1. --
Lanie LeBlanc OP
2. --
Dennis Keller
3. --
Brian Gleeson CP
4. --
Paul O'Reilly SJ
5. --(Your
reflection can be here!)
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1.
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Sun. 3 A 2023
The Scriptures this Sunday emphasize three things. Each
of us, not just ordained preachers, is called by reason of
our Baptism to preach the Good News. The Good News is that
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but most
essentially that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. Our task
as Christians is to mirror Jesus to all as the Light that
dispels the darkness in our world. Pretty easy to write,
much harder to live!
Central in how we live is where we focus. The essential
message and our focus needs to be The Message, Jesus,as Paul
so directly tells us. As important as hearing and
understanding the Scriptures is, it is not just one
preacher's way of interpreting it or to whom it is preached
or how it is preached that should be the only reason we
attend a particular church. How it is lived there must be in
the mix. The part we have in that reality is also crucial.
I could probably write a very long reflection of the pros
and cons of "church shopping" as someone who encounters this
concept frequently. We all do it; we are human; we can not
live what we do not understand. Let me focus instead on how
we can live the essential Message of redemption in our
everyday lives regardless of why we attend the church we do.
For me, redemption is the key element of my faith in
Jesus. Without Jesus, including both his life and his
teachings recorded in Scripture and in tradition, eternal
life is a guessing game. With Jesus and the undeniable
message of forgiveness, second/many chances, and
unconditional love , not only is eternal life put in a
different perspective, but so is the life we lead right now.
What that says to me is that each of us must live that
message, intentionally, however we can, in whatever
circumstances are present to us, everywhere. It is important
to live that call and thus share/preach it in the confines
of our homes, workplace, community, and in not-so-everyday
places. No one, ... no one, has the call or how to live it
perfectly understood or lived. Whether it is a young child
or an elder in the community, each of us needs to hear
(perhaps repeatedly) the undeniable message of Jesus, as our
Savior and Redeemer. That way all of us yes all of us, can
journey to the promised kingdom together, the kingdom which
is both now and in heaven.
So, we have each been called to do that work in our
corner of the world. There are many resources from on High,
locally, and even digitally, to make it possible to do. We
can do it, but will we? The weeks of ordinary/ordered time
are there to help. Let us pray that each of us will be able
to carve out some time to figure out where we can "order"
ourselves to act prayerfully on that call.
Blessings,
Dr. Lanie
LeBlanc OP
Southern
Dominican Laity
lanie@leblanc.one
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2.
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Third Sunday of Ordered Time
January 22,
2023
Isaiah 8:23-9:3; Responsorial Psalm 27; 1st
Corinthians 1:10-13 & 17; Gospel Acclamation Matthew 4:23;
Matthew 4:12-23
The
gospel this Sunday begins with the statement that Jesus
withdraws to Galilee. Perhaps this withdrawal is from the
Judean desert where Jesus prayed and was tempted. He returns
to his home in Nazareth. Matthew comments that Jesus is thus
called a Nazarene. That reference appears to be more about
the prophecy of Isaiah that states that a sprout – a neser –
would spring forth from the dead stump of Jesse, the root of
the destroyed Davidic dynasty. Jesus moves from Nazareth to
Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee. This town was on the shores
of the Sea of Galilee and on trade routes that brought
merchants and travelers through Capernaum. No reason is
given for Jesus’ change of residence. Perhaps Capernaum and
its economy would provide more business for Jesus’ trade as
carpenter.
Jesus
spends a lot of time healing and preaching in Galilee. It’s
not a big state either. It’s about twenty-five miles wide
and about fifty miles long. It is bordered on the east by
the Sea of Galilee – the fishing hole for Peter and his
brother Andrew. But Galilee – despite its smallness -- was a
great place for agriculture. The area was fertile and even
unskilled farmers could easily grow crops. Galilee was
heavily populated. It was also an area where the population
was open to new thoughts and changes in culture. Travelers
passing through brought new ways of thinking and doing. So,
a dynamic preacher would be listened to. And a healer would
quickly gain popularity in the region that was home to many
with infirmities. There was a downside to the traffic and
great soil. It was a prize for tyrants seeking to enrich
their kingdoms. And so it was that the Assyrians in 734 B.C.
led by Tigath-pileser III conquered the area. That was the
area that had been the region given to the tribes of Aser,
Naphtali, and Zebulun. The conquest had been brutal and the
peoples were scattered so as to keep them from returning and
fomenting rebellion against their conquerors. So, yes, the
people sat in a great darkness. They would see a new light;
the Messiah would begin his mission in that territory. The
death that overshadowed those three tribes would come to see
a great light. Naphtali and Zebulun were the first tribes
conquered and dispersed through the world. In the first
reading, it is Naphtali and Zebulun that first hear the good
news brought by the Messiah.
The
announcement of Jesus to Peter and Andrew that they would
become fishers of men sounds a lot like a recruitment device
for this Kingdom of Heaven preached by the Baptist and then
by Jesus. There is more to that statement than recruitment.
First, the Kingdom refers not to a region, a geographic
nation, or nations. It refers instead to a presence, an
energy, a power that comes into the hearts – not merely the
minds and bodies – into the hearts of those who become its
citizens. There is a change in the persons who allow the
reign of God to enter their hearts.
Secondily in the culture of Israel, the seas were the
dwelling place of demons. Anyone who fell into the sea was
doomed to death. It symbolized chaos. Recall the first verse
of Genesis where the spirit of God hovered over the waters
calming the chaos and disorder of the seas. Monsters lived
in the seas. So, Jesus gives the mission that would be the
mission of the apostles, of the disciples then and now. It
is their responsibility to fish out of the chaos of life and
living all humanity. In being fished out, humanity would be
able to live without fear of the chaos of the world, live
without the chaos of violence.
How
often we are troubled by events seek to crush our peace of
mind and heart and force us into darkness experienced by the
peoples of Zebulon and Naphtali. Moving out of the darkness
is beyond our strength, beyond our understanding, and well
beyond our courage and communal efforts. Because we seem
trapped, the turmoil steals the vitality of our spirit,
crushes the unique character of our person. We respond with
anger, a seeking of revenge, and plotting the destruction of
whomever we hold responsible for the harm done us. Unless we
hear and practice the good news brought by the Messiah, we
sink beneath the crashing waves and currents of chaos and
loss of meaning and purpose. We desperately need a
fisherperson to net us and lift us above the maelstrom that
threatens our well-being, our livelihood, our peace of mind,
and the viability and endurance of our family.
This
Jesus preached good news of a new way of living, of coping
with the sin that besmirches the goodness of creation and of
the very good creation that God identifies as “very good.”
Living is a struggle, often an endurance buoyed only with
the hope things will improve. Unless we are extraordinarily
wealthy, powerful, or famous living is filled with soaring
peaks and submerging tides. It may well be difficult for the
wealthy, the powerful, and the well connected as well. But
their resources are often paint over anxieties and pain, a
paint that puts on a good face to the world and an ersatz
contentment because they are better off than others. Such
comparison amounts to a standing on the shoulders of the
less fortunate.
What a
time for Jesus to begin his ministry to the Chosen People.
John the Baptizer had just been put into a dark, damp
dungeon at the edge of the wilderness because he pointed out
Herod’s great sin. It would be a difficult journey for
anyone to visit John. He was isolated from all but his most
ardent disciples. His imprisonment was a signal for Jesus to
begin his ministry. Even so, the message Jesus preached was
“repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” a repeat of
John’s message.
How
would we think if the homilist began his sermon with those
words of Jesus. “Repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Is Father losing his mind? We’ve heard this story before –
how about something new? Maybe he didn’t have time to
prepare a sermon. What’s the Kingdom of Heaven? Oh, yeah,
that’s where we’d like to end up, right? I’ve got time to
get ready for the move. It certainly has nothing to do with
me now. I’m too busy making a living and raising my family.
The
question hidden under the living room carpet is this: what
is the meaning and value in our living? What we choose now,
what we take as truth, what the basis of our relationships
has an affect on our persons. The struggle for meaning and
purpose and growth of the uniqueness I am is not something
we wait till the last seconds of living. The storm-tossed
chaos of daily life and how we relate to it and to others
and to God is how our person grows or decays. Is my focus on
taking from others for building up my prestige, my comfort,
my ego? Does climbing on the backs of others – stomping on
them to slow them down so I can surpass – does this add to
the chaos in my spirit? Isn’t getting ahead of the pack what
the world holds as our reason for living? Isn’t getting
ahead the global anthem? Is truth a commodity that is bent
into a pretzel so that my increase is what is being served?
Is lying admissible as a tool for conducting business,
politics, and relationships? Killing off competition, is
that not how I grow? In relationships with neighbors,
competitors, wives/husbands, children does it matter that we
surrender to domination over appreciation, compassion,
mercy, and kindness?
So,
what is living for? What is living about? Is it all merely a
chase after wind?
Behaviors such as these introduce yet again the chaos of the
oceans and seas. Holding onto the way of the world is
ultimate a drowning of our persons. Holding ourselves as the
center of all that is denial of the unique image and
likeness Genesis tells us is how we are created. That spark,
that seed that is us is planted in the world. Unlike seeds
that grow solely based on their DNA, humanity has free will
to choose righteousness and justice over selfishness and
idolatry of self. Depending on the way of the world is to
surrender our meaning and purpose to nothingness.
Jesus
healed the sick, cast out demons. Why? What was in it for
him? Did that healing get him an audience? Did he pick up
stock options and estates because of it? Why did he do this?
Why all the healing without price? Why the feeding of the
multitudes with no tips? Is he crazy? His relatives back in
Nazareth thought so and wanted him committed or eliminated
by throwing him off a cliff. What is his message?
Jesus
understands the wonder and beauty of creation and as Jesus
lives as one of the pinnacles of creation. After thousands
of years of human experience, the judgment of humanity,
guided as it is by God’s Spirit, believes all creation is
good – beautiful, orderly, a wonder. Humanity itself is very
special. Humanity is not merely good. It is “very good.”
That ‘s God’s view of God’s work. What happened to sully its
beauty? How did humanity get so caught in the ruts of
self-centered idolatry that everything looks like a battle
to win, a foe to conquer. Human persons struggled and
continue to struggle with self-image, with relationship with
others, with wives and husbands, with sons and daughters,
with neighbors, with tribes and nations. Gone was the
obvious beauty. There is something wrong. Gone is the beauty
of living, gone the pleasure of being with others, gone the
flourishing of each person. Hatred replaces appreciation.
Competition replaces communal efforts. In this crushing need
for reconciliation sacrifices were made with blood from
innocent lambs to wash away the putrid stench of wrong
behavior. Yet not the blood of tens of thousands of lambs is
sufficient to wash clean. Persons depend on power, wealth,
influence, and pleasure for meaning, for purpose.
Into
all this came this one who acted and dressed like Elijah
that prophet who didn’t die but taken to heaven in a fiery
chariot. And the Baptist preached, “repent for the Kingdom
of Heaven is near.” He had purpose, he had meaning by
pointing to one yet coming. The one coming came. He healed
blindness, deafness, non-speaking, lameness of limbs,
disease, possession, and alienation. He made over the ugly
into the beautiful. He taught that meaning and purpose has
to do with how life is lived now. The kingdom of heaven
isn’t like the kingdom of the world. The world’s is an
attempt to claim for self. The other is filled with
compassion, with kindness, with mercy. The turmoil, the
raging seas are calmed, and persons are chosen to fish out
of the crushing waves of disorder, selfishness, most
importantly the hate that comes from lack of meaning and
purpose.
Jesus
chooses apostles to fish out of the drink, out of the
crashing waves, out of the maelstrom of evil that brings
only death and oblivion.
Our
gospels in each succeeding Sunday are a journey with
Matthew. Look beyond the words and find meaning and purpose
for the building up of what we are – unique bits and pieces
of the Image and Likeness of God.
Dennis
Keller with Charlie
dkeller002@nc.rr.com
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3.
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Year A: 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
"They left their nets at once and followed him."
It doesn’t very often happen that I have a total pastoral
success. So when it does happen I want the whole world to
know about it.
A few years ago, I was in bed asleep when the telephone
rang at about 2am. I was annoyed because I had to get up
early next morning to travel to the wedding of an old friend
of mine called Christine. But I answered the phone – and the
person calling was Christine.
"Paul I need to talk to you…. It’s about getting
married…. What if I’m wrong?"
My heart sank for two reasons:
-first, because I knew I had to get this right. A lot of
people’s happiness was riding on this.
-second, because I was also pretty sure I wasn’t going to
get any more sleep that night.
I smiled sweetly, like you’re supposed to into the phone.
"Christine", I said, through gritted teeth, "how nice of
you to call. OK, tell me all about it."
And so she told me about her fears for the future and
what her marriage might turn out to be like – he might
become an alcoholic; he might stop loving her; he might turn
to other – younger – women; he might not look after her; he
might not want to have children. It might all turn out to be
a horrible mistake.
… and much, much more in the same vein……
Then I made two mistakes. In my defence, it was two in
the morning.
First I interrupted her, usually a mistake.
Then I tried to argue with her – always a mistake.
So I tried to point out to her that she had known this
man for four years. In that time he had not drunk any
alcohol at all; he had been entirely constant to her – in
fact a little more constant than she had been to him (but –
hey - let’s just not go there!) he had not looked at another
woman and he was looking forward to having a family just as
much as she was.
And – predictably - I got absolutely nowhere.
"But Paul!" she said, "that’s what he’s like now – but he
might change in the future. People do change. So what if
it’s all a mistake?"
And I was forced to admit that, yes, people do change –
there’s no denying it. Past record is not necessarily a
guide to future performance.
I realised that I wasn’t helping her. So I went another
road. I asked her: "Is this really an important question to
you?"
"Yes."
"Is it the most important question in your life?"
"Yes."
"Is it a question you simply must answer?"
"Yes."
"Then I think you have to marry the man, because there is
no other way you are going to get the answer."
"Oh", she said – and then there was a long silence.
I crossed my fingers.
And finally she said: "Yes… OK… , good night."
And then we both went back to bed.
And next day, for better or for worse; for richer or for
poorer, in sickness and in health; till death did them part,
Walter & Christine both left their nets to follow Jesus
together.
Sometimes in life, we meet questions that are so
important that we have to answer them.
"Is this the right way for me to go?
Is this the right person for me to marry?
Is this what God really wants of my life?
Is this what God created me to be and is calling me to
do?"
And sometimes those questions are so important that we
cannot let them go by. And, even when we have thought about
them, reflected about them, prayed about them – even for
years – we don’t really know the answer. Is this my
vocation? Or is a mistake – a dead end?
And sometimes the only way to know is to try it and find
out. Often these are the key decision points in our life.
And what makes them hard is that they may be decisions –
like the decision to get married – that, once taken, cannot
be taken back. And all we can do is to embark upon them with
courage, knowing that we considered all, brought all to mind
and made the best decision we could at the time. Whether in
years to come we will look back on that decision with pride
or with sorrow, we took the best decision we could at the
time and we put our trust in the Lord.
That is what I think the apostles do here. They don’t
know what they are letting themselves in for. They don’t
know how it’s going to turn out – if in a few years’ time
they might not be regretting an impulsive decision – if it’s
all going to end in tears and a messy death – and for most
of them it did end in a messy death.
But these are such important questions: Who is this man?
Is He the Christ? Should I follow him?
We all know people who have asked important questions of
life and got the answers wrong – sometimes tragically wrong.
But I believe that the greater tragedy in some people’s
lives is not that they get the answers wrong – it is that
they don’t ask those questions.
I mention Christine today because I heard from her at
Christmas (her wedding anniversary was last week). She is
happily married with a son called Joshua and a very loving
husband. She now indignantly denies that any such telephone
conversation ever took place!
Let us stand and profess our Faith in the Lord who calls
each of us to our own Vocations.
"Brian
Gleeson CP" <bgleesoncp@gmail.com>
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4.
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Paul
O'Reilly SJ <fatbaldnproud@opalityone.net>
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5.
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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections,
and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the
preaching you hear. Send them to
preacherexchange@att.net. Deadline is
Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
-- Fr. John Boll, OP
