Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Lord encourages each of us to have that proactive spirit of the shepherd in today’s Gospel.
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It’s not the shepherd’s fault that his sheep wandered off. It wandered off on its own.
But this separation affected both of them, so the shepherd does something about it, traveling over mountains, through valleys, into the night, not stopping until he finds his sheep.
And when he does, he doesn’t break its legs, preventing it from running off again. He joyfully places it on his shoulders, gladly rejoining it to his flock.
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Like the shepherd, at times we can all become distant or separated from someone we love.
Maybe it was a heated argument, a death in the family, or a bruised ego.
Perhaps it was nothing intentional; life gets busy. Maybe we lost contact through the slow saw of time.
The last thing we should do is wait for the other person to reach out, because separation affects both parties.
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So, when possible, be proactive like the shepherd. Search until you find them.
If reconciliation isn’t possible, make the effort not to carry any negativity in your own heart. Rather, pray that Jesus, the supreme shepherd, would soften their heart making reconciliation possible someday.
“For it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost,” he says.
Rather, God desires harmony amongst all of his children, and he will not stop trying until his will is done.
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Image credits: (1) DailyVerses.net (2) Jesus Christ as Shepherd Embracing Lamb in Rocks, Melani Pyke, Fine Art America (3) Community Tool Box, The University of Kansas
One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Many of you know that, over the course of my priestly ministry, I’ve witnessed a number of miraculous healings through the Anointing of the Sick.
Several people have literally come back from the dead. A nine-year-old boy was going blind and regained his sight. A woman’s lungs were deteriorating and were suddenly restored.
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Often, I read this Gospel passage prior to administering the Sacrament to remind people of two things: Jesus, can in fact bring physical healing to people, but this is not what is foremost in his heart.
What matters to the Lord more than the physical state of our bodies is the state of our soul.
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In today’s Gospel, a paralyzed man is brought to the feet of Jesus by his friends. The Gospel stresses that he was paralyzed. Not that he was a “sinner,” but “paralyzed.” It’s why his friends went to such great lengths to bring him to Jesus.
They literally pull him on a stretcher onto a neighbor’s roof, rip the thatched roof open, and lower him down to the feet of the Lord.
But the Lord just looks at him as he’s lying on the floor and says first, not, “Rise and walk.” But, “Your sins are forgiven.”
What Jesus sees first is not what everyone else sees. The crowd sees a man with paralysis. Jesus sees a soul in need of salvation.
But in order for them to believe that he can, in fact, save this man, Jesus says to him, “Your sins are forgiven…now rise and walk.”
The physical healing taught people that Jesus could do something greater – forgive sins and save souls.
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It’s easy for us to get caught up in the physical world – the state of our bodies, the state of our finances, the trajectory of our career, our image, and so on. But what matters to the Lord more than anything is the state of our soul.
Tomorrow evening at 7 pm each of us has the opportunity to experience a miracle we all need on occasion, the renewal our spiritual lives through another Sacrament, confession. Allow the Lord to say to you what he said to this man, “Your sins are forgiven…Now rise and walk.”
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Image credits: (1) I Need a Miracle, Oak Hill Church (2) What Should Doctors Do When We Experience a Miracle? Opinion, NYTimes (3) Conditions for a Miracle, Kairos Ministries
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Many of us came to church this morning thinking, “Yay! We’re three weeks away from Christmas!” I imagine children skipping gleefully into church, believing that Santa’s going to deliver some goodies!
Others walked into church humming “Jingle Bells,” or singing along to, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” in their head.
We settle in for the Scripture readings and then, BAM! The words of John the Baptist hit us, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
Part of me wants to say, “Mr. Baptist, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Did you not get the memo? We’re all excited. Christmas is only three weeks away.”
Are John’s words out of touch with the Christmas season? Or is there something we can take away from his message?
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John was a prophet. He was the final figure to foretell the coming of the Lord. In fact, he and Jesus go way back; they were cousins!
But now John’s mission and ministry are coming to a climax. He’s living in the desert, wearing a shirt made of camel’s hair and eating bugs. He’s preaching fire and brimstone … and people love it.
Crowds are drawn to him by the hundreds, even thousands. What was it about him that drew so many? What’s hidden in his words that can still speak to us today?
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John’s teachings in today’s Gospel center around the importance of baptism. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,” he says, “but the one who is coming after me [Jesus] is mightier than I… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John does not prevent anyone from being baptized, not even the scribes and Pharisees. But he warns them that their baptism must lead to bearing good fruit.
We might say, baptism is to the Christian life what a wedding is to marriage. A wedding is only the beginning of marriage. There are years – even decades – of life to follow.
Throughout the course of a marriage, couples must learn how to be faithful, fruitful, how to listen, forgive, love, serve, and so on.
The same is true in the Christian life. Baptism is only the first day of our Christian journey, not the last. We receive the Holy Spirit, but then we must do something about it.
In a sense, learn how to be a Christian.
So, in what ways are we living out the call of our baptism? How are we living as Christians and bearing good fruit?
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Allow me to offer a few concrete examples I’ve seen here in our parish.
Last week, we had 30 students from our youth group spend their weekend baking, then selling cookies in order to raise funds for Christmas. Next week, they’ll go to Target to personally select gifts for their underprivileged peers, people whom they’ve never met.
An act of love in response to their baptism.
Over the last several months, we’ve donated to causes like supporting refugees in Ukraine and the Little Sisters of the Poor in nearby Totowa. Dozens of you volunteer for the Soup Kitchen and / or bake for our SPX Café.
Others serve on staff or participate in ministry, like the Knights of Columbus who decorated our church this weekend.
John the Baptist tells us to, “Produce good fruit.” And we can say, unequivocally, we are.
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The second lesson from John is to stand out. Sometimes, we’d rather just blend in. But followers of Christ stand out.
In John’s case, he lives in the desert, wears penitential clothing, lives on a meager diet, preaches, and baptizes.
How do we stand out? How do people know we believe in Jesus?
One example I’ve seen is courage.
A number of you have invited family, friends, former parishioners, and colleagues to, “Come and see!” This parish has grown by 100 families in two years for many reasons. One of them is because you stand out. You say to others, “Come and see!”
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We’re only three weeks away from Christmas. While John the Baptist’s words might come as unexpected to us, he reaffirms why we celebrate. Our Lord is coming… and we are ready.
We love him. We serve him. We stand out.
Come and see!
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Image credits: (1) The Christ Child and the Infant John the Baptist with a Shell, Bartolome Esteban Murillo (2) John the Baptist, Lynda Miller Baker (3) St. Maria Goretti, New Orleans
