Union

What place, what state, is the birthplace of two American presidents who

Served concurrent terms?

It's a tricky question.

Because once it dawns on you how America had 

Two concurrent presidents,

You'll still probably be wrong about where they were born.

The concurrent presidents were Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

A lot of people would say Abraham Lincoln was born in Illinois.

Fr Gene's car, parked out back here, used to have Illinois plates 

And they carried the state's popular slogan, Land of Lincoln.

If people associate Jefferson Davis with any state,

It's probably Mississippi or Virginia.

But both Abe and Jeff were originally from the same place.

Born just 8 months and 100 miles apart, in my home state—Kentucky.

Kentucky's state motto is United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

We often feel a natural unity, an affinity, when we meet someone 

And discover that we're from the same place.

But in the days of Lincoln and Davis we were deeply divided.

And we certainly did fall—into bloody, destructive, devastating civil war.

Today again, divisions in our country are deep and rancorous.

That Kentucky motto proclaims a stark warning—and an urgent mission.

And it’s just an echo of Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel.

Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste

And house will fall against house.

Someone has to drive out our demons.

Demons within us and among us, who stoke that division.

They can be driven out, as Jesus said,

Not by their own demonic, hateful tactics—but by the finger of God.

And now that Jesus has ascended back to Heaven, the task falls to us.

We are this world’s physically-present hands and fingers of God.

Jesus came into the world for the sake of unity.

For our 0neness with God, and oneness with each other.

He came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father.

He heals the wounds of sin and division.

He intercedes for us with our Father.

He’ll help us to be the blessed peacemakers.

Models of civility, respect, tolerance, and understanding.

Models of temperate tweets and posts and verbal comments.

Models demonstrating to the nation that we can all get along.

That as children of God,

We’re all from the same place.

Friday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 11:15-26   Read this Scripture @usccb.org

I Know, But How?

                                                                                                                                                                 Dengzeyu Li      unsplash.com

Who do people say that I am?

Why was Jesus asking that?

Was he really overly concerned about what people thought of him?

And besides, he probably already knew what people were saying.

Maybe his question was just a way to start a conversation.

A way to bring up the topic of who he is.

To ease-in to a difficult message he had for his disciples.

So, he gets them to stop and think about who he is.

Then he makes it even more personal to each of them, by asking,

Who do you say that I am?

They’ve been busy, they’ve been running around.

They’ve heard a lot and seen a lot.

They’ve heard his wisdom and his teaching.

They’ve heard his hints and claims regarding his true identity. 

They’ve seen his miracles.

They know he’s extraordinary.

Greater than Elijah or John or the other prophets.

They’ve heard and seen, but have they stepped back to absorb it all?

To consider, and recognize, and fully realize, who he is?

Maybe they had.

Maybe they all knew but hadn’t yet put it into words.

Until Jesus asked, and Peter answered.

Mark’s account today doesn’t mention how strongly Jesus praised Peter

For recognizing who he was.

But we know from Matthew’s account that he did. 

Jesus says, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,

But my Father who is in heaven.

And he went on to rename him Peter, and make him head of the Church.

In Mark’s account, Jesus jumps right into the hard message.

The difficult message they needed to hear.

Yes, he is the Messiah.

But not the kind of Messiah they were expecting.

He wasn’t going to lead a great army against Rome.

He wasn’t going to restore Israel to the great kingdom

It had been under David and Solomon.

He was going to suffer greatly and be killed.

He did include in there that he would rise in three days.

But that was pretty much lost in the gloom.

And besides, the apostles didn’t seem to grasp what rising meant.

That hard message should have been easier to take

After Jesus had just focused them on the fact that

They were dealing with the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

God himself.

But even so, they didn’t want to hear it.

Peter again spoke for them, saying that surely Jesus needn’t suffer.

Jesus had to rebuke him.

And emphasize to all of them that he would indeed suffer and be killed.

Worse yet, to follow him, they too would have to take up their crosses.

And fully give their lives.

Eventually, through repetition, and through continued teaching and Demonstration of who he really was and what he was about,

The message set in and they accepted it.

Still, it wasn’t until he was killed and did rise

That the disciples fully understood.

                                             .....

We’ve all had the story laid out for us many times.

We know the answer to who Jesus is.

We don’t even need to think about it.

It’s an automatic answer.

But maybe we shouldn’t always answer so quickly.

We can learn from stepping back to absorb it all.

And from listening to Jesus asking us individually,

Who do you say that I am?

Rather than blurting out the easy answer without much thought

We can take time to consider how we came to know that answer.

Consider in detail what that answer means to us.

Consider how were doing in following him.

As we contemplate all that, we might also remember Jesus saying,

No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father

Except the Son—and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

We might even hear Jesus say to us as he did to Peter,

Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.

Blessed are you! 

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 8:27-35   Read this Scripture @usccb.org

You Are What You Eat (2)

Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash

A few months ago I assisted as deacon at my father-in-law’s funeral.

We have a Jewish contingent because years ago my sister-in-law

Married into a Jewish family and converted.

I gave a brilliant, moving, homily.

But it was my reading of one intercession that grabbed my Jewish niece:

For our brother Anthony who ate the body of Christ, the bread of life.

That he may be raised up on the last day; we pray to the Lord.

After Mass she asked my daughter:
Eewww, why would they say that?  That was so gross!

And, from her perspective, I can see how it was.

But we Catholics are so familiar with those words today

That we don't appreciate how shocking they were to the Jewish crowd

When Jesus first said them.

Most of us have heard and understood those words since childhood.

At every Mass we encounter at least six direct references

That add repetition, context, and explanation to the concept of

Bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ.

At the presentation of the gifts the priest says

   Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life. 

   Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.  

In the Eucharistic Prayer we hear these or similar words:

    Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,

by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, 

So that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And then—

   Take this, all of you, and eat of it:

for this is my body which will be given up for you.

   Take this, all of you, and drink from it:

for this is the chalice of my blood,

the blood of the new and eternal covenant.

which will be poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this in memory of me.

Still further in the Eucharistic Prayer we hear these or similar words:

   Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,

We may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. 

Later, the priest again lifts up the consecrated host for us and says—

   Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. 

And finally, as each person receives Communion, the minister says:

   The body of Christ

   The blood of Christ

And we say, Amen.

We’ve been well conditioned, well prepared for those shocking words.

When Jesus spoke to the Jews they were not prepared.

He was telling the crowd that he was the bread of life,

Sent down from heaven as food and life for the world.

Why didn’t he just stop at that?

It was a nice analogy, a nice figurative image.

The crowd was with him.

Why did he suddenly turn to speaking so directly, so harshly,

So shockingly?

Why the raw, gruesome talk about eating flesh and drinking blood—

Knowing full well that it would deeply disturb the crowd?

Maybe it was the only way he could convey the full , literal, truth.

The full meaning of what he was saying.

Hey, you're not going to consume some food and drink

And get some figurative, symbolic representation of me.

You're going to get the real me--literally.

You're going to actually take me in, whole, physically, into your being.

And as we all know, you are what you eat.

Softer words may not have conveyed that full meaning.

They'd be too easily interpreted as just a figure of speech.

We may have never grasped the fact

That he would be truly, physically present in that food.

But where were Jesus’s spin doctors?

Where was his PR guy?

They could have stepped right up and said:

Of course he means just what he said.

But don’t worry, he's got a very acceptable, palatable plan.

His true physical presence will continuously, miraculously, come to us

As one form of his glorified body—in the familiar form of bread and wine.

But he didn't have a spin doctor, or a PR guy.

And he didn't want one.

He could have explained it himself, but he chose not to at that time.

Perhaps as a test of faith for his listeners.

Eventually, of course, he did explain it at the Last Supper.

Maybe one reason he didn't explain earlier, was to give us

A prominent lasting example of the need to speak truth directly.

Even when there might be dangerous consequences.

To address uncomfortable truths directly, fully, openly and clearly.

He was telling of good news, a glorious truth, an unimaginable gift—

Yet, for the sake of clarity and certainty in conveying his meaning,

He took the risk of using words that would deeply disturb the crowd.

Maybe this is a message for our Church leaders today.

Speak the truth directly, fully, openly and clearly.

Don't go to the spin doctor, or the PR guy, or even the lawyer.

When Jesus made his raw shocking statement

Many disciples gave up on him and left in disappointment and disgust.

In recent days we’ve heard a barrage of 
Raw, shocking statements about our Church.

Just as we did a decade ago.

We had hoped it was all over back then, but we see it wasn’t.

There’s disappointment and disgust and outrage.

Some people talk of giving up on the Church and leaving.

We’ve always known that evil and sickness can infect our Church.

Now we’ve seen just how widespread it’s reach can be.

And the magnitude multiplies when it's hidden for nearly a century 
And exposed all at once.

Our members, including our earth-bound leaders, are only human.

Our leaders can err in their judgement.

The ranks of our priests and other ministers who deal with children

In our Church can be infiltrated or infected.

Just like the ranks of doctors, coaches and teachers outside our Church.

But our Church needs to reach for the highest standards.

When his disturbing words caused many disciples to abandon him.

Jesus asked the Apostles if they too wanted to leave him.

Peter spoke for them saying,

Where would we go?

We have come to believe and are convinced

That you are the Holy One of God.

Likewise, facing the very disturbing words regarding our Church today,

Those with faith have nowhere else to go.

They have to stay and help to fix it.

As for me, I have to follow the example of Peter.

I’m standing with the Church that Jesus himself founded and heads.

I’m looking to Jesus and his Holy Spirit to guide it.

To bring good out of bad, as only they can.

I’m hoping that in some small way I can help.

I’m encouraged at the progress that has been made.
By the way leaders are speaking now.
And I’m most thankful that we have the true presence,

The physical, living, glorified body and blood of Christ

To sustain us, transform us, 
And enable us to attain the highest standards.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jn 6:51-58   Read this Scripture @usccb.org

Leave Home Without It

In a couple weeks my family’s heading to the beach.

We rented a big house in North Carolina

With my four daughters and their families.

And we’ll all meet there and spend a week together.

We’re already gathering up the stuff we’ll need to take with us.

Our SUV has room for quite a bit of stuff.

But even so, we may need to put a luggage rack on the roof.

It’s just a casual week at the beach,

But we’ll need to fill a couple suitcases with clothes and cosmetics

And hair dryers and phone chargers.

We’ll need a couple laptops.

A bag with snacks for the trip, and a cooler.

We’ll need a couple beach bags with towels and sunscreen.

If we travel light, that may be enough.

Or, we might have to take some folding chairs and beach umbrellas

And boogie boards.

But you can rent that kind of stuff at the beach.

We’re not the only ones who travel with so much baggage.

The clogged highways are full of other over-stuffed cars.

Some haul trailers along.

Others are strapped up with bicycles and kayaks.

Quite a different scene from the way Jesus told the apostles to travel.

A walking stick, the sandals on their feet, and the tunic on their back.

No food, no money, not even an empty sack to collect anything into.

If they traveled like we do, they’d each need a pack mule or a donkey.

Loaded down with camping gear and half their worldly possessions.

When we take a minute to think about it,

We realize just how demanding Jesus’ restrictions were.

Those apostles were heading out on an extended journey.

With no provision for their material needs.

Zero.

No safety net.  

No American Express card.

Who among us would set out on a trip with no money and no provisions?

Why did Jesus send them like that?

One reason might have been to distinguish them

From other traveling preachers of those days.

There were philosophers and wonder workers who made the rounds

From village to village.

They traveled light too.

But they were easily recognized

By fancy, decorated “beggars bags” that they carried.

Jesus wanted people to see immediately 

That his disciples were different.                                       

More importantly, Jesus was building the apostles’ faith and confidence.

He sent them with a heightened focus, 

And sense of urgency and necessity.

Stripped down to the barest essentials.

With no materialistic distractions.

They had to have faith that somehow God would provide food for them.

That he would provide shelter for them.

Unless they expected God to rain down manna from heaven,

They also had to have faith in their fellow man.

Faith that God’s people would listen to them.

And would trust them enough and value them enough

That they would invite them into their homes

And give them that needed food and shelter.

The apostles had to feel that Jesus was sending them on a tough journey.

He was sending them with not only a total lack of provisions

But also with a message that most people wouldn’t want to hear.

A call to repent.

A call to change their behavior.

People don’t like to have attention drawn to their shortcomings.

People don’t like to be pushed to change.

But the apostles couldn’t give up.

If they wanted to eat, they had to win over at least some of those people.

Move them to listen, move them to want to hear more.

Move them to extend their hospitality.

The journey could get tough.

But Jesus had prepared them for it.

He didn’t send them alone, he sent them two by two.

He sent them with support.

Support from each other.

Each had at least one ally wherever he went.

And he sent them with his own support.

Accompanied by his mighty powers.

The power to heal and to drive out demons.

That power would get the people’s attention.

That power would convince them 

That they should listen to these apostles.

And they did listen.

The apostles returned in excitement and wonder at their own success.

Amazed that they had actually driven out demons, cured the sick,

And led many to repentance.

We can see ourselves in both the apostles and the villagers.

We’re both the carriers and the receivers of the message to repent.

We’re called to evangelize, and we’re called to repent

—To change for the better.

Maybe one thing we’re called to improve

Is how we respond to our call to evangelize.

And there are surely other areas for improvement.

None of us are perfect.

And our extremely materialistic, secular world

Constantly works to draw us away from our spiritual base.

It upsets the human balance,

The balance between our material and spiritual essence.

If we can step back from time-to-time.

Put aside all that distracting material baggage.

All that stuff.

We can better focus on the basics, on the essence.

And ask ourselves,

How am I doing on my journey?

Is there anything I need to change?

What shortcoming do I have that I can work on improving?

That’s a big part of what our journey is about.

A commitment to incremental improvement.

Growing through the years and events of our lives.

As with the apostles,

Our journey might get tough at times, but we don’t have to go it alone.

We have support from others.

And we are support to others.

We have companions journeying with us.

Companions who are far more important 

Than the material stuff around us.

And even if a companion should fail us, we’re still never alone.

Wherever we go, we walk with the most helpful, loving companion of all.

Accompanied always, by the Spirit of Christ within us.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 6:7-13   Read this Scripture @usccb.org