Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

Gospel: Matthew 7: 21-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Have you ever tasted a Sour Patch Kid? 

It’s a gummy candy covered in sugar. When you first chew it, a Sour Patch Kid tastes incredibly sour like a lemon. 

But the more you chew it, the sweeter it becomes.

***

That, to me, is an image of the Christian life.

It isn’t always easy to do the Lord’s will. In fact, sometimes Christ’s words can leave a very sour taste in our mouth. “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Turn the other cheek.”

But the more we follow him, the easier – the sweeter – his will becomes.

***

What might following the Lord look like concretely?

Telling the truth when it’s difficult… reaching into our pockets when there’s not much left… letting go of a grudge when we’d rather nurse it… forgiving someone who’s hurt us… Surrendering our future to Him.

This is the path of love.

***

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus says. “Only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

You might say, those who’ve developed a taste for Sour Patch Kids, trusting that the sour always becomes sweet.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Amazon.com (2) Sour Patch Kids (3) ThePreachersWord

***

Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Nearly every birth in the Bible is about the reaction of the parents as much as it is the destiny of the child.

Consider the difference between the Blessed Mother’s reaction to the angel Gabriel versus Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

Both Jesus and John the Baptist were conceived under the most unlikely circumstances, and both were foretold by the Angel Gabriel. Mary was a virgin and Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, was elderly and barren. 

While Mary believed what Gabriel proclaimed to her, Zechariah’s heart was clouded by doubt. “How can this be?” he questioned. “For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years!”

Zechariah didn’t believe in the impossible. So, he was struck mute until his child was born.

***

This lesson appears throughout the scriptures: God does the impossible. Yet how often are we like Zechariah? We question the Lord, favoring human logic over the power of the divine.

“Lord, time is running out. Will you answer me?” … “How can I carry this cross? My health is declining.” … “How can I climb this mountain before me? It looks daunting.”

I had similar thoughts before being ordained a priest. Although I felt undoubtedly called to ministry, the mission placed before me was intimidating. 

How could I share the Gospel effectively? How could I minister to the sick and the dying? How could I comfort their families? How could I reconcile souls with Christ? And, eventually, lead an entire parish?

Yet look at what the Lord has done with us and through us. 

***

Perhaps this is the word for us today. There are certain moments in life when, like Mary and Zechariah, we are all called to trust in God’s Providence, even what lies before us seems impossible. 

As the LORD says through the prophet Ezekiel, “I have spoken and I will do it.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) ACI Africa (2) Saint John the Baptist as a Child, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (3) Redbubble

***

Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine.”

***

There are a few phrases in the Gospels that can get lost in translation. This is one of them. 

Sometimes taking the Lord’s words out of context, or trying to impose our own meaning upon them, can be misleading.

So, what exactly does Jesus mean? 

Perhaps it’s best to pull his words back layer by layer.

***

We begin with opposing images: throwing what is sacred before dogs, and pearls before swine.

The Jews considered dogs and pigs to be unclean animals. Thus, an easy – and incorrect – interpretation of this passage might lead us to conclude that only Christ’s Jewish followers were the “holy” ones; the rest of humanity, the Gentiles, were like swine.

Defiled. Condemned.

But we know from later Gospel texts that this is not true. As the Lord himself says, “I have come that they [all of us] may have life in abundance” (John 10:10).

***

A deeper discernment of this text might lead us to consider that Jesus is not making a distinction between Gentiles and Jews, rather those who are holy versus those who are defiled within the Christian community.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but there will always be a “Judas” among us. The weeds will grow with the wheat until the Lord returns. Only then will his judgment upon the world be definitive, separating good from evil once and for all.

***

However, we might take Christ’s words even further. While it’s easy enough to distinguish between those who are “holy” versus those who are “unholy,” Christ’s words should provide a word of caution to us all.

As one Russian novelist wrote, “If only it were so easy, but the dividing line between good and evil cuts through every human heart.” There may be holy and unholy sides to us all.

May the Lord in his mercy come to our aid, removing from us that which does not serve him, making our soul like a shiny pearl, pure and blameless in his sight.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Merriam Webster (2) Turner Fine Art (3) Instagram