12/17/2011 – Homily for Saturday of the third week of Advent - Matthew 1:1-17 –

Today, we hear the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, which recounts the genealogy of Jesus back many generations. It is quite a list, with some names that are not so easy to pronounce.  As I was looking over this reading a couple of days ago, I thought about how Sister Paulinus would read it, how she would find a creative & entertaining way to read all of these names of the men & women in Jesus’ family tree.  Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestors all the way back to the patriarch of the Jewish people, Abraham, to the great Jewish forefathers Jacob & King David.  There are interesting & intriguing & sometimes very scandalous stories linked with the individuals listed in Jesus’ genealogy. 

I know that genealogy & learning about one’s ancestry has become a popular activity among many Americans in recent years.  I know that many of our parishioners are very proud of their ancestors and their heritage, and rightfully so.  Since most of us originally came from immigrant ancestors from distant lands, many of us want to learn more about our roots, about where we came from.  For the people of ancient Israel, knowing one’s heritage & one’s blood line were important, since heritage & lineage determined whether one was considered clean or pure in a religious sense.  Matthew wanted to show that Jesus was indeed in the line of God’s chosen people, the rightful heir to the throne of David, the one to whom God fulfilled the promises he made to David & Abraham, that he would send a savior & a king to Israel to rule over them & to deliver them from their enemies.

I wonder if we see our own spiritual history in the genealogy we hear today.  We indeed come from this spiritual lineage, as we have had our faith passed down to us by our own ancestors, from those who learned their faith in the apostolic tradition.  As we continue in the season of Advent, in this season of waiting & expecting & preparing, in this season of following the signs that God gives to us, let us give thanks for those who passed down the faith to us.  Let us give thanks for the spiritual genealogy of which we are a part. 

12/16/2011 – Homily for Friday of third week of Advent – Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8

         We are given a very rich, multi-faceted message from the prophet Isaiah.  God tells us that we're to live out justice as an intrinsic part of our faith.  To be a witness to the world, we are to keep the Sabbath holy, we are to follow the laws and precepts of the Lord.  The Lord tells us that his house is to be a house of prayer for all, that the burnt offerings and sacrifices of the foreigners will be accepted and welcome at the Temple of the Lord.  Back in October of this year, Pope Benedict welcomed leaders from all different religions and faith traditions to Assisi, Italy to pray for world peace, to show that we all need to unite our prayers and efforts together in order to work toward the common good of the world and of all humanity. 

         Today’s reading might help us reflect upon the ways that we live out the Lord’s justice in our lives, how we welcome the stranger into our parish and into the Lord’s house of prayer.  As communities, here in Belzoni and in Yazoo City, we held community prayer services in commemoration of Thanksgiving.  Bishop Latino is also a great witness to us in this respect, as he always works very closely with the bishops of the Episcopal and Methodist churches, especially in speaking out on topics of social justice that affect our community.  We ourselves are in the process of preparing gift bags for members of our community during this Advent and Christmas season. So, how are we doing in reaching out to those who are in need around, those in our parish community and those in our community in general?  How is our parish a welcoming house of prayer for all?

12/15/2011 – Homily for Thursday of third week of Advent – Isaiah 54:1-10

     We are called to repentance & conversion & reconciliation this holy season of Advent, but perhaps something is holding us back.  Perhaps we feel so guilty or we are so remorseful for our sins that we can’t get past them.  Perhaps we can’t forgive ourselves for something, or we don’t believe that God or others can forgive us.  Perhaps we have been away from our prayer life for so long that we don’t know how to get back in touch with the divine in our lives, to get beyond just going through the motions.  Perhaps there are those in our community who have been away from the Church for so long that they are ashamed to come back, or they don’t think God is even there for us any longer. 

     Yet, listen to the message we hear from Isaiah today.  The prophet tells us that we should not fear, that we won’t be put to shame, that we have no need to blush, that we will not be disgraced.  We may have felt abandoned, but God will take us back with great tenderness.  What a wonderful message for us to hear this holy season of Advent. 

     When Isaiah first preached this message in his day, Israel felt very abandoned.  The people had turned their backs on God, they had sinned, they were defeated by their enemies, they had been taken into exile into Babylon away from the Temple of Jerusalem which had been the center of their faith.  They wondered where the presence of God had gone.  At this moment in our own lives, perhaps we can relate to what the people of ancient Israel were feeling at this low point in their history of faith.

     In a little more than a week, we will celebrate Christmas Eve, we will celebrate the birth of Christ into our world.  We have almost completed our Advent journey, our time of preparation for the arrival of the baby Jesus. It is not too late for us to prepare, to welcome him into our hearts & into our lives.  It is not too late for us to repent & to see the ways that God wants us to change.  Let us look inside of our hearts – let us feel the love & mercy of God that is reaching out to us today.  

12/14/2011 – Homily for Wednesday of the third week of Advent - Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25

         Isaiah is the prophet we often hear from during our holy season of preparation as we journey toward to birth of our Savior at Christmas.  The Church has chosen Isaiah for us to hear so frequently during advent because his prophecies and messages bring us the words we need to hear as we prepare, as we wait, as we stay on guard. 

         Today, the message Isaiah brings us about God does not mince any words, telling us that our God alone is the Lord, that there is no other.  God created the heaven and earth not so it could be forever empty, but that we, his creation, could inhabit them. If this is true, then we need to see ourselves as human beings not as aliens thrust upon this foreign planet, but rather an intrinsic part of the story of creation.   Moreover, if this is what God had in mind, we need to really think about how we live our lives and how we take care of the earth.  So often, during human history, humanity has seen the earth and the rest of creative as something we could exploit and use without much thought or many consequences.  Back in 1950, our earth only had 1 billion inhabitants – now we have over 7 billion. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?  How are we taking care of the world’s resources as a global community?  How are we Christians being good stewards and witnesses to our brothers and sisters in our world.

         God, the creator spirit, who made heaven and earth, who sent his son to be born in a manger in Bethlehem in ancient Israel as our Savior, is still at work in our world today.  His creator spirit is still leading us and guiding us.  It is still involved in our evolution as a planet and as his people.  Are we cooperating with him and following his plan in our lives? 

12/13/2011 – Homily for Tuesday of the third week of Advent – Matthew 21:28-32, Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13

        Perhaps we can identify with both of the sons described in today's Gospel story told by Jesus.  Sometimes we are like the son who initially says “no” to his father, but then later goes into the field to work.  Other times we can say “yes,” but then never go out to work, just like the second son.  Have we ever told ourselves that we would do whatever God willed us to do if only we could discern his will, only to disobey him when it comes right down to it?  How often do we put our own will before the will of God in our lives? 

         Similarly, the prophet Zephaniah proclaims woe to the rebellious & tyrannical city that will not turn to God, that will not trust in God.  But God tells the city that it need not be ashamed of its misdeeds & its rebellions, that God is going to wipe away clean all of its sins, that God will remake that city.  If we believe that God indeed has the power to do this, what is stopping us from the repentance & conversion we need in our lives during this holy season of Advent? 

         May we see the mercy and grace of God that are there for us in the reality in our lives, because they are there if we would only look and recognize them.  God calls us to continually look for his will in our lives, to discern where he is calling us.  As we enter the final days of Advent before our Christmas season, may we trust in God & prepare a place for him in our hearts.