3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Link to today's readings
Jonah 3: 1-5 + Psalm 25: 4-9 + 1 Cor. 7: 29-31 + Mark 1: 14-20

Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on January 25, 2015

This is the only time we hear from the Book of Jonah in the 3-year cycle of readings. Scholars agree that it is not a historical book, but more of a didactic tool, a way to teach about the greatness of God’s mercy. That mercy flows into the lives of the people of Nineveh through the most unlikely of prophets, Jonah himself, who is not too excited about his mission.

You know the story. Jonah runs the other way when God first calls him to go to Nineveh. Why? The Ninevites are part of the hated Assyrian Empire, fierce enemies of the people of Israel. Jonah wants no part of extending God’s mercy to his enemies. Besides, they might even kill him. But God has other plans as fleeing Jonah is tossed overboard into the sea and delivered to Nineveh via sea-mail. After those 3 days in the belly of the whale, Jonah reluctantly does what God asks. Amazingly, God uses the prophet’s half-hearted in his call to repentance—“40 days more and the city of Nineveh will be destroyed” to shake up the people of Nineveh, from top to bottom. Immediately,  the people repent, from greatest to smallest.  Immediately! The Ninevites hear the call of God, and they leave their former way of life, in order to follow in God’s way

Jonah’s response---he sulks.  In fact, he becomes angry with God when a

little bush that gives him shade from the scalding sun shrivels up and dies.

So God tells Jonah, in no uncertain terms, that the lives of the people of Nineveh are more important to God than a little shade bush.

Jonah is challenged to see that God’s ways are not his ways, that God’s mercy

is greater than he can understand, even saving his enemies from their evil ways. This little book in the Old Testament reveals the universal call of God to salvation—the Divine Desire to save all people!

The Church chooses to pair the message of God’s mercy calling people to repentance with today’s Gospel passage in Mark because of Jesus’ call to repentance. But the message goes to a whole new level in this Gospel passage. For now it is God in the flesh making this appeal, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Now it is the Son of God calling out for people to repent, not a reluctant prophet.

The Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia”, which literally means, “change your mind,” “change the way you think.” Jesus challenges those first hearers of his message and us to change the way we think about God. You think the kingdom of God is far away—well, it’s right here at hand. You think God is distant--think again, because God is close enough to touch in Jesus. You think God does not care about your life—then listen to the Good News—God does, even enough to become one with us in Jesus in order to show us the way to life.

The focus in the Gospel is not so much on what those first disciples are leaving behind, but rather on what they are gaining. They are gaining a friend who desires their highest good, a friend whom they will eventually come to know as their Savior and Lord.

After all, everyone is going to give their life to someone or something,

everyone is going to spend their life following someone or something.

Why not choose to follow Jesus who promises abundant life? Why not give one’s life fully to Jesus who helps them see God and God’s doings in a new way?

Many people hear this Gospel passage and think about it in terms of “vocation”, that is the call of God to a special few to leave everything behind in order to follow the Lord. So they think this story is about those who choose to follow the call to a “religious” life:  to become a priest or a monk or a nun. But this is simply not the case—for the Lord Jesus calls every one of us to follow him.

He calls every one of us to repent and believe in the great good news of the gospel.

The fathers of the 2^nd Vatican Council spoke about this in terms of a

“universal call to holiness.” Every single person God creates is called into a deep relationship of love with God by being a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

Lay People are not called to leave everything like the first disciples.Repentance instead means re-prioritizing your life. You are not called to leave job and family, but to make the following of Jesus in daily life your #1 priority. To say by the choices you make in life, “My relationship with Jesus comes first. Everything else falls into place after that.”

What James and John teach us by leaving their father in the boat in order to follow Jesus is that family cannot be more important than our relationship with Jesus. What all four of those first disciples teach us by leaving their work behind

to follow the Lord is that one’s job cannot become one’s God.

So, repentance for all of us is a matter of reprioritizing, of making our relationship with the Lord Jesus the most important matter of our life. To always ask the question:  “Does this person or this thing help me follow the Lord or is this person or thing drawing me away from the Lord?”

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ does not mean our lives will be easy or free of trials or other difficulties. In this “Year of Mark,” as we journey with Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John, and the other disciples, we will discover that being a disciple of Christ Jesus can be challenging. We will see our story written in their story:  misunderstandings, failures, and suffering are all part of the story.

Along the way we will learn with them from the Lord how the power of self-giving love for the benefit of others transforms the world.

That humble service of others is the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God.

That the way to abundant life is not by taking but by giving. That the way to joy is not by possessing more or better things, but by being more fully possessed by the love of Christ.

That the way to lasting peace is not the way of trying to control everything in our life, but by surrendering our lives with Christ to the Father. Which is what we do at every celebration of the Eucharist.

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Link to today's readings
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19 | Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 | 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 | John 1:35-42

Click here to listen to this homily
Given by Deacon Paul Lewis at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, OK on January 18, 2015

This past week, the Church began what might be described as the wearing of the green. The Christmas decorations are put away and the Church enters into this period we call Ordinary Time, at least for a few weeks until we begin Lent next month. The Gospel we will hear from most during this coming year is the Gospel of Mark. However, because it is the shortest Gospel, we will also be hearing from the Gospel of John on a few of these Sundays of Ordinary Time.
 
Today is one of those days. If we look back at our own life, we know where we were when we experienced significant moments. It was December 25, 1984, at about 7:30 in the morning when my wife and I first felt the kick of our oldest son. I know where I was and what time it was when my mom called to inform me of my grandfather’s death. I know the moment that I heard about planes slamming into the World Trade Center. We know these moments of our lives.
 
When we tell the stories, we recall what time of day and where we were when they happen. “It was about four in the afternoon.” These are words that often get overlooked in this Gospel reading. Perhaps it is seen as an insignificant detail. 

Who are these two followers of John the Baptist? We know one is named Andrew who is the brother of Simon Peter. What about the other? It is understood by many scholars that this un-named disciple is the Evangelist himself, the disciple whom Jesus loved, John the Beloved Disciple.
 
It is from him that tradition tells us this Gospel was handed down in the late first century. And so John, just like us, is telling the story. “It was about four in the afternoon.” These are not insignificant words to be passed over. They mark that moment when John, and Andrew, ceased being followers of John the Baptist, and become disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s that moment in time when Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” They reply, “Where are you staying?” And Jesus answers, “Come and you will see.” Their lives will never be the same.
 
When we encounter the scriptures, sometimes we do so from a rather historical/critical viewpoint. We tend to want to intellectualize this encounter.
There is a place for that, and it is good to delve into that... at times! But Jesus waits for us to encounter him on a more personal level. This evangelist, John, wants us to experience what he has experienced. Jesus desires that we make this Gospel about ourselves. 

And so, as people of faith, Jesus poses the same question to us. “What are you looking for?” What is it that we seek? Do we allow others to tell us what we are looking for? Too often, we allow political agendas, talk radio, surveys and news tell us what we should think or do rather than being fully engaged in our world directly. This is especially true when we look at political figures. It's easier to let so-called political commentators tell us what we should think, and who we should demonize.
 
As people of faith, faith in Jesus Christ, we are called to more. We might allow others to tell us what it means to encounter Jesus rather than pointing us to and opening the doors to the mystery of Jesus’ presence in our lives. We may find ourselves idolizing what others have, what they do, who they are, rather than discovering the unique ways God reveals himself in and through our own personal lives. It is what we might call secondhand faith. This kind of faith is not transformative. Second hand faith denies the freedom to encounter this Jesus who beckons us, "Come and you will see."
 
I can describe to you a beautiful sunset, tell you about the colors I have seen,
but to truly know what is being described, one has to be there and experience it themselves, firsthand. Would we rather hear a love story, or would we rather fall in love and live the love story? Would you rather know about Christ or know him? That’s the difference between a secondhand faith and a firsthand experience. We must choose whether we will be spectators of Jesus' life or participants in his life.
 
That was the choice John the Baptist set before his disciples. John “was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” It was their moment of decision. Would they stay or would they go? Would they settle for a secondhand faith, information and facts about Jesus, or would they choose a firsthand experience of his life? If they choose a firsthand experience they will have to leave John behind. They will have to let go of that which is familiar, comfortable, and known. The will have to open themselves to something new and something different.
 
Looking back on our lives, we can probably remember times like that. It can be difficult to let go of a secondhand faith and life. It usually means there will be more questions than answers. What are you looking for? Where are you staying? Those are not so much questions to be answered as they are experiences waiting and wanting to be lived. A firsthand experience invites us to discover the answers by living the questions.
 
Think how different today’s gospel would be if Jesus had just answered their question. “Where are you staying?” “Oh, it’s just a couple miles down this road. Second house on the left.” What do we do with that? How does that change anything? What difference does it make if we know Jesus’ address but we are not invited in? We might as well stay where we are.
 
But that’s not how Jesus responds. Jesus offers more than his address. “Come and see,” he says. There is reassurance and promise in his words. That means that he has something for us. It means that he is opening himself to us and inviting us in. He has gone ahead of us and prepared a place for us. Regardless of what’s going on in our life he makes it safe to move forward and take the next step in confidence that his life and presence await us. “Come and see” is his invitation to find ourselves and discover our lives. "It was about four in the afternoon." 

Many of us have had "four o'clock" moments. Mine, as I've described before was June 24, 2012 at about 8:30 in the evening. Many of us can mark that time in our life when this "Come and see" from Jesus has been deeply personal. And it is not something that we can make happen. As a wise spiritual director told me one time, all we are to do is to just show up. Show up in the silence and prayer. Show up and ask, "Rabbi, where are you staying?"
 
Jesus is there waiting, waiting for our asking, waiting with anticipation for that moment when our lives will never be the same, waiting to share with us our four o'clock moment.

Baptism of the Lord - 11 Jan 2015

Link to today's readings

Isaiah 55: 1-11 + Psalm 29: 1-4, 9-10 + 1 John 5: 1-9 + Mark 1: 7-11

Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, OK on January 11, 2015

Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy? We are no different from the people of Isaiah’s day. We think this thing or that thing will satisfy our hunger, but we find ourselves still hungry, still dissatisfied. We are like a kid 2 weeks after Christmas—the toys he thought would bring him lasting happiness are pushed to the side, and he is looking for something more. Except as adults, we waste our wages on bigger toys, but nothing ever seems to fill the hole in the soul, nothing ever quenches our thirst.

We are hungry for God, hungering for God, and nothing but God can satisfy that hunger. For we who are hungering for God, we need not waste our wages,

for we do not need to pay for the freely given gift of the bread come down from heaven, Jesus, the Christ. So the Lord invites us to come and drink of His love and experience new life: Come to the water, all you who are thirsty.

With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we conclude this Christmas Season.

The Scripture readings gleam with the glory of this Season, when God became human to feed our hunger for union with God. The word of God that we break open today reveals how Christmas is connected to Easter. The birth and life and death and resurrection of Christ are all necessary to seal the everlasting covenant God has made with humankind.

The One who was born that we might no longer die forever, the One whose birth has given us new life and whose death has destroyed the power of death---he is the One who seeks us out to feed us with His love, to share with us His life.

The Sacraments of the Church usher us into this life-giving, thirst-quenching,

hunger-satisfying relationship with God through Christ in the Spirit. Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation---traditionally called the Sacraments of Initiation—draw us into the eternal covenant the Triune God has made with humankind,

to love us always and share with us divine life. In the waters of baptism, we died with Christ, and rose with him to new life, as adopted children of God. We drank of the water of new life and entered into a new relationship with God and with all the baptized as a member of the family of God. Beloved by God, the favor of God rests upon us. We no longer need to go on a frustrating search, looking for love in all the wrong places, because love has found us.

The Son of God, born in a rush of blood and water from the womb of Mary, is born again on the cross when the soldier’s spear opens up his side--- blood and water rush forth, signs of the sacramental life of the Church. The free and complete gift of his life on the cross opens the door for us into the house of God, to dwell with God forever. At every Eucharist, when we drink from the cup of the New Covenant, drinking of the Blood of Christ, we renew the Covenant of our baptism.

So, we rise up from the waters of new life in order to come to the table of the Lord, to celebrate his life-giving death until the end of time, to drink of his life poured out for us. Jesus Christ is the Living Bread come down from heaven who satisfies our hunger for God and as we receive Him, the life of God grows in us.

The Lord’s mercies are renewed in us each time we eat and drink of his Body and Blood, and we remember who we are—God’s beloved sons and daughters.  

Sealed by the same Spirit which tears open the heavens, uniting heaven and earth, we are confirmed in the new life in Christ. Our life in the Spirit, sealed at Confirmation, is nourished over and over again at every Eucharist. As we come streaming forward to receive the One for whom we hunger and thirst, we renew our commitment to Jesus Christ, to make him the center of our life, our heart’s number one desire.

The way God made us, we need to constantly renew our commitment to Him.

That’s why the weekly celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is so central to our faith — it is the way that we renew our commitment to hold up our end of the covenant sealed in the blood of Christ. We do not practice our faith in private, all alone. In order to believe, and to nourish and strengthen our belief in God’s goodness and love, we do so as members of a community of faith.

Those who come to the life-giving waters of baptism are not left on their own,

but come to the table of the Lord with others.

Together, we help each other renew our part of the covenant and we help one another to be faithful to the One who faithfulness to us is everlasting. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord teaches us that our faith is about more than adoring a cute infant in a manger. The life of faith means engaging in a adult relationship with the Son of God who asks something of us. He wants to teach us how to live as a beloved child of God. Jesus’ way of living needs to become our way of living, his mission become our mission. He asks us to follow him by continuing his mission of giving himself to a world that hungers for him. He gives himself to others in and through us.

Like Jesus, our baptism is the foundational event of our life, for from baptism flows our true identity. With the beloved Son of God, we were adopted into God’s family as beloved sons and daughters. So that even when we feel empty, we can be full of the knowledge that we are still God’s beloved sons and daughters. Even as we live in a world which is not safe, where acts of violence can take our loved ones from our sides or even do harm to our own life, we still know who we are—beloved.  Even when we are powerless in the face of sickness or other suffering, we, like the Beloved Son on the cross, can still cry out, “Abba, Father” because we are still God’s beloved sons and daughters.

But we need the help of each other, as brothers and sisters in the family of God, to remind one another of our God given dignity, of our eternal status as beloved children of God. Too often we focus only on our failures and shortcomings, and forget who we are. Others wake us up to the divine presence residing in us.

About a month ago, a young boy was leaving church after Mass, and as he scooted by me, he said, “Bye, God.” Then, as he went by Deacon Paul, he said, “Bye, Jesus.” Deacon Paul and I looked at each other and laughed, but afterwards I thought of the gift the little child had given, pointing out the divine dwelling within us. Alone we too often forget who we are, but with others, we remember. On our own it is difficult to remain true to who we are, but with others help, we can remain faithful to our God-given identity.

In this way we fulfill our mission by continuing the divine presence on earth.

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Epiphany - 4 Jan 2015

Link to today's readings

Isaiah 60:1-6 + Psalm 72:1-2, 7-13 + Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 + Matthew 2:1-12

Click here to listen to this homily
Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on January 4, 2015

The magi from the east know things about the newborn babe in Bethlehem. This knowledge has propelled them on a long and dangerous journey so they might properly adore this newborn King.

Their gifts show how well they know who this baby is lying in the manger. The wise men bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,

each gift revealing something about this child of Mary. Gold, a gift for his humanity, a gift befitting an earthly king. Frankincense, a gift for his divinity, fragrant grains burned in prayer before God. And myrrh, an ointment used to prepare the body for burial, a gift pointing ahead to the gift of his saving death.

By their gifts, the magi show that they know who this child is: the human embodiment of divine love.

Gift-giving on the highest level happens when one person is carried into the other by means of the gift given. The gift becomes a symbolic expression of knowing and being known, of loving and being loved. Gift-giving at its very best connects two hearts as one.

We all have experienced the giving and receiving of gifts. Hopefully we have all given or received a gift this Christmas which symbolized a flow of love between us and another. This is a “perfect” gift. But we have also received or given other types of “gifts.”

For there are those gifts that we give or receive as objects that are only valuable, or not valuable, in and of themselves, that do not represent the heart of the giver. We do not really receive such gifts when they are given---we rate them. When we receive such gifts, they are simply objects and nothing more. These gifts do not connect our heart to the heart of the one gifting us with the object.

We have no qualms about “re-gifting” such a gift. Or we may simply store it away and forget about it. But a gift that comes from someone who knows us and loves us, and who we know and love, such a gift has special power and meaning. Such a gift makes visible an invisible reality, a flow of love connecting 2 people, something beautiful and powerful and radiant.

A story exemplifying this kind of redemptive gift-giving is O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi.” It is a story about a married couple named Jim and Della. Although they are poor, they each have a proud possession. Della has beautiful long hair and Jim has “The Watch.”

As Christmas nears, Della cuts her hair, sells it, and buys Jim a “platinum fob chain” for his watch. When she gives it to him, Jim reveals that he has sold his watch and bought her a set of “pure tortoise shell” combs for her hair. Della and Jim are the wisest in the world of gift-giving. Jim and Della are wise because although their gifts are objectively useless, they carry both of them into each other.

The gifts strengthen their relationship, assuring them they know and are known; they love and are loved.

Or take my experience this past Christmas, when I spent a couple of hours with a family I have known for many years. The parents, and their children, and their children’s children, sat in a huge circle,

taking turns as each one opened a gift. One of the young granddaughters, about 9 years old, squealed with delight when she opened a gift from her grandmother, a simple looking blue sweater. 

She yelled out, “O Grandma, it’s beautiful.  You know my favorite color is blue.” She skipped away to her room and came back wearing the sweater, dancing with delight, her eyes sparkling with gratitude and love. She ran to her grandmother and threw herself into her grandmother’s arms.

Gift-giving on the highest level happens when one person is carried into the other. Gift-giving at its very best connects two hearts as one.

God knows us better than we know ourselves, and loves us more

than anyone can ever love us. With such wisdom and love, God gives us the greatest gift ever given, the gift of His Son. The invisible flow of love from God the Creator to His Creation becomes visible in Jesus. Divine love becomes concrete in Jesus. The Son of God in the flesh as the child of Mary makes visible the Father’s love

for all his children. Jesus of Nazareth, God-in-the-flesh, is the greatest gift ever given to the world.

God knows exactly what we need, and so God gives us His Only Son.

God knows we cannot save ourselves, so God gifts us with a Savior.

God knows we often become lost in the darkness of this world, so God gives us the One who is the Light of the World. God knows we hunger for divine life, so he gives us His Son, born in a feeding rough, as the Living Bread come down from heaven.

The Almighty God, the source of wisdom and life and from whom every good gift comes, knows us not just in a generic sense as members of the human race, but also knows what we specifically need as individuals. So the Lord Jesus comes to each of us in a very personal way, aware of our unique fears and worries, knowing what gives us the most joy and delight. The Lord Jesus, the human embodiment of divine love, knows the particular demons that torment us, the struggles that are unique to each one of us,

and he comes as God’s gift to us in a very personal way. He knows us and loves us and wants to help us in matters big and small.

What will our gift to Jesus be? How about giving him the gift of our very self by coming to know him better? By daily spending time with him in prayerful conversation. By coming to know him better as the Divine Word made Flesh by immersing ourselves in the divinely inspired words of Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels. By coming to know Him, who in and through all things are created,through the beauty of Creation, especially through the pinnacle of Creation, human beings made in God’s likeness. By loving him present in the least ones among us. In all these ways, and many others, we can give the Lord Jesus the gift of our very self, and we receive Him, and then slowly but surely, His heart and our heart beat as one. 

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Holy Family - 28 Dec 2014

Link to today’s readings

Genesis 15: 1-6, 21:1-3 + Hebrews 11: 8, 11-12, 17-19 + Luke 2:  22-40

Click here to listen to this homily
Recorded at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Mustang, Oklahoma

Many people think of the Christmas mystery as a “moment” and focus solely on that one moment of the birth of the Savior. Most of the world thinks of Christmas only in this way, the celebration of the birth of a baby, who will become the Messiah. With this kind of mindset, Christmas is only one day to celebrate with family and friends, and then move on with the rest of one’s life.

For Catholics, the celebration of the Incarnation—God taking our flesh in Christ His Son—is more than a momentous birth. Rather it is a wonder-filled story of the Son of God becoming fully human. This story takes time to tell and to reflect upon, which is why the Church gifts us with the Christmas Season, a sacred and joy-filled time stretching from Christmas Day until the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. The Christmas Season is between 2-3 weeks long—this year it is 17 days.

For the Son of God comes to save us by more than simply being born human.

He comes to save us by becoming fully human. This is the deepest blessing of Christmas—that the 2^nd Person of the Holy Trinity, the Divine Word that existed before time, is born in order to become fully human! The Church in her wisdom gives us the time and the space during the days of the Christmas Season to ponder this supreme act of love—the Son of God growing and maturing, like us, into a fully human person.

The closing line of today’s Lukan Gospel passage states this truth clearly: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.” This growing into his humanity, this process of becoming fully human, takes place for the Son of God in the best environment for this growth—in a family.

With the loving assistance of Mary and Joseph, Jesus grows from a newborn baby to an infant to a toddler to a child to an adolescent and then into an adult. His growth---physically, intellectually, and spiritually—is facilitated by a foster-father and mother who love him deeply, and by an extended family where he learns how to relate to other human beings.

Jesus grows physically and becomes strong by the providential love of his parents.

Ensuring that their children have enough food to eat is a fundamental act of love, which is why parents suffer deeply when they do not have the means to feed their children. Joseph and Mary provide food for Jesus’ physical nourishment and growth, and they prepare it with love.

But Joseph and Mary also feed Jesus’ desire to learn, for he, like all children, is curious about the world around him. Jesus becomes filled with wisdom, because his parents and others pass along what they have learned. The child Jesus asks questions and his parents help him find the answers.

Jesus also grows into his humanity by having his spirit fed by Joseph and Mary.

His parents help Jesus grow in relationship with heavenly Father by teaching him how to pray. Jesus’ intimate image of God as “Abba” (Father) is the result of his parents teaching him about God’s tender care and protection. Mary’s trusting faith which brought about Jesus’ conception and birth (“Let it be done to me according to your word”) enables her teach her son to pray, “Father, your will be done.”

As Joseph and Jesus work together in the carpenter workshop or out on the job,

Joseph shares with Jesus the stories of Sacred Scripture, how the God of Israel had saved His people from slavery in Egypt and exile in Babylon. How David defeated Goliath and how Daniel survived being tossed into the lion’s den.

Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, not only as a newborn babe to dedicate him to God, but also on numerous other important religious feasts of the Jewish people, especially for the annual celebration of Passover. 

Jesus’ parents had to make sacrifices in order to remain faithful to their religious traditions.

For the trip from Nazareth in Galilee up to Jerusalem is no easy matter, but an arduous journey on foot that takes a number of days. Nourished by the sacred texts of Scripture, engaging God daily in the interactive conversation called prayer, and regularly worshipping God at the temple Jesus grows spiritually strong.

Becoming fully human, the Son of God grows, day by day, month by month, year by year—physically, spiritually, intellectually—thus making holy our own growth into the fullness of our humanity.

The Son of God saves us by becoming fully part of the human family. The Son of God redeems all humanity by becoming more than a member of a particular family in Nazareth but by becoming fully part of the human family. He is born as Son of Mary, and grows into a fully human being, in order to transform everything human into a potential encounter with the Divine. The 2^nd Person of the Holy Trinity becomes fully part of the human family in order to make us see there are no nations nor borders, only one human family, of which we are all brothers and sisters in and through the One who is Fully Human, Christ Himself.

One of the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching, called Solidarity, flows from our belief that God has joined himself forever to humanity through Christ Jesus. In fighting against injustice, our common humanity must be the starting point, understood through radical interdependence. 

Solidarity means being vulnerable enough to get to know those who are suffering from injustice, to see the dignity of others as intimately connected to my own dignity. My dignity is wrapped up in your dignity being respected, and when your dignity is attacked, mine is as well. Solidarity opens our heart to feel the pain of the other and to allow that pain to change us, so that once we recognize in the other a brother or sister, we have seen something that cannot be unseen. Then we know in a very experiential way that we are in this together, as members of one human family under God. This is what it means to stand in solidarity with others.

Thus solidarity is something more than charity, where we can distance ourselves from the pain of others by giving them something (dollars or food or clothing).

Solidarity is the gift of oneself, by choosing in love to stand alongside others, allowing them to know me and me to know them.

How the world would change if whites and blacks would sit down at the same table and listen to each other describe their fears and struggles, their hopes and dreams.

How much the world would change if native born Americans would sit down with immigrants and tell the stories of how their grandparents or great-grandparents came to this land and the hardships they endured to make this country a better place. And then listen to modern-day immigrants share their own stories of the challenges of making it to America and making a life here.

How the world might change if Muslims and Christians would sit down at the same table and Muslims share with Christians why they pray 5 times a day and Christians share with Muslims why they believe Jesus from Nazareth is the Savior of the World.

We would recognize our common humanity, our shared dignity. We might even recognize Christ dwelling in our midst, growing within us to maturity.

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Christmas Day- 25 Dec 2014

Link to today's readings

Isaiah 52: 7-10 + Hebrews 1: 1-6  + John 1: 1-18

Given at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Mustang, Oklahoma

Mercy is different than forgiveness. Mercy grants new life. To forgive another person means I am not going to hold this against you. Forgiveness means choosing not to be filled with resentment and bitterness for the rest of my life because of something done unto me— I am going to let it go, into the hands of God. Forgiveness is more for the sake of the one forgiving than the one being forgiven—it is medicine which we drink to heal our hurting heart.

Mercy is something much, much more. Mercy grants new life where it is undeserved. Mercy brings new life where it is not merited.

The chosen people of Israel are sustained by the mercy of God. The people of Israel are gifted with the Promised Land even though they grumbled and did not trust God in the desert. The Chosen People of Israel about 500 years later are held captive in Babylon. God forgives them for their transgressions which led to their captivity, but also gives them new life by His mercy. The prophet Isaiah proclaims the wonders of God’s merciful love!

God makes a way where there was no way for them to return home, even using the pagan Persian King Cyrus in his plan. God brings about new life from death by His merciful love, restoring Zion, raising up a new Jerusalem from the ruins of the old.

In the time before the birth of Jesus, God spoke in partial and various ways through the prophets about his saving, merciful love. But now that Word of Mercy takes human flesh in Jesus, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The divine, Eternal Word, in and through whom all things are made, who existed before time---it is the 2^nd person the Divine Trinity who out of merciful love takes our flesh. The Eternal Word pitches his tent with humankind in order that we might be able to clearly hear God’s word of merciful love spoken for all eternity. In Jesus, the Word made flesh, we hear God’s song of love for us, and by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we hear a life-giving, saving word, and that is MERCY!!!

The Son of God seeks out sinners, because they need the healing balm of his merciful love. The self-righteous, those who think they have it all together, who are self-sufficient and won’t admit their weaknesses and frailties, close themselves off to the mercy of God in Jesus. Those who are strict adherents to the Law and are constantly judging others who they deem not worthy—these self-righteous ones the Son of God seeks out as well, but they are not open to the great gift of his mercy, because they are unwilling to share it. Jesus is clear in his teaching and in his life: You can only receive it if you are willing to give it away.

The Son of God, through whom the entire universe is made, is born to die for us. This is what mercy looks like—a just person laying down their life to save others who are not worthy of such a gift.

This is the saving mercy of which Pope Francis preaches and lives--

God’s merciful love for the sinner. Pope Francis challenges us to share this merciful love of God by reaching out beyond the safe confines of our church buildings to those who are lost, who are broken-hearted, who despair, who are poor, who hunger for the great gift of God’s merciful love.

The setting for the French novel turned musical, Les Miserables, is in the early 19^th century in France. The novel opens with the main character, Jean ValJean, completing his 19 year sentence on a chain gang for stealing bread so that his sister’s children could eat. Jean ValJean is granted freedom, but then finds himself starving because no one will hire him to work because of his criminal record. Then a bishop welcomes Jean ValJean into his home, feeding him and giving him a place to stay the night. In the middle of the night, Jean ValJean steals the Bishop’s silver, so he can sell it and have some money. However, he is quickly nabbed by the police, who drag him in front of the bishop, and ask the bishop if the silver is his. The bishop surprises the police and Jean ValJean by stating that he had given his silver to Jean Valjean as a gift. Then the bishop hands over to Jean ValJean the beautiful silver candlesticks, saying, “Here.  You forgot these.” When the police leave, the bishop tells Jean ValJean, “I have purchased your life for God.”

The bishop grants Jean ValJean new life by such a merciful act, and Jean ValJean vows that he will be the same instrument of mercy to others. The rest of the story reveals how he becomes that instrument of mercy, raising an orphaned child and saving this child’s future husband from certain death. This is how the marvelous word of God’s merciful love takes our flesh.

Or there is a married couple who I know who tried and tried and tried to have children, but to no avail. My friends could have chosen to be angry at God and at life in general, or they could have chosen to “forgive” God and move on with their lives. Instead they became instruments of the Eternal Word’s saving, merciful love by choosing to adopt three children. Those three children have grown up into beautiful young people because of the merciful love of their adopted parents. This is one way how God speaks his word of mercy today and gives new life.

Or there are the photojournalists who have given their lives to bring to light the atrocities of warfare and terror in the Middle East. One of these brave souls was held hostage and then released. He could have simply forgiven his hostage-takers, left the dangerous situation in the Middle East, and come home to safety. Instead he chose to keep bringing to light the injustices there, until he gave his life, beheaded in a terrible act of brutality. This is what mercy looks like—a life given away as complete gift in love of others.

Around this holy table on this joyful day, we celebrate the Sacrifice of merciful love that gives means to all of our sacrifices of merciful love.

We receive Him who is Mercy enfleshed in His Sacred Body and Blood.

We cry out for Mercy Himself before we come forward for Holy Communion. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Even to the last little prayer we say before allowing the Son of God to come and dwell within us:  “Lord, I am not worthy to enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” What is the word that the Lord Jesus says?  MERCY!

The mercy that flows out of our Savior into the lives of we believers is a great gift. By it, we carry him, the Merciful One, into a world that desperately needs such a gift. He is born in us and through us by our words and deeds of mercy. Transforming a world of violence into peace, a world of retribution into justice, and stops the terrible force of hatred with self-giving love.

So that all the ends of the earth may see the saving power of God at work in and through God’s people.

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi

Christmas Midnight Mass - 25 Dec 2014

Link to tonight's readings + Link to alternate readings from the Gospel of Matthew

Isaiah 9:1-6 + Titus 2: 11-14  +  Matthew 1: 18-25

Click here to listen to this homily

Recorded at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Mustang, Oklahoma

You may be wondering what happened to the traditional Christmas story

from Luke’s Gospel. Where are the shepherds and the child wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger?

I chose the account of Christ’s birth in Matthew’s Gospel for this Christmas Mass because it has a powerful lesson to teach us about the mystery of the Incarnation. In other words, why did 2^nd Person of the Holy Trinity take our flesh? Why did the Son of God empty himself of all divine privilege in order to become flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone? Merciful love is the reason---for God is mercy, and mercy shows its face in the act of self-giving love, especially where such a great gift is not warranted or deserved. Matthew’s Infancy Narrative, in its stark simplicity, reveals this saving attribute in God---MERCY!

Mercy is different than forgiveness. Mercy grants new life.

Forgiveness means choosing not to be filled with resentment and bitterness

for the rest of our life because of something done unto us. Forgiveness means letting go of the hurtful deed or hateful words and surrendering it, and the person who did it, into the hands of God. Forgiveness is more for the sake of the one forgiving than the one being forgiven—it is medicine which we gladly take to heal our hurting heart.

Mercy is something much, much more. Mercy grants new life where it is undeserved.  Mercy brings new life where it is not merited. Joseph the Just becomes the instrument of such saving mercy to Mary.

Joseph, a man of faith who knows the God of Mercy, shows there is something greater than following the letter of the Law. To be righteous meant to follow the letter of the Law, but Joseph re-defines righteousness as shaped by mercy.

For the Law demands that Joseph deliver Mary to the religious authorities for becoming pregnant by another man. Since Mary is betrothed to Joseph, in the eyes of the Law she is married to him, so she has committed adultery. The consequence of adultery---stoning to death. So by deciding to divorce her quietly, Joseph not only “forgives” Mary, but also grants her new life where death is warranted.

Because Joseph lives by a deeper reality than the Law, because his actions are informed by mercy, he is open to receive God’s messenger. Because he chooses in faith to take the path of mercy, Joseph hears God’s message about the mysterious working of God in the life of his beloved Mary. Joseph goes beyond protecting Mary from death---he takes her into his home as his wife, to protect her and support her and her child, a child not his own. This is what mercy looks like—it is generous and life giving, resulting in surprising sacrifices of love.

Surely Mary later shared with her Son this story of God’s saving mercy at work

in her beloved Joseph. Jesus learns from his foster-father the law of mercy and would later proclaim as one of his Beatitudes in this same Gospel of Matthew:   “Blessed are the merciful….”

God’s mercy takes flesh in Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, born as the adopted son of Joseph, born to save us from our sins. The Son of God is born for us, not because of our goodness or good works, but because of the merciful love of God for us who are lost in our sins and lost as well in the pain we carry because of the sins of others. God is not going to allow us to remain lost in our sin nor walk forever in the darkness of death but is going to come and find us and bring us home to new life.

Mercy takes flesh in Jesus Christ:  undeserved,  unmerited, sheer gift to us. The Son of God seeks out sinners, healing them by the balm of his merciful love. The self-righteous, those who think they have it all together, who are self-sufficient and dare not admit their weaknesses and frailties, close themselves off to the mercy of God in Jesus. They are not open to the great gift of His mercy, because they are unwilling to share it. By what Jesus teaches and by the way he interacts with other, Jesus reveals you can only receive mercy if you are willing to give it away.

St. Paul, a fanatical Pharisee and devout follower of the Law, discovers on the road to Damascus the merciful love of the Risen Jesus for him. He finds out there is something more than simply keeping the letter of the law. Something more is required, and it is the divine law of Mercy. What Paul called it is “agape”---a special kind of love, a godly kind of love, that is shared even when others do not deserve such a gift. He sings of the beauty of such merciful love in his famous hymn to agape love in the 13^th Chapter of Corinthians, describing how this kind of merciful love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This is the saving mercy of which Pope Francis, preaches and lives by --- God’s merciful love for the sinner. Pope Francis challenges us to share this merciful love of God by reaching out beyond the safe confines of our church buildings to those who are lost, who are broken-hearted, who despair, who are crushed by poverty, who hunger for the great gift of God’s merciful love.

For the Son of God is born to die for us, so that we might lay down our lives in love of others. This is what mercy looks like --- a just person laying down their life to save others who are not worthy of such a gift.

We cry out for this godly gift before we come forward for Holy Communion. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Even to the last little prayer we speak before allowing the Son of God

to come and dwell within us:  “Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” What is the word that the Lord Jesus says?  MERCY!

The mercy that flows out of our Savior into our lives is a glorious, life-giving gift.

By it, we carry him, the Merciful One, into a world which desperately needs such a gift. He is born in us and through us by our words and deeds of mercy, as we transform a world of violence, retribution and revenge into His kingdom of peace, justice, and self-giving love.

Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi