philemon 7-20
Today we encounter st paul's letter to Philemon. The jist of the letter revolves around Onesimus, a runaway slave who may have stolen from his owner on his way out. Of course, his owner is probably Philemon.
Something happens. This useless runaway slave encounters Paul and thus encounters Christ. Their is a conversion. As St Paul states clearly in the letter, "I urge you on behalf of my son Onesimus, who's feather I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me"
It should be noted that Christianity has the power to make bad men good. There is and must be room for improvement in everyone if we look upon them with the eyes of God. We cannot give up on anyone, for God gives up on no one.
Paul was now sending Onesimus back to where he came from perhaps to make amends and set things right.
Paul wasn't helping Onesimus to escape his past but rather to confront it and rise above it. Christianity is about conquest. We do not shirk our responsibility but rather we meet head on. Confrontation is important. There is need to bring things up and to flush things out and to urn things around.
Christianity demands we get our hands dirty.
The one thing that is striking about the letter is that Paul is not leaning on his authority as an apostles. He isn't making demands from the authority point of view but rather he is addressing Philemon on a much deeper level, the level of love and mutual respect.
Then Paul leaves off with this simple request, "refresh my heart in Christ."
What a beautiful sentiment.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
NEWNESS
Titus 3:1-7; Ps 23; Luke 17:11-19
Here are few words from Pope Francis, "newness often makes us fearful, including the newness God brings us, the newness God asks of us...let us not be closed to the newness of God wants to bring into our lives..."
This newness is exactly what St Paul is describing in his letter to Titus, "for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared..."
But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared. Here is the newness that transforms. Here is the newness that reeks havoc with our old selves. Here is the newness that brings freshness into our lives.
The more we open to the kindness and generous love of God in our savior the more our lives take on a new direction, a quicker step, a more lively rhythm as w journey forth.
This newness with a power to transform is captured by the lepers in the gospel for today. They approach Jesus with a willingness to receive and in this attitude they find themselves transformed. Yet, the newness is lost on all but 1. Ten lepers experience God's kind an generous love and yet only one is aware of the newness that illumines their life.
How sad! How sad to be so enriched by the newness of Christ and yet never bother to acknowledge it. This is the sad reality of most of us. We have all benefited from God's kind an generous love but how many of us actual live that newness daily in our life.
Today ponder the newness God wants to bring in to your life? How do we welcome it? How do we close ourselves off to it? Often times it comes in disguised or disfigured realities? Look again!
Here are few words from Pope Francis, "newness often makes us fearful, including the newness God brings us, the newness God asks of us...let us not be closed to the newness of God wants to bring into our lives..."
This newness is exactly what St Paul is describing in his letter to Titus, "for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared..."
But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared. Here is the newness that transforms. Here is the newness that reeks havoc with our old selves. Here is the newness that brings freshness into our lives.
The more we open to the kindness and generous love of God in our savior the more our lives take on a new direction, a quicker step, a more lively rhythm as w journey forth.
This newness with a power to transform is captured by the lepers in the gospel for today. They approach Jesus with a willingness to receive and in this attitude they find themselves transformed. Yet, the newness is lost on all but 1. Ten lepers experience God's kind an generous love and yet only one is aware of the newness that illumines their life.
How sad! How sad to be so enriched by the newness of Christ and yet never bother to acknowledge it. This is the sad reality of most of us. We have all benefited from God's kind an generous love but how many of us actual live that newness daily in our life.
Today ponder the newness God wants to bring in to your life? How do we welcome it? How do we close ourselves off to it? Often times it comes in disguised or disfigured realities? Look again!
Monday, November 10, 2014
DEATH
This week I started a series of homilies on the last four things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and hell.
I will start with Death. Over the past two and half weeks I have presided at 9 funerals. I have been thinking a lot about death as I visit with the families and bless the bodies of love ones and fulfill the rite of burial.
The ages of the persons who have experienced death range from 2 months old to 92 years old. The ages in between are 31, 40, 42, 54, 62, 64, 91. It has been quite an experience for the community. In particular the deaths of the young persons have stuck a chord with many. In the prime of their life they were called from this world.
Unfortunately, death is often surprising and shocking to us especially if a young person dies. In large part because we are very insulated from death in the US. The average life span is roughly 79 years. Thus, we think death is always a long way off, behind the bend that is no where near our reach.
We avoid the evidence of our own mortality and pretend it won't happen to us or to our family or we try with all our might to prevent it.
There was a time when churches were built adjacent to cemeteries. Everyone had to at least think about as they went to worship because they would pass the shadow of the tombstones of their ancestors. It was on their heart, mind and imagination. Because we are insulated form the reality of death, the power of the resurrection and its impact in our life has been lessen.
Death is unavoidable.
But having stated that it is important to note this about our life span. The final frontier is not between life and death. Though we speak it when we say it is a matter of life or death. The final frontier is between life with Christ and life without Christ. This of course means that our life span ranges not from conception to the grave but conception into eternity. Our earthly life is a small percentage of the total of our existence. Death does not end our existence.
What does scripture say on the subject. There is much to be found in scripture about death, but i wish to highlight three moments in scripture.
Death arrives on scene in Genesis chapter 2. It comes as a warning. God tells Adam and Eve that if they eat the fruit of a particular tree they shall surely die.
We know the rest of the story.
If you fast forward to the book of revelation chapter 21, death again appears. John is having a vision of the new Jerusalem, a new heaven and a new earth. It consist of the full realization of the the kingdom of God. In that moment, when history reaches its consumption, John tells us that there will be no more death, no weeping, no mourning, no tears.
Then somewhere between these book ends of scripture, in the book of wisdom chapter 2 we read, God formed man to be imperishable. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.
Think about that for a moment. Envy. Envy is when you can't have what you want and you don't want anyone else to have it either. The devil refused God's friendship, and he did not want man to have it either. In fact, this is still the MO of the devil today. He tries to drags us down with him.
Envy is the inability to rejoice in the goodness of the other or the inability to rejoice in the good that comes to another.
So where does this leave us.
The church teaches that in death the soul separates from the body. Where does the soul go? Are we breathe into nothingness. Or rather as scripture states, the souls of the just are in the hands of God. God creates in himself a place for us. The life source, spark, energy that makes each of us unique does not just fade into nothingness but finds its rest in God alone.
In death God calls man to himself.
The church reminds us that physical death incorporates us fully in to christ's redeeming act. And don't we groan for redemption? How often do we frustrate ourselves because we still haven't overcome our tendency to be impatient, or get angry or give in to lust? All of these realities demand redemption. Death opens up to the fullness of redemption.
Death is not a negative experience but appositive experience in which we reach a new level of being human. Is this not what the resurrection is all about.
Here is an analogy to ponder as we close.
When a child is conceived in its mother's womb, it is given an enclosed place to gestate and grow. Its environment, generally speaking is warm and secure. Yet, at some point the baby has to be delivered from the womb into the world. The baby is not meant for the womb. Only in being delivered can its powers be fully engaged and it can become who it is created to be. This process is painful. It involves anxiety, stress, wretched heartache, tears and the like not just for the mother, and the babies family but also for the baby.
Once the baby is born it can't go back in the womb. Going back would be a retreat into lesser way of being human.
Such it is in death. The world is like a womb. We are given a time to gestate, to grow, to mature. At some point, we too have to be delivered from the world into that place of higher existence. It, like a delivery of a baby, involves pain, tears, anxiety, stress, wretched heart ache and the like not only for the family but also for the one who is experiencing death. Then we are delivered. The loved one can not come back because coming back would be a retreating into a lesser way of being human.
Just like in delivering child eventually the pain subsides and joy is infused in our life, so it is in death. At some point the pain subsides and the joy of realizing the reality of new life in Christ takes over.
Here is the bottom line. Tragedy is not dying young. I heard that many times over the past few week. what a tragedy that they died so young! I disagree. It isn't the age by which we die that determines a tragedy but rather whether or not we had prepared in this life for that experience. This is the true tragedy.
Too many people live by the philosophy, Carpe Diem, or siege the day, live in the moment, live for today. This is foolish. People who live for the day with no thought for tomorrow usually end up arrested, thrown in jail, or a many other harmful things occur.
We should live for the moment. We should live for tomorrow, the great tomorrow, the last day that awaits us. Only with our eyes fixed on tomorrow can we truly live today. This is how we prepare.
We give more weight to the life of faith into our lives. W make sure truth is granted an higher importance than our selfish desires. Only then can we embrace the beauty of death as a birthing into the newness of life everlasting in christ.
I will start with Death. Over the past two and half weeks I have presided at 9 funerals. I have been thinking a lot about death as I visit with the families and bless the bodies of love ones and fulfill the rite of burial.
The ages of the persons who have experienced death range from 2 months old to 92 years old. The ages in between are 31, 40, 42, 54, 62, 64, 91. It has been quite an experience for the community. In particular the deaths of the young persons have stuck a chord with many. In the prime of their life they were called from this world.
Unfortunately, death is often surprising and shocking to us especially if a young person dies. In large part because we are very insulated from death in the US. The average life span is roughly 79 years. Thus, we think death is always a long way off, behind the bend that is no where near our reach.
We avoid the evidence of our own mortality and pretend it won't happen to us or to our family or we try with all our might to prevent it.
There was a time when churches were built adjacent to cemeteries. Everyone had to at least think about as they went to worship because they would pass the shadow of the tombstones of their ancestors. It was on their heart, mind and imagination. Because we are insulated form the reality of death, the power of the resurrection and its impact in our life has been lessen.
Death is unavoidable.
But having stated that it is important to note this about our life span. The final frontier is not between life and death. Though we speak it when we say it is a matter of life or death. The final frontier is between life with Christ and life without Christ. This of course means that our life span ranges not from conception to the grave but conception into eternity. Our earthly life is a small percentage of the total of our existence. Death does not end our existence.
What does scripture say on the subject. There is much to be found in scripture about death, but i wish to highlight three moments in scripture.
Death arrives on scene in Genesis chapter 2. It comes as a warning. God tells Adam and Eve that if they eat the fruit of a particular tree they shall surely die.
We know the rest of the story.
If you fast forward to the book of revelation chapter 21, death again appears. John is having a vision of the new Jerusalem, a new heaven and a new earth. It consist of the full realization of the the kingdom of God. In that moment, when history reaches its consumption, John tells us that there will be no more death, no weeping, no mourning, no tears.
Then somewhere between these book ends of scripture, in the book of wisdom chapter 2 we read, God formed man to be imperishable. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.
Think about that for a moment. Envy. Envy is when you can't have what you want and you don't want anyone else to have it either. The devil refused God's friendship, and he did not want man to have it either. In fact, this is still the MO of the devil today. He tries to drags us down with him.
Envy is the inability to rejoice in the goodness of the other or the inability to rejoice in the good that comes to another.
So where does this leave us.
The church teaches that in death the soul separates from the body. Where does the soul go? Are we breathe into nothingness. Or rather as scripture states, the souls of the just are in the hands of God. God creates in himself a place for us. The life source, spark, energy that makes each of us unique does not just fade into nothingness but finds its rest in God alone.
In death God calls man to himself.
The church reminds us that physical death incorporates us fully in to christ's redeeming act. And don't we groan for redemption? How often do we frustrate ourselves because we still haven't overcome our tendency to be impatient, or get angry or give in to lust? All of these realities demand redemption. Death opens up to the fullness of redemption.
Death is not a negative experience but appositive experience in which we reach a new level of being human. Is this not what the resurrection is all about.
Here is an analogy to ponder as we close.
When a child is conceived in its mother's womb, it is given an enclosed place to gestate and grow. Its environment, generally speaking is warm and secure. Yet, at some point the baby has to be delivered from the womb into the world. The baby is not meant for the womb. Only in being delivered can its powers be fully engaged and it can become who it is created to be. This process is painful. It involves anxiety, stress, wretched heartache, tears and the like not just for the mother, and the babies family but also for the baby.
Once the baby is born it can't go back in the womb. Going back would be a retreat into lesser way of being human.
Such it is in death. The world is like a womb. We are given a time to gestate, to grow, to mature. At some point, we too have to be delivered from the world into that place of higher existence. It, like a delivery of a baby, involves pain, tears, anxiety, stress, wretched heart ache and the like not only for the family but also for the one who is experiencing death. Then we are delivered. The loved one can not come back because coming back would be a retreating into a lesser way of being human.
Just like in delivering child eventually the pain subsides and joy is infused in our life, so it is in death. At some point the pain subsides and the joy of realizing the reality of new life in Christ takes over.
Here is the bottom line. Tragedy is not dying young. I heard that many times over the past few week. what a tragedy that they died so young! I disagree. It isn't the age by which we die that determines a tragedy but rather whether or not we had prepared in this life for that experience. This is the true tragedy.
Too many people live by the philosophy, Carpe Diem, or siege the day, live in the moment, live for today. This is foolish. People who live for the day with no thought for tomorrow usually end up arrested, thrown in jail, or a many other harmful things occur.
We should live for the moment. We should live for tomorrow, the great tomorrow, the last day that awaits us. Only with our eyes fixed on tomorrow can we truly live today. This is how we prepare.
We give more weight to the life of faith into our lives. W make sure truth is granted an higher importance than our selfish desires. Only then can we embrace the beauty of death as a birthing into the newness of life everlasting in christ.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
GOD SEEKER
Philippians 3:3-8; Ps 105 Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord; Luke 15:1-10
We encounter these words from the pen of St Paul today, "More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
In light of that today spend some time and energy seeking to find the gain in each of life's losses What I mean is be attentive to the supreme good of knowing Christ and allow that to fill the loss with greater significance and importance in the life of faith.
Today's psalm is a fascinating piece. If we go to 1 Chronicles 16:8 and following we will encounter this psalm being used in the context of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. It was a day of great festivity. The whole city turned out to welcome the presence of the Ark, the present of God back into their city, its rightful place.
The psalm mentions we should "seek to serve the Lord constantly." Perhaps this is the recipe of happiness and lasting joy. How many of us truly seek to serve the Lord constantly? Rather, do we not reduce our service of the lord often to an hour a week or sometimes even less? How do we seek the lord in our daily lives, our work, our play, every moment.
In today's gospel we encounter the familiar story of the lost sheep and its shepherd who abandon the 99 to go out and seek the one that has strayed.
In this context Jesus reminds us that the heavens rejoice over one repentant sinner.
Repent is the first command of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. In a sense, everything else follows, and nothing else matters. When was the last time we revised our thinking or changed our minds about how God works? When do we bring joy to heaven? Too often we forget that our actions here below reach upward to eternity in heaven.
Self-righteous complacency is the most effective barrier to God's grace and the cause of great sadness in heaven. Today be a source of joy, repent!
We encounter these words from the pen of St Paul today, "More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
In light of that today spend some time and energy seeking to find the gain in each of life's losses What I mean is be attentive to the supreme good of knowing Christ and allow that to fill the loss with greater significance and importance in the life of faith.
Today's psalm is a fascinating piece. If we go to 1 Chronicles 16:8 and following we will encounter this psalm being used in the context of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. It was a day of great festivity. The whole city turned out to welcome the presence of the Ark, the present of God back into their city, its rightful place.
The psalm mentions we should "seek to serve the Lord constantly." Perhaps this is the recipe of happiness and lasting joy. How many of us truly seek to serve the Lord constantly? Rather, do we not reduce our service of the lord often to an hour a week or sometimes even less? How do we seek the lord in our daily lives, our work, our play, every moment.
In today's gospel we encounter the familiar story of the lost sheep and its shepherd who abandon the 99 to go out and seek the one that has strayed.
In this context Jesus reminds us that the heavens rejoice over one repentant sinner.
Repent is the first command of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. In a sense, everything else follows, and nothing else matters. When was the last time we revised our thinking or changed our minds about how God works? When do we bring joy to heaven? Too often we forget that our actions here below reach upward to eternity in heaven.
Self-righteous complacency is the most effective barrier to God's grace and the cause of great sadness in heaven. Today be a source of joy, repent!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Philippians 2:12-18; Ps 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Luke 14:25-33
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
With JEsus there always seems to be a love hate relationship. In order to love fully one must be willing to denounce and only in denounce does the object of true affection become clear and love begun to be realized.
Think on these words from Fr Arupe
"Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. With what are you are in love? What seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
Falliging in love means we have to love other things less in order to love them more.
As they say, "first things first."
So what is first in your life? Is Jesus? Or do you compromise your love away?
When you think about what you put first in your life, also think about why that is first?
Do we put God first for our sake, if so is he really first?
OR do we put God first for his sake?
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
With JEsus there always seems to be a love hate relationship. In order to love fully one must be willing to denounce and only in denounce does the object of true affection become clear and love begun to be realized.
Think on these words from Fr Arupe
"Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. With what are you are in love? What seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."
Falliging in love means we have to love other things less in order to love them more.
As they say, "first things first."
So what is first in your life? Is Jesus? Or do you compromise your love away?
When you think about what you put first in your life, also think about why that is first?
Do we put God first for our sake, if so is he really first?
OR do we put God first for his sake?
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
SAINTLY
Rev 7:2-14; Ps 24 Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
Today we commemorate All Saints Day. We look at those men and women who we believe are with God in heaven as a model for us as we continue to journey forth in faith.
We call them holy men and women or saints of God. Think about that word for a moment, "Saint".
In english we say saint or holy but in greek it is haggios, in hebrew it is kodesh, in latin, Sanctus.
We often apply the word holy to people, place, or even a thing that is generally considered sacred, such as the Holy Bible, or the Holy places in Jerusalem, or Saint Peter or Saint Paul.
In english when we sing the Gloria, there is a phrase that states "you alone are the holy one" or latin, "You alone are the saint."
Holiness is truly an attribute of God. It rightly belongs to God, he is holy. In hebrew the word kodesh is properly applied only to God. It refers to God's essence. Anything that was considered holy was due because of its relation to God himself, his presence. The holy place was holy because it was considered to be a reserve or preserve of God's presence.
No individual human is holy. Holy is holy because of its association with God by God's call or election. The Sabbath is holy because of God's special presence, as are the tabernacle and the temple. Israel is holy because God chose to dwell among them as his chosen people. Such is the same for the ARK of the covenant, the law, the priestly vestments. Men are just and perhaps even righteous but no man is called holy or a saint in hebrew scripture.
However in the prophet Daniel there seems to be a change of attitude. In Daniel's vision of the Son of Man who comes to rule and who share his rule with the people of earth who are called "saints." Daniel 7:18,27
These "saints" that Daniel speaks of are in a vision of things yet to come, a kingdom yet to come. Daniel sees the Messiah as human yet able to act with the power of God.
Which brings us to the gospels. When Jesus is conceived the angel note that the "child to be born will be called holy." This child possess a quality that belongs to God alone. Through Jesus flesh we now have access to the holiest of holies. In fact we are made holy by the blood of Jesus.
Jesus' holiness is communicable. Holiness breaks into the world when the Word becomes flesh and it breaks out in unexpected places. No longer is it reserved in the precincts of Jerusalem or exclusively to the people of Israel or confined to 24 hour period of the Sabbath, holiness erupted in ordinary lives of ordinary people everywhere. (The above is summary taken from Scott Hahn's book Angels and Saints: A biblical Guide to Friendship with God's Holy Ones)
This is what is different about following Christ. Holiness is now shared with us. We belong to the in crowd. Think about today's gospel. Jesus sits down on the mount of Beatitude to deliver his first sermon. The crowds were gathered watching Jesus' every move. So Jesus seeing the crowds sits down. The next line is always telling, "his disciples came to him."
We have to be willing to step out of the crowd if we are going to be true witnesses of God's goodness and bearers of his holiness. This is what St Paul means when in the letter of Romans he addresses all the members of that community as "saints." The title saints seems to be a synonym for being called Christian. In fact the cause of this holiness is the fact that we are in Christ. We have become partakers of divine nature as St Peter exhorts us (2 Peter 1:4). We share in God's nature because he has chosen to share in our human nature. Here is the source of holiness we celebrate on All Saints Day.
In Jesus Christ our humanity has become a bridge that unites us to the holiness of God transforming us and transforming the world around us.
In Christ we are children God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. God, what he has by nature has shared with us through grace.
It is through Baptism that this is accomplished as St Paul tells us in Galatians 3:24-29, "For all you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
As we celebrate the saints of old, be reminded that we are called to be saint a new.
The Saints above invite us saints below to transform the world by the presence of God we take with us as we go.
Today we commemorate All Saints Day. We look at those men and women who we believe are with God in heaven as a model for us as we continue to journey forth in faith.
We call them holy men and women or saints of God. Think about that word for a moment, "Saint".
In english we say saint or holy but in greek it is haggios, in hebrew it is kodesh, in latin, Sanctus.
We often apply the word holy to people, place, or even a thing that is generally considered sacred, such as the Holy Bible, or the Holy places in Jerusalem, or Saint Peter or Saint Paul.
In english when we sing the Gloria, there is a phrase that states "you alone are the holy one" or latin, "You alone are the saint."
Holiness is truly an attribute of God. It rightly belongs to God, he is holy. In hebrew the word kodesh is properly applied only to God. It refers to God's essence. Anything that was considered holy was due because of its relation to God himself, his presence. The holy place was holy because it was considered to be a reserve or preserve of God's presence.
No individual human is holy. Holy is holy because of its association with God by God's call or election. The Sabbath is holy because of God's special presence, as are the tabernacle and the temple. Israel is holy because God chose to dwell among them as his chosen people. Such is the same for the ARK of the covenant, the law, the priestly vestments. Men are just and perhaps even righteous but no man is called holy or a saint in hebrew scripture.
However in the prophet Daniel there seems to be a change of attitude. In Daniel's vision of the Son of Man who comes to rule and who share his rule with the people of earth who are called "saints." Daniel 7:18,27
These "saints" that Daniel speaks of are in a vision of things yet to come, a kingdom yet to come. Daniel sees the Messiah as human yet able to act with the power of God.
Which brings us to the gospels. When Jesus is conceived the angel note that the "child to be born will be called holy." This child possess a quality that belongs to God alone. Through Jesus flesh we now have access to the holiest of holies. In fact we are made holy by the blood of Jesus.
Jesus' holiness is communicable. Holiness breaks into the world when the Word becomes flesh and it breaks out in unexpected places. No longer is it reserved in the precincts of Jerusalem or exclusively to the people of Israel or confined to 24 hour period of the Sabbath, holiness erupted in ordinary lives of ordinary people everywhere. (The above is summary taken from Scott Hahn's book Angels and Saints: A biblical Guide to Friendship with God's Holy Ones)
This is what is different about following Christ. Holiness is now shared with us. We belong to the in crowd. Think about today's gospel. Jesus sits down on the mount of Beatitude to deliver his first sermon. The crowds were gathered watching Jesus' every move. So Jesus seeing the crowds sits down. The next line is always telling, "his disciples came to him."
We have to be willing to step out of the crowd if we are going to be true witnesses of God's goodness and bearers of his holiness. This is what St Paul means when in the letter of Romans he addresses all the members of that community as "saints." The title saints seems to be a synonym for being called Christian. In fact the cause of this holiness is the fact that we are in Christ. We have become partakers of divine nature as St Peter exhorts us (2 Peter 1:4). We share in God's nature because he has chosen to share in our human nature. Here is the source of holiness we celebrate on All Saints Day.
In Jesus Christ our humanity has become a bridge that unites us to the holiness of God transforming us and transforming the world around us.
In Christ we are children God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. God, what he has by nature has shared with us through grace.
It is through Baptism that this is accomplished as St Paul tells us in Galatians 3:24-29, "For all you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
As we celebrate the saints of old, be reminded that we are called to be saint a new.
The Saints above invite us saints below to transform the world by the presence of God we take with us as we go.
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