The context: Today’s Gospel episode of Matthew’s
call as Jesus’ apostle reminds us of God’s love and mercy for sinners and
challenges us to practice this same love and mercy in our relations with
others. The call and the response: Jesus went to the
tax-collector’s station to invite Matthew to become a disciple. Since
tax-collectors worked for a foreign power and extorted more tax money from the
people than they owed, the Jewish people, especially the Pharisees, hated and
despised tax collectors as traitors, considered them public sinners, and
ostracized them. But Jesus could see in Matthew a person who needed Divine love
and grace. That is why, while everyone hated Matthew, Jesus was ready to offer
him undeserved love, mercy, and forgiveness. Hence, Matthew abandoned his
lucrative job, because, for him, Christ’s invitation to become Jesus’ follower,
was a promise of salvation, fellowship, guidance, and protection. Scandalous
partying with sinners. It was altogether natural for Matthew to
rejoice in his new calling by celebrating with his friends who were also
outcasts. Jesus’ dining with all these outcasts in the house of a “traitor” scandalized
the Pharisees, for whom ritual purity and table fellowship were important
religious practices. Cleverly, they asked, not Jesus, but the young disciples,
"Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus, coming to the rescue of the disciples, cut in and answered the question
in terms of healing: “Those who are well do not need a physician; the
sick do.” Then Jesus challenged the Pharisees, quoting Hosea, “Go
and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Hos 6:6). Finally,
Jesus clarified, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” [After
the Ascension, Saint Matthew remained
for over ten years in Judea, writing his Gospel there in about the year 44.
Then he went to preach the Faith in Egypt and especially in Ethiopia, where he
remained for twenty-three years. The relics of Saint Matthew were for many
years in the city of Naddaver in Ethiopia, where he suffered his martyrdom, but
were transferred to Salerno in the year 954].
Life messages: 1) Jesus calls you and me for a purpose: Jesus has called us through our Baptism, forgiven us our sins, and welcomed us as members of the Kingdom. In fact, Jesus calls us daily, through the Word and through the Church, to be disciples and, so, to turn away from all the things that distract us and draw us away from God. 2) Just as Matthew did, we, too, are expected to proclaim Christ through our lives by reaching out to the unwanted and the marginalized in society with Christ’s love, mercy, and compassion. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 22 Tuesday: Lk 8:19-21:
The context: As Jesus became a strong critic of
the Jewish religious authorities, his cousins, bringing his Mother with them
(as a wedge in the door, so Jesus would listen to them?) came to take him back
to Nazareth by force, perhaps because they feared that he, and they themselves,
would be arrested and put to death
Jesus’ plain
statement: Today’s Gospel episode seems to suggest that Jesus ignored the
request of his mother and close relatives who had traveled the long distance of
twenty miles, probably on foot, to talk to him. But everyone in the audience
knew how Jesus loved his mother and had taken care of her until he started his
public ministry. Besides, Jesus’ plain answer, "My mother and my
brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it,"was indeed a
compliment to his mother who had always listened to the word of God and obeyed
it. It also dismissed, without mentioning them, all the claims that kindred
might make which would interfere with His Messianic Mission. In other words,
Jesus was declaring, “Blessed are those who heard and kept the word of God
as Mary was faithfully doing" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 58).
Jesus was also using the occasion to teach his listeners a new lesson in their
relationship with God. Being a disciple of Jesus, or a Christian, means first
and foremost having a deep, growing, personal relationship of love and unity
with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and with all who belong to
God as His children. Jesus changes the order of relationships and shows us that
true kinship is not just a matter of flesh and blood. God’s gracious gift to us
is His adoption of us as His sons and daughters. This gift enables us to
recognize all those who belong to Christ, actually or potentially, as our
brothers and sisters. Our adoption as sons and daughters of God transforms all
our relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God and His Kingdom in
absolute, unquestioned, first place. Everyone who does the will of the Father,
that is to say, who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he or
she is like Jesus who always fulfilled the will of his Father.
Life messages: 1) Let us remember that by
Baptism we become the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, and
members of the Heavenly family of the Triune God. Hence, we have a two-fold
obligation to treat others with love and respect and to share our love with
them by corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 2) Let us grow as true disciples
of Jesus by becoming doers as well as hearers of the word of God, for thus we
will be welcomed to God’s Everlasting Family Reunion in Heaven.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 23 Wednesday: St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest: Lk
9:1-6:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes the
commissioning of the twelve Apostles. Sent out with “power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,” they exercised their preaching
and healing mission according to the detailed action-plan given by Jesus.
Jesus’ instructions and travel tips. By these instructions,
it is clear that Jesus meant the apostles to take no supplies for the road.
They were simply to trust that God, the Provider, would open the hearts of
believers to take care of their needs. The Jews supported their rabbis, and
judged doing so a privilege as well as an obligation, because hospitality was
an important religious tradition in Palestine. Jesus’ instructions also suggest
that the apostles should not be like the acquisitive Jewish priests of the day,
who were interested only in gaining riches. They should be walking examples of
God’s Love and Providence in action. They should choose temporary accommodation
in a reputable household, they should bless the residents with God’s peace, and
they should be satisfied with whatever food and accommodation they receive, and
not search for better.
Life messages: 1) We, too, have a
witness-bearing mission:Each Christian is called not only to be a disciple but
also to be an apostle. As apostles, we are sent out to evangelize the world by
sharing with others, not just words, or ideas, or doctrines, but our experiences
of God and His Son, Jesus. It is through our transparent Christian lives that
we are to show the love, mercy and concern of Jesus to the people around us.
2) We also have a liberating mission: There are many
“demons” which can control the lives and habits of people rendering them
helpless to resist. These addictions include, but are not limited to, alcohol,
drugs, gambling, pornography and promiscuous sex, materialism and consumerism.
We need the help of Jesus both to be liberated from these “demons” ourselves,
and to help Jesus to liberate others from their bondage in the chains of
self-centering selfishness and addictive evil habits
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 24 Thursday: Lk 9:7-9:
The context: Although King Herod respected and
feared John the Baptist as a great prophet, he was not converted, and he was
maneuvered into beheading John by his vengeful, intolerant, immoral, jealous
wife Herodias. When his personal staff started reporting stories to Herod about
the new prophet, Jesus, as the reappearance of Elijah the prophet, Herod
expressed his fear that Jesus was the reincarnation of John the Baptist whom he
had unjustly killed. He wanted to see Jesus — not to hear Jesus preaching of
the Good News, but in order to get rid of his fear and feelings of guilt.
The haunting conscience: Herod Antipas was one of the
several sons of Herod the Great, the King of Israel who had divided his kingdom
among four of his sons. Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 2 BC to
37 AD, when he was exiled by the Roman emperor. (It was his father, Herod the
Great who ordered the massacre of the Holy Innocents). The conscience of this
immoral oriental tyrant, Herod Antipas, started destroying his peace of mind
when he realized the heinousness of his crimes of an illicit and immoral
relationship with his niece and sister-in-law, Herodias, in gross violation of
Mosaic laws, and his cooperation in the murder of John the Baptist. His
discomfort led him, not to repentance, but to the fear that John had come back
from the dead to punish him, a fear that might have prompted Herod’s wish to
see Jesus in person. His wish was finally realized when Jesus was dragged to
him during Jesus’ trial before Pilate. But Jesus did not yield to Herod’s
demand for a miracle and kept silence.
Life messages: 1) We need to keep our conscience clean by repenting of our sins daily and, in the case of Mortal sins, by seeking out the confessional as soo as possible, fto receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Otherwise, our sins will haunt us, making our lives miserable. 2) It is necessary that we should have a clear understanding of Who Jesus really IS. We need to see, experience, and accept Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man, our personal Lord and Savior. Such an acceptance should lead us to a total adoption of Jesus’ ideas and ideals and way of life. Otherwise, we will be like Herod, who resembled the people of Jesus’ day, and of our own, who flock to healing services looking for miracles, but not for Jesus. If our following of Jesus causes in us no change that transforms our souls and radiates Jesus outward from us, our attempts to have mountain-top experiences will be meaningless and vain. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Sept 25 Friday: Lk 9:18-22:
The context: Today’s Gospel passage is the first
of the three times when Jesus foretells His Passion, death and Resurrection.
The passage consists of two sections, the Messianic confession of Peter and the
prediction of the Passion by Jesus.
Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior: Today’s Gospel
explains the basis of our Faith as the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, our
Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus became our Savior by his
suffering, death and Resurrection. According to Matthew (16:13-19), and Mark
(8:27-30), this famous profession of Faith by Peter took place at Caesarea
Philippi, at present called Banias, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of
Galilee. Jesus realized that if the apostles did not know Who He really was,
then the entire Messianic ministry, suffering, and death would be useless.
Hence, Jesus decided to ask a question in two parts. 1) “What is the public
opinion about Me?“ Their answer to the first question was: “Some
say John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old
prophets has risen."2)Who do you say that I am?Peter volunteered to
answer the second question, saying: “You are the Christ of God." But
Jesus charged and commanded them to tell this to no one and predicted His
Passion and death.
Life messages: Let us experience Jesus as our Lord:
1) We experience Jesus as our personal Savior by listening to him through the
daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by talking to him through daily,
personal and family prayers, by offering him our lives on the altar in frequent
attendance at Holy Mass, by being reconciled with him every night, asking
pardon and forgiveness for our sins, and by receiving the Sacrament of
Reconciliation whenever we are in mortal sin.
2) The next step is the surrender of our lives to God by
rendering humble and loving service to Him in Himself and in everyone we
encounter because we are all, actually or potentially, adopted children of God
in whom He lives.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Lk 9:43b-45: The context: Coming down from
the mountain after His Transfiguration, Jesus healed an epileptic boy. Today’s
Gospel begins with the reaction of the crowds to this cure: “and all were
astonished at the majesty of God.” But Jesus uses this occasion of
high popularity to explain that, in order to reveal Jesus’ real majesty, “the
Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men."
Jesus’ least understood prediction: His coming suffering and
death: In fact, three times Jesus foretold his coming great suffering through
betrayal, rejection, and the punishment of a cruel death. The Apostles could
not take in the prophecies, partly because they were dreaming of a political
messiah in Jesus. Besides, Jesus had shown His Glory to three of them on the
mountain and had astounded everyone by instantly healing an epileptic boy whom
the Apostles could not heal. so plainly, no simply human force could even
slightly harm, let along kill, Jesus without Divine permission. In addition,
Jesus’ disciples were really frightened by such a prediction, perhaps fearing
the same fate for themselves. They may also have been ignorant of the “Suffering
Servant" prophecy of Isaiah, where the Messiah was pictured as making
atonement for sins through suffering and death. When Jesus called Himself the
"Son of Man," the Apostles probably got the impression of the
Messiah coming in glory as described by Daniel.
Life messages: 1) Jesus paid the ransom for our
sins with His blood, dying willingly on the cross, then, rising from the deadon
the third day, freed us from the tyranny of sin and death. Hence, it is our
duty to live and die as free children of God, released from all types of
slavery to sin, evil habits and addictions. We should ask Jesus for help in
carrying our daily crosses with Jesus’ own spirit of atonement for our sins and
those of others.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
