We might first think that seeking to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect is designed to frustrate us. How is that possible? The Father is God and without flaw or weakness. Another reaction might be relief. If perfection means doing all things well then it is clearly impossible for us and the Sermon on the Mount with its strange blessings and bewildering reversals of expectations contains just suggestions and perhaps a prospectus for the hereafter but is not meant to be seriously attempted.

 In both cases, we should pause for a moment. The good news of Jesus is for our own good both as a community and as individuals here and now. When I find that any part of the gospel seems irrelevant, I assume that I must dig deeper to understand. This is a great example. Translating the Greek word telos as perfect is not completely wrong but it is inadequate. It is better understood as “complete” or “whole“. The Father’s perfection is that he cares for all people, the whole of humanity. Our perfection must be the same, to love everyone. The two sections from the Sermon on the Mount which we read today are the most difficult but reveal why this is most necessary for individual completeness but more importantly for that of the church.

Continue reading “Homily – 7th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)” →

The Biblical idea of Righteousness is a gift that keeps on giving. It has so many meanings that a preacher could give several homilies without repeating anything essential. Part of this is that several Hebrew words have been translated as one Greek word and this has eventually been translated into 2 English words righteousness and justification. To make it even more complicated they can be applied both to God and humanity. Yet the basic reason may be quite simple. Righteousness is about being in a good relationship with God, and human language; even inspired, will always be left wanting. Righteousness is both too broad and too deep.

Continue reading “Homily – 6th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)” →

To examine the readings of today’s Mass I will begin and end with personal anecdotes. The first is somewhat banal, the second decidedly unflattering but both are highly instructive.

At an informal gathering of priests, I asked, “Who would notice if your parish were to disappear overnight?” We first gave obvious if somewhat facetious answers: our vendors and UPS carriers. We then got more serious and remembering that the church teaches the preferential option for the poor and marginalized, added food pantries, 12-step meetings, and a neighborhood senior drop-in center. I added a community organizing effort. All of these are good, and much more could be added but we quickly realized that to have an effect a parish must be more than the sum of its parts or the number of its committees.

Continue reading “Homily – 5th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)” →

The least productive way to read St Matthews Gospel is to see Jesus as a teacher of timeless and universal truths. What he offers us is true for all times and places, but Matthew is a Pastor and knows that Jesus and his teachings come alive only when they are lived in a specific Church community. As we read Matthew this year, I think he will prove himself as good a pastor for us as he was for his immediate community, especially in today’s reading.

We do not know if Matthew was born a Gentile or a Jew. It is obvious however that he understood that Jesus was a Jew and could only be understood as one. Jews received their religious identities from participating in the Covenant with God. This made them God’s people, his family. This relationship was personal but not individual. A Jew cannot have a relationship with God outside of the family and would wonder why he should try.

Continue reading “Homily – 4th Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)” →

Jesus was a member of a circle of young men around John the Baptist.  Men in groups tend to be very close and marked by the rivalry to be closest to the leader. I imagine the others first thought with today’s reading was “Why Him” and their second “What does the Lamb of God mean”? These are good questions for this weekend, and we will start with the second one.

A Lamb was a powerful symbol for Jews. It connected them to the exodus. In the exodus, God led the Israelites through the desert to the promised land, but it began with the Passover meal while still in captivity in Egypt. Jews celebrate the Passover meal every year and it requires a lamb. As they were now under roman domination many Jews felt that they needed a new exodus. But they wanted a lion: a general or a king who would throw off their captors. But this would be a single victory, there would always be a need for another. Jesus, the lamb, will not improve the world, he will change existence.

Lambs were also the sacrifice of choice in the temple. It was how the covenant between God and the Jewish People was proclaimed and maintained. If made with the right intention these animal sacrifices could show that God had forgiven an individual or group. Yet the idea that a person could be sacrificed for the covenant was never explicitly held in Judaism. That Jesus – the lamb – would take away the sin of the world, would be bewildering. His listeners would know that it was connected to the covenant and forgiveness but not how.

Continue reading “Homily – 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)” →

Following Jesus can feel like riding a roller coaster.  There are ups and downs, trills and panic, excitement, and eventual relief but the image lacks one thing. We know where a roller coaster will let us off. We don’t know that about Jesus. We see in today’s Gospel that we may know where we will start but not where he will bring us.

The Magi didn’t even know that. Magi were originally Persian priests who advised the king especially by interpreting his dreams and consulting the stars. As we see Herod and his brain trust of priests and scribes took their reason for traveling to Jerusalem at face value. It was a common belief that the birth of a great person would be prefigured in the stars. Their news would have been profoundly upsetting to Herod who thought himself “King of the Jews.” He was so paranoid that he killed so many heirs that it was said to be safer to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son. Herod feared that this King would be the long-longed-for Messiah who would displace him. His advisors told him that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem several miles from Jerusalem and sent the Magi on their way.

Continue reading “Homily – Epiphany (Fr. Smith)” →

Because we first heard Christmas stories as children, we can think of them as nursery tales; simple and unsophisticated remnants of our youth. Those which are found in the scriptures, however, are embedded in the Gospels and are mature, profound, and part of a sophisticated presentation. None more so than Luke.

Luke is a very thoughtful writer, and we must read him carefully and often to truly understand him. Only then will the interconnections be revealed and become real. Luke wrote both his Gospel and the “Acts of the Apostles”, and we must take them as a whole. After many readings the importance of the parable of the Sower becomes clear. Remember the story: a farmer planted his crop by casting seeds onto his field. Some fell on a path and were trampled, some on rocky ground or among thorns where they could not grow but others on good ground where they produced fruit a hundred-fold.

Continue reading “Homily – Mary, Mother of God (Fr. Smith)” →