Mark 12: 18-27 He is not God of the Dead, but the Living

It is easy to get caught-up in today's Gospel in the passage about the woman and her multiple husbands who die leaving her childless, and the Sadducees asking, whose wife is she?  Perhaps we have all wondered about heaven and the way it is portrayed, wondering the same thing.

Jesus cautions us to not become misled: that we know the scriptures and we know the power of God.  "Our God is not God of the Dead, but the Living."  May we take comfort in that.  Wherever we go and have breath, our God is with us.  Jesus tells us elsewhere, "I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die." 

If we live in Christ, in the Way, which is the path to eternal life, we shall never have to die.  How difficult is it?  When we focus on the temporal world, like wondering whose wife the woman will be when she gets to heaven, that is focusing on the world around us.  We are given St. Paul as an example to us to live in Christ, to be fully alive and focused on the next world.  This does not mean that he lived in the next world only, no, but that he was grounded in the next and it helped him get through the tough times in this world when he was persecuted, had to travel, worked long days, had to give talks in front of strangers, had to mediate in disagreements between friends, had disagreements with the administration of the church, etc.  He kept his focus on our living God, encouraging us all to do the same.  He wrote:

"For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God."

"He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel.."(2 Tim 1:6-12)

John 17:11B-19 Consecrated in Truth

These words that Jesus speaks today remind us of our priests who speak to God the Father upon the altar, and thus are known as Jesus' "high priestly prayer" as he speaks to the Father on our behalf, offering us up with himself, so that we may be in union with him and the Father.  It is what our dear priests do at every mass during when they call down God and lift us and our prayers up during the sacrifice of the mass. 

“Holy Father, keep them in your name" is a line that marks us as a people of God, set aside and anointed.  Jesus asks that we be consecrated in the truth by the Father.  "Your word is truth." he acknowledges.  Through God's word we are made holy.  Through Christ, the Word, we are made holy.  Let us rejoice and be glad! 

John 15:26-16:4 A Feast of St. Athanasius

Can we testify to the Lord?  Are we willing to share our faith with others through word and deed?  In working with Confirmanti on their Confirmation retreat they were asked, "What comes next?  Are you going to keep practicing your faith, or are you going to stop attending church and do other things?"  The kids were kind of shocked by the question.  They had the choice??  Then they started wondering what the catch was.  They were in charge of their faith, not their parents.  They were beginning to understand. 

As newly confirmed people, how did they plan on nurturing their faith?  This took more discussion and self reflection.  What did they need to continue to grow spiritually?  How could they grow spiritually?  In the course of discussion forgiveness came-up.  Different types of situations needed deeper forgiveness, some situations, like murder, they were unsure that they could ever forgive.  St. Paul was mentioned and the great forgiveness that Ananias had only through the help of the Holy Spirit in order to forgive Paul and to heal him.  The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper, is needed daily in inspiring us to love and forgive and heal.  Wow, sounds like Christ.  The Spirit is here to help us carry on Christ's work. 

In their written reflections, how did they decide they could be nourished in their faith?  By continuing to receive Christ in the Eucharist and Gospels at mass; through sharing their faith with others, especially their younger siblings and to those random strangers who asked them questions about their faith, they would try their best; they would continue to honor their parents and families with love; they would try to live their lives as good people and in doing so, hopefully the Spirit would walk with them and they could be a light to others.  They are a great group of kids.  Our kids are the future of our church.  May God bless them and guide them on right paths. Amen.

John 14:7-14 Whomever has seen me has seen the Father.

In today's Gospel, there is a line, "Show us the Father."  It reminds me of when people say, "Show me the money!"  There is so much doubt and perhaps annoyance in it.  Jesus is challenging Philip and us to look at the entire situation differently than originally perceived.  Philip followed Jesus for a long time, Jesus tells us, but still Jesus is shaking his head at him and asking how Philip could still not know him. 

We live sometimes in the moment, that words spoken seem more important than the actions or rhythmic pattern of one's life, but Jesus is arresting Philip's attention, and basically saying, hey, look deeper into what you know is true, not because I said it, but because I have said it and lived it;  You know that it isn't me, but the one who sent me who is beckoning to you to come follow me to him. 

"The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own."  Just as when we proclaim Jesus's words, we are in him and him in us because through our imitation of him, we have become an extention of him, so too are his word's the Father's and so the Father is in him and he in the Father because he is an extention of the Father.  So really, when we do good works, and proclaim the Kingdom, we are an extention of the Father through Christ, and we know the Father is with us.  This is what Jesus explains to Philip.  Jesus says that he will help Philip with anything because of that, just as he will help us.     

Luke 11: 14-23 A House Divided Cannot Stand

In ministry to the homebound many types of family behaviors has been witnessed.  Most of the time families work together to help the member in need.  There was once a family with many siblings.  While their mother was healthy they squabbled and fought for years.  There would be jabs about what the were going to take when their mother passed away.  They were open about wanting to move away from each other as soon as their mom was dead.  Their mother was grieved to no end. It disappointed the grandchildren and great grandchildren. They were asked many times by different people to stop. 

In today's first reading we hear about how the Israelites knew how they should act, but chose not to.  Instead they fought, fell into bad habits, and those habits turned into sin leading them away from God.  Because they had turned away from God, the word of God had vanished from their midst. How similar this is to the family mentioned above where their petty rivalries and jealousy turned their hearts away from what was good toward selfishness and evil habits. 

Jesus drives out demons though.  He is the word of God.  He came to be with is, to proclaim the kingdom, to bring healing and life.  The religious leaders of his time were suspicious.  How could good overcome evil so easily and drive it away?  They thought surely he must be in league with the demons for them to do what he says.  Here's the catch Jesus gives us, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself,  how will his kingdom stand?...But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you." 

Just as Jesus foretold that a house divided cannot stand, that family that was divided was being torn apart being held together with only loyalty to their mother and nothing else.  However by some divine merciful grace when their mother's heart began to fail and she needed full time care, they came together in a way that they had never done so before.  The home is filled with love and concern, with adult brothers and sisters looking not only after their mother, but each other with love and compassion, and consideration for each other's thoughts and feelings.  They are one example of this idea, this living Gospel, that a house divided will fall, but with God, it will stand strong in his grace.