Deacon Greg's Homily 9-30-18

Good thing Jesus wasn't literal… or was he?

We are all sinners, a Church full of cripples… 

That’s one major reason why we come: Sick people need a physician.

If we’re learning anything from the recent abuse crisis… We’re seeing that some of the Church’s Leadership i's very responsible because of their actions and inaction, and they need to follow the advice of the Gospel, for there is a need of some major, and even radical changes, which includes REMOVING certain parts that negatively effect the overall body!

If we’ve learned anything from this past week in our world… It seems 100% certain that Sin and the effects of sinful action do not disappear with time. And it would seem that one should attempt to better themselves to avoid sin in the first place, or at least deal with it sooner rather than later, beginning with reconciliation and repentance.

Finally, if we’re listening to the message of today’s Word… we hear that the Spirit can come down upon ALL, and doing the work of goodness takes precedence over who we think is best qualified to do that work… That seems to be spoken loud and clear from St. James these past few weeks:

• Be doers of the Word, not just hearers!
• Show no partiality in whom you serve!
• If faith has no works, it is dead!
• Then last week and today, he pulls off the gloves, because no one is listening… Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded! (SHARE WITH ONE ANOTHER - DON’T HOARD THINGS AND KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF)

This is what Joshua had a problem with in the first reading when he cried foul that the Spirit came down upon two who didn’t make the meeting at the tent. IT’S NOT FAIR… THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!

This is what the Disciples had a problem with when they heard others “outside of the group” were expelling demons in Jesus’ name! IT’S NOT FAIR… THEY DIDN’T COME TO THE TRAINING MEETING!

Moses and Jesus responded similarly…

• Moses responded: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”
• Jesus responded: “For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”

We are all worthy of the Spirit, and called to serve, and the work we are called to do can be as simple as just sharing a cup of water!

We can all be receivers of the Holy Spirit: “the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders,” and even those who couldn’t make it to the tent. Jesus added, “Do not prevent them” from doing good works, for God’s will is not always ours… It forges its own path to bring us all together on this journey!

• The spirit, or Ruah in Hebrew, is defined as the wind, the “Breath of God!”
• While it can be harnessed, the wind is impossible to control!
• In John’s Gospel (3:8), Jesus told Nicodemus that it blows where it wills.
• So if we are to receive the Spirit, we must accept it on ITS TERMS!

Evil is equally real and sometimes just as uncontrollable… But we can be protected!

Through God…

We can appeal to God, and benefit from the breeze of His free and active role in restraining and protecting us from unintended sin: As we prayed in today’s Psalm: “Cleanse me from my unknown faults! From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin.”

Through Sacraments…

• Baptismal Anointing with the Oil of the Catechumen… 
• To KNOW, LOVE and SERVE the LORD!
• Forgiven in Reconciliation and fed in the Eucharist!

Through Prayer…

• (Baptism) The Prayer of Exorcism: Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness, and bring him into the splendor of your kingdom of light. We pray for these children: set them free from original sin, make them a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell within them. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
• (This week, through next Sunday) Bishop Baker has asked that we join him in prayer, offering The Prayer of St. Michael the Archangel at each Mass… Which prays that the Archangel defends us in battle, and is our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil...
• (October) Pray the Rosary Daily... Yesterday, Pope Francis also asked that beginning tomorrow, Catholics worldwide unite and pray the Rosary each day during October "to protect the church from the devil, who is always looking to divide us from God and from one another.“

Through Action…

• On Ash Wednesday we say Amen, or SO BE IT, to the request that we “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel!”
• We can easily share that cup of water, or do other simple acts of kindness on a very regular basis.
• We can truly learn from our mistakes, and even though the scars of our past might still be visible from time to time, we can embrace them for what they are, and what they are not!
• What they are, are signs of MAJOR CHANGE and SIGNIFICANT HEALING!
• What they are not, are some limitation to God’s power, love and mercy!

The Good News: So while we are all sinners, and crippled in some way, we are here today to seek healing from the divine physician, and nourishment in His Body and Blood. Let us allow ourselves to be protected from evil so we might be able to respond to it, by acting on God’s love and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ!