16th Sunday Ordinary B - God speaks through Compassion

One evening a rich man was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road eating grass. Disturbed, he yelled at his driver to stop and got out to investigate. He asked one man "Why are you eating the grass?" "Well, we don't have any money for food" the poor man replied. "So we have to eat grass." "Well then, come with me to my house and I'll feed you" the rich man said. "But sir, I also have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree." "Ok, bring them along too" the rich man replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, "You come with us, also." The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, "But sir, I also have a wife and four children with me!" "Very well then, bring them all" the rich man answered. They all piled into the limousine, which was no easy task.

Once under way, one of the poor fellows turned to the rich man and said, "Sir, you are truly too kind.. Thank you for taking all of us with you. Will it not be a bother for you to feed so many of us?” The rich man replied, "No problem, glad to do it. You know what? you'll really love my place  because the grass is almost a foot high, with you all I won’t need to mow the lawn."

This story relates much to the first reading where the prophet Jeremiah talks about shepherds who are supposed to feed and pasture the sheep instead they drive the sheep away and scatter them.  Why? Because these shepherds had no compassion.

Truth is, we live in a compassion-less world and many people do not just seem to care what happens to others.  Compassion! Some people think of compassion as weakness. Many view it as something “weak, soft people do”. In reality, expressing compassion towards others reveals strength of character.

The word compassion in the Bible means, “To be moved inwardly; to yearn with tender mercy, affection, pity and empathy.” The phrase, “moved with compassion” means to be moved in the “inner organs”. It has the same idea as our modern expression, “From the bottom of my heart.” Someone has defined compassion as “Sympathy coupled with a desire to help.” Sympathy means “The capacity to share feelings, to enter into the same feelings, to feel the same thing”. So, compassion is “sharing the feelings of others and possessing a desire to help them in their trouble.”

One of the things that made Jesus so attractive was his compassion for people–  the willingness to put himself in their place and feel what they were feeling.  It moved him to reach out to them – to do something to meet their need or say something they needed to hear.

“Filled with compassion” is how those who knew Jesus described him.  For example, in response to a man with leprosy, pleading on his knees to be made clean, we read that “Jesus, filled with compassion, reached out his hand and touched him.”   And the man was immediately cured of his leprosy.  Likewise for two blind beggars who shouted at Jesus to have mercy on them, we read that Jesus had compassion on them.  He touched their eyes and immediately they could see. 

After some days spent healing sick people and teaching the huge crowds who followed him, Jesus said, “I have compassion for these people.  They’ve already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.  I don’t want to send them away hungry or they may collapse on the way.”  His concern moved him to act.  He took the seven loaves and few small fish his disciples had found and divided them over and over until, miraculously, thousands “all ate and were satisfied.”

And today as we hear from the Gospel of Mark (6:34):  “Jesus saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” 

This statement continues from the first reading: “Thus says the Lord: I myself will gather the remnant of my flock and I will bring them back to the fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.  I will raise up shepherds over them and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing.” (Jer.23:4)

Today the liturgy invites us to be compassionate and merciful just as the Father is. It challenges us to show this compassion by taking care of the flock- taking care of each other, not from a distance, but by journeying right next to our fellow human beings in our homes, in our communities, in the world. Pope Francis in his first Angelus address emphatically says: "A little bit of mercy and compassion makes the world less cold and more just."

Baroness Catherine de Hueck Doherty, a holy woman who spent the rest of her life taking care of the poor, founded the Friendship House Movement in Toronto way back in the 1930’s. It was a Catholic interracial apostolate to help the poor regardless of color.

One day she was called to one of her houses that served the poor. This particular house was experiencing internal strife and intrigues.  Her staff there were fighting and arguing, and she was called to referee.

After listening to a couple of hours of bickering, she finally stopped them short and concluded the meeting. She said: “I have reached a decision. I am closing this house!” Everyone was shocked and exclaimed: “But Baroness, who will feed the poor and shelter the homeless?” Her response was: “The government can ladle soup, and make a bed as efficiently as we can.  We are called to do it with love and compassion.  And if we cannot do it with love and compassion, we are not doing it anymore.”

Compassion is more than feeling sorry for someone. It is more than pity. Compassion is a desire to reach out and make a difference in the life of someone else. In truth, compassion is a desire to be Christ to someone else.

References:

Carr, A. (2003). “The Compassionate Christ.” The Sermon Notebook.

http://sermonnotebook.org/new%20testament/Matthew%209_36-38(2).htm

Hall, M. (2011). “The Compassion of Jesus.”  NSW Council of Churches.

http://nswchs.com/2011/09/06/the-compassion-of-jesus-sermon-by-margaret-hall/

Harmon, C. (2013). “Full text: Pope Francis’ first Angelus address.”  The Catholic World Report.

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/2091/full_text_pope_francis_first_angelus_address.aspx

Dolan, M. (2000). Priests for the Third Millennium. Huntington, NY: Our Sunday Visitor, p.51.

15th Sunday Ordinary B - Prophet: Profession or Calling?

What is a prophet? Ephesians:1.13 – When you hear the word of truth, and believe in Him, you will be marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of religious service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, "Stop - Acts 2:38!" (In the name of Jesus, turn away from your sin...) The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.  As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a Bible passage to you and you listened."

"Bible passage?" replied the burglar, "I thought she said she had an AXE and two 38's!"

This burglar heard the words of the old lady and believed in her and now he is marked by the police.  That at least prevented any more disaster in his life.

In the first reading of today, when Amos prophesied in Bethel, Amaziah the high priest drove him away: Go back to Judah where you came from and prophesy there. But never again here at Bethel for this is the king’s sanctuary.” (Am 7.12) They did not listen to him there because he was not a professional prophet.

In those days, if you want to be a professional prophet you need to have credentials. This means you either have to be coming from a long line of prophets as your ancestors or you go to Prophet University and join the fraternity of prophets (association or guild). And then the professional prophet is now deployed. They go and foretell the future of the king, the soldier, the merchant, the farmer and after they get their commission. The more prophecies favorable and fulfilled, the better their track record, more popular they become (they get to be more in demand and sought after), the higher their talent fee. They just have to make sure that their prophecies please their clients for them to collect their fee. It’s just a job not a calling for them.

Instead Amos did not come from a line of prophets nor was he schooled in the art of prophecy. He had no credentials. He was a herdsman tending to his flock and his sycamore trees. This was until God called him to prophesy to Israel – the northern kingdom. The irony is he is coming from Judah – the southern kingdom governed by a different king. So why would he want to be a prophet? And yet Amos heard God’s word and believed in Him. That is why he is marked by the Spirit of God. That’s why for him to be a prophet is a calling not a job.

You see, Amos had to tell the northerners that Israel had become corrupt and unjust; the most elementary aspects of justice and equality were routinely trampled on. Unless the kingdom of the north mended its ways and returned to the ways of God, disaster would overtake them in the form of natural events and military defeats. But the Kingdom of Israel did not heed Amos’ words, and in 722 B.C. the Assyrians totally destroyed the Northern Kingdom, erasing it from history. With this I think you can prophecy what happened to Amos as well as the others.

Nowadays, our “prophets” are sometimes well-informed scientists and experts, and we cannot say that they are not sent by God to bring us to our senses (even if they are unaware of their mission). Pope Francis has joined his prophetic voice to the truth that comes to us through the work of scientists in his encyclical Laudato Si’. He warns humanity to mend its ways, for continued disregard for the environment and contempt for the created order can only end in tragedy for all. If the work of scientists or the words of the Pope are ridiculed or rejected out of hand through ignorance, fear or self-interest, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves. We can only hope that minds and hearts are open to his prophetic warning.

God’s warning also comes in the form of the apostle’s proclamation as prophets of the gospel of Jesus. They were to travel light – nothing for their journey except for their staff, their sandals, and the clothes on their backs just like the true prophets of old. Why? Because they have heard the word, believed in Jesus, and are now marked by the seal of the Spirit.

And this alone should be enough. We are all called to be prophets and to convey God’s truth in this world. But just like the professional prophets, the temptations for us are great to see this just as a profession and not as a calling. Temptations abound for us to prophecy on the side of the rich and powerful and to ignore the poor and abandoned because it is more convenient.

Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their uncles’ professions- “So, who’s your uncle?” The first boy says, 'My uncle scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50.' The second boy says, 'That's nothing. My uncle scribbles a few words on piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give him $100.' The third boy says, 'That’s peanuts. My uncle scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!'

Today let us remember, just like Amos, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the apostles - to be God’s prophet is our calling. After the priest has baptised us with water, he then anoints us with holy oil as he says: “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as members of his body, sharing everlasting life.” We were called to be prophets through our baptism when we heard the word, believed in God and were marked by the Holy Spirit. Let us be faithful to that calling.

References:

Glenn, A. (2005). Prophecies for dummies. The Skeptic Report.

http://www.skepticreport.com/sr/?p=449

Lewis, S. (2015). Often man refuses to hear the truth. The Catholic Register.

http://www.catholicregister.org/faith/frscottlewis/item/20527-often-man-refuses-to-hear-the-truth

MIndel. N.(2015) The Prophet Amos. Chabad.org. Kehot Publication Society.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112277/jewish/The-Prophet-Amos.htm

Gill, M. & J. Spoolstra. (2015). Jesus: Priest, Prophet, King. Link to Liturgy.

http://www.linktoliturgy.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=614

14th Sunday Ordinary B - The Homer Simpson Effect

An old man is wondering if his wife had a hearing problem. So one night, while his wife is sitting in her lounge chair, he goes behind her and says softly to her, “Honey, can you hear me?” He gets no response. He moves a little closer and says again, “Honey, can you hear me?” Still, he gets no response. Finally he moves right in front of her and said, “Honey, can you hear me?” This time she looks up with surprise in her eyes and replies, “For the third time, Henry, Yes, I can hear you!”

Who has the hearing problem now, the man or his wife? We are all too ready to blame the other person for a breakdown in communication when all the time we ourselves might be principally responsible for the situation.

In today’s gospel we read of a serious breakdown in communication between Jesus and his townspeople. It was so serious that Jesus was literally unable to perform any miracles there. “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.” (Mk 6:5)

A breakdown in communication is brought about when one party refuses to listen to the other. 

We hear of it happening in ancient times, the time of Ezekiel as in today’s first reading. God gave him an unpleasant task of telling them that because of their infidelity the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. “Thus says the Lord God: Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel… whether they listen or refuse to listen, they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.” (Ez. 2:3.5) God wants to communicate with his people through his prophet Ezekiel and his people continue to turn a deaf ear. This is still happening in our time.

This phenomenon is called the Homer Simpson Effect.  You see Homer Simpson is a guy who is not very good at listening. It shows in two ways. The first manifestation of the Homer Simpson effect - If we refuse to listen…we can’t hear! In one episode Homer Simpson meets Elon Musk (American-Canadian inventor of Tesla electric cars), then invites him to where he works – the nuclear plant. Homer tells him: “If anybody asks you something you don't understand, just say protons.” It’s like closing both ears with your hands and saying: “La la la.”   This is also called in communication as inactive listening – “In one ear and out the other.” You hear the words, but your mind is wandering and therefore no communication is taking place.  We do it many times when we do not like what is said to or of us. We do this when we are asked something beyond our comfort zones. When the word of God pierces our conscience, we close our ears, we shut down our brains, and we simply refuse to listen.

The second manifestation of the Homer Simpson effect – You hear only what you want to hear! - also known in communication as selective listening.   

In a Christmas episode of the Simpsons, Homer was supposed to be back at the house early from work in time for Christmas Eve. He however spends time drinking at Moe’s bar. Marge, his wife upon finding out, kicks him out of the house.  Homer wanders around town until ends up at a depressing party for mall workers where they drink without joy. Marge finally comes and rescues him from that party. And what is the lesson of this for Homer: “Thank you magical creatures of the mall! You have all taught me a Christmas message I'll never forget. The place to get drunk is at home.”

In the second reading, St Paul was sent to preach to the Corinthians. Paul did get many followers as he preached to them a God who resurrected from the dead to rescue us all from slavery. They all believed. 

But when Paul tells them of the need to be humble, of bearing their thorns in the flesh, of learning to boast of weakness and to trust only in God’s grace, many left him. They only want a God who is powerful and can make them only strong. In short, they selected only what they want to hear.

The Corinthians pretended to hear and agree to what Paul said when actually their intent was to not act on the message, but make the other person think they would – selective listening. This happens to us too whenever we pray. Sometimes we listen to God only for the solutions to our problems that we would like to hear. When we listen to the homily we listen only to the part that we like and shut our ears to those parts that would inconvenience us. We select what we want to hear.

We see this in real life. Wife says: “You know, I love you, yet you are a slob. Amazing how lazy you are! Don’t even think you can go out to the bar with your friends tonight. I need your help to clean and there is no way I can take care of everything myself.” (Husband hears only those in bold.)

This Homer Simpson effect is the reason why a prophet is not listened to or taken seriously in his own hometown. We see this in Ezekiel, Paul, and Jesus today. And yet the mark of a true prophet is one of active listening – to listen to the intent and the content. Ezekiel, Paul, Jesus were open to God’s word and they preached it as is. We are all called to be prophets too because of our baptism and we can start by really, attentively listening to Him.

References:

Goldie, K. (2013). Hear No Evil: The Science Behind Selective Hearing.

http://greatist.com/happiness/selective-hearing-real-better-communication

Jennerich, E. (2005). Infopeople Project [infopeople.org]

https://infopeople.org/sites/all/files/past/2005/customer/4Types_of_Listening.pdf

Paradis, J. 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B. Agustinian Friends.  http://www.augustinianfriends.org/homilies/hom_14b.pdf

Richards, L. (2009). 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B. The Reason for our Hope.

http://www.thereasonforourhope.org/pdfs_homily/20090705.pdf

13th Sunday Ordinary B - Tiramisu

Three men wanted to kill time – to make time stop. So they stood on top of a building and decided to throw their watches down the street. Watch breaks, time stops, watch dies. The first man threw his watch and it broke when it hit the bottom of the building. Time stops, watch dies. Then the second man did the same thing, and it also broke. 

The third man threw his watch down the building, but ran down to pick it up. When he reached the two, they find his watch still ticking, still alive, time has not stopped. 

The other two men were very confused, so they asked how that was possible. The third man told them, “Oh it wasn’t that difficult. My watch is 10 minutes slow.”

Death is when time stops. And yet God did not make death. God created us for life.  When they came to the house of Jairus, Jesus heard people weeping and wailing loudly. As Jesus enters, he tells them: Why do you weep? The child is not dead she is only sleeping.”

Sometimes we are too engrossed about dying that we forget about living.  Sometimes we feel too depressed by the things going on around us that we would rather wallow in our misery like zombies preferring to live in the dark than to risk going out in the sunshine. It is because that as we journey through life, we must realize that there will be ups and downs. 

When we are knocked down and we find ourselves broken, we need a pick-me-up, or as the Italians might say, a “tirami-su” which means: pick me up or lift me up. Remember, no matter what way you are knocked down, Jesus is there to pick you up. You just have to believe.

In the gospel of today we see two females who were lifted up by Jesus. The first was a little girl of twelve years of age. The other was a poor elderly woman who has been suffering for twelve years. The first was the daughter of a rich synagogue leader, Jairus. The second was a daughter of Jerusalem symbolizing the poor and abandoned women. To the first Jesus says: “Talitha koum, little girl, daughter of Jairus, do not worry, I will pick you up.”  (Mark 5:41) To the second, Jesus says: “Daughter, your faith has made you well, I lift you up now, go in peace.” (Mark 5:34) The first daughter rose from her death because of the faith of her father. The second daughter rose from her sickness because of her faith in touching Jesus through his garments. Neither expressed their wishes to Jesus directly, yet Jesus lifted both up because he knew both had faith. Somehow both daughters believed they could be healed.

Let us have faith in the healing power of Jesus and allow Jesus to take us by the hand when we need and help us up. Let us have faith in the power of Jesus to reverse bad situations. Occasionally we are inspired when we meet sick or dying people who suffer cruel pains but who lovingly reassures us that it will all be made good in heaven. One lady who lost both feet through diabetes said smilingly “Don’t worry, I’ll get a new set of feet when I reach heaven.”

It is not only sickness that can knock us down. We can be knocked down emotionally and psychologically. We can be knocked down by the hurts others inflict on us and by what they say or do to us. It is not always true to say that “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.” But the truth is, names, words, attitudes also hurt. On those occasions we also need a pick-me-up and on those occasions Jesus is also there to pick us up - Tiramisu!

Unfortunately, though many times Jesus picks us up from our infirmities, we still doubt his power and refuse to believe.

Once a man had to go shopping and, like many men, he dreaded the experience and was never very patient about it. So this particular time, when he got to the parking lot at the mall, it was jammed. He drove around for five minutes looking for a spot, getting more and more agitated.  Finally, in desperation, he looked up to heaven and said, “Lord, if you find me a parking place, I’ll go to church every Sunday for the rest of the year.” Miraculously, a car then pulled out right in front of him and a place opened up. The man looked quickly back up to the sky and said, “Never mind, Lord, I found one.”

Jesus invites us to a faith which transcends present suffering and future death. He invites us to the peace and joy of total faith in a future which is in his loving hands. No matter what we may suffer, even death, he invites us, not to fear, but to rejoice and trust in him.

Lane, T. (2013). “We have faith in the power of Jesus to heal us and pick us up.” Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday of Year B. http://www.frtommylane.com/homilies/year_b/13.htm

“… your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed”

https://vimeo.com/channels/yearb/78215088