Fr. John

3 August 2023

Sermon: Sunday of the Transfiguration RCL A – “Sanctification”

The time came for Acadia, Thibodeaux’s wife, to deliver her twins. All was set as they rushed into the hospital, and everything was prepped. However, the delivery was too much for Thibodeaux, and he passed out cold. It took hours to revive him, but in the meantime, the doctors insisted on naming the babbies. Since Thib was still out, Acadia turned to Thib’s brother, Remi, to help name the girl and the boy.

“My brother named my kids?!” Thib’s shouted when he woke up. “But my brother’s an idgit! He barely knows his own name.” Pausing and taking a breath, he says, “Ok, what he done name the girl.”

“He named her Denise.”

“Denise?” Said, Thib. “Well, that’s not such a bad name. I kind of like it. And what did he call the little boy?”

“De Nephew.”

Even though it’s relatively common, I kind of like my name, but not everyone can say the same. For example, there was Issur Danielovitch Densky. He changed his name to Kirk Douglas. Frances Gum didn’t think her name would sell, so she became Judy Garland. Archibald Leach became Cary Grant. And who do you think Marion Morrison would become? John Wayne.

How great would it be if all it took was to change your name and become rich and famous? Or to become anything you wanted? To become an astronaut, I’ll become Neil Armstrong. To become a famous writer, call me Stephen King. But what about becoming a Saint? Call me Josemaría, and I’ll be holy.

In the end, “A rose by any other name….” As the philosopher Alan Watts said, “The menu is not the meal.”

Inside all of us is dark and light, and on any given day, one will be more prominent than the other, but the goal of the Christian life is for the light to illuminate every dark crevice and reveal the content of every shadow. Technically, this is known as sanctification.

Simply put, sanctification is the process of becoming holy, allowing the light to shine through every aspect of our lives. There are three major components in the process, and all three are a form of grace given by God: baptism, living a life directed by God, and entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Although some traditions believe that a person must make an adult profession of faith before being baptized, we do not—for us, that falls into the category of works; that is, you must do something in order to “earn” God’s grace. Instead, we believe that baptism is God’s undeserved grace being poured out on us, providing us “union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.” (BCP 858)

The third component, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, is also a grace, which we have absolutely nothing to do with. For those who believe, St. Paul tells us, “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

We can view our baptism and ultimate entry into the Kingdom of Heaven as bookends to our life with God, but that bit between those two events gives us so much trouble. It is grace that allows us to live for God, but the sanctification—the making holy—process during our earthly lives is not exactly a smooth ride. Why? The light and the dark are both within us.

Remember the parable of the wheat and tares/weeds? God sowed the good seed of the wheat, but at night, the devil came in and sowed the weeds so that when they began to grow, the wheat and the weeds grew up together. That speaks of the world and the people in it, but it also speaks of the soul. The light and the dark, the wheat and the weeds, are both within us. When we apply the parable to ourselves, the difference is that, with God’s grace, we can actually do something about the darkness, those weeds within our souls. That is the process of sanctification in this life. It is the transfiguration of the individual.

“While [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white,” Jesus was revealed in His glory. No darkness. No weeds. Not showing us the process of becoming holy, but showing us The Holy and the true image of God. But He was also showing us what we can become.

Brooke Foss Wescott was a 19th-century bishop in the Church of England. He was also someone whom Archbishop Michael Ramsey admired and studied. Bishop Wescott wrote, “The Transfiguration is the revelation of the potential spirituality of the earthly life in the highest outward form…. Here the Lord, as Son of Man, gives the measure of the capacity of humanity, and shows that to which he leads all those who are united with him.” (Glory: The Spiritual Theology of Michael Ramsey, p.59)

The Transfiguration of Christ sets before us a goal for the work of sanctification—the work of becoming holy—in our lives, and this work is the means “by which men and women are restored to the image and likeness of God Himself.” (Ibid.) As Christ was transfigured on the mountain, we seek in our daily lives to be transfigured into the same glory that Jesus revealed on the mountain. So what’s stopping you?

Charlie Brown and Linus were leaning against the fence, both looking rather contemplative. Chuck then asks Linus, “What would you do if you felt that nobody liked you?”

Linus gives it a thought, then says, “I’d try to look at myself objectively, and see what I could do to improve… that’s my answer, Charlie Brown.”

In the final frame, Charlie Brown is not looking so happy and says, “I hate that answer.”

What is stopping you from being transfigured, from becoming holy as your Heavenly Father is holy? From continuing the process of sanctification? There are many factors, but it seems there are two primary ones, and the first one is that we don’t want to put in the effort.

Most of you know that I’ll be taking a sabbatical next year, and for part of the time, I want to walk the Camino de Santiago—a short walk of 500 miles across northern Spain. In order to do this and live to tell about it, I will need to get in better shape. More walking, more strength building, losing a bit more weight, etc. In other words, I need to be training. “I hate that answer.” I really want to walk the Camino, but I’m not putting in the effort to be able to.

The same applies to being holy. I want to be holy. I want to enter into a deeper relationship with my Savior, but am I putting in the effort? Praying as I should, studying as I should, loving as I should, and the list goes on. We know that we need to put in the effort and practice our faith, training our souls, but… “I hate that answer.” Why?

The second factor is also as simple but equally challenging—we don’t want to. Yes, we want to be holy, but we don’t want to change our lives to attain that holiness. Back to the Camino—I need to lose more weight, but I don’t want to put down the cookie. I like the cookie. I’m a big fan, and I’ll become an even bigger if I’m not careful, so I need to put down the cookie. “I hate that answer.” To be sanctified, I need to be willing to set aside those things in my life that separate me from God. I need to be willing to allow the transfiguring light of Christ to shine and banish the darkness within me.

We will not be wholly sanctified until we enter the Kingdom of God, but if we put in some effort and allow our love of God to override our love of self, then we will progress in our sanctification. We’ll be pulling some of the weeds that are growing up with the good wheat of our souls.

We know the names of Saints like Francis, Josemaría, Mary Magdalene, John Paul, and many others. We hold them up as examples of the Christian life, but we also view such a life as unattainable for ourselves. However, we should see the lives of the Saints as something to strive for. In the same way, we should look upon our Transfigured Lord. In seeing Him transfigured, we are witnessing what—by the grace of God—we have the potential to become.

Don’t shy away from this work of sanctification or squelch the desire to attain it. Instead, through your love of God, seek out every opportunity to take steps in the sanctification of your soul.

A few words toward the end of St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians make for a good blessing. I’ll close with them. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Amen.

2 August 2023

Sermon: The Myrrh Bearing Women

Within the Orthodox Church, the Third Sunday of Easter is celebrated as the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, those women who came to anoint Jesus’ body following his burial. It falls on our calendar tomorrow.

Today, we read of Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, but in reading the other Gospels, you will find different lists of names—eight in total: the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother; “the mother of James and Joses” (reportedly, these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was, therefore, their step-mother); Mary Magdalene; Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. (Source)

It is not believed that the Gospel writers got it wrong when listing the women; instead, it seems to indicate that different groups went separately and had varying experiences at the empty tomb. Whatever the case, because of their great love for him, they all went to the tomb to anoint the Body of Jesus, only to discover that the tomb was empty. But, if there was no Body, did that end their work?

In a sermon, St. John Damascus (d.749) wrote for the Easter Season—“When You [Jesus] did descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then did You slay Hades with the lightening of Your Divinity. And when You did also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the power in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to You. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. The noble Joseph, taking Your immaculate body down from the Tree, and having wrapped it in pure linen and spices, laid it for burial in a new tomb. But on the third day You did arise, O Lord, granting great mercy to the world. Now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Unto the myrrh-bearing women did the Angel cry out as he stood by the grave: Myrrh-oils are meet for the dead, but Christ has proved to be a stranger to corruption. But cry out: The Lord is risen, granting great mercy to the world.”

They could not anoint His Body because He had risen, but there was still work to be done; therefore, “cry out: The Lord is risen, granting great mercy to the world.”

Their love for Jesus extended into the grave, giving them the courage to go out into the world and proclaim His resurrection. How far does your love for Jesus carry you? Once you learned that He was risen, how did you respond to the angel’s charge to go and tell?

Our work is not nearly done; therefore, as Peter said in our first reading, let everyone “know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom” was crucified.

27 July 2023

Sermon: Proper 12 RCL A – “The Kingdom of Heaven”

There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a moment, the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then asked, “Where do you come from?”

“I come from heaven!” replied the swan.

“And where is heaven?” asked the crane.

“Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?” And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones, of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms, the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.

Finally, the crane asked, “Are there any snails there?”

“Snails!” repeated the swan. “No! Of course not.”

“Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I want snails!”

“Jesus put before the crowds another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like…’”… a pond with slimy banks and lots of snails (which, for the record, is snail hell, but that’s another sermon.)

As I thought about these statements of Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven, I wondered what a first-century Jewish person would have thought. What was their perception of Heaven?

If you go way back to the beginning, it would be easy to see how the Garden of Eden might be the first image of Heaven. “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.” (Genesis 2:8-10)

It sounds glorious, but early Jews did not have an understanding of Heaven or life after death. It was enough to “sleep with your fathers” and to have your name kindly remembered by others.

However, as the Israelites began to suffer at the hands of their enemies and be hauled off into exile, the prophets began to point to a time when God would redeem His people, and they would live in peace. The Prophet Daniel wrote, “There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1b-2)

The people waited, but the persecutions and occupations continued, so around 500 BC, the idea of òlam ha-ba began to take precedence. This world, òlam ha-ze, was understood as an ante-chamber (a narthex or entry room) that leads to the Òlam ha-ba, “the world to come.” This understanding made attaining heaven/“the world to come” a more personal matter. The things you do right and wrong in this world determine whether or not you make it out of the ante-chamber and into the next world or are kicked out altogether. This view brings us back to the beginning because the world to come was known as Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden. Perhaps a bit confusing, but I found it fascinating.

As we know, in the time of Jesus, not everyone was convinced of the resurrection to the world to come. The Pharisees said, “Yes,” but the Sadducees, who were in charge of the Temple and the sacrificial system, were a negative. Ultimately, for those who believed, there was no definite answer. Perhaps the closest came early in the second century.

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi’s son, Joseph, died but was somehow restored. “His father asked [Joseph], ‘What did you see?’ Joseph replied, ‘I beheld a world the reverse of this one; those who are on top here were below there, and vice versa.’ He [Joshua ben Levi] said to him, ‘My son, you have seen a corrected world.’” You have seen a world turned upside down. A world that is far different from the one we live in now.

It is into this debate on the existence and understanding of Heaven that Jesus walks. Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Matthew 11:25-26)

Jesus has just told the parable of the wheat and the tares/weeds and told those listening that the good and evil will grow together. It will not be until the last day when they are separated, but on that day, the Lord will send out the angels to reap the harvest, saying, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” (Matthew 13:30b)

The scriptures read: “Gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” And then immediately afterward, we hear our lesson for today, “Jesus put before the crowds another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like….’”

The parable of the wheat and tares spoke of judgment and blessing. Judgment for those who do not believe and blessing, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven, òlam ha-ba, Gad Eden, the world to come, for those who do. But why did Jesus say the Kingdom of Heaven was like so many different things? Mustard seed, leaven, treasure, pearl, and so on? If we go through the list, we learn many things.

With the mustard seed, we learn that the Kingdom will grow from something small and become something that makes room for all the birds of the air—all the peoples of the Earth. The leaven tells us it will be everywhere and a part of everything. The hidden treasure is about how we must work to gain it, and the costly pearl speaks of sacrifice. The separating of the great catch reminds us that not everyone will be allowed entry but will instead be cast out. By telling us all these things, Jesus is telling us that there is a Kingdom that is not of this world and that in that place, our God reigns.

I imagine a rush of words as Jesus spoke about these things, and because of so many parables, he is expressing how incomparable and indescribable.

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? The immensity of it is overwhelming. In the movie Grand Canyon, Danny Glover’s character, Simon, talks about sitting on the rim and looking out. “I felt like a gnat that lands on the [backside] of a cow that’s chewing its cud next to the road that you ride by on at 70 miles an hour.” Professor of Psychiatry Mark Goulston said, “I can still remember my first experience standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and looking into it. It was so awesome. It took a fair amount of restraint to prevent me from jumping into it because I was certain I could fly.”

As Jesus was telling these parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, I can imagine him having this vision of heaven in His mind, much like Simon and Goulston’s vision of the Grand Canyon in theirs as they spoke. It could all be summed up, not in a word, but an expression: “Whoa!” So much more than you could ever imagine. A world turned upside down compared to this one, full of God’s riches. By comparison, this world is insignificant.

Rabbi Hofetz Chaim (d.1933) was very influential. A story tells of how he had an American visitor to his home in Poland. The Rabbi’s home was very austere. A simple room, books, a table, and a bench.

The visitor asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?”

“Where is yours?” replied the rabbi.

“Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “But I’m a visitor here. I’m only passing through.”

“So am I,” said the Rabbi.

The people in the time of Jesus had a very limited view of the Kingdom of Heaven. They thought of it in terms of the crane looking for snails along the slimy banks of a pool, but it is so much more. It is worth working for and sacrificing for as we pass through this ante-chamber. Therefore, in the words of St. Augustine (or Ignatius, depending on who you believe said it), “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” The reward far exceeds any price or sacrifice.

Let us pray (a short prayer that is recited at the end of each decade of the Rosary, known as the Fatima Prayer): O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

26 July 2023

Interview: LA Talk Radio – Rendevous with a Writer

Join me tomorrow night (Thursday, July 27, 2023) at 8 p.m. CST for an interview about the Fr. Anthony Savel Mysteries and other things writing.

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/latalkradio

If you don’t do Facebook, I’ll be providing other links following the show.

26 July 2023

Sermon: Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

*Saint Anne with the Christ Child, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist*, oil on hardboard transferred from panel by Hans Baldung, c. 1511

Today is one of those not so well known holy days, but it is on the Episcopal calendar: The Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the record, there is nothing in all of Holy Scripture about them. Still, early in the second century, there was one who wanted to work out a better understanding of Mary’s life. So they wrote The Protoevangelium of James, which begins, “The Birth of Mary the Holy Mother of God, and Very Glorious Mother of Jesus Christ.”

Anna and Joachim are believed to be Mary’s parents and Jesus’ earthly grandparents. This passage is a bit long but helps us understand the feast day.

“And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, saying: Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world. And Anna said: As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life. And, behold, two angels came, saying to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks. For an angel of the Lord went down to him, saying: Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down hence; for, behold, your wife Anna shall conceive. And Joachim went down and called his shepherds, saying: Bring me hither ten she-lambs without spot or blemish, and they shall be for the Lord my God; and bring me twelve tender calves, and they shall be for the priests and the elders; and a hundred goats for all the people. And, behold, Joachim came with his flocks; and Anna stood by the gate, and saw Joachim coming, and she ran and hung upon his neck, saying: Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me exceedingly; for, behold the widow no longer a widow, and I the childless shall conceive. And Joachim rested the first day in his house.

“And on the following day he brought his offerings, saying in himself: If the Lord God has been rendered gracious to me, the plate on the priest’s forehead will make it manifest to me. And Joachim brought his offerings, and observed attentively the priest’s plate when he went up to the altar of the Lord, and he saw no sin in himself. And Joachim said: Now I know that the Lord has been gracious unto me, and has remitted all my sins. And he went down from the temple of the Lord justified, and departed to his own house. And her months were fulfilled, and in the ninth month Anna brought forth. And she said to the midwife: What have I brought forth? And she said: A girl. And said Anna: My soul has been magnified this day. And she laid her down. And the days having been fulfilled, Anna was purified, and gave the breast to the child, and called her name Mary.”

Why is this history important? There are many Roman Catholic Churches that are named Immaculate Conception. I would wager that almost everyone, including Catholics, believes this speaks of Jesus’s conception. However, it is speaking of the conception of Mary. It is believed that the conception of Mary without sin is a part of how Jesus was born without sin.

Is your salvation dependent upon believing this teaching? Not at all. It does, however, help us to see how others attempted to work out their faith. Perhaps, we too should be so interested in our faith that we seek more profound answers. It doesn’t mean we’ll always get it right, but it does mean we are seeking our God.

20 July 2023

Sermon: Proper 11 RCL A – “Pulling Weeds”

Mark it up as an urban legend or an actual event; whatever the case may be, the myth persists: on June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, while visiting West Berlin, gave one of the finest speeches of the Cold War. He said, “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner! [I am a Berliner]. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’”

According to the legend, Kennedy was supposed to say, “Ich bin Berliner!” Not “Ich bin ein Berliner!” In the first, Kennedy is, in fact, saying, “I am a Berliner.” In the second, he proudly proclaims, “I am a jelly doughnut!”

I mention this in recognition that we all make mistakes, and hope you will show me compassion for the one I made during last week’s sermon.

For whatever reason, I got it in my pointy little head that the Parable of the Sower—seeds that fell on rocky ground, the road, etc.—was the only time we benefitted from Jesus’ explanations of the parables. If you were just listening to the Gospel, you would have heard I was mistaken. Please accept this as my apology for that misinformation… I am a jelly doughnut. Moving on.

There is a good bit of speculation on what heaven will actually be like and quite a bit more speculation on who actually gets in, but I was wondering, would you allow me to choose for you?

When we were younger, I suppose we all had to endure that humiliating ritual of choosing sides, especially when it came to sporting events during recess or P.E. The teacher always chose the captains of the teams, and it seemed that the captain was always Mr. Jock and he always had his jockettes that he would choose first. When the good picking was over, you knew he and his buddies were no longer choosing who they wanted on their team. Instead, they were deciding who they would rather be stuck with. If it were up to them, they would likely not choose the losers but force them to sit on the sideline, which they did anyways because there was no way on God’s green earth they intended to jeopardize the balance of world power which hung on the outcome of this particular bout of dodge ball.

Now, perhaps you wouldn’t mind me picking or not picking you for a dodgeball game, but again I ask you, would you allow me to choose whether or not you get to go to heaven? If you are smart, you will answer that question with a resounding “NO!” I am so desperately in need of God’s grace myself that I don’t want anyone or anything getting between me and it; however, what I find so curious, is that we don’t want someone to choose for us, but we are more than willing to choose for others.

In our parable today, Jesus tells us that he is the sower of the seed and that the seeds represent the righteous—the children of God. The weeds sown with the good seed are the unrighteous—the children of the father of lies. And on God’s appointed day, He will send his angels to clear the field of weeds and throw them into the fire.

When we get a bit too big for our britches, we mistakenly believe that we are either God or an angel, that we have the knowledge, the right, and by golly, the responsibility to go into that field and pull some weeds because we know who they are. If God is too busy taking care of other business, we will happily step in. Sometimes we step in for what we consider to be noble reasons, “That person is a heretic! Burn them at the stake!” While at other times, our reasons aren’t quite so noble.

You won’t like this story—Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and other books, tells of the time on a lovely quiet Sunday afternoon when he was taking the subway through New York City. There were a few other passengers in the car with him, but not many, and all were enjoying the peace of the day. However, at the next stop, a man and his two sons burst onto the train, and the boys created all sorts of havoc. They ran absolutely wild up and down the car, screaming, shouting, wrestling—destroying the peace of that Sunday afternoon. I guess Covey thought the father of these two terrorists was a weed that needed pulling, so after a particularly noisy moment, he turned to the father and said, “Sir, perhaps you could restore order here by telling your children to come back and sit down.”

Have you ever been in that place? So confident that you were right and the other person wrong? That you could look at someone with all confidence and judge them? Of course, you have. We all have. We believe we have God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom to make these sorts of snap decisions, but how often are we wrong?

After Covey told this weed to get the terrorist under control, the weed said, “I know I should do something. We just came from the hospital. Their mother died an hour ago. I just don’t know what to do.” Covey had not snatched out some weed worthy of the fires of hell. Instead, he had only further bruised a broken heart that was in desperate need of the love of God.

Consider the fact that Jesus knew all along that Judas Iscariot was going to betray him. He knew that Judas was a weed among the wheat, but Jesus never threw him out. Instead, Jesus washed Judas’ feet, just as he had washed Peter’s, James’, John’s, and all the rest. Judas betrayed Jesus unto death, yet Jesus never condemned him and allowed Judas to participate in the Lord’s Supper. Question: how many have we renounced for far more trivial offenses by comparison?

In the parable, Jesus tells us we are neither God nor angels. Because we are not God, then we are not the judge. Because we are not angels, we are not the ones called to go into the fields and pull the weeds. We are, however, the grain of wheat, and if our work is not to judge or reap, then what is it? Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

What is our work? Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” One of the desert fathers said, “If a man settles in a certain place and does not bring forth the fruit of that place, the place itself casts him out, as one who has not borne its fruit.” For me, this brings to mind a rather unpleasant thought: if we are not producing good fruit, could it be that we are the weeds? We won’t entertain that one.

St. Josemaría Escrivá writes, “The Lord’s field is fertile and the seed he sows of good quality. Therefore when weeds appear in this world of ours, never doubt that they spring up because of a lack of correspondence on the part of men, Christians especially, who have fallen asleep and have left the field open to the enemy—Don’t complain, for there’s no point; examine your behaviour, instead.” If the weeds are truly growing amongst the wheat, we must consider that the fault might be ours and that we may be acting like a weed when we should be working on producing good fruit.

Only God chooses who goes to heaven, and thanks be to God for that! But we do have a role to play, and that is to produce good fruit. The person you’ve discounted, cast off, considered a weed in this world that must be yanked out, might just need someone—and not just any someone—but you. They just might need you to help them produce the fruit in their own life; therefore, be brave, have patience, and persevere in loving them, bringing glory to Our Father in Heaven.

St. Francis stated this best in a prayer. Let us pray: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen.”

19 July 2023

Sermon: Mary Magdalene

*Noli me Tangere* by Antonio da Correggio, c. 1525

I do enjoy reading. I’ve got my theology books that keep me company, but when it comes to relaxing, I’m all about fiction. I particularly like how the authors develop and describe the characters.

J.K. Rowling described Harry Potter: “Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.” In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (not that I would ever read such a book!), Stieg Larson described Lisbeth Salander as “an information junkie with a delinquent child’s take on morals and ethics.”

If the author is good, when we read these descriptions, we start to get images in our head of what these characters look like and what they are all about, just like when you visit on the phone with someone you’ve never met. You get this idea of what they will look like, even though that often turns out to be completely wrong (I made that mistake on a few blind dates). Even so, we get these images in our heads and will cling to them until proven wrong.

Similarly, the apostles and others who were with Jesus thought they knew who he was. As we’ve discussed, some thought he would be this great king, a military leader come to free them from the oppressive Romans, while others saw him as a prophet or great rabbi. Even though they may occasionally get it right – Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” – they still didn’t fully understand; therefore, they had these ideas about who Jesus was that weren’t always correct, so before the Good News could be taken into the world, that image they held had to be corrected.

Our Gospel reading begins this process of correction and greater understanding. At the tomb, on the day of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene turned and recognized Jesus, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus told her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.”

“Do not hold on to me” is sometimes seen as Jesus saying, “Do not touch me,” but in the very next chapter, we have Jesus telling Thomas, “Reach your hand out and put it into my side.” So, “Do not touch me” doesn’t fit. Instead, what we see happening is Mary Magdalene projecting onto the Risen Lord the image she has of him in her mind, that of Rabbi and Teacher. And Jesus, by saying, “Do not hold on to me,” is saying, “Do not cling to the limited image you have of me. Things are different now.” As Paul said in our epistle, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

Mary was clinging to her understanding of Jesus before his death and resurrection. She was holding on to a world where, through sin, humankind was separated from the Father. But through his death and resurrection, that relationship has been made new:

Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:12)

This is why Jesus was able to say to her and the apostles, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” No longer is it, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms,” but now, “In Our Father’s house.”

You have read about Jesus. You’ve heard preaching about his nature and attributes. Like Mary Magdalene – the Apostle to the Apostles – you have this image of Jesus in your mind. Question: Is that image an accurate portrayal of the Risen Lord, or are you holding onto an image that is – perhaps not wrong – but too small? Limited?

We will never fully understand God, but by asking the Holy Spirit to help us let go of what we think we know, that understanding can be broadened so that we might more fully know the God and Father of us all.

13 July 2023

Sermon: Proper 10 RCL A – “Fate of the Seed”

*Parable of the Sower* by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

The Archbishop of Canterbury was making arrangements to visit the United States. Before his plane landed, one of his advisors recommended that the Archbishop be cautious with the scandal-mongering press. “Be discreet: be very discreet, but with a smile.”

On arrival, he was hijacked by a bevy of pressmen clamoring for a story.

One reporter asked, “What do you think of the nightclubs in New York?” Remembering to be discreet, with a smile, the Archbishop ironically responded, “Are there any nightclubs in New York?”

Headlines next day: Archbishop’s first question on landing, “Are there any nightclubs in New York?”

Near the beginning of our Gospel reading, we read that Jesus “told them many things in parables.” Next Sunday and the following, our Gospel reading will begin, “Jesus put before the crowd another parable.” Three Sundays of parables. Why parables? Jesus answered that question, but we skipped over it.

If you look at your bulletin, you’ll notice that our Gospel for today was Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. In verses 10-17, Jesus answered the question.

The disciples asked him, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

Jesus goes on speaking in this same vein, referencing back to the Prophet Isaiah. His answer is almost as confusing as the parables. Jesus is saying that He speaks in parables because some will be receptive to His message, who will understand it, and who will live. At the same time, there will be many others who believe they already know what God is doing and have no need for this message that Jesus is bringing. The parable is a message of mercy and redemption to those who will hear and believe, but it is also a message of judgment on those who refuse Him.

When it comes to the parable we hear today—known as the Parable of the Sower—we benefit from Jesus’ private explanation to his disciples, but all the others who heard it that day did not. What would you have thought had you been one of the others?

You watch as Jesus walks through the crowd and gets into the boat, then after pushing out a way, he sits and faces you and the others. Then, without laying any groundwork, he speaks: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

After He has given this short message, He rows back in and walks off with his disciples. All you have are those few words. Your mission, should you choose to accept it—without the explanation Jesus provided privately to His disciples—is to interpret what He has said.

In putting myself in that position, my first thought was to try and understand why Jesus told that parable at that particular time. What prompted it?

From earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, we know that Jesus has already called his disciples and even sent them out to proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God, for “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Also, John the Baptist was arrested and sent some followers to ask if Jesus was the Messiah. Shortly before our reading, Jesus demonstrated that he was the Lord of the Sabbath by healing the man, but the religious leaders call him Beelzebub—the devil. Jesus has been rejected by some of the people and has condemned those towns where there was such unbelief. Finally, last week, we heard him say, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27) All these things and today, he tells the Parable of the Sower. It began, “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.”

What prompted Jesus to tell the parable? He went in the boat out on the lake and sat. The large crowd stood on the shore. Jesus watches them, and, like any large crowd, He sees the movement of the crowd. At times, the crowd almost appears as a single organism, flowing and moving. We’ve all witnessed the same thing at sporting events or concerts. The crowd shifts and sways, cheers and groans together. I can understand how Jesus may have looked at this crowd and saw their movement as that of a wheat field blowing in the wind. And, considering all that had taken place before—those who believed and followed, but also those who rejected him, who turned away when things became more difficult, who cursed Him… looking out on this wheat field of people and knowing their hearts, He began, “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed….”

So, back to our original question, you do not have the benefit of Jesus’ private explanation of this parable. All you have are the words he has spoken from the boat. What do you think it means? What would it have meant to you?

The key to our understanding is Jesus’ first statement, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.” A farmer does not walk out on a piece of land and start scattering seeds. No. First, the farmer must clear the land of all that is there: rocks, trees, bushes, and other debris. Then he must prepare the land to receive the seed, plow the field and turn the soil. Then, when it is the right season, he will go out and scatter the seed.

Jesus, through the parable, is telling the listeners that everything has been prepared and that the ground is now ready to receive the seed. The farmer then goes out and scatters the seed. He does so by hand. He tells the crowd where the seed landed, and not all of it landed in the prepared soil, but instead, it fell in unproductive areas: the road and among the rocks and thorns. That does not mean the farmer was careless; it’s just the nature of farming.

In hearing this, it is easy to focus on the farmer and the viability of the soil, but what Jesus is focusing on is the fate of the seed. The farmer has done all he can for the success of the seed. So, did the seed produce good fruit or not?

“Are there any nightclubs in New York?” Regarding the parables Jesus told, the exact meaning is not always clear. They were intended that way (today’s parable being the exception when Jesus tells the disciples what it means.) So, the parables require a bit of work on our part. We must wrestle with them. They are also timeless because they force us to ask the same questions as those standing by the lake who initially heard this one had to ask themselves. Finally, what makes the parables absolutely brilliant is their ability to speak to everyone and to the individual, each person having to discern for themselves how they fit into this story of God.

Today, we can look at this parable corporately. What does it say about us as a church, the Body of Christ? Have we withered? Have we been snatched away? Have we been choked off by other concerns other than the Gospel? Or are we producing good fruit? These are questions that we should ask ourselves regularly, but they also apply to us as individuals. Is the seed of God’s Word producing good fruit in me? When Jesus looks out over that field of wheat that he has planted, how does He see me?

The parable does not provide tidy little answers that can be framed and placed on the mantle. Instead, they provide us with questions about who we are in the workings of God. Today’s: God has sown the Word of His Kingdom within you—individually and collectively—how is that seed doing? How do you answer that question?

Within the Church, there are blessings for just about anything, including one for farmers for when the seeds they have sown are beginning to sprout. It seemed appropriate as a prayer. Let us pray: To Thee, O Lord, we cry and pray: bless this sprouting seed, strengthen it in the gentle movement of soft winds, refresh it with the dew of heaven, and let it grow to full maturity for the good of body and soul. Amen.

9 July 20239 July 2023

Travel: Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine Pilgrimage

Today, I had the opportunity to take a small group to Oklahoma City to visit the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. Blessed Stanley is the first American Martyr in the Roman Catholic Church and an Oklahoman. Below is a history taken from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s website. (Source) The pictures are ones I took.

Stanley Francis Rother was born March 27, 1935, in Okarche, Oklahoma. The oldest of the children born to Franz and Gertrude Rother, he grew up on a farm and attended Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School. He worked hard doing required chores, attended school, played sports, was an altar server and enjoyed the activities associated with growing up in a small town.

While in high school, he began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He was accepted as a seminarian and was sent to Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas. He completed his studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1963. Father Rother served as an associate pastor for five years in Oklahoma.

He sought and received permission to join the staff at the Oklahoma diocese’s mission in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. He served the native tribe of the Tz’utujil, who are decedents of the Mayans. Although he struggled with Latin in the seminary, Father Rother learned Spanish and the Tz’utujil language in Guatemala. He celebrated Mass in their language and helped translate the New Testament.

Father Rother was surrounded by extreme poverty among the Tz’utujil, who were living in one-room huts growing what they could on their small plots of land. He ministered to his parishioners in their homes; eating with them, visiting the sick and aiding them with medical issues. He even put his farming skills to use by helping them in the fields, bringing in different crops, and building an irrigation system.

While he served in Guatemala, a civil war raged between the militarist government forces and the guerrillas. The Catholic Church was caught in the middle due to its insistence on catechizing and educating the people. During this conflict, thousands of Catholics were killed. Eventually, Father Rother’s name appeared on a death list. For his safety and that of his associate, Father Rother returned home to Oklahoma. He didn’t stay long, though, as he was determined to give his life completely to his people, stating that “the shepherd cannot run.” He returned to Santiago Atitlan to continue the work of the mission.

Within a few months, three men entered the rectory around 1 a.m. on July 28, 1981, fought with Father Rother and then executed him. His death shocked the Catholic world. No one was ever held responsible. The people of Santiago Atitlan mourned the loss of their leader and friend. They requested that Father Rother’s heart be kept in Guatemala where it remains enshrined today.

In 2007, his Cause for Canonization was opened. In June 2015, the Vatican in Rome voted to formally recognize Oklahoma’s Father Stanley Rother a martyr. The determination of martyrdom was a critical step in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s Cause to have Father Rother beatified, the final stage before canonization as a saint.

On Dec. 1, 2016, Pope Francis officially recognized Father Rother as a martyr for the faith. He is the first martyr from the United States and the first U.S.-born priest to be beatified. The Rite of Beatification was held on Sept. 23, 2017, in downtown Oklahoma City – an event attended by more than 20,000 people from around the world.

Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Stanley Rother

O God, fount of all holiness,
make us each walk worthily in our vocation,
through the intercession of your Saints,
on whom you bestowed a great variety of graces on earth.
Having graced your Church with the life of
your priest and martyr, Blessed Stanley Rother,
grant that by his intercession this humble flock may reach
where the brave shepherd has gone.
Grant that your Church may proclaim him a saint
living in your presence and interceding for us.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

And God created Dog….

The floor tiles were made in Guatemala and dried outside. Throughout the building, you can see the tracks of the animals that passed by before the tiles were set.

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