Tag: confession

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Set the World on Fire

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Set Your World on Fire!

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm: Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4
Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

“I have come to set the earth on fire,” (Luke 12:49).

Okay…what does this mean?

Jesus came to set fire to the earth. This is very often interpreted to mean the fire of the Holy Spirit which will be set upon the earth after Jesus endures the baptism of his passion and death.<1> But Jesus goes on in this same verse to say, “…how I wish it were already blazing!” And then he goes on to say that his message will divide people and divide families. Why? What’s going on here?

Well, I think it’s too easy to get caught up in the mechanics of life. It’s too easy to be caught up in all the things this world tells us are important or necessary – contradictory messages that you can have it all, so apply for that new credit card, against the message of saving and investing. It can be so confusing, and at the same time so tempting. We’re drawn into the realities of this world, often out of necessity, and find that we work and work and hardly get ahead in life. I often wonder if the enemy hasn’t rigged the system to keep so many of us distracted from what’s really important – to keep our eyes off Jesus. And so, we get caught in the rat race – a proverbial hamster wheel from which many will never escape. The rat race traps us in into mediocre and unfulfilled lives.

But Jesus came to set the world on fire! He came to smash the hamster wheel, if we’ll let him. He came to lift us out of the rat race, if we accept him. He came to offer us the chance to be the people we are called to be.

So, where do we start? The answer to that question is an invitation to discipleship, which is the overall theme of our readings today.

First, as we heard in the Letter to Hebrews, we need to confess our sins, (Heb 12:1). Why? Look, happiness and fulfillment aren’t out there somewhere. You can’t go out and try to find your happiness and you will never find it in a cherry-red convertible. Happiness isn’t something that will magically come tomorrow. Happiness is available to us right here and right now. We need to confront the sin and the pain and hurt in our lives so that we can let it go and move on and experience the joy that Jesus offers us right now – today!

Second, we need to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That means we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, as we find in today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. For many of us, this means reigniting the fire of our baptism. Allowing the Holy Spirit to set fire to our lives means that we surrender our attachment to this world – to everything which distracts us, like money, possessions, control, social media. By detaching ourselves, we then can take our rightful place as stewards using wealth and resources as tools rather than allowing ourselves to become slaves to the tools.

Next, we need to deepen our relationship with Jesus. We do this in several different ways. We can try to learn more about Jesus intellectually, like participating in Bible study programs or like going to talks offered by your church or in your area. We build on the intellectual by spending time with Jesus in prayer and in the mass. In our Catholic tradition, there are even opportunities to sit with Jesus during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. But here’s the catch: we mustn’t try this exclusively alone. Yes, there are some aspects of this we do as individuals, but Jesus didn’t just come to save you and to save me. He came to us in the context of the community. That’s what the Kingdom of God is – a community. So, we need to reach out to those who are on the same journey we are on and discover the gift of seeing Jesus in their eyes. That’s beautiful! That’s a gift!

Finally, we need to share the gift of faith, the gift of salvation, the gift to rise above the rat race with other people. We need to witness to the one savior, Jesus Christ, to his church, to the community of believers. We need to witness to the fullness of salvation available through Jesus Christ. <2> This is what it means to be a missionary disciple.

Setting the hamster wheel a blaze, spending more time with Jesus and sharing the saving message of Jesus Christ and the gift of his church on earth are not popular messages. Walking this path could strain friendships and divide families. This path is not easy. In our first reading, they threw Jeremiah in a cistern for speaking out against an unjust war. Think about St. Teresa of Calcutta. Yes, she dedicated her life to serving those on the margins, but she fought years of doubt and depression in order to carry out God’s will. Or St. Agatha, the twelve-year-old girl who endured all kinds of torture, including disfigurement and sexual assault, but she would not deny her faith in Jesus Christ. Bishop St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More refused to go along with a man who wanted to make himself head of the Church in England and paid for it with their lives. And of course, they crucified Jesus for his radical message. <3>

But Jesus endured cross so that you and I might not, “grow weary and lose heart,” (Heb 12:2-3). We are challenged as disciples to keep running the race, (Heb 12:1). We are emboldened by the virtue of fortitude, which is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a quality inherent in the human person. By allowing the fires of discipleship to consume the yoke that enslaves us to this world, we can help others rise above the distractions which keep our eyes off Jesus, and we can introduce others to Jesus Christ. Our salvation cannot be found in our bank ledger or our in our possessions. Those things are fleeting and can easily be lost or taken away from us. Our salvation comes from the undeserved, unmerited grace of God. Our salvation comes from the scandal of the cross. Our salvation comes from the blood of Jesus Christ. Our salvation comes through the fire of the Holy Spirit. Are you ready to set your world fire?

Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on these questions this week.

  1. We didn’t get a chance to discuss it, but who do you think the “cloud of witnesses” in the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews refers to? What do you think everyone in the cloud of witnesses has in common?
  2. Does the radical unconditional love that God has for you cause resistance or division in your heart? If yes, why?

I think by doing our homework, we will be able to become more authentic witnesses as the disciples Jesus calls us to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Are you going to do it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Notes:
<1> The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018).
<2> A History of The Christian Tradition by Thomas D. McGonigle and James F. Quigley, Paulist Press (1996).
<3> St. Teresa of Calcutta
St. Agatha
St. John Fisher
St. Thomas More
St. Catherine of Sienna

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Are You Ready?

A blurry photo of colorful lights reflected in water with the caption keep your lamps burning Luke 12:34

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
Psalm: Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48

Are you ready? The servants Jesus tells us about in today’s parable are. The lamps are lit, their loins girt and they are waiting for their master to knock on the door. They don’t know when he is coming, but they know he will come at some point. What a great example of faith, right?

What is faith? I’d like to share an example from one of our family’s favorite movies – the 1994 movie Santa Claus with Tim Allen. I know this is a secular example, but hang with me a minute, okay?

Let me set the scene a little. Neil, played by Judge Reinhold, is Charlie’s stepfather. Charlie, played by Eric Lloyd, is Scott Calvin’s son. Scott Calvin is played by Tim Allen who of course becomes Santa Claus, only, shhh because it’s a secret!

In the movie, there’s a scene where Neil challenges Charlie’s belief that his dad is Santa Claus. He says, “What about Santa’s reindeer? Have you ever seen a reindeer fly?” Charlie answers, “Yes,” to which Neil responds, “Well, I haven’t.” And here’s Charlie’s faith-filled response. He asks Neil, “Have you ever seen a million dollars?” Neil says, “No.” Then Charlie says, “Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” Absolutely brilliant!

Okay, let’s come back to our readings today. We know Jesus exits, and we know he will return as he promised, but we don’t know when. To believe, to accept this belief and more importantly to live out this belief in our everyday lives requires faith.

The Israelites in today’s first reading listened to God and prepared the Passover as they waited for deliverance. In the second reading, Abraham left his homeland for the Promised Land even though he didn’t know where it was. They believed that God would be true to his promises. We can do that too!

But faith isn’t just believing. Faith is about acting on what you believe. It’s about taking the steps necessary that flow from your belief. The servants in today’s parable didn’t just believe their master would return. They prepared for his return by lighting the lamps, etc. How can we take steps that flow from our belief in Jesus Christ?

Well, there’s a number of things we can do to be ready. We can go to confession. Now, I know you might say, “Whoa there, deacon! Slow your roll! I don’t need to confess my sins to a man.” Okay, I get it. I live in the shadow of Zwingli and Luther, so I am familiar with the concern. But confession isn’t for the Church and it isn’t about the man – the priest. No, confession, or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is about you and I consciously, mindfully setting aside time to be honest – brutally honest with ourselves about the sin in our lives – the sins that cause us to turn our backs on God and on other people. These are big sins that rupture our relationships. We call these mortal sins. During confession, we take responsibility for those sins. During confession we verbalize our sins – we say it! We own it! And we ask God to forgive us. Why? So that we can get back on a level playing field – so that we can be healed. In the language of the Church, it’s so that we can be in right relation with God and his creation. That’s why we call it reconciliation. Through the grace of confession, we are reconciled with God and one another.

What else can I do? Go to mass! We are social beings created for one another. So, we need to step out of the comfort of our individual lives and join the community in worship of the God who saves. Through our participation in the mass, we ask God to forgive us for little sins in our lives. We call these venial sins, things like I bit my sister and kicked the cat, or maybe I bit the cat and kicked my sister. Isn’t that awesome? Not the biting or the kicking, but just coming to mass can help me clean the slate.

But God is so generous that the mass – our praise and worship – is not all about him. He sends us home with gifts. In the mass, he feeds us through his Word, through the Scriptures, and then he feeds again, this time with the Word made flesh, that is, Jesus Christ who is made present to us through the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not a symbol.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” We believe the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.

Jesus says to us in John’s Gospel 6:54, “…whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Now that’s just awesome! And these are just a few examples of the myriad of ways we can come to experience God.

But that’s not all! No, through the Sacraments, Jesus offers to heal our wounds and nourish us while we wait for his return. We are not called to be pew potatoes! No! God has blessed us all with gifts – gifts that must be shared. Just like eating bon bons while binge-watching a show, if we don’t use the gifts God gives us, then our spiritual gluttony can leave us feeling like sloths. We need to be active. In today’s parable, the servants didn’t just sit around. They actively prepared for their master’s return so that they would be ready for when ever he might come. The same is true for us.

We are showered with gifts, like talents and abilities, and we are nourished with Scripture and the Eucharist, and our wounds are mended through the grace offered to us in the sacramental life of the Church, like Reconciliation and Anointing, so that we can go out into the world and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who can’t come to church, don’t come to church, or won’t come to church. That’s what discipleship is all about.

Jesus offers us salvation. He offers us eternal life. He offers us a chance to be healed, to learn our true purpose and to live our purpose in this world. So, our task as disciples is to reach out to those who don’t know him, and to invite them to meet Jesus. Sometimes that means talking with our family and our friends and indeed strangers and ask them if they’d like to meet Jesus. Are ready to come to the waters of baptism to be cleansed – to be healed – to be united with God through Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. All it takes is faith.

Homework!

  1. I suggest we ask ourselves, “Am I practicing active waiting? For example, when was the last time I went to Reconciliation or when was the last time I went to mass?”
  2. We can ask ourselves, “How do I practice active waiting? Do I reach out to share my love for Jesus with others? Or am I a pew potato?”

I think by doing our homework, we can practice our faith as the disciples we are all called to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Resources:

  1. What is the Holy Eucharist? EWTN Q&A on the Eucharist
  2. Bishop Barron on Catholics Misunderstanding the Eucharist
  3. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers – My Encounter – Eucharist
  4. Why We Have to Attend Mass and Receive Communion in a State of Grace
  5. Why Non-Catholics Can’t Receive Communion
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Third Sunday of Lent

picture of a fruitless fig tree, the landlord and the laborer

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Readings
First Reading: Exodus 3:1-8A, 13-15
Psalm: Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Hello! Just a special note about the readings today and for the next two Sundays. For people preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil, parishes have the option of selecting readings from the A Cycle. Today, I’m going to reflect on Gospel for the readings from the C Cycle, Luke 13:1-9, the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

The central theme of all the readings today, speak to us about God’s mercy and compassion. In today’s Gospel, for example, we hear about an owner who asks his gardener to cut down a tree that will not bear fruit. But the gardener asks for one more year to see if he can cultivate. This represents God’s mercy.

Now I think it’s easy enough to look at that particular reading and to say to yourself, clearly, we’re talking about non-believers. But I think there’s another message here. There are many people who claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they come to church all the time, but like our fig tree, their lives bear no fruit. What fruit? Well, St. Paul gives us some examples in his letter to the Galatians – the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruits manifest in the way we live our lives. For example, doing good works – helping those who need help – is an example of how our fruits manifest.

In other words, is there any real conversion? Are they loving, or mean to those around them? Do they try to get along, or are they intolerant? Are they nice, or are they short-tempered or a bully?

Accepting Jesus Christ is more than just saying words. It has to mean real, authentic conversion. This time of Lent is a great opportunity to reflect on our faith life. Some people ask, why Lent? Lent isn’t in the Bible, so Lent is not necessary. Well, is biblically based, but you see, the Church in her wisdom knows that life is too busy and most of us don’t take the time to stop and reflect on the important things in our life – our families, our purpose, and our relationship with Jesus Christ. So Lent, and Advent for that matter, are times set aside to encourage us to slow down and think about this life that we’re blessed with – to think about our purpose. Is my life bearing fruit?

So, what prevents our life from bearing fruit? Sin. And I’m not talking about little sins. I’m talking about the big ones, like adultery and habitual sins like abusing drugs, alcohol or indulging in sins that exploit people like greed and pornography. This is a good time to ask ourselves if we burdened by sins like these and repent. Repentance doesn’t mean just asking for forgiveness. I can’t just sit on my back porch with a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise and say, “Jesus, forgive me!” I can’t just walk into a confessional without changing anything in my life. Repentance means more than that. Yes, we need to ask forgiveness, but it also means making amends to anyone we’ve hurt because of our sins and committing ourselves, with the grace of God, to not repeat these sins – to change our lives.

And that leads us to our homework today. Homework! Nourished by Jesus in the Word proclaimed in the Eucharist, ask yourself:

  1. What needs changing in my life right now?
  2. What steps am I taking this Lent to make sure that my faith bears fruit, perhaps through good works?

Got it? Are you going to do? Good! May each of us come to know the grace and peace of Jesus Christ. And may Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!