Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Luke 11: 14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Auto-immune diseases, such as type-1 diabetes and arthritis, confuse the body’s natural defense system so that the body can no longer tell the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy cell. 

As a result, normal cells are mistaken for a threat, causing the body to attack itself.

An otherwise healthy human body becomes like a “house divided,” causing unnecessary pain, even to an excruciating level.

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When we gaze across the world of politics, culture, and religion, we can see a similar phenomenon unfolding in our own country today.

At times, a baptized person is not seen as a fellow Christian (or even as an American), but as “pro-this” or “anti-that.” We begin fighting amongst ourselves, frustrating the unity of Christ’s body here on earth.

We should remember that the Lord prayed during his final night on earth, “That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”

While we may have our differences, there’s one thing that should transcend it all – our love for Jesus Christ, who is present in our neighbor… even the one who gets underneath our skin.

In what ways do we build up the body of Christ on earth? Conversely, how might we play into the “autoimmune mentality”? 

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“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste,” Jesus warns. 

May we do our part to strengthen the unity of God’s kingdom present here on earth, by treating one another with fairness, respect, and dare we say love. 

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Image credits: (1) Church Sermon Series Ideas (2) Managed Healthcare Executive (3) M. Wiley Wilson, WordPress

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Gospel: Matthew 5: 17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Dorothy Day was a social activist who became a Catholic after giving birth to her first child. 

Holding her newborn tenderly against her chest, she realized there had to be Someone to thank for the gift of life.

But Day not only came to believe in God’s existence; she also conformed her life to that belief, deciding to live above a soup kitchen in New York City for the next several decades, serving the poorest of the poor.

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Most people wouldn’t jump at the chance to call a soup kitchen “home.”

But Day made it her mission to serve others, because she understood that the same God who created her child was the author of every life, making all humans equally deserving of love.

As she once wrote, “Christians are commanded to live in a way that doesn’t make sense … unless God exists.”

Like Day, how is the love of Christ enfleshed in me? 

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This is how we fulfill the Law as Jesus proclaims it in today’s Gospel – by loving God with all of our heart and our neighbor, even the poorest among us, as ourselves.

You might say, by living in a way that doesn’t make sense… 

Unless God exists.

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Image credits: (1) Dreaming Dreams Trilogy (2) FaithLife Ministries (3) Episcopal Relief and Development

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Gospel: Matthew 18: 21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s parable on forgiveness, unique to Saint Matthew, creates a fascinating blend between the fear of punishment and the experience of gratitude. 

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Imagine Saint Peter cautiously approaching Jesus. The good news / bad news is that Peter has another question. He’s held onto it as long as he can. Afraid of how Jesus might answer – and rightly so – Peter swallows the lump in his throat and asks:

“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter didn’t just pick a number; seven was considered the outward limit of generosity.

“I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times,” Jesus says. Meaning, without limit.

I’d imagine Peter looked down at the ground, shuffled his feet, slid his hands back into his pockets, and exhaled exasperated, thinking to himself, “Well, that’s simply impossible.”

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Peter has yet to learn the inner dynamics of forgiveness. So, Jesus tells him a parable about a king whose servants were subject to his authority. One of the king’s servants owed him an incredible amount of money – a debt so large the man could’ve never repaid it.

Because of his compassion, the king released the man from his debt. But when the man got home, he then choked someone else who owed him a much smaller debt – pennies on the dollar. When word got back to the king, he was enraged, and punished the man severely.

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Clearly in the parable, God is the king and we are his subjects. Because the Lord forgives us of our every trespass, he expects us to extend the same kindness towards others. But this begs the question, “Why is it so difficult for us to forgive others?”

While there may be a variety of reasons, perhaps one is this – we have not genuinely felt forgiven by God. Whether we fail to understand the weight of our sin, or feel encumbered by guilt or shame, God’s forgiveness can feel elusive. Too good to be true.

Only those who’ve experienced the inner freedom, this fruit of grace, can extend it to others. Do I often feel forgiven by God? Or does that feeling remain elusive to me?

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May we forgive from our heart, lest we forfeit God’s own forgiveness towards us.

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Image credits: (1) Anglican Life (2) Perishable Items, WordPress (3) Lisa’s Daily Inspirations