Luke 11: 1-13 (Sunday, July 29, 2007) Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Homily by Rev. Mr. Jerry Showalter

The Gospel just proclaimed presents to us the Lord’s Prayer, and You probably thought something felt or seemed wrong!
Truly, it’s not the “Our Father” we learned as children or that is prayed during Mass. What’s going on?

Biblical scholars tell us St. Luke’s writing of the Lord’s prayer predates Matthew’s which is longer.
St. Luke presents this teaching of Jesus (concerning prayer)
in a shorter version as he writes to those like himself, Gentile converts.
Jewish Converts to Christianity came already accustomed to a tradition of daily prayer.
Gentile converts were not and needed to be encouraged to acquire the habit of regular prayer. Luke therefore also stresses perseverance.
This gospel may also touch our situations as the pressures of daily life challenge our prayer time.

When we look carefully at today’s Gospel reading we see the disciples are not merely asking how to pray. They want to know what should be the content of the prayer a prayer that would identify them as true followers of Jesus.
We know The “Lord’s Prayer” was embraced by the early Christians and soon held a central place in the Church’s life. It was a badge of membership a measure of the true Christian spirit. In constant use in the Church’s life this prayer evolved.
We are more familiar with the form presented in Matthew’s Gospel (6:9-13) Luke’s concise wording however clearly identifies the essentials of the prayer of Jesus.
God is addressed as “FATHER.” (IN A SENSE THIS SAYS IT ALL.)
Jesus came that we might know the mercy and generosity of his Father, the Father who is ready to give us everything good even the Holy Spirit if we only ask.

In making our petitions we are to pray asking that we and those who share this world with us may play our part in the fulfillment of God’s plans.
In the midst of live with its ups and downs we are encouraged to pray for “our daily bread.” We can place all our trust in the Father who watches over us.
We can acknowledge our sinfulness confident that we shall be forgiven because we have learned the Father’s ways and are ready ourselves to forgive.
As for that “final test “ it’s time to practice TRUST. Whatever lies ahead we put ourselves in God’s care.

You also noticed I’m sure today’s reading didn’t end with the “Lord’s Prayer.”
Next comes all this knocking on doors in the middle of the night. The way Jesus encourages perseverance may puzzle us. Clearly he does not mean that the Father has to be sweet-talked or badgered into granting the favors we ask. However if we repeatedly plead for what seems important to us and bring our needs before God in simplicity and faith our relationship with the Father will grow and mature.

Our prayer will certainly be heard (Jn 5:16) tells us We have God’s word for it especially a prayer made “in the name of Jesus” But the fact is although each prayer will be answered they may not be answered in the way we initially desired.
And then Jesus draws a comparison between our willingness (when asked) to give what’s best to our loved ones and the Fathers willingness (when asked) to give his best the gift of the Holy Spirit. St. Luke (in accepting the prayer taught by Jesus) identifies the primary prayer of the Christian needs to be must be FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT to be in their lives. From the things he had and was witnessing St. Luke understood the power and importance of God’s greatest gift. On a daily basis Luke watched how the Holy Spirit lead and aided those working to Christianize the world. He witnessed the Holy Spirit transform gestures and sounds into Jesus’ prophetic deeds and words.

In fact even today our words become Jesus’ words our deeds his deeds WHEN we act and speak through the gift of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is necessary for the Christian to be a complete and competent disciple of Jesus. We know the Holy Spirit is received at Baptism. He is called down on the water to be used. In the Baptismal rite we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Do we baptized Christians always live the way of the Spirit? Wouldn’t that be nice however oftentimes the gift of the Holy Spirit is placed on the shelf (as it were) like an unwrapped present.We all need peace in our homes and within ourselves.

Many of us need a return to health for ourselves or for someone in our family. But the greatest need that we have is a universal need the need to justify our existence. We need to have meaning in our lives. We need to live our lives in a way that results in a transformation of the world for the better.

As Christians we are called to change the world by making Christ Real in the world. We through our words and actions CAN transform the world BY being Christ for others.
For that to be possible for that to take place those around us must see must experience a presence of the Lord in US. Isn’t this a wonderful a glorious task to undertake? Doesn’t it offer a heavenly reason or purpose for our existence?
Although we may sometimes question how we can have the arrogance to think that we can be Christ to others We MUST TRUST in the word of God. WE MUST TRUST IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.

When we pray for the Holy Spirit we are praying that God will work through us. We are praying that God will give meaning to our lives. No matter how grave our other needs may be nothing is more important than the need to make Jesus present in the world.
“How should we pray, Lord?” Jesus’ was asked.

“How should we pray?” Father, May your name be holy.
May your kingdom come. May we receive what we need. May we be forgiving of others so that we may be forgiven. May we be persistent in expressing our needs. May we be filled with your Holy Spirit so as to make Jesus’ presence in the world visible, visible on a daily basis in and through the things we do.
Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of Your faithful,
And kindle in them the fire of Your love.
Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.
And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Rev. Mr. Jerry Showalter is a permanent deacon at St. Margaret Mary Church, Parkersburg, WV.

Matthew 13: 24-30 (Saturday, July 28, 2007)

We are all created good. God created us in his own image and likeness. God’s image and likeness is perfect. The Psalmist says we are created a little less than the angels; and the author of Genesis says, God saw all that he made was good. Our evil or failure to be good is not God’s fault but our own freewill to choose evil over the good. Even when the human person chose evil over the good, God still wished salvation for all of us and he sent Jesus Christ to come and die on the Cross that we might be save.

On the other hand, the devil has been sleepless ever since he was defeated and thrown out of heaven. He has constantly sought to lead God’s people astray. St. Peter tell us that our enemy the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for who to devour. He is the one that sows the seeds of sin in our hearts. Jesus constantly gives us the opportunity to repent; to turn to him. The parable of today clearly tells us that the day of reckoning is coming, when we shall give account of how we lived our lives. On whose side are we? The reward of those who are on the side of Jesus is eternal life in heaven; and the reward for those who picked the side of Satan is the eternal fire of hell.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ we acknowledge that we were created out of love and you offered your life for us because you love us. We go through life facing many temptations from the evil one the devil. We promise to follow you, yet we constantly fall again and again in sin. Do not condemn us in your justice O Lord, but through your loving mercy, give us the strength to continue to be faithful to you, so that on the last day, we will re-unite with you, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints in our eternal home in heaven.

Matthew 13: 18-23 (Friday, July 27, 2007)

If you have ever been in one of those mega revivals where there are great emotional preachers, you will understand clearly what Jesus is saying in this parable. One thing characteristic of those events is an “altar call” where people are invited to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. After a very passionate message from the preacher, many people come forward and acknowledge the acceptance of Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. This people who come forward with very good intentions and believe that they have a conversion experience, most often find themselves backsliding few days later. William James in his classic, “The Varieties of Religious experience” chronicles these experiences of conversion. This experience of conversion in a revival reflects the three characteristics of those who receive the Word of God in Jesus’ parable of the sower:

· The seed that falls on the path
· The seed sown on rocky grounds
· The seed sown among thorns

One thing common among these three is that the seed does not have firm roots. The soul that just received conversion at the revival needs to let the Word of God truly take root in his or heart, lest, the person backslides. Conversion is not a one time experience but it is an ongoing experience. It is important that we do not underestimate the power of the devil. We have to constantly reflecting and living the Word of God in our lives. It is in this way that it will truly bear fruit. The only way we can access how rooted the Word of God is in your life is by your actions, the fruits of God’s Word.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ we come before you asking that you give us a deeper understanding of your Word. Help us in our daily lives to live out this Word in ways that other people will come to know that you are truly the Lord and Savior. When temptations come, give us the graces we need to withstand them, so that we will continue to be faithful to you all the days of our lives.

Matthew 13: 10-17 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)

Jesus Christ continues to reveal himself to his Apostles. He gives them a hint to his messianic and salvific role when he says to them that many of the prophets had longed to see and hear what they hear but they could not. The great prophets of the Old Testament had faithfully carried their mission with the longing for the Messianic reign of God. None of them had the privilege of living, dinning and hearing the Messiah preach to them in human voice. Here the disciples of Jesus have that singular privilege. Many of the people have shut their eyes and ears from seeing and hearing the Messiah. Despite all the signs he has performed and the revelations he had made to them, they still are not open to receiving Him into their lives. Jesus praises the disciples because they have opened their hearts to receive him.

Sometimes we behave like our friend St. Augustine before conversion. We pray, “Lord give me chastity but not now.” We pray to experience the Lord in our lives, yet we are not quite ready to let him into our lives. We want him but just not yet. We close our eyes from seeing him, we block our ears from hearing him. We are afraid that when Jesus comes into our lives, he will turn things around. We are just comfortable where we are but we truly know that we need him to come transform our lives. He invites us today to let him into our hearts, so that he will change us. He is present in the Eucharist begging to come and transform our lives.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ we ask you to open our eyes that we may see you more clearly and acknowledge you as the Lord of our lives; open our ears that we will hear your gentle transforming voice; open our hearts that we may love you more allow you to love us more dearly; and open our whole being that we may follow you more closely holding unto you all the days of our lives.

Matthew 20: 20-28 (Wednesday, July 25, 2007 – Feast of St. James)

The mother of James and John desires higher authority for her son. Jesus Christ in the gospel gives us the Christian meaning of authority. For the gentiles, authority means Lording it over others. We see this all over the world with the corrupt and dictatorial governments. Unfortunately, many persons who call themselves Christians are engaged in this unchristian practice. Jesus Christ in the gospel tells us that Christian authority is for service. This was the ultimate example of his own life when he did not want to be crowned a political king but he took on the form of a slave and died a shameful death on the Cross. The Apostles of Christ understood clearly this teaching of Jesus and they were always at the service of his people. St. James the Greater whose feast day we celebrate today took this example of Jesus seriously. He became the first apostle to be martyred.

In our daily lives, let us take seriously this teaching of Jesus. Opening the door for someone, attending to the needs of others in the community, treating others with respect and love and little but great acts of service we can do. To be the people God wants us to be, we must make ourselves available to others who need us.

Matthew 12: 46-50 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)

We always think of our biological families first. We say our biological family is more important than anything other thing. Jesus Christ radically changes this when he says in the gospel of today that whoever does the will of his Father is his brother, sister and mother. We are all drawn into the family of Christ through our faith. Jesus Christ tells us in John 1: 12 that for all that have faith, he has given them the powers to be sons and daughters of God. Today, Jesus generously shares his family with us and that is what we do when we are being baptized. At baptism, we become the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

The second level of this teaching is that everyone who is a member of this family also becomes a brother or sister of all those that belong to the family. Our baptismal waters is thicker than biological blood. You are more closely related with the person in your Christian community who shares the baptism and faith in Jesus than with a biological brother who does not. When we see other members of the Christian community today, let us not see them as strangers but as brothers and sisters.

Matthew 12: 38-42 (Monday, July 23, 2007)

The Jews always looked for signs to prove the authenticity of a prophet. Jesus Christ is among the people as the sign of the Father, yet, the people do not recognize him. They are still looking for some other sign in order to acknowledge him as the Son of God. Even if Jesus had performed another sign, it wouldn’t even have made any difference because in Matthew 12: 22, when he healed the man who was blind and mute, they accused him of performing the sign with the power of the prince of demon. The contrast with the people of Nineveh is that at least they believed in the sign given by Jonah and repented. The people see the sign of God in Jesus, yet they do not believe.

Sometimes we are like these people who failed to recognize the presence of Jesus. Many a Catholic rush to all these tele-evangelists who claim to bring people back to life; many Catholics run from one apparition site to the other in search of miracles; yet, Jesus Christ is present with us every day in the Eucharist, healing us of our diseases. Jesus Christ is present in the neighbor that we encounter; Jesus Christ is present in the tabernacle all day. I consider the tabernacle to be the greatest apparition because Jesus Christ is present there, inviting us to come and visit with him. Let us this week acknowledge the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, neighbor and in the tabernacle and let us worship and adore him.

Genesis 18: 1-10a (Sunday, July 22, 2007)

The first reading today invites us to be hospitable. Most times, when we do good deeds, we think of our rewards as being only in heaven. Today we learn that we can even begin to reap our reward here on earth. Today we learn how Abraham receives a blessing from the Lord for his hospitality to strangers. There are few things we need to take note in this story:

• Abraham was very open to the strangers. He did not wait for the stranger to come begging for help but he reached out to the strangers. The reading says that when he saw them, he ran up to them and greeted them. He accepts them and provides for them.
• Abraham also gives to them his best. Even without knowing their names, who they are, he generously give to them the best that he had. He did not give to them his left overs that he did not want, but he gave to them the best that he had.

The reward for Abraham’s generosity and hospitality is the promise that Sarah would bear a son. If Abraham had not welcomed them, he would not have received this promise. Again and again we see this happening in the scriptures. In the story of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, Christ only revealed himself to them when they invited him to a meal. When we were growing up as little children, one thing our parents always insist on was the idea of being hospitable to strangers. My parents would insist that if someone passes by and requests for water or a meal, we should always provide it generously because that person might be God. We heard many scary stories as children in which God had requested for a drink from someone and the person refused and then God turned around and revealed himself to the person. I am always conscious of these stories and when I see a homeless person, I always think of that person being God or Jesus Christ. Jesus himself taught us in the scriptures that whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me. He is present in all the people that we encounter.
In 1Kings 17: 7-24, we learn of the wonderful encounter between Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. She gave of all that she had to the prophet Elijah and in return, Elijah promised her that the jar of flour will not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry. This was the reward for her hospitality and generosity. This woman gave all that she had to the prophet. That is pretty scary right. It takes faith to do this and that is what God is inviting us to do. In America today, there are over 40,000 storage houses. 20% of Americans have things in those storage houses. Some of those things have been there for years and the cost of paying the storage for that time has been even more than the value of the goods in the storage. We’ve got a big problem here. We need to give away those things. There are over 2350 verses in the bible that talk specifically about finances and material possessions. Given that there are only about 350 verses on faith, 650 verses on love and 275 verses on prayer, I think finances and material possessions are of great concern to God. We need to get into the Christian attitude of generosity and hospitality, sharing all that we have with those in need. It is only when we begin to do this that we can begin to experience the freedom and blessings that God has given to us. Isaiah 58: 10-11 tells us that if we feed the hungry and help those who are in trouble, the Lord will guide us continuously and would make the darkness around us be as bright as day. Not only that, the prophet tells us that the Lord will satisfy you with all good things and keep you healthy too.

In Acts of the Apostles 9: 36 – 42, we read of the story of Tabitha. She was a generous woman who made tunics and cloaks. She generously shared this with the members of the community. When she died, the Christians were filled with pain that they called upon the Apostles and Peter restored her to life. Our generosity can lead to our restoration. You will not be able to receive the blessings the Lord has in stock for you, if you are holding too tight to what he has already given to you. This is because your hands would be full and you would not have the capacity to receive more new stuff from him. We need to get into the one year principle of generosity. Look through all the stuff that you have. For some of us, our garages are full with stuff and we cannot even park our cars in them; our basements are full with stuff and then we have extra storages we pay for. Look through, if there is anything you have not used for a whole year, you probably do not need it. Consider giving it out to someone who needs. Five years, ten years, down the line, when you need it, God would generously send someone who would give to you.
God has made us to be generous people. He was first generous by sending his only son to come and die for us. He wants us to be a generous people and joyfully share all that we have with others. It is only when we are generous that we are truly the people God wants us to be. May the Eucharist we share today, strengthen us and give to us the courage to joyfully share all that we have with other members of our community.

Matthew 12: 14-21 (Saturday, July 21, 2007)

The prophet Isaiah rightly reveals that Jesus Christ is the hope of the gentiles. Salvation is not exclusive to the Jewish people. Through Jesus Christ, even the gentiles can be saved. Jesus presence in the world was to reconcile all men and women to God; not only the Jews but everyone. Most of the early disciples did not understand this teaching by Jesus and they insisted on the gentiles becoming Jews first. Our friend, St. Paul clearly understood this and emphasized the fact that in Jesus all that believe are also the descendants of Abraham. This is because, Jesus Christ is the singular descendant of Abraham. Anyone who has faith in Jesus, will also share in the blessings of Abraham.

It is important for us to look up to Jesus Christ; trust in him and love him. In all our circumstances, let us put them into his hands, for he is our hope, our life and our salvation.

Matthew 12: 1-8 (Friday, July 20, 2007)

The sin of Jesus’ disciples is that they prepared a meal on Sabbath day. Sabbath law prevented Jews from working on Sabbath day. Cooking was considered working. Jesus’ position regarding this is that the response to human need is more important than those laws. Also, what matters is the spirit of the law and not the letters of the law. Sometimes we get caught up in liturgical rules. Some of us are like liturgical police who watch out for any slightest difference in the way the liturgy is being celebrated. The most important question we should ask is, “Why is the priest doing this differently?” Even within the liturgical books, the bishop is given some opportunity to adapt certain things.

Our Christianity would not be real if we keep all the liturgical laws and prayers and yet do not respond to the needs of others in our community. The Eucharist that we celebrate should strengthen us to go out and respond to the needs of others. It is the love that God desires and not the sacrifice.

Matthew 11:28-30 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)

In the first reading from Exodus, God revealed himself as Yahweh. We have come to understand this as “I am who I am.” Some theologians today translate the name YHWH in the active dynamic presence as “I shall be there as who I am shall I be there.” This name was so revered that it could be called only once a year by the Jewish priest during the feast of atonement. This name brought about the forgiveness of sins. One of the important questions today for us is how do we use the name of God? He has assured us that he shall always be there as the God of our lives in those moments of difficulties; in those challenging times. As we were told yesterday in the gospel, Jesus Christ reveals the Father. The scripture tells us that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.

Do we call upon the name of Jesus when we labor and are over burden? Jesus Christ has taken our burden and yoke upon himself – the yoke of the law, the burden of slavery, the burden of sin, etc. He gives to us only one burden, the burden of love. He shows us a good example by living this burden of love, in order that we might be saved and he invites us to live out our own burdens with love. It is in doing that, that our yoke would be light.

Matthew 11:25-27 (Wednesday, July 18, 2007)

Jesus Christ in this gospel is not against our desire to know more. He has given us the intellectual capacity to learn. What Jesus Christ is against is that intellectual power that becomes prideful. We all know many theologians who are so intelligent and smart. This is a good thing. However, they think they can figure out everything about Jesus, God and the Bible with their intellectual knowledge. Some of them do not even have faith. The scholars of the law at the time of Jesus were very smart, yet they failed to recognize the presence of Jesus among them; they failed to understand his mission. The twelve who was first understood this message were not the most learned but they were open.

What is important is to be open to Jesus in faith so that he will teach us. It is this openness that will lead us to know Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Knowing Jesus Christ as the Son, is also knowing the Father, because is the one who reveals the Father. The Son has so much power – power over sin and death. As he says in the gospel, all things have been handed over to him by the Father. Knowing him, we can be rest assured that we are in good hands and he will take full and good control of our lives.

Matthew 11:20-24 (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)

The Bible speaks of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah as people living a life of the flesh; an evil lifestyle that is in contrast with the life God wants his people to live. What is possibly the sin of the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida that Jesus compares them to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and says it will be more tolerable for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida are not known to have persecuted Jesus, neither did they drive him away from their territories. Jesus gives us a clue as to what their sin is. These people failed to recognize the presence of Jesus in their midst. Even though Jesus performed powerful miracles among them, they still could not accept Jesus. Are we like these people? Christ’s is always present to us in the Eucharist, yet we sometimes live like people who have never encountered Christ.

The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida were indifferent to the presence and message of Christ. We are told in the book of Revelation that because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Jesus does not want lukewarm Christians. Empowered by the Eucharist, Jesus wants us to be agents of change, disciples of the Truth in the midst of the world.

Matthew 10: 35 – 11:1 (Monday, July 16, 2007)

The word of God truthfully preached brings about divisions. This is because, the word of God is like a two edged sword, the Old Testament tells us. Even in our hearts, it shall tear through us. The message of Christ would begin to challenge the things for many years our culture has conditioned us to accept as being okay. It will challenge us to get out of our comfort zones and be the people God really wants us to be. This would be like a storm in our lives; it would not be peaceful. Beginning to follow this new path Jesus Christ is giving you in your life will lead to another set of divisions, your wife or husband may rise against or your children may. Can you imagine what the response of your wife or husband would be when you suddenly say to him or her, “honey we don’t need to put in $500 every month in our retirement account. Let us put in only $100 and give the rest to those dying children of Darfur or Haiti. God will take care of our future.” He or she will say you must be crazy. This is the challenge of the gospel preached by Jesus.

We have a choice, either to follow Christ’s wish for our lives or to follow the wishes of a human person. As Christians, we certainly have to follow the wish of Jesus Christ. Following his path is not easy. It is challenging but he invites us to joyfully carry the crosses that come our way as a result of our following him. In doing this, he would certainly acknowledge us before his Father. Let us pray today asking God to tell us practically what he wants us to do with our lives and let us be open to the challenges he will give to us.

Luke 10: 25 – 37 (Sunday, July 15, 2007)

In the opening prayer of our liturgy today, we prayed, “Lord, may your love make us the people you have called us to be.” Christ loves us and has shown his love by first dying on the Cross for us. It is this same love that he invites us to share with us. He has called us to be people of love. Christianity is a religion that is founded on love and we cannot speak of a Christianity without love. The act of Jesus Christ on the Cross reflects the deepest sense of love and it is this act that liberates us from our life of sinfulness and calls us into this community of love, called the Christian Church. We cannot say we are Christian if we have no love in our hearts for other people. It is this love that is the key to the kingdom of God. Jesus told the teacher of the law in the gospel of today that love of God and neighbor is required in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

The story of the man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho is an amazing story that truly teaches us true love. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a dangerous road, yet this man stupidly decided to go on the journey alone. He is attacked by arm robbers. The priest saw him and passed by; the Levite saw him and also passed by; it was only the Samaritan that stopped and helped him. These three characters: the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan teaches us three things about what Christian love means.

The priest did not want to be defiled because as a priest he was not supposed to touch dead bodies. By doing so, he is liturgically barred from offering sacrifices in the temple for seven days. The priest was more interested in his liturgical performances than in the love of neighbor. True Christian love is actively helping people and changing the world. It is not just enough to come to church on Sunday and attend Mass; it is not just enough to say many rosaries; it is not just enough to pray for the poor in our society – we’ve got to go out and help them in their situations. When we come to Mass on Sunday, at the end the priest or deacon says, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” With these words, we are sent on a mission. A mission to go and serve our brothers and sisters in the world. The Eucharist empowers us to go out and love; to go out and be of service to our neighbors. True Christianity is not just being devotional or liturgical alone (though these are very important aspects of our religion) but it is also practically working to help those who are in need.

The Levite passes by because he is afraid that by stopping, he could be lynched by a band of other robbers. True Christian love means being ready to take risks for the sake of the good of others. Jesus Christ tells us in the gospel, no greater love than a human person has for a friend than to lay down his or her life. We live in a society that is very secular and materialistic. We just keep acquiring, we put our comfort primary over the suffering of so many people in different parts of the world. Some people have two, three, four and even five retirement accounts, yet, they are not ready to take a little risk with their money in order to help those poor people here in our community or in other parts of the world. In the early church, during the period of the great epidemics, many people died, but Christians lived. The simple reason many Christians survived these epidemics is the fact that they risked their lives in other to care for their sick brothers and sisters in the community. While many of the pagans isolated their sick ones, Christians brought food and water to their sick members and took good care of them. Their love for neighbor was very important to them and they were able to risk their own lives in other to save other members of the community.

The Samaritan stopped by and helped the man. This character teaches us that true love means loving everyone, including your enemies. Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew 5: 44 that we should love our enemies. If we love only those who love us, how different are we from the pagans, for they too love those who love them. The Samaritans and the Jews are not friends. The Samaritan man could have passed by asking himself, “Why should I help this Jew, our enemy?” No, but he stopped and helped. We as Christians are invited to love everyone. Those that seem to be our enemies today are the Iraqi’s. We must love them and pray for them. That is what Jesus wants us to do as Christians.

There is a temptation we sometimes fall into and use it to justify our reluctance to help. We say, “I made it on my own; they too can make it on their own. If they cannot make it, it is their own fault; it is because they are lazy or they refused to work hard.” People do make stupid decisions that put them in situations that they should not be in. In the story, the man going on the journey from Jerusalem to Jericho definitely made a stupid mistake by going on this dangerous road alone. Despite his mistake, Jesus does not want him abandon there. We never make it on our own, we always make it with the help of God and it is that same God that asks us to reach out to everyone. Our five fingers are not equal, though they belong to one hand. We will always have the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s. Those who have, Jesus invite you to generously share with those who do not.

We are called to love and share with all because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. Whatever happens to anyone, anywhere in the world, should affect us, should be our business. In the movie, Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesibagina asks the American journalist to show the images of the genocide in Rwanda, hoping that when Americans see them, they would immediately respond and change the situation. The journalist told him, Americans will watch them and says, what an awful thing and then they will continue eating their dinners. As Christian people, we should respond when there is evil anywhere in the world – we don’t have to respond only when it affect America. We should be concerned when an Iraqi is blown up by a suicide bomber as much as when an American is blown up. This is because both the Iraqi and the American are created in the image and likeness of the God who created us all.

It is by loving that we can truly be the people God has called us to be. We pray that the Eucharistic meal we share today would empower us to go out and be instruments of Christ’s love among his people.

Matthew 10: 24 – 33 (Saturday, July 14, 2007)

Jesus invites us in today’s gospel to be prophetic. He says to us in the gospel that what he says to us in the darkness, we must speak in the light; and what he has whispered to us, we must proclaim on the housetops. Many times, God speaks to us in prayer to correct a certain evil or wrong that exist in our society, community or in the life of a fellow Christian, but we are reluctant to carry this out because of the fear of rejection, losing friendships, being persecuted, and being ridiculed. Jesus asks us in the gospel of today to always preach the truth he has revealed to us even if it is not fashionable for our time. He says that we will be persecuted and ridiculed. Blessed Kateri, the American Indian Saint whose feast day we celebrate today was ridiculed and abused for her life of love and austerity. We are not the first people to be persecuted for preaching the truth, neither would we be the last. Jesus Christ who is our Master was persecuted because he told the people the truth they did not want to hear; the Apostles were persecuted in the early church because they told the people the truth they did not want to hear – they were even ridiculed and called names. Their persistent testimony sustained the faith and today we can gladly share in the faith.

Jesus says that if we acknowledge him before the world, he will acknowledge us before the father. When was the last time we made a sign of the Cross and prayed before and after our meals when we were in a restaurant with friends who are not necessarily religious? We were afraid of acknowledging Jesus because of the reaction of our friends. Perhaps we were afraid of being arrogant. Jesus wants us to be a witness to these people. He wants us to acknowledge him before the world and in doing this, we would be acknowledged before his Father in heaven.

Matthew 10: 16 – 23 (Friday, July 13, 2007)

Jesus warns his disciples ahead of time that they would be persecuted. It is never going to be a rosy life. Everyone is not going to receive the message they would preach. Even family members would rise against them. However, they should not be afraid because the Holy Spirit is going to help them in their defense.

Many times we see things going wrong in our society, we know we should speak up but sometimes we are afraid because people are going to hate us; people will say we are weird; we would be persecuted. Jesus Christ is asking us not to be afraid. We would not be the first to be persecuted, nor would we be the last. We are able to experience the Faith today because many people were willing to offer their lives for the sake of Christ. In our own generation, we too must be willing to offer our lives. If you are in the military and out of conscience you know a war is unjust, what must you do? Follow the orders or oppose it? Opposing it would amount to a lot of persecution – yet, this is what Christ calls us to do.

Today’s Gospel calls us to get away from the secular crowd and be truly the people God wants us to be. This will come with numerous persecutions but his Holy Spirit would help us face these challenges.

Matthew 10: 7 – 15 (Thursday, July 12, 2007)

Jesus instructs his disciples not to take anything with them – No gold, silver or copper. Why would Jesus ask them not to take any of these with them? He wants them to be fully concentrated in the ministry he has given to them; He wants them to keep their personally businesses aside and just focus on the ministry of the kingdom.

In our own lives, there are many things that prevent us from just focusing on Christ. Those material things that are a distraction from our serving God in truth and in spirit. Practically, Jesus wants us to keep our cell phones away when we come to the Church for worship – because when they ring, they distract our worship; Jesus wants us to keep all our other electronic gadgets such as ipods, game boys away when we come to the church for worship.

For some of us, the greatest thing that distracts us from doing God’s work well is our Televisions and computers. Jesus wants us to cut down on the amount of time we spend on them and give more time to proclaiming to our neighbors, co-workers and friends that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Matthew 10: 1 – 7 (Wednesday July 11, 2007)

When you look at all the people that Jesus chose to be his disciples, they are all ordinary people. They are not the most educated; not the professionals and not even the most holy people. They are the common, ordinary people. However, Jesus empowers them and gives them authority to heal to do extraordinary things. Jesus Christ chooses ordinary people and make them extraordinary people. That is what Jesus wants to do with every one of us. He knows that we are ordinary people, but he wants to make us extraordinary people.

As we celebrate today the feast of St. Benedict, we keep in mind the basis of his rule – work and pray. Many people have mistaken this rule to be “laborare ets orare” (to work is to pray.) That is not what St. Benedict invites us to. He invites us to work and to pray. These two go hand in hand. Our prayer sanctifies our work, so that this work which is an ordinary thing becomes extraordinary. When we bring that Christian spirit of prayer to our work, our work would be transformed and become a part of our daily sanctity – it becomes a prayer. This is what makes us truly saints. Saints are not those who do great things, but they are those who do little things in an extraordinary way.

We are invited today to go out and become saints by the way we pray and do our work.