Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:

    This people honors me with their lips,
        but their hearts are far from me;
    in vain do they worship me,
        teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
    Honor your father and your mother,
    and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.” 

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Jesus’ words were very scandalous at the time he spoke them, because he directly accused the scribes and Pharisees of being hypocrites; phonies.

To be a “hypocrite” originally referred to someone who wore a mask; an “actor on a stage.” 

Jesus applies the idea to the scribes and Pharisees, saying they’re no more than religious actors. 

Their entire practice of religion is like acting, because it’s not led to an inner transformation. 

On the contrary, vesting themselves in robes and filling their minds with laws only hardened their hearts, making them believe they were better than others.  

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Unfortunately, there always will be some who use religion as a cloak. They appear holy on the outside but are unchanged within.

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Certainly, we’re gathered here this morning because we want to know the Lord. We want to be holy. 

So, what does this Gospel have to do with us?

There’s always the temptation to become comfortable with religion, to reach a point where we no longer change within.

Perhaps our prayers have become rote; we say the words without attaching our hearts to them. Or we stop the Spirit from inching us out of our comfort zones. Or we slow our efforts at charity.

But religion is always meant to stretch us; to challenge us to love more, to serve longer, to pray harder, to live more humbly.

Resist becoming stagnant; allow the Spirit to stretch you today.

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Genesis 1: 1-19

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Then God said,
“Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.

Then God said,
“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome “the sky.”
Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.

Then God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear.” 
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land “the earth,”
and the basin of the water he called “the sea.”
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.”
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.

Then God said:
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,

and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth.”
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.

The Word of the Lord.

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We believe that when God speaks … something happens.

The Book of Genesis, the very first book of the bible, is centered around this idea. When God speaks, he creates the world.

 “Let there be light,” he says, and there is light.

“Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other,” and so it happened. The sky and the oceans were created.

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Later in the Book of Genesis, God begins speaking to human beings.

He invites Abraham to follow him. “Walk in my presence,” the Lord says, “and your descendants will be as numberless as the stars.”

Although Abraham was once childless, today half of the world – some 3 billion people – call him their father in faith.

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In the Gospels, Jesus speaks, and demons are cast out; stormy waters are stilled; sins are forgiven.

Then, during his final night on earth, Jesus takes a piece of bread and says, “This is my Body…this is my Blood.”

Jesus speaks…and feeds the world with his very Self.

The same is true in confession. Through a priest, the Lord says, “Ego te absolvo;” I absolve you. Your sins are forgiven.

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Whenever God speaks, something happens. This was true from the foundation of the world. The same Lord who said, “Let there be light,” speaks to our hearts today.

I wonder, what might he be saying?

Be still and listen.

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Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left 
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an old saying, “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.”

We might say by extension, “Show me your schedule and I’ll tell you what your priorities are.”

So, how do you spend your day?

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In the first chapter of his Gospel, Mark gives us a day in the life of Jesus.

Last Sunday, we heard the account of Jesus performing his first public miracle, casting an unclean spirit out of a man in the synagogue. We might’ve wondered why a man with an unclean spirit was present in a sacred place. 

But in healing this man, Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God begins to grow in people like him; people who, though imperfect, believe that God has the power to act in their lives.

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Immediately after leaving the synagogue, Jesus enters the house of Simon Peter.

Here – inside people’s homes – Jesus performs many of his miracles, serving as a reminder that, like church, homes are sacred places.

There’s something sacred about seeing your siblings, spouse, parents, and children gathered around the dinner table, or even sitting together on the couch watching Netflix. 

Time spent as a family is never time wasted.

Jesus himself spent ninety percent of his life at home, only spending his final three years in ministry.

Perhaps this is why he chose to perform his second miracle inside a home, to remind us that homes are like a domestic church.

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Inside Simon Peter’s home, his mother-in-law is deathly ill. So, Jesus goes to her, touches her hand, and “raises” her up. 

This same verb “to raise up,” will later be used to describe Jesus’ own resurrection, a reminder that Jesus hasn’t come simply to cast out fevers; he’s come to open the gates to eternal life.

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The fact that Jesus touches this woman’s hand also reminds us of the healing nature of human touch. 

Throughout his ministry, Jesus heals people by touching them.

He touches a blind man’s eyes and the rotting skin of a leper; he puts his finger into a deaf man’s ear and places his hand on the coffin of a widow’s son, bringing him back to life.

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So far, we’ve seen Jesus in the synagogue and in Simon Peter’s home.

Wrapping up this account, we find Jesus in one final spot – a deserted place before dawn, where he’s gone off to pray.

Although he’s spoken with authority, cast out an unclean spirit, and healed a woman who was deathly ill, we now find Jesus in the early hours of the morning acting like any ordinary person, seeking guidance from his Father. 

Christ, the King of the Universe, is no different from us in that regard; he, too, needed time to pray, to rest, to recuperate. 

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Prayer is essential to sustaining our spiritual lives.

And Jesus shows us that often we must do it before our day begins. Otherwise, our time is consumed by the commitments, stress, and anxiety of daily life. 

I wonder how much time do we spend in prayer like Jesus? Do we rise before dawn? Find time late at night? Or do we miss it all together?

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Consider the fruit of Christ’s prayer. 

After performing amazing deeds in Simon Peter’s hometown, Jesus chooses to move on. Surely, he was tempted to stay. People loved him!

As the Gospel tells us, the disciples literally “hunted” for him while he was off praying.

But that’s all Jesus was meant to do – plant a seed of hope in the hearts of those he healed.

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Sometimes that’s all we can do with our day – and even our lives – plant a seed. 

Parents plant seeds in the hearts of their children; they instruct them, nurture them, and shower them with love.

But eventually, they must let them go – off to college, off to get married, off to start a life of their own.

Friends and relatives plant seeds in the hearts of loved ones – speaking words of affirmation, offering advice, a shoulder to cry on, or a much needed hug. 

Priests plant seeds of hope in the lives of their parishioners but aren’t always privileged to see the fruit.

In the coming months, I hope we all strive to plant seeds of faith, inviting people back to gathering as a community for Mass. That’s all we can do, invite them; God will watch over the growth. 

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“Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.” 

By extension, “Show me your schedule and I’ll tell you what your priorities are.”

May our priorities be like Jesus’, who spent time at home; in the synagogue; in prayer; and planting seeds in the hearts of others.

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