When I was on vacation this past week, I knew I was going to be away from my day job, so I asked one of my colleagues at work if she could help with a project while I was gone. After I asked my colleague for help with this project and she said she would help with this project while I was gone, I didn’t have to worry about it getting done. That’s because I trusted that she would take care of it. I know I can depend on this person and that she is trustworthy.

When we ask for God’s help, do we feel this same way about God? Do we think of God as someone who is dependable and trustworthy? If we think of the person in our lives who we trust the most and we think of the person in our lives who we trust the least, where does God stand in that ranking? Our second reading today shows us that when it comes to faith and our relationship with God, trust is a must.

Since faith is often misunderstood and mischaracterized, let’s first talk about what faith is not. There are some who may try to portray people of faith as people who are unintelligent or who are irrational and who refuse to open their eyes to scientific reality.
Unintelligent and Irrational – Instead of faith and reason being opposed to one another, there are intellectual giants such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas who have developed a strong foundation in our Catholic tradition of faith and reason working together.

Faith in God is not irrational. Instead, faith goes beyond the rational taking us further than reason alone can take us. The Catholic author Peter Kreeft said, rational “arguments can bring you to faith in the same sense as a car can bring you to the sea. The car can’t swim; you have to jump in to do that.” We see this truth about faith at work in our own loving relationships. There is no other way to know and to relate to another person than through faith. When we know a person only by what we can objectively verify about that person, you’ll never get to really know a person this way and by living this way, you’ll end up living a very lonely life. Can you imagine trying to fact check or objectively verify everything a person says before you trust them and believe them? That would be a very impractical and exhausting way of living that would result in you being a very lonely person. Not only that, we’d miss out on seeing the full reality of who a person is if we limit ourselves to only accepting as truth about the person those aspects of the person and what they say that can be objectively verified.

Scientific reality – While science is great and scientific advancements have benefitted our lives in many ways, the scientific method will give us only a certain limited type of knowledge that can be gained through experimentation. The creator of the universe is not an object to be dissected, put under a microscope, measured, analyzed, and experimented on.

Now, that we are clear on what faith is not, what is faith? Our second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews began with this definition of faith: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” The author anticipates that we may want this definition fleshed out more for us to understand what faith looks like when it is put into practice. So, the author goes on to highlight the best example of faith in the Old Testament: Abraham.

By sharing the story of Abraham, we are able to see what faith looks like through the lens of relationship. We are given three examples of Abraham’s faith in God:

a. God leading someplace new
b. God speaking more life into world, and
c. Showing God our willingness to make a sacrifice

God leading someplace new – The first example or faith experience that is highlighted of Abram, who would later go onto be called Abraham, was when God appeared to him and invited him to leave his ancestral home and to go to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. This was a place he had never been to and he didn’t even know where it was. God invited him to make a life altering decision at the age of 75. I don’t know the age of all of you, but what Abraham shows us is that you can become a hero of the faith at any age. He believed God and so he left his home and went off to find the promised land.

Speaking new life into our world – Now, let’s move onto the second example of Abraham’s faith. To understand and appreciate this one, it is important to have the background knowledge that it was the deepest desire of Jewish men and women to have children. Children were seen as the proof of God’s love. Children were seen as the future of the family. Whatever the family had would be passed onto these children. Abraham and Sarah had no children as they were both past the normal age of being able to conceive children and Sarah were sterile. God told him that he and his wife would be blessed with a child when Abraham was 100 and his wife was 90. Today’s second reading tells us that Abraham responded with faith. The reading says this about Abraham, “By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile— for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.” Faith is seeing God as someone we can trust. Sarah then gave birth to a son and they named him Isaac. Abraham was so happy with having his son Isaac as a gift from God. In fact, Abraham may have been a little too happy with this gift from God.

Willingness to sacrifice for God – God wanted to see which Abraham loved more, God as the giver of the gift, or Isaac the gift. For the third experience of faith, God asks Abraham to take his son only beloved son, Isaac, and to kill him, offering Isaac up as a sacrificial burnt offering to God. So, Abraham whose age has to be well into his 100s at this point, takes Isaac along with wood and they come to a mountain. Abraham asks Isaac to carry the wood up the mountain while Abraham takes the fire and the knife. As they are hiking up the mountain, Isaac and Abraham have a conversation that went something like this, “hey, Dad, you know that burnt sacrifice you said we are going to make on the alter on the mountain, well, where is the sheep we are going to sacrifice?” Abraham responds, saying to his son “God will provide the sacrificial offering.” So, they get to the designated spot on the mountain, and Abraham builds an altar there and put the wood on top of the altar. Next, Abraham ties his son Isaac up and places him on top of the wood on the altar. Then, Abraham pulls out the knife to kill his son and right before the fatal moment, God’s messenger tells Abraham not to do it. God was pleased to see Abraham show that he loved God the giver of the gift than the gift of Isaac.

So, this faith stuff is all well and good for Abraham, but what does all this have to do with us? The story of Abraham speaks to our current life. Just as Abraham’s faith begins with God taking the initiative, the same is true in our lives. Our faithfulness is built on God’s faithfulness.

Did you catch what Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart also be.” If we turn the expression around and view it from God’s perspective, where is God’s heart? God’s treasure is us. God has gone all in on us, because God has faith in you. More than anything else, God’s treasures you and me above everything else he has made. That’s why he came here to become one of us. He offered himself on the cross for us. God became a human to save humanity. Not just to save the pope, not just to save the pastor, not just to save the person sitting next to you, but to love, help, and save you.

The same God who came to Abraham desiring a profound relationship with him, comes to us and desires a profound relationship with each of us. What God asked Abraham to do in offering up his only son as a sacrifice. That was just a prefiguring or a preview of what God planned to do for us. Just as it was the God the Father’s will for Abraham to offer up his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, it was also God the father’s will to offer up his only son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for us. Just as Isaac was asked to carry the wood up a hill that would make the sacrificing of his life complete, so to Jesus was asked to carry the wood of his own cross up the hill of Golgotha that would make the sacrificing of his life complete. Just as it looked like Isaac’s death seemed certain but he went onto live, so too it looked like Jesus’ death seemed certain, but he went onto live.

What God did with Abraham and Isaac, God desires to do with and for us.

The three examples of faith we heard about from Abraham show us three ways we can grow in our faithful relationship with God: Let God lead us someplace new, be open to God speaking life into our world, and show God our willingness to make a sacrifice.

Go someplace new – Anyone who has been in a loving relationship like a marriage for more than a minute can tell you that a relationship is not all about one person writing the future place their relationship will go alone. The other person in the relationship might have something to say about what place their relationship together goes in the future. Similarly in our relationship with God, we need to be open to what the other person in the relationship, God, wants for our future together. Maybe this a geographic place God is calling you to go to help care for a loved one or maybe God is calling you to go from the place of singlehood to the place of married life.

Speaking new life into our world – This could be God asking a married couple to be open to God bringing new life into the world. This could also that new job opportunity you just heard about that sparked a part of you to life that had been laying dormant for years. Friends, pray, and let God speak new life into your world.

Making a sacrifice – whatever you prize most in your life, maybe it’s a person or maybe it’s your phone, whatever it is, chances are we’ve been focusing too much the whatever it is that we prize most at the expense of focusing on God. God is asking us to make the sacrifice of shifting some of our time and focus away from what we prize most and to shift that time and focus toward God. This will allow us to read scripture to hear what God is speaking to us and it will allow us to pause in prayer to provide space for God to tell us what he wants to communicate to us.

Just as I needed my trustworthy colleague at work to help show me what faith is all about, there is someone in your life who wants a trustworthy, dependable person to help them see what faith is all about. That’s where you come in.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C – August 7, 2022

Mass Readings:
Reading 1: Wis 18:6-9
Psalm: Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Reading 2: Heb 11:1-2, 8-19
Gospel: Lk 12:32-48

You’ve undoubtedly heard the bad news about the war. There’s a temptation sometimes with news like this to view it just as something that happened to someone else in a faraway place. There’s a temptation sometimes to say to ourselves, “Meh. Is this really relevant to me? How does this news have any impact on my life?” With this temptation in mind, imagine with me for a moment living in this place where the battle rages on. …

The once peaceful place you call home has been invaded and is now occupied by a ruthless regime, which is led by demonic tyrant. There seems to be no use trying to negotiate with this tyrant. Life in recent days, has been hellacious. It already seems like this battle has been going on forever. You have lost so many of your fellow men, women, and children. As far as you can see, there is no way easy way out from the hell on earth you’re living in. Life seems to be overshadowed by death and you are just trying to make it through the day. The future, well, you don’t even want to think about it. But as for the present, you know that it’s time to take a stand against the enemy, no matter what the cost might be. …

I’m speaking, of course, of the devil’s assault on Jesus in the desert from today’s Gospel reading. If this sounds similar to the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it makes me wonder, is the Gospel just news to us? Is the Gospel just something that happened to someone else in a faraway place that doesn’t seem relevant to our lives here today? If the Gospel is just news, it is tempting for us to say, “Meh. Is this news really relevant to me? How does this news have any impact on my life?” With this temptation in mind, let us go with Jesus, walk next to him, and watch him as he is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the devil. …

As Jesus is being led by the Holy Spirit into the desert, pay attention to how he looks to you. Is he going into the desert looking afraid or is he going into the desert looking eager to take a stand against the devil? As Jesus goes without food for 40 days, is Jesus bent over with unbearable hunger pangs or does Jesus look you in the eyes with resolve in his voice and say, “I could go for another 40 days without food, because I’m doing this for you.”?

As the devil comes at Jesus with the first temptation, does Jesus try to convince himself of the lie that what he does in private when there is no other person looking doesn’t really matter or does Jesus look right through space and time into your eyes today and tell you the truth that the decisions we make in these moments matter? As the devil assaults Jesus with the second and third temptations, does Jesus look weak and near defeat, or does he look over to you and say with strength in his voice, “I am doing this so that together, we can take the enemy down.”? …

As the devil departed from Jesus for a time, the devil actually retreated from this battle licking his wounds. It is important for us to know about this war. If we don’t know about this war, it is hard for us to make sense of what is going on in the Bible, the world around us, and inside each of us. If we don’t understand how the enemy operates, it is hard for us to understand the relevance all this has in our lives and the role we have to play. If we don’t know this bad news of temptation and sin, the Gospel is just news to us. Meh. If we don’t know the bad news of the war the devil started with temptation and sin, we have a hard time understanding that what Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us is in fact really good news. Out of the bad news of the war, come seven pieces of good news for each of us. You may say, “Seven! Come on Deacon, seven that’s a lot.” Yes, seven. You have one piece of good news to focus on each day this week.

1. The first piece of good news is that Jesus has already won the battle on the personal battlefield. When the devil retreated licking his wounds in the desert, Jesus knew the initial victory had been won. Jesus could begin his public ministry knowing that even though struggles lie ahead, the enemy has been beaten on the first field that really matters: the personal battlefield. If Jesus hadn’t won the victory against the enemy on the personal battlefield, there would have been little point carrying on trying to win the victory against the enemy for all of humanity.
   
   
2. The second piece of good news is even though battle still wages on, Jesus has already won the war for us. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, Jesus won the war for us dealt a fatal blow to the devil. This fatal blow has not stopped the enemy from trying to take down others along with him. So, yes, the battle that the devil picked with Jesus in the desert 2,000 years ago still rages on today in faraway places like the country of Ukraine, and right here in the hearts of you and I. The unfortunate reality that we have to deal with is that temptation is a part of life this side of heaven. Every one of us who follow Jesus will be tested at the points which matter most in our lives and vocations. The enemy knows that he is weaker than the one who makes his home in us, so the enemy doesn’t confront us where we are strongest, because the enemy knows he is too weak to win that battle. Instead, the enemy confronts us where we are weakest to try to distract us from focusing on the strength we have from God and the good God wants for our lives. The enemy tries taking advantage of our own insecurities and personal ambitions to trap us in a wicked web of slavery. Every day, the enemy tries to draw us into something that is not good for us, not good for others, and/or not good for our relationship with God. While our personal ambitions, physical needs and wants of us are important, loyalty to God is more important. The enemy wants to divide and conquer us. When the enemy tries to tempt us to sin, he does so thinking that with each sin, we are giving the enemy ammunition that can be used against us.
   
   
3. The third piece of good news is that our savior can forgive all our sins. Friends, Lent is a great time to go to reconciliation so our sins can be forgiven so these sins cannot be used by the enemy as ammunition against us.
   
   
4. The fourth piece of good news is that the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving strengthen us in this battle. Even after going to reconciliation, if we are not disciplined, there’s the temptation to fall back in the trap of only focusing on our selfish desires. The disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are like battle armor to help cover our most exposed vulnerable areas. These disciplines strengthen us so that no matter what environment we find ourselves in, we can stand strong with and for Jesus.
   
   
5. The fifth piece of good news is that we Catholics who have been baptized and confirmed have been filled with the Holy Spirit and we can be led by the Holy Spirit into facing down the enemy’s temptation and overcoming the enemy’s lie. That’s all temptation is: a lie. It’s the enemy trying to deceive us, promising us more than he has to give us.
   
   
6. The sixth piece of good news is that God gave us scripture to use in responding to the enemy’s temptations. When Jesus was tempted three times in the desert by the devil, Jesus didn’t argue with the devil. What did Jesus do? He responded by quoting scripture to the devil. The enemy tries to tempt us to use the divine power within us to serve ourselves, but Jesus quotes scripture as a reminder that we are to serve God first. Friends, if we are having a hard time resisting temptation in our lives, maybe it is because we haven’t taken the time to read and know scripture. When we read the Bible, we are able to know the word of God and use the Word of God. Whatever we are most tempted by, whether it be lust, pride, gluttony, greed, or something else, look for a Bible verse you can quote whenever the next time is that you have to battle this temptation. It is then we can confront the devil’s lie with God’s truth.
   
   
7. The seventh piece of good news is the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, we have within us the one who has resisted the temptation and defeated the enemy, giving us strength to do the same. In those moments when we are tempted by the enemy, let Jesus fight for you.
   

You see, it’s all personal. Every one of our stories borrows from the greatest story of all. When we make Jesus’ story our own story, it is then we discover the Gospel for what it truly is for each of us. It is then that the Gospel goes from being just some piece of irrelevant news to becoming life-changing very good news.

You see, it’s all personal. Every one of our stories borrows from the greatest story of all. When we make Jesus’ story our own story, it is then we discover the Gospel for what it truly is for each of us. It is then that the Gospel goes from being just some piece of irrelevant news to becoming life-changing very good news.

1st Sunday of Lent Cycle C – March 6, 2022
Mass Readings:
Reading 1: Dt 26:4-10
Psalm: Ps 91:1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
Reading 2: Rom 10:8-13
Gospel: Lk 4:1-13

Jesus said, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (Doing the sign of the cross and looking up to heaven) Whoa, Jesus, do I seriously have to preach on this? There are people here looking at me who are rich. Could you please help me out here with what to say to them? Amen.

Jesus said, “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” (Doing the sign of the cross and looking up to heaven) Um, Jesus. It’s me again. There are people here who had a big meal before coming here and are filled now. Are you sure woe to them is the message you want them to hear? Amen.

Jesus said, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.” (Doing the sign of the cross and looking up to heaven) Jesus, this is getting really awkward here. There are people here who have been laughing at comedies on Netflix and funny videos on YouTube this weekend. Any help you could provide me on what to say to them would be great. Amen.

And Jesus said, “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.” (Doing the sign of the cross and looking to heaven) Jesus, there are many here who people speak well of and who are well respected. What should I say to them? Amen.

Whenever there are teachings of Jesus and his church like these woes from today’s Gospel that are tough for us to hear because they make us uncomfortable with the way we are living our lives, or that we are frustrated by, or that we simply don’t understand, it is tempting to ignore them, call them ridiculous, or be dismissive of them in some other way. These woes are pointing out four areas that Jesus thinks can be spiritually dangerous. Instead of being dismissive of these tough teachings, Jesus wants us to wrestle with them, to try to understand them from his perspective, and to see them through his eyes.

With this being World Marriage Week, with World Marriage Day being today, and St. Valentine’s Day being just a day away, let’s try looking at these woes Jesus spoke of through the lens of love and from the perspective of the one who is love.

When I say through the lens of love, I want to be more specific. By a show of hands, has anyone ever heard of the book The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman? Okay, some of you have heard of it and some have not. For those of you who have not heard of it, let me provide a quick description that may also serve as a refresher for those of us who read the book a long time ago. The author says that there are five main love languages or ways we feel loved and can show our love to others.

The first love language is physical touch such as a handshake, hug, or kiss.

The second love language is words of affirmation such as telling someone you like their haircut or telling them they did a good job.

The third love language is gifts such as giving someone flowers or a box of chocolates.

The fourth love language is acts of service such as washing the dishes for someone or making a meal for them.

The fifth love language is quality time such as talking with someone and giving them your undivided attention.

Out of these five love languages, the author says that each of us humans has a primary love language, meaning that one of these love languages is the primary way that we feel most loved. The author goes on to say that whatever our primary love language is, that is the default love language that we use when trying to express our love to someone else. This can cause some frustration and misunderstanding in a relationship. For example, when a newlywed husband is focused completely on physical touch and his wife is thinking to herself, “would this guy just do the dishes?” Alright, enough about me and my life.

What do you think Jesus’ primary love language is? … Any guesses? As I was reflecting on today’s Gospel reading and trying to understand the woes Jesus talks about, I think I discovered the answer. I think Jesus’ primary love language is acts of service (pointing to the crucifix).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many.” To try to understand the woes Jesus is talking about, let us look at them the way someone who has the primary love language of acts of service might look at them.

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” Okay, here’s how much Jesus valued money: He entrusted the money bag that was to take care of the financial needs of Jesus and the apostles … to a thief. It’s not so much what you’ve been given as it is what you do with it. In the verse that immediately proceeds today’s Gospel reading, we are told that Judas was selected as an apostle. Judas was there and when Jesus said “woe to you who are rich,” Judas heard these words, but he didn’t listen to them. This is the same Judas who was probably the richest apostle. The way he got the riches and maintained this status of being rich was by stealing and selling out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. If you took $30 and you bought a University of Toledo hoodie and you gave it to someone you see at a street corner asking for help, the reality is this makes you $30 less rich. This sacrifice to clothe someone in need of clothing delights Jesus, the one who was stripped of his clothing and hung upon the cross naked.

“Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” Bishop Fulton Sheen said there are two philosophies of life. The pagan philosophy of first the feast, then the fast. Then there’s the Christian philosophy of first the fast, then the feast. It’s when we’re hungry that we most appreciate food. As Jesus hung upon the cross, he was not filled, yet over the last 2,000 years, Jesus has made a meal for millions. The more empty space we create for him, the more Jesus can fill it.

Jesus said, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.” Here, I am thinking of a King who has his court jester making him laugh while he is oblivious to the suffering of his people right outside the walls. Or bringing it a little closer to home, I am thinking of the person who is laughing at a funny show on Netflix or a funny video on YouTube, instead of tending to the emotional needs of a loved one who is sad, depressed, or suffering possibly near death in a hospital or nursing home or right within their own home. When we pause the laughing and hit the play button on tending to the emotional needs of those we love and care for, that makes Jesus happy. Remember, many of those who loved and cared for Jesus weren’t there for him during his darkest hour. As he hung upon the cross, the vast majority of the apostles were someplace else they presumably deemed way less sad.

Jesus said, “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.” Having our reputation and people speaking well of us as our primary focus for our decision-making is very dangerous spiritually. There are all kinds of ungodliness we do for the sake of people speaking well of us. There are times when we are faced with a decision of either telling people the truth or telling them what they want to hear. If people speak well of us because we tell them the lie they want to hear, woe to us. There are times when the popular thing to do at the table is not to give thanks to God for the food in front of us. There are times when the popular thing to do is to go to the sporting event and skip Mass. When we sacrifice what makes us popular for doing what is right, Jesus delights in these acts of service.

If you want a picture of the most blessed person who has ever walked the earth, this is it (pointing to Jesus on the cross). As Jesus hung upon the cross, he was not rich in the world’s eyes as he had no money. As Jesus hung upon the cross, he was not filled as he was hungry. As Jesus hung upon the cross, he was not laughing. As Jesus hung upon the cross, they were not speaking well of him, they jeered at him and reviled him.

Why? Because this great act of service is how Jesus shows his love for you. Friends, today, Jesus says these words to each one of us: “I have shown you how much I love you with the ultimate act of service (pointing to Jesus on the cross). Love me and one another the way I have loved you.” Now, how will you respond to this love that has been given to you?

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C – February 13, 2022
Mass Readings:
Reading 1: Jer 17:5-8
Psalm: Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Reading 2: 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20
Gospel: Lk 6:17, 20-26

What is your perspective on today’s Gospel reading? What is this Gospel saying to you right now? What is it speaking into your heart? I’m going to be silent now.

(10 seconds of silence). I have four children at home, so if no one wants to say anything, I will gladly take all the silence I can get. … (response about being silent in prayer). Yes, thanks for sharing. How did you feel about the silence when none of us were speaking? Did the silence feel uncomfortable?

As I was meditating on today’s Gospel reading, it became clear that God wants us to get comfortable with the uncomfortableness we feel when none of us are speaking and God is speaking to us in the silence. St. John of the Cross said, “God’s first language is silence.” Remember, that the Word of God, Jesus Christ, was with his Father and the Holy Spirit in silence before God ever said the words, “Let there be light.”

If we want to converse with God in his native tongue, silence is the language with which we should start the conversation. During Jesus’ transfiguration, instead of conversing with God in his first language of silence, we hear Peter give in to the temptation we may also sometimes give into. This is the temptation of feeling like we have to always be saying something in our own language or feeling like we have to always be doing something. Simply being in Jesus’ presence, listening to the words Jesus is speaking into our hearts, and basking in the glow of God is enough for us, in fact, it is more than enough.

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear a delicious morsel of truth in Matthew’s account of the transfiguration, which is not included in the accounts of Mark and Luke. When describing Jesus’ transfiguration, Matthew tells us that “his face shone like the sun.” Just as you cannot be exposed to the sun without receiving its rays, neither can you be exposed to Jesus without receiving his divine rays of grace, love, and peace. Instead of Peter just basking in and soaking up these divine rays in silence, Peter busies himself with talking and wanting to put up tents, which could result in blocking these divine rays from reaching others.
How many times have we blocked the blessings that come from these divine rays in our own lives? We block the blessings from these rays when we focus too much on acting as a human saying or a human doing, instead of living as we were created, as a human being.

During this penitential season of Lent, let us call to mind all those times we, like Peter, were so busy saying and doing things that we were blocking God’s blessings and grace from illuminating our lives. Maybe it was when we were so busy talking to others or doing a bunch of activities that we didn’t make time to receive God’s grace through the Eucharist at Mass on the weekend or on a holy day of obligation. Or it could have been during what is supposed to be our time conversing with God in prayer when we tried to dominate the conversation.

Let us come before God with contrite hearts for the times when we have turned into that annoying person in a conversation who was doing all the talking when we were instead meant to embrace the silence to make space for God to speak into our hearts. These are just a few of the ways that we may have given into the temptation of feeling like we always have to be saying something or doing something. In the process, we ended up blocking the rays of God’s blessings that Jesus wanted to touch our lives.

Just being fully present with and listening to someone who has wisdom they want to share with us could be the most important thing we do today. Our father reminds Peter on the mountaintop, and each of us here today, to listen to Jesus. So, before we go off saying and doing a bunch of things, let us simply be with and listen to Jesus as this is what he desires. Our God loves spending quality time with us, free from a bunch of talking, busyness, and distractions. God knows our hearts. God knows when our hearts desire divine help to resist the temptation Peter gave into, the temptation of always feeling like we have to be saying something or doing something.

Tomorrow, before we say anything or do anything, let us go be with Jesus in prayer and let us listen to what God has to say to us in the Bible. Then, after having spent time being with him in prayer and listening to his word in the Bible, let us feel Jesus touch us, as he touched Peter, James, and John in today’s account of the transfiguration, and say to us, “rise, and do not be afraid.” For when we have basked in the divine rays of being in Jesus’ presence and have clothed ourselves in his word to be the lamp to guide our day, as our feet hit the floor, it is not us who are afraid, it is the enemy who is afraid.

As we descend the mountain with Jesus, walking in his light, we are reminded that Jesus’ glory is both something he has and something Jesus gives away to each of us so that we may freely choose to bring this glory back to him. God’s will is for there to be a circulation of his grace and glory. Our hearts become radiant in Jesus presence, strengthened by our yearning for Jesus. It is when we are most satisfied in being with and listening to Jesus that God is most glorified in us.

With eyes of faith, we can see glory shining forth from Jesus here and now. Our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Jesus’ transfiguration of our bodies. As we receive the Eucharist, this is when we both give Jesus a home as well as give Jesus our hearts, so he can give our hearts a home in him. As the whole body of baptized believers, this is how we enter into the mystery of our transfiguration in Jesus.

Well, for a homily on silence, I’ve already said too much. So, I’m going to be silent now before a voice comes from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Does anyone else have anything you would like to say? (silence followed by thumbs up. Pointing to ear and point to Jesus on the crucifix.)

2nd Sunday of Lent Cycle A – March 8, 2020
Mass Readings:
Reading 1: Gn 12:1-4a
Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.
Reading 2: 2 Tm 1:8b-10
Gospel: Mt 17:1-9