Today we hear the story of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry: he came proclaiming the Good News; he came healing the sick; and he came and called people by name to be his followers. If we were to put this in a brief twitter, we would begin with the three words: “proclaiming, healing, calling.” What did Jesus proclaim? The Good News of the Gospel. We believe that the first gift of our faith is the love of God, the humble God who became one of us in love. In our faith we need to touch into the love and the call of God. May we never lose touch of the beautiful reality that the first gift of our faith, the first gift of the proclamation of Jesus is the love of God. Who first proclaimed to you the love of God – the first gift of faith? Who are the people in your life who proclaim to you the love of God – the first gift of faith? Do we in the faith community proclaim to each other the love of God? Shame on us if we do not. In proclaiming the love of God, we are not to shy away from the Lord’s message of repentance for our sins. Jesus challenges us to turn away from the darkness of sin so that we can live in the light of God’s loving presence. Sin alienates us from the kingdom of heaven. Repentance demands humility and fundamental change of heart. Otherwise we cannot truly be Jesus’s disciples. As St Paul writes in the second Scripture reading, there is considerable division in the Corinthian community. Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians is our prayer for our government leaders that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that there be no divisions among you, but you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. Jesus’ inaugural address to the apostles was rather brief: “Follow me.” I’ve heard it said that it’s a long winding road from the head to the heart. As we reflect on the Lord’s call in our lives, “Follow me.” The Lord’s invitation to us calls for a conversion of our heart -- the kingdom of God is not just a promised reality; it is a present reality. We are called to be a Church of service and love to one another -- not just a hierarchy or a building but we need the repentance that brings real change of heart on the inside. Lord, we thank you that Jesus is still preaching a message of love and forgiveness. Have a blessed day.
In many ways, so many of us can identify with the magi. We are seekers who wish to discover Jesus more fully in our lives. In our discipleship of the Lord Jesus, we are seekers -- seeking to encounter the Lord Jesus more fully in our lives. Thanks be to God, Christ has told us where we are to find Him. Christ Himself has told us where the stars of our life are to be found that will enable us to encounter the Lord. I would suggest there are many ways of experiencing of the Lord. In this homily, I would like to focus on two ways the Christ Himself has told us He can be found. #1. Christ has told us to seek him among the poor. #2. Christ has also said that He is to be found where two or three are gathered in his name. That is to say, Christ is to be found in the Church; Christ is to be found in the faith community of St. Joseph’s. Jesus is very clear that he is here among us when we gather together as a community, as a Church in the name of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is present in the Scriptures that we proclaim and listen to. Jesus is present in the mystery of the Eucharist in which we encounter in the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus is also present in the relationships that we have with one another. Getting back to the magi, looking at them as seekers who came to Jerusalem to find the newborn king, may we also see ourselves as seekers who wish to encounter the Lord more deeply in our lives. We are to be stars to each other in all the ways we lead each other to encounter the Lord.
What will this New Year bring? What will you do, or what will you choose to avoid, so that other better things can take place? In 2017 we can do new and great things. This New Year can be the best yet. This period of resolutions and goal-setting says something very important about those who make them: we want to change for the better, but we struggle to do so. It's hard to change. Many of us would rather remain unhappy than undergo the hard work of changing a bad habit that will lead to long-term change and becoming more fully alive. God has called us to be His Holy people, to newer and better things. If we are baptized, our identity is being a beloved son or daughter of God. God placed His Holy Spirit within our hearts, something within us wells up with joy, crying out to Him as Father. Our Father's blessings will help us overcome our slavery to sin, slavery to fear, fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of past regrets, and truly live as a beloved son or daughter of our God believing that we have been made heirs with God in Christ Jesus our Savior. It’s helpful to look more closely at Mary, like us a child of God, one conceived without sin. Mary's lack of sin doesn't make her weird, it makes her more human, more able to be in relationship, more able to joyfully live as a child of God. Mary was free from the stain of original sin, chose to follow God rather than to personally sin. But her life was perfect. She was human, too. It is because Mary our mother journeyed through anxiety to faith, from fear to joy and peace with God. Our Gospel for today gives us Mary's secret for approaching anxiety and turning fear into faith: to keep all the things of life in a meditative perspective, to reflect upon them with God in our heart. Meditation and mindfulness are gaining popularity in our culture. Maybe our culture has become so preoccupied and our senses so stimulated and busy that all people are seeing the benefits of pondering, of reflecting. For some, the Rosary is a preferred prayer. The Rosary is good at combating anxiety and fear as we meditate on the mysteries of Jesus and his Mother Mary. These are two great starts, either Scripture reflection or the Rosary. If we allow such a wise mother to inspire us, whether through Scripture reflection or through the Rosary, or even both, 2017 will be a year of much joy, peace, and rejoicing, of diminished anxiety and overcome fear.