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19 Jul 2015 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near. Throughout the readings for this weekend we hear of God’s bringing together and caring for God’s people. God would regather the people whom their incompetent leaders had allowed to go into exile, Jeremiah said, and “bring them back to their meadow” where they “shall dwell in security.” In the epistle Christ was a source of bridging divides and establishing peace. When he saw the crowds in the gospel story who “were like sheep without a shepherd,” he felt “pity for them . . . and began to teach them many things.”

Unity Community

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The inner word

24 May 2015 - Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle B

In the Pentecost Day reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul notes the different kinds of abilities and forms of service each member of the Christian community has. His point, however, is that all these gifts come from one place, “the same God,” and that they all exist for one purpose: the benefit of the community. Paul may have been responding to some people in the church of Corinth who were using their talents to advance themselves past others. Whatever the situation, Paul presents Christians then and now with a challenge: to recognize and cultivate the gifts you have and use them to do the most possible good for all.

Community gifts Pentecost

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Exploring the word

24 Aug 2014 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

What good is the church? This isn't a pious-sounding question, I admit. But if we don't ever ask ourselves why we need the church, then we may never arrive at a serviceable answer. And that's a bad thing because the unexamined life of faith may not be worth living, to re-coin Socrates' phrase. So we must ask: What does it mean to be church? The oldest stories of the Bible talk about the "people Israel" as literally a family: all sprung from the lineage of Abraham and bound together as only families are. Ancient Israel was not only united by blood but also by deity: They were not "one nation under God" but "one nation with God in our midst"! The difference is considerable. When God is in your midst, the deity becomes essentially part of the family. Jesus takes this idea one step further when he addresses God as intimate Father. Religion becomes not some cold organization out there but an intimate family matter. What binds this family together can also be the means of tearing it apart, as every family divided by religion has learned. The word we use for church comes from the Greek (ekklesia) for “assembly.” The word synagogue has an identical meaning, so church and synagogue are distinguishable not in meaning but by end-user. "Assembly" is also an accurate translation of what the family of ancient Israel called itself in Hebrew (qahal): “the gathered ones.” It's clear after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple that Israel defined itself in the gathering more than in the sacrificial acts of the priesthood. The gathering has power. The identity of the community is in the gathering. That should sound a thrilling signal through the assembly gathered today. Even though baptized Catholics who don't show up on Sundays are technically still Catholic, the authentic identity of the church is discovered in those who do gather. We're the family. This is it. Look around at your brothers and sisters. The church founded on Saint Peter's back is identified with the likes of you and me. And this faith-family relationship is so real that Jesus says it surpasses the bond you share with your flesh-and-blood relatives. What a serious, sobering claim. Your loyalty to this assembly goes right to the bone. Just as families gather around the supper table, which becomes an essential meeting place at which they share life, so, too, does this family of faith meet at this table. It's no accident that the dining room is often the place where you keep your finest furniture and your best china. The shared meal always has the character of a sacred event, because it's where people come together to celebrate, strengthen, and nourish their common life. Those who are welcome at the table are treated like family. Is being church, then, important? Come and see. Related scripture links He emptied himself and took the form of a slave: Phil. 2:5-11 Mark’s version: Mark 8:27-30 Eliakim’s failure: Isa. 22:25 Catechism links Who we say Jesus is: CCC 153; 422-478; 551-553; 586; 869; 881; 897-913; 1444-1445

Authors Alice Camille

church Community meal

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Homily themes

22 Jun 2014 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Cycle A

The Gospel of John goes out of its way to emphasize that Jesus’ body and blood are real food and drink—an assertion that shocked and alienated some. Beyond that truth, however, is the meaning of partaking of this gift: communion and unity: union with Jesus and with one another.

Unity Eucharist Community Bread

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Exploring the word

25 May 2014 - Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Jesus was around on this earth for about three decades, and then he wasn't. Some said he died on the cross and that was that. Some said he rose from the dead, stuck around another 40 days, and then returned to his Father. But those who believe accept two things simultaneously: that Jesus definitively went away, and that he also emphatically remains. So where is he? Jesus said he would be with his church always, to the end of time. So that's one good place to seek and find him: within the community of faith. Jesus also said he would send his Spirit, the Advocate, to be with us and dwell within us. So that's the second place you might seek Jesus: in the indwelling Spirit of God in each person. You profess that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine, which become Body and Blood of Christ at every Eucharist. So that makes three reliable places to find Jesus: church, Spirit, and communion. Jesus tells his followers that whatever they do to the least of their sisters and brothers they do to him personally. Number 4 location of Jesus today: in the lives of the poor. Jesus is the divine Word spoken into the world—and we still hear that Word proclaimed in our assemblies. So the Number 5 place to find Jesus is within the proclamation of scripture which is transformative when it becomes a word-made-flesh in people’s lives. The church has long called the priest alter Christos, “another Christ.” While most priests will blush to identify themselves so completely with Jesus, it is true that the ministry of the church is a definite sign of Christ-action in the world. So yes, both metaphorically and actually, the priesthood of the church is a place to look for Jesus. To the extent all share in the priesthood of the baptized, they participate in that reality, too. Theologians have termed Jesus as "the sacrament of God"—that is, Jesus both conceals divinity inhis person and reveals divinity through his person. In turn Jesus provides seven sacramental actions that both conceal and reveal God. So if you're looking for Jesus, look to sacramental signs of welcome, thanksgiving, reconciliation, testimony, healing, fidelity, and service. The sacraments point appropriately to the Number 7 way to find him. Three more places to find Jesus! Seek the Holy in the holy: Look to the lives of the saints, both living and gone before, who imitated Jesus until it was no longer they who lived but Christ who lived in them. The crucified Lord is the most familiar image of Jesus for a reason: You also find Jesus in the suffering of humanity. One more place to find Jesus? I leave that to you. Where do you most reliably discover him? Scripture links Stephen’s first (and last) homily: Acts 6:8-7:60 Philip and the magician, and the Ethiopian: Acts 8:9-13, 18-25, 26-40 The gospel to the ends of the earth: Matt. 28:19-20 Catechism links Spirit of Truth: CCC 243-248; 687-688; 692; 729; 733-741; 787-789; 2465-2503; 2615; 2671 Apostolic authority: CCC 1286-1289

Authors Alice Camille

Service Eucharist Community sacrament

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Exploring the word

18 May 2014 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Sometimes I dream of a weekend house party to which everyone I love is invited. Of course the plan hinges on the idea that all the people I love will also be wild about each other—which they most likely would not. If you've ever attended a reunion or rented a beach house and filled it with guests, you know that the likelihood of two people avoiding each other by the end of the first hour is 50-50. By the end of an entire weekend, some people may never be on speaking terms again! Fill a room with people, and you're inviting not only individuals but the very real possibility of conflict. Fill a world with people, and those chances multiply exponentially. Basically you get human history as we've known it so far: wars and rumors of wars, fights over resources, societies divided by who gets what, and haves and have-nots as far as memory serves. Even in the early church, a generation often mythologized as an era of perfection, Jewish-Christian widows got bigger portions than Gentile-Christian widows in the daily handouts. In a realm of limited resources, communities always seem willing to make distinctions about who's more deserving. Whether those distinctions are drawn by gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, language, intelligence, perceived productivity, or perceived morality, the group drawing the shorter stick is surely headed for trouble. Now imagine a world that has unlimited resources: enough land, food, housing, employment, education, health care; everything that makes life good and whole and purposeful. If everyone can have all that he or she needs, does anyone have to go wanting? Simply put: Would people fight if there were nothing to fight over? Essentially that is the Big House concept Jesus describes for his followers on their last night together. He's heading out beyond them, and they're not clear on the particulars of that just yet, but he promises a magnificent reunion at a destination where there's room for everyone. His disciples have been a bit worried about placement, to be honest. Who will be first, who gets to sit where, what honors might be nailed down in advance of the coming Kingdom? Jesus assures them they don't have to be anxious: The resources are infinite, you might say eternal. But most certainly everyone who arrives there will not be disappointed. In the modern take on the Kingdom it's not some heavenly hereafter but a present reality dipping one wing into now, another into forever. If you anticipate a realm where there is no need and therefore no injustice, how do you prepare to inhabit such a reality? How do you remain in the land of limited resources yet make sure no one is left out in the cold while the rest have more than they need? Scripture links Shepherd: CCC 754; 764; 2158 Repentance in Acts: CCC 363; 1226; 1287; 1427-1429; 1433 Catechism links Chosen, royal, priestly, holy: CCC 709; 782; 901-903; 908-913; 931-933; 1141; 1268; 1546 Living stones: CCC 552; 756; 1179; 1268 Jesus is the way: CCC 459; 516; 661; 1025; 1698; 2466; 2614; 2795

Authors Alice Camille

Belonging Community kingdom conflict

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The inner word

18 May 2014 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Today you’re introduced to Stephen, an early disciple of Christ. As the community grew, so did the challenges. The foundation of the community is Jesus, a living stone. How do you participate in the growing community of Christ? Stephen served the fulfillment of the word, Jesus. How do you spread the word of God? Build your house with many places for all to dwell, for all to be welcome, so all may come to believe and meet the challenges of faith.

Belonging Community

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Sign & sacrament

18 May 2014 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Ever since Jesus prayed that his followers “may all be one,” the concept of Christian unity has been easier to agree to in principle than in the real world, where divisions remain. Still, hope remains that the various traditions and confessions of Christian faith might one day overcome their divisions through dialogue and move toward unity. In speaking of the Western and Eastern churches, Pope John Paul II put it this way in an often quoted phrase from his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint (“May They Be One”): “In this perspective an expression which I have frequently employed finds its deepest meaning: the church must breathe with her two lungs!” See if you can contribute to efforts in your local area to bring churches together around common causes. For more “Sign & sacrament” material, search the Prepare the Word database by today’s scripture reading, a particular theme, or a special occasion.

Unity Community Ecumenism

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Exploring the word

04 May 2014 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Most everything you do is done better in the context of a meal. You celebrate happy occasions with festive meals. What would a wedding be without the banquet to follow? Fourth of July needs its cookout as much as it does its fireworks. A birthday without cake, Thanksgiving without the feast, Christmas without the groaning board of meats and sweets: All are unthinkable. You ring out the old year and ring in the new with food and drink. In the same way you console others in sad times around the table. After the funeral you join together for the reception; neighbors drop off covered dishes for days or even weeks. When a friend has lost a job or is distressed or overwhelmed, you take her to lunch or invite him over for supper. Even routine situations are improved with the sharing of food. Business lunches trump mid-morning meetings in the conference room every time. After-school snacks make the thought of getting down to homework almost bearable. A coffee break with a friend can rescue a frantic afternoon by bringing the pace back to something humane. There's something basic and ancient and sacred about these three combined ingredients: food, drink, and gathering. On psychologist Abraham Maslow's “hierarchy of needs” they cover a lot of bases both biological and sociological. You're nourished by the food and refreshed in spirit by the intimacy of belonging to the group—having its assurance, protection, and solace wrapped around your solitariness. When you skip meals or fail to take advantage of the consolation in numbers, the quality of life goes down precipitously. Fast food from a bag on a lonely highway is no equivalent for the shared meal around a warm table. The disciples who departed from Jerusalem after the tumult of the Crucifixion and the confusion of the Resurrection reports made the mistake of choosing isolation at a time when community mattered most. They were trying to do the theology around the event on the road, and it was not adding up or making sense. Happily they didn't compound their mistake by passing up the opportunity to join with a fellow traveler and admit him into the conversation. They made a second fine choice in inviting him to their table that night. And that's when things started to make sense and everything fall into place. Every week you come to this table from lives scattered all across the spectrum of human experiences. Some of you are joyful, and some are mourning losses. Each carries burdens that can't be seen and hopes that are too delicate to speak aloud. Each brings everything to this table, what you have done and what you have failed to do. Because only here, gathered together with bread and wine and your Gracious Host, can you begin to see clearly. Scripture links Journey language in the Emmaus story: vv. 15, 17, 28, 32, 33, 35 Seeing in Luke: 9:45; 18:34; 23:8, 35, 47-49 (especially in Emmaus vv. 16, 23-24, 31, 32, 35) Blessed are those who have not seen: John 20:29 Sharing the meal in the kingdom: Luke 22:16, 18 Catechism links Emmaus journey: CCC 112; 572; 601; 640- 655; 659; 710; 1166; 1329; 1347

Authors Alice Camille

Community meal gathering

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