5th Sunday after Easter 22 May 2022 Sermon

5^th Sunday after Easter 22 May 2022 Divinity of Christ

At the Last Supper Our Lord is preparing His disciples to carry on what He has started.

He has nearly completed  His mission in coming here. soon He will return to Heaven.

He wants us to understand that He is God, not just some lesser presence.

Many have denied His divinity. Why so much denial? There are various reasons, but they all amount to an attempt to make the truth more palatable, less challenging.

It is easy to believe that God would send someone to do His bidding. But to believe that God Himself would come from Heaven and take on human nature – well, that is more demanding.

It is still true, however. The bolder claim is not false simply because it is bolder.

People generally do not like being under authority, so here again, if Christianity can be reduced to just one among many religions, without having any special authority, then we are free to adopt a more relaxed view of the moral law. We can do what we like, in effect.

The right position -  we say He is both God and Man. That it is a great honour to mankind to have God come and join us.

We know we do not deserve it but we marvel at God's generosity in doing that.

We will not try to deny it or say that it cannot happen.

We welcome His teachings and the discipline that goes with them, because they help us to find the right course and stay on it.

This way we can get all our thoughts and desires into the right place.

Our Lord is appealing to us to have the right idea of Him (Gospel) and this will make the Church a lot stronger.

He knew the wolves would come (Mt 7,15), and the cunning serpents, who would tempt the faithful (cf Mt 4,1-11).

He needed the Church to be strong. He promises to send the Holy Spirit, who will bring that strength.

Again, we are tempted to downplay the scope of salvation by offering excuses. I am not a saint; I cannot be that good; it is too hard.

But His mercy will forgive and empower us to live at a higher level of holiness.

He wants all His disciples to be at top strength, interacting with Him and processing His will revealed through trusted means (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium).

If we give due prominence to Our Lord’s divinity we will have a stronger sense of obligation that we really need to take Him as seriously as He expects from us, and a stronger sense of the power that we can call upon. It is a life-changing, life-defining realization

The words at the Last Supper are for us now, as for disciples then. Ask in His name and good things will happen (Jn 16,24).

We have not been at top strength but even so a lot of good things have happened.

If we pray seeking to believe, we will receive the faith and it will become clearer.

There will still be mysteries but we will know enough to know which path to take. We develop a more reliable sense of what God wants, always of course keeping within the boundaries of the faith.

The Lord has left us in terms of visible presence. But in so many ways we can still reach Him. Let us take Him as He is, God and Man, and not try to change the truth to suit ourselves.

May the Lord guide and bless His Church in the years ahead. Amen

 

4th Sunday after Easter 15 May 2022 Sermon

4^th Sunday after Easter 15 May 2022 Resistance to grace

Imagine you are on a sinking ship and you fall into the ocean. Most people in that situation would be glad to grab onto a passing plank, or lifeboat. Thus they might be rescued (saved).

This level of salvation is easy to want, but in spiritual terms it seems to be more complicated.

Save my body if I am drowning, but leave my soul out of it! No, the soul is more important than the body. It is worse to sin than to die. We can pray for both but if you had to save one, take the soul.

There are various reasons why people resist the  mercy of God.

There is a very strong sense of individualism in the world today. People are reluctant to follow any particular creed or teaching regarding moral matters. They dispute that anyone or anything can tell them what to do.

They might say they do not need saving, in the spiritual sense. They are going along quite well, in their own estimation. They have no sins that need forgiving, nothing to answer for before God, they say.

It may be simply that they do not want to give up their sins, being enslaved to them.

Or it may be that they want to be set free from sin but cannot imagine how that would be possible. They are lacking in hope.

There are many impeding factors at work. Behind it all is the devil himself. Any way he can confound and confuse he will do so.

Many have responded to the offer of mercy, and for that, Thanks be to God. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. (Lk 15,10)

Some of those people go on to be great ambassadors for God's mercy (eg St Mary Magdalene, St Augustine)

The Church continues in the name of Christ, to cut through all resistance, trying to get to the heart of people, so that they will see the truth and come to full spiritual life. No more argument or dispute but humbly accepting His mercy.

Truth can hurt certainly, but it brings joy once we get through the tentacles of resistance.

The captives break free and are glad of it.  (cf Ps 125 (126))

To be the bearer of good news should be easy but because of all the resistance it tends to be hard, and even dangerous. See how many missionaries have become martyrs.

History shows that instead of repenting it is easier to kill the messenger, cf John the Baptist, or Christ Himself. They tried to keep Him quiet because His message would upset the status quo. Countless other martyrs have had the same experience.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord is explaining that we need to be patient and work with the subtle activity of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will make clear what we need to understand.

There is so much to be discovered about God, and what it means to live in union with Him.

Once ‘pulled from the water’ we then have to live our whole lives on this basis, that our true life is with God, and our true home in Heaven.

We do the best we can, starting from wherever we are now, and growing with God's help into a deeper understanding. We live the truth, proclaim it, and are even prepared to suffer for it.

We want to help save people, not just bodies but souls, where it really counts.

May the Holy Spirit continue to guide everyone to wisdom and holiness of life.

3rd Sunday after Easter 8 May 2022 Sermon

 3^rd Sunday after Easter 8 May 2022  Seeing God

 In a little while you will not see Me, says Our Lord, referring first to the Crucifixion, and then to   theAscension. And then – for the latecomers like us – the long wait before He comes again.

 But we also shall ‘see’ Him, not generally with the physical eyes, but in other ways. 

 He could show Himself to the whole world and resolve all doubt as to His existence, but He is pursuing another path. 

We would love to see Him physically but we can make do with other ways. It must be for our own good how He sets about things. 

He wants us to have the best that can be had. By not making Himself obvious He is forcing us to dig deeper and we will benefit from doing that. 

He may be invisible to eyes and ears, but He can be perceived by those who love Him.

We can find Him in His works, such as Nature. He is a master craftsman (Prov 8,30) and every day shows forth His work in all its variety and colour. There is great beauty all around, even in a world infested by sin..

But more strongly still we see Him in the great love it requires to save a wayward and ungrateful people. He not only creates; He saves.

We find Him in His teaching and in His manner. He takes us to a new level of morality, unheard of before – forgive your enemies! If we are sensitive enough we will see Him there.

If we do what He commands we will see Him more clearly still, in our own lives and in the wider society. His kingdom will come among us if enough obey Him.

This is what he wants. He wants disciples who are fighting fit, absolutely committed to belief in Him, not hampered by doubt or fear but able to operate as the apostles in those early joyful days.

Because we cannot see Him we are tempted to think we are all alone, but He is always close.

In certain situations we are very careful how we speak because of the company we are in. Well, we should speak and act as though Our Lord were right at our elbow.

We find Him in the encouragement He offers when we feel down and out. He will hear the cry of the poor, of the downtrodden. That can be us sometimes.

It is more difficult when others around us generally do not have much faith. Not seeing God, because not looking, and not sensitive to His presence they go about their business.

But as we see, there are ways of keeping Him close.

He is present in the Eucharist, His strongest presence, and which will benefit us if we receive devoutly.

Then there is His word, His teaching through the Church, and all the inspirational teaching and writing over 2000 years.

Certainly, He is present ‘enough’ that we should not feel abandoned.

Even in our sins and mistakes we can find Him, forgiving and encouraging us, teaching us through experience.

Few have faith strong enough to keep this awareness all the time, but we can grow in our ability to perceive Him.

And there are the prophecies fulfilled … His birth, death, resurrection, ascension – these have all happened and we can draw upon them.

This life is sometimes called an exile; this is not our true home but we make it as liveable as we can. At least let us discard the idea that Our Lord has somehow abandoned us.

We long for the fulfilment of those promises still to come. One day we will see Him face to face, physically. We will be very glad then that we have persevered now.

 

 

St Joseph the Worker 1 May 2022 Sermon

St Joseph the Worker 1 May 2022     

St Joseph is a strong and reassuring presence, dependable, reliable.

Advertising often uses such terms. If you want a product that will last, come to us. If you want someone who can do the job, call on one of our people.

If you want someone to be husband of the Blessed Virgin, and foster father of the Christ child you know where to look! Or at least, God knew where to look.

Joseph shows us the importance of being a support to others who may be more brilliant than ourselves. Great people stand on the shoulders of others. He made it easier for Mary and Jesus to be who they had to be. Joseph himself seems to fall into the shadows by comparison, yet no one else would have done it as well as he did. He was very good at not being noticed, despite his great holiness.

We should not seek or even want higher office in the Church. On the other hand, we should be totally available to do God's will.

When we read the lives of saints we find a regular theme, that they did not want to be Pope or Bishop but accepted the position out of obedience and then did a great job.

This is the ideal combination. A genuine humility that makes us aware of our unworthiness to do God's work; coupled with a spirit of obedience that will do anything God asks, without question or argument.

St Joseph was one such person, and probably the best of all of them.

In his case it was not any splendid title he was adopting; it was a role that would not be recognized until after he was dead.

People did not say of him, as he walked down the street – there is the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary; there is the foster father of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. The Holy Family kept its riches secret. The truths contained in that house were too valuable to be thrown out amongst the community. Everything had to be done at the right time and in the right way.

The claim on Joseph’s humility had another element as well. He was not consulted about any of the events regarding the coming of Christ into the world.

These days there would be meetings and discussions about such things. In Joseph’s case he was just given orders.

In four separate dreams he was given instructions which he promptly obeyed. Take Mary as your wife; go to Egypt; come back from Egypt; live in Nazareth. (cf Matthew, chapters 1 and 2)

He obeyed these commands without knowing what would happen next. Or what it would all lead to. Like a good soldier, taking orders.

What was so good about Joseph was that he did not think he was so good.

He did not, and would not assert himself against God.

The emptier the vessel the more fully it can be filled.

God can take someone who is responsive, and do wonders with such a person. If we show ourselves willing to do God’s will, He will take up that willingness and give us things to do. And if we succeed in those things He will give more talents, and more work.

We are still unworthy but there is a rightness in accepting God’s commission.

We pray for detachment from earthly honours; for an absolute desire at all times to please God – the highest goal; for the grace to do what must be done.

To work for Him, as St Joseph did – whatever it takes.

St Joseph, pray for us.