Sunday Meditation: Taste and See

On the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year A, Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount where He endows His followers with two very powerful symbols: salt and light.  Three years ago I embedded videos from Dr. Brant Pitre to provide the Old Testament significance of salt and light.  Of the various points of connection, the one that strikes me most significant is how salt was used in the Temple sacrifices as a link to the Covenant.  That is well worth going back to.

One lesson I picked up in reading about this passage that I don’t think any of the homilies below point out is that Jesus says “You are the salt” and You are the light.”  He doesn’t say you will become the salt or become the light. You are so now, and if I put on a theologian hat for a second, I would venture that one became salt and light at one’s baptism.  But notice He says that you can lose that flavor or you can dim that light.  How can one lose it?  By not doing good deeds in the world.

 

Here is today’s Gospel reading.

 

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

"You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

It is no longer good for anything

but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;

it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your heavenly Father."

~Mt: 5:13-16

 

Fr. Tim Peters always has great explanatory homilies on these passages, but they tend to be very long.  This one is long but manageable, and as always thorough.

Fr. Tim:

“Salt should remind us that the new and eternal covenant in Christ is permanent, eternal and that we must continue to proclaim the same truth of the Gospel without compromise until Christ returns.  Moreover, through our words and actions others [through us] should encounter the love of Christ.”

That observation by Fr. Tim that the Menorah was always burning in the Holy of Holies is also a point of connection to Christ’s analogy.

 

I’m going back to Archbishop Edward Weisenburger for the pastoral homily.

 

The Archbishop points out words from the root salt: salad, salary, Salzburg.  There are others one could mention, cities such as Salisbury and Salerno, words such as saline, salacious, and salter. 

Archbishop Weisenburger:

“It is critical for us to note, too, that light does not exist for itself  any more than salt exists for salt.  Rather, light's purpose is to benefit others, to enable others to see. A lamp doesn't exist for itself. It exists so that others can see…This precisely is the ministry  Jesus entrusts to his disciples…And in doing so, they forever serve as a critical reminder that  any understanding of religion that views faith to be only a personal matter or a private  experience is a lie. No, our "saltiness" and our "light" originate in God but are given to us in order to draw others into community with us, because it is always within community that the fullness of the Gospel is found.”

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."

 

Well, the hymn is easy to pick this Sunday.  The archbishop has recommended one and I think it’s perfect, “Taste and See.”

 

Taste and see. Taste and see

the goodness of the Lord.

O, taste and see. Taste and see

the goodness of the Lord, of the Lord.

Sunday Meditation: The Parable of the Unjust Stewart

After that brief interlude last Sunday with the Exaltation of the Cross, today on the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year C we return to Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem.  Today we get one of the most misunderstood parable in the entire New Testament.  Today, Jesus offers us the Parable of the Unjust Stewart or sometimes called the Dishonest Stewart.  No, He is not giving us permission to steal.  Three years ago I posted on this very Gospel passage with an embedded video from Dr. Brant Pitre explaining the cultural context and the nuanced theme of the passage.  In summary, the gist is that “you are to pay off spiritual debts—sins—with the Lord’s money, so that those you whose debts you pay off will welcome you into eternal happiness.”  It’s rather complex and I urge you to go back and read that post and listen to Dr. Pitre.

 

Here is the Gospel passage.

 

Jesus said to his disciples,

"A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.

He summoned him and said,

'What is this I hear about you?

Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.'

The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?

I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.'

He called in his master's debtors one by one.

To the first he said,

'How much do you owe my master?'

He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'

He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.

Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'

Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'

He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'

The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.'

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

 

"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?

If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

No servant can serve two masters.

He will either hate one and love the other,

or be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and mammon."

~Lk 16:1-13

 

Dr. Pitre explained it one way.  Fr. Tim Peters does a magnificent job of explaining it another way.  I think this is the fullest, most complete explanation.

The moral is actually to use your shrewdness, all of your gifts to help those in need.  Those gifts don’t belong to you.  They are the Lord’s lent out to you, the unrighteous mammon.  Using your wisdom and prudence, you solve matters for those in debt, and then you will be part of the children of the light.

I was so happy to find that one of my favorite homilists, Fr. Joseph Mary of the Capuchin Franciscans, recorded a homily on this passage.  This is incredibly entertaining.

So who is your master?  If all homilies were like that, we would all be waiting in line to listen to Fr. Joseph. 

 

Sunday Meditation: “"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”

 

Fr. Tim’s exhortation to serve somebody recalled Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody.”  I have posted that heart convicting song before, so instead I am going to post a rendition by the Melbourne Mass Gospel Choir, featuring Suzannah Espie.  This is wonderful.

 

I don’t know Suzannah Espie but man can she sing.  Kudos to the entire choir.  They are wonderful.

Sunday Meditation: The Treasure of the Heart

This Sunday, the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time of Year C, we are still in Chapter 12 of Luke’s Gospel where Jesus, the apostles, and the multitude are walking toward Jerusalem.  Jesus continues His sermon on the treasure of your heart.  There are four things to meditate on in Christ’s sermon: the treasure of God’s kingdom, the faith required to obtain it, the preparation required as a result of faith, and the responsibility that comes with the gift of faith.

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

Sell your belongings and give alms.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 

“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. 

Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.

And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

 

Then Peter said,

“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”

And the Lord replied,

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.

Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property.

But if that servant says to himself,

‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly.

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

   ~Lk 12:32-48

 

Again this week I go to Fr. Tim Peters who walks us through this difficult passage with great skill.

It is of paramount importance to set the treasure of your heart on the proper things.  That is the big take-a-way. 

For the pastoral homily I turn to Fr. Peter Hahn from a homily he gave eleven years ago.  The details may be dated, but the message is universal.

 

So are you comforted or afflicted by today’s Gospel?

 

Sunday Meditation: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”

 

Let us enjoy John Michael Talbot’s “Lilies of the Field.”

 

 

So seek ye first the kingdom of God

And the wealth of His righteousness

For wherever your treasure lies

There will you find your heart

 

That is so lovely.

Sunday Meditation: Storing Up Treasure

In the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year C, while on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus is confronted with a man who wants Him to get the man’s brother to share his inheritance with him.  Jesus reacts by oddly saying he is not the man’s judge.  Why is this odd?  Well Jesus is everyone’s judge.  Jesus goes on to tell those on pilgrimage a parable about a foolish rich man.  The homilists below will explain the parable, but what I can’t come to a conclusion to is whether the moral of the parable is directed at the man in the crowd wanting his share of his inheritance, at his brother who has hoarded the inheritance, or at both. 

 

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,

“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

He replied to him,

“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”

Then he said to the crowd,

“Take care to guard against all greed,

for though one may be rich,

one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

 

Then he told them a parable.

“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.

He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,

for I do not have space to store my harvest?’

And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:

I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.

There I shall store all my grain and other goods

and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,

you have so many good things stored up for many years,

rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’

But God said to him,

‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;

and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’

Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves

but are not rich in what matters to God.”

   ~Lk 12:13-21

 

Fr. Tim Peters provides goes into the Gospel passage in great detail.

 

 

So do you own your car or does your car own you?  Do you go out and rent storage space?  Storage space seems to be the perfect analogy to increasing barn space.  Are you filling your space with earthly goods or with God’s treasures?  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I thought this was an excellent pastoral homily by a new homilist to my blog, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, newly installed in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

 

His Excellency, the Archbishop has quite a presence at the ambo.  So much is packed into that six minute homily.  Still no one offers a thought on who Jesus is directing His parable.  The easy answer is both.

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

 

 

John Michael Talbot offers us a hymn performed live, “Only in God.”

 

My stronghold my Savior

I shall not be afraid at all

My stronghold my Savior

I shall not be moved

Only in God is my soul at rest

In Him comes my salvation

 

Sunday Meditation: The Peace of Christ

As in last week, the Sixth Sunday in Easter of Year C keeps the Gospel reading in the Farewell Discourse. Here Jesus tells the apostles of the coming Holy Spirit.  This is a rather complicated passage.  Notice the progression of thought.  It starts with mutual love with the Father and moves to “we” will come to dwell in those who are in that love, making a dwelling place.  Then the Holy Spirit, referred to as the “Advocate,” or, in other translations, the “Paraclete,” will guide and teach those in that love.  The Holy Spirit will bring you peace.  So who is the “we”? 

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.

Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;

yet the word you hear is not mine

but that of the Father who sent me.

 

“I have told you this while I am with you.

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all that I told you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give it to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

You heard me tell you,

‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’

If you loved me,

you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;

for the Father is greater than I.

And now I have told you this before it happens,

so that when it happens you may believe.”

~Jn 14:23-29

 

The “we” is the Trinity!  This Sunday I am going back to Fr. Tim Peters who does a magnificent job explaining the Gospel.

 

I am going to Fr. Peter Hahn of the St. Leo the Great Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the pastoral homily.

The peace of Christ is “the most priceless gift and treasure that you and I can have.”

 

Sunday Meditation: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."

 

For the hymn, we go back to John Michael Talbot, with his simply titled, “Peace.”  There is quite long introduction to this piece before we get lyrics, so hang in there.

 

Those were the first words of Pope Leo when he came out on the balcony, “Peace be with all of you.”

Sunday Meditation: The Voice of the Good Shepherd

Sheep factored prominently last week but they are even more front and center on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter we get a reading from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel with the stipulation that each year it’s a different part of the tenth chapter.  In Year A, we get John 10:1-10 with Jesus being the “gate” to the sheepfold.  You can read about it here.  In Year B, we get Jesus claiming to be “the Good Shepherd” in John 10:11-18, and you can read about that here.  Today in Year C, Jesus tells us that all who hear His voice follow him.

 

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

~Jn 10:27-30

 

Today’s main homily will be from Fr. Tim Peters who connects the Good Shepherd to the Old Testament metaphors of the shepherd and contrasts with the very poor shepherds in Israel’s history.

And so, Christ’s voice says: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.” 

Today is also Mother’s Day, and Fr. Sam French, the Average Shepherd as he calls himself, has a homily that combines the Good Shepherd Sunday with Mother’s Day!

 

Actually, isn’t a mother just like a shepherd?  I think so.

 

Sunday Meditation: “My sheep hear my voice."

 

For Mother’s Day, I am going to stray from a hymn and embed this beautiful country song by Anne Wilson and Hillary Scott, “Mamas.”  

 

Here are the lyrics to this heart-tugging song.

 

Mamas

[Verse 1: Anne Wilson]

I don't know why God made one-bedroom apartments out of state

I don't know why He made hometowns if it's somewhere I can't stay

I don't know why He made growing up but I guess that we're all gonna

Yeah, I don't know a lot of things but I know why God made mamas

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

[Verse 2: Hillary Scott]

For putting band-aids on a scrapеd up knee and wiping tears away

For picking up the piecеs when that dream don't go your way

For always giving more than taking, always knowing what ya need

And showing you that fighting's always best done on your knees

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

 [Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Mamas, mamas

 

[Bridge: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

I don't know why God made living life down here so hard to do

But I know why God made mamas 'cause He knew I needed you

Oh-oh, oh-oh

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

For the open arms to fall into (To fall into)

For the when you don't know what to do (Know what to do)

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

(I'm always in your corner)

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone (Not alone)

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas (Mamas)

 

[Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

Oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

(Mamas)

Mm-mm-mm (Mamas)