Who are the Chosen People? (4th Sunday, Year C)

Who are the Chosen People? By their own declaration and by our own perhaps begrudging admission, the Jews. The Jews are the Chosen People of God. Now, when you hear me say that, how do you feel? Does it make you feel a little uncomfortable? Do you feel a little resentment, a little jealous? Perhaps because it makes you feel inferior? After all, why should God choose the Jews and not, say, the Koreans or the Italians? Are not Italians the true master race? Everyone knows there are only two kinds of people in the world: Italians and those who wish they were Italians.

Is not our reaction to the Jews being chosen by God the same as today’s Gospel reaction of the Jews to Jesus? “Just who does he think he is? We know him! We know his family. Where does he get all this?”

The curious thing in today’s Gospel, the Jews in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth had just been praising him. A prophet has risen among us! God has blessed us through him. This proves how special we are!

Now Jesus could have kept his mouth shut and just let them inflate his ego. “Ha! You think I’m just a prophet? I’m not just a prophet. I’m the Son of God. You people have no idea of just how blessed you are to have me here with you today.”

But Jesus didn’t say that. Instead he popped their bubble by reminding them that while God truly does love them, he loves others too, including non-Jews. He pointed out that his mission was to let all people in the world know just how beloved and blessed they are. The famous line of Scripture, John 3:16, (that we see at many baseball games) doesn’t say “For God so loved the Jews that he gave us his only Son” but rather, “God so loved the world…” That includes us.

The Jews rightly feel special. After all, through them God revealed salvation, the Bible and Jesus, the savior of the world. But God also allowed the Jews to suffer in terrible ways throughout their history. Why? To show the world that suffering does not mean you are cursed or abandoned, but rather how God is with you even in your darkest hour.

Just because the Jews are the Chosen People doesn’t make other peoples less beloved by God. In fact, God chose the Jews to be the light to the Gentiles. That’s us. God chose them in order to bring his truth and salvation to us in Jesus Christ, who was born, raised, lived and died as a Jew. We are the reason God chose the Jews! We are the reason God chose Jeremiah while he was still within his mother's womb. Jeremiah was persecuted for bringing God's light to the nations. Jesus was crucified for bringing God's salvation to the world. On the cross, the darkest hour for all people, mankind rejected God, but God blessed all mankind.

God does not love us because we are special; we are special because God loves us. You should recite this each morning as soon as you awaken and at night before you sleep. “God does not love me because I am special; I am special because God loves me.”

The question, the challenge today is: just how have we accepted God’s love? How have we allowed God’s love to transform our minds and change our life?

The second reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a perfect description of love. You can take out the word “love” and substitute the word “Jesus” and take out the word “it” and substitute “he” and it reads, “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He is not jealous, he is not pompous, he is not inflated. Jesus is not rude, he does not seek his own interest, he is not quick tempered, he does not brood over injury. Jesus does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

So far so good. Now let’s test ourselves. Let’s see just how Christian we are. Look at that same passage in today’s second reading and instead of the words “love is” put in “I am.” Here’s how I would read it: I am patient, I am kind. I am not jealous, I am not pompous, I am not inflated. I am not rude, I am not easily angered...."

How far can you go down the list without laughing or without being embarrassed? Those are the areas you need to work on. Certainly I am not so patient and not always kind. Sometimes I can be very rude and often get angry. This exercise shows me just how much farther I need to travel on the road towards spiritual perfection.

As Catholic Christians it is our duty to constantly convert to this life of love. But this is not just for our own good so that we can feel holier or superior to others, rather it’s for others who may not be our relatives, may not be Korean or Catholic. Like Jesus, we must share our good news, our blessings with the whole world. And like Jesus, we must be prepared when people misunderstand us, when they do not accept us, when they reject us, oppose us, and persecute us.

Because the Jews are the Chosen People, Jesus chose us. Because Jesus chose us, all people are now the Chosen People. Because all people are the Chosen People, the only master race is the human race.

Becoming living Gospels (Third Sunday, Year C)

The Bible has been the all-time best selling book since it first appeared in print in 1454. It has been translated into more than 2,000 languages. Estimates put the number of Bibles in the world at around 6 billion. That’s approximately one Bible for every man, woman and child on earth. So why, then, is there an apparent disconnect between what we read in the newspaper or see on the TV news and the fact that there are so many Bibles in the world?

First, there is the problem of distribution. I personally own at least ten Bibles. So there are at least nine people in the world who don’t have a Bible because of me. And does this make me ten times holier than the person who owns only one? I wish it were that simple.

The truth of the matter is there are millions of people in China, India and Africa who don’t have a Bible and who never heard of Jesus Christ. But there are tens of millions more people who have Bibles but who never read them.

Just owning a Bible does not automatically make you holy or a better person just like owning an encyclopedia doesn’t automatically make you smart. You have to read it, study it, understand it and incorporate it into your way of thinking and acting.

Of course another factor to consider is there are very different kinds of Bibles. The Hebrew Scripture that Jesus knew consisted of the Torah, or the Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. The Protestant Bible, first translated by Martin Luther, contains 63 books; the Catholic Bible 72. See? If you buy a Catholic Bible you get more Word of God for your money!

But having a larger Bible is no more beneficial than having a lot of Bibles. It’s what you do with the Word of God that matters. Then there are the different translations of the Bible. In English alone there are more than 20 different translations. Each is written to help us better understand the message. That’s why it’s good to have at least two or three different translations: one for study, one for prayer, and one to remind us there are different ways to understand and live out the Word of God in our lives.

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Jewish service in a synagogue, I encourage you to go, especially if the service is in Hebrew. Hear the words of Scripture as Jesus heard them. The highpoint of the service is opening the curtain and revealing the Torah scrolls. These are handwritten scriptures costing many thousands of dollars. They are usually kept in an elaborate cases made of silver, carved wood and velvet with an exquisite crown. These Torah scrolls are for the Jewish community what the tabernacle is for us Catholics: the visible, tangible proof of God’s love for us and God’s abiding presence with us. On special occasions the Torah is processed into the synagogue and as it passes, people reach out to touch the covering of the sacred texts.

In recent years, we have processed in the church carrying the Book of the Gospels. This has pride of place among all other books of the Bible. Indeed, we filter our understanding of the Bible through what the Gospels tell us about God through Jesus. You notice we don’t carry the Book of the Gospels out after Mass. That’s because after the word is proclaimed and after we hear it and keep it in our hearts, the printed Bible’s work is done.

Now it’s our turn to take the Word of God out into the world, to live it and share it with those around us in our daily lives.

In the first reading from the Book of Nehemiah we hear how the Israelites reacted when they heard the words of the Torah for the first time. Years before, the Temple had been destroyed and their world turned upside down. They thought they had lost their homeland, their Temple, their Torah and their religion. Then their captors allowed them to return and rebuild. Hidden away in the ruins of the old Temple they found the Torah and its reading reminded them that God was still with them.

In the Gospel of Luke we hear how Jesus went into a synagogue and read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. But he did more than read it. He fulfilled it. He would preach good news to the poor and give sight to the blind and set captives free.

Today is our turn. We have received the word of God. It has the power to transform our lives and through us to transform the world. In a few minutes we will receive the Body of Christ to give us the grace and strength we need to live our lives according to God’s will.

And it all begins with the Bible. Let us make an effort to read the Word of God every day. Let us understand what we read and believe what we understand and live according to what we believe.

Homily for Haiti Mass 1/20/10

We gather this morning in sorrow and solidarity with the people of Haiti. Words cannot begin to express the pain and horror that they continue to suffer more than a week after the devastating earthquake reduced their lives and their world to rubble. Even as we gather to pray in the comfort of this beautiful chapel, we know there are people still trapped, waiting for rescue which may not come, waiting for food and water, which may not be enough, and waiting for medical attention before it is too late. The situation is beyond desperate.

We are shocked at the images we see on our TV screens and cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to experience this nightmare first hand. This is no science fiction thriller; this is ultimate reality. Those are real people suffering real pain. Our first natural inclination is to cry out, “Why?” Why did this happen? If God is all powerful, if God is all loving, if God is all merciful, how can he allow something like this to happen, especially to a people who have suffered such terrible poverty and oppression for so long, and who put their faith in him? Where is God in all this?

These are understandable questions and doubts and it is only natural to feel them, but we, as well as our brothers and sisters in Haiti, are a deeply religious and spiritual people. Although there is no answer to the mystery of evil, suffering and death, there is a response: the equally great mystery of love, sacrifice, compassion and life.

Something amazing happened in our world. Suddenly we were no longer a world divided, no longer Democrats and Republicans, no longer different races and religions. Haiti reminded us we are one family on one precious and fragile planet. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

Scenes of the devastation made us forget our own problems, if only but for a moment. Did we recently lose a loved one? At least we had the opportunity to offer them a dignified funeral. Are we facing health issues? At least our hospitals are still standing and doctors and nurses attend to our needs. We have access to food, clean water, clothing and a roof over our heads.

But something else even more amazing happened. The world quickly moved beyond “Why did this happen?” to “What can we do to help?” The outpouring of donations and relief goods and rescue workers is unprecedented in the history of the world. The same media which informed us about the tragedy became an instrument for offering support.

Our first reading from the book of Job (Job 1:13~21) aptly describes the situation of Haitians who suffer one calamity after another through no fault of their own. Job might even be considered a patron saint for Haiti. In the end, no explanation for his suffering sufficed, yet his faith remained: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord."

And in the Gospel story of Jesus (Mark 3:1~6) healing a man with a withered hand, we are shown the path of compassion and salvation: compassion for those less fortunate and salvation for us, one person at a time.

So, where is God in all this? We who believe in a crucified Savior know the answer. If God was there nailed to a cross, then God is there in Haiti crying out from under the rubble; God is there in the tears and anguish of those mourning the death of relatives; God is waiting in agony, fever and pain for medical attention, for food, for water. But God is also there in the rescue workers, the doctors, nurses, soldiers, relief workers. God is with the person who shares her ration of food with her hungry neighbor. God is with the thirsty man who offers his bottle of water to a dying patient. But know that God is also in you, gathered here in prayer, drawn together by a common concern and motivated to do something to express your compassion.

Just as it is a miracle that people are being pulled from the rubble a week after the earthquake struck, so today we also witness a miracle here in this Chapel. We stand today before the mystery of suffering and death by proclaiming the mystery of love and life. We stand before the mystery of the Cross. We acknowledge each moment of life is not only gift, it's a miracle.

Where is God in this?

In today's Gospel (John 2:1-11) we hear the last words of the Virgin Mary recorded in the Bible, "Do whatever he tells you." John only mentions Mary twice: once at the Marriage in Cana where Jesus performs his first of seven signs, changing water into wine, then at the very end, when Mary silently witnesses the death of her son. Thus she is present at the beginning and end of his ministry, always directing people's attention to Jesus.

Last Thursday I had a chance to see "The Book of Eli" starring Denzel Washington. I don't recommend it. Oh, it's a great movie and guys will like it, but I think women may find it a bit too violent and gory for their taste. Then again, it's not any gorier than the Bible. The story takes place in the not-too-distant future after a nuclear war has ended all civilization as we know it. Thirty years after, there are few survivors, no government, no law and no religion. Eli Walker (Densel) has a mission to carry the last extant Bible to the west. All kinds of nasty people try to thwart his progress. Two quotes stand out: in one scene, when someone asks him what life was like "before," he replies, "We threw away things people kill for now." A KFC handy-wipe, shampoo, and especially water are valued more than gold. The other quote comes when Eli regrets not helping a woman being attacked and questions his mission. "I spent so many years saving this Book I forgot to live by it."

Which brings us to the third point of the week: the disaster in Haiti. Even as we celebrate today's Mass in the comfort of this church, there are people suffering and dying and buried in rubble waiting to be rescued. Others are seriously wounded, all are hungry and thirsty. With 80 percent of the population Catholic and with a death toll sure to top 100,000, it is only natural to wonder, "If God exists where was he when this happened?" We who believe God became human in Jesus know the answer: God is there, buried in the ruins; there bleeding and there dying. We say in the Apostles' creed that Jesus "descended into hell." Surely he is present in the hell on earth that Haiti has become.

But something wonderful also happened. For a brief moment, and maybe still for awhile longer, we were no longer Democrats and Republicans; Koreans and Americans and Africans; rich and poor, white and brown. Everyone in the world became brothers and sisters of each other and of all Haitians. No matter how much we may be suffering in our own lives, nothing compares to what they are going through. Even if we've lost a loved one, we had the luxury of affording them a dignified burial and didn't have to endure the indignity of anonymous bodies being thrown into a mass grave.

And the response of people around the world has been astounding. Never before in human history has there been such an outpouring of support and aid. And so today, through the Gospel, Mary instructs us still to "Do whatever he tells you." And elsewhere in the Bible Jesus reminds us, "Whatever you do for the least of your brothers and sisters, you do for me." Living by the Bible, the question is no longer what is God doing, but what are we doing?

For in putting into practice the words of the Bible, in doing what Jesus tells us to do, we not only defend the humanity of Haitians but we also save our own.