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Exploring the word

05 Aug 2012 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

There’s a war on carbs going on out there! But we Christians must stand up for bread. Bread stories abound in scripture: the blessed offering of Melchizedek to Abram; the bread of angels that rains down in the Exodus desert; Elisha’s miraculous multiplication we recalled last week; Elijah’s angelic hearth cake we’ll hear about next week; and on and on through gospel stories of multiplied meals until we get to the bread-to-end-all-breads, which is the Bread of Life itself. Isaiah once urged his listeners not to waste their money on food that fails to satisfy. He said not to put your hard-earned cash on the table for less than bread. That’s because bread is the staff of life, the bottom line of subsistence in so many cultures. It’s why we use the terms bread or dough to refer to exchangeable currency and why making a living is “earning our bread and butter,” as bread historians note. Bread is, simply, the one thing we depend on for life. Even in the proverbial jail cell, you could always count on bread and water. In fact, bread and water were two items on the Israelite grumble-list in the desert. The God of Moses sprung them from slavery in Egypt, but they behaved like captives ever after. Even in bondage, after all, they got bread and water! If Moses can’t do as much, they might as well have gone back to Egypt. Once they have the manna, of course, they started clamoring for meat. Jesus gave his multitude bread and fish up front, so they rushed after him as soon as their bellies were growling again, looking for more. What part of “wagering for what fails to satisfy” didn’t they understand? Jesus reminded them that perishables from the grocery store are called that for a reason. Their usefulness is transient. Moreover, though these folks didn’t know it now, Jesus wouldn’t be around forever to provide them with a portable lunch. But he could and does and will offer them the bread of God that lasts forever—and because it’s eternal, he offers the same to us. Yes, we’re talking about Holy Communion and heaven. And no, it’s not “just” that—although some might argue that’s pretty darn good. Communion with the life of Christ is a total conformity to the values, mission, and heart of Christ. We “put on the new self,” as it says in Ephesians. “For it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” Saint Paul told the Galatians. “The bread you eat will claim your heart,” preacher Walter Brueggemann says. In other words, we get the True Bread; and the True Bread gets us. Retades Scripture links Significant “God-crossings”: Gen. 3:8; 15:17; 28:12-13; Exod. 3:4-6; 19:16-20; 33:18-23 Seven signs in John 1-12: Water into wine, official’s son, cripple at Bethesda, loaves and fishes, walking on water, man born blind, raising of Lazarus Manna ends at Cana: Josh. 5:11-12 Catechism links God’s love: CCC 218-221; 733 Bread of Life: CCC 103; 1338; 1355; 1392; 1509; 2830; 2835; 2837 Manna: CCC 1094; 1334 New self: CCC 1473; 1695; 2475

Authors Alice Camille

manna communion Elijah Bread

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Who's listening?

10 Oct 2010 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

As we gather at Mass to follow Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of me," we might take a moment to consider what this means. Most would think first of the liturgy of the Eucharist, in particular the moment of Communion. The liturgy of the Word, however, evokes the memory of Jesus and other sacred stories as well. An intimate relationship exists between the Word heard and received in scripture and homily and the Word consumed in the consecrated bread and wine. The Word of scripture this week paints a grand portrait of God, ever-faithful, who offers the gift of faith to all. In response, we place our faith in and make our offering to God alone, and thus we find salvation, which is another word for healing. Sharing the Word with the people this week gives them the opportunity to receive this gift of saving and healing faith and offer thanks for it. Our worship--and our lives--are put together in this way.

communion remembrance gift Faith

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Love one another

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: First Communion A little girl, about the age of you children gathered here, was asked on the night before receiving her First Communion what was important to know about what she going to do the next day. “To honor and love Jesus in his body and blood,” she said slowly, “and to love one another.” What more do we need to know? I would say she had learned her lessons well: We come to church to learn to honor and love Jesus, and to learn to love others, and to love Jesus in others. How do we learn to do that? By seeing him in the bread and wine that becomes his body and blood, which he has given to us to show his great love for us. And we do that by being mirrors of that love, showing love and respect to everyone no matter who they are. Coming to church, to Mass, is like going to a wonderful school with a wonderful teacher. At this school we learn from hearing the word of God, and we learn from receiving God in our bodies and our hearts. And what do we learn? That God loves us, that God wants to teach us the way to be close to him. Jesus is that way, and, children, you have taken a big step on that way today. Coming to church, to Mass, is like going to a wonderful school with a wonderful teacher. At this school we learn from hearing the word of God, and we learn from receiving God in our bodies and our hearts. You’ve been getting ready for this day for a long time, and you’ve worked hard. But what you’ve been getting ready for is not only today. Today you will receive Communion for the first time, but every time you receive Communion for the rest of your lives you will be reminded of God’s love for you and the world—and how God is asking you to show that love to the world and everyone in it. Dear parents, you have brought your children here today as a sign of your desire to bring them into communion with Jesus and the church. The church thanks all of you for this great act of faith. To the families, godparents, and friends of these children, I thank you as well for being part of their lives, and I ask you to continue to nurture their faith as they grow. And I invite you to see in them an inspiration for your own faith and a sign of hope for the world. We—all of us, children and adults alike—come here to learn to see Jesus, to recognize him, and to learn to see and recognize him in others. If we can honor and love him here, as our young friend said, we will honor and love him everywhere, and in everyone.

Authors Joel Schorn

sacrament First Communion

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Communion disunion

10 Jan 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Isaiah 42 first reading option promises that the Lord's servant "shall bring forth justice to the nations." Nu-Life Products, a Minnesota marketer of communion-wafer dispensers, is seeking justice by way of a lawsuit against its former president for alleged patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. The accusations come as those receiving communion seek a germ-free environment in the era of swine flu and other feared maladies. The handheld devices allow communion wafers to be dispensed without being touched by anybody but those receiving them. The portable devices, according to the lawsuit, also "easily deliver communion to military personnel in combat situations and to people who are hospitalized, infirm, or otherwise immobile." Nu-Life Products filed its lawsuit against Douglas Henricksen of Wisconsin, who claims he never sold a single unit of the competing "communalabra germ-free communion-host-delivery system" and that he didn't misappropriate any of his former employer's properties while operating a similarly named company called Nu-Life Church Supplies. "This is blown way out of proportion," Henricksen said in a telephone interview. "I was the person who actually designed the communion-host dispenser. I actually built the entire company myself." The plaintiff's attorney, Randolph Johnson, said that the lawsuit "comes down to a pure business issue, even though it is the dispensing of the embodiment of Christ that we are talking about." Source: An article by David Kravets for Wired.com

nu-life church supplies douglas henrickse communion communion wafer dispenser nu-life products

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Communion disunion

10 Jan 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Isaiah 42 first reading option promises that the Lord's servant "shall bring forth justice to the nations." Nu-Life Products, a Minnesota marketer of communion-wafer dispensers, is seeking justice by way of a lawsuit against its former president for alleged patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. The accusations come as those receiving communion seek a germ-free environment in the era of swine flu and other feared maladies. The handheld devices allow communion wafers to be dispensed without being touched by anybody but those receiving them. The portable devices, according to the lawsuit, also "easily deliver communion to military personnel in combat situations and to people who are hospitalized, infirm, or otherwise immobile." Nu-Life Products filed its lawsuit against Douglas Henricksen of Wisconsin, who claims he never sold a single unit of the competing "communalabra germ-free communion-host-delivery system" and that he didn't misappropriate any of his former employer's properties while operating a similarly named company called Nu-Life Church Supplies. "This is blown way out of proportion," Henricksen said in a telephone interview. "I was the person who actually designed the communion-host dispenser. I actually built the entire company myself." The plaintiff's attorney, Randolph Johnson, said that the lawsuit "comes down to a pure business issue, even though it is the dispensing of the embodiment of Christ that we are talking about." Source: An article by David Kravets for Wired.com

nu-life church supplies douglas henrickse communion communion wafer dispenser nu-life products

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United we stand at the altar

28 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews makes the point that the office of high priest is not about seeking personal glory but about being chosen and entrusted by God to lead the people. Though partisanship, one-upmanship, and the quest for victory at all costs are all too common in election campaigns, at least 400 churches nationwide are participating in a new tradition this year: Election Day Communion.As voting winds down on Nov. 6, people of every political stripe will leave their respective partisan bunkers and line up side by side to receive the sacrament. “We’ll be saying to people: ‘Look around. There’s probably someone here who voted for the other guy,’" said Justin Barringer, an editor who’s helping organize an ecumenical service at a homeless shelter in Lexington, Kentucky. “Yet you’re sitting here sharing the body and blood of Christ as you ought to.”What began in 2008 at Springdale Mennonite Church in Waynesboro, Virginia has now snowballed into a movement. Churches representing more than a dozen denominations will host evening services in 46 states.More than half of participating churches have signed on this month alone as the movement gains publicity. The effort reflects the work of young pastors and lay people—many in their 20s and 30s—who’ve parlayed a $35 budget into a website: electiondaycommunion.org.Congregations are warming to the event at a time when many long for new types of relationships between religion and politics. Some 60 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents say houses of worship should keep out of political matters, up from less than 50 percent for both groups in 2000, according to a Pew Research Center survey released earlier this year. Forty-four percent of Republicans agree.“Our participation in the party system, Democrat and Republican, has caused us to be passionate about things that look very different from the passion of Jesus,” said Mark Schloneger, who led the first Election Day Communion service four years ago and now pastors North Goshen Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana.Homily hint: Political discourse in recent years has become increasingly divisive and ill-tempered. How do we heal the divisions and move forward united, regardless of the outcome of the election? Perhaps your congregation will wish to consider holding an election evening worship service. Source: An article by G. Jeffrey MacDonald for Religion News Service

election election day communion mark schloneger justin barringer springdale mennonite church

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Communion ban causes a bind

10 Nov 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"The children of this age marry and remarry,” Jesus reminds his contemporaries as they try to snare him with a trick question on marriage laws. Rules barring from Communion divorced Catholics who remarry without a prior annulment may be in for a change under Pope Francis.The current policy has caused what some call a “silent schism,” and bishops around the world concede that the ban has alienated untold numbers of Catholics and their families. “I think this is the moment for mercy,” Francis told reporters when asked about remarried Catholics during a wide-ranging news conference on the plane back to Rome from World Youth Day in Brazil in July.Francis seems to favor a more pastoral approach to the perplexing question of “invalid” marriages—couples who remarry outside the church without getting an annulment, or those who do not get married in church in the first place. In both cases those Catholics are ineligible to receive Communion, the central sacrament of Catholic practice.For years efforts have tried to convince Rome to try something new—appeals that the new pope seems ready to heed. “We are on the way towards a deeper matrimonial pastoral care,” Francis said. “This is a problem for many people.”In the U.S. alone, out of a total of nearly 30 million married Catholics, some 4.5 million are divorced and remarried without an annulment, according to Mark Gray of Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.Moreover, the number of Catholics marrying in the church and the number of annulments are steadily declining, which means that a growing number of Catholics are in “irregular” marriages and are technically barred from receiving Communion.Yet there are powerful currents for maintaining the status quo. For example, Roman officials have in recent years been trying to rein in annulments, not expand them, saying that tribunals—especially in the U.S.—are too quick to grant them. Another warning sign: Amid rising speculation that change is coming, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, published a lengthy article in the Vatican newspaper on Oct. 22 that cast serious doubt on any prospects for reform.Even an appeal to mercy for remarried Catholics—which Francis explicitly advocated—“misses the mark,” Mueller wrote in unusually direct language. Given this pushback, said longtime Vatican watcher John Thavis, “it’s legitimate to wonder where the church is really headed: substantial change or another dead-end debate.”Homily hint: Will change come in an area of vital pastoral concern to millions of Catholic couples and their pastors? Catholics in the pews have a voice in all this. Encourage those in attendance to make their perspectives known. Source: An article by David Gibson for Religion News Service

Divorce Pope Francis communion mark gray gerhard mueller john thavis remarriage divorced catholics

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Luther's goal not schism but reform of "church he loved"

13 Apr 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“You who fear the Lord, praise him . . . give glory to him; revere him!” prays the psalmist this Sunday. Catholics and Lutherans hoping to find further unity around their mutual reverence for and praise of God have reasons for hope, say leaders from both communions."The international and national dialogues between Lutherans and Catholics in the last 50 years have yielded significant truth," retired Roman Catholic Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans told a recent ecumenical gathering in Kenner, Louisiana on March 25, prompting Catholics "to revisit the person and motivation of Martin Luther" in advance of the 500th anniversary in 2017 of the publication of Luther's "95 theses," seen as the traditional starting point of the Protestant Reformation.Luther’s “genuine desire to promote renewal in the church cannot be denied," Archbishop Hughes said. "The personal struggle that marked his life was severely complicated by the way in which authorities in Rome, during the papacy of Pope Leo X, treated him.”Bishop Michael Rinehart, head of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, told the meeting: "Luther did not want to leave. He was bold, he was blunt, he was vulgar and mistakes were made, but he really didn't want schism. He wanted to reform the church he loved."Two of the concrete signposts of the fruitfulness of international dialogue, said Archbishop Hughes, are the 1999 joint statement by Catholic and Lutheran leaders on the doctrine of justification—how people are justified in God's eyes and saved by Jesus Christ—which expressed a consensus that this issue no longer divides Catholics and Lutherans. The other landmark statement, issued last July, was called "From Conflict to Communion."Last year's document, released by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation, offered five "ecumenical imperatives" for jointly commemorating the 500th anniversary of Luther's theses:Begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division; be transformed by the encounter with each other and by the mutual witness of faith; commit ourselves to seek visible unity, to elaborate together what this means in concrete steps; jointly rediscover the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and witness together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world.There still are obvious doctrinal disagreements between the two churches, but Bishop Rinehart said Lutherans and Catholics "believe in the real presence of Christ" and "have a responsibility to witness to the transforming love of Christ. . . . It's OK to disagree, but what the world needs to hear is the message of Christ."Homily hint: "We need not only to be explicit about what we have been able to recognize we believe in common," Archbishop Hughes also said, "but also what it is we still need to address if we are going to realize the Lord's priestly prayer at the Last Supper that we all be 'one in him even as I am one with the Father.' " Despite centuries of division, contemporary Christians need to recognize it was Christ's intention that all his followers be one and that to believe otherwise is an offense not only against the Lord but also the unity of God. Source: An article by Peter Finney, Jr. for Catholic News Service

reformation catholics martin luther michael rinehart alfred hughes 95 theses from conflict to communion joint declaration on the doctrine of justific lutherans

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