Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 4: 18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father 
and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I’m sure we all have a favorite portrait or frame hanging in our home.

Mine is a picture of Jesus. It hangs in my living room. I see it every time I walk in through the front door.

Think of your favorite picture. Why did you choose it? Where does it hang? What does it depict?

Surely something about that picture provokes a memory, a thought, or an emotion, much as my picture of Jesus provokes love out of me.

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One thing we probably never think about is the nail behind the picture. Once it goes into the wall and latches onto the frame, it’s no longer visible. So, we forget about it.

But without that nail, your picture would never hang. It’d slide down the wall, shattering the glass on the ground.

Nails serve two purposes: to bring two separate objects together – in this case, a picture to a wall – and to provide enduring support, holding the frame up.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle. Think of Andrew like a nail. His purpose was to bring people to Jesus, then to provide them with enduring support.

In fact, Andrew introduces more people to Jesus in the Gospels than anyone else.

In his zeal for souls, he provides a model for every Christian to follow.

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Like Andrew, how do I connect souls with Christ? And how do I offer them enduring support?

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Saint Andrew, the great connector, pray for us!

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Image credits: (1) Duccio di Buoninsegna (2) Popular Mechanics, How to Hang a Picture (3) Let Me Introduce You to Jesus, Devotional Reading Plan

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Isaiah 11: 1 – 10

On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.

On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

The Word of the Lord.

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We are constantly reminded in scripture that God does the impossible.

When darkness seems overwhelming, suddenly a light appears.

When hope is nearly lost, a door is opened.

Or, using the imagery from our first reading, when a tree is cut down to its roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms.

Life continues.

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These words come from the prophet Isaiah while Israel is living in exile. Their land has been invaded, their homes destroyed, their king dethroned.

As the Psalmist cries out, “You have rejected and spurned… your anointed… You have hurled down his throne to the ground… How long, O LORD?” (Psalm 89). 

Israel has been cut down like a tree to its stump. 

But the Lord promises them, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Life will continue. A king will come, ushering in divine justice and everlasting peace.

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We see this promise fulfilled in Jesus, the king and ruler of all. When God takes on flesh, he does the “impossible.”

And when nailed to a tree and placed in a tomb, he does the impossible again, rising from the dead.

Time and time again, when God’s people are cut down to their roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. Life continues.

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What’s the “stump” in my own life? What part of me seems cut down, in need of new life?

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Advent is the time for us to renew our faith in the Lord, that whenever we feel reduced to our roots, a shoot shall sprout, a bud shall blossom.

Life continues.

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Image credits: (1) www.apcwv.com (2) Babylonian Captivity, www.bookofdaystales.com (3) The Jesse Tree, Jesse Tree Devotional

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Gospel: Matthew 8: 5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”  
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”  
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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As we enter into this holiday season, each of us should have the spirit of the centurion in today’s Gospel.

Centurions were not Jews. They were Gentile officers in the Roman army who were proven soldiers, each in charge of 100 men. They were powerful and often wealthy.

Why is this centurion important? What makes him a “Christmas figure,” someone who’s example we should follow?

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He goes out of his way to care for the poor and forgotten. 

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Back in his home, one of his servants lay sick in bed. It would’ve been common practice to let the person die; servants had no legal rights. They were considered disposable by society.

But this centurion goes to great lengths, pleading before the Lord on his servant’s behalf. And once Jesus agrees to visit, the centurion makes a beautiful profession of faith.

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant shall be healed.”

Jesus was literally “amazed” by his compassion and display of faith. In fact, it’s the only time in Matthew’s Gospel when the word, “amazed,” is used.

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What might this centurion’s example say to us?

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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be occupied with mental checklists, cooking, shopping, writing Christmas cards, and tidying up our homes, preparing for visitors.

But, like the centurion, do not forget the “sick” – the poor, the forgotten, the bedridden, the neighbor without visitors, the extended family member in a nursing home, the teenager who seems lost in their phone.

We should go out of our way to care for those whom society often forgets. Whatever we do to the least of these, our brothers and sisters, we do to Jesus.

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Image credits: (1) Lavarijewelers.com (2) Christ Healing the Centurion’s Servant, Bernardo Castello (3) Trinity Church, Vancouver, Simon Pettit