You are what you eat - Homily for week 20 of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

You are what you eat.   Does this quote sound familiar? It was popular in the 70’s & 80’s to reinforce eating the right foods.  The food pyramid was developed to go along with the phrase to help us understand what food led to good overall health.   The pyramid base was the healthy food and the unhealthy food, that stuff that tasted the best, was the teeny part of the top of the pyramid.  A lot of effort was spent in education and marketing this concept. Which of the foods do you think most of us ate? I know I ate to many at the top of pyramid.  Some new models now make it easier to eat better, as my dietician daughter Nicole has shown me, helping me to eat healthier and hopefully live longer. Although these food models may help in living longer, they don’t help to live forever.  Only the Eucharist can do that.

Over the last four weeks we’ve been reading from John Chapter 6.  We’ve been given the opportunity to feast on the Wisdom of the eternal God so we can grow in understanding of the life giving food of the Eucharist. It began with the miracle of the five loaves and two fish were Jesus fed thousands of people.  After this miracle people seek out Jesus for more food.   He tells them not to seek that food that perishes, but to seek food that endures for eternal life.   

In our first reading from Proverbs the stage is set for God’s invitation to the Eucharistic feast.  We hear of Wisdom providing a sumptuous feast where all are invited, including the simple and those who lack understanding, so they can advance in understanding.  St.  Paul encourages the Ephesians not continue in ignorance, but to try to understand the will of the Lord.  He describes the Eucharistic liturgy filled with the Spirit, along with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, always giving thanks for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In coming together in the Eucharist, we can grow in understanding of this great gift feeding on Jesus in Word & Sacrament.

In John’s Gospel Jesus proclaims that: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread I give is my flesh for the life of the world.”   The Jews questioned Jesus about this, “How can this man give us flesh to eat?”  Think about how shocking sounded to the first century Jews. Jews were forbidden from eating animal flesh containing blood. He was also telling them to eat human flesh.  The original Greek word used to describe eating was not the normal way of eating a meal, but to eat as animals did, gnawing on munching.  This must have been repulsive to the Jews.

The Jew response provided Jesus an opportunity to restate his meaning.  But instead he reinforces what he just said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life”, “my flesh is true food”, and “This is the bread come down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread lives forever”.  He was not speaking in symbols or metaphors.   He was telling them to really eat and drink his flesh and blood to have eternal life.

We have the hindsight that the Jews didn’t: Jesus was speaking of the bread and wine of t

he Eucharistic meal mysteriously transformed into his flesh and blood.  We also know of the resurrected Jesus, who rose from the dead after offering his life as a sacrifice for us on the Cross. As true food and true drink the Eucharist nourishes us so we can grow spiritually.  Jesus also tells us: “Whoever eats my flesh and drink my blood remains in me and I in him.” Through the Sacrament of the Eucharist He remains in us and we remain in him, so our mortal bodies can become immortal.  Jesus became like us in flesh, so we could become like God in him.  It enables us to partake in the life of the Trinity. We affirm this reality each time we hear the priest conclude the Eucharistic prayer:

Through him, with him, and in him, O God Almighty Father, in unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours for ever and ever.  

Our response is the Great Amen where we affirm our belief that the Eucharist is truly Jesus’ flesh and blood that gives us eternal life.  Think about this each time you respond Amen at Mass.

These words were hard for the Jews to believe. Next week we’ll hear that many of his disciples left him after this.    It’s still hard for many people today to believe in this reality.  We know there are many Christian and even some Catholics who struggle with this belief.  If we keep the words of Proverbs in mind it may help: Those invited to the feast are the simple and those lacking understanding.  If we just simply listen to the words of Jesus, the Word of Wisdom, and believe that they are true, then we can have eternal life.   I’d strongly encourage to take time and read the entire content of John chapter 6 and be open to what he is saying.

By consuming the Eucharist, we receive grace and are transformed to grow in holiness and love to become one with Christ. As we become one with Christ, we are united with the body of Christ, and can transform the world. A great example of a person transformed by the Eucharist was St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta.  We know of her great love of the poor, which flowed from the power of the Eucharist. Consider her words: If we truly understand the Eucharist, if we make the Eucharist the central focus of our lives, if we feed our lives with the Eucharist, we will not find it difficult to discover Christ, to love him, and to serve him in the poor. If we feed on Jesus’ Word consuming them in our hearts, we can grow to understand he meant what he said: His flesh and blood truly gives us eternal life. By consuming the Eucharist, we can become what we eat.

Homily 15th Sunday, Cycle B

Today we hear about some unlikely people who were called to do the work of God.   

 

Amos was called to be a prophet of God and was not well received by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel.  

 

Amos was treading on his turf and told him not to prophesy in Bethel anymore. 

 

Amos tells him, I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore.  

 

He tended sheep and cared for trees.  

 

But, God chose him to go to Bethel to prophesy to the people of Israel.  

 

In the Gospel Jesus picked Twelve of his disciples and sent them out.   

 

These Twelve were the Apostles, sent to bring the Good News of Jesus to others.   

 

Jesus gave them special power with authority over unclean spirits.  

 

With this power, it would lend credibility to their message, and help bring people to have faith in Jesus.  

 

The apostles witnessed Jesus doing mighty deeds. 

 

They knew he was special.   

 

How could this group of humble men, mostly fisherman, possibly work the wonders that Jesus did? 

 

We’re told they did. 

 

The Twelve drove out many demons and they anointed many with oil many to cure them of illness.  

 

(Pause)

 

These men had no special qualities to equip them to do the work of God.  

 

They were unlikely candidates based on their occupations.   

 

But they were chosen by God to do his will.  

 

Are we called to do the same as Amos and to go out and prophesy? 

 

Does God expect us to cast out demons and cure the sick?  

 

We’re just ordinary people working to provide for ourselves or our families.    

 

We’re teachers, mechanics, factory workers, doctors, students, and store clerks.  

 

We don’t have the qualifications to do the work of God.   

 

Isn’t God’s work is better left for those who are Holy, the clergy and religious, specifically trained in God’s ways? 

 

It would seem that this would be the case, but God doesn’t work in the ways we expect.  

 

God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.   

 

(Pause)

 

St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians sheds some light on this calling.  

 

St. Paul tells us that God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before him. 

 

In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ for the praise and glory of his grace the he granted us in the beloved. 

 

St. Paul tells us that we have been chosen by God to be holy. 

 

Isn’t being holy what saints, clergy, and religious are called to?  

 

But what about everyone else?  

 

Are they expected to be Holy?  

 

Yes, everyone is called to be Holy.  

 

How is is possible for everyone to be Holy.  

 

St. Paul sheds some light on this: In him you also, who have heard the word of 

 

truth, the gospel of salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the 

 

holy Spirit, the first installment of our inheritance, toward redemptions as 

 

God’s possession.

 

(pause)

 

It’s possible for all of us to be holy, because we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit through the grace of the sacrament of Baptism.  

 

Grace is a free and underserved gift that God gives us to respond to his call. In our Baptism we receive sanctifying grace. 

 

This enables us to believe in and love God and the power to live and act under the Holy spirit through the gifts of the Holy spirit.  

 

This allows us to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.   

 

Also in being baptism in Christ, we also are called to participate in being priest, prophet, and king in our particular state in life.

 

(Pause)

 

Each of us are called by God to a special role in this world to glorify him.  

 

What is that special role?  

 

It’s the vocation we’re called to.  

 

We have been chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be holy.  

 

Being holy is the person that God chose you to be. I

 

t could be the ordained ministry, as priest or deacon, a religious sister or brother, or it could be as lay person who is married or single.   

 

In our culture today it’s very challenging to think of being a possession of God chosen for a particular role in life. 

 

As Americans we tend to think in terms of having the freedom to choose what we want to be.  

 

And we do have the freedom to do so. 

 

But as Christians, redeemed by Christ, it’s important to discover God plan for us. 

 

The requires setting aside time in quiet reflection in prayer in discerning what God is calling us to.  

 

This is important to do when we are young, but also throughout our entire lives.

 

(Pause)

 

Are we called to be a shepherd or dresser of sycamores like Amos or are we called by God to prophesy?   

 

Are we called to be fishermen like the Apostles or are we called to be sent to cat out demons and spread the Good news of Jesus? 

 

Some of us may have the calling to be directly involved in God’s work as priest, deacon, religious, or lay ministers working in the Church.  

 

But a vast majority will be called as married and single person raising families and working jobs to support our families. 

 

Whatever we are called to, we are all called to be holy.  

 

The call to Holiness for all the faithful was a central theme of the Second Vatican Council.  

 

The Vactican II document, Lumen Gentum, details how each of us in our particular roles is called to Holiness.  

 

One of the most powerful statements I found in this document was under the title, COUNTERCUTURAL. 

 

It stated: THEREefore, all the faithful of Christ are invited to strive for the holiness and perfection of their own proper state.

 

(Pause)         

 

So you may be called to be a plumber, nurse, or librarian.  

 

But you may also be casting out demons by helping a co-worker overcome an addiction.  

 

You may be a banker, salesperson, or cook.  

But you’ll be healing a broken heart in being present to a friend who has a lost a loved one.   

 

You may also be a priest bringing God’s healing through the sacraments of anointing of the sick and reconciliation.  

 

By loving God and Neighbor in your state of life you’ll be living a life of holiness.

 

Whatever you’re called to, you’ll be empowered through the grace of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation.  

 

And this grace will be continually being strengthened through the Eucharist, that you can receive each and every week.  

 

As you come forward to receive the Eucharist today, thank God for this grace to help you live your call to holiness.

1th Sunday Ordinary Time - Cycle B

  

I’d like to wish all the Father’s and Grandfather’s, including our spiritual father, Father Steve, a blessed and happy Father’s Day.   

 

Your love and support to your families is a blessing.  

 

We give thanks to the Lord in gratitude for you.  

 

This year we are celebrating our 25^th anniversary as a parish.   

 

We have some major events planned to commemorate this milestone.  

 

A few of them are Mass with the Archbishop in August, an outdoor Mass in October near the Feast of St. Francis, and a dinner dance.

Our parish started out very small, a bit like the mustard seed in the parable in today’s Gospel.   

 

The seed was first planted in 1993 when Archbishop Daniel Buechlein approved our new parish.  

 

The first Mass was a gathering of a few dozen people in the backyard of the Austgen family home.  

 

The seed began to sprout and grow with a handful of families who worshiped together in the Center Grove Middle school gym. 

 

Our church and parish offices were completed in 1997 and the parish continued its steady growth. 

 

Our school ministry was started in 2006 with just 34 students in the two classrooms of the original church building. 

 

Our facility was expanded twice, in 2007 and 2010, to accommodate the needs of our school ministry and religious education.  

 

In 2011 we opened our Harvest Food pantry and in 2014 built a stand-alone building to serve growing demand for assistance. 

 

In 2015 we added the Early Childhood Education center to provide for needs for care for young children of our growing parish.  

 

The columbarium was opened in 2015 as a final resting place for parish members who have passed to be with our Lord. 

 

Today we now have over 550 children in our school ministry, over 800 children in our Sunday religious education and youth ministry, over 1600 families in our parish. 

 

That’s a huge growth from what started with just a few families over 25 years ago.  

 

Our parish is much like the mustard seed that started out small, and then grew into the largest of plants with large branches for the many birds of the air to rest in its shade.  

 

How is this all possible?   

 

Through our faith in our Lord Jesus, and the Church he gave us.

Jesus came to bring about the Kingdom of God.  

 

His parables give us insight on how the Kingdom comes about.  

 

Jesus ushered in this Kingdom by becoming man and living among us. 

 

He showed us how to bring the Kingdom about, through self-sacrificial love.   

 

We are now in Ordinary time and many of the Gospel stories we hear about during this time are about making God’s Kingdom present by loving God and neighbor.  

 

Christ began the work.  

 

It’s now our job as the Body of Christ, His hands and feet, to carry out his mission.  

How do we accomplish this mission?  

 

We don’t do it on our own.  

 

It’s all dependent on God.  

 

He provides the seed of faith.  

 

He also makes possible the soil to grow through our family and Church. 

 

Today’s parable gives us some insight.   

 

The seed sown represents God’s work in us through our faith.   

 

It starts out small with the seed of faith being planted in us at baptism. 

 

Most of us were baptized as infants, and given that gift of faith through our parents. 

 

That faith is then nurtured through our families and faith community creating the soil for the seed to grow.  

 

Their modeling of the faith in our daily lives provides the rich soil we need to grow.  

 

The sacraments of initiation, first communion and confirmation, gives us the grace to grow in our faith.  

 

The Word of God we study and hear at Mass, strengthens our faith so we learn to be disciples of Jesus and spread the Kingdom of God.   

As we grow in our faith, we begin to branch out and serve others by showing our love of neighbor.  

 

It may start through small acts of kindness among our families & faith community.  

 

It may be as simple as a little child bringing in a can of soup for our food pantry.  

 

But it can then grow into a family bringing a bag of groceries.  

 

This grows into hundreds of families donating their food and time to serve the hundreds of families at our food pantry each year.  

 

All of this made possible from the gift of faith from Jesus and establishing his Church to help us love God and our neighbor.  

 

Something very small, an infant being baptized, 

 

like a mustard seed, turns into something large, 

 

a whole community of faith,

 

feeding hundreds of families every year, 

 

like the mustard plant with large branches for many birds to dwell in. 

(Pause)

As we continue with our Mass, may the Eucharist we receive, 

 

provide the grace to help us grow in our faith, 

 

to help make the God’s Kingdom present through each of us, 

 

as members of the Body of Christ. 

 

 

 

 

 

4th Sunday of Easter - Cycle B

 Today we hear Peter proclaim, that the only name under heaven given to the human race, by which we can be saved is Jesus.  

 

Peter, who once denied Jesus, now proclaims that no salvation can come from anyone else.  

 

He tells the Jewish leaders challenging him that the crippled man was cured through the name of Jesus.  

 

Peter tells the leaders, “He is the stone rejected by the builders, which has become the cornerstone”.  

 

A cornerstone is the main support of a structure.   

 

If the cornerstone is removed the structure is not sound.  

 

The name of Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, that we rely on for our salvation.  

 

There was much resistance during Apostles time, to the power of Jesus’ name to save.  

 

 

We encounter similar resistance in our culture today, to the saving power of Jesus’ name.  

 

We all try to place our faith in Jesus at the cornerstone of our lives.  

 

That’s why we all here today. 

 

Our culture tells us that the powerful and the popular are what’s most important.  

 

It may be the stars of the current top musical hits, TV shows or movies.  

 

It may be who has the most followers on Instagram or Twitter. 

 

Or it could be the countries showing the most military might, or the companies with the highest stock market value.  

 

These sources of power and popularity are what the world puts faith in.  

 

But the Gospel today presents a different image. 

 

Not one of fame or power, but that of a humble shepherd.  

 

The Good Shepherd.

 

 

We really don’t have much experience with shepherds today.  

 

I drove by a large herd of sheep this past Friday, but was no shepherd to be seen.  

 

Shepherds still exist today, but mainly in third world countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. 

 

During Jesus’ time shepherds were quite common, and the people would relate well to this image.  

 

A shepherd lived among his flock and was in constant care of the sheep. 

 

He would help them find pasture to graze, water to drink, and protect them from danger.  

 

The shepherd would use only his staff and rocks to fend off predators from threatening his flock.   

 

The shepherd spent so much time with his flock that they knew him by his voice.    

 

 

Jesus tells us, “I am the good shepherd.”   

 

He tells us in human terms of how a good shepherd is different from a hired caretaker. 

 

The hired man would flee in the face or danger, fearing for his own life, with no concern for the sheep.  

 

Not Jesus, the good shepherd.  

 

He will lay down his life for his sheep. 

 

Jesus also reveals his divine nature as the good shepherd. 

 

In using the words “I am”, it echoes of God speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  

 

Jesus relates his intimate relation to his flock, “I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. 

 

He’s in communion with his flock, just as he is with the Father.  

 

Through this deep intimate relationship, he’s “willing to lay down his life for the sheep”.    

 

Jesus willingness to give up his life, shows the deep love of the Father for us.  

 

Through the love of the Father, Jesus has the power to take up his life as well.  

 

He does the same for all of us who believe and follow him in faith. 

 

 

Jesus tells us in the Good Shepherd discourse that “I know mine.”  

 

How does He know each of us?  

 

St. John tells us that we are called children of God.  

 

As his children, he has deep love for us and wants the best for each of us.  

 

He knows all our sorrows and our joys and is there for us in good times and bad. 

 

How do we know God?   

 

Do we have an intimate relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd?   

 

We do so by encountering him often in his Word and in receiving the sacraments of the Church.  

 

We also do so by spending time with him in prayer, both personnel and in community at Mass.  

 

We can know God in encountering people and serving them with love in our families, at school or work, and in helping those in need. 

 

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lays down his life for us and raises it up, so we can have eternal life.    

 

We experience this each time we are present at the Eucharist. 

 

Jesus body and blood in the presence of bread and wine is broken and offered up to the Father on our behalf.  

 

He becomes sacramentally present in the Eucharist to nourish with his grace to help us on our journey through life. 

 

As we continue to rejoice in the Risen Lord this Easter, let’s commit to put our faith in the name of Jesus, rather than power, fame, and fortune as our culture tells us. 

 

Let’s make Jesus Christ the cornerstone of our life, as He is the Good Shepherd who willingly gave his life for us.  

 

Let’s be willing to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow where he is calling us, to save us from death and to raise us to eternal life.   

Homily for the Epiphany, Cycle B, January 7, 2018

Today is the feast of the Epiphany.   This is not a word that we hear every day. Epiphany is defined as a moment of sudden revelation or insight.  Have you ever had a problem you were dealing with and had an “ah ha!” moment, when you finally figured it out?  It usually happens when we understand something in a new way that changes our perspective.  The magi’s encounter with the Christ child was an Epiphany changing their hearts and minds to go another way.

The magi came in search of the newborn king of the Jews.   Who are the magi? They were a Persian priestly caste who were astrologers, those who studied stars to find meaning in them.  They were also considered “wise” and sought out for their knowledge by kings. What meaning in the stars would have prompted them to set out on a journey?   Historical sources of the time speculated that a new ruler of the world would emerge from Judah.  There must have been trouble in their own lands that prompted them to seek out a new leader in hope of finding peace. 

We have a similar situation today in the world where the powerful are threatened by Jesus and do they can to remove any reference to him.

Public displays of the Nativity or Ten Commandments are constantly being challenged in the courts.  The powerful want to be in control and feel threatened by God. We are troubled as well. The magi were not just ordinary men. They were the seekers of truth found in every age. 

The magi reached Judea and went to King Herod to ask where the newborn king was. This troubled Herod.   Herod was a paranoid and evil king. History tells us he even murdered his own sons to protect his power. Herod’s inherent evil prompts him to use the magi to find the newborn king. He tells them he wants to pay homage to this new king, but he really wants get rid of him.

After the magi’s encounter with Herod they set out to find the newborn king following the rising star that stopped over the place where the child was. The prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading speaks of this:

Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you.

There are some people, who doubt the appearance of this star that guided the magi.  Modern astronomers have concluded an alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars at the time of Jesus’ birth that could have appeared as a very bright star.  Exactly how the star came to rest directly above Christ’s birthplace, may be in question, but we need to keep in mind that it wasn’t the star that determined magi’s destiny to find the child. It was the child, The Son of God and Creator of the Universe, who directed the star, for the magi to find Him.

The magi where overjoyed when they saw the star.  Upon entering the house, they prostrated when they encountered the baby Jesus. To prostrate, is to lay

face down totally flat ground on the ground. Now just think about this. Can you imagine these highly revered men lying face down on the ground on dirty floor of a stable where animals lived, ate, and did other things? They must have been totally awed at the presence of the infant Jesus, and felt compelled to give reverence due to divine king. The gifts they offered Jesus, gold, frankincense, and myrrh were also fit for a divine king, their absolute best. Tradition holds that the gold offered represented the kingship of Christ, the frankincense His divinity, and myrrh, for anointing of a royal body to preserve it upon death, represented Christ’s Passion.   Do we reverence Christ in the same way as the magi when we encounter him?  Are the gifts we bring Him our best?

Our Gospel concludes with the magi being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, but to go by another way to their own countries.  We’ve heard a lot about God sending messages in dreams the last few weeks. 

Mary, Joseph, and now the magi hear from God in dreams.  We can only listen to God if we are still and quiet enough to hear him.  After the magi’s personal encounter with Jesus they must have had an Epiphany in the quiet of their dreams that true peace wasn’t to be found in the ways of the world, which Herod represents.  True peace could only be found in the Christ child. The magi who came seeking truth, were Gentiles, represents Jesus coming for everyone, regardless of race or origin.   They represent a new beginning for us, a journey of humanity to Christ.

The magi give us a good model.   They followed the star to find the newborn king. In their personal encounter they give Him homage and their best gifts.  Finally, they listen to God in prayer to change their lives to follow him.  

We also do the same ourselves.  When we come to Mass we are overjoyed when we see the tabernacle light, the Star of Bethlehem, indicating the presence of Christ. We show homage to Him when we genuflect to the tabernacle upon entering, kneel during the Eucharistic prayer, and bowing in receiving the Eucharist. At the presentation of the gifts we offer the gold of our acts of kindness we’ve done through the week.  The frankincense of efforts in school or at work to build up the Kingdom of God.  The myrrh of mercy we give to comfort those who are suffering, through our presence and prayers.  We even journey like the magi to spend time with Jesus in one of the perpetual adoration chapels we have in our area.  Finally, we listen to him in quiet prayer, to have own Epiphany daily, to go another way to follow Christ.

Be prepared as you don't know when you'll be called to the Wedding Feast - 32nd Sunday, Cycle A

During the month of November, we remember our loved ones who have died.  We have the hope that that they are in heaven or are being prepared for entry into heaven. Our prayers can help those who are in purgatory.   As we approach the end of the Church year the readings focus on the end times.  Christ will come again for the final judgement and our love ones who died in Christ will be raised.  We don’t know when that will be, but we are assured he will return.  We will all be called home to our Lord at some time as well.  We want to be prepared when he comes. 

The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, one of the earliest Scripture of the New Testament, addresses a community concerned about Christ’s return and their loved ones who have died. The Thessalonians expected Christ to return in their lifetime. As some of them died there was concern they wouldn’t be raised when Christ returned.   St. Paul wrote to encourage them that those who had died with faith in Christ would be raised first. This same reading encourages us two thousand years later to assure us of Christ coming as well and that our loved ones with faith in Christ will rise with him.

So we know that Christ will return, but we don’t know when.   How can we prepare for his coming? The parable of the ten virgins gives us some insight.  We can learn from the wise virgins who were prepared.  Some background on marriage customs at the time will help understand the special role of the virgins in the wedding.    In the first stage of marriage the bride was betrothed to the bridegroom.  She was usually in her teen years and continued to live with her family until the groom was ready to take her into his home. When time came the bridegroom would come late in the evening dressed in his finest clothes to take the bride to his home and to begin the wedding festivities.  The virgins were family members, sisters and cousins, who would lead the couple with lit torches to the bridegroom’s house in the middle of the night.   This was two thousand years ago and there were no lights in the streets, so it was important for the virgins to be prepared to light the procession to the entire way. The wedding feast was a joyous celebration that lasted for a week and everyone looked forward to attending.    The wedding feast is an image of heaven, where the bridegroom, Jesus, welcome his bride, the Church into heaven.

As we heard there were some wise and foolish virgins.  The foolish ones didn’t have enough oil to keep their lamps burning to get to the wedding feast.   They asked the wise virgins for some oil, but they turned them down.   Why would they do that? Were the wise virgins selfish and not willing to share?   I don’t think so.  I think it’s because the oil was produced by themselves.  Their oil represents the preparation to be welcomed into the wedding feast.  The foolish virgins went off to obtain oil from the merchant, but returned to find the doors locked and the bridegroom not recognizing them.  The message we learn is that only those prepared for the wedding feast will be granted entry.

So what did the oil represent? What is something that can only come from us and we can’t be given away to others?  Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. This is the main component of the oil.   Faith can only come from our own conversion in our own hearts. We have to obtain it for ourselves.   We can have others who can lead us to faith in Jesus.  St. Paul was a great example of that.   Our parents, family, friends, teachers, religious and clergy are others who can influence our faith.  But we have to make the decision to come to faith in Christ ourselves. 

What else makes up the oil that lights the lamps?  It’s the things we do living as disciples of Christ.   Spending time daily in prayer is an essential element.  This is how we develop a relationship with Christ.  A relationship is something we cannot give away and takes time to develop.  It’s nurtured through time studying Scripture and good Christian media. Acts of mercy in showing love for our neighbor is another essential component.    We can’t give away these acts of mercy to someone else.  We have to perform them on their own. The oil is also made up of grace received by participating of the life of the Church through the sacraments.  We are first initiated into faith in Christ through our baptism.   For most of us baptism was a gift our parents chose for us to receive, but a few made the choice on our own later in life.  After Baptism we grow in our faith through the sacraments that nurture, heal, and strengthen us. We have to approach God’s ministers to receive the sacraments and it’s not something that we can give away to others.  

So how can we prepare to have an abundance oil to burn brightly in our lamps to enter the wedding feast?  By living in the present moment ready to accompany the bridegroom.  How can we do this? By weekly attending the Sunday Mass and Holy Days to receive the Eucharist.  We can pray daily to share our joys and struggles with Jesus and ask for His help on our journey.  Frequent reception of the sacrament of reconciliation will allow us to receive God’s Mercy.   We can love our neighbor through many ministries of our parish:  Thanksgiving food distribution, food pantry, and Gabriel project just to name a few.  We can also be beacons of light burning brightly in our schools, workplace, homes, and where we recreate by being kind, patient, and merciful to others.

If we put off living our faith Christ till later, the door to the wedding feast may be locked.  We don’t want to hear the words our Lord told the foolish virgins: Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.  Choose to live in the present time as Christ’s disciple.   It’s each of our responsibility to prepare for the wedding feast.  We don’t know the day or the time Christ will return, so start preparing now.

Replay Caesar what belongs to Caesar & to God what belongs to God - 29th Sunday, Cycle A

Our Gospel today ends with Jesus telling his opponents to repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.   This may be a familiar saying of Jesus, but what point was he trying to make?  Some background on the situation may be helpful to provide some insight.

The Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders who would outwardly appear pious, but in their hearts were far from God.  They were constantly trying to accuse Jesus of violating the hundreds of Jewish laws they held everyone to. The Pharisees were also in opposition to Roman authorities who were in control of Jerusalem.   The Roman Emperor, Caesar, was the political leader, and also claimed to be divine. The Pharisees did not accept this claim.  The Roman currency used for commerce had Caesar’s image stamped on one side and the claim of his divinity on the other. The Pharisees would not permit the Jews to use the coins as they thought it was a form of idolatry.  They were only allowed to use unmarked copper coins for trade in the Jewish community.

The Herodian’s were a group of Jews who supported the Roman occupiers.   For this they received many favors to their benefit.    To protect their own interests, they would inform the Romans of anyone who opposed them.  They really didn’t have anything in common with Pharisees.  

So why would these two opposing groups come together?  So the Pharisees could trap Jesus and put him to shame, in order to get rid of him. The thought that by asking Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, he would be put in a no win situation.    If Jesus said it was ok to pay the taxes the Pharisees would turn the Jewish people against him.  If Jesus said paying taxes was unlawful the Herodian’s would report him to the Roman and have him hauled off to prison. The Pharisee’s had it all worked out to get rid of Jesus.

But Jesus knew their hearts were up to no good. True to form Jesus catches them in being hypocrites by asking for a coin used to pay the census taxes.   The Pharisee’s produced a Roman coin with Caesars image on it.   If they were truly practicing what they preach, they wouldn’t have any. Jesus turns the tables on them and shames the Pharisees by their actions.

Jesus finally answers with something they didn’t expect: to pay what’s due to both Caesar and also to God.   The Jews were living under Roman occupation and had to coexist with them.   Paying taxes to the Romans was not something that is inherently sinful. But if not paid the Jews would be subject to punishment or even death by the Romans. So paying the census tax to peacefully coexist was necessary.  

Jesus was trying to make a point to his adversaries: God is the one they owe their greatest debt.  The Herodian’s and Pharisees were both Jews.  As Jews they were called to give their all to God: to love him with all their heart, mind, and soul and to love their neighbor as their self.   They owed everything to God because he is author of life.  The actions of the Herodian’s and Pharisees reflected their inner disposition, which was to only benefit them.  They were trying to keep at the center of attention, rather than God. They weren’t open to Jesus’ message of making present the Kingdom of Heaven by loving God and neighbor.   They were focused on themselves and all the privileges they received, rather than being the selfless servant as Jesus was.

We all live in a world today that is ruled by secular powers that may not always follow Gods ways.   God has allowed them to be in power.  If there is something contrary to God’s ways we can make a difference by living out our Christian faith and making the Kingdom of Heaven present.  How can we do this?

-         By praying at meals at home and when out in public

-         Through patience and forgiveness when driving

-         By sticking up for someone whose being bullied or made fun of

-         In being present to others when they experienced a loss

-         By supporting issues and candidates that support the dignity of life

Or we can choose to ignore the situation and only look out for ourselves like the Pharisees did.

As citizens of the United States of America we are subject to taxes just like the Jews were.  We may not like to pay taxes, but to live peacefully we are required to pay them as well.  We pay those taxes with the hard earned money from the talents God gave us.    The currency we use has an important reminder on it: “In God we trust”. This is a reminder for us that God is the one we really owe everything:  our country, homes, families, and our own lives.  We all have to pay our taxes, but do we remember to pay to God what belongs to God? Do we give God all our heart, mind, and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves? As we come forward for the Eucharist today let’s thank God for all he has given to us, and ask for the grace to enable us to give Him all our heart, mind, and soul.