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Exploring the word

28 Aug 2011 - Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Our experiences in this life can be pretty grand. Let us count the ways this world delights us: sunsets, flowers, falling in love, the birth of a child, birthday cake, Christmas lights, shade trees, the Grand Canyon, our favorite song, that new car smell, friendship, Thanksgiving dinner, holding hands, joyful news. Ask the assembly to add to the list, and it becomes a Julie Andrews Homily: “These are a few of my favorite things.” We could also make a list detailing the ways life disappoints us. No one needs to hear that litany, which weighs in each heart like an anvil. How do we move forward with the legacy of our history rattling behind us like Jacob Marley’s chains? Jeremiah demonstrates how to find courage to go on, beyond the death of loved ones, the cancer diagnosis, the traumas of abandonment or unemployment or failure. Life holds out such promise that when we run up against mortal limits, or the offenses of a broken world, understandably the spirit rebels. Suddenly we feel cheated, lied to, even robbed by somebody—maybe God. We don’t deserve this suffering, we tell ourselves. We didn’t earn it. We may not be perfect people, but the violations we face often seem disproportionate to our personal quota of badness. Jeremiah was not a bad guy, yet his career was a magnet for misery. Being a professional truth-teller, he didn’t mind telling God exactly how he felt about that fact. Better to be honest in prayer than to gloss over our true feelings with pieties. Unburdening his heart of the outrage and hurt led Jeremiah to his personal bottom line: a fierce resolve to remain loyal to what he carried in his very bones. That was his deep connection to the holy will of God. If the prophet had not released the magma of his other passions, he might not have discovered the bedrock of this one. Jesus taught his disciples for quite some time before venturing on to the subject of his upcoming Passion. First they had to hear how blest are those persecuted for the sake of justice. They had to appreciate that eye-for-an-eye retaliation is not the key to peace, that loving enemies is better than hating them. They had to cease judging others and depend totally on God for their support and vindication. Having sat through all these lessons and more, however, the disciples still proved unwilling to receive the truth. Jesus would have to teach this lesson twice more—and embody it, too—before they could embrace his decision to unite his will to his Father’s. Yet even Jesus would ask if the cup might pass before he agreed to drink it. Suffering always requires frankness in its preparation. Related scripture links God's will before ours: Mark 14:35-36; Matt. 26:39-42; Luke 22:40-42 God's Word: Isa. 55:10-11; John 1:1, 14, 15:7; Heb. 4:12-13 God's truth: John 8:31-32, 14:6, 17:17-19, 18:37-38 Gospels on Satan: Mark 1:13, 3:23-27, 4:15, 8:33; Matt. 4:1-11, 12:22-29, 13:19, 39, 25:41; Luke 4:1-13, 8:12, 10:18, 11:14-22, 13:16, 22:3, 31, 53; John 12:31, 13:2, 27 Not like our thoughts: Isa. 55:6-9 Catechism links Spiritual complaint: CCC 2584 Denying the self: CCC 226-227; 540; 554; 607; 618; 736; 2232

Authors Alice Camille

jeremiah Courage Passion of Jesus

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No more of this!

20 Mar 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The following is a partial list of countries or regions suffering from serious armed conflict at this time: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Sudan, Israel/Gaza, Somalia, and Yemen. You can add India, Uganda, Libya, Sudan, and Egypt as countries also experiencing serious conflicts, and the list goes on from there. By one estimate the world is spending more than $1.6 trillion a year on its armed forces. That’s $1,600,000,000,000 dollars. That’s more than 4 billion dollars a day. Think of what that money could do if channeled into humanitarian, educational, and social needs. There is a dramatic moment in the Palm Sunday narrative of the Lord’s Passion that speaks volumes to our endless addiction to armed conflict. As Jesus is being arrested under cloak of darkness, one of his followers lashes out at the high priest’s servant and cuts off his ear. Jesus is having none of it. “‘Stop, no more of this!’ Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.” With this one sentence and gesture, Jesus sums up the whole of his gospel message. “Stop hurting one another! Start healing one another!” Our extravagant investment in armaments has not given us a better answer, nor will it ever. Yet we continue on, too stubborn, proud, and distrustful to be the first to lay down our weapons. There are glimmers of hope on the horizon, though you have to look hard to see them. The United Nations International Day of Peace each year on September 21 is certainly a day to celebrate. This past year Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to all warning parties to observe a global cease-fire, to “stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.” The United States Institute of Peace recently published a book, Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace. With a foreword by the Dalai Lama, the book contains interviews with 80 ordinary citizens—a taxi driver, a nun, a machinery worker, a mother—from conflict zones all over the world. “Their accounts illuminate the intensely personal experience of war, the uncertain transition to peace, and the aspirations that survive despite it all,” say the publishers. Lessons drawn from the gospel Imagine having the courage and presence of mind to stop to heal your enemy as he is about to lead you to certain death. Yet Jesus cared so much for us and believed so deeply in the Good News that he was willing to go to the mat, literally—to the cross and the tomb—to shake us from our collective complacency so we would pay attention to what he was teaching and showing us through his words and actions. Jesus paid the ultimate price—willingly—so that his remarkable witness would be preserved. Two thousand years later the story endures so we might hear it anew and this time, at last, take it to heart as a people. Final thought in light of the news In their book The Lessons of History, historians Willa and Ariel Durant reviewed humanity’s historical record on war and peace. They concluded, “In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war.” In other words, well under 10 percent of the time have we managed to make the peace. It’s too late for the year 2016 to be completely war free, but there is still time to silence the guns in the days ahead. Closer to home, family life, neighborhoods, and cities also suffer the scourge of violence. Let’s renew our efforts to be peacemakers, let’s knock war off the front pages and eventually consign it to the dustbin of failed strategies. What better week to begin than Holy Week?

Peace war Passion of Jesus peacemaking
Homily stories

28 Aug 2011 - Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Mel Gibson's blockbuster movie The Passion of the Christ stirred passions when it was released. Among the various criticisms, some viewers and critics objected to the level of violence and bloodshed, as well as to the single-minded focus on Jesus' final moments of suffering and agony. Whether or not you agree with the objections, or even saw the movie, it is interesting to note that Peter had much the same objections when Jesus first discussed his approaching Passion. He objected to the idea that Jesus should suffer or be subjected to a death that seemed nothing short of humiliating. It did not fit with Peter's notions of the Messiah and of a great and powerful God. Then and now, the idea of an almighty and powerful God helplessly suffering a cruel and bloody death at the hands of tormentors does not conform well to the age, as Paul would put it. Perhaps it is time we rethought our notions about how God chooses to exercise power. Perhaps power is also expressed in sacrifice, and the greatest power in the greatest sacrifice.

mel gibson sacrifice Passion of Jesus

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Homily themes

28 Aug 2011 - Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. In the gospel today Jesus says two important things. First, he begins to show how his Passion is something he will have to endure. Then, he rebukes Peter in the strongest possible terms for denying this Passion is necessary, and in so doing makes it clear his destiny is one all those who believe him will face. The passage about taking up one's cross has been used to buoy up Christians throughout the ages to deal with all the difficulties of their lives, but it is not a spiritual counseling session. Jesus tells his disciples, "As I will take up the cross, so will you." In other words, to follow him means to give all of oneself; it means to offer up one's whole self "as a living sacrifice," in Saint Paul's words. To give up oneself to God and God's ways, that is discipleship. Homily points Matthew adds Jeremiah's name to the guessing game around the identity of Jesus. Jeremiah, like Peter, had problems defining success in other than worldly terms. Yet folks like Jeremiah, Peter, Paul (and us) are still in service so long as we are willing to be renewed and conformed to the mind of God.

Authors Joel Schorn

Passion of Jesus Peter discipleship

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Who's listening?

28 Mar 2010 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle C

Today’s readings are so rich and abundant as to be almost overwhelming. It’s a good thing we revisit these stories every year, and these accounts every three years. As our own experience of life deepens, so, too, may our ability to comprehend the depth of the Passion narratives. The whole range of human emotions come into play in the readings today, evoking connections with those in the congregation who have experienced loss, failure, misunderstanding, injustice, illness, temptation, abandonment, and betrayal, as well as courage in the face of danger and faithfulness in the face of even death. Great religion responds to the question, “What can you do with your pain?” Today’s readings give imaginative space and guidance for anyone willing to enter into the stories.

Passion of Jesus Courage Suffering

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Exploring the word

28 Mar 2010 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle C

Luke’s gospel is a journey of contradictions. Jesus requires from his disciples terms that are unusually demanding: Give all that you have to the poor and come follow me! Yet Jesus both models and teaches a way that’s gentle and merciful—as compassionate as his Father is compassionate. Nowhere do we see these contradictory forces at work as harmoniously as in Luke’s Passion narrative. Jesus predicts his Passion three times in this gospel with a brutality his disciples could not absorb. And the final anguish lives up to the expectation. Yet as the cruel story of betrayal, denial, and condemnation unfolds, a kinder, gentler scenario takes shape around Jesus. It’s as if the devil’s dark hour is tempered by the dawn of hope just a few days off. In this gospel alone the denial by Peter is both predicted and his reinstatement assured. During the agony in the garden, Luke offers an angel dispatched from heaven to lend the comfort the disciples neglect. While the high priest’s servant loses his ear in more than one gospel, Luke alone describes Jesus healing the man—among those sent to destroy him. Jesus will offer Peter a look of sympathy in the terrible moment of his denial. These are all tiny happy endings sewn into a fabric of apparent despair. And yes, Jesus must carry his cross, but the synoptic gospels give him an African friend, Simon of Cyrene, to help him. Luke adds mourning women and other supporters from Jerusalem to accompany his sad way. Even a criminal crucified with Jesus will give him the extraordinary gift of final homage in his most wretched hour. Perhaps that is why Luke is the only synoptic gospel that cannot put in the mouth of Jesus those desperate words from Psalm 22 about God’s abandonment. Luke’s Jesus is companioned every step of the way to his death. From this undercurrent of kindness Jesus weaves three amazing final sayings from the cross. He forgives his persecutors. He promises salvation to the criminal who recognizes his kingship. And he surrenders his spirit gently into the hands of the Father he has known and trusted all along the way. If such benevolent generosity is possible in the dire circumstances of Golgotha, then we’re encouraged to consider how carrying a benevolent spirit into every aspect of the world’s misery might bless us all. How can we walk beside those who are suffering and help bear their burdens? How can we offer healing to those who intend only harm? How do we extend forgiveness to the ones who do not love us? How will we meet our final hour: with aggression and bitterness, or with gentle confidence in God’s ultimate goodness? Related scripture links The greatness question in the gospels: Mark 9:33-37, 10:35-45; Matt. 18:1-5, 20:20-28; Luke 9:46-48; John 13:1-20 Counted among the wicked: Isa. 53:12 Predictions of Jesus’ downfall and its necessity: Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-32, 10:32-34; Matt. 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19; Luke 9:22-27, 43b-45, 18:31-34 He became sin for us: 2 Cor. 5:21 Catechism links Works of mercy: CCC 2447-2449 Least is greatest: CCC 526; 894; 1570

Authors Alice Camille

sacrifice Compassion Passion of Jesus

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Homily themes

28 Mar 2010 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle C

Isaiah 50:4-9 is part of what is sometimes known as the “Servant Song” because the first-person narrative and reference in verse 10 to a servant describes a follower of God who perseveres and relies on God in the face of persecution. Luke’s account of the death of Jesus contains several elements unique to Luke’s gospel, including an extended version of the story of the two criminals crucified with Jesus. While one mocks the Lord, the other asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his kingdom—the messianic fulfillment at the end of time as well as Christ’s entering into his own Resurrection and ascension. Because the death of Jesus definitively ushers in a new age, Jesus tells this person he will be with him this day in paradise. Homily points Worldly leadership wields control from the top down, but Jesus demonstrated leadership from the bottom through service. The way of servant leadership is easily traveled by practicing the works of mercy. Most of the characters in the Passion story had power they used to control others. Authentic leaders use power to enable the last and the least.

faithful Servant Leadership Passion of Jesus

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The inner word

09 Apr 2017 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle A

You may remember as a child how Palm Sunday was filled with feelings of lightness and generosity. You got a sweet-scented palm, replacing the dry one burnt to ashes. Burning the old and replacing the new meant that soon a basket of candy would be appearing. Later in life, after you have outgrown the candy, what is there to look forward to? The Passion of Christ is filled with betrayal, abandonment, and death—like joy also all elements of a human life. Who is this man? Who are you?

Passion of Jesus

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Exploring the word

09 Apr 2017 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle A

What’s the point of the Passion? It’s a question many Christians are too polite to ask. We worship beneath crosses that are fearful and strange and make us uncomfortable. We proclaim a gospel that takes a terrible route through horror and agony before arriving at its gracious victory. It’s a story we prefer to keep from small children as we fill our religious programs with stories of healing, miracles, and good deeds. Some of us replace the traditional crucifix on the wall with a Risen Lord or great High Priest that reveals the majesty more appropriate to the end of the story than to its darkest hour. Simply put: Why didn’t God save the world another way? Why couldn’t the Almighty wipe the slate of history clean of sin without the suffering and the bloodshed? If you or I were God, we’d seek another means of executing a rescue from sin and death. If the choice were ours, we’d find a way to do the greatest good without personally undergoing the greatest anguish. We’d seek an alternative to the cross because that’s what we already do. We’ve turned the sacred law of love into a creed of niceness. Love takes risks; we play it safe. Love suffers for the cause of justice and truth. We embrace every compromise that keeps us from conflict, even if it means adopting little white lies all along the way. Jesus Christ didn’t die on the cross so that the world might be a nicer place. Prophets didn’t suffer abuse and disdain, saints didn’t march to their martyrdom, so that the rest of us might be pleasant and agreeable. Was Jesus pleasant and agreeable? He spoke to his mother and his friends rather harshly. He was even less polite to his opponents. Jesus wasn’t above saying insulting things to his dinner hosts. The love he demanded of us wasn’t a matter of easy charity. It was a bonfire of vanities! Jesus said he came to set such a fire burning, and he couldn’t wait to see the world ablaze with it. Divine love isn’t a stroll in the park, arm in arm, in a restored Eden. Divine love is a mountain! It has to be scaled, at tremendous effort, with perseverance and courage and focus. It has to be mounted, like the cross, every limb committed, nailed into place. The point of the Passion is that love isn’t easy. It requires sacrifice. It costs everything we have. And it’s worth it. Through the Passion of the cross, we learn that God so loves the world, so loves you and me right now, that no compromise is possible, and any price is worth paying. Related scripture links The parables of the “friends”: Matt. 20:13 and 22:12 Cursed be the one who hangs on a tree: Deut. 21:23; see also Gal. 3:13 Matthew’s unique Last Supper formula: Matt. 26:27-28 The dishonored priesthood: Lev. 21:18 Catechism links Matthew’s Passion: CCC 545; 571-573; 586; 591; 595-618; 1339; 1365; 1846-1848; 2732-2733; 2839; 2849

Authors Alice Camille

Passion of Jesus divine love sacrifice

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