Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 18: 1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
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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Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel deals with Christian ethics. Jesus tells us how we are to behave in this world, using two images – both of which should give us pause. He uses the image of a child and a sheep.

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“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven,” he says.

I think as we age, it’s easier for us to become pessimistic when we look at the state of our world today. Perhaps it hasn’t come together as purely as we had hoped or imagined as children.

Jesus tells us we have to “turn,” or perhaps return, to the innocence that once was. Just as when we were kids, we trusted our parents implicitly; we were arrestingly honest and humble. The Lord asks for the type of trusting spirit from us today.

There’s an added layer of responsibility here – not only to be humble and innocent, but also to, “not cause one of these little ones to sin.” As we age, we must remain wary of our hearts, minds, and tongues, taking care not to cause scandal to the innocent.

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Secondly, we are to see ourselves like sheep.

Sheep have a natural herding mentality. They cannot survive on their own. Yet as we age, we can find it easier to remain by ourselves, doing things on our own, pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

I see this often with the elderly – the refusal to ask for help; the reluctance to use a walker or cane; a type of ego that separates us from reality and from our community.

A more mature version of a sheep is to become a shepherd – one who leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one who is lost. You and I should never think in terms of crowds, or become obsessed with a spirituality of numbers; rather, think in terms of individuals.

Every soul is a child of God who, if lost, must be found.

Do I have the innocence of a child, trusting the Lord in all his ways? Do I have the heart of a shepherd, seeking the lost until they are found?

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The childlike and the shepherds, these are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

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Image credits: (1) Westerville FWB Church, YouTube (2) Adobe stock (3) Apologia

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Gospel: Matthew 17: 22-27

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,
Jesus said to them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”
And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum,
the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,
“Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes,” he said. 
When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,
Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?
From their subjects or from foreigners?”
When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him,
“Then the subjects are exempt.
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,
and take the first fish that comes up. 
Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The disciples just heard the greatest news ever told: “The Son of Man… will be raised on the third day.”

Death will lose its sting!

Yet, “They were overwhelmed with grief.”

It seems the disciples stopped listening to Jesus after he said the word, “death.” They couldn’t see beyond it. The good news of the resurrection seemed too distant; uncertain; beyond their understanding. 

What they did understand was the “d” word, death. 

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Jesus wasn’t blind to their incredulity. He saw their saddened faces; he watched them mope around, kicking their sandals into the dirt, digesting the news.

But he continues towards Jerusalem – towards his cross – anyways. In spite of his death, he will not leave them “orphans.” After the resurrection, the Lord will appear to them for forty days and forty nights, convincing them he’s alive again.

Then he sends forth his Spirit to teach and guide them at Pentecost.

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Often, we react the same way the disciples did when bad news comes our way.

We lose our job; we’re rejected by our top college; a relationship ends; a loved one returns to the Lord.

It seems like the world is ending. We mope, question, become weighed down in sadness.

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But remember the resurrection. 

With God on our side, there is always life after “death” – life after heartache or tragedy.

This is what faith is all about – trusting that God will always bring light out of darkness. As Saint Paul says, “All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

If you find yourself in a difficult place, call upon the Lord who will not abandon you; rather, he will fill you with every heavenly grace and blessing.

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Image credits: (1) Dave DeSelm Ministries (2) The Kingdom @ Glandore-Underdale (3) Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

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Gospel: John 6: 41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
“I am the bread that came down from heaven, “
and they said,
“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? 
Do we not know his father and mother? 
Then how can he say,
‘I have come down from heaven’?” 
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Stop murmuring among yourselves. 
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day. 
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life. 
I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I had dinner with a married couple from our parish this week. During the course of our conversation, I learned that both are avid readers. One prefers mystery or history books, while the other enjoys fictional tales that carry you to another place.

One of the best-selling fiction novels of all time is J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Maybe you’ve heard of it, or even read it, too.

The Lord of the Rings is a story about Frodo, an unlikely hero, who fights against the Satan-like figure, Sauron, who is seeking to rule Middle Earth. 

Along his journey, Frodo travels through the land of shadows – a place filled with demons, orcs, and giant spiders.

Key to Frodo’s survival is lembas, or elf-bread. Each loaf of bread is flat and slightly sweet, providing Frodo with enough nourishment for a day. Interestingly enough, while he depends upon it, evil is repulsed by it.

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Can you see a connection here to today’s Gospel?

Bread as food for the journey; bread that nourishes; bread that repulses evil.

Some might be surprised to know that Tolkien was a devout Catholic. But any reader with a working knowledge of our faith could easily conclude: lembas serves as the Eucharist of this mythological place called Middle Earth.

Just as Frodo depended upon lembas for his survival, so Tolkien depended upon the Eucharist to sustain his spiritual life. As he once wrote in a letter to his son, Michael:

“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, and fidelity… which every man’s heart desires.”

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Tolkien saw – and believed – what the Lord is attempting to teach the crowds in today’s Gospel: that Jesus is the Bread of Life.

“I am the bread that came down from heaven,” he says. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

This is the climax of Christ’s teaching in John’s Gospel – and, perhaps, the hardest truth for us to understand. Whoever receives the Eucharist receives Christ himself.

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How does the crowd respond to such a gift? 

They “murmur” amongst themselves. To “murmur,” literally means to, “disagree with; dislike.” Now that Christ has revealed his true identity and mission, the crowds find him offensive.

“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?” they question. “Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’ … How can he give us his flesh to eat?”

The crowds are not wrong to question such a bold claim; no one else has ever promised to do what Jesus is saying. However, they make one significant mistake. 

The crowds think that both of Jesus’ parents are human. But only one of them is human – his mother, Mary. His Father is divine, which leads to yet another difficult truth to grasp: Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Mary.

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This same verb, “murmur” is used to describe the reaction of the Israelites in the desert 1500 years prior, when God tells them he’ll satisfy their hunger by sending them manna, bread from heaven.

When the manna appears, the Israelites respond, “What is this? Would that we had died in Egypt!” Disgruntled, they preferred exotic Egyptian delicacies to this strange desert food.

Yet like lembas in Lord of the Rings, the manna was enough to sustain them on their forty-year journey.

In both cases, the crowds in today’s Gospel and their ancestors in the desert are given “bread from heaven,” but they “murmur.” 

They disagree with it; dislike it.

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What is our own reaction to Christ’s teaching in today’s Gospel? 

“I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Do we “murmur” at such a claim? Do we question it? Or do we respond faithfully in awe, saying, “amen?”

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Just as Tolkien saw and believed, may we accept Jesus for who he is: the “bread come down from heaven.”

Lembas.

Food for the journey.

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Image credits: (1) Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (2) Lord of the Rings, Raven Fox (3) WCU Catholic Campus Ministry