Category: Homilies
4th Sunday of Easter – A Light to the Nations
Meet & Greets 5/19; Communion and Liberation at 7 PM
Our Easter season Meet & Greets will be held after each Mass next Sunday, May 19. Join us for food, drink and fellowship.
This past Good Friday, 13 of our parishioners attended the opening prayer service for the annual Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge. A few hearty souls continued across the Bridge to St Peter’s Church in Lower Manhattan. As I was not one of them, I do not know how many of our parishioners who had a half day’s work joined them. This was sponsored by “Communion and Liberation”. This group also sponsored the lecture on Andy Warhol as a religious artist that several of us attended in February.
Communion and Liberation is an international Catholic organization founded in Milan in 1954. (https://english.clonline.org/cl) Its goal is to present Jesus and the Church in ways that are understandable to modern people without distorting the Gospel or Catholic tradition. I am sure that many of you, like me, have attended church events or read materials which emanated from some church related place that made little or no sense to you. Also, it sometimes seems that you can tell something is Catholic by the appalling graphics. (“Pius Schlock”) CL seeks to address this in many ways, including an emphasis on beauty and culture.
Members of Community and Liberation will be at next week’s “Meet and Greet” after the 7 PM Mass. There will be no formal presentation, but we will have an opportunity to listen to each other over some prosecco and cheese. In hearing each other, we will hear Jesus.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 12, 2019
Acts 13:14, 43-52
With today’s reading, Paul joins Peter and Stephen as the preachers of the Acts of the Apostles. We read the final section 13:43-52, but it begins with 13:14. I suggest that you read verses 14-42. Your first reaction might well be that this does not sound like Paul’s letters. This is true. Luke is using the conventions of Greek history writing. The speeches will follow a common pattern and thus Paul and Peter will sound much alike. This would have been expected by the original audience. It is not only that Luke is demonstrating his grasp of the techniques of rhetoric but showing us that they are very effective means of communicating.
He is thus able to give us a great deal of information with considerable concision. As he has the plan of the entire work in his head, he can be very strategic in how he presents his material. Peter, Stephen and Paul are preaching to Jews or Gentiles who were friendly to and knowledgeable about Judaism. These sermons give an overview of Jewish history and place Jesus into historical perspective. There is some overlap but each one brings out more with very few wasted words. There is however development. By the time Paul delivers this sermon the need to choose for or against Jesus is made clear. This is not to leave Judaism, but to participate in its next stage.
Also, this is Paul’s first or inaugural sermon. As always in Luke, this will return us to Jesus. At the beginning of his ministry, he returned to his home village of Nazareth and went to the synagogue. As with Paul today he is asked to speak on a test from Isaiah.
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Luke 4:18–19
He then tells the people that this has been fulfilled in their hearing. When he shows them however, that this was to be not just for Jews they are enraged and try to kill him. As we have seen Peter was originally received with great enthusiasm but eventually imprisoned for his preaching.
It should then come as no surprise then when after his initial sermon Paul and Barnabas were invited to return the following week almost the whole city came to hear them and as with Jesus and Peter, they were met with abuse from the Jewish leaders who were filled with jealousy. Remember last week’s reading: 17 Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy.
Like Jesus this jealousy is rooted in their wishes to keep the knowledge of God to themselves: But Paul tells them
47 For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth. Acts 13:47
This is not a new teaching of either Paul or Jesus but is rooted in Isaiah:
6 It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6
Paul knows that this is Jesus’s plan as it has developed so far. The Messiah was to restore Israel which was dispersed since 721 BC. This was begun at Pentecost with the Holy Spirit coming upon the 12 Apostles. Notice how Judas had to be replaced after he betrayed Jesus and committed suicide but as the Apostles died a twelve person “college” of leaders was not continued. The foundation had been restored and now was to be expanded. So we see Peter, Stephen indeed Philip and now Paul reaching out to the Jews in the Diaspora. Yet none of them lost sight that the ultimate aim was to be the light to the Nations.
At the very beginning of Luke’s gospel Simeon says to Mary:
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.” Luke 2:30–32
Luke tells us very clearly that the good news is for everyone but reminding us that this was not added on to historic Judaism but part of its basic mission.
As we have noted we read only relatively small selections from Acts and some themes we will not be able to directly address this year. They will however be clearer in other years. One theme is hinted at today.
48 The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, 49 and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region Acts 13:48–49
The good news was received with delight and spread throughout the Gentile territory. We have seen this before that external situations even persecutions do not stop the word. The next line should come as no surprise:
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. Acts 13:50
Clearly as with Jesus and the other Apostles persecution is always to be expected, will often be severe but is never the final word on the Word.
The final scene however is not as clear and needs some explanation.
51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. Acts 13:51
This reflects Jesus’ saying in Luke’s Gospel:
10 Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say,
11 ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. Luke 10:10–11 (NAB)
This is a definitive judgment against the people of that town, not Judaism itself. It is mentioned that Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium.
When 1 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue together and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe. Acts 14:1.
Paul considered himself a Jew, and “abandoning the Jews” would have been inconceivable.
What was always in the minds and hearts of the disciples was that the Holy Spirit was with them and that they may be occasionally beset with pains and sorrows, but they are always filled with joy.
3rd Sunday of Easter – Follow Me
May 5, 2019
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Last week, the Spirit sent Peter and the Apostles back into the streets to perform signs and wonders. The effect was powerful and immediate. Miracles were accomplished and many were added to the church. This did not go unnoticed by the authorities. In the section of Acts which immediately follows the incident and precedes the section we read today (Acts 5 17-26), the party of the chief priest (Sadducees) have the Apostles arrested and put in jail. Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Easter – Follow Me”
2nd Sunday of Easter: Divine Mercy
FIRST READING
Second Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2019
Acts 5:12-16
The 1st readings for the Easter Season are from the Acts of the Apostles. This is the second work of St Luke and has been called the “Gospel of the Holy Spirit”. Acts begins with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and Luke wishes to show that the Spirit will guide the Apostles, mostly Peter and Paul in preaching the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. We must always remember that St Luke has a wide view of history and will show us that the spirit guiding the Apostles was also present at the beginning of the world and the great events of both the old and the new Testaments. He is a most careful craftsman and will build his narrative very slowly and deliberately and we will lose some of this. The Lectionary (readings in Church) follow a three- year cycle (this year we read Cycle C) and Acts is used in all three of them. Indeed, the descent of the Holy Spirit is not read until Pentecost, itself 6 weeks from now. This somewhat interrupts the flow, but we will fill in any critical gaps.
We read today from the 5th Chapter of Acts. It is the third time the Apostles have appeared in public. The first time was immediately after the descent of the Spirit. Continue reading “2nd Sunday of Easter: Divine Mercy”
Easter – Acting as Apostles
Msgr. LoPinto raising the Wood of the Cross at this year’s Good Friday Service.
First Reading
Easter Sunday
April 21, 2019
Acts 10:34A, 37-43
During the Easter Season, the first reading will change from selections from the Old Testament to passages from the “Acts of the Apostles”. This is an inspired decision which will become clearer as the season progresses. The Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke and shares the characteristics we have seen in his Gospel. This week, I ask you to especially notice the number of references to Luke, the Old Testament and other sections of Acts itself. I will quote only a few, but reading this book with a well indexed and footnoted Bible is particularly rewarding. Continue reading “Easter – Acting as Apostles”
Palm Sunday & Holy Week – Bring People Together & Rebuild
Flevit super illam [He wept over it (Luke 19:41)], Enrique Simonet, 1892
Triduum
The major celebrations of Holy Thursday (Mass of the Lord’s Supper). Good Friday (Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion) and Holy Saturday (Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord – Easter Vigil) although celebrated with separate services are liturgically one day. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops remind us that “(This day unfolds) for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.” The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.”
Each of these Liturgies is beautiful and powerful in themselves, but achieve their full effect only if they are celebrated together. I urge you to make every attempt to celebrate them with and in the Parish. The full schedule for Holy Week may be found below but a few notes on the Triduum.
We encourage people attending the Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday Masses to bring hand bells to ring at the Gloria. From Gloria to Gloria the Church lives in solemn silence.
The collection for Holy Thursday will go to Catholic Charities for the replenishment of the local food pantries.
The collection for Good Friday will go to the upkeep of the Catholic Churches in the Holy Land. This is a most important duty of the faithful.
The Easter Vigil must begin in darkness. As Easter is late this year, we will begin at 9:00 PM. As it is a complicated liturgy, please read my prayer guide for it here.
First Reading
April 14, 2019
Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-7
Readers of these reflections with a good memory will note that we covered most of this passage several months ago (Sept 17th). We will essentially repeat the exegesis (interpretation) from that reading in the body of this essay, but make different applications at the end.
As with so many of the passages we have examined we must return to the mindset of the people who returned to rebuild Jerusalem around 520 BC. A miracle had occurred. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed and the leaders brought into exile in Babylon. This should have been the end of the Jewish People. Yet God through the unlikely intermediary of Cyrus, Prince of Persia, has given them a chance to start again. Enough decided to return to the ruins of Jerusalem that they could contemplate reconstruction. Yet, they needed a second miracle to know why they were there.
Many seemed to believe that they would be rewarded by God for their faith in the common way of the world: comfort, wealth and power. They were living, however, spartan lives in rubble as the employees of a foreign emperor. They asked Isaiah why God had abandoned them. Like their forefathers who left Egypt, they began to believe they were better off in captivity.
In the passage immediately before today’s reading God answers them:
Where is the bill of divorce
with which I dismissed your mother?
Or to which of my creditors
have I sold you?
It was for your sins that you were sold,
for your crimes that your mother was dismissed. (Isaiah 50:1)
They were exiled because of their refusal to follow God, but there was no bill of divorce or sale to anyone else. They were not abandoned permanently. God did not want to sever His ties with them, but to chastise them. Note, however, this is not the past but the present. He is referring to them, not their forebears:
2 Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand too short to ransom?
Have I not the strength to deliver? (50:2)
He called them to make a new Exodus following him to a new land, but they did not follow with their hearts, only their bodies. Note the references to the Exodus in the next line:
Lo, with my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into a desert;
Their fish rot for lack of water,
and die of thirst. 50:3
The next line however marks a change and it is Isaiah who speaks:
4 The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear; (50:4)
A better translation for “a well-trained tongue” would be the tongue of a disciple. His responsibly is not to convey information, however true, but to exhort the people to fulfill their tasks. This requires continued effort (Morning after Morning) and is not the message we might first have considered.
A key part of “Second Isaiah” are the four “suffering servant songs” in which he speaks as one who has taken on the burden of his people. This is the third. We will, however, just examine this one.
5 And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting. (50:5–6)
Voluntary suffering was not common in the Old Testament, but it was not unknown. Jeremiah refers to himself as like a trusting lamb led to the slaughter. (Jer 12:19). This was, however, before the exile. Isaiah wishes to show them what is expected of them in this new world.
7 The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame. (50:7–9)
However unpleasant life may become, he knows that God will never abandon him and dares those who thought him only oppressed to take him to court:
8 He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
9 See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
Lo, they will all wear out like cloth,
the moth will eat them up. (50:8-9)
In the verse immediately following he then addresses the people directly:
10 Who among you fears the LORD,
heeds his servant’s voice,
And walks in darkness
without any light,
Trusting in the name of the LORD
and relying on his God? (50:10)
He knows that they do not understand him, that they would be expected to follow God for seemingly no earthly reward does not make sense to them. But it is their role to trust God.
11 All of you kindle flames
and carry about you fiery darts;
Walk by the light of your own fire
and by the flares you have burnt!
This is your fate from my hand:
you shall lie down in a place of pain. (50:10–11)
If they think they are walking by light it is their own and not God’s. Their fate will be pain forever.
There are many statements to the effect that we learn by our successes when young and failures when old. God is teaching the people what he wants them to be mature disciples. In a previous “suffering servant song” Isaiah writes:
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)
The Jews were called to lead others to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They would need to learn that the required humility comes by sacrifice and suffering. Their effectiveness will not be because of their power but their trust.
If we are reading any Lenten and Holy Week reflections, we will most likely come upon the “Suffering Servant” passages as referring to Jesus. We must be very careful how we interpret this. The New Testament uses the Suffering Servant many times to explain Jesus’ self-understanding and it most likely this reflects Jesus’ own thinking. This should not be considered a Christian interpretation in the obvious sense of that word. Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew. His mind was Jewish and would have read the Scriptures as a Jew.
If we accept that he saw himself as the Messiah (the Christ, the Anointed one), then one of his tasks was to bring the nation back together again. Israel – the northern kingdom – was destroyed and the people scattered in 721, and Judah – the southern kingdom – rendered powerless by 586. The nation would need to be restored for any Jew to consider Jesus the Messiah. The Scriptures hold that Jesus did this by forming a new covenant with God though his willing sacrifice on the Cross. This brought together not only the Jews but truly allowed them to be “a light to the nations”. We can see Paul who also possessed a Jewish mind had to say that Romans “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek”. (1:16)
As we celebrate the great feast of faith, let us remember that no matter how forceful our preaching or wise our teaching, we are not truly faithful unless we seek to bring people together, even if that means that we too will be servants who suffer. Could we have a better model to follow or a better time to try?