TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Deacon John Gomez
He Is Out Of His Mind/Who Are My Mother And Brothers?
Last month, many of us were captivated by the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Some of us were interested in seeing the fairy-tale wedding of a princess, others could hardly wait for their first glimpse of the well guarded wedding dress, still others wanted to see which celebrities attended because of the Duchess’ connection to the world of entertainment, and others approached it from a more technical perspective—orchestrating the movement of people, providing security, even conducting the ritual itself, the preaching of Bishop Michael Curry. There was also quite a bit of drama leading up to the wedding: with Meghan Markle as a commoner, an American, and a divorcee would Queen Elizabeth give her consent to the union; and with Thomas Markle, the Duchess’ father, conceding he had worked with an American celebrity photographer in staging a series of paparazzi-style photographs showing him preparing for the ceremony. It made me think that each of us has certain rules that we’re expected to follow to respect each other’s rights and responsibilities regardless of whom we call our family.
In today’s gospel reading we get a peek at those rules for Jesus’ family. Like the British royal family today, Jewish families in the first century were governed by a considerable amount of tradition. Some of these traditions were simple and practical such as expecting the eldest son to continue the family business because of the family’s considerable investment. For example, if the family owned a winery, then the vineyard, wine presses, and warehouses for aging the wine would be quite expensive. In the case of the Holy Family, Joseph probably had tools that he used as a laborer. Some were probably for carpentry or masonry work that he performed. There may also have been a workshop or space in the home that was set aside for any projects that he was working on. Other rules were focused on familial relationships and the community. When the father passed away, the son would take the mother into his home because she would have no other means of support to put a roof over her head or food on her table. Also, they didn’t understand how the disease of leprosy spread from one person to another so they established a rule to exile lepers from the community.
Jesus’ ministry often disregarded these traditions. Considering just the stories in the Gospel of Mark leading up to today’s reading, you can almost hear the town gossips, “Have you seen Jesus lately? Ever since he went off to be baptized, he hardly spends any time working in the shop. He is out of his mind. Poor Mary, she’s left all alone. I don’t ever see her eating. You know she won’t beg. Jesus needs to stay home and take care of his mother. He is out of his mind. I heard that Jesus touched a leper over by Capernaum. Thank goodness when the priest examined the man he was clean of leprosy, but what was Jesus thinking. He is out of his mind. He is constantly in the company of sinners and that tax collector Levi, he doesn’t observe the fast, and he pays no attention to the Sabbath picking grain from the field and healing people. HE IS OUT OF HIS MIND!”
Jesus’ relatives are actually saying, “People in this family don’t behave that way.” His family didn’t understand the nature of Jesus’ ministry. They were surprised when he began preaching; he came from a poor carpenter’s family. He wasn’t a Levite nor did he have any special training like the scribes, Pharisees or Sadducees. Certainly his parents, Mary and Joseph, taught him the foundations of his faith but he wasn’t a rabbi’s student. His words and actions conflicted at times with their familial beliefs and traditions; they wanted him to stop. They were even willing to come as a group to seize him, carry him away from the crowds, and remind him of his roots—of their family traditions.
Jesus’ oddly worded response, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” is a fundamental question: What does it mean to be family? People may refer to a “blood relation” or will say that person is my biological parent. I maintain being family is something that goes far deeper, encompassing our entire being, not just our physical make up but how we see the world. We have heard that our parents are our first teachers; from them we learn the way that people treat each other, sharing responsibilities, celebrating each other’s joys and consoling each other’s sorrows, implanting morals and values that influence the way we respond to everyday events for the rest of our lives. While we may not be a member of the British royal family or a first century Jewish family, we are guided by the traditions of our families all the same. Jesus’ question should make us ask, “How should I behave as part of God’s family?”
Catholic social teaching provides us with part of the answer to the question. The person is not only sacred but also social; God created us not to live in isolation but in communion. Marriage and family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. As Catholics we believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.
Jesus completes the answer by redefining family and in the process giving us a great definition of the church. He portrays a vision of the family of God. Jesus acknowledges that discipleship may cost our old, natural family ties. But if we do the will of God, we will discover ourselves as members of the new family of God. Despite Jesus disappointment that his family and the scribes rejected him, he proclaims the good news that all who do the will of God will be accepted into the family of God. Jesus’ statement moves the value of human relationships beyond the physical or biological to the spiritual. I believe he is saying that as important as physical relationships are, they are not as important as spiritual relationships.
My wife Mary built the spiritual relationships within our family by ensuring that as our children were growing up we always had dinner together. Sometimes dinner was squeezed in between sports or band or scouts, but we always sat down together. On more than a few occasions we were all seated with food on the table waiting for the last person to join us. We all knew that we wouldn’t start while there was an empty seat and whoever the missing person was knew they had a responsibility to join the rest of the family. It was a special time when we shared the news of the day, learned from each other, shared a smile or a tear, and knew that we were important and loved just the way we are.
Likewise, the family of God joins together to share and learn and know that we are important and loved at this altar table. If we want to be able to answer Jesus, “I am your brother” or “I am your sister” then being joined at the table of the altar is an important part of our family tradition. We know that Jesus in His perfection was criticized, scorned, mocked, and suffered because He claimed God as His Father. It will be the same with us if we follow in His ways. Following Jesus and fulfilling His divine will in our lives will not always be accepted by others. Yes, acts of kindness and mercy toward the less fortunate will generally be seen by all as a good and virtuous thing to do. But there are many things we are called to say and do by the Gospel that will invite the criticism of others. When this happens and they say, “He is out of his mind,” we should not be astonished, hurt or scandalized. We should not become angry or resentful. We should recall the false judgments made against Jesus and not allow what we experience from others to deter us from following the will of God. We should claim our family’s tradition, following in the very footsteps of Christ, through the self-sacrifice of the cross to the glory of God.
The Ascension of the Lord
LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
Fr. Jim Deiters
Expectations of others almost always get us in trouble. As children, we unrealistically expect that our siblings would someday stop aggravating us. As teenagers, we expect our parents to agree with all of our irrational thinking. And as adults we keep expecting our politicians or someone else to fix the problems of the world. Even when I got ordained as a priest, I unrealistically expected everyone would like me and agree with me...wrong!
In my ministry, when I listen to people’s angers or hurts, the pain often comes from their expectations of others not being met. And when someone does not fulfill what we thought they would be or do, we can feel betrayed or angry. Forgiving others is intimately connected to letting go of unreal expectations…when perhaps the other person simply cannot live up to what I hoped for…or thought they would be or do.
Similarly, we humans create a lot of expectations of God. And thus many people get frustrated with God when he doesn’t provide what they think God should be doing for them. In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles that gives us St. Luke’s version of Jesus’ Ascension, we hear the disciples express their expectationsof Jesus as he is preparing them for this Ascension. They ask, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words they were asking, “Lord, are going to get rid of those terrible Roman leaders andmake everyone live in peace?” Even after Jesus’ three years with them, and observing his example of non-violence and love of enemies, the disciples still had their own expectations of what kind of Messiah that Jesus should be. Like other First Century Judeans, they waited for a savior that would eliminate the evil people of this world. Their interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures imagined that God would send a Messiah to be a ruler that would somehow, through political power, make peace and justice just ‘happen.’ But Jesus onlyexerted a kind of power that was based on love and inclusion.
Jesus hears their expectations and turns their question around and expresses his own expectations of us! First, Jesus states that he expects us to open our hearts to his Holy Spirit; and secondly, he expects us to allow the Holy Spirit to help us be “witnesses” of God’s love for others. As he says clearly in the Gospel, “Go make disciples of all nations.” Jesus turns his Ascension-departure into a commissioning ceremony with a promise to be with us always through the Holy Spirit that God sent to all of humanity at Pentecost. Did you catch the two phrases when Jesus says that you “will receive POWER and GRACE” from the Holy Spirit? At Pentecost they DID receive this powerful Spirit that changed their lives!
It seems then that this Ascension feast invites us to think about our own ‘expectations’ of God… and remember Jesus’ expectations of us. Maybe we need to let go of an expectation that because God is all-powerful, he should take down all bad people; and let go of an expectation that if God is all-loving he should snap his finger and stop all suffering and evil in the world. Jesus never made those promises; but somehow, usually in our teenage years, we put God in a box of what he should be doing, and forget that he commissioned US to help make his Mission of love and peace a reality for everyone. God ‘expects’ us to be co-creators of his Kingdom of peace and justice!
How different our prayer might be if we spent less time telling God what he should be doing for us...and spend more time asking God questions like, “what else can I do for YOU God so that more people will know of your mercy and grace?”
Before we go out and try to do the missionary work of the Gospel, Jesus makes it clear how much we needthe Holy Spirit to guide our words and actions. And that begs the question then, “Have I ever let the Holy Spirit really take over my heart, mind and soul?” Even if we received the sacraments of baptism and confirmation a month ago, a year ago, or 50 years ago, have I really invited the Holy Spirit to influence and guide my expectations and presuppositions about people?
Jesus’ physical Ascension into a heaven was never meant to be a separation between God and humanity. Just the opposite, Jesus’ returned to heaven so that we become partakers in God’s divine life, merging our humanity with his divinity. This is what happens in the Mass!
Here in the Eucharist, the Spirit of Jesus comes into our mind, heart, and soul...giving us the courage, wisdom, and understanding we need to know what it is we are supposed to be doing with our life as disciples commissioned for this work of Jesus’ Gospel!
Let us bring to God in this Mass any ‘unmet expectations’ of others that have left us with resentment or a grudge…and ask God to set us free! Here in the Eucharist, the main thing that we ‘can expect’ and need from God… is to pour into our heart his Spirit of forgiveness and love.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
LISTEN TO THIS HOMILY
Fr. Jim Deiters
Although our prison system in the United States has many problems, it is great to occasionally hear about a success story of rehabilitation that often happens during incarceration and is part of the reason that Catholic ministry in prisons is so important. My favorite ‘Easter-Resurrection’ story this week that appeared in major newspapers is about Mr. Jessie Morton. He was an analyst for the New York Police Department but then got involved with a radical Islamist cell and cultivated extremist followers. He was arrested and served the past six years in prison. During his time in prison he saw the error of his ways with the radicals and formed a non-profit network that aims to rehabilitate extremists and lead others away from radical Islam. Now out of prison, Mr. Morton was hired by a group called, “Countering Violent Extremism,” and is helping young Muslim men stay away from violence as they learn about the peaceful side of the Quran.
In one sense, we each must go through some period of conversion, a time that sometimes requires us to change our thinking, our behaviors, or maybe a time that re-centers us in our core Christian values and virtues. Sometimes the ‘conversion’ happens through a long trying period such as raising a difficult child, an unresolved hurt, or years of grief over the loss of a loved one. Not that God gives us that difficulty, but the Holy Spirit will use that time to work on our heart and ‘form’ us into something new for some new purpose in God’s Kingdom.
The great St. Paul experienced many times when he was either imprisoned or exiled and used those times for deepening his life in Christ. Today’s short section from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a hint into Paul’s faith journey. After his conversion calling from God on his way to Damascus, many people had a hard timebelieving that he really changed – from persecuting the Christians…to now preaching about Jesus? Today’s Acts story tells us that Paul moved down to Jerusalem and started preaching there, but some people were trying to kill him for what he did earlier to the Christians. The Apostles decided it was too dangerous for him to stay there so sent him back to his home town of Tarsus.
And here is the catch to Paul’s story that is not IN the book of Acts – he stayed in Tarsus for TEN years and sort of ‘fell off the Christian timeline’ during those years! St. Paul was basically demoted and sent into exile, mostly to protect him from being killed. The only thing we can surmise from what Paul did during those 10 years…is that he spent most of it in prayer and study. Because when Barnabas came back to Tarsus to get him years later, they began a passionate missionary journey of preaching about Jesus to FIFTY cities! So, Paul spent the last twenty years of his life completely dedicated to leading others to Jesus! A very different idea of ‘retirement’!
It’s a beautiful story that shows us how to use periods in our life – that may seem like a prison or desert of unknowns - to grow in self-knowledge and a deeper relationship with God. When we are in the middle of a broken relationship, grief, recovery from addiction, or difficult health situation, it can feel insurmountable. But if we invite God to walk with us through the pain…and pay attention to opportunities for self-growth…then God will ‘roll back the stone’ at some point when we are ready and walk us out of the tomb…as we become a new person with a new sense of purpose in God’s kingdom. Of course, we resist the cross of dying to self – which is why we need the examples of such heroes as St. Paul, Saints Francis and Clare, Therese of Lisieux, Dorothy Day, and Mother Theresa of Calcutta.
These were people who experienced periods of doubt or abandonment…but used those times to grow in holiness and selfless service of others. They, like us, depended on the Eucharist to guide us through our faith journey. It’s a process of conversion, patience, and trust…that God truly WILL somehow use the time that we thought was useless suffering…to help us become a better human and Christian, that we can bear the Spirit’s fruits of love and peace…and action for God.
Second Sunday of Easter
Fr. Jim Deiters
After the Easter Vigil last Saturday night, I asked one our junior high students what part of the Vigil she found most interesting. She hesitated a bit and then said, “I liked the part when the church was dark, but everyone was glowing from their candlelight.” I was so glad to hear that she noticed this great moment that is my favorite as well when the only light in the church comes from the candles that people are holding that lights up each person’s face…and everyone is ‘glowing’ as she said. When I’m presiding during that candlelight part and I look up, it’s a kind of unique, soft, candle lightglow on each face that somehow makes everyone look very holy! Our scripture readings throughout this Easter Season invite us to renew ourselves in what I call the ‘holiness-glow’ of Jesus’ Resurrection.
I think that most of us often come to Mass feeling not too holy at all…usually aware of our failings and the unholy habits that need changed. Many people mistakenly think that they shouldn’t come to church if they have made a big mistake. But, this sacrament of the Eucharist is exactly what we needwhen we are sick in mind, heart, or soul! Sin takes away our baptismal glow…but Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist to restore us to grace through his healing mercy so that we leave each Mass with a new ‘radiance’ of God’s Glory.
This is what happens each time that Jesus appears to the disciples after his Resurrection. In the story we just heard, the disciples are locked in a room with fear, having lost their faith and hope since Jesus’ death. Jesus comes INTO their midst and breathes on them the breath of the Holy Spirit. The breath of his Spirit forgives their sins, their denying him, and their running away in fear, and he restores them to his grace and love. In other words, he renews his relationship with them in the glow of his Resurrection!
This is exactly what happens at every Eucharist for us! We gather: the lost and broken, the hurting, the guilty, the grieving, and those in fear, to encounter the Risen Jesus… who miraculously comes right into our midst to heal and forgive us. If we really ALLOW Jesus to save us from our sinful habits, then the breath of his Spirit will heal and renew the holy-glow of our baptism in our hearts and actions once again.
Notice that Thomas was not with the other disciples. Maybe he felt too guilty or unworthy of joining the praying community. He represents all those who stray away from Church for various reasons, forgetting that the praying community is exactly where one needs to be for support during difficult times. It is when Thomas rejoins the group that he too experiences the Risen Christ…and his faith is restored. His own ‘glow of faith’ is heard in his great testimony when he proclaims, “My Lord and my God!” This is a scripture quote to memorize and pray each time we receive Holy Communion…as we restate our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus that comes into us -- “My Lord and my God!”
This past week, our world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Some have called him a great beacon of God’s Light for the 20th Century since he was a voice and witness to God’s justice and peace. Dr. King’s witness to non-violence,- non-violent words and non-violent actions - while standing strong against injustice was his way of being a real glowing presence of God in our divided world. His call to work for justice…while being a person of peace…is sort of a sequel to what Jesus is asking of his disciples as he breathes on them and tells them to be forgiving and loving toward others. One definition of justice that I like is this: Justice is what lovelooks like… in public.
We each have to discern our own path of how to live in our world as glowing embers of God’s healing love and peace. Our ultimate example of love and peace and non-violence is Jesus Christ. In baptism he breathed his Spirit into us and gave us the same power that he gave to the fear-filled disciples in that locked room that day of the Resurrection.
Right here in the Eucharist, Jesus once again comes INTO our midst and says to our own fearful, guilty, worried hearts, “Peace be with you.” During the Mass, try to become more aware of the Real Presence of Jesus right here…in the people around you, as the One leading us in prayer, and in this Word. Try to notice Jesus’ breath come over you in our praying together…as God recreates us to BE the ‘glowing light of the Holy Spirit in the world. And as people notice God’s light glowing through our words and actions, then perhaps some of the “Thomas’” who are not here at the Eucharist…will be inspired to come seek out this font of God’s Mercy.
Fr. Jim Deiters
My nieces and nephews still tease me about using an old-fashioned calendar that’s a hard-copy binder. Anything that’s not digital, they tell me, is something left from the Flintstones. One of them was shocked when they opened it a few weeks ago and said, “How funny, your calendar lists Sunday at the beginning of the week!” While that did not seem odd to me, she felt proud to tell me that her phone calendar starts with Monday and it helps her plan her work week. And being honest with her uncle she said, “And, hate to tell you this Uncle Jim but most people think of Sunday as a time to catch up on things or rest at the end of the week.” Her honest words were no news to me, but a confirmation of what’s apparent in people’s lives.
The details of our Easter Gospel of Jesus’ empty tomb give us an opportunity to re-think how we perceive time and our life schedule. Why? Because the author Mark makes a specific point of telling us that this whole mind-boggling miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection actually happened – on “the first day of the week,” the day after the Sabbath! The author wants us to know that this changes everything in terms of how we view our 7-day week and our priorities. Before the Resurrection, the ‘first day of the week’ was when you wentback to work after the Sabbath rest. But now, the Christians turned that “first day of the week” into a new day of celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection! At first these Jewish followers of Jesus kept some of their Saturday-Sabbath traditions, but turned Sunday into a day for the Eucharist, helping the poor, and gathering as a community for support and prayer. They changed their concept of time and weekdays around this most significant event in human history! And they marked this ‘new day’ for the Lord Jesus by focusing on things he taught them to do…at the beginning of their week!
Again, I want to emphasize this with our young people, many who think that Monday is the first day of the week! You belong to a faith community that was founded on this history changing event of Jesus’ Resurrection. The human calendar was then changed around this person Jesus, and the original group of about 20 disciples has grown to about 2 billion Christians in the world today. What attracted so many people to want to join them? First, people were amazed by the founding principle of this new religion – that their leader had truly been raised from the dead! Hundreds of people actually SAW Jesus after his Resurrection and ate with him…and they never stopped telling others about this incredible miracle! The other element of Christianity that attracted people, and we will hear more about this in the upcoming Sunday Gospels, is that the Christians were the first to make helping the poor their top priority. They were also the first group to treat women as equals to men, and not segregate people by economic status, skin color or nationality. The Resurrection completely changed the way Christians thought about other humans.
The first disciples of Jesus set aside that ‘first day of the week’ to gather for the Eucharist to renew theircommitment to Jesus and doing what he taught them. Sunday, the beginning of the week, became a day tore-prioritize what was most important in their life – the Eucharist, building community among themselves, helping the poor, and creatively thinking of ways to reach out to those who were not yet a part of their community. Christians created the idea of Sunday as a new kind of ‘Sabbath’ to help them START their week, centered in Christ!
With most of us having very busy lives, filled with lots of important things, the true miracle of Jesus rising from the dead, challenges us to decide how his Resurrection makes any difference in our lives, our priorities, and our schedules. When Sunday is mistakenly thought of as the ‘end’ of the week, we only give God what is ‘left over’ which isn’t much after a long week of work and family duties. Would we be willing to re-think of how we interpret Sunday…as a true day of Resurrection…of new beginnings?! As a day that begins our week, starting with the Eucharist…with God at the beginning and center of all our other activities? We can re-imagine our Sunday conversations about the Scriptures, stories of hope, and encouraging one another that God has given us a new week for new possibilities.
So that today will not just pass by with a fading memory of baskets and bunnies, may this Easter Eucharist open our eyes and hearts in new ways so that the mystery and miracle of Jesus rising from the dead…willmotivate us to see our life differently…reorganizing all of the other people, events, and things in our life to be centered around the Risen Christ!