24 & 25 December 2019

Isaiah 52, 7-10 + Psalm 98 + Hebrews 1, 1-6 + Luke 2, 1-20

St. Peter the Apostle & St. William Churches in Naples, FL

We are in this church tonight because we have heard them. We have heard the greatest truth of all, that God is with us. Yet still, there may be some here with us who have not heard that prophetic voice, whose days and lives are long and lonely, who have been abandoned by someone they loved, who live with secrets that if known will push them to the edge of an abyss by the judgements of others. Yet, we are a prophetic church. In spite of our personal failings and our institutional sins, we still must and do proclaim the truth: God is with us.

As a community of faith and prayer, we have moved through purple days lighting candles against a world that sometimes seems to prefer the darkness singing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which tells us to Rejoice but sounds like a dirge. For four weeks, we have listened the peculiar poets, the prophets. They pop up from time to time throughout the whole year, but in Advent they take center stage. There is John the Baptist announcing the “Spirit and Fire”. There is Isaiah awaiting the “great light.” These are voices that seem to flutter between warning and consolation, between the present and the future, cause and effect.

Today we live in a world in which prophecy has been swamped by prediction: the weather, elections, the stock market. Week after week we are told what the “polls” predict. But, John the Baptist never conducted a poll or a survey. Isaiah did not have a margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Prophets simply tell the truth.

When that truth finally sinks in all of life on earth will become one great Advent with the promise that the best is yet to come. Christmas is a call to reconnect ourselves, to accompany Jesus more deeply into the mystery of our shared humanity and our life with God. This is why guest rooms are full, airports are crowded, highways are jammed with people connecting again.  Our hope does not rest upon a Biblical account of something that happened two thousand years ago. You can’t hope for something that has already happened. Our hope rests up on the promise that Christ will come again, and for those of us who choose to live with that hope, it brings excitement and joy as well as the strength to rise up from every catastrophe.

The real good news we have to proclaim goes way beyond what we sing about today and what we remember. The real good news is not that Christ was born in Bethlehem, but that Christ will come again. Our prayer today as we stand before the scenes that recall Christ’s birth should be: “Maranatha, Come, Lord Jesus.” Live with that hope, my friends. Let the promise that Christ will come again bring you a Joy that never fades. The story that draws us together tonight is that God is with us. But right now it is a story that has no ending.  When the story finally ends, we shall be with God, and the plan in the heart of God will be fulfilled. Maranatha: Come, Lord Jesus.

15 December 2019 at St. Peter the Apostle & St. William in Naples, FL

Isaiah 35, 1-6 & 10 + Psalm 146 + James 5, 7-10 + Matthew 11, 2-11

If you stop to think about John the Baptist sitting in Herod’s prison, it isn’t hard to realize what is going on in his mind. I imagine that his thinking goes something like this: “I did everything I felt called to do. I never called attention to myself. I recognized the Messiah when he came, and even though we did not agree on which of us should be baptized, I followed his wishes and did what he asked. I spoke the truth even when it was not popular and was dangerous, and look where I’ve ended up.”

I believe that John is having a crisis of faith. He is filled with doubt. He must have been filled with fear. He must have wondered why Jesus did not work some sign and get him out of that prison. After all, they were family. If Jesus could do all those things he has heard about, he surely could set him free from Herod’s prison. But, nothing happens. Either in desperation for himself or out of a desire to shift the loyalty of his disciples toward Jesus, he asks that painful question: “Are you the one?”

Jesus called John the Baptist “The greatest man born of woman.” Yet, the greatest man born of woman is left to sit alone in a prison, and there we find him waiting, longing, and perhaps even doubting. Doubt, you know, is not the opposite of faith. The opposite of faith is certainty. When you are certain about something, you don’t need faith. Probably the opposite of doubt is trust, and that is what John was struggling with, trust. So, he wonders if Jesus is trustworthy, and his answer comes from those disciples who went to Jesus.

John is not the only person who sits in a prison waiting and longing for the Messiah. Many in this world today are waiting, wondering, and longing. Their prison is ignorance, poverty, abusive relationships, addiction, and their own sinful choices, and they can only look to us for an answer to their question: “Is Jesus the one we are waiting for?” “Is Jesus the one who can save us?” It ought to be obvious to anyone by now that no King, President, no Prime Minister, no Emperor, or Dictator is the answer. No ideology and no “ism” this world can make up will free us from whatever it is that holds us back. Doubt goes with the longing because doubt can eventually lead us to faith. Those who live their lives certain that this idea or program, political agenda or political party will save us have yet to believe that this world cannot offer us what we truly desire. They are yet to affirm that Jesus is the answer. They have not yet seen what a difference a life lived in relationship to God can make, and there is only one reason for that. We have not adequately and totally revealed the power of Jesus Christ to them. My friends, John the Baptist, great as he was, never understood that Christ would die for us. He never experienced the Resurrection, and he never received the Holy Eucharist. He was never Baptized in the Holy Spirit as we have been. There is a power in us he could never have imagined. The Word of God speaks to us today about the imprisoned and about the mission of Jesus Christ handed on to us who share his life through his very Body and Blood. This world needs and waits, longs and yearns to know what a difference life lived with Jesus Christ makes. They will only know by seeing our lives transformed by the peace which only God can give. Every act of kindness and mercy, every offence forgiven will leave people wondering what motivates us to be so kind. Every generous response to a someone begging at the side of the road with a smile and blessing may open one heart to the love of God and the peace of his Kingdom. Knowing us is to know Jesus Christ, and in coming to know him, they will have grasped the answer to the longing of their hearts.

8 December 2019

Isaiah 11, 1-10 + Psalm 72 + Romans 15, 4-9 + Matthew 3, 1-12

St. Peter the Apostle & St. William Churches in Naples, FL

Isaiah opens our liturgy today just as he opened this Advent season last week. He spoke passionately about refusing to accept things as they are and demanding that God’s people look to a future that is better and do something to bring it about. Today that future is described as a time of Justice, and Isaiah envisions a time when a leader will be clothed in justice and faithfulness. This leadership promotes harmony to the point that even natural enemies will become friends. The vision of this prophet sees leadership that will promote justice and protect the vulnerable.

Ages later, John steps onto the scene echoing Isaiah’s expectation announcing that the kind of leadership and the justice it will promote is at hand. His critique of the kind of leadership under which the poor and vulnerable suffer ultimately leads to his death at the hands of Herod. He was not afraid to speak the truth to power. John’s description of leadership goes far beyond pointing to the Christ who was in their midst. What he says about this one who is to come is far more than a description of Jesus Christ. It is a description of us, of who we must be having become one with Christ, and of what we must do as members of Christ’s body.

We cannot let ourselves “off the hood”, so to speak, by simply turning this into an historical account of what John the Baptist once said in the past about Jesus of Nazareth. This living Word of God speaks to us on this day. The voice of the Baptist is the living Word of God living today and speaking to us about the kind of leadership we must provide in the world of this age. Like John the Baptist, we must hold our leaders to high standards, urging and expecting them to promote harmony, not sow discord. We must expect them to create a just society where people are not judged by appearance or by hearsay, but by the fruits of their labors and life.

There will be no such leadership unless we provide that leadership. All too often leaders are simply mirroring the people from which they come. Paul speaks today about the hope that must come from what was written previously. Well, Isaiah was written previously. He describes us who are born into and found in Christ Jesus. We have been baptized in the Spirit, not just Jesus Christ. We have a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. Don’t you remember that day when the church confirmed this Spirit? The questions this Advent are: “When are we going to put these gifts to work?” or “What are we waiting for?” Someone else?

There is an urgency about this in Matthew’s Gospel, and an assurance that the Judge will come not to judge someone else, but to judge us in terms of how faithfully, fruitfully, and consistently we have become one in Christ. Our best hope is that when that judgement comes, we will have become so much like Christ that God will not be able to tell us apart and welcome us home.

1 December 1, 2019 at St. Peter and St. William Churches in Naples, FL

The prophet whose words break open this Advent Season speaks up at a time when people were giving up on their dreams because it seemed as though their time had passed. They had decided that it was time to get real and simply accept their new world as it was, not as they wished it could be. Isaiah was obviously a man with a great imagination, and he was heart-broken to find himself in the midst of people who had quit, given up, and just ceased to imagine how wonderful things could really be. Instead of just shaking his head and saying: “It is what it is”, he dreamed, spoke up, and expected something different, and he was not quiet about it.

Isaiah 2:1-5 + Romans 13, 11-14 + Matthew 24, 37-44 at St. Peter the Apostle

Isaiah realized that most people’s prayer was just whining complaints full of self-pity. Their prayers were little more than the repetition of words that spilled off their lips endlessly with no power, passion, or expectation. There was no fire, no energy to combat their anesthetized hearts. To all of us who experience disappointment and broken dreams Isaiah still cries out just as before. To a people in danger of giving up on their dreams, his words and his spirit come to awaken us all. With Isaiah there is no golden age in the past, and there is no looking back. What matters is the future in which we must have great hope and confidence. Isaiah cried out: “In days to come!” He had no time for looking back. He was desperate to reawaken his people. His message to the Israelites is still a message for us: “God is not finished with you.” To them he said: “Your exile is a part of your road, not the end of the story. Re-adjust your outlook and change your behavior!” To us he says: “Retirement is just part of your road, not the end of your story.” For many of us, retirement in Naples, Florida is only a part of our story. This is not the time to sit around a reminisce about the old days. There is still a future for us all, and we must look ahead.

There is in all of us an odd and unfortunate temptation to look backward when things seem to be going wrong, to believe that the old days were really the best days, and that nothing yet to come could be possibly be good. That kind of pessimism is not to be found in disciples of Christ Jesus. There is in this kind of temptation, a cowardice that may come from fear or simply from a lack of confidence or helplessness. My own opinion is that thinking the old days were better days is the sign of a bad memory.

Jesus translated Isaiah’s message into his own time: “Remember the story of Noah? Things were headed to hell in a handbasket. For some, it was all about making money, luxury resorts, fast cars and the golf course. Others went about their business, assuming that nothing can change the way things are going.” (That’s a modern rendition of “eating and drinking and marrying.”)

Advent ushers us into the challenge of believing that the world as we know it is not what God intends and that God wills to help us do better. Isaiah tells us what God intends for the world: The life and prayer of believers will attract all peoples to know and love God. He speaks of a time when weapons of war are transformed into agricultural tools, and when human beings will care for one another and their Earth as they were created to do. There is no excuse for a failure to look into that future. Neither is there an excuse for failing this very day to start making it happen.

November 24, 2019 At Saint Peter and Saint William Parishes in Naples, FL

 2 Samuel 5, 1-3 + Psalm 122 + Colossians 1, 12-20 + Luke 23, 35-43

On this last Sunday of the Church’s year we stand with this Gospel on the edge of Paradise. We can look through the doorway to heaven because in his promise to that “good thief” Jesus opens the door to real freedom inviting us to embrace Paradise today. His work is complete with his last breath and his final words. He looks at all of us who realize our need, and he says: “Today you will be with me.”

This was his mission. This is why the Father sent him, not so much to suffer and die an agonizing death, but to identity with us, to be incarnate in our flesh, and to remain with us until the very end. On our part it takes only one thing, the desire and the courage to express our need, our need to be remembered.

The Kingdom of God which Jesus announced and now reveals is the victory of the poor, the lost, the forgotten, the marginalized, and even thieves who know their need for mercy. What looks like a defeat and death is really the triumph of forgiveness, generosity, justice, and peace. In this final moment and with these last words, we can realize that the Kingdom of God has truly come.

This is a Kingdom that has no borders or barriers and no distinction between classes, races, skin color, or gender. This is a Kingdom in which the mighty kneel before the weak and the frail to wash their feet. This is Kingdom in which authority is found in compassion not in power. This is a Kingdom that finds justice in forgiveness, not revenge. This is a Kingdom that finds us all included in spite of everything we have done and failed to only because in humility we ask to be remembered.

Salvation is always a gift from God. God gives it most freely to those who, like the good thief know they are poor, and who ask for it with empty hands and hearts filled with hope. That hope is what we must take with us from this church today. The hope that with our last breath we may say: “Remember me”, and just before we sleep we shall hear one last and final word: “Today.”

November 17, 2019 At Saint Peter and Saint William Parishes in Naples, FL

 Malachi, 3, 19-20 + Psalm 98 + 2 Thessalonians 3, 7-12 + Luke 21, 5-19

There are two issues in these Gospel verses today. The first concerns the end of the world.

Jesus states that there will be an end time, when the Son of Man will come as judge, but we cannot determine when that will be. There is really only one way for people of faith to live with this reality. You can recognize them by the way they live, always in the present, always full of life and joy. There is something spontaneous about them. You never hear them say: “One of these days I’m going to……”  Has anyone here ever said that? If you are nodding your head, I would propose that you need to let these Gospel verses sink into your soul. People of real, living faith never put off to tomorrow what they can, should, and will do today. It’s not a matter of how much you can do in day, but how you prioritize what do each day, because you never know if it is the last. This is the way disciples of Jesus live. If someone is in need, you don’t wait till tomorrow to help them. One of you may be dead, and then you live with regret. If there is a word of thanks, compliment, or some encouragement you want to offer, you don’t wait till tomorrow. Saving something for a great day, for a special day, or for just the “right moment” might mean nothing ever happens. What Luke would have us understand is that every day is a special day, and every day is a great day.

The second issue in these Gospel verses today concerns the destruction of the Temple. By the time Luke wrote his Gospel, the Temple had already been destroyed by the Romans, and historians suggest that perhaps one million people died as a result of the Roman fury at a minor rebellion. Looking only at that, Luke’s readers at the time could begin to feel like victims as one catastrophe after another was happening. But these verses and words of Jesus suggest that people who experience tragedies are not just sad victims because, Jesus sees these events as opportunities. They are opportunities for disciples to bear witness to Jesus and the Gospel. By forewarning them Jesus forearming them.

It is exactly at the worst of times that Christian people are needed to stand in the darkness of despair as a light to the world. It is exactly when lying and falsehood is everywhere that the truth is needed, and who has the Truth? Jesus Christ and those he sends before him. Exactly when hatred seems to be in control, love is needed. In the midst of and in times of war, it is peace that is needed from peaceful people in the name of Christ whose very presence is peace.

In a world of social and political turmoil, people of faith will often be regarded as naive and irrelevant. However, we must not be afraid of skepticism and cynicism, but trust that God will give us the strength to hold our ground. That strength comes from the hope that this Gospel promises. Remember this about Jesus. He was an outcast from the very beginning. There was no room for him in the inn when he was born. His neighbors ran him out of town. His family questioned his sanity. One of his closest friends betrayed him. The others abandoned him, and his countrymen traded his life for that of a terrorist.

This Gospel urges us all to not lose heart in times of difficulty. Our faith does not rest upon human institutions, but on God alone. Human things fall apart and fail. What we put our trust in is the faithfulness of God. We are privileged to share in Christ’s suffering, and by sharing the suffering, he will share with us his strength and endurance, and together we shall all share in his glory.

November 10, 2019 Onboard the MS Koningsdam

2 Maccabees 7, 1-2 & 9-14 + Psalm 17 + 2 Thessalonians 2, 16 – 3, 5

Luke 20, 27-38

Since June, we have been going along with Jesus as he makes his way to Jerusalem. Last week was the last stop just outside of town at the city of Jericho where he met Zacchaeus. We have skipped over the great entry into Jerusalem. He has already had his confrontation with the merchants there and a serious confrontation with the Pharisees and every other authority possible. Things are coming together, and his fate is now unavoidable. Luke structures this part of his Gospel around a series of questions posed by different groups. We have skipped over the first two, but it might help to mention them.

The first question came from the chief priests, elders, and scribes. The very group who instigate the Romans to put Jesus to death. They wanted to know by what authority Jesus acts as he does.

The second question came from secret agents disguised as what Luke calls, “Honest Men.” Their question concerns whether or not it is lawful to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor.

The third question comes up today.

There is a fourth and final question coming later with the same group concerning the title, “Lord.” At this point, Jesus warns the people to beware of the hypocrisy found in their leaders.

Now, it is the third question that comes up in today’s Gospel. Again, the Sadducees are the questioners, and they do not believe in the resurrection of the dead or any kind of judgement after death. It was a disputed matter between scholars at the time, and Jesus sides with the Pharisees on this issue. infuriating the Sadducees who consider themselves to be the protectors of ancient tradition and the status quo. They want no change, especially one that might challenge their aristocratic and very secure way of life cooperating with the Romans. They could smell danger to their status around Jesus and the company he kept, so they are determined to show that he is either crazy, irrelevant, or disobedient to the Mosaic teaching and traditions. The question they raise comes from the Mosaic law which taught that if one married brother dies without a son to carry on the name, his brother must marry the widow. The first son of this marriage will bear the name of the dead brother. While strange to us, the purpose was to strengthen family bonds and care for the widow. The Sadducees push the idea through the six brothers in a silly and exaggerated way thinking that the question could only be considered by those who are stupid enough to believe in such a resurrection.

Jesus refuses to play the game of trivial biblical pursuit. His answer challenges any belief that the next life will be a continuation of this life. It is a completely new mode of existence, he says. Quoting their cherished writings of the Mosaic law, Jesus reminds them that God spoke to Moses about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the present tense, as still being alive before him and not as long-dead memories. God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. All of this is Luke’s final way of leading us into the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. We get a hint at how Jesus had the courage and the confidence to risk his death. He believed in the resurrection. It prepared him to accept his death, even though the suffering that led to it might have been frightening.

All of this seems a bit morose riding along on this beautiful ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but I would suggest to you that thinking about death from time to time can result in a true love of life. When we are familiar with death, we accept each day as a gift, and this day is one of them. In a few moments we shall say together: “We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” Belief in another life after this one is one of the most important or our beliefs as Christians. Without it, life would be a journey to nowhere. With it, life becomes a journey to the promised land of eternal life.

November 3, 2019 Onboard the MS Koningsdam

 Wisdom 11, 22 – 12,1 + Psalm 145 + 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 – 2,2 + Luke 19, 1-10

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector provides one of the most well-loved stories in the Bible. It a story with many layers from which we can all explore the will of God. It is an Incarnational story that in figurative language reveals what God intended by sending his Son. He came to stay in our house, here on earth, here in human flesh. It is a story of the salvation Jesus brings as he seeks the lost and the most despised by this world, but yet loved by God. It is a conversion story, the best kind of conversion, it begins with a conversion of heart, a change of life, a change of values, which is always better than an intellectual conversion This is also a story/lesson about wealth, a topic frequently raised in Luke’s Gospel. It affirms that there is nothing wrong or bad about being rich. What matters is how one became that way, and what is done with it.

As we sail today headed toward Spain and then ultimately toward home for some of us, those words of Jesus to Zacchaeus are comforting and challenging. “I have come to stay in your house today.” It is both a reminder of what God is doing through his Son, and a reminder of the conversion to which we are called. Zacchaeus ceased to be a spectator that day, by the grace of God and presence of Jesus Christ. At first, he wanted to see, and he got more than he wanted. He got to see the great, patient mercy of God. As he climbs down from that tree, a new man, he is no longer a spectator, but now a participant in the work of Jesus Christ. He had been a man who took from others. Now he is a man who gives to others. He does way more than what might have been required or expected. He gives half of what he has away, and then repays four times over what he took. There is extravagance here that is only matched by the extravagance of God’s love and mercy.

While the crowd can only murmur and judge seeing this man by his past, it is not so with God who created us all good. That goodness never goes away. It’s always there somewhere and just needs to be rediscovered. The old German writer and statesman, Goethe, left us with a description of what God is doing here and a suggestion of how we might continue the work of God. He said: “The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become”. We have to learn from Jesus how to see people.

October 27, 2019 Prepared for Publication while in Rome, Italy

 Sirach 35, 12-14 & 16-18 + Psalm 34 + 2 Timothy 4, 6-8 & 16-18 + Luke 18, 9-14

 As much as it might be easier to preach about prayer from these verses, that would avoid the real issue. What is important here comes at the very end, and that should be of interest to us. Luke tells us that “The tax collector went home justified.” The word “Justified” is important. It leads us to reflect how or what it means to be “justified.”

These were both probably good men, and their prayers were honest and true. The problem surfaces with the comments of Jesus. This parable is aimed at those who pride themselves on being virtuous while looking down on others. Although he was boastful, the Pharisee was no hypocrite. Everything he said was true and sincere. His problem was that he had no concept of his need of God. Since he didn’t consider himself a sinner, he felt no need of God’s mercy. In fact, he believed he had run up a formidable credit-balance with God. Which meant that he had God in his debt. He’s the kind of person in today’s world that just doesn’t think he’s done anything that should take him to the Sacrament of Penance. He also made the mistake of confessing the sins of others rather than his own. As confessor, I can tell you that confessing the sins of others as a way of minimizing your offences making yourself look better is a serious issue. These are the people quick to tell others that they need to “go to confession.” This man’s sins were not wrongful deeds, they were wrongful attitudes. What goes wrong for him is thinking that he could justify himself by right behavior, and that is just not how it works with God.

The way it works with God is shown with the other man, the one in the back. He knows he needs God. He knows God’s mercy. He never thinks for one minute that his life is perfect and therefore that God owes him anything but mercy. His prayer is the best: “Have mercy on me God. I am a sinner.” In the words of the first reading today, we are reminded that “the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds.” He leaves justified because the just ones are those justified by God, not by their own deeds. He leaves justified because he knows God and he knows himself very well. He knows that he can do nothing on his own, and that most of his mistakes are trying to do so. His words are few, but the attitude of his heart makes him pleasing to God. That is what it means to be “justified.”

October 20, 2019 at Saint Peter and Saint William Parishes in Naples, FL

 Exodus 17, 8-13 + Psalm 121 + 2 Timothy 3, 14 & 4, 2 + Luke 18, 1-8

The widow reveals the power of weakness as we shall soon see when Jesus gets to Jerusalem with his passion, death, and resurrection. In Luke’s Gospel, widows are often seen and heard which might reveal the powerful role these women played in the earliest church. The Judge here is not one of the Jewish elders, but a paid magistrate appointed by the Romans. They were notoriously corrupt, extorting money from people to secure a favorable ruling. This judge is a scoundrel. He may well have taken a bribe from the woman’s oppressor. He is cast as the most unjust of all, becoming for us the polar opposite of what God is. So, the judge is not the point of the story. The woman is, and she provides a revelation about God. While Jesus in telling the story wanted to reveal something about God, Luke is more interested in the widow as an example for us. We need her example still, because too many give up prayer and lose faith.

This persistent widow lives among us still. She is the poor, the helpless victim of injustice. She still stands waiting for justice today in a court system bogged down with a huge backlog of court cases for the poor who cannot afford expert legal help. She faces justices today who jockey for positions behind the scenes and cultivate the favor of those who elect them or the government that appoints them. Suddenly in our time, Justice seems to be either Red or Blue.

Faith and prayer belong together. They are interconnected. Saint Augustine says that “Faith pours out prayer, and the pouring out of prayer sustains and strengthens faith.” He ought to know, because without a life-time of his mother’s prayer, we wouldn’t know who he was. Prayer is answered not when we get what we want, but when we get a sense of God’s nearness with the assurance that God has not abandoned us. Prayer may not change the world for us, but it can give us the courage to face it. The prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” was not answered. But through that prayer Jesus got the strength to face what was to come.

The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. And the fruit of service is peace. Let’s get started. It is always a good time to pray.