Fr. Dave's Homilies

Click here for the Gospel reading. 

I find it amazing that those two disciples gave up so quickly. Remember, this is happening on the evening of that day when Jesus rose from the dead which we now call Easter Sunday. The crucifixion had just happened. Just as amazing is that they could not recognize Jesus as he walked with them. They didn’t forget what he looked like in just a matter of a few days. What happened was that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Somehow, Jesus’ identity was not obvious to them. 

When Jesus begins to talk to them about what just happened, it is Cleopas who reveals what he is feeling. Notice that he said - Jesus the Nazorean. He doesn’t refer to him as the Messiah. Or their savior or the Son of God. He simply says that he was a prophet mighty in deed and word. It seems as if his faith is gone. Or maybe his hope in Jesus has weakened and now he just sees him as a prophet. This is not the Messiah he had expected. He wanted someone to save Israel. To redeem the people. 

What makes this a bit odd is that they had heard from some of the women that the tomb was empty. They said Jesus is alive. And yet, they did not stick around to check it out. They simply left - walking home dejected. Jesus doesn’t hold back. How foolish you are. How slow of heart to believe the prophets. Jesus is not rebuking them because they did not know what was happening. They knew what scripture had said about the coming of the Messiah. He rebukes them because they did not believe. They did not have faith. Jesus obviously, does not leave it at that. Jesus has compassion on their brokenness. He knows that they lack faith. So Jesus does a bible study with them. 

He explained how everything in scripture was pointing to Him. At their request, Jesus does stay with them. When at table with them, he took the bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them. He did the exact same thing just a few days prior on Holy Thursday, when he instituted the Eucharist. I guess you could say that this was the first Mass that Jesus celebrated after the last supper and His resurrection. Yet, as soon as these two disciples realized that it was Jesus right there with them, he disappeared. He is gone. Why? They wanted him to stay but he didn't. Jesus disappeared because he wanted them to see things differently. He wanted them to know that He will be with them but in a way they never imagined - in the breaking of the bread. So he actually did respond to their request to stay with them. It is just going to be in a different way, not through his physical body but now under the appearance of bread and wine. It is the Eucharist where Jesus can be with them and with us at all times. 

Did you notice that what Jesus did, we still do today? Jesus reads the scriptures to them and explains it to them. Then he sets a table and takes the bread, blesses it and gives it to them. Exactly what we do at Mass. We have the liturgy of the Word where we gather, the readings are proclaimed, the homily is given and we offer our prayers. Then in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we have the offertory, the Eucharistic prayer and then communion. We do exactly what Jesus did on the first Easter Sunday and have been doing every Sunday for the last 2000 years. 

For all of you who have not been able to be part of a public Mass recently, maybe this time has awakened in you how important it is what we do each Sunday. Sometimes we can get a bit complacent, especially during the Liturgy of the Word. Maybe you find yourself tuning out or getting distracted during the readings or the homily. Let’s just get to the good stuff - the Eucharist. Yet, what Jesus did with the two disciples shows how important scripture is to opening our hearts to receive the Eucharist. Those two disciples were only able to see Jesus in the breaking of the bread because Jesus had prepared them through Scripture. In a certain way, I think a lot of us during this time are like those two disciples. Maybe we are feeling a bit abandoned by God. Maybe you are disappointed in our church leaders during this time. But like those two disciples, we are not walking alone. Jesus is our companion who will never leave us or fail us. There will always be victories with Him. 

Yes, we experience setbacks and unhappiness. There will be circumstances and situations that cause our whole life to be changed. But if God can bring salvation and the Resurrection out of the death of His Son on the cross, there is nothing that can overcome us. No matter what storm comes our way, with Christ we have the strength to endure. It’s tempting for us to want to know why this or anything is happening. Most of the time, we don’t know why. But what we do know is that Jesus will be victorious if we stay close to Him. If at the end of this shutdown we are not closer to Christ and don’t have a deeper faith, it means that we have not allowed Christ to walk with us. It doesn’t have to be complicated and it is not meant to be. 

Obviously prayer is key and being willing to deepen that and go beyond the typical ways that we pray. Even more importantly, this time has allowed us to discover who we are especially in terms of our character. We are discovering how patient we are, how compassionate, how kind and even courageous. Most importantly, we are discovering how hopeful we are. We don’t have to go through this or anything else alone. 

In the Second Reading, St Peter tells us to "conduct ourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning." In other words, we are on this journey. It is an adventure. It will have its ups and downs. We are on our way home; we are pilgrims heading towards heaven, towards our Father's house. May Christ always be our companion in this adventure.
 

Click here for the Gospel reading.

“Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.” How are you supposed to react when you hear that someone is alive who you believed was dead? Then what do you do when you actually see this person and talk to Him? Throughout the Easter Season, we will hear about these encounters between Jesus and his disciples. I think it is hard for us to grasp the shock and awe that the followers of Jesus experienced. They all knew that Jesus was brutally crucified. There was no doubt that he was dead. Because of what they experienced, the resurrection of Jesus dramatically changed everything for them. They had to decide - do I live in the reality of the resurrection or do I just continue on with my life? They had to make a choice.

We are asked the same questions - does my life reflect the fact that Jesus rose from the dead? Do we act as if the resurrection has changed us? I am going to give you one piece of evidence that the resurrection has not completely changed us -  at least not for many people. The evidence can be described in two words - toilet paper. Why are people so worried about toilet paper? If the resurrection has changed me, I am not going to worry about toilet paper. And even if I am worried about it, I surely should not buy 2000 rolls and hoard it. Yet, in store after store, the toilet paper is gone. The shelves are empty. I am guessing the main reason for it is because so many people feel helpless. People have that fear of not being able to do anything. This is the one thing they can do to have some control. But if we are going to feel helpless, why pick toilet paper? Why not bacon? Or wine? or chocolate? Pick something that you can enjoy. If I am going to hoard something, I want it to be good.

Even more importantly, Jesus did not die and rise from the dead just so we could worry about toilet paper. The resurrection is so profound and life changing that it should impact everything in our life. At its most basic level, the resurrection should remind us that we are loved by God; that God is taking care of us, that God has everything under control and all I have to do is say yes to God. Without the resurrection, we would be lost. We would be under the control of sin and death. We would die and life would be over. The death of Jesus means nothing if there is no resurrection.

The challenge for us is to live the Resurrection each day because if we can live the Resurrection each day, it will completely transform our lives. Fr. Phillipe, a well-known author on prayer and spirituality, says that one of the essential ways for the resurrection to impact us is that we must live in the present moment. Yet, we don’t do that very well – living in the present moment. At times, it seems like we do everything except that. This current pandemic and shutdown has revealed that to us. But even if there was no pandemic, it would just be something else. We tend to get distracted very easily. We are always looking forward to getting our current task done and then starting another. When we are living for the future or what will happen next, we experience fear of the unknown or what may be. We conjure up all these scenarios of what might happen. And this causes anxiety. If you lack interior peace and joy, it is probably because you are living for the future.

Even when we think about the resurrection, we think about the future. We believe it is something that affects me later in life, especially at the point of our death. Yes, the resurrection is crucial for us at the point of death but the Resurrection that we celebrate today affects us right now. It allows us to live in the moment because we know that Jesus has done the hard work. He has broken the chains of sin and death. Today's celebration challenges us to live in the freedom of the present moment.The present moment is the moment of salvation. We are asked to believe that even in spite of sin, evil and darkness, the world is better off because now we have a God who comes to look for us.

Jesus is asking us to let Him love us right now. The grace that God gives to us in the present moment is not for what will happen tomorrow or next week. The grace is for that moment. Jesus is the God for real people like you and me. Easter allows us to face the Good News and the bad news of our life.  God is there through it all, just as God was with Christ throughout his whole life.The more we live in the present moment, the more we become people of gratitude. This happens because we become more aware of God’s presence and how God is acting in our lives. In the end, all of this is fairly simple: nothing can separate us from the love of God -- not time, not space, not even death.  Since God was faithful to Christ, God will be faithful to us. In Christ, we have a God who lives with us at every moment of our lives.

As we begin this Easter Season, may we truly be able to let go of living for the future. To let go of all that stuff that doesn’t matter and to allow Jesus to love me for who I am today. Try to imagine holiness as a ladder. The ladder of holiness has only one step: the step we take today. May this Easter Season be a time of the present moment, recognizing that Jesus gives us his love each and every moment of our day. We can’t program life in advance, but can only receive it moment by moment. All we have is the present moment. This is where God is present. Every moment, whatever it brings, is filled with God’s presence. It is full of the possibility to be in communion with God.
 

Click here for this Sunday's Gospel Reading.

Usually my homily for Palm Sunday encourages people to treat Holy Week a bit different than the past 40 days of Lent. Never did I imagine how different our Holy Week would be this year. Usually we have the liturgies to attend on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. But this year, we will not be able to gather with family and our community to worship. In addition, I usually encourage people not to be concerned as to how successful they were with their Lenten promises. If these past 40 days helped you to repent and be closer to the Lord, great! If it wasn’t as successful as you wished, there is no need to worry.
 
To help you this week, maybe you want to consider the invitation Jesus poses to the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane? He says to them, “Remain here and keep watch.”  It’s a pretty simple request from Jesus. “Remain here and keep watch.”  It sounds simple because it really is.  Our Lord wants our attention this week.
 
There are a number of ways you can do that. One beautiful way you may want to do this is to meditate on the crucifix during your time of prayer. Find a crucifix and spend some time looking at it. Reflect on how your sins helped to pound that nail a little bit deeper into his flesh. The cross is disgusting. It was a sign of dishonor and shame. But for us, it is a place of victory. It is a tree of life. Maybe you can ask Jesus this question - why did you die for me? As you listen to Jesus’ response, pay attention to how Jesus reminds you that you don’t have to do anything to earn His love. Will you let Jesus convince you that you can trust Him?
 
Don’t forget that in the cross, we see the extent of God’s love for us.  There is no way that we can remain indifferent in front of a crucifix. God couldn’t have done anything greater than this. In the passion account for this Sunday, the disciples fell asleep after being invited by Jesus to keep watch with him. It’s hard to become sleepy when looking at the crucifix. Instead of becoming sleepy, let God remind you of His love and peace that is freely given to all of you. This pandemic has opened our eyes in many ways. The Lord has our attention. What will we do with this time? 
 
What we don’t want to happen is for us to be a spectator this week. It is very tempting to just stay on the sidelines and watch. But with Christ, we can never be a spectator. Jesus wants to play a role in our life and impact everything we do and who we are.
 
Questions for reflection…..
 
How would you like to “remain and keep watch” with Jesus this week? What concrete things can you do to live this out?
 
How are you a spectator when it comes to living your faith? How can you change that?
 
What are your plans for Holy Week? Without the liturgies for you to be part of, how can you still enter into this beautiful week? 

Click here and scroll down to the second option for the Gospel reading for this Sunday. 

Reflection

“Jesus wept”. This is the shortest verse in the bible. If you look at the original translation in Greek, it means that Jesus broke into silent tears. It’s a very vivid image given to us as Jesus mourns the death of his friend Lazarus. Let me propose a different image for you to consider. Imagine that instead of Lazarus being in the tomb, it is you. How would Jesus react? Would Jesus weep because a close friend has died? Most of us hope that would be the case. But is that reality? As we look at our lives, how do you think Jesus would respond to your life?
 
It is very humbling to place ourselves in the tomb and to wait for Jesus’ response. I frequently speak to you about the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus. Does that describe your relationship with Christ? This time of the virus has given us a great opportunity to do an inventory of our relationship with Jesus. It seems like almost everything has been taken away from us. With all this free time, our true relationship with Jesus is being revealed. Maybe we are realizing that there needs to be more or that it needs to be strengthened. We might be realizing that saying our morning and evening prayers and praying before meals is not enough. Yes, we come to Mass on Sunday but even that is not enough.
 
Our faith is always about a person – Jesus Christ. When you want to get to know someone, what do you do? Naturally, you spend time with the person. When one person loves another, they want to be with this person whom they love. This is true for many types of relationships. For you parents, you know what that is like with your newborn infant. You may have experienced that when you were dating your spouse. Love is always going to seek to be with the object of its love.
 
This is the case with Jesus. During this time of the virus, so much of what we are used to is gone for now. I missed having the baseball opener this past week. No longer can we go to movie theaters or to the gym. We cannot hangout at coffee shops or restaurants or malls. Maybe during this time, we are being reminded that we have lost our focus. We have shifted our eyes from Jesus and focused too much on this world. We know that while all that other stuff is good, it is just not enough. Deep down, we all know that Jesus is the one friend that will always be there for us. He always loves us and wants what is best for us. He will never abandon us or reject us. Even when we offend Him, He will always forgive us and continues to love us unconditionally.
 
It’s up to us. How close we want the relationship to be depends on us. Does Jesus really know you? As God, Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. But does Jesus know you as a friend? This is important because of what happened between Jesus and Lazarus. When Jesus said “Lazarus come out”, Lazarus came out of the darkness of the tomb and death. Jesus says the exact same thing to us. Come out. Maybe we can now hear that invitation from Jesus. Come out of the darkness of sin. Come out of your anger to your family. Come out of your fear. Come out of your addiction to pornography. Come out of your need to always be busy. Come out of your desire for comfort.
 
All of us want to hear those words from Jesus. Here is the challenge. If we don’t know Jesus, we aren’t going to hear his voice. He won’t have any credibility with us because we really don’t know him. We will remain in the tomb. The good news is that Jesus not only invites us to come out of the darkness of sin, he invites us to live in his love and joy and peace. That is what happens when we have a friendship with Christ. What an amazing opportunity we have been given to get to know Jesus. Jesus is offering a friendship like no others.
 
Here are some reflection questions for you to consider this week:
 
How would Jesus describe yourself as a friend?
 
What quality in your friendship with Jesus are you being challenged to work on?
 
How would Jesus finish this statement if he was speaking to you - Come out _______? Based on how you completed that statement, what is being asked of you?

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