Deacon Larry

 

Thursday of 2nd Week of Advent

Is 41: 13-20; Mt 18: 12-14

Dc. Larry Brockman

Have you ever just barely made it in the door before it shut for good?  Perhaps you were the last one on a plane or a bus or the subway; or the last one to get into a concert or sports stadium or movie theatre.  But you made it, and that’s what mattered.  What a feeling of relief that was, and maybe even a sense of joy.  But there are those who don’t make it.  For them, there is sadness and maybe even anger and frustration.  How dreadful is that feeling.   

Now just imagine how much more dreadful it would be not to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Sadly, there are those who will find the gates of heaven closed to them.  Just imagine how dreadful that would be.  In contrast, what a feeling of euphoria one would have knowing that they had made it on the other side of that threshold between heaven and hell, even if they were the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.   

Now we are told this morning that John the Baptist is the greatest of those born of a woman.  And yet, the least, yes, the very least in the Kingdom of Heaven, is greater than he.  I don’t know about you, but that is a very sobering thought because John was a man who devoted his whole life to being God’s messenger; heralding the coming of the Lord; heralding the advent of his cousin Jesus.  He avoided things and pleasures of this world.  Rather, he thought and acted only on the Mission God had given him.  So, when I reflect on the life of John the Baptist, I am quite sure I don’t measure up to him.  I cannot say that my life is totally dedicated to God like John’s was.  Can you say that?  Does that mean that we can’t even be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven?   

Well, fortunately for us, it does not.  Listen again to what the prophet Isaiah said:  “I am the Lord your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you “Fear not, I will help you””.  We have to believe, really believe, that Jesus came to save us all and that no matter what we do, if we believe and are truly sorry for our sins, and we ask for the help, it will be ours; and so will the Kingdom of Heaven when we come to that gate at the end of our lives. 

 

Thursday of 1st Week of Advent

Is 26: 1-6; Mt 7: 21, 24-27

Dc. Larry Brockman

What kind of a foundation is your life built on?  You know, today’s Gospel story talks about two houses- one built on sand, and the other built on rock.  Have you ever thought about the fact that the houses themselves were actually built identically?  There is nothing in the Gospel to indicate anything different.  From all external appearances, they would then look pretty much the same to start because only the foundations were different; and so, only the ability of the houses to stand up to the storms was different.   

Now, just think about all of us human beings for a minute.  We are all built nearly identically as well.  We all have mouths and noses and feet and eyes in the same places.  We are all born as babies, and we are nourished in our formative years by our mothers; and so when we grow up, from external appearances, we are all pretty much alike.   

But then sometime during the course of our lives, we are buffeted by storms of one kind or another.  The storms are the things outside of us that enter into our lives- the environment that we face each day; the people we meet that influence us; and the circumstances that present themselves that force us to make decisions- decisions about play and school and work and marriage and all the rest.  These are all normal storms of life, the tide of real life that confronts each and every one of us.  And no matter how isolated we would like to be from these storms; we are all still confronted with the reality of life.   

The thing that matters the most when we are confronted by the tide of life is this:  Just what is the foundation that our lives were built on?  Is it an absolute truth, like the values represented in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Or is our foundation one that is relative- relative to the times; relative to the person who has our ear today; or relative to whatever seems the easiest course of action.  Because if you embrace a foundation that is relative, that means you can be floating all over the place, taking this position today and that tomorrow.  Eventually, you will be torn to pieces, just like the house built on sand because that floating foundation means that you never come to grips with what is right or wrong, and that will eventually tear you apart inside.   

Make your foundation a solid one- solid as rock.  Listen to what the Gospel preaches.  It is consistent and although it may be hard at times, you always know where you are- safe with Jesus Christ. 

 

Thursday of 33rd Week of Ordinary Time

Dedication of Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul

Rev 5: 1-10; Lk 19: 41-44

Dc. Larry Brockman

“If only you knew what makes for peace”.  Such were Jesus’ words as he prophesied the fate of Jerusalem.  In their blindness, the people of Jesus’ time did not recognize the Messiah.  They were looking for someone who was powerful and mighty in worldly terms, someone who could negate the coming military defeat of the Israelis, as if defeating the Romans on their terms would  “Make for Peace”.  And that’s the point.  It would not make for peace.  Establishing a powerful, worldly, kingdom that could subdue all opposition with force. will not make for peace.  And that has been demonstrated over and over again in the history of the world- China, the Mongols, Persia, Greece, Rome, the great Moslem Califates, Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and even the United States have proven that point over and over. 

So, what is it that we all need to recognize that makes for peace?  Well, that’s what Jesus came here for.  His Gospel provides us the roadmap.  It is a peace which is characterized by belief in God as the primary value.  It is a peace which is characterized by love of others, not of self.  It is a peace which is characterized by a focus on seeking and finding the will of God, not comfort in this life because all things, even the great temple of the Jews, will pass away in this world.  And the clearest example of our fragility, is that each of us, no matter how powerful or weak, rich or poor, talented in earthly skills or not- will pass away too.  What is left is the Kingdom of God. 

Our challenge as Christians is to live our lives worthily, making every effort to do God’s will,  While we live in a physical world that demands that we have food and shelter; that we have jobs and raise families and use our God given talents;  at the same time we must keep our focus on the ultimate goal, a spiritual goal- life in the Kingdom of God.  It’s called balance- and it precludes envy, lust, gluttony, and all the other seven deadly sins, because the focus of them is not on our ultimate goal- a primary focus on recognizing God’s presence in our lives  That is what makes for peace. 

Thursday of 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

St. Martin of Tours

Phlm 7-20; Lk 17: 20-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

This is the first day of the rest of your life!  An old cliché, yes. but an accurate way to sum up the essence of the Kingdom of God.  Because today, all of us who are saved, those who believe; those whose eyes are open to what God wants them to do in their lives; these people are already experiencing the Kingdom of God, for it is right there among them, just as Jesus said..   

Now you might say to yourself:  “How can that be?  Is this all there is to the Kingdom of God?  What about the everlasting joy that was promised?  Surely this cannot be it; this imperfect world with all its problems and evil and sickness and pain.   

Well, just suppose that the key to the Kingdom of God is this:  That God gave us life and love, And that the love of God, when we believe in it and cooperate with it so that it dwells in us, guarantees us everlasting life.  Well then, on the day in your life when you come to embrace all that, that is the first day of your life when you are living in eternity.  You are already experiencing the Kingdom of God.  And nobody can ever take that away from you.  That is the promise.  Yes, you may get sick or old; and you will even die in this world, but when you believe that such a death is just the beginning of our eternal life with the God who is the source of all life, then the joy of knowing we will live forever with God is ours.  And that is a joy that transcends all the rest of the pain in our lives.  That joy can and should already be with us.   

The world, on the other hand, is looking for joy somewhere else.  Some people seek happiness in the pleasure of things in this world, setting aside belief in God and rejecting the promise- how sad.  Other people seek out the finest music; the clever new message; the most entertaining preacher; in an effort to find the Kingdom of God.  They seek visions of Jesus and the coming of the Kingdom that flash before them like lightning because they are seeking the Kingdom of Heaven as if it was hidden away from us and was some deep dark secret rather than listening to the Gospel message of Jesus.   

The Kingdom of God is at hand.  Accept what seems to be such a simple and uncomplicated message: that Christianity’s promise is it.  God loved us so much he sent his son, who suffered, died, and was buried.  He rose, and promised us a place in his Kingdom if we believed and did his will.  When you really embrace all of that, you need not search any further for the truth because this can be the first day of the rest of your life in the Kingdom of God. 

 

Sts. Simon and Jude

Eph 2:19-22; 1 Luke 6: 12-16

Dc. Larry Brockman

We are in this together.  Yes, all of us are called to be Apostles.  We are not called to be spiritual islands unto ourselves; rather, we are called to be church.  Paul makes this point very clearly in our first reading when he says:  “You are no longer strangers and sojourners but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God”.  So, we are not called to be strangers to each other; we are called to be citizens.  The duties of citizens are collective. 

Elsewhere Paul talks about the multiple parts of the body of Christ, about how they are different, like parts of the human body.  But, nevertheless, they complement and support each other.  As a single body, the Church, we also need to complement and support each other because our mission as a Church is one of evangelization.  Lest anyone here is disillusioned, evangelization is just as important in today’s secular and sometimes Godless society as it was 2000 years ago when the Church began.  But, our evangelization is a shared ministry.  Notice that Jesus shares His ministry with those whom He called.  He selected 12, whom he called Apostles.  This was the beginning of the Church, this small group of humble fisherman, tax collectors, and peasants.  They, like us, were in it together-  they were commissioned as a group to evangelize, sent forth to preach the Gospel to all nations. 

And so, I ask you- what kind of a citizen are you of the Catholic Church?  Are you a gifted teacher involved in RCIA or CCD?  Are you a gifted advocate of an important Church teaching- like respect life?  Are you a Christian leader or businessperson that lives the creed you profess, even when it is tough?  Are you a caretaker type that ministers to those less fortunate- by visiting jails or rest homes or shut ins or hospitals?  Whatever part of the Body of Christ you are, are you acting like the Christian citizen you are called to be?  So that it can truthfully said of our Church that:  “Their message goes out through all the earth”. 

 

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

1 Cor 3: 18-23; Lk 5: 1-11

Dc. Larry Brockman

Wisdom, just what is real wisdom, the kind of wisdom we ascribe to God? 

Wisdom is not intelligence.  Intelligence is a gift that some people have more of than others but even our most intelligent people cannot match wits with the intelligence of God.  For example, no matter how hard man tries, he cannot unravel the meaning of life in worldly terms.   

And Wisdom is not knowledge, because even the most learned of people with lots of knowledge know relatively little compared to God.  Proof of this lies in our most distinguished scientists, who continually uncover knowledge of God’s handiwork of creation only to reach another layer of complexity that requires more knowledge in a never ending process, like peeling more and more layers from an onion.  Indeed, how true it is what Paul says this morning about the wisdom of this world:  “God catches the wise in their own ruse.”  No earthly knowledge or clever mind can master God’s creation secrets.  Our attempts to do so have always been met with another layer of an endless onion to unravel.   

And yet, this morning’s Gospel gives us a glimpse of real wisdom.  Jesus asks his disciples to put out for a catch.  The “wisdom” of the world tells them that this is ridiculous, because they have labored all night and caught nothing.  Surely to put out into the same waters again would be fruitless.  But they comply, and the catch is enormous.   

How does this show us wisdom?  Well, consider this.  First, the disciples showed humility- they were willing to try again despite their best efforts.  Humility is an important element of real wisdom because we have to embrace the fact that we are limited compared to God- we cannot know what God knows nor think at his level- ever.  That implies an attitude of humility, a sense of openness that is essential for recognizing wisdom.  Second, the apostles trusted the judgment of their Master, the Lord.  It is the recognition of God’s will for us, then, not our own agendas, that leads us to Wisdom.  And third, the disciples followed through with Jesus directions even in the face of seemingly impossible odds.  Indeed, we cannot allow ourselves to be held back by fear or preoccupation with other things or laziness in our quest to find wisdom.  The truly wise person is the humble, obedient servant of God, who strives to do God’s will.  That is wisdom, real wisdom.