Deacon Greg 3-13-22
This past week I had the joy of renewing my connection with the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools System, XBSS, as I returned to West Hartford, CT to speak at their annual student leadership retreat. After a two-year shutdown, I returned for my 18th year, as I offer Junior and Senior high school participants a presentation on discipleship and with an emphasis on God’s call to ministry within their school communities.
Centered today in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, this congregation of St. Francis Xavier was founded in the by Fr. Theodore Ryken in 1839 and is dedicated to education, with a general mission of helping their students “Fall in Love with the Service of God.” One of their original schools, St. X in Louisville, still stands after being founded in 1864. The core Xavierian Values include Compassion, Simplicity, Trust, Humility, and Zeal.
So let’s check in here on week two of our Lenten journey and ask ourselves, how are we showing one another compassion in our reaching into the lives of others? How are we allowing the simple things in life to reveal the love of God in our hearts? Have we given our trust over to God’s plan, and are we humble enough to say yes to allowing him to live through us, with the zeal necessary to help Christ shine through us!
I’m also blessed in my weekly ministry to work with our own Catholic Campus Ministry over at UAH. The CCM House, just off campus serves our local college students in some form or fashion on a daily basis, but they do gather as a group Tuesday evenings for dinner and a program, and Friday Mornings for breakfast and faith sharing, after attending the 7am Mass at nearby St. Joe’s in Huntsville. This past Friday I was able to join them for breakfast and their discussion, and I did what any good Deacon should do when he knows he has a homily coming up: I asked them to read today’s scriptures and help me write today’s message. Here’s what we came up with…
Today’s first reading opens the original Covenant between God and Abram, later known as Abraham. With the promise of descendants as many as the stars, and the land for them to live on, Our God loves us and, as the students noted, offers all of this is for you! Interestingly enough they also noted that God doesn’t speak much, but when he does, he is very direct! I’ll also add that in the Scripture, when one hears God’s voice, there seems to be an initial response of doubt and disbelief. In this case, God assures Abram of his plan, but Abram asks, “How am I to know that I will possess it?”
So in a very direct way, God offers direction so as to establish his covenant, or agreement with Abram and all of his descendants. The splitting of the sacrifices in half equals Abram’s signature, or as one student put it, his commitment is more or less saying, “May God do thus to me and more if I break the Covenant.” As you can probably guess, the fire pot and the flaming torches moving through the sacrifice are the Lord himself, ratifying the Covenant with his signature!
In talking through this, one young lady in our discussion the other day aptly recognized that the glory of God really can come in the moment, so like Abram waited for the Lord after offering his sacrifice, shooing away the birds of prey while he waited, we too must wait with patience, for the Lord is ready to speak to us when the moment is right! And like the Lord’s arrival to Abram in the form of fire, our Psalm proclaims that the Lord too will come to us, as he is “our light and our salvation, … so wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
My friends, because of Abram’s yes, and the many, many yesses since, we are still a Covenant People, which is why in our second reading Paul reminds us to be an imitator of those who have lived out this promise, and asks you to “conduct yourselves according to the model,” which for Paul is of course Christ, but it’s also the faith of Abram. In his letter to the Romans, Paul notes that it’s Abraham’s life of faith that models righteousness for us, and in his letter to the Galatians emphasizes that this is what makes us, his children, righteous through our own lives of faith! So if this is what Abram agreed to, and we are all beneficiaries as his descendants, with all of the stars and land given to us, how can we break the covenant? I mean it’s always there, right?
Well, this is why we hear Paul driven to tears over what he heard (from his prison cell) about how folks were really living their lives: “Their God is in their stomach; their glory is in their shame, and their minds are occupied with earthly things!”
Maybe our God is still in our stomach… I mean, sometimes it’s more important to have the discussion about Kraft vs. Velveeta when planning on mac-n-cheese for Friday. I remember Fr. Phil offering this stinging challenge Lent after Lent: The goal of a Lenten fast was not necessarily fulfilled in going to Red Lobster each week… And I think we truly understand what that means, and therefore understand what Paul means when we hear of his worry that our glory is in our shame, or that our minds are occupied with earthly things.
So could this break our covenant with God, and hence for all of our future descendants? I believe the answer is yes, but that’s why Paul reminds us today that “our citizenship is in heaven and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Waiting… Like Abram waited… waiting for the light of salvation… waiting with courage… stouthearted and strong!
Which brings us to today’s Gospel with Jesus shining with light, transfigured before us, his face changed, his clothes becoming dazzling white… Conversing with Moses and Elijah, connecting us to the Law and the Promise of the Prophets, and all build upon the covenant with Abram, ratified in the sacrifice and in the light of God. If you wondered last week if the Lord, after surviving the temptation of the desert, was the real deal or not, this week’s Gospel makes the case that indeed he is the Lord God, a fulfillment of the law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). And as the voice from the cloud said, “this is my chosen Son; listen to him!”
So close your eyes for a second and just LISTEN!
My friends at the CCM noted that the Apostles wanted to stay, but that God was calling them and us to something greater. Maybe like Abram’s encounter with the Lord, this “God Moment” also ended, as suddenly it was just the Peter, James and John standing alone with their Christ, wonder what’s next?
In Luke’s Gospel, this is where the Journey to Jerusalem begins. The Apostles, somewhat dumbfounded as to what just happened, begin to head back down the mountain with a greater understanding of Jesus Christ..
After his own moment with God, Abram was called to get busy on those descendants and tend that land. It would seem that the Psalmist’s prayers of hope were well founded, calling on us to celebrate the light and the promise of salvation. It would seem that Paul’s confidence that God “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body,” prefigures our reward, and our place in heaven.
So what does today’s God Moment mean for us on this, another Lenten journey? One answer: ALLOW CHRIST TO SHINE THROUGH YOU, or as the students shared the other day, don’t focus on, or worry about yourself… Just rest in the light of God.
Just as we see the light transfigured before us in the Gospel today, I wonder if we can be the same for others? I wonder if we could share the light of Christ so that others could see and know the love of God? I wonder what would happen if we lived a righteous life like our Father Abraham, and shined like the stars in the sky?
Going back to my trip this past week, one of the tenants of the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools is to remember that we are “made in the image and likeness of God.” If that is true, and we know it is; and if we can shine like the stars, showing all the love God, and we are called to be face of Christ for others, then let’s first begin with ourselves…
Let me offer the same parting invitation as I did to the kids in Connecticut this past week, and to the students at UAH this past Friday: While it might seem a tad awkward, before you go to bed tonight, I want you look in mirror and smile, for the God who made you in his image and likeness is looking back at you, and he loves you very much! Then know that tomorrow, you’ll need to use that smile and those hands and feet of yours to love and serve the Lord and one another so the world can SEE HIS FACE shining before them..
Amen
Centered today in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, this congregation of St. Francis Xavier was founded in the by Fr. Theodore Ryken in 1839 and is dedicated to education, with a general mission of helping their students “Fall in Love with the Service of God.” One of their original schools, St. X in Louisville, still stands after being founded in 1864. The core Xavierian Values include Compassion, Simplicity, Trust, Humility, and Zeal.
So let’s check in here on week two of our Lenten journey and ask ourselves, how are we showing one another compassion in our reaching into the lives of others? How are we allowing the simple things in life to reveal the love of God in our hearts? Have we given our trust over to God’s plan, and are we humble enough to say yes to allowing him to live through us, with the zeal necessary to help Christ shine through us!
I’m also blessed in my weekly ministry to work with our own Catholic Campus Ministry over at UAH. The CCM House, just off campus serves our local college students in some form or fashion on a daily basis, but they do gather as a group Tuesday evenings for dinner and a program, and Friday Mornings for breakfast and faith sharing, after attending the 7am Mass at nearby St. Joe’s in Huntsville. This past Friday I was able to join them for breakfast and their discussion, and I did what any good Deacon should do when he knows he has a homily coming up: I asked them to read today’s scriptures and help me write today’s message. Here’s what we came up with…
Today’s first reading opens the original Covenant between God and Abram, later known as Abraham. With the promise of descendants as many as the stars, and the land for them to live on, Our God loves us and, as the students noted, offers all of this is for you! Interestingly enough they also noted that God doesn’t speak much, but when he does, he is very direct! I’ll also add that in the Scripture, when one hears God’s voice, there seems to be an initial response of doubt and disbelief. In this case, God assures Abram of his plan, but Abram asks, “How am I to know that I will possess it?”
So in a very direct way, God offers direction so as to establish his covenant, or agreement with Abram and all of his descendants. The splitting of the sacrifices in half equals Abram’s signature, or as one student put it, his commitment is more or less saying, “May God do thus to me and more if I break the Covenant.” As you can probably guess, the fire pot and the flaming torches moving through the sacrifice are the Lord himself, ratifying the Covenant with his signature!
In talking through this, one young lady in our discussion the other day aptly recognized that the glory of God really can come in the moment, so like Abram waited for the Lord after offering his sacrifice, shooing away the birds of prey while he waited, we too must wait with patience, for the Lord is ready to speak to us when the moment is right! And like the Lord’s arrival to Abram in the form of fire, our Psalm proclaims that the Lord too will come to us, as he is “our light and our salvation, … so wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
My friends, because of Abram’s yes, and the many, many yesses since, we are still a Covenant People, which is why in our second reading Paul reminds us to be an imitator of those who have lived out this promise, and asks you to “conduct yourselves according to the model,” which for Paul is of course Christ, but it’s also the faith of Abram. In his letter to the Romans, Paul notes that it’s Abraham’s life of faith that models righteousness for us, and in his letter to the Galatians emphasizes that this is what makes us, his children, righteous through our own lives of faith! So if this is what Abram agreed to, and we are all beneficiaries as his descendants, with all of the stars and land given to us, how can we break the covenant? I mean it’s always there, right?
Well, this is why we hear Paul driven to tears over what he heard (from his prison cell) about how folks were really living their lives: “Their God is in their stomach; their glory is in their shame, and their minds are occupied with earthly things!”
Maybe our God is still in our stomach… I mean, sometimes it’s more important to have the discussion about Kraft vs. Velveeta when planning on mac-n-cheese for Friday. I remember Fr. Phil offering this stinging challenge Lent after Lent: The goal of a Lenten fast was not necessarily fulfilled in going to Red Lobster each week… And I think we truly understand what that means, and therefore understand what Paul means when we hear of his worry that our glory is in our shame, or that our minds are occupied with earthly things.
So could this break our covenant with God, and hence for all of our future descendants? I believe the answer is yes, but that’s why Paul reminds us today that “our citizenship is in heaven and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Waiting… Like Abram waited… waiting for the light of salvation… waiting with courage… stouthearted and strong!
Which brings us to today’s Gospel with Jesus shining with light, transfigured before us, his face changed, his clothes becoming dazzling white… Conversing with Moses and Elijah, connecting us to the Law and the Promise of the Prophets, and all build upon the covenant with Abram, ratified in the sacrifice and in the light of God. If you wondered last week if the Lord, after surviving the temptation of the desert, was the real deal or not, this week’s Gospel makes the case that indeed he is the Lord God, a fulfillment of the law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). And as the voice from the cloud said, “this is my chosen Son; listen to him!”
So close your eyes for a second and just LISTEN!
My friends at the CCM noted that the Apostles wanted to stay, but that God was calling them and us to something greater. Maybe like Abram’s encounter with the Lord, this “God Moment” also ended, as suddenly it was just the Peter, James and John standing alone with their Christ, wonder what’s next?
In Luke’s Gospel, this is where the Journey to Jerusalem begins. The Apostles, somewhat dumbfounded as to what just happened, begin to head back down the mountain with a greater understanding of Jesus Christ..
After his own moment with God, Abram was called to get busy on those descendants and tend that land. It would seem that the Psalmist’s prayers of hope were well founded, calling on us to celebrate the light and the promise of salvation. It would seem that Paul’s confidence that God “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body,” prefigures our reward, and our place in heaven.
So what does today’s God Moment mean for us on this, another Lenten journey? One answer: ALLOW CHRIST TO SHINE THROUGH YOU, or as the students shared the other day, don’t focus on, or worry about yourself… Just rest in the light of God.
Just as we see the light transfigured before us in the Gospel today, I wonder if we can be the same for others? I wonder if we could share the light of Christ so that others could see and know the love of God? I wonder what would happen if we lived a righteous life like our Father Abraham, and shined like the stars in the sky?
Going back to my trip this past week, one of the tenants of the Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools is to remember that we are “made in the image and likeness of God.” If that is true, and we know it is; and if we can shine like the stars, showing all the love God, and we are called to be face of Christ for others, then let’s first begin with ourselves…
Let me offer the same parting invitation as I did to the kids in Connecticut this past week, and to the students at UAH this past Friday: While it might seem a tad awkward, before you go to bed tonight, I want you look in mirror and smile, for the God who made you in his image and likeness is looking back at you, and he loves you very much! Then know that tomorrow, you’ll need to use that smile and those hands and feet of yours to love and serve the Lord and one another so the world can SEE HIS FACE shining before them..
Amen
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