House of Bread - House of Flesh

Sunday, December 26, 2010

House of Bread - House of Flesh

Homily from the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord - Year A

I’ve lived in Fort Wayne for only six months now and I’m starting to get to know my way around the city. It wasn’t always like that though. On one of my first days in Fort Wayne, I was downtown at the Cathedral and I started driving back to St. Vincent’s when I suddenly realized, I didn’t remember how to get back.

Luckily, I had a GPS. So I typed in 1502 East Wallen Road and added St. Vincent’s to my “favorites” list. And my handy little friend told me how to get back home.

A few weeks ago I changed St. Vincent’s from being a “favorite” to being “home.” Home used to be 5028 Greenleaf Lane in South Bend. But my home is St. Vincent’s now.

We all know that Christmas Carol, “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays.” And it’s so true. No doubt, most of us have traveled or will travel to be with family on the holidays. We get the word “holiday” from “Holy Day.” So, you could say that “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holy Days.”

1502 East Wallen Road isn’t just a “favorite” place for us. It’s our home. It’s a house. The house of God.

Today, Jesus calls us home to his house. And on Christmas, he calls us to his first home, Bethlehem.

The name of that little town, “Bethlehem”, is so significant, that one can’t help but recognize the obvious fact that Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is the work of God the Father.

In Hebrew, “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” The little town of Bethlehem is the house where we find Jesus, the Bread of Life. It is where God becomes food for mankind.

And in Aramaic, “Bethlehem” means “House of Flesh.” The little town of Bethlehem is the house where the Incarnation, the Word of God becoming flesh, takes place. It is where God becomes man.

God becomes bread… God becomes man. Why?

Why did God choose to become a man like us? God became a man like us so we could become like Him. One of the greatest things I ever read in six years of seminary studies was a line from “Gaudium et Spes” a document from the Second Vatican Council. It says, “The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word [Jesus Christ], does the mystery of man take on light… Christ… fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear.”

How many times do we attribute our mistakes and failings to our so-called “human nature”? Quite the contrary. Jesus became a human being so he could show us the true meaning of “human nature.” By himself being born into poverty, Jesus shows us that true human nature is not full of pride, but full of humility. By his own obedience to His Father in Heaven and his service to mankind, Jesus shows us that true human nature is not full of envy, but fully of love of God and neighbor. And by taking up his cross, Jesus shows us that true human nature is not full of selfishness, but full of sacrifice.

And in Bethlehem, God becomes bread? Why?

Why did Jesus become food for mankind? We cannot live without food. Without food we die. We cannot live without Jesus either. Jesus says, “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world… Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (Jn 6:51,54).
Ordinarily, when we eat food, it becomes part of us.  We ingest it and assimilate it and it becomes part of our bodies and helps us grow.  However, when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we become part of him.  He assimilates us into his body and helps us grow in holiness.

In Bethlehem, the “House of Bread” and the “House of Flesh” Jesus became man and food. He did so by allowing himself to be placed in a manger – a feeding trough for animals. The word “manger” comes from the French word “manger” (“mohn-zhay”) which means, “to eat.” In Bethlehem, Jesus transforms the feeding trough for animals into the place where human beings come to feed on the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life.

This first happened over 2,000 years ago and over 6,000 miles away. As another Christmas Carol states, “Away, in a Manger.” But the truth is, the manger is not “away.” It’s not some past event in history. It’s not halfway around the world. The manger is right here and right now. This is Bethlehem. This is the “House of Bread” and the “House of Flesh” where Jesus becomes man and food. This is the place where Heaven comes down and touches Earth. So that for one hour every week, we can leave Earth behind for a moment and come to this Church; and in Jesus, see who we are truly called to be and received eternal life, and enter into our true home.

fourth sunday of advent

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Men Like Joseph

Homily from the 4th Sunday of Advent – Year A

Every year, our Sunday Gospel readings focus on a different Evangelist’s writings.  This year, beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the vast majority of our Sunday Gospels will come from the Gospel of Matthew.  We’re now in what’s called “Year A” of a three-cycle.  The cycles are actually easy to memorize.  Years A, B and C focus on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke, have what are called infancy narratives or, the stories of Jesus’ birth.  And each of these infancy narratives gives special attention to one of Jesus’ parents.  The Gospel according to Luke focuses largely on Mary, whereas the Gospel according to Matthew focuses largely on Joseph.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to reflect a lot on Mary.  We celebrated the Solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception on December 8th,  And last Sunday, was the feast of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This week, we hear the beginning of the infancy narrative from the Gospel of Matthew.  So, this gives us the opportunity to consider St. Joseph’s role in the birth of Christ.

In today’s Gospel, St. Joseph stands as a model of virtue worthy of our admiration and imitation.  And St. Joseph is a role model in a particular way to men.  So, if you’ll permit me ladies, I beg your patience for just a few moments, because I would like to take this opportunity to preach in particular, to my fellow men gathered here today.  I think you’ll be pleased that I did.

Men, St. Joseph is for us, a true model of manhood.  You and I must become men like Joseph  He bears a number of manly qualities for us to imitate.  Allow me to mention but a few

Joseph is a man of integrity.  He was betrothed to Mary.  She was to be his wife.  In our Gospel reading today, he and Mary did not yet live together.  But one day, Mary said to Joseph, “I’m with child.”  And Joseph knew the child was not his. 

According to the law of Moses, it was Joseph’s legal right to have Mary stoned.  But Joseph was not a vengeful man.  Joseph did not care about being right.  He did not care about winning the argument.  He cared about the welfare of Mary.  The Gospel tells us, Joseph “was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame.”  Joseph is a man of integrity.

Joseph is a man of God.  Joseph listens to God.  Three times, God spoke to Joseph through an angel.  In today’s Gospel, we hear of the first message.  In a dream, the angel tells Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary into his home.  Later, the angel will warn Joseph to take Mary and Jesus out of Bethlehem because Herod seeks to kill the child.  Later again, the angel tells Joseph to return to Israel.  Joseph listens to God and he trusts God.   Joseph is a man of God. And by being a man of God, Joseph is empowered with another heroic virtue.

Joseph is a man of action.  Immediately after receiving instruction from God through the angel.  Joseph rises from his sleep and does exactly as God commands.  He doesn’t doubt or question.  He doesn’t whine or complain.  He doesn’t wimp out. He takes action.

He takes Mary into his home and raises the child as his own.  When in danger, he leads Mary and Jesus to safety in Egypt.  When the time to return home has come, he brings his wife and his child under his roof.  Joseph is a man of action.

Joseph is a man of humility.  It could be said that Joseph was a soft spoken man.  If you want proof of Joseph’s humility, try finding in the Bible anything he said.  In all of the Gospels, you will find not one single word spoken by Joseph.  We know nothing of what Joseph said.  And there’s no need to.  Because, as I said before, Joseph let his actions speak for themselves.  He did not need to hear himself talk.  Joseph is a man of humility.

And lastly, Joseph is a man of responsibility.  As I mentioned before, it was Joseph’s responsibility to guard and protect Mary and Jesus.  It was Joseph’s responsibility to make a home for his wife and child.  It was his responsibility to earn a living and provide food and clothing for his family.

And if you want to see a great example of Joseph as a man of responsibility, take a look at the beautiful statue of the Holy Family over to the left as you leave through our gathering space.  In this statue, we see a truly amazing image.  In this statue, we see Joseph, leaning over Jesus and teaching him the Torah, the Sacred Jewish Scriptures. 

Think about that for a moment. Joseph is a mere creature, created by the Word of God, teaching the Word of God to the one who is the Word of God.  Despite his own limitations and despite his own shortcomings, Joseph did not shirk his responsibility; which was, despite his own sinfulness, he was responsible for protecting the only sinless woman who ever lived and for teaching and raising the only sinless man who ever lived.

So, my fellow men; past, present and future husbands and spouses, let us ask Jesus and Mary for help to become men like this. 

Men who listen to God and are obedient to Him. 

Men who guard, protect, and provide for our spouses and children.

Men who put aside our own ego for the sake of others.

Men who would rather suffer our own embarrassment than expose another to shame.

Let us be men like Joseph.

Right Before the Son Appears

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) - Year A

One weekday morning, a couple of weeks ago I was greeting our students as they arrived for school.  And on this particular morning, the sky was filled with brilliant colors as the sun was about to rise.  On the western horizon the sky was still pitch black.  But as you looked across the sky and moved your eyes to the east, the blackness of night gave way to a deep violet.

And with every passing minute, the heavens turned brighter and more brilliant; richer and richer in vivid shades of purple.  Huge, white, puffy clouds accented the sky and drew out more and more shades of that wonderful pre-dawn color.

And as the students were walking into school, I’d pull one or two aside and say  “Look at that beautiful sunrise.  Tell me there isn't a God!”  It was wonderful to watch them just enjoy the sunrise for a moment.  A few of them said their parents pointed it out to them as well.

And right before the sun peaked over the horizon, everything turned a beautiful rose color.  And it was one of those moments you wish would last forever.

Today, we celebrate the third week of Advent also known as Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete means “rejoice.”  We rejoice because we know our Advent is halfway over and Jesus is coming.

The black night of our sin gives way to the beautiful violet of our Advent waiting and preparation.  And as we get closer and closer to Christmas in which we celebrate Christ’s coming in history, we also get closer and closer to the end of time when Christ will come in majesty.

And right before the Son (S-O-N) appears, everything turns a beautiful rose color .  We light the rose-colored candle on our advent wreath and wear rose-colored vestments.

Ordinarily, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th.  But Sundays always trump feast days so the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was moved to yesterday.  However, I think it would be OK to talk about Our Lady of Guadalupe a little bit.

I’m sure many of you know the story.  In 1531, Mary appeared four times to a poor farmer named Juan Diego.  And she asked Juan Diego to go ask the bishop to build a church on the mountain where she appeared.  Juan Diego said the bishop would not listen to a simple man like him, so Mary told Juan Diego to go pick some Castilian roses which were growing on the mountain.  These roses would be a miraculous sign to the bishop because they were native to his birthplace in Spain, but not in Mexico, and also because they never bloom in December.

So Juan Diego found the roses as Mary promised and began picking them, placing them in the fold of his cloak which is called a tilma.  And when Juan Diego went before the bishop and opened his tilma to show him the roses, the roses fell out and revealed the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which remains to this day.

Our beautiful mosaic of Mary is a reproduction of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  In that image, Mary wears a sash around her waist.  This is no ordinary sash, but specifically, a sash that, in Mexican culture, expectant mothers wear.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is with child.  So as we look at her, we see not only Mary, but also Jesus who is present in the image as well.  A baby, hidden in the womb, not yet seen by our eyes, but just around the corner, just over the horizon.

And this infant Jesus, who is present within Mary’s womb, who is, in a sense, already here, but not quite yet, rests, hidden beneath Mary’s rose-colored inner garment, which breaks through the violet of her outer garment.

On that violet outer garment are displayed the stars of night.  The forthcoming birth of the Messiah pierces the dark of night.  And behind Our Lady of Guadalupe we see the rays of the sun.  A sun which is not yet fully revealed, but we know is there.  Just as the Son within her womb, is not yet fully revealed, but we know is there and is on the way.

This connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and Gaudete Sunday is not designed, or given to us, by the Church.  They don’t always fall on the same day.  Plus, the sun Mary is standing in front of represents Mary blocking out the sun which was an object of pagan worship at the time; instead Mary shows us the real Son to worship, her Son Jesus.

But nevertheless, both Gaudete Sunday and Our Lady of Guadalupe reveal to us today that Jesus is indeed on his way.  Not just at Christmas, but also at the end of our time here on this earth, which is sooner than we think.

The day of our departing and the Lord’s coming is unknown to us; not yet seen with our eyes, but it is just around the corner... just over the horizon.

Let us not fear or dread that day.  But prepare and rejoice!

immaculate conception

Many people mistakenly believe that the immaculate conception refers to the conception of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ conception was most assuredly immaculate…but the immaculate conception does not refer to Jesus at all. The immaculate conception is a doctrine of the Romans Catholic Church in regards to Mary, Jesus’ mother. An official statement of the doctrine reads, “…the blessed Virgin Mary to have been, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Savior of Mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.” Essentially the immaculate conception is the belief that Mary was protected from original sin, that Mary did not have a sin nature, and was, in fact, sinless.

The problem with the doctrine of the immaculate conception is that it is not taught in the Bible. The Bible nowhere describes Mary as anything but an ordinary human female whom God chose to be the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary was undoubtedly a godly woman (Luke 1:28). Mary was surely a wonderful wife and mother. Jesus definitely loved and cherished His mother (John 19:27). The Bible gives us no reason to believe that Mary was sinless. In fact, the Bible gives us every reason to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Person who was not “infected” by sin and never committed a sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

The doctrine of the immaculate conception originated out of confusion over how Jesus Christ could be born sinless if He was conceived inside of a sinful human female. The thought was that Jesus would have inherited a sinful nature from Mary had she been a sinner. In contrast to the immaculate conception, the Biblical solution to this problem is understanding that Jesus Himself was miraculously protected from being polluted by sin while He was inside Mary's womb. If God was capable of protecting Mary from sin, would He not be able to protect Jesus from sin? Therefore, Mary being sinless is neither necessary or Biblical.

The Roman Catholic Church argues that the immaculate conception is necessary because without it, Jesus would have been the object of His own grace. The thought goes like this – for Jesus to have been miraculously preserved from sin, which itself would be an act of grace, that would mean God essentially “graced Himself.” The word grace means “unmerited favor.” Grace is giving someone something he or she does not deserve. God performing a miracle in preserving Jesus from sin is not “grace.” In no sense could Jesus possibly be infected with sin. He was perfect and sinless humanity joined with sinless divinity. God cannot be infected or affected by sin, as He is perfectly holy. This same truth applies to Jesus. It did not take “grace” to protect Jesus from sin. Being God incarnate, Jesus was in His essence “immune” from sin.

So, the doctrine of the immaculate conception is neither Biblical or necessary. Jesus was miraculously conceived inside Mary, who was a virgin at the time. That is the Biblical concept of the virgin birth. The Bible does not even hint that there was anything significant about Mary’s conception. If we examine this concept logically, Mary’s mother would have to be immaculately conceived as well. How could Mary be conceived without sin if her mother was sinful? The same would have to be said of Mary’s grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on. So, in conclusion, the immaculate conception is not a Biblical teaching. The Bible teaches the miraculous virgin conception of Jesus Christ, not the immaculate conception of Mary.