3rd Sunday Ordinary Year C
Photo from the St Stephen's Church, manhattan
The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
A group, highly established in their careers, got together to visit an oldteacher. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all had coffee in hand, the teacher said:” You will notice, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee in most cases, just more expensive; and in some cases, even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... and then began eyeing each other’s cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.” AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care. St Paul says in our readings today all the members of the body are important.
My dear brothers and sisters why I said this story is because we all received the same spirit of God when we are baptized and we all have the same mission of Jesus to follow. WE are all part of one body the Christ and the Church. What we can do with what we have and what we are no one else can do in this world, it may not be noteworthy, we may not be awarded or it will not get any news value or public attention but what we do only we can do as the members of one big family.
The synagogue service contained five parts. First, the "Shemá" was proclaimed: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; Numbers 15: 37-41). Secondly, The Prayer took place, which was comprised of eighteen blessings and petitions. Thirdly, there was a reading from the Torah or the Law. Then a reading took place from the Prophets, and finally, an explanation of the Scripture was a part of the synagogal liturgy which was concluded with the antiphonal chanting of a psalm. The second reading, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by anyone over thirty years of age. And here is exactly where Jesus finds Himself in this Sunday's Gospel passage.
The passage from the Prophet Isaiah that Jesus read is from chapter 61, verses 1 and 2. It has profound practical applications for our daily lives. Let us consider each part of the text. If Jesus were to have had a mission statement I think this is it.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor". The poor does not refer to a social class of people, but rather to an essential posture that all believers need to have in their relationship with God. Humility and total trust in God are necessary virtues for all those who call themselves believers.
"He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed...". Christ has come to free us from the blindness and domination of sin. Once again we are reminded of the importance of the Sacrament of Confession. When we participate in this awesome sacrament, we are freed from the power and darkness of evil and sin. To be held captive by sin is a tyranny far worse than any physical tyranny. A person can be physically imprisoned, yet still be spiritually free.
“Thomas a Kempis wrote in the spiritual classic, ‘The Imitation of Christ’ that: “Jesus has always many who love His heavenly Kingdom, but few who bear His cross. All desire to be happy with Him. Few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His Passion,”
Our second reading reminds us that we need not be someone we are not. Some of us are designed to hear, see, touch, smell, think and feel better than others. Yes, there are a variety of parts that make the whole. The message seems to be an invitation to use our parts and use them with integrity. St. Paul today tells us that we are all part of the same body, and that body is Christ.
None of us is to be considered less important than any other. No matter what my work, which I have chosen after careful consideration and thought, it is a work that no one else can do. Only I can do it. You cannot do it for me, nor can I do your life’s work for you. And each of us by that work will contribute to the happiness and good of each other. This is what makes our work, our labor so very special and so very important. And that is what we want to keep in our heart that we are important. WE are not good for nothing. I am special person unique in my nature and Important.
Think of this in a hospital setting. I go to the hospital to obtain assistance because of an illness. Every person in that hospital has a part to play in my recovery. And each one must contribute his or her talent, skill and expertise, if I am to return to good health. If any one of them fails, for whatever reason, to provide his so needed work, I will be set back. The doctor, the nurse, the technician, the radiologist, the aide, the clerk, the housekeeper, the maintenance man, the administrator and on and on, must add that effort that each of them, and only them, can bring as assistance to me.
None of us can complain that we are not important. Each of us is mightily important and needed. None of us need be jealous of other. I cannot do the work that you have been called to do. You cannot take up the work that God has called me to do. I need not envy you; you will find no profit in envying me. Each of us has been led down the path that will be ours and ours alone.
Be proud of your life, respect your life, live it to the full! You are a Very Important Person! You don’t need to act like what you are not. You are what you are and you have a special role to play.
Ask yourself…what part of the body of Christ am I…each of us is a part and a very important part. Am I Christ’s arms & hands – do I reach out to those in need? Am I the leg and foot …do I go where Christ is needed? Am I the eyes of Christ, do I see what is needed and act upon what I see? Am I the voice of Christ…do I unflinchingly proclaim God’s laws? Just what part of the body of Christ am I? Examine your gifts…are you putting your gifts to building up the kingdom of God? Or are you like the rich people who keep their possessions in the bank locker and die poor?
We can only do this if we let the loving Spirit of God touch our hearts, just as this Spirit is at the very center of Jesus’ heart. This Spirit sustained Jesus in his mission. We need God's spirit of love in our hearts if we are to sustain the hope and have the courage to continue Jesus’ mission today.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
A group, highly established in their careers, got together to visit an oldteacher. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all had coffee in hand, the teacher said:” You will notice, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee in most cases, just more expensive; and in some cases, even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... and then began eyeing each other’s cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.” AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care. St Paul says in our readings today all the members of the body are important.
My dear brothers and sisters why I said this story is because we all received the same spirit of God when we are baptized and we all have the same mission of Jesus to follow. WE are all part of one body the Christ and the Church. What we can do with what we have and what we are no one else can do in this world, it may not be noteworthy, we may not be awarded or it will not get any news value or public attention but what we do only we can do as the members of one big family.
The synagogue service contained five parts. First, the "Shemá" was proclaimed: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; Numbers 15: 37-41). Secondly, The Prayer took place, which was comprised of eighteen blessings and petitions. Thirdly, there was a reading from the Torah or the Law. Then a reading took place from the Prophets, and finally, an explanation of the Scripture was a part of the synagogal liturgy which was concluded with the antiphonal chanting of a psalm. The second reading, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by anyone over thirty years of age. And here is exactly where Jesus finds Himself in this Sunday's Gospel passage.
The passage from the Prophet Isaiah that Jesus read is from chapter 61, verses 1 and 2. It has profound practical applications for our daily lives. Let us consider each part of the text. If Jesus were to have had a mission statement I think this is it.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor". The poor does not refer to a social class of people, but rather to an essential posture that all believers need to have in their relationship with God. Humility and total trust in God are necessary virtues for all those who call themselves believers.
"He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed...". Christ has come to free us from the blindness and domination of sin. Once again we are reminded of the importance of the Sacrament of Confession. When we participate in this awesome sacrament, we are freed from the power and darkness of evil and sin. To be held captive by sin is a tyranny far worse than any physical tyranny. A person can be physically imprisoned, yet still be spiritually free.
“Thomas a Kempis wrote in the spiritual classic, ‘The Imitation of Christ’ that: “Jesus has always many who love His heavenly Kingdom, but few who bear His cross. All desire to be happy with Him. Few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His Passion,”
Our second reading reminds us that we need not be someone we are not. Some of us are designed to hear, see, touch, smell, think and feel better than others. Yes, there are a variety of parts that make the whole. The message seems to be an invitation to use our parts and use them with integrity. St. Paul today tells us that we are all part of the same body, and that body is Christ.
None of us is to be considered less important than any other. No matter what my work, which I have chosen after careful consideration and thought, it is a work that no one else can do. Only I can do it. You cannot do it for me, nor can I do your life’s work for you. And each of us by that work will contribute to the happiness and good of each other. This is what makes our work, our labor so very special and so very important. And that is what we want to keep in our heart that we are important. WE are not good for nothing. I am special person unique in my nature and Important.
Think of this in a hospital setting. I go to the hospital to obtain assistance because of an illness. Every person in that hospital has a part to play in my recovery. And each one must contribute his or her talent, skill and expertise, if I am to return to good health. If any one of them fails, for whatever reason, to provide his so needed work, I will be set back. The doctor, the nurse, the technician, the radiologist, the aide, the clerk, the housekeeper, the maintenance man, the administrator and on and on, must add that effort that each of them, and only them, can bring as assistance to me.
None of us can complain that we are not important. Each of us is mightily important and needed. None of us need be jealous of other. I cannot do the work that you have been called to do. You cannot take up the work that God has called me to do. I need not envy you; you will find no profit in envying me. Each of us has been led down the path that will be ours and ours alone.
Be proud of your life, respect your life, live it to the full! You are a Very Important Person! You don’t need to act like what you are not. You are what you are and you have a special role to play.
Ask yourself…what part of the body of Christ am I…each of us is a part and a very important part. Am I Christ’s arms & hands – do I reach out to those in need? Am I the leg and foot …do I go where Christ is needed? Am I the eyes of Christ, do I see what is needed and act upon what I see? Am I the voice of Christ…do I unflinchingly proclaim God’s laws? Just what part of the body of Christ am I? Examine your gifts…are you putting your gifts to building up the kingdom of God? Or are you like the rich people who keep their possessions in the bank locker and die poor?
We can only do this if we let the loving Spirit of God touch our hearts, just as this Spirit is at the very center of Jesus’ heart. This Spirit sustained Jesus in his mission. We need God's spirit of love in our hearts if we are to sustain the hope and have the courage to continue Jesus’ mission today.
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