Category: Homilies
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Wasting Time with the Lord
Elderly Couple in an Interior, Frans van Mieris, c. 1650-1655 (Leiden Collection Catalogue)
FIRST READING
Leviticus 19:1–2, 17–18
February 23, 2020
This week we read from the Book of Leviticus for the first time. It is one of the books of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, and literally means the book of the tribe of Levi. This tribe was given the responsibility of maintaining the Temple and its worship, and not unsurprisingly, most of the book pertains to cultic matters. It will however show us that, for the Jews, worship and justice are both needed for holiness and the road to holiness may seem a detour from what we find truly important.
Leviticus begins where the book of Exodus ends. There is little action in the book, and it is mostly composed of the LORD speaking to Moses. More importantly is the time of its composition and final edition. We have seen many times before that the historical books of the Old Testament were competed after the return of significant numbers of the Jewish leaders to Jerusalem from Babylon. The first group went between 538 and 515 BC and another about 450 BC. Their concerns may be found in prophets such as (Third) Isaiah, Zechariah, and Haggai and in the historical writings of Ezra and Nehemiah. Through them, we have examined the nature of God’s reign in history, the relationship of the Jews to other peoples, and the developing notion of the Messiah.
They were recreating their society, and this was reflected in rebuilding their temple. Leviticus was written after the work of Ezra and Nehemiah. These were officials sent by the Assyrian king when it had become obvious that the colony was failing. They recognized that this was more than a management issue but required a return to tradition. Leviticus is composed of basically two parts: “The Priestly Book” (Chapters 1-16) and the “Holiness Codes” (Chapters 17-26). The priestly book defines sacred space and what is needed for worship. The holiness code shows how the sacred can be integrated into life.
It is in the holiness code that the Jewish calendar is formalized, literally making the sacred a part of daily life and the rhythm of the seasons. This is done in mind-numbing detail which is one reason why it not often read in church. Yet in the opening section we read today, the author is careful to give us the full and beautiful picture of holiness and its consequences. Continue reading “7th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Wasting Time with the Lord”
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Being Formed in Our Tradition
Diogenes Searching for an Honest Man, attr. to J.H.W. Tischbein, c. 1780, Nagel Auktionen
FIRST READING
Sirach 15:15–20
February 18, 2020
Sirach is not considered a major figure in the Old Testament. His book is in neither the official Jewish Canon nor most Protestant Bibles, yet we often read him at Mass. We heard him most recently on Dec. 29, 2019. (The most detailed look at his thought and background may be found with the commentary on March 3, 2019.
Very briefly Sirach was a teacher of the Jewish elite in Jerusalem around 200 BC. The Jews were a small and relatively unimportant group in the wider Seleucid Kingdom. The elites were immersed in Greek culture, usually called Hellenism, and were tempted to dilute or even eliminate their Judaism to conform. Sirach confronted this not by putting Jewish clothes on Greek ideas or by simply dismissing everything the Greeks taught but by learning their ideas, adapting what seemed worthy, but contrasting the wisdom of Judaism with Greek thought and showing the superiority of the latter. He has much to teach us. Continue reading “6th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Being Formed in Our Tradition”
5th Sunday Ordinary Time – Fr. Smith Homily
Several years ago, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on merging churches. The moderator asked each of us to tell the assembly the most important thing we had learned in a brief statement. When my turn came, I recited the Beatitudes from St. Matthew. I understand why this was met with some bewilderment, but I will stand by it – and add that if we wish St. Charles to develop, it will be because we have accepted the Beatitudes as our parish handbook. Let us look at why.
Beatitude means “blessing”, or to be even more precise, that which gives us bliss. Matthew tells us that true blessings are to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, persecuted for the same righteousness we were thirsting for and insulted for the name of Jesus. (Matthew 5:5:1-12) In what world do any of these things make good sense, much less bring bliss? Quite simply: in God’s. Continue reading “5th Sunday Ordinary Time – Fr. Smith Homily”
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fasting To Love
Lady Julian Of Norwich, Stephen Reid, 1912
FIRST READING
Isaiah 58:7–10
Sunday, February 9, 2020
We last read from the third person to be given the name Isaiah on the Epiphany (Jan. 5, 2020). This Isaiah wrote after many of the Jewish leaders accepted the invitation of Cyrus the Assyrian king to leave Babylon and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. He and the other settlers discovered that they were pioneers and that this was going to be long and hard. The reading used for the Epiphany, Isaiah 60:1–6) told the Jewish settlers what they could expect if they remained faithful to the LORD. Today’s reading shows them and us what faithfulness means.
The section begins with a complaint from the settlers:
Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?
(Is. 58:3)
In early Judaism, fasting was not directly an ascetic practice, but was associated with morning. Third Isaiah’s near contemporary the prophet Zechariah told the people: Continue reading “5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fasting To Love”
Presentation of the Lord – Fr. Smith Homily
For the past few weeks, our gospel readings have been from St. Matthew. We have examined him not only as an evangelist in the strict sense, the author of one of the four canonical gospels, but as a pastor. He writes to form, not only enlighten his community. Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and St. Luke will be our guest evangelist. We read him last year, and if Matthew is a pastor, Luke is an historian. Let us see what he has to offer us today.
First, the name of the feast. When the Jews were in captivity in Egypt, God called Moses to lead them into the Promised Land. Moses could not convince the leader of the Egyptians, the Pharaoh, to let them go, although God sent many plagues to persuade him. Finally, the LORD killed every first–born male both of man and beast of the Egyptians. He spared the Jews and for this reason every first–born son belongs to the LORD in a special way and must be redeemed from God by a sacrifice. (Ex 13:15)
This is what we see today. Jesus is brought to the Temple to be redeemed. Just as Joseph and Mary obeyed the laws of Rome and went to Bethlehem to fulfill the census requirements, they obeyed the Biblical law to buy Jesus back. Luke wishes to show that Jesus wants us to work in our society and culture, not to abandon it. Continue reading “Presentation of the Lord – Fr. Smith Homily”
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – To Praise, To Live
Simeon’s Song of Praise, Aert de Gelder, c. 1700-1710 (Wikipedia)
FIRST READING
Malachi 3:1–4
February 2, 2020
We examined Malachi 3:10–20 several months ago. It spoke of the “Day of the Lord”. It was a time of testing for the Jewish people who returned to Jerusalem at the invitation of the Persian king, Cyrus. A theme throughout the prophets is that, although the evil of the enemies of the Jews may be greater in extent, the evil of the Jews is greater in intent. Because they are the chosen people, they will be held to a higher standard as they must fulfill a higher mission. When looking at the “Day of the Lord,” we read today’s passage as well to see where they had failed to live up to their calling. Today we will look again and pay particular attention to how the entire book of Malachi shows the development of the Jewish understanding of the afterlife which we, as Catholic Christians, have inherited.
Malachi wrote between 500 and 450 BC during a time of great distress and disappointment for the people of Jerusalem. Enough Jews had returned to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon to start rebuilding but the results were less than impressive. The temple had been reconstructed, but it was a small structure and the funds to continue were either not forthcoming or stolen. The passage before the one chosen for today reads: Continue reading “Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – To Praise, To Live”