Anamchara

HOMILY FOR 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT--12/9/12--PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT--12/9/12

READINGS:  BARUCH 5:1-9; LUKE  3:1-6

   I.  The Baptist

A.  Out of the desert he came, dressed in animal skins, smelling like the bone frying heat of the hot sun that tortured that land.  The message he shouted to his people was a message born of years of prayer in that desert, years of listening to God, and that message, like the man who preached it was stripped to the bone, lean and strong:  Prepare, repent, for the Lord is coming!

B.  John the Baptist, that prophet everyone likes to admire but no one likes to come close to,  represents the message we must take home with us this second Sunday of Advent:  The beautiful, wonderful Kingdom of Peace of Joy of Love is coming, but we will never see it if we are not ready, and being ready takes specific preparation. 

C.  John's a really strange man:  He is harsh, demanding, uncompromising all the while he is talking about Paradise.  Why is this?  Why has our faith always sounded like John the Baptist?

1.  When I grew up, the priests and nuns who taught me gave me a vision of heaven that would put tears in your eyes it was so beautiful.  And yet, they also taught that the way to heaven was not that simple--we couldn't live as we pleased, we couldn't do anything we wanted, we had to be sorry for our sins, and try to walk in the way God intended.  Their message was just like the Baptist's:  sweat and joy; preparation now, celebration later.

2.  Nowadays we have lost the biblical truth of the Baptist's message.  Many of us believe that preparation for the Kingdom, getting ready for heaven means simply wanting to go there--all we have to do to receive Paradise is simply want it.

3.  Well, that was not the message of the Baptist. Make no mistake, he said, the Kingdom was coming but only for those who were ready.

II. The Wisdom of Luke

A.  Notice how this gospel opens.  In the fifteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, when Herod was Tetrarch of Galilee...Luke sets this gospel message in the context of world history.  When the prophet Baruch was writing his prophecy, he could have started it, "In the year Darius was King of Persia, I heard this prophecy from the Lord."  My point is, our faith is sunk smack dab in the middle of history and does not apologize for it.  It would be legitimate to start this gospel out today, "In the second year of the second decade of the new Millennium, in the second month of the reign of Barak Obama, when the country was in chaos and the economy was teetering on the brink of possible recession, John the Baptist once again spoke his prophecy to the people,  "Prepare the Way of the Lord!"

B.  Why is this important?  Because sometimes we think our faith was made for another time, another place.  Believe me, John the Baptist's cry and Baruch's prophecy would have sounded idiotic to the Romans or the Persians.  Just like our faith sounds very strange and wierd to many people of our day.  Instead of apologizing for our faith, or trying to explain it as blandly as possible to fit into our secular culture, why don't we just do what the listeners of Baruch's prophecy or John the Baptist's challenge did?  Either accept it or reject it.

C.  I'm tired of lukewarm Christianity, and fed up with the constant criticism from within of our own faith.  Yes, it's difficult to be Christian, yes it's hard to be Catholic, but being faithful to the Baptist's cry of Prepare the Way of the Lord takes a lot of discipline and a lot of sacrifice.  We just are not going to get to heaven easily.  Salvation is not going to be handed to us on a silver platter.  Nor is the world ever going to accept the reasonableness of our faith. 

1.  There are always going to be enemies of our faith.

2.  There are always going to be temptations that offer us pleasure now--easy sex, easy drugs, easy money.  We forget that times were no different back when John the Baptist lived.  And because we fall sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking that because we fall, fail, or sin, the standards must be changed, not ourselves.  John the Baptist serves as a reminder that we are called to live up to an ideal, not drag values or morality down to the lowest, basest human feeling or emotion.

D.  We are called not to run away from the world, but with quiet confidence to live our faith in the midst of it.  To prepare while we work, to prepare while we meet and socialize with people who do not believe as we believe.  It seems to me that most of the preaching of the gospel we do is by our daily example.  And it's here that Advent really challenges us:

1.  The Gospel tells us that our faith must be lived now, in a secular world that does not know the truth.  Do we really live in Christian way?

2.  The Gospel tells us that one of the major ways of preparation is repentance, repentance for the times when we have forgotten that to be a follower of Christ means to be different, to stand as an example to the world.  Do we have the courage to repent?  If we do not have time to repent, we do not have time for Christ.  Again, I urge each of us to look at the Sacrament of Penance.  When John the Baptist said, Repent and prepare the way of the Lord, people flocked to the Jordan river to be forgiven.  Our Sacrament of Penance can do the same thing.  Put your money where your mouth is.  If you say you are for Christ, be for Jesus.  If you say you are really sorry for your sins, prove it and come to the Sacrament of Penance, if you say you welcome the Christ Child this Christmas, show it by your works of charity and love not just for strangers but for the whole family and neighborhood you live in.

E.  Clearly, the message today is:  no heaven for the complacent, no paradise for the lazy, no kingdom for the smug, self-righteous person who thinks God owes him or her.  God is coming to those who with humble hearts say--Lord, you love me, this I know;  I'm sorry for the times I have forgotten your claim on me; forgive, and help me walk in your way, so that I can prepare for your coming into my life this Christmas.

HOMILY FOR FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT--12/2/12--BE WATCHFUL, READY AND PREPARED!

 

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT--12/2/12

READINGS: JEREMIAH 33:14-16; 1 THESSALONIANS 3:12-4:2; LUKE 21:25-28,34-36

 

 

 I.  Look!  Up In The Sky!  It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s...

A.  Superman!  Remember that from the TV show?  People looking up to the heavens for some help from the Man of Steel.  Down deep, we think of Christ’s Second Coming like that.  It’s easy to think like this because Jesus says today that the Son of Man is "coming on a cloud with great power and glory."

B.  But it’s not quite that simple.  Bluntly speaking, you’ve got to know your clouds.  Not cumulus, or cirrus, or nimbus clouds, but the clouds of the Bible.  Because you see, clouds mean something more than weather in the Scriptures.  Most times, they mean the presence of God.  And for Christians, the cloud is another symbol of the Holy Spirit.  Remember the Pillar of Cloud that led the Israelites in the desert?  Remember the Cloud from which God’s voice speaks at the Transfiguration?  For weather forecasters, a cloud heralds the approach of rain or weather change.  In the Scriptures, the cloud tells of the approach of God. 

C.  And that’s what the Holy Spirit does--foretells the coming of God into our lives.  So another way to look at what Christ is saying is that the presence of God the Holy Spirit, like the clouds on the wind, is breaking into the world to tell of Christ’s Second Coming.

D.   Thinking about the Second Coming of Christ couldn’t be a better way to start Advent, for the Holy Spirit is the Revealer of Christ.  And in our day and age, we are first going to get an inkling that Christ is coming into our lives when the Holy Spirit works within our hearts enabling us to recognize the Presence of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is God, the Third Person of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit’s main task is to move us and motivate us to do the will of God.  The Holy Spirit is God dwelling in us and we received him in Baptism and Confirmation.  Throughout the ages, the Holy Spirit has revealed the Word of God, especially through prophets like Jeremiah whom we heard about today telling us that God is sending a Messiah.  But oftentimes we don’t see or recognize the working of the Holy Spirit.  Why?

E.  Just like weather forecasters have to keep their eyes peeled for changes in clouds that will affect the weather, so we have to be watchful, ready and prepared to react to the signs of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Advent is a time to perfect our sight, to be on our guard, and to make ready our hearts so that whenever Christ comes again, whether in our happy Christmas celebrations or at the end of the world, we will be prepared.  Let me say the main point again: The Holy Spirit reveals that Christ is coming; God the Holy Spirit it reveals this through the Scriptures and through signs in our life; so be watchful, ready and prepared for Christ is coming into our lives not only at the end of the world, but now, for Christmas!

II. Picture This

A.  On a hill overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus weeps as he looks at one of the most beautiful cities of the world.  His disciples ask why he is crying and he says, "Because it will all  be destroyed--people, buildings, city walls--nothing will stand."  His disciples ask why and Jesus says, "Because they will not listen to my voice.  I offered them a way of peace and joy, but they would not walk the road I showed them.  And so they sit amidst their gold and silver, their wealth and power and they think they hear the voice of God.  But their eyes are distracted by the glint of the sun off their precious metals and jewels; their ears are dulled with self-righteousness, their bodies are degraded with indulgence.  They are doomed in their own sin.  But you my disciples are not doomed if you listen to what I say.  There is a place for you in my Father’s Kingdom."  The disciples shout for Christ to tell them what to do.  And he tells them to not be distracted by worldly cares or degraded by drunkenness and lust.

B.  Those words are carried to us by the Holy Spirit today--the Scriptures are one of the signs that Christ is coming, and they make sense.  Ever wonder why the devil likes to use distractions like lust, drunkenness, wealth, and all the entertainment technology provides to suck souls into darkness?  Is it because wonderful things like TV shows, video games, movies or sports are bad?  Is it because sex and alcohol are evil?  Is it because having a bit of wealth is a bad thing?  No!  In and of themselves those things are either good or at least neutral.  But the powers of evil use things like these to distract us and lead us away from our real goals, from the things we really need to be doing.  The devil wants me to ignore God.  He doesn’t care whether I do that by murdering someone or playing video games all day.  He’ll use anything to keep me from Christ.  The biggest danger we face in our spiritual lives is losing our souls because our minds are too distracted, our souls are too dulled, our moral compass too degraded to recognize that Christ is coming to see us.

C.  So what do we do?  Hear the Scriptures and recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  If you are touched with a bit of guilt over how much time you waste on TV, take it as a nudge from the Holy Spirit.  If you are wondering whether you are focussed on the material side of Christmas too much, take it as a hint from the Holy Spirit.  If you are beginning to think that maybe there are some behaviors in your life that keep you from God, perhaps it’s God the Holy Spirit saying, "Get back on track; I am coming again, soon."

 

ROAN: MY NEW NOVEL THAT WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO A NEW AND GREAT CELTIC HERO

JUST PUBLISHED:  MY NEW CELTIC NOVEL!

I wanted to share with you some great news.  A novel that I've been working on for the past eight years has finally been published.  You can find it as an e-book or a regular print version.  Check out these sites:

http://www.amazon.com/Roan-The-Tales-Conor-Archer/dp/1937387666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351626509&sr=8-1&keywords=roan+e.r.barr   (print version)

http://www.amazon.com/Roan-Tales-Conor-Archer-ebook/dp/B009OFTC0Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351626592&sr=8-2&keywords=roan+e.+r.+barr    (kindle version)

http://www.smashwords.com/  (will let you hook up with other e-book publishers)

Please check out my website for ROAN:  http://www.erbarr.com/

This is a real cool website with lots of stuff on the book including how to order.  Just to make sure you like it, I've included the first three chapters.  Could you do me a favor though?  These books don't sell without good reviews, so if you read ROAN and like it, please take the time to write a favorable review.  Thanks so much and enjoy!!

PRESIDENT OBAMA VS. CATHOLICISM

As Associate Publisher for the Rockford, Illinois diocesan newspaper, THE OBSERVER, I get to write a weekly column called Consider This.  I try to be provocative and thoughtful about the religious issues of our day.  Looks like I struck a nerve this week as my column has been referenced by some national blogs.  Check it out here

http://observer.rockforddiocese.org/column?id=164

and tell me what you think.  It is about how terrible President Obama is in treating the Catholic faith.  Unless we talk about it and verbalize our concern, no one will notice and the beginnings of persecution will take hold.

HOMILY FOR 14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--7/8/12--SURRENDER TO CHRIST

14^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME–7/8/12

  by Eric R. Barr, STL

READING:  2 COR 12:7-10

  I. Strength through Weakness

A.  Sometimes we believe our sins, our weaknesses are so bad that we will never be close to God.  Our reading from Cor. tells us today that it is precisely through our sins, through our weaknesses that we can come close to God--not that sin is good--far from it.  But we can turn the tables on our sins, our bad habits and become strong in goodness even though our sins make us weak.  What do I mean?

B.  Examples of three saints:

1.  Augustine--wanted to experience every pleasure because he thought his life would be full if he could party as much as he wanted to, have as much sex as he could, have drinking buddies in abundance.  His search for meaning was kind of decadent; how would he ever be holy?

2.  Joan of Arc heard voices--of saints and angels.  Friends and neighbors ridiculed her, she was all alone, a woman in a man's world.  People perceived her as weak and strange; how would she ever be holy?

3.  John Vianney was dumb, so stupid the Church said he couldn't be a priest.  They were right, it was a good judgement on their part, he was stupid--how could such a man who couldn't keep a fact in his brain become holy?

C.  Each of these three turned their weaknesses over to God.  Each of them said, "I can't do it alone Lord; I need you."  And you know what happened?  Exactly what happened to St. Paul.  Christ said to Augustine, whose hormones never knew a rest, Christ said to Joan of Arc, whose voices made people think she was crazy, Christ said to John Vianney, whose stupidity kept him from knowing enough to be a priest, Christ said to each one of them--"My grace is enough for you, for in weakness, power reaches perfection."  And you know what they answered him?  Exactly what St. Paul answered, "I willingly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest on me... for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong."

1.  St. Augustine became a holy man whose passion for life helped hold together a Church beset by barbarians.

2.  St. Joan of Arc became a courageous and strong woman who helped France regain independence, gave France a king, and taught us all what it means to be a friend of God.

3.  St. John Vianney convinced a reluctant Church to ordain him priest, and though he was not smart, his intuitive knowledge of people made him one of the most loved priests and confessors of our time.

D.  They allowed Christ to transform their lives and overcome their sins and weaknesses.

II. How did they do this and how can we do the same?

A.  No magic here--just surrender to the will of Christ.  That means letting Christ be the power in your life, letting Christ be in the driver's seat.  It does not mean giving up responsibility for our actions; surrender to Christ acknowledges that he created us and has a destiny for us and letting him guide us along the right path will in fact keep us from being overcome by our own acts of darkness and sin.

1.  Too often we think our sins should keep us away from Christ.

2.  Wrong--they should make us run to him.

3.  We will fall, but for Jesus, it's not the falling that's so bad, it's the refusal to get up again, the belief that we are too evil to do good.

4.  We use our sins, our bad habits as a crutch to keep from being holy.   Augustine, Joan of Arc, John Vianney were no better than us, they just understood that Christ could transform even their weaknesses into goodness.

--Augustine's lust was transformed into a passion for friendship and a love for his people.

--Joan's strangeness became a cry for France to be different, to throw off slavery and become a nation once again.

--John Vianney's stupidity could never mask a heart that could read the souls of men and women and help them walk towards God.

B.  Christ can take our sins and weaknesses and render them powerless to harm us anymore--maybe we are alcoholic, maybe a recurring sexual sin troubles us, maybe our anger or bitterness gets in the way of our being truly good and truly human.  Make those sins powerless by turning to Christ and giving him the power to guide your life.  It really is as simple as that.  Will we cease from sinning?  Probably not.  But this is the promise of our faith:  we will sin less and our sins will have much less power to sadden us and turn us away from God in despair of ever being good.  Give Christ the power and each of us will discover that though weak, we are strong; though sinful, yet we are touched by grace; though wounded, we are destined to be holy, called by Christ to be his friend, to be his saint.

Godspeed Ray Bradbury, RIP

He passed away this morning and there are tears in my eyes.  He was 91 and an old soul who lived a fantastic life but who will be missed none the less.

Three writers have inspired me over the years.  I discovered them together in highschool and they have exercised great influence over me ever since.  Of course Lewis and Tolkien, but the third is Ray Bradbury whose lyrical,beautiful, and haunting prose touched every human emotion possible. 

Man, will I miss him.  So say we all.

HOMILY FOR EASTER 2012--CHRIST IS RISEN!

EASTER 2012

 

　by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL 

READINGS: ACTS 10:34,37-43; COLOSSIANS 3:1-4; JOHN 20:1-9

 

I.  What Has Happened?

A. The Scriptures transmit to us the feeling of awe and wonder that the disciples felt on that first Easter. Awe, wonder, and confusion. They had not been present at the Resurrection so they weren't sure what happened. They wondered as we wonder: What happened at the moment of the Resurrection. Don't you wish you could have been there?

B. It's worthwhile picturing what probably happened, if for no other reason than to recapture some of that awe and remember the great message of Easter.

II. At the Tomb

A. This is the story of a garden filled with olive trees, but it is not the Garden of Gethsemani. It is the Garden that Joseph of Arimathea owns. It is the garden where the tomb of Jesus lies. And on that Sunday morning so long ago, there were soldiers at the tomb, Roman guards, who were making sure that Jesus' followers could not steal the body and then claim Christ had risen. And those soldiers were watching carefully.

B. "What is that noise?" they say, hearing a rumble in the earth. And then the quake, and then the blinding light, and then the cracking of stone, and then the thunder which, had they listened carefully, was a cry from the tomb saying, "I can no longer wait! It is time!" And from the tomb steps the Son of God, fulfilling the Scriptures by staying buried for three days, but impatient to rise, eager to conquer death, longing to see his loved ones.

C. The soldiers cannot see him--the light is too bright; the sun's rays too strong. But they hear his passing, and the earth trembles with his footsteps. Where is he going, this God who walks among us? Where is he going, this Christ the Risen One? Where is he going, this Lord of Glory?

III. Christ is Risen!

A. I will tell you where the Christ is going. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appeared before Mary his Mother, the weeping virgin who only hours before had cradled her son in her arms. And she gasps in wonder as he holds her in his arms and all she can say is, "My son, my son, you have returned to me; my son has come back, come back to me." Picture it in your mind, the Son of God laughing again with his Mother, telling her, "It's true, it's true, everything the shepherds heard, everything the wise men saw, everything that the angel's sang so long ago, everything the prophets predicted is true--I live, and death is no more!" That's what he says to his mother that first Easter morning.

B. I will tell you where the Christ is going on that first Easter. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appeared before Peter his friend. There is Peter the guilty, crushed by his denial of Christ, running with John to the empty tomb. There is Peter the Rock, seeing the broken stone of the tomb, bending inside and seeing the emptiness. There is Peter the Apostle, crushed with waves of new guilt as he sees the facts and wonders whether it could really be true. There is Peter the humble, stumbling outside the tomb, hearing his name called and collapsing into the arms of his friend Jesus. "Forgive me, Lord," he sobs. "I am no longer worthy to be your follower." And the Risen Lord, lifts him up and say, "Your sorrow is true, your faith is strong, your friendship is dear to me--be healed."

C. I will tell you where Christ is going on that Easter morning. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appears to you. I know you say you have never seen him. But think for a moment. Those who saw him on that first Easter were desperate people. Mary, the grieving Mother, Peter the failed friend. Mary Magdalene, James and John--the shattered followers of Jesus. Their need opened their eyes of faith. The depths to which they had fallen made them reach for the only one who could save them. Their desperation made their hearing sharper, their vision clearer and they saw. Oh, the soldiers heard the thunder and saw the lightning, but they did not see Christ, because they did not believe. But the Virgin Mary, Peter, and the others saw and heard--because they knew their only hope lay in Christ. Nothing could answer the hunger in their hearts but Jesus. No wealth, not pleasure, not power, not anything! Only Jesus! Once they realized that, Christ felt them ready to see him and he appeared--he appeared to them as the Risen Lord.

D. He would appear to us, too, if we only knew how desperate we are. If we only saw our need for the God who cannot die. If we only knew that Christ is the only answer to the problems, difficulties and burdens we bear. But until we realize this, we shall only be like the soldiers at the tomb--aware of something magnificent just beyond our comprehension, but not really knowing what the magnificent something is. But if we realize our need for Jesus, then we shall meet the Risen Lord and he will call our name and he will take our hand and hold us and we shall be whole, we shall be well, we shall be alive, we shall live forever, we shall be his friends and walk by his side and live in glory. That's the promise of the Resurrection. Christ our Lord is Risen! Open wide your hearts and welcome him for he comes to meet you today! Alleluia!

 

 

HOMILY FOR GOOD FRIDAY 2012--THERE HE DIED FOR ME

GOOD FRIDAY 2012

  BY Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

 

 

 

I. There He Died For Me

A. There He died for me, upon the tree, upon the tree at Calvary. And I cannot look at Him. For I Helped put Him there. It was my sins He died for, my transgressions nailed Him to the Cross as surely as any Roman soldier did.

B. And so I look to his left, and see a criminal hanging there, still alive, still cursing and swearing as he cursed and swore at the Son of God. A criminal dying a criminal's death.

II. The Good Thief

A. And I look to the right of my Lord, and there I see another crucified. Criminal too I am told. But how different he is, the Good Thief. And as I come closer, I look at him, this Good Thief and I speak:

B. "Who are you, sir, who have lived a life in darkness and now see the light? How is it you can believe in this Christ today, you who have walked in the night for so long?

1. You did not see Christ on the mountain of the Transfiguration, nor the night He walked the sea.

2. You never saw corpses color with life again when coffin and grave felt the force of His cry; you never saw Lazarus rise from from his grave or the son of the widow of Naim come to life.

3. You did not hear His Parables which told the stories of God to hungry hearts, nor did you hear His tone of voice when He talked of His Father.

4. You weren't even in the Upper Room last night when others heard Him speak of service and love of friends, and bread becoming his Body and wine becoming his Blood.

5. You were not in the Garden of Gethsemani to hear Him cry out to the Father and sweat drops of blood; you did not see the angel lift Him in His sorrow, nor Judas come to kiss Him into custody. And yet in the dying hours of Good Friday, you became one of his best friends.

6. O Good Thief who dies by the side of God, O master of courtesy and manners, who enlightened for you your part in this savage violence on the hill of Calvary? How could you speak so calmly, so courtly, so courageously? I heard you say, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." How could you trust, believe, and love so much?

7. O Good Thief, you who stole Paradise this day when you were to die for your own sins, you who gave the one thing that was truly yours, your love and loyalty to the Son of God, you who showed the last act of kindness Jesus was to experience in the last few moments of His life, pray for us, that we before the hour of our death have the gift to see Him and know Him, as you saw Him and knew Him.

II. B is a paraphrase of a poem by Saunders Lewis, "To the Good Thief." Published in Joseph Clancy's Twentieth Century Welsh Poems,(Gomer Press, 1982).

HOMILY FOR HOLY THURSDAY 2012--LOVE IN THE MIDST OF CONFUSION

 

 

HOLY THURSDAY 2012

   by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL 

 

I. Confusion

A. We spend most of our lives in confusion--isn't that right? Never quite understanding which way our lives are going. Never quite understanding our spouse or our kids. Never quite figuring out if God is close, far away, or if he really exists. We spend most of our lives in confusion.

B. Even when things get clear for us, like when we attend a wedding, or see a new born baby, or get together as a family, or take part in a winning sports event, we still are haunted with confusion. If we go to a wedding, part of us is excited and happy, but we miss those early times of love when things between man and woman seemed simpler. If we see a new born baby, we rejoice but often in a bittersweet way as we long for the times when our own kids were just kids instead of adults with problems like us. If we get together as a family we are happy to see everyone, but confused when we still feel grudges or jealousies we thought we had put behind years ago. If we take part in a winning sports event, we are ecstatic but a bit melancholy remembering our own lost youth. In this life, confusion and uncertainty fog the best emotions and the clearest thoughts.

C. It's that way with our faith too. We always think religious faith should be so clear, so easily accessible, but it's not. And the Scriptures tell us that tonight. In the two biggest events in the Bible, confusion reigned.

1. The Israelites were not entirely sure that the Angel of Death would pass over them. They had sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and now they waited. Their God was helping them, but God had been pretty quiet for the past few hundred years and now that he was close, they weren't so sure what that meant. And yet, imagine their relief when they found they lived, they were free, and they went into the desert. But imagine their confusion when they were pursued by Pharaoh right to the banks of the Red Sea. And then, wonder of wonders, using God's power, Moses parts the Sea and the People walk on dry ground. When they reach the other side, they look back and see their pursuers coming. Confusion again. Saved only to be killed at last? But God sends back the waters and the soldiers perish. The event of Passover ends with the people exhausted and alive, but wondering who is this God with such power to free them.

2. On the night before Jesus dies, he has supper for the last time with his disciples. It is a Passover meal. And the disciples are confused. They've heard him talk of his approaching death. Their hearts are filled with sadness on this holy night. How can one so powerful--he raised Lazarus; he healed the blind man; he fed the 5000--how can one so powerful be conquered by evil? They are confused. And Jesus knows their pain. And he gives them Eucharist. He says holding the unleavened Passover bread, "This is me; this is my body which tomorrow will hang upon a tree." He says holding a cup of the sweet red wine, "This wine is my blood which will flow from my side tomorrow at Calvary on the Cross where I die." Confused, the disciples do not know what to make of this. Why should they do this in memory of Jesus; why should they remember such a horrible death? They are confused for they do not know what Jesus knows. Like the lamb's blood on the doorposts of the Israelites protected them from the Angel of Death, so Christ's blood will save all people who are washed in it. What Christ knows this night and his disciples do not is that fear and confusion will drive his friends away this night. Few will stand at the foot of the Cross tomorrow. Few will be there to see the hope of the world die. Few will hear the centurion say, "Clearly this man was the Son of God. Few will witness the Savior of the world save the world. And yet he dies for us all. And so on this night he gives us a sacrament--the Eucharist--so that anyone who eats his body and drinks his blood at the Eucharistic meal will experience being at the foot of the Cross. They will be washed in the blood of Christ. They will be saved from sin, death, and evil as surely as the Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb on their doorposts in Egypt. Christ gave us this sacrament so that he would not be alone on Calvary, so that we could be with him, so that we would never be alone in our confusion again.

II. Experiencing Salvation

A. So many times we think that life just doesn't make sense, that God is far away. So many times we are afraid because we have made bad choices, because we don't believe enough. So many times we are just confused. The Eucharist was given to people like us.

 

B. Tonight, you have come for a variety of reasons. For whatever reason, you have come to a sacrament that brings you back to that night of wonder and that night of fear--a night when Christ gave us a way to experience his presence each day of our lives, a night when we see Christ taken away in shackles to be slaughtered tomorrow. We have mixed feelings tonight. If our religion is so powerful, how can our God die? If Jesus is truly all powerful, how can he be in such agony as he prays in the Garden of Gethsemani? Yet on the other hand, we know that even in his pain and weakness, even in his own fear and dread, he is our God. We shall not fall asleep like the disciples did in the Garden. We shall be with him, like the angel who strengthened him as he sweat drops of blood. We shall be with him tomorrow as he walks to Calvary. We shall stand with him at the foot of the Cross. We shall not run away. For we know, that in his suffering he heals us. In his death, he saves us.

C. Nothing could be more confusing, frightening or wondrous than what happened on this night 2000 years ago. And yet, what happened, saved us all. Often confused and unsure like the Chosen People were, like the disciples were, we thank Christ for the gift that clears away the mist of confusion and the fog of indecision. The Eucharist gives us the strength and power to come together and stand as a people, as a Church, knowing that we are saved, that God is with us, and that we will never be alone.

 

HOMILY FOR PALM SUNDAY 2012--THE MAN OF SORROWS, THE GOD WHO SUFFERS

PALM SUNDAY 2012

THE MAN OF SORROWS, THE GOD WHO SUFFERS

READINGS: ISAIAH 50:4-7; PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11; MARK 14:1-15:47

　

I. Why Must We Suffer?

A. A long time ago, the Emperor Nero of Rome blamed the Christians for starting a fire that ravaged Rome. He killed Peter and then he killed Paul and then he crucified major leaders of the faith on crosses and burned them alive so they would flame as torches in the night. The Christians were thunderstruck. They believed in God; they believed that Jesus was God; they believed that he was the Messiah. How could God let true believers be punished so?

B. A man by the name of Mark penned a Gospel to answer that question. And his answer: God allowed the ultimate suffering to happen to his own Son, why should we expect anything less? And so, the Passion story we hear today, tells us that Jesus was not a victim to his suffering, but turned it into an instrument of glory and redemption. If we accept the reality of the Cross for ourselves, we too will be saved.

C. Christ died a terrible death, but it had all been foreseen by God. God allowed it to happen so that his Son could redeem us from our sins. Only God could save us, and Jesus was willing to give his life so that salvation could happen. But Christ was like us in all things but sin. By dying on the Cross, he proclaims his oneness with us. He knows what it is to suffer, and he will show us how to transcend all our pain, our burdens, our grief, our sorrow.

D. Put yourself in the position of the centurion. You have seen the entire suffering of Christ. What is it you see at the moment of Christ's death that causes you to say, "Clearly, this man was the Son of God?" The crowd mocked him as a king, but his only crown was one of thorns. The soldiers ridiculed his authority; his only scepter was a reed that they used to strike him with. Pilate had him proclaimed King of the Jews but Christ's only throne was the tree of death, the cross. What did the centurion see?

E. He saw a man freely give himself, not to death, but to his heavenly Father. He saw on the face of Christ something that told him that Christ did not despair but knew his Father would vindicate him. Christ must have looked at that centurion, and that Roman pagan must have seen a suffering God at one with a suffering humanity. For the first time in his violent, cynical life, the centurion felt the closeness of divinity. He knew God was present on that Cross. He knew that death was losing the war, that this man who was dying was not really defeated by suffering.

F. A pagan saw this. A soldier of war, a soldier who worshipped false gods, a soldier who for a brief moment saw the truth. Can we see what he saw? Can we look into the face of Christ on the Cross and see that same truth?

II. An Invitation to walk to Calvary

A. We are given the opportunity to walk with Christ this week to Calvary--to see what he saw, to experience what he experienced. We are given a chance to discover what the Cross really means. Will you walk with Jesus? Today, we cheered him as he entered Jerusalem. But in the coming days, will you be there as he is betrayed by his friends, abandoned by all, forced to stand alone, forced to die in seeming disgrace?

1. On Holy Thursday, the age old drama begins with the celebration of the Lord's Supper. We meet at (tell the time of your Mass) to remember what Jesus did for us on that night--give us a way to have him with us forever. The Eucharist was his gift. Be here on Thursday to remember that first time he gave the Bread that becomes his Body, the Wine that becomes his Blood. Be with us as he suffers in the Garden of Gethsemani, as we keep vigil until Midnight.

2. On Good Friday, come and recall the first part of the most important event in our Redemption--the Cross of Christ. In the reading of the Passion and in the Veneration of the Cross, we choose to stand with the Lord at the foot of Calvary. [Mention times of services].

3. And on Holy Saturday evening, come and wait for the conclusion of what occurred on Good Friday as we anticipate the Resurrection of the Lord with the Easter Vigil. It is the holiest night of the year, the most beautiful Mass of the year. It is a time when we can find the answers to the questions of how we can endure suffering and sorrow. It is a time to rejoice in the power of our God.

 

B. If we choose to walk with Christ this week, we will be able to experience, not just with our minds, but with our entire selves, the Redemption he won for us. Walking with Christ this Holy Week by taking part in all the events our parish offers really gives us the opportunity to see for ourselves what the centurion saw so long ago, that Christ is our God, that Christ is our brother, that Jesus is our Savior.