2nd Sunday Ordinary Time (B) 14 Jan 2024 Sermon

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time (B) 14 Jan 2024 Body and soul

Sometimes people wonder why Adam and Eve were punished so heavily for just one sin. After all, anyone can make a mistake!

It becomes clearer when we realize that before the sin Adam had perfect control of all his thoughts and feelings; he did not suffer from the sort of weakness we experience now.

So the sin he committed was far more serious than it seems to us. It was a major breach of the established order which he knew. It was not just a matter of ‘eating an apple’.

Because of that sin the harmony the human race had enjoyed was shattered. From that time on flesh and spirit would be at war with each other, and concupiscence (sinful desire, tendency to sin) would be a dominant presence.

This is why we experience, as even St Paul did (Romans 7,18-19) that conflict between what we mean to do and what we actually do. We make good resolutions, then find that we cannot carry them out. We do not have full control of our desires and actions.

Should we despair of this? No need. We have a remedy for disordered desires, and that remedy is Jesus Christ.

He was the Second Adam, the New Man. He restored to us the fully integrated human nature possessed by Adam before the sin.

Jesus Himself was sinless. This means not only that He kept all the various rules and commandments, but He did so easily. It was easy because He had perfect control over all His thoughts, words, actions. He was not struggling to keep the rules – it came ‘naturally’.

Natural, because Jesus was able, without effort, to want the same things as God wanted.

We tend to view commandments as an imposition, as hard to keep, and not very desirable either. We are not allowed to do certain things we do want to do, and told we must do certain other things we do not want to do.

If we had what Jesus had, we would never see God’s commands as a burden, but as a delight. ‘Lord, how I love Your law’ (Ps 119, 97).

We can come to this same state by joining ourselves to Jesus. This is what we do when we pray, or receive a Sacrament, and especially at Mass.

We are transformed as we draw closer to Him, study His word, pray to Him. We take on His mind, His heart, His very nature.

We cannot be divine but we can be human, and Jesus was both. We become human as He was human, fully obedient to God, fully integrated, a ‘whole’ person (another way of saying ‘holy’).

Salvation is not just a keeping of a whole set of rules, arbitrarily imposed on us. It is a becoming of the person each of us is meant to be.

We realize we have not been deprived of anything by being Christian, but actually enriched. We are the lucky ones to come so close to the heart of all truth and beauty.

The closer we come to Him the better it gets.

So we joyfully answer His call as demonstrated in the first reading (Samuel) and the Gospel (Andrew and Peter).

In the second reading, (1 Corinthians 6) the Church’s sexual teaching, so much criticised and questioned, is seen to make sense, as being the proper understanding of body and soul.

Once again the passions and desires are able to be controlled and channelled according to our true human identity.

Critics of the Church will say we are out of date. No, we are ahead of the times, being able to find a remedy for disordered passions, and reclaiming holiness of life as the new normal.

May we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity (Offertory prayer at Mass)

The Epiphany 7 Jan 2024 Sermon

The Epiphany 7 Jan 2024 Discovering God

If  Christmas is God's offer to us; Epiphany is our response to Him.

We need God's help to make the right response. There are a number of areas where we could go wrong.

God had so much to teach the human race, and He is still doing that.

The people of that time thought there were many gods. The Jews thought so too, and that the real God who had been looking after them was mainly for them, not for all the nations of the world.

God's plan was to make Himself known to the whole world, but gradually. He worked first with the Jewish race, demonstrating His loyalty to them, forgiving them constantly, teaching them new understandings (such as the need to bless enemies instead of cursing them).

They were the ‘chosen people’, not to the exclusion of others but as a spearhead to make other nations realize that they also could possess this same God.

God loves all people, as we know, but that was not well-known in the Jewish world.

They thought God was there to fight their battles and put down all the other people. The idea of converting their warlike neighbours did not come easily to them.

For us in our time we can see the coming of the wise men as indicating the Gentile world’s acceptance of the one true God. The wise men knelt before one greater than themselves and their offerings were accepted.

Every knee should bow before Jesus Christ, and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Ph 2,10-11). Go and baptize all nations, Jesus said (Mt 28, 19). 

Christianity is often criticised for its missionary past, seeking to bring the light of Christ to foreign nations.

There were no doubt many things done wrongly, but in principle it has to be a good thing to offer Christ to others.

He is light to the blind, health to the sick – the answer to every question, the fulfilment of every need.

It would be a crime not to offer this Good News to others, keeping in mind that it is only ‘offered’ not forced.

We can improve on mistakes and sins of the past, but the idea of converting people to Christ is something that Christ Himself wants.

This has extra urgency because, as the Jews had to discover, and so have we – there is only one true God.

Christianity blows apart the idea of various gods looking after different areas or purposes. One God is enough for all places and purposes, and this God is found in Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ is God as well as Man has been a stumbling block for many over the ages.

Another problem we face today is belief in NO God, that is, Atheism. Many deny there is any sort of god running the universe. They base this, usually, on the number of things that go wrong in the world.

Things go wrong not because God is absent, but because the human race is absent to Him, that is they do not honour and obey Him.

The Epiphany feast invites us to correct all deviations from the truth, to renew our faith and trust in the true God, found in the baby Jesus, in His identity and His mission - Who He is and What He came to do.

The real God's commands are clear, if difficult; He will help us understand them and put them into operation.

Worshipping the Christ child is one part of this giant pattern in which we are privileged to find ourselves included.

O come let us adore Him.

 

 

Holy Family 31 Dec 2023 Sermon

Holy Family 31 December 2023   Standards of holiness

It is an interesting thing about human nature how we find ways of cutting corners.

For example, in traffic, if the speed limit is 25 most people will do say, 40. It becomes a kind of unspoken conspiracy that this is just what one does. It is a sort of compromise we make with ourselves that if we keep most laws most of the time it is ok to break a few here and there.

This can apply also to matters of the faith: Jesus tells us, But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Lk 6,27-31)

We translate that as meaning I will treat others as they treat me. If they are good to me I will be good to them; if they harm me I will harm them, or at least not do them any good.

Jesus offers us something beyond the normal ways of doing things. He gives us a way of keeping the rules which will make us happier than we would be by relaxing them.

The key to the whole operation is that God treats us better than we treat Him, and He wants us to apply the same logic to each other.

Today we honour the Holy family, where the ideal was achieved, and that family forever becomes the model for all families.

One might protest that the Holy Family is too holy to be a realistic model. It is true no one else can be that good, but we can at least learn the principle of how it works.

That principle is that if all members of a family give more than they receive then an abundance of good things will come from that.

If everyone does what he/she should it will work. cf second reading: Colossians 3,12-21, each give way to the other.

This is how marriage is supposed to work, and all the other relationships in a family. This is going to be a happy home and fruitful for the surrounding community.

Whatever you are, be the best you can be (father, sister, grandmother etc). Here there is a danger of watering down the demands, like not obeying the traffic rules – giving less rather than more.

Being normal, like everyone, is not enough! We must be like Christ, or Mary, or Joseph. We strive for excellence in other areas (sport, study, appearance etc). We can do the same at home - we push ourselves harder in terms of kindness, courtesy etc.

And we do not seek a medal for being good. It is only our duty (cf Lk 17,9-10). However, there is a ‘medal’ and it comes in the form of eternal life.

The way of Christ is different from the ways of the world; His way might seem impossible but is not so. It just takes a little reorientation.

It is not only possible to go His way but necessary.

All of the above can be forgiven where we fail. So we can think of ourselves as apprentices, getting it better each time, always aiming higher.

The Holy Family welcomes us to come and knock on their door! They have much to teach us.

Christmas Day 2023 Sermon

Christmas Day 2023 The kindness of God

Zachary notes the loving-kindness of the heart of our God, who visits us like the dawn from on high (Lk 1, 78).

God is generous; He has loving-kindness towards us. It is His generous loving nature that motivates Him to create whomever and whatever He does create. He did not need anything extra as to His own existence; He is all-sufficient, and cannot suffer pain.

But it is in the nature of love to offer itself to others. Love implies the need for a beloved. God had His own community of love in the Three Persons of the Trinity, but wanted to go further, to include human beings.

This is what God was looking for. He did not need us, but He takes pleasure in seeing us receive what He is giving. So He gives us a chance to do that.

We hear of something being the ‘chance of a lifetime’. Well, we have it here – the chance to base our lives around the will of God, to experience a share of the perfection of life found in God Himself.

God makes this possible by creating us, and all else that is needed.

To enable a more loving response from us, God gives us free will. It is a great privilege but it can be used wrongly.

And if it is used wrongly there will be all sorts of trouble, as we have seen in our time and in all ages of human history.

Will God abandon us because we have been so ungrateful? No, He has another card to play. He brings into operation another dimension of love, and that is Mercy.

Mercy is when Love gives itself even when not returned, even when brazenly rejected.

Today at Christmas especially we express our own sense of wonder at God's goodness.

We are moved to gratitude for His goodness, and shame for our lack of appreciation up to this point; not to mention the ongoing ingratitude of much of the world.

Christmas is part celebration of what we have achieved, and part prayer for what is still lacking.

God initiates, we respond.  The more we respond, the more the love of God can take hold in our world and its fortunes.

A world which truly seeks God would have many blessings presently unattainable.

Love enables more love.

This Love or Mercy will move sinners to repentance. They will see their sins in a new light and be ashamed of them; and they will have sufficient desire to renew their lives.

We can think of Jesus in the Crib, an apparently small presence, but all of God's infinity was concentrated at that moment – one place and one time; and those who could discern His presence and what it promised were filled with joy and hope.

We come along much later but we can benefit from Christ’s coming as much as those who were there that night.

We have been attempting to capture that scene ever since, and especially on this day of the year – to be as humble and focused as were those gathered around the Christ-child.

Many have lost belief in God's coming among us; they see the suffering but not the relief that comes with it.

One thing we can say: if more would obey more relief would be evident.

We can also say that God's plans take time, as He is working on such a grand scale, seeking to save every person on earth.

We must be patient if we want to see better days. Meanwhile we give God the chance to work His plans in us and through us, and we do as we sing to each other: O come let us adore Him.

3rd Sunday of Advent (B) 17 Dec 2023 Sermon

3^rd Sunday of Advent (B) 17 Dec 2023 Gaudete Sunday

We hear of people who have won the lottery but do not know it, and everyone is trying to work out who it is.

We could say such a person is in a happy state but does not know it.

We could say the same thing for the human race, only that we have done better than win the lottery by receiving the offer of salvation. Many do not know it; they do not know that God is their Creator and Saviour who is offering them daily help in this life, and then a glorious future life.

Too good to be true, perhaps? But it is true anyway.

Only a few can win the lottery but everyone can win eternal life.

Perhaps hardened by so much disappointment many cannot bring themselves to trust in such a happy prospect.

In this life we know so much and so many kinds of suffering that indeed it is easy to sink into a blend of cynicism and scepticism

God knows we find it hard so He keeps telling us how well-disposed to us He is. He encourages us to approach Him and place our needs before Him.

It is normally easy to tell someone good news. The one who receives the news is grateful and all is well.

In our case it is not so simple. We tell the good news to people that they can be saved and they might react angrily, or in any case simply refuse to believe.

It is complicated because our offer of good tidings requires a response which will include giving up of false gods, sinful ways – and this can be painful.

So it comes to this: receive the Good News which is free and forever. The only bit of small print is that you will need to live a regular life, keeping the commandments, loving one’s neighbour etc.

Some will refuse on the basis of that small print, but really we are streets ahead in terms of happiness if we go with God's offer.

We are accepting what He asks of us and what He offers by being here today. Our response may not be as complete as it needs to be but we are at least on the way.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day to take stock of where we stand with God and how happy we can be if we accept His terms.

The second reading tells to be happy at all times.

How can we be happy when so much is wrong with the world, and all of us could probably produce a list of things not to be happy about.

Well, we can be happy and sad at the same time.

An image that may help is that of a pool of water. The surface of the water can be turbulent, but deeper down the water is still.

We deal with turbulence in our lives, but we do not say that all of life turbulent.

Deep down we are calm, because joined to Jesus Himself, and He has the answers for every problem.

Psalm 1: we draw on His grace like a tree does from water.

So the reading goes on to say that we should give thanks to God for all things.

We are giving thanks not so much for the ‘things’ but for Christ who manages all things.

We regularly express our trust in Him to bring all things around to where they need to be.

Having Him on our side how can we not be happy?

He helps us, not necessarily removing all our troubles, but helping us to come through them in the best possible way.

This will include that we see our sins in a new light and are therefore able to change our attitudes or behaviour without regret. Even the sacrifices asked of us start to seem very small along side of the joy which is available to us.

2nd Sunday of Advent (B) 10 December 2023 Sermon

2^nd Sunday of Advent 10 December 2023 Character

When we are in trouble, among other things, we pray to God.

We know He can help us in every need, and has helped us a million times before.

He can help us in two ways – He can remove the trouble, or He can leave the trouble in place, and give us the necessary strength to deal with it.

Either way we come out happy. While we are enduring the trouble, however, it can seem like there is no help coming.

Many lose faith in God when the troubles seem too many and too hard to bear.

We might face the same temptation. Can we guarantee that we will not abandon our faith, even under great pressure?

God will rescue us, or strengthen us, or a bit of both. If we recognize this pattern in His ways of dealing with us we will feel a lot more secure.

As to rescuing us, we have guardian angels, who are known to have intervened supernaturally in saving lives and injuries. Many of these occasions we would not know because we do not see them, yet they do arise.

As to giving us the strength to deal with troubles, this also is a largely invisible thing, yet it is what God wants to do for us. He builds up our characters so that we become stronger people.

This way we become more able to cope with difficulties and overcome them – because we have more grace operating in us than before.

This can explain why God lets us suffer, always a sore point with the human race!

Even the good suffer, the best people (saints) most of all. This seems the wrong way round from one point of view. The good people should get it easy and the bad people hard (so human wisdom would have it). Eventually it will be that way, but God is acting to make the good people better, and grow to their full potential.

Consider your own life to this point. Can you recall a time when you felt God was letting you down? Can you see how you have benefited from going through such a time and you are still believing?

We learn and we become stronger through meeting adversity and overcoming it. We are stronger to deal with life, able to answer new challenges.

In the Advent season we hear of John the Baptist. He lived a hard penitential life, seeking in all things to do the will of God.

It is good to be comfortable, but better still to be pushing ourselves harder in seeking self-discipline, aided by God's grace.

God wants to make us stronger, and we find that we want it too.

It is much easier to live a happy life if we are strong. We can endure the pain more easily and do more good at the same time.

John denied himself much of what other people sought. And look at all he achieved. If he had been like everyone else, none of that would have happened.

Over a lifetime, it is what we have become that counts. What sort of a person am I, which way have I been heading?

God does not want us to see Him as just a fixer of problems, someone we call in an emergency, but only in emergencies (like a plumber or electrician).

His objective is that we come to know Him as He is, and not just what he can do for us.

Further, His objective is to make us good people, in His image; not just doing good but being good. Be you perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5,48).

1st Sunday of Advent (B) 3 December 2023 Sermon

1^st Sunday of Advent 3 December 2023 The coming of Christ

From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead - from the Apostles Creed

We believe it, but we may have trouble with this belief as it concerns the future. When things are in the future we can have difficulty trusting they will actually happen; or we find it hard to visualise something so far outside our experience.

We are on the adventure of our lives here, and for some things we just have to wait to see what they are like. Our concepts, our vocabulary are too limited to be able to see all that is coming.

What no eye has seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Co 2,9)

To add even more mystery we do not know the time of this event. There will be many who predict it too early, as many proposed dates have already gone by.

No amount of time or wrong predictions, however, can take anything away from the event itself.

What will happen on this day? Every person who has ever lived will come back to life. The cemeteries will be emptied; the sea will give up its dead.

Then each person will be judged according to the life he/she has lived. Have we lived as disciples of Christ? Or failing that, have we reached a state of true sorrow for not doing so?

We are judged when we die – this is called the particular judgment; and this judgment is ratified at the general judgment.

Jesus desires to save all, or as many as possible. Those who approach Him with sincere repentance He will forgive freely.

And joyfully: There is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15,7)

We can prepare for this event by seeking always to come closer to Jesus Christ – asking him for mercy, grace, and reassurance that He is with us to the end of days.

If we have lost any enthusiasm along the way it can be replenished.

If we have taken any wrong turn it can be made straight. (Lk 3,4-6)

He will come once more, in this spectacular way, but we can say He makes many other comings in the form of the Eucharist, in His word, in His hearing the prayers of all His disciples. He interacts with us in many ways, especially if we ask Him to do so.

We need these more subtle comings to help us stay on course for the final coming.

Salvation is a process rather than a moment. We make a commitment to seek a deeper union with Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Advent wreath reminds us that salvation takes time to sink in. Each week brings us closer to the fulness of His intervention. A little more light dawns on us as time goes by.

We are being prepared for Heaven and we have to get rid of whatever will not belong in Heaven. A clean-out of the soul is required.

The more we pray, the more we seek to be transformed, the more that clean-out will happen.

Advent is a season to raise our expectations. Advent reminds us why we need Christmas. We need God among us, and we need to be obeying Him, and thanking Him, and all else that goes with it. This will make the world more like the desired Kingdom of God. The more we recognize we need saving the more saving can take place.

So we pray constantly, Come, Lord Jesus!