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29 Nov 2015 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

“The days are coming”: a fulfillment of God’s promise for a new covenant, a new David, a Son of Man whom God has given all authority, glory, and power to judge and whose reign will provide God’s people with justice and security. How to live until then? “Blameless in holiness, with love for one another and for all.” With hope—the hope of a prophet who still hopes though he is sitting in prison amidst the siege of his holy city. With watchfulness and prayer, undistracted by the false certainties of the pleasures and “anxieties of daily life.” And with confidence, heads held high like a people ready for a new Exodus to freedom, because they know what they have to do and that their “redemption is at hand.”

covenant redemption

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Homily themes

14 Sep 2014 - Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Cycle A

Like last week the readings present a stark choice between faith and sin, life and death. Yet also like last week there is a note of hope. Christ’s “downward” movement into the world is necessary so that in dying for sin he is lifted up and lifts up. Judgment and punishment come from above but so does life. Whether we select to remain below or ascend is up to us. Jesus saves but only we can condemn ourselves. Do we opt for faith in the Lord and obedience to his teachings? God’s invitation to redemption is always there even if we repeatedly turn it down: “He, being merciful, forgave their sin . . . often he turned back his anger and let none of his wrath be roused.”

Authors Joel Schorn

judgment redemption

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Exploring the word

03 Mar 2013 - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

We call the great story of faith “salvation history,” but to hear some people tell it, it’s more like damnation history. Blame those convinced that moral depravity is at the soul of every son of Adam and daughter of Eve since Genesis chapter three. Millennialists keeping tabs on the precise 144,000 members of the human race who merit redemption throughout the centuries are also at fault. Fundamentalist preachers of every stripe, pleased to bestow irrevocable condemnation on whole categories of persons, don’t help matters much. Perhaps you could add to this list my seventh-grade teacher, who was convinced I was going to hell in a hand basket at age 12. What is it about human beings that makes us so morbid about our chances of redemption? We seem convinced that God does not have our best interests at heart and has not been working frantically since Genesis 3 to get us all back on board the ark of salvation, sometimes quite literally. You listen to stories like Noah’s Ark, the parting of the Red Sea, the gift of the promised land, and gospel chronicles of compassion all the way to the empty tomb of Easter—and then mentally hit the delete key on all those invitations to trust in the boundless compassion of God. As we subtract, we also add. We replace the loving forgiveness of God that scripture celebrates on every page and scour the footnotes for signs of God’s malice and hatred of our wretched souls. The crowds around Jesus, it’s interesting to note, were no different. While Jesus brought healing, food, and teaching to the countryside for three years, the crowds came back to him with questions about tragic events that seemed like evidence of God’s wrath toward them. Had God played a part in the suffering of Galileans slain by their brutal governor? What about the unfortunate 18 who lost their lives when the tower fell: Had they merited such a death by secret sins? You can imagine Jesus’ reaction to this persistent characterization of the God he called Father as that Murderer-Up-in-the-Sky. Despite years of gospel teaching, it still seemed Job was sitting with his best friends who insisted he give up his secret sin so that God might spare him further suffering. Humanity seems addicted to the notion that God means to hammer us for every wrong move. You think you’re doing God a favor by saying that’s OK, I deserve what I get. What if the truth is that God really doesn’t want to pound us but to lift us up? Are we going to hear the parable of the fig tree as one more chance at salvation—or focus on the ax at the roots? Related scripture links Rich man and Abraham: Luke 16:19-31 Love your enemies: Matt. 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36 Catechism links Repentance/conversion: CCC 1427-1439 “I AM”: CCC 205-214; 2575; 2810

Authors Alice Camille

redemption salvation history

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Sign & sacrament

02 Dec 2012 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

If apocalyptic literature in the Bible has not sparked trepidation over what may happen to our fragile planet and our fragile selves, then certainly science fiction films and hokey TV dramatizations of the “predictions” of Nostradamus will do it. Unlike such shows, the early Advent imagery of the heavens and earth passing away are not intended to scare us but rather to encourage us, to assure us that “when these signs begin to happen,” whether inconsolable grief at a personal loss or some cataclysm that shakes the whole planet, our redemption is secure. Your place in the hands of God cannot be shaken.

redemption advent

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Homily themes

02 Dec 2012 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

"The days are coming”: a fulfillment of God’s promise for a new covenant, a new David, a Son of Man whom God has given all authority, glory, and power to judge and whose reign will provide God’s people with justice and security. How to live until then? “Blameless in holiness, with love for one another and for all.” With hope—the hope of a prophet who still hopes though he is sitting in prison amidst the siege of his holy city. With watchfulness and prayer, undistracted by the false certainties of the pleasures and “anxieties of daily life.” And with confidence, heads held high like a people ready for a new Exodus to freedom, because they know what they have to do and that their “redemption is at hand.”

Authors Joel Schorn

Hope redemption Exodus

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Quotes

24 Apr 2016 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. —T. S. Eliot The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times. –Singer Patti Smith (b. 1946)

t.s. eliot redemption sacrifice patti smith
Quotes

24 Apr 2016 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C (sample issue)

sample issue Testimonial: “I consider PREPARE THE WORD essential in my ministry.” ~ Deacon Les, Sun City, AZ For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. —T. S. Eliot The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times. –Singer Patti Smith (b. 1946) Prepare to be great! Subscribe to PREPARE THE WORD now to get instant access to all of our world-class preaching resources.

t.s. eliot redemption sacrifice patti smith
Who's listening?

18 Dec 2011 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

Impossible tasks, impossible goals, impossible relationships, we've all faced them. Some challenges were met with success; others with utter failure. The ultimate impossible task is redeeming what we've done and what we've failed to do. We can't turn back the clock or change the course of events. The good news for your congregation today is that they have the opportunity to participate in eternal life, where there are no clocks and past regrets--only continually regenerative love. Without eternity every moment seals the fate of who we are. With God's endless embrace we always have the opportunity to renew ourselves and draw our lives into eternal life. Why wait?

challenges failure redemption

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Who's listening?

12 Sep 2010 - Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

The high-sounding term for what people will hear in scripture this week is the "mystery of sin and redemption." On the ground are people looking to God and church for a healing word to address their hurts, given and received. The story goes like this. Yes, we sin, despite our best intentions, sometimes because of them. God leaves us free to make mistakes. We think too much of ourselves or too little; we do too much or not enough. We let our appetites and instincts get the better of us. We hurt others by our selfishness. But sinfulness does not summarize the human condition. Life holds out the possibility of repentance, to which God responds with mercy and forgiveness. Not only that, God can relent, as the Exodus reading shows, when we regret what we have done or failed to do. Minds and hearts can change on both sides of the divine-human equation. In forgiving there is joy and a feast to welcome back the prodigal. Our invitation comes from our Lord and God, who welcomes sinners and eats with them.

Mercy Forgiveness sin redemption

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Homily themes

12 Sep 2010 - Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. In this line we have both a statement of the central Christian belief as well as a confession of faith by the author writing in Paul's name. As one who can now profess faith in Christ Jesus, Paul has journeyed from sinner to apostle: "I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated"--an echo of the words from 1 Corinthians 15:9: "For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." As happens frequently in the Pauline epistles, Paul is presented as an example for the recipients of the letter, and for all Christians, to follow. His faith crowns his conversion. Mercy and arrogance are mutually hostile qualities. We cannot give ourselves to one without losing the other. In the early view of the Pentateuch writers, God's wrath came at least as easily as forbearance. In the gospel, both sinners and their savior are viewed in a more benevolent light. Ignorance blinds us and arrogance compels us, but the good news is God's mercy is attracted by the need of sinners.

redemption Salvation sinners sin

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