3d Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 27, 2013

Neh 8:2-4,5-6,8-1-; 1 Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

                All of us who have read chapter 4 of Luke's gospel know that today's reading of the gospel's passage is not complete story of what had happened to Jesus in his hometown. For after Jesus explained to his listeners what he had read from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah they took him outside of the town with the intent of killing him. Each one of us could ask at this moment why? Why would they try to kill him?

        Jesus does not seem to do anything wrong. He preaches, teaches, heals, and casts out demons. He moves among the poor, the outcasts, the sick, and the blind offering them better lives. So why, why would they try to kill him?

        There is at least one very important reason. 

        The people of Jesus' hometown and Jesus himself understood the Scriptures and God's promises included in them in different ways. The people of Jesus' hometown read the Scriptures as promises of God's exclusive covenant with them, a covenant that involved promises of deliverance from their oppressors. Jesus came announcing deliverance, but it was not a national deliverance but God's promise of liberation for all the poor and oppressed regardless of nationality, gender, or race. When the radical inclusiveness of Jesus' announcement became clear to those gathered in the synagogue in Nazareth, their commitment to their own community boundaries took precedence over their joy that God had sent a prophet among them. In the end, because they were not open to the prospect of other's sharing in the bounty of God's deliverance, they themselves were unable to receive it. 

        What a great lesson for all of us.

       

        God's grace is never subject to the limitations and boundaries of any nation, church, group, or race. Those who would exclude others exclude themselves. Human beings may be instruments of God's grace for others, but we are never free to set limits on who may receive that grace. The paradox of the gospel, therefore, is that the unlimited grace that it offers might so scandalizes us that we might be unable to receive it ourselves. 

So I believe that the question directed to all of us today is:

        What boundaries of our community, as St. Mary's parish or perhaps as Catholic Church, are we willing to transcend and what limits of love that we ourselves have erected are we willing to take down to allow the God's grace to be even more fully present in our lives?

        The Vatican II Council has reminded us about the answer to this question in its different documents. The documents which quite often contrasted sharply with the defensive stance that had taken root in our church due to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In today's bulletin you will find some highlights of the two documents of this council. The first one called The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, in Latin: Lumen gentium, the second one called Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, in Latin: Gaudium et spes. Let me give you several quotes from them. I have chosen those quotes which seem to go along with the theme of today's reflections.

        In Gaudium et spes we read:

"27. Coming down to practical and particularly urgent consequences, this Council lays stress on reverence for man; everyone must consider his every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary to living it with dignity,80 so as not to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus. In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of absolutely every person, and of actively helping him when he comes across our path,."

        In Lumen gentium we read:

"15. The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter.

16. ...those who have not yet received the gospel... In the first place there is the people to whom the covenants and the promises were given and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh (cf. Rom. 9:4-5).

....the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place among these there are the Moslems who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.

Nor is God Himself far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, for it is He who gives to all men life and breath and every other gift (cf. Acts 17:25-28), and who as Savior wills that all men be saved (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4).

Those also can attain to everlasting salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does divine Providence deny the help necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, but who strive to live a good life, thanks to His grace."

 

The Baptism of the Lord, 2013

Luke 3:15-16,21-22

I am not sure if you ever asked yourself this question, why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance. The church teaches us that our own baptism erases original sin and turns us back towards God. But Jesus was without sin. Is there any difference between Jesus' baptism and our own baptism?

          The Jesus' baptism was an issue even for the authors of the gospels. Each one of them treats it differently:

·        Mark is the only one talking about it without any apparent embarrassment saying simply that Jesus was baptized by John. This is it.

·        Matthew describes John the Baptist's initial objection as John is saying: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (3:14).

·        John does not actually narrates the event at all.

·        Luke, from we have heard today, does not report actual event, but only the event that followed Jesus' baptism. Luke does not explain why Jesus was baptized or how he understands the significance of Jesus' baptism.

          Since we have heard today from Luke's gospel let's look very, very briefly how we can interpret the events which occurred after Jesus' baptism:

·        Jesus was praying: Luke, on numerous occasions,  is his gospel emphasizes Jesus' practice of prayer.

·        Heaven was opened: signaling that the gifts of God's power and mercy to be unleashed. The opening of heaven in an apocalyptic motif found in the OT and in apocalyptic writings (Ezekiel 1:1; Isa 64:1; John 1:51; Acts 7:56; 10:11; Rev 19:11). The opening of heaven at the baptism of Jesus signals that he is the Messiah and that the fulfillment of Israel's eschatological expectations is at hand.

·        The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove: signaling that Jesus is commissioned and empowered for his ministry. He is ready to begin it. We clearly get the message from other  passages of Luke's gospel proceeding the baptism of Jesus that Jesus' baptism marks the succession. John the Baptist work has been completed, and Jesus' is just beginning.

·        A voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." The first phrase is also spoken in Psalm 2:7, and it was accepted by many Jewish people as a description of the Messianic King; the second phrase by many scholars is considered as a description of the suffering servant of the Lord from the book of Isaiah 42:1. The heavenly voice declares Jesus to be both Son of God and obedient Suffering Servant.

          It seems as for the Evangelists Jesus baptism is not about sin, conversion, or repentance. For them it simply marks the beginning of his ministry,  clarifies Jesus' relationship to God, and the ways in which he will fulfill his role as the Messiah.

          What about our own baptisms?

What the church teaches us is that our baptism:

·        First of all, it expresses repentance, trust and faith.

·        It erases effects of original sin and is the sacrament of forgiveness of any other sins we might have committed regardless of our age.

·        It is foundation of Christian life. In a sense it is a birth into our Christian community. As we can be born only once so we are baptize only once.

·        It offers us a gift of faith which needs to be nurtured and developed fully in the community of the church, the community of believers. This is why baptism is not a private affair, or a social one, and why there are certain requirements for parents and Godparents.

·        It gives us grace to struggle against future sins we might commit by uniting us with Christ, by offering us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the moral and theological virtues.

·        It makes as adopted children of God and it enhances our relationship with God.

·        It offers us the promise of salvation and eternal life with God if we live our lives in union with God by following Christ and his teachings.

The Epiphany of The Lord, 2013

Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt:2-1-12

          The "War of "70" or the "Great War," was among the worst military defeats ever inflicted on the modern nation state. According to one of the historians, as much as 60% of the population and 90% of men died from combat or, more often, from disease and starvation.  
At one point of the war every man was drafted and because there was no labour to work the fields, and then starvation set in. Many who subsisted on bitter wild oranges succumbed to cholera, malaria and dysentery. As able-bodied men died, the President,  recruited a new army of wounded and child soldiers. He armed them with sticks painted to look like guns, disguising the youngsters with fake beards. The army’s original red uniforms had dwindled to rags; rain seeped through ponchos made of shredded carpets. Eventually they fought naked.
Throughout the war, the president of the country imagined a vast conspiracy against him, and jailed and tortured thousands of his most loyal backers, including his own mother and sister. His brother was among the 700-800 people he had executed—often by lance to save ammunition.
According to a rough-and-ready post-war census, just 29,000 males over the age of 15 were in the country. One observer called the survivors “living skeletons…shockingly mutilated with bullet and sabre wounds”. Jaguars roamed freely and feasted on human flesh. Women wandered the streets naked. 

Probably most of us have never heard about this war which started in 1865 and ended in 1870, and involved four countries: Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. It left Paraguay totally destroyed and its president Franciso Solano Lopez dead. 

          Today's feast of Epiphany and today's gospel place in front of us the image of the different worlds. The worlds which propose different ways of living. The world of Herod, which it seems was chosen by the president of Paraguay in 1800s, and the world of Christ to which we are led by the Star.

The world of Herod is marked by separation and alienation. It is marked by rejection and prejudice and stubborn unwillingness to be gathered together. It makes war, not peace. It builds walls instead of bridges. Instead of reaching out, it encourages us to keep our distance. In the Herod's world we do not converse; we accuse, we deride, we gossip, we curse, we kill.

The world of Christ gathers without exception and prejudice. It is marked by love, compassion, and forgiveness. It gives a chance to everyone. It encourages and brings people closer to one another. Yes, in the world of Christ there is suffering and death, but also there is also a promise of the resurrection and the new life.

The Magi, although by many could be considered outsiders and unbelievers, chose to search and to be a part of the world of Christ. Yes they encountered Herod in their lives, but they still chose to follow the Star which led them to Christ.

What about us?

       Our parish will celebrate this upcoming September 75th anniversary as the community of St. Mary's. We will celebrate this feast on the weekend of September the 8th. The side note, I am looking for the individuals, to lead and to help with this celebrations, so please contact me by email or phone.

       What are we going to truly celebrate on the 75th anniversary of our community on September 8th? Are we as St. Mary's community the Star leading others to Christ?

       Like the magi led by the Star gathered unto God and to salvation, all of humankind is to be gathered in. In the interim between Jesus’ advents between his birth and the second coming, the community who believes in him must continue the process of gathering in all others, without exception and without prejudice.

       Many of us would quickly say yes we do it, we just open the doors in the last two weeks to the homeless men of our area, I hope you met them, we help our brothers and sisters in Haiti, we collect peanut butter and food to help others, we do so many other things.

       But can we do even more as community and as individuals to welcome strangers, immigrants, poor, those who feel abandoned and not belonging, those who left the catholic church, and other such exiles?

       Can we as the community of St. Mary's be even the brighter Star on the Blacksburg' sky so more can find their way to Christ and His world?