Homilies, Messages from the Pastor

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Fr. Smith homily

| St. Charles Borromeo

At the beginning of the summer the priests of the diocese held a dinner for Bishop Di Marzio’s  75th birthday. The committee that organized it sat the priests according to year of ordination with the most newly ordained priests and the most senior sitting with the Bishop. Truly an elegant solution to a potentially difficult situation. Yet isn’t it interesting that it is a persistent problem. Eating together is such a sign of intimacy and harmony that the Bible uses it as an image of the kingdom of God yet so often it reflects people’s attempts to assert power and position. Luke today is showing us what is at stake and what we can do 

This is the third time that Jesus has accepted an invitation to eat with Pharisees on the Sabbath in Luke’s gospel. (See Luke 7:36, 11:37) It did not go well either time and it presumably will not be particularly pleasant this time out. The passage today opens with:  

On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. (Lk 14:1) 

They were so carefully observing him because previously he cured people at the meal on the Sabbath. This was a violation of Jewish law. This is also the case here, but our reading today skips over it. Let us for a moment however examine this passage 

A man, presumably a guest, is suffering from dropsy. This is edema or swelling caused by excess fluid.  As this is a chronic condition and not an emergency, Jesus could have told him to come back the next day to be cured but instead he cures him immediately. Celebrating a meal with Jesus cures and frees anyone humble enough to ask. Luke may be so specific with the disease because dropsy is often occasioned by great thirst and so the victim will drink more water which only makes it worse. It was used as a metaphor for greed, in this case the insatiable desire of the Pharisees for honor and position. Would they ask to be healed or even know that they needed it?  Continue reading “22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Fr. Smith homily” →

Homilies

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Anti-Nicomachean Ethics

| St. Charles Borromeo

Before the Banquet, Francis Chin, 2012

First Reading
September 1, 2019
Sirach 3:17-18, 28-29 

We return today to the book of Sirach. We read from this book a few months ago and called him one of the great virtually unsung heroes of Judaism. Ben Sira lived in Jerusalem in about 200BC. By this time, the Jews had been under direct foreign domination for over 300 years. First by the Assyrians and then by the descendants of the great Greek general Alexander. The beliefs of the Jews were radically different from their occupiers and, although there was little direct persecution, there was pressure to conform to Greek mores. This was particularly true of the elites. The sons of wealthy and well-placed Jewish families who associated with wealthy and important Assyrians then Greek leaders were particularly tempted to take on foreign ways.

Ben Sira, better known as Sirach, was the teacher of these aristocratic scions. He understood the teachings of the day both the traditional “Wisdom” of the East and the philosophy of the West, i.e. the Greeks. He admired some of it and assimilated where he could, but he understood very clearly that ultimately wisdom or philosophy were incompatible with authentic Judaism. Continue reading “22nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Anti-Nicomachean Ethics” →

Homilies, Podcast

21st Sunday Ordinary Time – 11:15 am (Fr Smith homily)

| St. Charles Borromeo

 Transcript:

Luke 13:22-30 

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but in religion it might better be said that it breeds presumption. Although rarely stated, it is easy to believe that knowing about God is the same as really knowing Him. The prophets without exception tell us that having a mastery of laws and customs – and even being actively involved in liturgical practices – can make one look religious but does automatically connect one to God.  Today, Luke shows us what this really means.   Continue reading “21st Sunday Ordinary Time – 11:15 am (Fr Smith homily)” →

Messages from the Pastor

21th Sunday Ordinary Time – Isaiah’s Warning: Avoid Corruption; Unite the Community

| St. Charles Borromeo

A Plate of Cakes, Jehan Georges Vibert, circa 1840–1902, private collection (WikiArt)

FIRST READING:
August 25, 2019
Isaiah 66:18-21

Several weeks ago on July 7, we read a section from Isaiah (66:10-14c), which comes a few verses before today’s selection (66:18-21). We saw then that these verses were written by the third person to use the name Isaiah. The first lived in Jerusalem around the end of the 8th century BC, the second in Babylon about 540 BC, and this Isaiah sometime around 515 BC while Jerusalem was being rebuilt.

The Second and Third Isaiahs did not choose the name casually. Although they lived in different times and/or places, they all shared a few common beliefs. The most important was that the God of the Jews was the Lord of History. By the time of Third Isaiah, this meant that He was not only God but also that the Lord controlled world history from the beginning of time, not just the destinies of the Jews. This meant that He expressed Himself in concrete events and our relationship with Him was to be more than verbal.

To use the name Isaiah meant that the author understood that worship and justice were inseparable. This is the special theme of chapter 66. When we examined this last month, we emphasized that the call of the Jews and now indeed ourselves was to be the “light to the nations.” Now let us look at the corrosive effects of corruption on leaders. Continue reading “21th Sunday Ordinary Time – Isaiah’s Warning: Avoid Corruption; Unite the Community” →