.  

 

He had appeared many times over this period and spoke to them about establishing God’s Kingdom.  

 

But the disciple still didn’t get it. 

 

They were focused on the issue of the day: Restoring the kingdom of Israel.  

 

But Jesus had greater plans in mind for them: They were going to witness the Gospel of Jesus to the whole world, not just in Jerusalem.

 

How was this going to happen?

 

The disciples had been following Jesus for the past three years, but they now had a new mission to spread the Gospel throughout the world.   

 

If Jesus were still physically present with them, they’d be limited to where he was physically located in spreading the Gospel.

 

By ascending to heaven, Christ gave them the divine power to accomplish their mission in another way where Christ’s presence is without limits.

 

The Holy Spirit would empower them to proclaim Jesus through the eyes of faith in Jesus' and his real presence in the Sacraments.

 

St. Leo the Great, said this very well:

 

And so our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed in the sacraments. 

 

Our faith is noble and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high. 

 

This faith was increased by the Lord’s ascension and strengthened by the gift of the Spirit.

 

Jesus’ Ascension also accomplished something else: It opened the doorway to heaven for the rest of humanity.  

 

Jesus is now a powerful intercessor in heaven to reconcile us with Father.

 

Jesus' ascension bridges the gap between heaven and earth.  

 

Where do we find that bridge in the world?

 

In the Church through the Sacraments!

 

 

The Holy Spirit is sent to the disciples so they could spread the good news throughout the world.

 

This brought about the birth of the Church. 

 

In the book of Acts, we hear about the disciple's witness to Jesus' resurrection in their travels far and wide.  

 

They face many trials and tribulations in their travels and flee from one town to another to escape from being injured or killed.  

 

But this is just part of the plan to spread the Gospel and for the Church to grow. 

 

How will they do all this?  

 

Through the Holy Spirit, which is mentioned over 80 times in the Book of Acts. 

 

In Acts, we hear the disciples doing incredible works, healing the sick and raising the dead.

 

Many of the miracles are the same done by Jesus and are made possible through the Holy Spirit to bring people to believe and have faith in Jesus.

 

The Holy Spirit enabled the growth of the Church and gave the disciple power to do great things.

 

They followed Jesus' commission, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is what makes it possible for Jesus to be with us always until the end of the age through the Sacraments of the Church, especially in the Eucharist.

 

 

The Church is Christ’s Body and where heaven meets the earth. 

 

What and who is the Church? 

 

It’s each one of us, as the Body of Christ, in doing our part in witnessing to the Gospel. 

 

And how do we do this? 

 

By our words and deeds to announce the good news and be Christ-like to others.

 

A famous quote of St. Teresa of Avila sums up our role in spreading the Gospel quite well:

 

Christ has no body on earth but yours.

 

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world.

 

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

 

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

 

Christ has no body now on earth but yours!"   

 

To strengthen us in this mission we come to Mass each week to receive the graces of the Eucharist to be Christ’s body, hands, and feet in the world.

 

We can also pray daily and listen with our hearts as to where God is calling us to make a difference.

 

The Our Father is a great reminder of this mission when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.   

 

 

The world today certainly needs God’s kingdom to come.

 

It’s very much like the first century during Roman rule.

 

There is a lack of respect for the life and dignity of the human person, threats to our religious liberty, and a secular culture that has little concern for God. 

 

At the end of each Mass, we hear the dismissal: Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord, where are sent to make a difference in the world.

 

By each of us living this out, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can do our part in spreading the good news and making God's kingdom present.

 

Jesus commanded his disciples to witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

 

We can do the same with the people in Greenwood, Bargersville, and Indianapolis in our daily lives.

 

Throughout the day, we can invoke the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire us to spread God’s Kingdom, by praying a short prayer: “Come Holy Spirit”.

 

It can be very simple things we do, that can make a big difference in bringing others to Christ.

 

We can say a kind word to the person who rubs us the wrong way at home or work.

 

We can invite a classmate to play a game who is normally included in our activities.  

 

We can volunteer or donate to a local food pantry or homeless shelter to help people with their basic needs.

 

We can visit someone who is shut-in or at a care facility who doesn’t have any family or friends to visit.

 

So don’t just stand there looking up at the sky.  

 

Call on the Holy Spirit to help make God’s Kingdom present here in the world so people can come to know and have faith in the Lord Jesus by our witness in being Christ’s disciples.