The power of the Son overcomes the darkness of sin, Homily 3rd Week of Easter

 The past week we had the incredible experience of viewing the total eclipse of the sun. I hope you were able to take a few minutes to see the incredible phenomenon. Many people traveled from around the world to see the eclipse. I even heard about one young man named Evan that traveled from Wales in the United Kingdom to Evansville, Indiana to view the eclipse, to celebrate his birthday was April 8. There were all kind of parties and special events throughout central Indiana leading up to this once in a lifetime event. A friend of mine from Cincinnati invited me months ago to meet him in Greensburg, Indiana, as he thought it would be cool to

play golf during the eclipse. We finished the last hole when the totality approached with temperature cooling and sunlight dimming. We were next to the county fairgrounds where large crowds of people were cheering and blowing horns as the darkness appeared and the streetlights turned on. It was a much more memorable experience than I had anticipated and was something that I could witness to others of how impactful it was. I was amazed at how quickly the sky brightened and temperature increased after the moon passed to allow powerful rays of the sun to shine again.  The immense power of the sun is something that we can take for granted, without an event like the eclipse to remind us of its ever-present power to bring us warmth and light. In the same way, we can take for granted the ever-present power of the Son of God, to bring us peace through the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, without the experience of the Lord’s resurrection, which really and truly happened 2000 years ago. 

         In today’s Gospel we hear about the disciples who encountered the risen Jesus on their way to Emmaus and had returned to Jerusalem to share their experience. They were telling other disciples how they finally recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, when he shared the Eucharist with them.As they were telling their story, Jesus appears to the other disciples. They were probably a bit anxious and afraid to see Jesus. They had abandoned him in the garden of Gethsemane and left him with the guards to be taken prisoner, put on trial, tortured, and then crucified to death.  They bailed out on Jesus and left him alone.  What they did would be hard for anyone to forgive.  Also, it must have been frightening to have someone who they thought was dead appear to them.  Jesus recognizes that the disciples are troubled and speaks these words of comfort to them: “Peace be with you.” He knows they are troubled and puts them at ease by offering them his peace.   It’s probably not what the disciple’s expected to hear, but what they needed. To show them that he is alive and not a ghost, he shows them his hands and feet and invites them to touch him.   He even asks them for something that any person who is truly alive needs: food to nourish their bodies!  So, the disciples, give him some baked fish which he eats in front of them. Jesus is showing them he is fully alive in a glorified body.  Jesus then explains to them how his resurrection was foretold in Scriptures said that he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead after three days. Finally, Jesus gives the disciples’ get their mission: You are witness of these things to go and preach repentance for forgiveness of sins in His name. 

 

Jesus’ encounter with the disciples in Jerusalem is a model of our encounter with the Lord each time we come to Mass. We bring our own struggles, anxieties, and stresses just like the disciples.  We have broken relationships that need mending. Health concerns for ourselves and our loved ones.  Many other challenges that seem impossible to overcome. To add more fuel to the fire we have sinned against God, others, and ourselves.  We, like the disciples, may be troubled, and question whether we can be forgiven by Jesus.  But each week as we come to Mass, we experience the same encounter with Jesus as the disciples did in Jerusalem.  The Mass begins with priest, in the person of Jesus, offering the greeting of “Peace be with you”.  We are welcomed with the peace of Jesus.  

We are then given the opportunity to recall our sins, not to be condemned, but to ask forgiveness, where the priest says: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.”  Our minds are opened to the Scripture in the homily to make sense of what Jesus’ resurrection means in the context of our lives.  We are then nourished in a meal where Jesus’s body and blood is truly present under the appearance of the bread and wine in the Eucharistic. Our bodies are nourished so we can become what we eat: The presence of Jesus to others, so we can love God and our neighbor. We are finally sent out to witness like the disciples by the priest or deacon to “Go announce the Gospel of the Lord.”  

It can be easy to take for granted the incredible gift that Jesus has given us: the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of his life for each of us and the whole world. This should fill us with great joy so we can be witnesses to our families, friends, and co-workers!  If we let our minds be opened to the true gift of all that is offered at Mass, that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and through his sacrifice he can forgive our sins, it should bring us peace to help us through our troubles.  Our troubles may still be there, but with Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist it gives us grace and peace to help us through any challenging time.  

With the recent experience we all shared with the eclipse, it can be a reminder that the power of the sun, can’t be overcome by darkness.   It may be dark for a time, but the light of the sun soon overcomes the darkness.  Let this experience remind us that power of the Son of God, who overcame the darkness of sin by his death, and shines his redeeming light of mercy on us through his resurrection, if we ask his forgiveness, so that we can live with him for eternity. Let us not take this gift of grace and mercy for granted but seek to be witnesses as his disciples to all the nations.

 

The spiritual healing we need in our suffering: The peace of Jesus - Homily, 5th Sunday, Cycle B

 

The first reading from the Book of Job resonated with me, because there have been quite a few people that I’ve personally known recently that have been going through illness and suffering. Good people and it’s really hard to understand. If you are not familiar with the story of Job, you may want to read it. There is a recent modern day adaption of this story in the movie “The Shift”, if you prefer watching a movie. In a nutshell, The Book of Job is a story about a man whose life was going pretty well, but then had tremendous misfortune that would shake the faith of anyone. He was blessed with a large family, an abundance of livestock and land, and was faithful to God. Then Satan enters the scene, and contends with God that Job would lose his faith if he lost his family and fortune. God allows Satan to have power over the life of Job and puts him to the test. Job then loses everything, his family and livestock, are all gone, and he is afflicted with an illness. The story continues on, with Job’s friends coming to console and help him understand the reason for his suffering. They try to convince Job that he must have offended God which brought misfortune upon himself. But Job is persistent with them that there is nothing he has done to cause his plight.

The reading we heard paints the picture of Job’s heartfelt despair about his suffering. “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?”, “I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights allotted me”, and “I shall not see happiness again” Job did not sound hopeful at all. But throughout his plight, Job sustains his faith in God. In the end, Job is restored, over twice what he previously had. Why Job was allowed to suffer, remained a mystery that only God knew. Job appealed to God to know the cause of this suffering, but was only given the insight of God’s almighty power. Job was content with this answer, and put his trust in God. A purpose of Job’s story was that even people faithful to God may endure suffering.

When we listen to scripture, it can sound like our own story. Job’s words may be the reality of what you may be going through yourself. Or it can be the story of someone that’s close to us, like Eric Schommer, from the Criterion this last week.  When he was in the first grade, Eric had Perthes’ disease, a rare condition that disrupts the flow of blood to the head of the thigh bone, causing the bone to deteriorate and often leaving a child with pain, a limp and limited movement of the hip joint. “I wore a full leg brace for the duration of the diagnosis,” recalls Schommer, the principal of St. Monica School in Indianapolis. “This impacted my activities after school while running and riding bikes. It was also the focus of issues on the playground because we always played kickball.” It is difficult to understand why innocent people suffer, like Eric when he was in the first grade, but they do.

But our Gospel reminds us that we have a God who is always present and cares so much for us, that he became one of us enduring suffering himself to put an end to sin which is the ultimate cause our suffering. We hear today about healing that Jesus performed curing

Simon’s mother-in-law, and many who were sick with diseases, and possessed by demons, which may have been those with mental illness.  As a result of these healings, many people pursued Jesus, because they wanted relief as well. There were not doctors and medications like we have today. So in his divine power, Jesus miraculously healed the people, to relieve their physical and mental illness, so they could be spiritually healed as well, which they greatly longed for. It was thought by people at the time that those who had diseases and illness, were being punished by God due to their sinfulness. So they were not allowed into the synagogue to worship God. Healed of their illness and diseases they would be welcomed to join once again to worship God in the synagogue.

Jesus gives us a good model to follow, so we can help people heal physically, mentally, and spiritually as the Body of Christ. Before Jesus goes out to heal, he is in prayer with God.  He was in prayer in the synagogue, prior to healing Simon’s mother-in-law and went off to a deserted place to pray early in the morning before going out. Prayer is such as important aspect of Jesus’ healing ministry. He spends time in relationship with the Father, which gives him spiritual strength to be able to physically and mentally heal the people.   He was also being prepared to preach the Kingdom of God to overcome the power of sin. Jesus’ mission was to heal and preach, empowered by prayer with His Father.

We have been greatly blessed by modern medicine healing many illness, diseases, and injuries. God has provided us with the human ingenuity to develop medications, treatments, and surgeries to heal through these modern wonders. Even though we have these advances in modern medicine, people still need the peace of Jesus to ease their anxieties and fears as they go through in the healing process. Today the physical healing is addressed, but the spiritual healing is forgotten. Prayer and preaching about the Kingdom of God is something we can do to help the healing of the whole person, body, mind, and soul. If someone is going through a serious illness, they can receive the Sacrament of anointing of the Sick, administered by one of our priests. Too often this sacrament is only considered, when someone is terminally ill and near death.  This sacrament can be a tremendous blessing providing the grace and peace of Jesus for someone who is struggling with a chronic illness or major surgery as well as their caregivers. This sacrament is offered on a monthly basis after one of the weekday Masses and can also be scheduled with one of the priests. During the anointing of the sick, prayer and preaching is part of the rite to provide to support the spiritual healing of the person receiving the sacrament.  

As members of the Body of Christ, we can also provide prayer to help those going through these struggles.  When you hear about someone having surgery or a serious illness, ask them if it would be ok for you to pray for them.   You can do so privately in your own personal prayer time, or ask them if you can say a prayer with them.  I used to tell people I would prayer for them, but more recently have been praying with them at the time they tell me about their illness.  It can be a simple prayer such as, “Dear Lord, please be with Mary as she undergoes surgery tomorrow, so she can be healed, and guide the doctors and nurses who are caring for her, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.” If they are Catholic, why not invite with them to consider to ask their priest to receive the anointing of the sick.  And if they don’t have a particular faith, it can be a time to share your belief in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus and your hope of eternal life.

        Returning to the story about Eric Schommer, he found a refuge while visiting his uncle who lived at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis. He would visit his uncle every week to hang out, play chess, eat in the dining room with the Little Sisters, and go to church.  When his uncle found out what was happening to Eric, he started praying for him intently while also attending daily Mass and multiple prayer services, with his healing intentions for me.“Before second grade, I no longer required a brace, and X-rays showed that I no longer had Perthes. The following two years, my doctor would have me walk down the hall every time I came in for weekly allergy shots so he could show other doctors and nurses how I no longer had a limp. He cited it as a miracle, as there was an expectation of a need for a brace for several years.”

Even though we have modern medicine, Jesus is still healing people today. May we always keep in mind those who are ill and offer our presence in caring for them and prayers to be healed in body, mind, and spirit and receive the peace of Christ.

 

 

 

 

Epiphany of the Lord: What is the greatest gift of all?

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. This is a sign that our Christmas season will soon be ending. Many of us have given and received gifts in celebration of Jesus’ birth. We’ve had a few weeks to enjoy them. What’s the best gift that you received this Christmas.  Was it a toy, video game, clothing or jewelry?  Why was this your favorite gift?   What did the gift mean or do for you?  I think the greatest gift we’ve received this Christmas is God humbling himself to become one of us, being born as a little baby to Mary and his stepfather Joseph.  He came to us a gave the greatest gift or all, Eternal life, to those who come to believe in him. We have special gift that we can give to Jesus in celebration of his birth: our faith that he is the Son of God.    

The Magi we hear about today give us an example of this faith and honoring Jesus with their best gifts. The Magi were a special priestly class who were thought to have supernatural knowledge by interpreting the stars.   They were a people seeking something greater.  The Magi, who were Gentiles, those outside of the Jewish faith, came to Jerusalem to find a newborn king of the Jews.  They were people far from God, but were led to the people who were supposed to be close to God, to find Jesus. When King Herod, the King of the Jews, heard this, it was a threat to his power.  To deter this threat, he turned to the scribes and priests to ascertain where the new king was to be born.  He told this to magi so they could lead Herod to him.  Herod told them to return once they found him so he could pay homage, but he really wanted to kill him. This was the first instance of Jewish authorities seeking to harm Jesus and will continue throughout his life.  It’s interesting that the people far from God were led to seek out Jesus, but those close to God wanted to do him harm. The star directing the Magi to find the newborn king was a sign that Jesus came for all people.   He came for all of us!

 The Magi traveled to Bethlehem and were led by the star directly to the place where Jesus was.  This

was the divine action of God seeking out the Magi.  When the Magi encountered Jesus, they prostrated in homage before him.  This is an action of humility, by lying face down on the ground in reverence.There must have been something very powerful in the presence of Jesus that overcame the Magi to evoke such an action.  These Magi saw an ordinary little baby with his parents in very humble surroundings, but by faith they were compelled to worship him as a divine king.  In response their faith led them to give Jesus their best gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  After this encounter they were warned not to return to Herod.  Their faith in Jesus opened the eyes of their heart, and they were led to go another way to proclaim the newborn Messiah to the Gentiles.  

 Our response to Jesus, can be like the Magi, through our faith in him as our Lord and Savior.   We encounter Jesus each time we come to Mass.  We see ordinary bread and wine.   In faith we believe that Jesus’ Real Presence is contained in the Eucharist.   Like the Magi, Jesus seeks us out, to be with us. He comes in the Eucharist so we can receive him as food to nourish us spiritually.  Like the Magi, we show our reverence bowing to receive him. Our Catholic faith professes that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  He truly came in time to become one of us and offered his life in sacrifice to give us eternal life.   He continues to be with us through his Real Presence in the Eucharist.  

Like the star that guided the Magi, we have a light in every Catholic Church that guides us to Jesus. This light perpetually burns as a sign of Christ’s presence and is like the star that led the Magi to Jesus. We can be present with the Lord in any of our churches by seeking out the tabernacle and kneeling in humble adoration of Jesus. There are some people, even those who are Catholic, who struggle with faith in Jesus and his Real Presence in the Eucharist.   If you know of anyone like this, please share your own faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. There is nothing better than personal testimony from someone you are close to. Also consider inviting them to activities we have planned to prepare for the Eucharistic Revival being held in Indianapolis this summer. We have three Eucharistic revival small groups that will be meeting for seven weeks starting in January. There are also weekly and monthly holy hours to spend time with Jesus in Eucharistic adoration other parishes throughout the South Deanery.  Consider attending one of those holy hours and invite a friend to join you. When Jesus’ Eucharistic presence is exposed in adoration, it does something to you, eliciting a response of reverence and awe that the God of the universe is with you. These are great opportunities to develop and strengthen our faith in Jesus. So as the Christmas season comes to an end, let’s remember to be thankful for greatest gift we’ve received, the gift of Jesus, and to share that gift with others to bring them the light of faith.