We are called to live a radical life!
We are a people called to live counter-culturally to the secular world!
We live in this world, but are called to live in ways not of this world.
We are called to live by God’s will, not man’s will.
The ways of this world are not God’s ways. What this world reveres is not what gives glory to God or gains us entry into His heavenly kingdom.
Poor Jerimiah! He is called by God to warn the people that their ways - are the ways of destruction. He goes to the people on God’s behalf and is made a laughingstock. He speaks the word of God to the people and they not only ridicule him and deride God’s message, but imprison and torture poor Jerimiah.
His sufferings are great; for bringing God’s warning to the people of punishment for their sinful life. Jeremiah is filled with the word of God. He would like to choose safety – keeping quiet, hidden; so the people would not bring him sufferings, but God’s word burns within him. He is fairly bursting at the seams to speak the will of God to the people. He cannot keep quiet and so bears the sufferings inflicted upon him. God’s word is not what the people want to hear, but is necessary to their salvation. The people want to go about their sinful lives unmindful of God’s will. Jeremiah suffers greatly because he must speak God’s truth.
Paul tells us that there are sacrifices we must suffer in this world for living God’s truth. The sufferings of those who discern the will of God are acceptable and pleasing to Him. God’s servants bring His truth to His people, so they may have life. Discerning the will of God and living in His truth is the call of Christian baptism. This world holds no treasure or reward. Those are found only in the kingdom of God for those who listen to His word and observe it.
In last week’s Gospel, Peter calls Jesus, “. . . the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus tells him that no human has told him this, but it is revealed to him by God, the Father.
God’s revelation to Peter of the truth of Jesus is clear, but today, Peter’s humanness, his fear clouds God’s revelation of the Truth. Peter fails to discern God’s truth of the necessity for Jesus’ coming Passion. Peter, when Jesus tells the disciples of what lays ahead for him in Jerusalem is, in his humanness, fearful.
Peter, like many of the Jews, is looking for liberation from the Roman oppressors. He seeks what is immediately expedient in his worldly life, not what is God’s plan for His people. He seeks a warrior king, to come, with force, to overthrow the Romans. The Jews seek liberation to live as an autonomous people, not salvation to live as God’s holy people.
Peter fails to recognize God’s will. His admonition to Jesus is only from Peter’s human perspective. God’s plan is obscured from Peter’s heart. He cannot understand how the death and rising of Jesus will bring about God’s salvation for his people. Peter thinks to himself, “How can Jesus’ mission continue, if he is dead?” And maybe more self-indulgently, “What will happen to me and the rest of our group, if Jesus is gone? Where will we go, what will we do, what will become of us?” All very human questions and human reactions to Jesus foretelling of his suffering, crucifixion and resurrection.
We hear in Romans 11:33:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord . . .?”
Knowing the mind of God, discerning His will is the life to which all Christians strive. By our baptism, we are charged, “To go forth making disciples of all nations . . .” Our mission is to bring God’s Word to all people. In His love, we are called to remind the people that they are God’s beloved children. God seeks his beloved creations to leave this sinful world behind, the place of the evil-one, to be welcomed home into the peace of His heavenly kingdom.
When we look at the world today and how ever increasingly secularism pervades our culture, we may feel daunted and despaired, like Jeremiah. We may want to hide our Christian faith, blend into the cultural background. Keeping silent the Word of God within us for fear and shame of what the world may think of us and do to us. We too may be afraid of becoming a laughingstock for speaking God’s Truth. Truth that goes counter-culture to the world’s beliefs on family, marriage, the sanctity of life, the very existence of God and the pervasiveness of evils in the world.
We may feel the better part of valor is discretion: avoiding the sacrifices we will be called to make in standing up for what is holy and pleasing to God. Conforming ourselves to the cultural beliefs – du jour - may give us momentary peace among the sinfulness of this world, but will lead us to eternal sufferings in our life beyond.
Be transformed! – Be counter-cultural! – Discern the will of God! Hear His Truths in your heart, observe all that He teaches us through our Lord, Jesus Christ and go forth preaching the Good News to all people!
Be mindful of God’s will. Listen to His voice and never tire of doing what is good, what is right, what is holy and pleasing to Him. Lose your life to the evils of this world and find everlasting life in God’s heavenly kingdom. For what treasures can we bring with us or of what worldly honors can we boast to bribe or impress He who sits on the judgment seat at the gates to eternal life? ~ Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don
Jesus was masterful in outwitting his opponents when they challenged him in attempts to trap him into saying or doing something for which they could bring a charge against him. Many of our Gospel stories, such as, the ‘Woman Caught in Adultery,’ or ‘Keeping the Sabbath,’ or ‘What is the Greatest Commandment,’ were challenges by the Scribes and Pharisees to confound, confuse and outwit Jesus. Yet, in each instance it was Jesus who defeated his challengers; outwitting them, confusing them and confounding them into silence.
These experts in the Law of Moses failed in each instance to trip up Jesus in their clever attempts to silence him. But now in today’s Gospel, Jesus is challenged by another who does bring him to silence - a Canaanite woman.
Jesus is not silenced because he has no answer to the woman’s pleas for mercy, but because she is not a Jew. Canaanites were a pagan people who dominated the lands that God gave to the people of Israel. They were considered unclean and unworthy, not to be engaged in conversation or commerce, but separate from the chosen people of Israel.
Jesus tries to ignore her because he comes only to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ His mercy and compassion does not belong to her – she is not from among God’s holy people. His mission of salvation belongs to God’s chosen people alone.
Despite her lowly station in life and her knowing that Jews will have nothing to do with Canaanites, she continues in her cries and pleas, her wailing and beseeching Jesus for mercy and healing for her daughter. Jesus walks on: ignoring her, but she follows after him and his disciples, shouting and calling out. The disciples, just to get her to leave them alone, for she is creating quite a spectacle, ask Jesus to ‘get rid of her.’ She reminds us of the old woman who kept pleading to the ‘Unjust Judge’ for justice until finally, in desperation for peace, he gave in to the old woman’s rant.
Breaking with acceptable behavior, as Jesus often did, he enters into a personal encounter with this unclean woman; telling her his words of God’s love and mercy are meant only for the chosen people, Israel.
Here is where Jesus is challenged by another, but does not prevail.
The woman responds that others also listen and hear Jesus’s words of God’s love and mercy and they too have come to believe. What is meant solely for the ears of God’s chosen ones also reaches down to the unchosen. They too have heard the Word of God spoken through Jesus and have responded in belief, with hope and desire.
In these words spoken by a woman, one who is unclean, un-chosen and un-welcomed, Jesus is awakened to a great faith. That she, this Canaanite woman, could make such a statement opened Jesus’ eyes to a great faith in God’s love and mercy – a love and mercy is possible for all people who hear the Word of God and respond.
From this grows a new direction for Jesus’ ministry. After our Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection, in his final commission to his disciples, – he tells them,
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
This commission to the disciples is also our commission. We continue the apostolic mission of bringing the Word of God to all nations and to all people. We, God’s holy people, are the heralds of his promise of salvation found through Jesus Christ, for all God’s beloved children. We are called and commissioned by our baptism to continue to preach the Good News, by word and action; calling all the lost sheep back into God’s fold, so they too may enjoy his love, grace and peace in the heavenly kingdom – forever and ever. Amen.
Peace,
Deacon Don
There is a storm brewing. In fact, it has already broken upon us. We are like the disciples in the boat tossed about on a stormy sea with wind and waves, thunder and lightning; crying out to the Lord to save us.
These are troubling times - wars, famine, persecutions, slavery, pestilence and plague, executions, assassinations, and murder, abortions, starvation, denial of basic human rights and dignity, exploitations and inequality, threats and terrorisms – unspeakable horrors in the world today. Look to the east, look to the west, to the north and to the south – within and without our own lands . . .
But then when have we not been in troubling times.
Throughout the history of mankind we have always been victims of our own greed, pride, sloth, envy, wrath, lust and gluttony. Encouraged by the evil-one, we wander away from the protection of the shepherd; exploring the far corners of the pasture – believing we are masters of our own fate. We stumble into briars and rocky places; falling into dark caves, snares and traps; carried away by lions and wolves - predators who slay and devour.
We cry out for a savior
We search the horizon for a rescuer
We beg for a deliverer to release us from the dangers that threaten our lives;
We pleading for a redeemer who will free us from the perils that besets us
In our despair our faith weakens – our hope fails – we feel abandoned and lost.
We are like lost sheep, crying out to be saved from the follies of our own design.
Like Peter, we only need to reach out to our Lord, Jesus to find our hope and courage. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, our Redeemer and Savior. Jesus is the one who stretches out his hand to bring us out of the clutches of the evil-one - away from sin and destruction: into the arms of our loving God and the peace of His heavenly kingdom and life eternal.
As was Peter when he climbed out of the boat we, in our humanness, we begin in hope and desire, excited to see our Lord, but then, in the turbulence of the stormy sea, we begin to doubt. Fear creeps into our hearts and we begin to flounder and flail; sinking into misery and despair, crying out to be saved by our Lord.
The evil-one betrays us with doubts and fears – telling us what God has promised is not possible – that we are unlovable and unworthy of God’s grace because we are irredeemable sinners. It is hopeless to try and live up to the expected perfection of Christ, so do not try, but settle for what is good in the here and now – what satisfies and delights us in this life. Evil tells us that this is the only life that matters – all we will ever know – because what God offers is an impossible dream.
The evil-one makes us doubt –
He leads us to question Truth, and plants uncertainly and fear in our hearts. These are the tools of the evil-one – used effectively to defeat hope and discourage; turning us away from the love of God.
The evil-one sows the seeds of false promises among the good seeds of faith. He promises us the rewards of this world - if only we believe in the false god’s he puts before us: – power, wealth, and command.
False gods that cannot save, gods that have no life in them, promises that lure us away from the Truth of the Almighty’s promise of life everlasting and peace.
Listen to the Good News! – Jesus, the Christ is our safety and security.
He is with us always, until the end of the age and stands by us in our time of need.
He rescues us, lifts us up and sustains us. Have faith in Him, for our salvation is in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
It is with Him that we are raised up to new life.
It is in Him that we receive God’s promise of Eternal Life.
It is through Him that we are welcomed in the heavenly kingdom of peace
Faith in Jesus Christ is all we need.
In Jesus’ death and resurrection we have new life. Through God’s sacrifice of His only Son we have received forgiveness of our sins – He is the holy sacrifice - once and for all time – be not afraid.
Preach the Good News! – Tell all the nations that we believe that in our baptism we too have died to sin and are raised up to new life in Christ Jesus.
Through our baptism we are made one with Him: members of the Body of Christ, His holy Church, where we are gathered; giving thanks and praise to our Creator who loves us and gives us His grace and welcomes us into His promise of peace in His heavenly kingdom – forever and ever - Amen.
Peace,
Deacon Don
Take a moment to think about what matters most to you in your life. Many of us would say, it’s my family or my children or my spouse. Some may say it’s my reputation that matters most to me, or my integrity or my standing in the community. Others may consider that it’s their freedom and rights that matter most important or their ideology or dignity that matters most to them. Still others may say it is God who matters most to them in their life.
Now ask yourself, “What would you sacrifice to protect and keep what matters most to you in life? Is there anything that you would not give up or be prepared to lose or trade in exchange to keep what is most important to you?
In the Old Testament, what mattered most to Abraham in his life was God. He was willing to unquestioningly follow God’s instruction to sacrifice his son Isaac at God’s command. God subject Abraham to a test to measure his commitment to God, his love of God.
Today, Jesus tells a parable about finding a great treasure and what lengths, what sacrifices others made - to secure these great treasures for themselves. Both the land speculator and the merchant realize the great value of the treasures they found, a hidden treasure (we imagine of gold, silver and jewels) or a lustrous pearl glowing in perfection. He tells us they both made a great sacrifice to possess their treasure. They sell everything they own; giving up all they possess, risking all they have in their life, so they may possess a treasure far greater than anything they have ever had in their lives before. Their sacrifice, their risk is their total commitment to possessing what they consider to be their greatest treasure of all.
As Christians, what is our greatest treasure? Is it not the love of God? Is not God’s gift of eternal life worth more than any buried treasure we could find or pearl of perfection we might discover? Is not Jesus’ promise of a place in God’s heavenly kingdom worth more than all the earthly treasures combined? And, has not God already made the ultimate sacrifice of his Son to purchase for us this greatest of all treasure?
We don’t have to go out digging in the fields or searching all the markets of the world to find this great treasure. To possess the greatest of all treasure, we only have to turn to God, the Father with love.
To possess this great treasure: to become inheritor’s of God’s kingdom in the eternal life of heaven, God does not ask us to sacrifice everything we own, nor does he ask us to give up all our possessions. We inherit God’s holy kingdom, as his beloved children, by loving Him above all, doing His will; loving all our brothers and sisters as He loves us.
God’s love for us gives us a share in the greatest of treasure – Eternal Life. It is in loving Him and doing His will that we fulfill God’s greatest desire – for us to gain His great gift, to dwell with Him in heaven, forever.
Through His grace we come into our place in His kingdom among the angels and saints. There is nothing we can buy or bargain for – for our place in heaven. It is God’s desire; His grace, freely given, that secures for us what is greater than any earthly treasure found hidden in a field or sold in a market.
Living as God’s holy children, doing God’s will, loving God and loving one another as we are loved gives us the greatest treasure of all: Life Eternal in the everlasting peace of God’s heavenly kingdom. Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don
Jesus continues the seed imagery in today’s Gospel. Last week - seed was sown - some on fertile soil, - some on rocky soil, - some among thorns - and some on the path only to be trampled and eaten by birds – today – the evil-one sows the seeds of weeds among the good seeds of wheat – evil growing among the good.
The seeds sown by the evil one are a type called darnel - that looks like wheat in its early growth stages. Only the learned eye can tell the difference between the good wheat and the deadly weed. This is why the landowner does not want his servants to pull out the weeds until they mature – only then will they be able to see the evil among the good.
We, the children of God, are the soil on which the landowner (God) sows his good seed. We are the fertile soil of God’s goodness, receiving:
- his grace, that feeds us,
- his mercy, that waters us
- his love, that nurtures us
So that within each of us the good seed can grow strong - in faith and love.
In God’s good soil the evil-one plants his seeds of destruction. The seeds of:
Temptation – Lust – Greed – Gluttony – Sloth – Hatred – Envy - Pride –
Seed which mature in Darkness and Desolation - separating us from the Love of God.
God’s good seeds:
Hope – Peace – Faithfulness – Charity – Compassion – Mercy - Love
Flower in Light and Life – giving off the sweet fragrance of God’s Love - The Love He has for us – the love we are called to have for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
God allows us to nurture the seed within us – the good and the bad. He does not interfere by ripping out the bad seed, but lets it grow among the good seed he has planted – giving us the gift of free-will, so we may decide which seed to allow to grow strong in our hearts and which seed to starve; to let wither and die.
Sometimes we cannot just starve the seed of the evil one: we must fight against its growth because its evil is so infectious that it destroys us even if we do not, ourselves participate in it.
“The greatest trick the evil-one ever played was to make people believe he does not exist!”
“The second greatest trick of the evil-one is to make us believe that the evil he sows is for our benefit.”
There is evil that is packaged as a good, evil wrapped in a blanket of acceptability or presented as a benefit - but in reality is deadly - cutting us off from the Love of God.
These evil seeds can lead us away from loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, - turning our back on God’s love for us. When we ignore the evil or accept it as “necessary or the new way of the world” – we participate in that evil; allowing it to exist: allowing it to destroy us; cutting us off from God and His promise of Life Eternal.
Among these evils are:
Indifference toward and disregard for all life at all stages
Exploitation and enslavement of God’s children
Cruelty, mistreatment and torture of God’s beloved
Abuse of the weak and innocent by the strong and powerful
Misusing God’s gifts for selfish gain
A redefining of the natural laws, especially of life, marriage and family
These and other evils reduce our dignity as children of God and separate us from His Love. They can never be justified. They are always wrong. They are always evil.
We are called by our Baptism (death to sin and rising to new life in Christ) to live a Life of Love – with mercy and peace for all our brothers and sisters. To love one another as we are loved, completely.
We cannot allow the seeds of evil to grow in our hearts; the seeds of the evil-one chokes off life; leading us to death and eternal damnation in the fires of Gehenna.
Through our Lord, Jesus, we have the strength to follow the path of righteousness that leads to heaven. He shows us the Way to Life Eternal - through the Love of God:
who hears the cries of the poor,
who comforts the sorrowful,
who fills the hungry with good things,
who eases the burden of the oppressed
And brings peace to all His people.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life – who leads us to life everlasting. Through Him we will yield the good fruit of the good seed – life eternal – life everlasting - in the Peace of God’s Kingdom. –
~ Mother of Mercy – Pray for Us! ~ Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don
“Teaching religious education is like planting seeds in the minds of our children.” We pray the lessons take root; hoping their faith grows – by the mystery of God – at some later time in life. And that when it does, we again hope and pray they will return to the church of their youth.” Does this approach to Religious Education sound familiar?
We hear the farmer, seed and planting metaphor several times throughout the New Testament. In Mark 4:27, the passage refers to plants growing from seeds while the farmer sleeps, but the farmer knows not how it’s done, except through the mystery of the Divine. And here today’s Gospel tells us about seeds being scattered on good and thin soil, among thorns and on rocky ground. The seed grow well only in the good soil, but withers and dies on the thin soil or is choked and overwhelmed by the thorns and fails to take root at all, among the rocks.
So, how well does that first statement about religious education being like ‘planting seeds in the minds of our children’ - work when we hear that there is a three-fourths chance of the seed falling not in the good soil?
What do we do to increase the odds, so that more seed fall on the good soil, take root and grow strong?
And remember – these odds are not just some impersonal numbers, - they are the souls and eternal lives of those we love – our children, sons and daughters, our grand-children, - our nieces and nephews - our husbands and wives, - our brothers and sisters – all those people NOT sitting in the pew next to you that you wish and pray were.
If we believe what we profess – if we believe in God, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit and His promise of eternal life in His heavenly kingdom – if we believe that Jesus is the Word of God made Flesh and if we believe that He died on the cross, so we may eternal life – then we need to take a more cooperative stance in the planting of the seeds of faith in the minds and hearts of all God’s children.
The world, - domain of the evil-one, - is filled with messages designed to separate us from the love of God. Each of us is bombarded by over 3,000 messages a day - designed to form or change our opinion on everything - from what car to buy, what soap to use and more importantly on how we are to view life and death - marriage and family – and care for the poor and those suffering children of God in most need - even on the very existence of God.
And, unless you listen to Catholic radio or watch Catholic television (and we know how few of these channels exist) – how often, in mass media do you hear messages positively speaking about God, Jesus, the Catholic Church or faithful Christian living? I’ll save you the research – ZERO - NADA – NOTHING!
The Holy Spirit works within each one of us - urging us to use our gifts to work in cooperation with God in bringing about the salvation of the world. We do this by living faithful Christian lives, everywhere we go: in the home, at the office, in school, at play, among friends and strangers - and especially among family. We should be living examples of Christian living that shows and teaches others about Jesus and how important He is in our lives and how strong our faith is in God’s promise.
The journey of discipleship in Christ Jesus is not always an easy journey, but it is best made among family and friends, fellow disciples, who support one another in their faith; helping to make saints of one another, lifting up and carrying one another to the gates of heaven.
So, while through the mystery of God, seeds may grow, it is with the cooperation of the farmer that the seeds find and take root in the good soil.
It is the farmer who tills the soil and the farmer who pulls up the weeds; ensuring the seed has the best opportunity for life and strong growth. For the world is full of thorns, and rocks and thin soil – seed should not be left unattended to fend for itself in such a scary place.
Pray for us, O’ Mother of Mercy, pray for us.
Peace,
Deacon Don
“Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” cried Peter; falling to his knees; realizing, as he witnessed the miracle of the catch of fish, that Jesus is the One sent by God. In that moment, when God’s glory and true holiness was revealed in the light from within Christ, Peter was confronted with the realities of his imperfect life. In the light of Christ revealed: Peter saw his sins and came to understand how his life, to that point, was spent in sin and sadness. With sorrow and regret Peter deemed himself unworthy to be in the presence of the Lord.
How frail and failed we humans are when true perfection is revealed in the light of Christ. In His light our sinfulness stands out in sharp relief. Our unworthiness becomes all too apparent in contrast to the sweet holiness of Jesus; causing us to tremble and fall under the weight of our offences against God. We too, like Peter feel unworthy in His company and wish ourselves banished from His holy presence. In our humiliation and shame we too say, “Depart from me Lord, for I am sinful and unworthy: as if our unworthiness would contaminate Him.
But it is in His love we find perfection. It is through Christ that we gain what was lost through Adam. He is our Good Shepherd; returning the lost sheep to the fold, we are the son who was dead, now returned alive to the Father’s embrace.
It is only through God’s mercy and grace and in the love of Christ that we, who are unworthy, are raised up. Our redemption is made manifest, not by anything we do, but when the Holy Spirit captures our hearts, so the love of Christ can find fertile soil to grow and expand. It is in giving ourselves over to His love, surrendering ourselves to His will and opening ourselves up to live in close and familiar rapport with Him - that we fulfill Jesus’ command to love God above all and one another, as we love ourselves.
The most zealous persecutor of Christians, - through the love of God, was brought to say, “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Saint Paul was spent by God as he carried the Good News of Christ to the Gentiles.
Who better to bring a sinner to the Lord than another sinner? Paul confessed his great sinfulness as a persecutor of Christ. No one was more unworthy of God’s grace than he - who aided in the martyrdom of Stephen, denounced and condemned Christians; forcing them to blaspheme the name of Christ. No enemy of Christ was more infamous than Paul or showed more zeal and passion in oppressing Christ and Christians. The name of Saul brought terror to Christians.
It was through this sinful man, - through this most unworthy person that God brought the Word of salvation to the Gentiles. Tirelessly he persecuted Christ and his followers, and tirelessly he preached the Word of God, persistently spreading the Good News to pagans and suffering most cruelly for speaking of Christ. His miraculous conversion changed him from terrifying persecutor - to great fisher of men. It was only through these trials and tests of suffering that Paul would gladly say, “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.”
In these two Apostles we find God’s love and glory. In these two sinners we find God’s truth in using the weak things of the world to bring about His kingdom.
In Peter we find the Rock upon which Christ built his Church and in Paul we see the glory and power of God. In them we see all man’s failures and weakness gathered up and purified in the love of Christ.
So, (let us) be filled with joy and hope in the Risen Lord, that we who are unworthy, as were Peter & Paul, will find redemption in the love of God, who makes worthy and useful - to His purpose, - sinners. By His mercy and grace will are lifted up and given a place in His heavenly kingdom. Amen.
Peace,
Deacon Don
