This week's reading from Sirach deals with the character of a person, which Sirach states is revealed in the words a person uses. Words are powerful. They can generate life, as reflected in God's Word at the dawn of creation, but they can also generate death, as revealed in the words of the serpent when tempting Adam and Eve in the garden. We know this intuitively. Once the word has been spoken or written, it cannot be retracted. Anyone whose posted something online only to take it down later knows this all too well. The life or death our words bring can never be erased. When we use our words to cut one another down, our words breed hate, intolerance, self-loathing, etc. When someone tells us that they no longer love us, our pain is real and the wound is deeper than any wound of the flesh, as it penetrates our heart and soul. In like fashion, we all have experienced words that lift us up, build up our esteem and confidence, and generate trust, inspiration, and love within us. Whoever said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" was someone who clearly lacked wisdom. What we say and how we say it matters.  God's Word brought life. Jesus' words brought healing, forgiveness, love, and redemption. What do your words bring others?

Sirach makes effort to note that the words we chose to say reveal our true thoughts. One could argue that they reveal the inner working of our hearts as well. Jesus makes this connection with the heart in our Gospel story this week. Just as the quality of the fruit reveals the quality of care the tree received, and the quality of the pot reveals the quality of the firing process in the kiln, so too do our words expose our hearts and minds for what we truly are. Never judge by appearances or actions alone. Pay careful attention to the words one speaks for it will give us insight into the interior life of a person. Those who experience the love of Christ and allow themselves to be transformed through his love will produce good fruit in word and deed.

Whereas Sirach speaks of words betraying the mind of the person, Jesus notes that we speak from the fullness of our heart. If our heart is full of malice, hate, bigotry, indifference, intolerance, evil, etc., then our lives will produce evil. Whereas, when we clothe ourselves in Christ, and are firm, steadfast, and fully devoted to the Lord because we have removed the beams from our eyes and are striving to be like the Master, then we will be leading holy lives modeled after our Lord and Savior. "A good tree does not produce rotten fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit." Jesus challenges each of us to ask ourselves, "Which tree am I?" and "What fruit do my words and actions produce?" "What fruit to I bear as Jesus' disciple?"

Living as a disciples of Christ requires honesty and integrity in heart and mind, which is why our words (Sirach) and how we clothe ourselves (1 Corinthians) matters. The blind leading the blind is a recipe for disaster. It leads us nowhere. We cannot turn a blind eye to our own faults and failings. We cannot turn a blind eye to our own sinfulness. We cannot turn a blind eye to the areas in our life that are in need of conversion. If we do, we remain blind to the truth. We are being dishonest, disingenuous, and the truth is not in us – the Truth that is Christ Jesus. How then can we lead others to Christ?

Jesus challenges us to examine our hearts and to know our minds so that we can not only recognize the beams in our eyes, but also acknowledge them and work to remove them. Only then do we have the potential to become like the Master – Jesus Christ. As disciples, no matter how holy we may be, we will never be greater than Jesus Christ, because as his disciples all we do, we do for his glory and not our own. We are glorified in, with, and through him and him alone.

But let us go one step further. If our words reveal who we are, then what does Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, reveal about the Father? Jesus says explicitly, that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Peter proclaims that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and Jesus says that if we've seen him, we've seen the Father. What does Jesus reveal about the character of God? It's a great question to ponder and pray upon because as the Word of God, Jesus reveals the heart of our Heavenly Father and oh what a heart it is!

Who has wounded you with their words? Make time this week to forgive them in your heart and know that you are so much more in the eyes of God. Likewise, take some time to reflect on who you may have wounded with your words. If you can, seek their forgiveness.  If they can no longer be reached, then take the matter to confession and seek Christ's mercy and forgiveness. 

Know that while Jesus challenges all of us to produce good fruit, the goal of our lives is not to be a good person. The goal of our lives is to be holy as God is holy. While both produce good fruit, the former leads to mediocrity. The later leads to eternal life. Choose wisely. 

Luke continues the sermon on the plain with a powerful discourse from Jesus on mercy. Jesus provides us with strong examples of what mercy looks like, and he grounds those examples in love. Again, the love we are talking about here is not emotional or physical love. It is a volitional love; a love of the will. Jesus outlines for us the choices we are faced with when experiencing injustice and persecution. To turn the other cheek, hand over your tunic, or go the extra mile, forced the offender to acknowledge his oppression and selfishness as you made an act of will go beyond what the law demanded.

We are challenged to rise above impulses to avenge wrongs or seek reciprocity, and like David, let God judge the person. David's merciful actions enabled Saul to recognize the malfeasance in his heart and come to conversion.  In the verses omitted from this week's first reading, we learn that Saul is moved by David's mercy and reconciles himself to David. He admits that he has been a fool and has made a terrible mistake in judgment. The chapter ends with Saul returning home with his army. Mercy begets mercy. Blessed are the merciful for mercy shall be theirs! Mercy leads to conversion and change of heart. A lesson we would all do well to learn. 

How often have we seized upon an opportunity to "slay" someone whom we despise, or who has wronged us in some way? We get our digs in whenever the opportunity presents itself. We have nothing kind or charitable to say to the person. We revel in ill news about the person. We would do well to follow David's example. Vengeance and justice, while certainly justifiable given David's peril, would not have brought about Saul's conversion. It was mercy that transformed Saul's heart, because mercy is of God, and when we act in accord with God's will, we transform not only ourselves, but the world.

However, being merciful doesn't mean that we merely roll over and allow the world to walk all over us.   When wrongdoing occurs, Christian charity demands that we confront the wrong.  After all, it is Christian charity (i.e., love) to admonish the sinner and instruct the ignorant, but it's how we admonish and how we instruct that matters most. Do we fight fire with fire? If we do, we can be pretty sure that we will be dealing with an inferno in no time. Rather, we are called to do the exact opposite. In the former we allow ourselves to be ruled by our passions, and in the latter we allow reason to rule our passions. This is what Jesus is teaching. 

To be merciful, forgiving, loving, giving, as Jesus instructs in this Gospel is to be like God, in whose image and likeness we were created.  To be anything less not only adds to the consternation of the world, but sets us apart from God and leaves us with nothing but condemnation, judgement, hate, selfishness, that is, death.  Choose life!

John 2:1-11

John gives us a lot to contemplate in this beautiful reading.  There's the connection to the creation story in Genesis and the promise of a redeemer.  There's the prefiguration of the Eucharist with the changing of water into wine, and the Eucharist's role as the new Sabbath for the Christian communities.  There's even the essence of what it means to be a disciple.  All of this is certainly worthy of reflection, but it’s Mary who stands as the Woman of the Hour.  

After 30 plus years of pondering things in her heart, she now stands at a precipice that will set the clock in motion for the hour of her beloved Son’s sacrifice on the cross and the redemption of the world.  Surely, she knows the weight of what she is asking of Jesus when she calls to his attention that the bride and groom have run out of wine.  Jesus even cautions her that there is no turning back if he complies with her request.  She will set in motion his journey to the cross, and yet, amazingly and seemingly without any hesitation, Mary turns to the servants and tells them, “Do whatever he tells you.”  In our own discipleship, how willing are we to do whatever the Lord tells us? Are we willing to do it no matter the cost?

We know that Mary doesn’t play a passive role in God’s plan for redemption.  The Church even refers to her by the title of Co-Redemptrix.  Mary actively accompanies her Son to his hour and in a very real way takes up her own cross and follows him in a way that we never could.  Her bold faith in her Son, and her words to the servants at the wedding, serve as both a reminder and an inspiration for what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, which is why she stands as the prototype of Christian discipleship in the Church.  Let us ask Mary to open our hearts and minds, as we enter into this new season of the Church, so that we may hear God's voice in our lives, have the grace to do whatever the Lord tells us, and embrace our own hour for his glory and our salvation. 

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Luke begins his Gospel story today by noting that the people were filled with expectation. Many were looking to the Baptist himself and questioning whether he could be the Messiah. For Luke, John’s role is relegated to that of prophet. He is the last of the prophets and the most important for it is he who ushers in the Messianic Age. John knows what his role is. He has no illusions. He knows that the Messiah will be far greater than he could ever hope to be. His baptism is merely with water, but the Messiah will baptize with fire, which is an allusion to the Spirit. 

John states quite clearly that we must prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God. That preparation requires contrition and penance for our sins, and a conversion, i.e., a turning back to God. Why then did Jesus seek baptism? He was sinless and one with the Father. He certainly was not in need of baptism.

To understand why, we have to delve into what Luke reveals in this short episode. The actual baptism of Jesus is conveyed in a mere two verses. To get to the heart of it, we need to go back to the beginning. Luke portrays the mystery of the incarnation as an act of mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy is "checed" (pronounced kheh'-sed). It is a word that does not have an equivalent in English, which makes its translation difficult to render. It is used to convey the unending, unmoved, covenantal love between two people. It is used repeatedly in the Old Testament to describe God's free, undeserved, and perpetual love toward His people, Israel. It is often translated as in the Old Testament as steadfast love, mercy, kindness, goodness, favor, and loving kindness. In the New Testament, the closest equivalent is the Greek word charis (“grace.”), which is the free and undeserved gift of God life, love, and friendship that He shares with us in order to strengthen us to help us conform our will to His Holy will. If we attempted to translate checed literally, it would be something akin to "putting on one's skin." One can see from this literal translation that the word implies more than empathy or sympathy. It's more profound than walking in someone's shoes. You literally become one with the other.

Why all this fuss about a Hebrew word with no English equivalent? Well this word that God chose to use in Scripture reveals a God who not only knows us intimately, but desires to become one with us. It reveals a God who wants to take on our flesh to elevate the human person above all creation and restore the human person to holiness. God, through His word made incarnate in the person of Jesus, took on our flesh and pitched His tent among us.

Luke continues this theme with Jesus' baptism. Sure Jesus did not need to be baptized, but the fact that He seeks John out and commands him to baptize Him reveals a God of mercy who wishes to enter into complete solidarity with His people. Jesus actions affirms everything John has said about baptism, of our need to be contrite and seek forgiveness, of our need to do penance and turn away from sin and turn back to God, and of our need to prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God. Jesus' baptism makes our baptism possible by making the waters of baptism holy.

Luke is thinking of Isaiah 42:1 when portraying the events of Jesus baptism, which is the alternate Old Testament reading for this feast day. In Isaiah 42:1, the prophet declares, "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit." Sound familiar? Here Luke clearly connects Jesus with the Suffering Servant and the messiah, but Luke reveals even more about the identity of Jesus in this eloquent, yet simple episode. The reference to Jesus as God's "beloved son" is equally important.  The term only appears once in the Old Testament and that is in reference to Isaac in the story of Abraham's call to sacrifice Isaac. Thus, Luke equates Jesus with the role of Isaac, who was to be offered up as a sacrifice of love for God. Just as Isaac carried the wood, the instrument of his death, up the mountain to the place of sacrifice, so too will Jesus eventually carry the wood of the cross up the hills of Calvary to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice of love. Jesus is the new covenant of love between God and His people. Furthermore, like the prophets of old who were commissioned through heavenly visions, Luke uses this episode to commission Jesus in His role as Servant and Son.

So given the rich theological underpinnings of these two powerful verses from Luke, what does all of this have to say about our Baptism? First, as a Christian we experience the fullness of God's love and grace in the sacrament of Baptism. The God of Mercy, inhabits our flesh, and we become temples of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that filled Jesus, led Him into the desert, and then helped Him overcome the devil and temptation, is the same Spirit given to us in Baptism. Why? So that we may overcome the devil and temptation in our lives, and remain holy. For it is only by being holy that we can stand in the Kingdom of Heaven before God who is Holy.

Then there is our call to sacrifice our lives for love of God and others. This is what biblical love truly is, a sacrificial love of volition. Through Baptism, the grace of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are compelled to place God's will and the needs of others over and above our own wants and desires. So in essence, as adopted sons and daughters of God, we commit ourselves to live the life of a servant, by serving God and others out of love for them.

Baptism is more than membership into a Church, it is the gateway to the Kingdom and the initial step in a covenant lifestyle that stands in direct opposition to the values of the world in which we live. We are called upon to be "checed," to be merciful, to be love, to be the face of God's love made manifest in the person of Jesus to a world desperate for God's love. This is why Baptism requires conversion.  Have you experienced the conversion necessary to fulfill your baptismal calling?

Matthew 2:1-12

On cannot get too caught up in the historicity of the Epiphany story found in Matthew. For if we were to approach the story from a fundamentalist point of view, we would miss out on the symbolism, imagery, and message that the story was designed to convey. That is not to say that the event never took place. On the contrary, when reading Scripture one must keep in mind that historical truth plays second fiddle to religious truth. In other words, Matthew is not interested in getting the facts of the story straight or even making sure they are accurate. He is using the story to reveal a deeper more profound truth about Jesus that is of tremendous importance for our faith relationship with him. 

Matthew begins the story with a touch of irony. As the magi gain audience with Herod in order to seek information concerning the "newborn king of the Jews." The chief priests and the scribes are summoned to provide the information the magi seek. However, those in the know, i.e., the chief priests and the scribes, have no clue.  They failed to recognize the signs before them as an indication that the Christ-event was taking place. They knew the prophecies, yet completely overlooked them. Herod on the other hand views the prophesies not with joy and elation but with fear and trepidation. He saw this "newborn king of the Jews" as a threat to his own kingship and wanted the threat removed. He took the magi's visitation and the words of his priests and scribes seriously, but in his own ignorance, he too failed to recognize the event for what it was. 

How often are we like the chief priests and scribes in that we fail to recognize Christ's manifestation in our lives? How often are we like Herod, aware that God may be revealing himself to us, or directing us, but resistant to God's presence because it conflicts with our agenda, our wants, or our needs?

The story also reveals something even more telling about our relationship with Christ. When we encounter Christ we do not come away from the encounter unchanged. The magi encountered Christ in presumably Joseph's home in Bethlehem (i.e., they entered a house and saw the child with Mary his mother.) That brief encounter changed them forever, for when "they departed for their country" they did so by another way. They took a different route home. In biblical terms, when one changes direction, it symbolizes that the individual himself has been changed. He or she has had a change of heart and has undergone a conversion experience or what is known in Greek as metanoia. Meta meaning change or transformation and noia meaning of the mind.

The same holds true for us today each time we encounter Christ. Each of us has the opportunity to encounter Christ in the sacraments, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist. And we, like the magi, are afforded with an opportunity to allow our encounter with Christ to transform us. The beauty is that in giving of himself in the sacraments, Christ provides us with the opportunity to encounter him again and again and again as we journey throughout our life. And each encounter offers us an opportunity for drawing into a deeper relationship with him.  If you think about all of your most significant relationships of love, you will quickly realize how the love shared and experienced in those relationships has transformed you.  It is that love that drives us to be better parents, better spouses, and the very best of friends.  If we truly love Christ Jesus then we too should show signs of transformation in our lives as the love we share with Christ compels us to be the best version of ourselves and drives us to be holy as he is holy.

How has your relationship with Christ made you a better person? In what ways have you changed? What steps can you take to encounter Christ more frequently in your life?

Luke 2:41-52

Luke provides us with our only glimpse into the early life of Jesus and the Holy Family.  Our story begins as the Holy Family embarks for home after having journeyed nearly 100 miles to Jerusalem from Nazareth in observance of the Passover.  Not every family would make the yearly pilgrimage, but the Holy Family did, but clearly the Holy Family is most pious in their devotion to their faith and love for God.  Mary's great "yes" coupled with Joseph's must have set the stage for a lifetime of "yeses" to God, which provided Jesus with a wonderful and powerful example of what it means to love God.

Jesus was at an age where he was caught between childhood and adolescence.  Socially, he was still young enough for Joseph to have assumed that he was traveling in the company of his mother along with the other women and children.  Yet, he was also old enough that Mary in turn must have assumed that Jesus was traveling with the men in the company of his father.  The men traditionally traveled separately from the women and younger children.  Jesus being 12 years old would have been able to mingle in either group, as he was almost a man, but also still consider a child.  Hence their confusion over who Jesus was traveling with on the route home.  One can almost feel the anxiety and stress of both of these devout parents, who were entrusted with the greatest gift humanity has ever known, as they realize that they somehow lost the only Son of God!  They searched for three days, growing ever more panic stricken with each passing day, until they finally found him in the Temple of all places!  

We hear from Luke that Jesus amazed and astounded everyone in the Temple, which again gives credence to Jesus' own faithfulness and piety regarding his relationship with his Father.  However, Mary and Joseph are astounded for apparently different reasons.  Jesus' knowledge of the faith wouldn't have surprised them given that he learned everything from them.  What astounded them was that he apparently did this intentionally!  Mary asks Jesus, "Son, why have you done this to us?"  Mary cannot believe that Jesus would have done such a thing.  How could this son whom she knew so well do what he did?  Jesus' reply says it all.  "Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must (italics added) be in my Father's house?"  

Jesus makes it clear that his obedience to God supersedes all other obligations.  It was a mantra he would live by his entire life.  He is single-minded in his love for and service to God, yet he returned with them to Nazareth where he remained obedient to them.  Again, Luke portrays Jesus' love for his parents by noting his obedience to them.

We often do not think of obedience as a sign of love.  We obey for a number of reasons.  We obey out of respect, out of fear, out of an effort to please, out of a sense of moral obligation, and so forth.  Love certainly wouldn't be at the top of the list, that is if it made the list at all.  Yet, Jesus and the Gospels make it clear that to love God is to be obedient to him.  How far must we carry this obedience?  Jesus answers that with  his death on the cross.  As Paul states, "he remained obedient unto death, even death on a cross."  The cross stood as a symbol of obedience for the early Christians for centuries.  One may question whether Christians still see it as such a symbol, but they should, for that is what it is.

Then there is the response of Mary who pondered these things in her heart.  Mary, with the infused knowledge she bears as a result of her Immaculate Conception understands why these things are taking place and ponders them in her heart.  She trusts God unequivocally because of her special insight into God's divine providence. She accepts these events in faith, trusting in the Lord.  Can we say the same when faced with uncertainties in our life?

As we ponder this beautiful Gospel passage, we are challenged to ask ourselves just how obedient are we to God's will?  Does God's will supersede all other obligations in our life?  How do we "show" God that we love him?  Let us take some time this week to ponder these questions in our hearts and be sure to make time to "show" our love for our family too!

Luke 1:39-45

Luke used the exchange between Mary and Elizabeth as a theological midrash.  Luke is drawing parallels between David's transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem with Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant.  This is both deep and profound.  Here's a quick comparison between Luke and the Book of Samuel.

Luke: "During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah."

Samuel: "David and all the people who were with him set out for Baalah of Judah."

Luke: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb"

Samuel: "David and all the Israelites made merry before the Lord with all their strength, with singing and with citharas, harps, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals."

Luke: "Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit..."

Samuel: "and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his whole house.

Luke: "and how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

Samuel: David said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"

Luke: "Mary remained with her about three months".

Samuel: "the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months."

Luke is declaring Mary to be the new Ark of the Covenant.  What did the Ark contain?  It contained the Law of Moses, Aaron's priestly staff, and Manna from the desert.  The womb of Mary which is now the new Ark of the Covenant contains Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law, the great high priest, and the Bread of Life.

The tabernacle was the tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant during the Israelites' sojourns.  Those baptized in Christ are living tabernacles.  We carry the Lord within our very person.  Imagine what the world would be like if we made even the feeblest of attempts to live in daily awareness of this incredibly awesome truth.  We would be very different people if we allowed the God dwelling within us to make us holy and treated others with the holiness and reverence they deserve.  Do you live your life in daily awareness that you are a living tabernacle?

Luke also uses this scene to clarify the Christian understanding of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus.  John was immensely popular among the people during the time of Jesus.  Some were as devoted to John as others were to Jesus.  Following the death of John and then the death of Jesus, there would occasionally be a clashing of words between these two groups of disciples.  Elizabeth declares Mary to be the Mother of the Lord and John's leaping with joy at the mere presence of Jesus in Mary's womb are declarations of who truly was the greater of the two. Later, John declares himself unworthy to even untie the laces of Jesus' sandals.  

Elizabeth's declaration that Mary is blessed among women is incredibly significant.  This exact expression is only used on two other occasions in the Old Testament.  The first is in reference to Jael to who slays Sisera, the Canaanite leader whose armies were at war with Israel.  The second is in reference to Judith who won a similar victory over Holofernes.  What could these two warrior women who slayed the enemies of Israel have in common with the young and innocent Mary?  Through Elizabeth's word, Mary's role as the Mother of God is revealed.  Mary is directly responsible for bearing the instrument of destruction upon sin, death, and Satan.  That instrument is none other than the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus.  This is why some statues of Mary depict her standing on the world with her foot crushing the head of the serpent (c.f. Gen 3:15). She is the new Eve!

This gospel is anything but a simple, familiar story.  It is a theological masterpiece that reveals profound truths about Mary.  It is from here that the understanding of Mary as immaculately conceived is rooted.  The Ark of the Covenant was made to God's exact specifications.  In other words, it was as God intended it to be.  Mary, too through her immaculate conception was made exactly as God intended Eve to be.  Both were created without sin.  However, where Eve succumbs to temptation to serve herself, Mary submits her will to God.  Let Mary serve as a model for all Christians striving for holiness.  Her willingness to set aside her fear, her will, in favor of God's will, enabled her to bring God's promise of salvation into the world through Jesus.  Imagine what you could accomplish if you attempted to live according to the will of God!

In reflecting on this story of the visitation, in what way are you called to be like Mary?  Can we and do we say "yes" to God?  Think of such a time when you said "yes" to God without hesitation.  What happened?  Where in your life do you find it most difficult to say "yes" to God?  Take time this final week of Advent to pray to God and Mary that you may receive the wisdom and strength to say "yes" to God in all that you do.

Luke 3:10-18

In the Gospel reading, those who heard John's message realized that they needed to change their lives, and they looked to John for direction.  "What then should we do?"  Go back and read the changes John demands of them in order to prepare the way of the Lord.  He isn't espousing deep theological concepts.  He isn't asking for the impossible either.  What he is saying is that true conversion must be exhibited in how we live.  True conversion and true repentance involve more than an "I'm sorry."  It's more than accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Love transforms, and if we embrace a relationship with the God who is love, our lives must be different.  As John states bluntly in his first epistle, "How can we love a God whom we have not seen, when we do not love our brother whom we do see."  Our words of sorrow, our very lives must be backed up by concrete actions that demonstrate our desire to change and reform our ways.  

Let's face it, we tend to over-complicate things, especially when it comes to our relationship with God.  That's what makes John's simple response so eloquent.  Those in the crowd and the questions they pose to him are the direct result of his challenging their motives for coming to him for baptism.  We need to examine our own motivations with regard to our relationship with God.  Do we come to mass out of a sense of obligation?  If so, what does that say about our relationship with God?  Do we do good works because of how it makes us feel, because we desire attention, or because we are acting out of a sense of love for others?  Do we recognize that we are called, as disciples - as the Body of Christ - to be God's hands, feet, face, and voice?  

The good news is that God desires to help us accomplish our call to conversion.  He knows that we cannot obtain conversion on our own.  So John declares that the Messiah is coming and that his winnowing fan will separate the wheat from the chaff.  This was done by throwing the grain into the air.  The heavier grain would fall to the ground while the chaff would be blown away in the wind.  God wants to remove the chaff from your life so that the grain can take root.  What is keeping you from a fuller experience of God's presence in your life and what steps can you take to remove that which prevents you from experiencing the fullness of that presence?

At each and every moment of our life, God is trying to break through, to blow away that which separates us from him in order to flame the fire of his love within us.  What changes must you make in your life to allow God's winnowing fan to prepare your heart for Christ?

Luke 3:1-6 

In the Gospel reading, Luke takes great effort to place this event in a historical context.  Why?  Because he is striving to demonstrate that salvation history is more than mere religious history and theology.  It is a real historical event that is the  culmination of God's divine plan for the salvation of the world.  Amidst all of these historical rulers and leaders, comes the true ruler of the world, Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten Son of the Living God.

Luke places the Advent of the Messiah on the shoulders of John the Baptist, who ushers in the salvation of the world with a message of hope.  John was specially chosen by God to bring this message of hope to the people of Israel in an effort to prepare the way for Christ's Advent into the world.  It is a mission that every baptized Christian shares.  Yes, our faith is a personal relationship with God, but our faith is meant to be lived publicly.  The idea that our faith is a private and personal matter is a fallacy contrived by the Prince of Lies, who'd like nothing more than to see Christ's command to baptize all nations and teach the world all that he has revealed to be thwarted.  How can we evangelize the world if we keep the light of our faith hidden under a bushel basket? Living it and preaching it in both word and deed is the only way that we can give witness to what we believe and the teachings of Christ Jesus.  We need to show others, by how we live and what we do, that Jesus is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  To believe otherwise is to deny who we are.  In fact, it is to deny God himself, in the person of Christ Jesus in whom we have been baptized! 

Like the disciples of Christ, God calls each of us too!  Each of us is called upon to proclaim the joy of the Gospel and its message of hope and salvation with everyone!  A part of that calling is to continue to bring and be the light of Christ to all people.  Take time during this season of Advent to ponder your personal gifts and God given talents.  How might you be able to use these gifts in service to God?  What in particular are you doing to prepare for the coming of the Lord?  How are you leading others to Christ Jesus and eternal life?

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples to "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy" and to remain "vigilant at all times."  Life today offers us so many distractions.  Our lives are on overdrive with full schedules.  Not only are we physically drowsy at the end of the day, but we are also in danger of losing sight of what's truly important in our lives...love of God and love of neighbor.  In the hustle and bustle of life, we can easily loose sight of the goal, which is heaven and eternal life with God.  Life with God is a choice, and not one that should be made lightly, nor one that comes without expectations and obligations.   There is a cost to discipleship which Jesus tells us is the cross.  Sadly, we fill ourselves up with so much stuff...stuff that pales in comparison to the gift of love offered to us by God through Jesus Christ.  Don't settle for less!

Each and every one of us was created for the sole purpose of being in a love relationship with God.  It is the reason God called us into existence.  That relationship, which we cultivate here on earth, is a relationship that will extend into all eternity.  All we need do is accept God's invitation to love him and become the face of Christ to others.  In essence we are called to be holy as God is holy.  We cannot achieve holiness without God's help.  Yet, how can we achieve holiness if we busy ourselves about the things of this world, which distract us from our relationship with God.  A recent study by the University of Michigan conducted in recent decades found that people have experienced a 500% increase in passive leisure time.  What is passive leisure time?  It's was defined as the time we spend on the Internet, social media, smart phones, etc.  Just take a look up average daily usage stat on your smartphone and you'll see for yourself.

We have the world at our fingertips with the push of a button.  We can have hundreds of "friends" via Facebook and social media accounts and yet remain socially isolated.  We can un-friend these same people in an instant without the need for reason or explanation with a mere push of a button and avoid the unpleasantness of a conversation.  In an age of instantaneous communication, we find ourselves incapable of effective communication, as we express ourselves in sound bytes, hash tags, and tweets.  Where is God in all of this noise?  Well, that's a question each of us must answer on our own, but chances are, if we've experienced a 500% increase in passive leisure time, it is a safe bet that we are communicating about as effectively with God as we do with each other.  

Jesus speaks of a vision of the end of times and while terrifying to say the least, Jesus urges us to remain vigilant and to pray.  For Jesus, prayer is the antidote to fear because it refocuses our attention and centers it upon God.  If we follow Jesus we have nothing to fear for we are living in harmony with God's will.  As we enter into this season of hopeful expectation, take time to unplug from the world and plug into God and one another.  Don't try to fit God into your day.  Make Him the center of your daily routine so that every else we need to do fits around Him.  You won't regret it!

How can you become more vigilant about your relationship with God?  What has to change in your life for you to become more vigilant?  If Christ were to come tomorrow, would you be ready?  If not, what preparations must you make and are you willing to make them?

John 18:33-37

Our gospel reading provides another exchange in which Jesus' kingship is boldly declared, yet once again we see the world deny him his due. "What have you done?" Jesus' response to this question is to state that he has come into the world to testify to the truth. "Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice." But there are those in the world who do not want to hear the truth because it conflicts with their will and their desires. We see the truth being distorted concerning issues of gender identity, marriage, premarital sex and co-habitation, religious liberty, abortion, and many other issues. We all, at one time or another,  assume such a position where we deny the truth that is Christ Jesus and fall into the darkness of sin. So the question that needs to be asked is how committed are we to the truth? Are we willing to give everything to hold fast to what Christ has revealed to us as his truth? If Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life are we willing to die for said Way, Truth, and Life?

The scene that unfolds in the gospel account reveals how we sometimes deny the truth and in doing so deny Christ himself. If you continued to read beyond this week's account, you would notice that after Pilate had Jesus flogged, he presents Jesus with the words, "Behold the man." Those looking upon Jesus with the eyes of faith see no mere man, but the Son of Man. Yet, the crowds gathered see nothing more than a man. When given the option, the people declare that they have no other king than Caesar. What a stunning statement, for the Jewish people had no king but God alone! Even during the time of their own kings, these earthly men were looked upon as stewards of God's divine authority. Pilate and those gathered in the courtyard of the Praetorium deny Jesus Christ. they forget the truth of who Jesus is and in so doing forget who they are called to be. They are lost. Today, one could rightly argue that the world has never been more lost.

As our Church year draws to a close this weekend, we are reminded that we have no king but Christ Jesus, and as his devoted subjects, we are called upon to place our complete faith and trust in he who is Truth. In denying him we deny ourselves. Are you willing to submit your will to the will of God and allow him to mold you into the person he has called and created you to be or will you, as Adam and Eve did, seek to make yourself God's equal and live according to your own will? The former leads to eternal life.  The latter leads to death and eternal damnation. Chose wisely.

Mark 13:24-32

This week's passage from Mark presents one of the most startling and difficult to digest passages found in his work.  Its connection to the Book of Daniel is clear enough in that both excerpts are dealing with the theme of eschatology, i.e., the end of time.   One must remember that Mark, the first Gospel to appear in written form, was compiled around 70 AD shortly after the events of the Jewish revolt and Rome's swift retribution in which the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed along with the slaughter of many Jews.  The end of time certainly felt imminent when the gospel was written.

Jesus announces that darkness will befall the world as the light of the sun, moon, and stars fall from the sky.  Once we have found ourselves in complete darkness, then and only then will we be able to see the Light of the World, Jesus, the Son of Man coming in great power and glory.  There will be no mistaking his arrival.  He will be the light that leads us out of the darkness and into the light of God's love and mercy.   Evil will have been destroyed at his coming like darkness vanquished by pervading light.  At that time the faithful who are scattered will be gathered from the four corners of the world and the wicked will be exposed for the horror and disgrace they have become.  While the imagery is scary, the faithful have nothing to fear.  They are reassured that God's mercy and love is theirs for eternity.

Jesus uses the fig tree, a common symbol for Israel, as a parable about the certainty of the times.  While there have been many times throughout history when we thought the world was nearing its end, we can be sure that when the end is finally upon us there will be no mistaking it.  The signs will be clearly evident, as evident as the sign that spring is upon us with the budding of the fig tree.  No one can know or predict the exact time.  Jesus, in his humility, even states that the Son does not know the hour.  Only God the Father knows when that time will be.  So the question for us is whether or not we will live every day as if it is our last and ensure that we are doing all we can each and every day to live in a right relationship with God and each other, or will we risk being caught sleeping at the gate and completely unprepared for his coming?

Again, what wonderful, hard, and thought provoking questions the Church poses to us through this week's readings as our Church year draws to a close and we prepare to usher in a new year with the first Sunday of Advent.  In all the business of preparing for the Christmas holiday, is your soul prepared to welcome Christ today?  Are you ready for eternal life tomorrow?

Mark 12:38-44

Mark provides a very strong rebuke of the practices of the scribes in this week's Gospel, while illustrating what it means to be poor in spirit. The scribes were akin to theologians. Because of their knowledge they were afforded certain perks out of honor for their position. They were seated in the front of the synagogue facing the people. They were given places of honor at table and treated with the utmost respect. Scribes would often assume the role of a trustee when it came to handling the estates of widows because of their perceived honest and forthrightness.  Jesus, however, sees through their charade and rebukes them. They would charge outrageous fees for managing a widow's estate often leaving them destitute, yet they would act righteous and pious before the people.  Jesus assures us of their condemnation. 

Jesus then takes a seat outside the treasury and watches as people put their money into the treasury. The rich gave great sums, but it wasn't much of a sacrifice for them to do so for Jesus notes that they are giving from their surplus. Then along comes a widow. She gives two small coins worth a penny. She didn't even keep one for herself. She gave all she had back to God. She exemplifies what it means to be poor in spirit. Recognizing that everything she has is a gift from God and that she is dependent upon God for her sustenance, indeed her very life, she gives all she has back to God is thanksgivings. This is the mark of true discipleship and an example that we should all learn from. 

The Gospel challenges us to reflect on whether we are living lives that are poor in spirit.  Do we give of our surplus time and wealth, or are we giving to the point that it becomes a real sacrifice?  Are we sacrificing our time to serve Christ and his Church or are we serving when it is merely a matter of convenience?  When we give of our wealth, is it a financial sacrifice or are we treating the Church and those in need to our leftovers?   These are soul searching questions to be sure, but questions we must answer if we desire to be faithful disciples who are motivated by the love for God and others.  We need to act in and with faith like Elijah and the widows in our readings today, trusting that when we give to the point of sacrifice, God will sustain us.  Blessed indeed are the poor in spirit for the kingdom of God is theirs. 

Mark 12:28b-34

This is a gospel passage that Christians know well.  Jesus is asked which is the greatest of commandments and he responds with what has become known as the Two Great Commandments, but during Jesus' time those listening to him would have recognized the portion about loving God as coming from Deuteronomy 6:5-9 which formed part of the Shema prayer.  The Shema was prayed daily by the Jewish people, placed in phylacteries worn around their foreheads and arms, and hung on the door posts of their homes.

Loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength is a call to give ourselves completely to God; to love him fully in heart, mind, body, and spirit.  The God of all Creation loved us into existence and gives us everything, including his only begotten Son as a ransom for our sin, and the only thing he desires in return is for us to give ourselves completely to him.  It's a tall order because it will involve sacrifice, but whatever it is that we may have to surrender or "give up" in order to love God completely will pale in comparison to what we receive in return.  

The second commandment, as we know, is to love your neighbor as yourself.  This too is a call to sacrificial love.  We all want what is best for us.  We all covet happiness.  If we're honest it is what drives us to do everything we do.  Loving our neighbor as ourselves is a battle cry to place another's happiness and good over and above our own, and that will, more often than not, require some form of sacrifice from us.  Yet, we are called by Jesus to take up our cross and follow him and to be the servant of others.  There's a true beauty in this second commandment that we often overlook.  God, in his attempt to keep things simple, gives us this commandment because in keeping it we actually fulfill the first commandment.  One of the ways that we manifest our love for God is through our love of neighbor, and who is our neighbor?  Simply put, it's everyone!  No one is excluded, ever.  That's where choosing love can be extremely difficult and demand huge sacrifices of us, because there are likely many whom we would wish to exclude.

We must always bear in mind that the purpose of God's commandments, and especially these Two Great Commandments, is to give us life.  The more we observe them, the fuller our life will be, and the more we will prosper.  Think about the state of the world today.  Is there prosperity where sin is rampant in the form of hate, gun violence, promiscuity, indifference, etc.?  No.  There is nothing but misery and hopelessness.  Sin breeds suffering and ultimate leads to some form of death, the worst being a spiritual death that leads to eternal separation from God.  That is the end result of sin because at the center of sin and pride is "I," not God and not our neighbor.  

Over the last several weeks we have heard Jesus instruct his apostles to take up their cross and follow him, to serve others, even if it means we must take on the role of a slave, and to treat all people as significant.  It’s when we think of ourselves, as Peter did when he tried to talk Jesus out of going to Jerusalem, or when the disciples were bickering over who among them was the greatest, or when James and John were vying for positions of power, that we ultimately fail to love God and our neighbor because our hearts are turned inward focusing on what we desire.  This is the heart of sin – selfishness and pride.  However, deliberately choosing to love others by serving them, even if it requires some form of sacrifice, is what leads us to holiness.  It’s then that we find ourselves not far from the Kingdom of Heaven.

When we keep God’s commandments, they enable us to live in a right relationship with God and others that ultimately leads to the promised land (i.e., heaven) and eternal happiness.  Isn’t that what we all long for?  To be happy?  Today, we mistakenly believe that happiness lies in being able to do what we want, when we want, and regardless of the consequences.  We define this today as “freedom,” but are we truly free under this definition?  When we define freedom as being able to do whatever we like, we are actually enslaving ourselves to our passions, our desires, our wants, our whims, and our ideas.  True freedom involves choice, often hard ones to be sure, but true freedom also recognizes that having “rules” enables us to enjoy life with complete abandon.  

Knowing the rules for baseball, for example, allows us to enter fully into the game and to enjoy it because we know what our responsibilities are for the position we play, and we know what the goals and objectives of the game are so that we can work towards achieving them.  The same is true of life and God’s “rules.”  God isn’t some tyrannical parent figure trying to make our lives miserable by imposing his will upon us.  Just look at the Two Great Commandments Jesus gives us.  They are rooted and centered in love!  God is inviting us to experience the fullness of life, to know what our true purpose in life is, and to be happy.  His “rules” allow us to live life more fully because we know what the goal of life is and how to attain it.  What is that goal? The goal is to be in heaven with God for eternity.  How do we attain that goal?  We attain it by being love.  Like God, love shouldn't be something that we just do, it needs to be who we are.

Our desire for happiness is the heart of why we are called to love God with our entire being and our neighbor as ourselves.  God is the eternal source of happiness, and so only in him will we ever find the happiness for which we long.  His divine and holy will will always lead to our ultimate happiness at the end of the day, and it will lead to our eternal happiness at the end of our lives as well.  So, what will you choose with your freedom?

Mark 10:46-52

Our Gospel story contains some interesting analogies for contemplation.  Jesus is journeying from Galilee to Jerusalem for what will end in his arrest, execution, and resurrection.  His journey is book ended by two miracles.  Both involve the curing of a blind man.  While both men had their sight restore and proclaimed Jesus to be the messiah, those who were traveling with him, those who could see plainly the work he was doing, remained blind, and as we saw in last week's Gospel, that included his closest disciples.  For weeks now we have been listening to stories of the disciples’ lack of faith and understanding regarding Jesus and in this episode the contrasts between the disciples and Bartimaeus are clearly defined as things come to a head.

Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus using a messianic title, the Son of David.  Take note that it is not Jesus who tries to silence Bartimaeus, but rather the crowd.  Jesus is no longer concerned about how his Messiahship will be interpreted.  Despite the fact that the crowd tries to silence Bartimaeus, he cries out all the louder for Jesus.  He knows Jesus can heal him and he won’t be silenced.  Jesus is impressed with his faith.  Oh, that the disciples would display a similar faith.  We know that they will shortly abandon him in his hour of need.  When Jesus calls him, an allusion to the call to discipleship, the man throws aside his cloak.  This was his only possession and the sole means he had for gathering alms that people would give him.  Contrast Bartimaeus’ response to Jesus’ call to discipleship with the rich man who could not part with his possessions.

Another contrast made is between Bartimaeus, who asks Jesus for sight, and James and John who demand of Jesus a guaranteed place of honor when he comes into power.  Bartimaeus, as well as James and John recognize Jesus as the messiah.  All three men are asked the same question by Jesus, "What do you wish me to do for you?" However, it is only Bartimaeus who sees Jesus for messiah he truly is.  His faith saves Bartimaeus.  He receives his sight, and he joins Jesus “on the way," which is always used as an analogy for his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.   He's all in!

Sometimes we can be like James and John or the rich man, allowing our own vainglory or selfishness to obscure the reality of Christ’s presence and his work in our lives.  When we do, we place our light under the proverbial bushel basket preventing anyone from seeing Christ Jesus in us. However, as disciples, we are challenged in this episode to be like Bartimaeus; willing to give up everything for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, and eager to take up our cross and follow him on the way to Calvary.  That is the nature of true discipleship.  Are you willing to heed the call, or will you too, like the crowd, seek to silence the voice of Truth in your life?

Mark 10:35-45 

Just a few chapters ago, Peter was rebuked for trying to dissuade Jesus from journeying to Jerusalem to die, and the Twelve were chastised for arguing amongst themselves as to who among them was the greatest, and now we have James and John are vying for positions of power, glory, and honor.  Take note of the brazenness.  They aren't Jesus.  They are demanding Jesus grant their request.  "We want…"  "See to it…"  This clearly isn't a negotiation.  The other ten apostles became indignant, not over James and John’s behavior, but because they beat them to the punch.  

Yet again, Jesus responds with another lesson on what it means to be a servant.  He first informs the brothers that granting their request will result in their sharing in his suffering and death. The "cup" is always a reference to the suffering and death of Jesus.  He uses the term often, and it is the same "cup" he pleads with his Father to take from him in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Then there is the issue of baptism to which Jesus refers.  The word baptism means to "plunge."  James and John will be "plunged" into Jesus' suffering and death.  They are not merely going to experience it second hand, rather they are going to be immersed into it, as will every Christian who embraces Christ Jesus.  

Judging from the quick response of the brothers, we see that they have no clue to what will be asked of them, yet Jesus affirms that they will indeed share fully in his suffering and death, but then disappoints them by stating that it is not his decision to appoint who sits at this right or left.  That privilege belongs to God the Father alone. Then he makes the most challenging declaration ever to ring in the ears of Christians.  True greatness comes from placing others before you.  This is the essence of divine love, which we are each called to not only embrace, but to also share.  It is a love of volition; a love of choice. God is a communion of three persons who give of themselves completely, perpetually, and eternally in love to each other.  Created in God's image and likeness, we are created to not only do, but to actually be the same.

Let’s recap the messages we have heard over the last few weeks.  One has no greater love than to lay one’s life down for one’s friends (i.e., a sacrificial love of choice).  We must become like children, unconcerned about glory and honor and dependent upon God and accepting of others (i.e., a sacrificial love of choice).  We must serve children - those with no voice who are deemed worthless - without recompense or reward (i.e., a sacrificial love of choice).  Now we hear Jesus state that to be truly great, we must place ourselves at the service of others and take on the role of a servant and slave (i.e., a sacrificial love of choice).  Do you see a pattern here?  Jesus has reiterated this teaching for weeks now as we progress through Mark’s Gospel.  Servanthood is at the heart of Jesus’ (and God’s) law of love.  

Loving neighbor was not an emotional venture, but a volitional one.  The love demanded is one of action and choice.  The only way to love God and neighbor was to place oneself at the service of God and neighbor.  To be a follower of Christ demands that we love others and the way we do that is by placing ourselves in a position to serve them, keeping their best interests at heart, and placing their needs over and above our own.  This is sacrificial love par excellence.  The question now becomes are we willing to take up the role of servant, live a life for others, and be plunged into the Pascal Mystery of Christ?

Mark 10:17-30 

What would Jesus say to you if you were to ask the same question of him as the rich man?  What must I do to inherit eternal life?  That’s the question each of needs to honestly answer.  For the rich man, it was letting go of his possessions, which had taken possession of his heart more so than his love for God and desire for eternal life. 

What obstacles are keeping you from experiencing the fullness of God’s love for you?  Many long to deepen their relationship with God, but complain that they do not have the time due to all of the other responsibilities and obligations they have.  We don't have time to pray like we want. We don't have time to serve others as we'd like. We don't have time to get to Mass on Sunday.  The truth of the matter is that these are lies that we tell ourselves. The one thing we do have in this life is time. It's what we do with that time that matters most. Sadly we tend to focus on things that matter least at the expense of focusing on our relationship with God, which matters most.  We were made for heaven, and eternal life with a God who is Love.  If heaven and eternal life is our ultimate goal, then are our priorities aligned with our goal or is some realignment needed?

Like the rich man who was loved by Jesus, you are loved too, and that love is beyond measure.  So, take time this week to ask God to reveal to you those things that may be preventing you from inheriting eternal life and ask him to remove those obstacles so that you may be free to love him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.  It’s what both you and he truly long for!

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Jesus provides two important lessons on obstacles to loving God and loving others.  In the first, he addresses those times when we are that obstacle.  The disciples are envious because someone is driving out demons in Jesus' name.  Jesus' disciples were recently asked to cast out a demon but were unable to do so (Mark 9:18).  Now, John is upset because someone outside of their group is driving out demons in Jesus' name.  That envy has become an obstacle to the disciples ability to love God and others.  That envy is trying to put a stop to the good that that individual is doing in Jesus' name and the love of Christ that is being born from his actions.  Envy leads to a rejection of God and the recognition of how he has blessed you and if you've ever found yourself in those shoes, then you know well how difficult it is to love someone whom you envy.

There are times when our example leads others to sin.  Are we models of holiness, leading other to the love of God, or are we leading others, including ourselves to a life of sin?  If the latter, Jesus declares boldly that it would be better for us if we were thrown into the depths of the sea with a millstone tied around our neck than it would be for us to be thrown in the fires of hell.  The image is sobering, but the message is clear.  This isn’t a message of condemnation, but a message of love.  Jesus knows the heart of his Father, who doesn't want to lose any of his children to the enemy.  Sometimes we can become an obstacle to the grace and love of God when our actions lead others to sin and separation from God.  Parents, especially, have been given great responsibility to lead their children to holiness, but when prayer, Christian service, and the sacraments are not a regular part of their family's life, then they need to be honest about where they are leading their children.  The same holds true for spouses, friends, and leaders of every kind.  Where are we leading others?

Likewise, sometimes we can find obstacles in our life that are preventing us from loving God and loving others.  Sometimes those obstacles are of our own making.  If someone in your life is leading you to sin, we need to separate ourselves from them or call them to conversion by leading the way ourselves.  If we are the cause of our sin, then we need to root that sin out from our lives.  Sin wounds our relationship with God and others.  Serious sin separates us from God and others.  In stating that we must cut off our hands and feet, and pluck out our eyes if they are leading us to sin, Jesus is making it clear that we must root this evil from our lives at all costs because in failing to do so, we may face eternal separation from God, and God doesn't want to see that happen.   

The good news is that we do not have to go it alone.  Sin exists in our life, but it doesn't have to!  God invites us to turn to him in prayer, and especially in the sacrament of Penance where we receive the grace we need to overcome sin and temptation in our life.  It is here that our faith truly saves us!  God's desire for us to be with him in heaven for eternity is what drove him to humble himself to share in our humanity, to suffer death on a cross, and to rise from the dead.  He destroyed sin and death in that salvific act and he wants nothing more than to destroy sin in your life.  He's just waiting for your permission to do so.  Turn to him in faith knowing that we can do all things through Christ who is our strength, and do whatever it takes to hold fast to the salvation Christ won for you.

Mark 9:30-37

Being able to see the world and each other through the eyes of God is challenging, but that is what God's wisdom is all about.  Human wisdom is indeed folly in comparison to God's infinite wisdom, because human wisdom is constrained by human experience.  Even two people who experience the same thing can come to view the experience differently.  This is the heart of this week's readings.

In the Gospel this week, we see Jesus breaking open what being the Messiah will entail.  It will lead to his death on the cross.  He is trying desperately to help his disciples to see God's wisdom in this final outcome and how it will glorify him and his Father, but instead of seeking clarification for the many questions they had, they focus on their own glorification instead in a debate about who is the greatest among them.  Jesus, ever so patient, calls them to himself and instructs them on how they have been called to bear his presence to others in the way he bears his Father's presence to them, and he does this by challenging their perceptions and inviting them to see others as God sees them.

In a culture rooted in seeking honor and avoiding shame at all cost, children were considered to be low on the social ladder.  After all, there was little they could do to repay anyone or return honor for honor received.  They were inconsequential.  They would have been viewed as non-persons.  They had no rights and no social status.  Who are the people today who are deemed inconsequential, or non-persons, or unworthy of honor?   The poor?  The unborn?  The elderly?   It won't take long for us to compile a list, which is a sad commentary on modern life.  That is the limitation of our human wisdom.  We fail to see the dignity of the human person and the masterpiece of God's creation that each individual is.  Our eyes are clouded by the cataracts of our experiences and biases.  

However, Jesus attempts to remove those cataracts by providing a new way of seeing such individuals - the way God sees them.  He takes a child and putting the child in their midst makes it clear that to honor a child and see to the child's needs is akin to honoring him and the one who sent him.  We are called to serve and to receive others, especially those deemed unworthy, insignificant, or less than human.  In doing so, we become the hands, feet, and face of Christ so that others may encounter the love of Christ.  Cultural norms must turned on their heads in an effort to build God's kingdom here and now.  This role reversal would have shocked his disciples, and it is certainly a challenge for those who claim to be his disciples today, which is why in last week's Gospel Jesus reminds his disciples that they must take up their cross and follow him.  Each of us is "on the way" to eternal life, but the path to eternal life is always through the cross - the ultimate sign of sacrificial love and self-giving.  

Mark 8:27-35

Who is Jesus to you?  C.S. Lewis made famous the notion that we are limited to three choices when it comes to Jesus.  He was who he claimed to be, i.e., God, he was lying about who he was in which case he'd be a liar set on deceiving others and certainly NOT a good man, or he was a lunatic and madman, thinking himself to be a god, but merely a man.   Liar, Lunatic, or Lord, who is Jesus to you?  

Today, there is great effort to diminish Jesus to nothing more than a single voice among many, with the many being other notable religious leaders.  The idea being that Jesus was merely a man who said and did good things and is merely offering one of many spiritual paths available for us to choose.  This is a modern development that stems from a secular society entrenched in relativism, and if everything is relative when it comes to faith and belief, then nothing is relevant, nothing is significant.  This is the great lie of the 21st Century and it's pervasive.  

In this week's Gospel Jesus poses the question of his identity to his inner circle of 12 Apostles, and they reply with concepts not of their own making but what the "world" is saying.   It's pretty easy for us to fall into this trap where we base our thoughts or opinions on what is currently trending at the moment, or the loudest voice in the room that is capturing all of the attention, and drowning out other voices.  Jesus isn't interested in any of that.  He wants to know who he is to us.  What does he mean to us?  He asks his apostles this question directly and it is Peter who declares him to be the Christ, but take notice of what happens next.  Jesus defines what being the Christ means and Peter wants none of it.  That's not the Christ that Peter envisioned and so he tries to dissuade Jesus from the path he plans to walk and he is firmly rebuked by Jesus.

How often do we attempt to do the same?  We don't like what Jesus says, or by extension the Church, and so wave that off as something we can ignore, but let me be clear when I say, we do so at our own peril.  For if Jesus truly is who he claimed to be - God - then what Jesus says and does is a matter of eternal significance for us.  Do we really think we can pick and choose which of Jesus' teachings we'll subscribe to and which ones we can ignore?  That's some serious hubris!  In fact, that's Satan talking.  Who Jesus is matters, not just for those who are seeking to have a personal relationship with Christ, but for the world at large.  

We must resist the urge to reduce Jesus from Lord of lords, and the Son of the Ever-Living God to "my best friend, who never judges me and accepts me for who I am." That is where Satan works his magic.  It all smoke and mirrors steeped in half truths.  The Lord does indeed love you the way you are but he loves you far to much to leave you in a state of sin, which is why he sacrificed himself on the cross and redeemed you.  Does does accept you for who you are, but he makes it abundantly clear that you must go and sin no more when he forgives you.  We are called to be something more than we are, even more than we think we can be.  He doesn't and never will accept your sin or sinful behavior.  If that were true then conversion to Christ isn't even necessary. We'd have no need to change our lives.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that Jesus doesn't judge.  Our faith assures us that we will undergo a particular judgment at the time of our death, and the Christ will judge the living and the dead at the end of time when he returns in all of his glory.  

What we do matters.  What we say matters.  If we say Jesus is my Lord and Savior, then we need to live like it.  The apostles did just that and it led each of them, with the exception of John, to a martyrs death.  They eagerly picked up their cross and followed him because he was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  We are called to to the same, but we will only be willing to do it if we know with complete certainty who Jesus is.  And so once again, the question is posed, Who do you say Jesus is?

Mark 7:31-37

In this week’s Gospel we see Jesus traversing the area around the Sea of Galilee, in particular the Hellenistic and Gentile metropolises in the region.  While the story focuses on the healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment, Mark, in placing Jesus in this particular region, is also drawing attention to the division between Jew and Gentile (i.e., non-Jews).  Partiality can be systemic.

If you recall last week’s Gospel Jesus condemned the Pharisees for making the Law burdensome for the majority of Jewish people.  The preoccupation with purification and cleanliness resulted in people having to make hard choices, like caring for someone who was poor or ignoring their needs.  The deaf and mute beggar would have been viewed as a sinner or the son of sinners, and therefore touching him would rendered a person defiled, and required ritual purification afterwards.  Remember, it’s not like they can just run to the faucet and “purify” themselves afterwards.  Water had to be gathered.  Rituals had to be prepared and then performed.  It was far easier and far more tempting to ignore the needs of others than to make the effort to assist them in their need.  Not much as changed in society today. 

Whenever we place someone over and above ourselves, we incur an inconvenience.  Whenever we set aside our own needs, wants, and desires, in order to fulfill the needs and desires of others, we are making sacrifices.  Is it ever convenient?  Rarely, if ever.  The need is often immediate, which necessitates us setting aside what we need or want to do in order to see the need of the other met.  Yet, this is who we are called to be as disciples of Christ Jesus.  The last shall be first and the first shall be last.  Do unto others as you would have them do to you.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  The bible is filled with verses detailing our obligations to help those in need and less fortunate than ourselves.  Do we pick up our cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, or do we only pick up that cross when it’s a matter of convenience? 

The life of a disciple is demanding.  It’s hard work, and it’s often inconvenient, but Jesus assures us that our reward will be great in heaven. Can we really afford to remain blind to our own partiality and biases to the point where we exclude the needs of others or look down upon others?  God is groaning in his desire to heal his children and bring them peace.  As those baptized in his Spirit and called to conform our lives to Christ can our response be anything less? 

Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The readings for this Sunday speak to the interior disposition of our hearts when it comes to loving God and our neighbor, and that point is made emphatic in this week's passage from Mark's gospel.  Notice how the hypocrisy Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hinges upon their disregard of God's commandments in favor of clinging to human traditions.  Let's be clear.  Traditions are important.  We know that because God’s revelation is rooted in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Tradition allows God’s eternal Word to be actualized and lived in the world today. It is tradition, which enable us to look at issues such as human cloning, same sex marriage, world hunger, political injustice, gender ideology, and know how God’s Law applies to these modern issues.  Make no mistake, Jesus values tradition.  He lived on earth as a devout Jew who followed the traditions of his elders.  However, Jesus is pointing out that tradition must be rooted in service and love of God. When tradition distorts God’s intentions and will, then it becomes burdensome and an anathema to its original intent.  It pits our human will against God's will.  

How does this apply to us today? Does having clean hands or avoiding certain foods, or saying certain prayers at specific times in the day get us to heaven? Not of or in themselves! They do when they are used as a means to help purify our hearts. In other words, intent matters. It is what flows from the heart that matters most.  There's a difference between "pizza Friday" and abstaining from meat on Friday as an act of Penance.  There's a difference between going to Mass on Sunday because I'm afraid to "break a commandment" and go to hell, and going because you long to receive Holy Communion, to be in Communion with God, and to praise and worship him in thanksgiving for all that he has done for you.   Intentions matter.  Remember, it's the disposition of our hearts that will be scrutinized by Jesus when we are judged.  

The Pharisees were often accused by Jesus of making an outward show of piety, but their actions were often self-serving and done out of vainglory with hardened hearts. We all have a little Pharisee in us at times. How often do we seek to project a good image of ourselves in what we do?  In a world driven by "likes" we can lose sight of the "why" of what we do and we end up glorifying ourselves instead of God.

As James noted in this week's second reading. If we truly love God, then loving our neighbor is how we demonstrate our love to God. However, if we seek to do right by them out of selfish ambition and foolish vainglory then we are just as hypocritical as the Pharisees in the gospel. The true source of impurity is the human heart, which is why Jesus takes such great care to school the crowd and his disciples in that simple and pure truth.  It is from the heart that all evil thoughts and activities flow. Yet, the heart is also the holy of holies for all that is pure, good, and holy.

In verse 9 of this passage, which sadly is omitted from this week's gospel, Jesus says, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God, but cling to human tradition."  Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are somehow free to interpret God's Law for yourself.  God knows exactly what he said and what he meant, and it is perfect in and of itself.  This is why Moses in our first reading this week declares that we are not to add to or subtract anything from God's commandments.  They are not burdensome.  If fact, far from being a burden or from impinging on our freedom, God's commandments allow us to live life to the fullest because we know with absolute truth and certainty what is expected of us.  Knowing the "rules" of any game allow us to truly immerse ourselves in the game because we know the goal, the objectives, and what we need to do to obtain them both.  It's when we attempt to make addendums to the rules, modify the rules, or completely eliminate them all together that misery ensues.  Just look at our world today and the chaos we are sowing in our attempt to make up our own rules as we set aside God's.

God's commandments are simple.  Love him with everything you've got and love your neighbor as yourself.  All the law and all the prophets are contained in that one prescription, and by love, we mean willing the good of the other person.  Let's not complicate things because in the end, when we stand before God to receive a just judgment for how we lived our life here on earth, we all want to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Just know that when we stand before God, that we will be judged according to our hearts because intent matters.

John 6:60-69

This week brings to a close our deep dive into Jesus' Bread of Life Discourse found in John's Gospel.  To recap: this is John's substitution for the Institution of the Eucharist.  Unlike the three Synoptic Gospels, there are no words of Institution in John's Gospel.  Coupled with the wedding feast of Cana, John uses this chapter to present a beautiful and profound theology of the Eucharist and a perfect summation of how the early Church viewed the Eucharist, paying particular attention to its central importance in the life of a disciple.

You will recall that the discourse flows from the events of the preceding day where Jesus fed the multitude with a mere five loaves and two fish; a powerful sign that he was God. The response of the crowd was a desire to carry him off and make him king.  The following day, the crowds return looking for more food and Jesus launches into the Bread of Life Discourse declaring himself to be Bread that has come down from Heaven, which causes the crowd to murmur and question his identity because they know who he is.  He just the son of Mary.  They knew where he was from and it wasn't heaven.  Then Jesus declares that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood if they desire to have life.  The crowd now begins to quarrel among themselves because they are uncertain as to whether he is speaking literally or symbolically when he speaks of eating his flesh and drinking his blood.  In response, Jesus changed the words he used for eat, which is reflected in the Greek text, to emphasize that he was speaking literally.  He doubles down by declaring that his flesh is true food and his blood, true drink, using language that again, can only be interpreted in a literal sense leaving no room for any other interpretation.

Now, we see the effect on his disciples.  They too begin to murmur among themselves.  The English translation here in using "murmur" is far gentler than what is implied in Greek.  In Greek they are secretly expressing their discontent and complaining about what Jesus has taught.  In the end, they declare this saying to be hard, and question who can accept it.  It is clear that they have understood Jesus correctly and are taking him literally.  In the end, we are told that many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. This is the only time that his disciples abandon him over something that he taught.  It is a pivotal moment, and so he asks his inner circle, the Twelve, if they too will abandon him, and once again Peter speaks up boldly, proclaiming that Jesus has the words of eternal life.  Why? Because he too, along with the other eleven apostles have understood him correctly, and they believe!

The theology John presents us on the early Church's understanding of the Eucharist is not arbitrary, nor was it limited in scope to John's community of believers.  This was the universal understanding of the Eucharist at the time, that the Eucharist species of bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of Jesus during the consecration.  Jesus is really, truly, and substantially present in the Eucharist and for those who believe, the Eucharist is the most profound encounter one can have with Jesus, this side of heaven!  Even a cursory reading of the writings of the early Church Fathers will reveal the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

What's interesting is how the crowds demanded Jesus show them a sign at the outset of his discourse when he declared that the work of God was to believe in him, and how he responded by pointing to the sign of his true presence in the Eucharist.  Today, it is only the Catholic Church that believes in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as revealed in this passage.  Other Christian churches believe the bread and wine are merely symbols, and that Jesus is present in a spiritual way with the people when they gather for worship.  The Catholic Church teaches that the species of bread and wine are not merely symbols, by that they are in fact transubstantiated during the consecration at Mass into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Jesus.  In this miraculous event, which occurs at every Mass and is witnessed by everyone in attendance, the appearance of the bread and wine remain unchanged.  It still looks like bread, smells like bread, feels like bread, and tastes like bread.  The only human faculty that tells us that it is something more is our sense of hearing, because we hear the priest proclaim the words of Jesus, and declare that the bread is his Body and that the wine is his Blood.  In that bold proclamation the substance itself is changed; it's very essence is transformed.  It ceases being bread and wine and becomes the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Jesus himself.  It is truly a miraculous occasion.

And yet, there are still many who do not believe.  God has responded to this lack of belief over the ages, particularly among faithful Catholics, by providing Eucharist miracles that have since been tested and studied in modern times by the scientific community.  Those studies have all provided amazing and inexplicable evidence for the Real Presence that has been professed by the Church for two millennium.  What's beautiful about all of this is that science is now providing the "sign" that what has been proclaimed is indeed true.  

Every scientific analysis of Eucharist miracles, (i.e., instances where there has been a some physical change to the bread and wine following consecration), has produced the same results regardless of whether the sample was 1300 or 30 years old.  The Eucharist is shown to be living heart tissue that has undergone extreme duress.  The heart tissue is always muscular striated tissue of the myocardium, left ventricle with its arteries, veins, branch of vagus nerve, and adipose tissue all identifiable.  The blood type is always type AB blood, a rare blood type most commonly found in those of middle eastern decent, and the same blood type identified on the Shroud of Turin.  The blood has the same protein distribution as found in normal, fresh blood, as if drawn from a living person regardless of the age of the sample.  There are never any signs of preservation, even in samples of Eucharistic miracles that are over 1300 years old!  The sample is always living and fresh, even containing active white blood cells, which are known to die shortly after a person dies.  What I love most about these studies, which have all been done blind, without the researcher knowing where the sample came from, is that they have never been able to complete a DNA profile.  It looks like there won't be any cloning of Jesus, and we can thank God for that!  The end result is that for anyone today who may be demanding a sign, they need look no further.  Science is confirming what has been taught by faith for two millennium.  As Jesus noted at the outset of his discourse, "they shall be taught by God."  God is shining his spotlight on the Eucharist in these instances so that the world may see and believe!

So only one question remains.  Do you believe, or will you leave him too?  And if you have left him, and are no longer a part of the Catholic Church, prayerfully reconsider your position.  You have a home, an eternal home, a home that Jesus has said that we can only access by eating his flesh and drinking his blood, but you also have a home in the Catholic Church.  There is a place for you in the Church, and like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, God is just waiting for you to come to your senses and return home where he is waiting to receive you and offer you the choicest feast one could ever hope for...the precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of his Son, Jesus, in the Eucharist. 

John 6:51-58

Last week you may recall that the crowd was murmuring over what Jesus said.  Now we see things escalate to the point that they are openly quarreling among themselves about what Jesus means.  Like seed thrown on rocky soil, among the thorns, or on the path, their faith was shallow and without root.  They’ve seen signs and yet demand more signs, but truth be told, it will never be enough to sway their lack of faith.  As the saying goes, “for those who believe, no proof is necessary.  For those who don’t believe, no proof will suffice.”

As we will come to see, Jesus’ words are an invitation to the most profound and intimate covenant relationship ever offered by God.  For the crowd (and dare I say most of Christendom), not only are those words misunderstood, but as we shall see next week, they are flat out rejected by most.  And just what is this invitation that Jesus is inviting us to?  It is a real physical encounter with him in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is not merely some symbol of Jesus, nor is it merely a memorial?  Jesus is really, truly, and substantially present in the Eucharist: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, or what the Church refers to as the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  How can we be certain?  For that, we need to examine the original Greek.  

In the English language the word "eat" can be used literally or symbolically depending on the context. For example, when I look at a cute baby and say, "Oh, I could just eat you up," it should be obvious that I'm not speaking literally about eating the baby, but rather I’m expressing how adorable I find the baby.  In verse 51, Jesus says, "I am the living bread that came 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."  When Jesus says this, a quarrel breaks out among the crowd because the Greek word for “eat” in this verse is phage, which can mean to eat something literally or symbolically, much like how we use our English word "eat” in the example above.  Clearly this is causing some confusion within the crowd as some take Jesus' words literally and are horrified at the idea of eating a man's flesh, while others take what he says symbolically, and are more likely just confused about what Jesus is trying to say. The end result is that they begin to argue about it among themselves, but then Jesus changes the word he uses for EAT in verse 54 in order to make clear what he saying.  In that verse, the Greek word for eat is trogon, which means to chew or masticate one's food.  It is a Greek word that only has a literal interpretation. There's absolutely no way one would interpret or use this Greek word in a symbolic sense.  Jesus is making it clear for the crowd that he is speaking literally of eating his flesh and he repeats the same Greek word in every instance for the remainder of his discourse (see verses 56, 57, and 58).  

Furthermore, in verse 55, Jesus states that his "flesh is true food," and his "blood is true drink." The Greek word for "true" in this instance is aléthós, which is an adverb, so it is used in this sentence to describe the verb “is.” It is a word that describes something as genuine, reflecting true reality, and that which was demonstrably valid.  In other words, Jesus is declaring that his flesh is genuine food, it is real food, it is demonstrably, incontrovertibly, and proven food.  The Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  There's just no possible way to interpret Jesus’ words symbolically.  The Greek words and expressions chosen by John in this passage have no other interpretation than a literal understanding, and as we will see next week, many of his disciples leave Jesus over this teaching because they understood it correctly as Jesus intended it to be understood, and it was too much for them to believe.

Even a cursory examination of the writings of the early Church Fathers will find consensus on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.  Whenever someone professed that it was just a symbolic presence, they were denounced and condemned as a heretical by the Church.  In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent in 1563 reaffirmed the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as being really, truly, and substantially present, and declared that anyone who denied this teaching was to be denounced.  Sadly, we find most Catholics today either ignorant of this central doctrine of the Church or in complete denial of it.  A study conducted in 2019 by the PEW Institute on Religious Studies found that a mere 31% of Catholics living in the US believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which has been a core teaching of the Church for two millennium, and that is a drop of 24% from a previous study conducted by PEW in 2010.  The study also found that 43% of Catholics believe that the Eucharist is just a symbol of Jesus and that this is what the Church believes and teaches, and 22% of Catholics are aware of the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but they reject the teaching.  Thankfully the statistics for belief in the Real Presence have been trending more favorably since the US Bishops took the initiative to address this issue through the Eucharistic Revival and Congress in response to the 2019 study.

Jesus, our Lord and our God, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the Incarnate Word of God, proclaimed something profound about himself in the Eucharist.  He declared unequivocally in this passage from John’s Gospel, that the Eucharist is nothing less than the total and complete gift of his very self; Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.  The Eucharist is the primary means through which Jesus continues to make himself present in the world. Remember, every Christian professes in the Creed that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead at the end of time as we know it.  Jesus is no longer physically present in this world, but he gave the Church the Holy Spirit to continue his work of building the Kingdom and to help us to grow in holiness. However, he did leave a way for the Church to make him present sacramentally so that he could fulfill his promise to remain with us until the end of time. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the primary means through which he fulfills this promise.  There are others, like the other six sacraments of the Church, Sacred Scripture, and when two or three are gathered in his name, but it is the Eucharist alone that is the source and summit of the Christian life because Christ Jesus is really, truly, and substantially present in Holy Communion.  He is the source of all holiness and the summit of holiness to which every saint in the making aspires. There is no more profound or intimate encounter we can have with God this side of heaven than when we consume the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Living God, Christ Jesus in Holy Communion. We literally take him in his entirety into our very selves through our consumption of the Eucharist and we become entirely one with him. The Eucharist is how Jesus, the Bridegroom, consummates his relationship with his bride, the Church. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

It takes a mind and a heart of faith to see the truth of what Jesus proclaims of himself in this incredible Gospel passage.  So many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are oblivious to this incredible gift as a result of ignorance or foolish denial.  We must hope and pray that they will come to their senses, like the Prodigal Son, reconsider their position, and return to the Eucharist where an incredible encounter with the love of God through the person of Jesus Christ awaits.  For Jesus makes clear the implications of this teaching when he declares, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you," and that “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day.”  The invitation is there and it is for everyone who believes.  Jesus is eagerly waiting for you to accept his invitation so that his joy may be in you and your joy may be complete!

John 6:41-51

Do you believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist?  Do you truly understand what the Church means when they speak of the Real Presence of Christ Jesus in the Eucharist?  Do you comprehend the implications of this teaching Jesus gives us?  This is the most pivotal teaching of Christ Jesus, bar none, and if we do not get this right, then in the words of Flannery O'Connor, "If it's just a symbol, to hell with it."  Believing that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus, that is, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ himself, truly, and fully present in every particle of a consecrated Host and every drop of consecrated wine, is a matter of faith. We see in this week's Gospel the lack of faith present in the crowds and how that lack of faith became an obstacle to them receiving the most incredible gift Jesus had to give: the eternal gift of his divine life on the cross which is perpetuated in every celebration of the Mass and share intimately with us in Holy Communion.  

Our Gospel this week opens with that obstacle front and center.  The same crowd that witness the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish the day before and who were ready to carry him off and make him king, now stand in dismay and disbelief in what Jesus is proclaiming.  He is just the son of a lowly carpenter.  They know his parents and where he is from, and it ain't heaven as he is proclaiming to them.  They begin murmuring among themselves and questioning what he is proclaiming, as if they couldn't have possible heard him correctly.  We see the same happening today as secular society and its love for relativism seeks to reduce Jesus, Son of God, to just one of many good spiritual leaders of a past that is increasing becoming antiquated and irrelevant.  Jesus' divinity is being questioned as the world attempts to reduce him from a divine Being, the Son of the Living God, to just a holy man.

Jesus knows their hearts (and ours!) and the lack of faith that is causing them to question what he is proclaiming.  He calls them out and attempts to make clear what he is talking about.  He proclaims that no one will come to believe in him unless the Father draws him, that he will raise that person on the last day, that he has seen the Father, and that whoever believes has eternal life.  Believes what?  Believes in the one God has sent as we saw in last week's excerpt.  These are bold claims indeed!  

Who is he that he should make such claims?  He is the great "I AM!" and we need to heed his words because as John so eloquently notes, "They shall be taught be God."  This is why Jesus proclaims, "I am the living bread that came 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."  When Jesus uses that "I AM" statement he is appropriating the name of God for himself.  If you have any doubt about that look at those instances where he does so and you'll see the reaction of the crowd as they proclaim blasphemy and attempt to stone him time time and time again.  Understanding this truth about the identity of Jesus is key to our being able to understand what Jesus will proclaim in next week's Gospel.  

For now, know that the bread that he is offering us will lead to eternal life, and that bread is not being given to a select few, but to the world, if only the world would believe.  So, do you believe?  Do you believe that the Eucharist is Christ Jesus?  Next week's Gospel will continue our deep dive into the Bread of Life Discourse and if there are any doubts, any obstacles to you believing what Jesus, the Son of God is proclaiming, next week's Gospel should clear it up.  And if you do believe, then next week's Gospel will be for you, one of the most beautiful teachings Jesus ever proclaimed about himself.  Until then, regardless of which side of the fence you fall on, take time this week to ponder the implications of what Jesus is proclaiming and its ramifications for our soul, and for our participation in the Mass.    

John 6:24-35

Here we continue our exploration into the masterpiece that is Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel.  However, there's an episode that is omitted that I think is worth mentioning.  Sandwiched between the feeding of the multitude and the Bread of Life discourse that occurs the following day is when Jesus walks on water and commands Peter to do the same.  Nothing John writes is random, so his inserting this event between these two episodes is significant, but we'll come to see why in due time.  

In last week's Gospel, we heard about the feeding of the multitude and how the crowd wanted to carry Jesus off and make him king, but what happened the following day?  The crowds seek Jesus out.  They are actively searching for him, not because they believe that he is God, but because they are seeking another meal.  They were ready to carry him off and make him king the day before, but today is a new day.  Look at the language John uses when speaking of the crowd.  They refer to him not as Messiah, not as Lord, but as Rabbi and several verses later they address him merely as Sir.  They even demand that Jesus perform a sign so that they can “see” and “believe” in him.  It looks like yesterday's miracle was old news and nothing more than a memory.  Seeing is believing, as they say.  Before we begin to think ill of the crowd, let’s take a hard look in the mirror, shall we?

How often have we proclaimed or recognized God’s goodness only to demand proof of his goodness when things go awry?  If we truly know Jesus, like Paul urges in the second reading, we'd realize that such questions are unwarranted and dare I say, ridiculous.  When we see Jesus for who he really is: the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, our Lord and Savior, then it is easy to believe in him and place our faith and trust in him during those dark and uncertain times in our life, and when we truly love someone, we don't demand that they prove it because knowing is enough.  Is that how we approach our relationship with God, or do we find ourselves more often than not taking up the role of the crowd?

Jesus is the Bread of Life, and we shall see in the weeks ahead how our very salvation depends on our recognizing this simple truth and how this truth is expressed and fulfilled in our celebration of the Eucharist at Mass.  We spend so much time and effort seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places, placing our hope in things of this world that are fleeting and temporal (like looking for the next meal to satiate our hunger).  We are very hungry, but we must recognize that our hunger is for something so much more.  If only we had the eyes to see what God is offering us through his Son who came that we might have life and have it to the full.  It is only through Jesus that our deepest longing will ever be satiated because that longing is simply to be loved.  

Keep in mind also that this entire discourse is prompted by the question the crowd poses to Jesus, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"  That is a loaded question and one that would invoke a different response from every person asked, but what does Jesus say in response?  The work of God is to believe in HIM!  Believe in Jesus, believe in his infinite love and mercy for you, believe that he longs to spend eternity with you, that you were create and made for a purpose, and you’ll never hunger or thirst for anything else because everything that you long for will be filled in him and as he says later in Chapter 14 of John's Gospel, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  Our belief in Jesus enables us to accomplish the works of God, the same work that Jesus himself was doing!  How amazing is that?  Do we possess that the kind of belief in Jesus?  Some might hesitate and with good reason, but Jesus goes on to give us a reason to believe.

When prompted for a "sign" from the crowd, Jesus launches into the Bread of Life discourse, which for John, is a discourse on the Eucharist.  The connection is clear.  The Eucharist was given to help us believe in Christ Jesus to equip us to do the works he has done to accomplish the works of God!  How that occurs will be the subject of our next reflection, and I haven't forgotten about the walking on water episode.  That connection too will be established in the weeks ahead.

This Sunday's Gospel is from the 6th chapter of John and over the next few weeks we take a brief diversion from Mark’s Gospel to explore the feeding of the multitude in John's Gospel and its ramifications.  Here we see Jesus mirroring the actions of Moses by going up on the mountain. Great things take place up on mountains, including profound encounters with God. The sign that was about to be performed represents the greatest possible encounter we can have with our Lord in our human state, that is the Eucharist, and by going up on a mountain John is relating to the disciples of Jesus (i.e., you and I) that what is taking place is the establishment of a new covenant; the new and eternal covenant of the Eucharist!

John first makes note of the fact that the most important Jewish feast day was near – the Passover. The significance of his noting this cannot be underscored enough. We must remember that there is no institution narrative of the Eucharist in John’s Gospel. The words, “This is my body…this is my blood” are nowhere to be found. Instead, John uses this story or sign to express his theology of the Eucharist. Hence, he ties this sign of Jesus to the Passover, for Jesus is the new Passover. Keep in mind also that when we speak of sign in John's Gospel we are referring to a sign that points to Jesus being God. Sign doesn't mean symbol, and that's an important distinction as we'll come to see in the weeks ahead.

Adding to the Eucharistic theme are the five barley loaves and two fish. Add them together and you get the number seven, which is the numerological sign for completeness. Another number with significance that occurs in the Gospel is twelve, and we see how there are twelve baskets in which fragments of the food left over are gathered. The twelve baskets represent the twelve tribes of Israel. These twelve tribes were scattered throughout the known world as a result of the fall of the northern and southern kingdoms and the exiles that followed. They were fragmented.  Jesus' actions that day were symbolic of his gathering together the fragments of the twelve tribes. He was unifying them once again. How? John would say it was through the Eucharist, which would become the new Passover for the disciples. St. Paul speaks often of how we are one Body, united in Christ. The sacrament of the Eucharist literally brings us together as one Body, united in Christ.

The people who were gathered that day quickly realized that Jesus was the Prophet, a term used in reference to the Messiah.  They want to carry him off and make him king. Once again the people have misunderstood the nature of the Messiah. They were anticipating and even hoping for a political Messiah, but Jesus came not to redeem them from the clutches of Roman rule and occupation, but from the clutches of sin and death.  Whereas Moses liberated the people from the bonds of slavery, Jesus would liberate us from the bonds of sin and death.

Over the next few weeks John will reveal the implications of this wondrous sign by having Jesus himself explain the event to those around him. We will quickly see the people's initial reaction of wonder and awe turn into confusion and then condemnation. If only they opened themselves up to the words of Christ, then perhaps they could have seen the truth, and their lives would have been radically transformed, because that is the true power of the Eucharist, as the source and summit of the Christian life.