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Circumcision of the Lord (“A”) – January 1, 2017

From the Pastor /

“The feast of the Circumcision of Christ commemorates the Holy Family’s fulfillment of Leviticus, which required a male child to be circumcised on the 8th day after his birth.

The symbolic significance of circumcision as a sign of the Old Covenant seems to be two-fold. First, it required the shedding of blood, which reminded Israel that sacrifice was required to fulfill the covenant. Second, it marked the organ of reproduction, which reminded Israel that the covenant was with Abraham and his “seed.”

The point of circumcision was to mark off the male children until the arrival of the one particular child who would fulfill the covenant.

Baptism is the sign of the New Covenant that replaced circumcision. Circumcision was an external sign. Baptism points to an inward renewal. This is the main distinction between the Old Covenant and the New. The Law of Moses was written on tablets of stone. Through the Holy Spirit, the Law is now written on our hearts. This fulfills the prophecy of Deuteronomy, which said, “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live”.

The day of circumcision was also when the Jewish people named their children. Our Lord is named “Jesus,” which means, “God saves.” Baptism is when we “Name this child”. Christians typically name their children in advance of baptism. The significance of naming in baptism is not the meaning of the name. Rather, the Christian name is the name by which God knows us, since we become His adopted children in baptism.

This all gives us some perspective with which to approach the New Year. Today is, after all, also New Year’s Day. In the light of the truth that Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us and that we are sons of God and heirs of the covenant promises through baptism and faith, we ought to resist the temptation to approach the New Year the way the world does, with the pattern of bold resolution destined for failure.

Part of our inheritance “in Christ” is freedom from captivity to the pattern of behavior that characterizes the world. Life in Christ begins with success. God makes us His children by grace. He forgives us and accepts us as we are. Then, by grace, God begins to do His will in our lives.

Christ has come. He has fulfilled the Old Covenant. God’s gift to us, given in baptism and received through faith, is that we are now the sons of God of and heirs of all His covenant promises. Thus, for the New Year, resolve, as the epistle says, to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).”

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Christmas Day (“A”) – December 25, 2016

From the Pastor /

St. John’s prologue, opening his Gospel, tells us that Jesus is the light that enlightens all people. It is a powerful statement. In our time the word “enlightenment” is most often used to refer to the great growth of scientific knowledge and enquiry during the 17th and 18th centuries, which sought to understand the world by the sole means of human reasoning and intelligence. God has taken steps to make himself known to us and in a way that is at once humbling and magnificent.

In order to know Jesus we are called to listen to Him and speak with Him. This is what the disciples did in their lifetime, coming to know this special person very well. When the Lord was crucified it looked like a disaster, but the resurrection opened their eyes to the dawning truth. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the living Lord. This is amazing gift of Christmas. Not only that God became a child for us, but that by God’s grace now we may become children of God in this broken world.

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Fourth Sunday of Advent (“A”) – December 18, 2016

From the Pastor /

Joseph was a man of deep faith who listened to the voice of God. He struggled to make sense of the message that Mary had given him. Sometimes Joseph heard God speak to him through his dreams, at other times in a moment of quiet prayer, sometimes at the end of the day when he looked over the events of work, relationship and family. He knew that God is a God of mystery and that in history God had always called people to take risks and live with the unpredictable nature of life. Joseph wandered why God was testing his faith. He thought the the easiest thing would be to abandon Mary and start again. However, he loved her and knew that she was honest, true and had great integrity. He asked himself why life was so complicated, just when all had seemed so good as he prepared to marry Mary. He struggled with God in prayer during the night and eventually went to sleep. Joseph needed to accept this fact, care for Mary and support her at this strange but wonderful time. How mysterious are the ways of God.

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Second Sunday of Advent (“A”) – December 4, 2016

From the Pastor /

St. John is pointing us to Christ, just as He did for the people who came to hear him preach in his day. He tells us to repent that we may be saved. St. John convicts and Jesus absolves. And so the Church urges us in Advent to seek out the Sacrament of Confession, or reconciliation, for it provides the healing we need. It gives us the opportunity to examine our lives and so see what is keeping us from Christ this Advent. And so although Jesus teaches us that we are not to judge other people, we can use this opportunity to judge our own lives so that we may accept God’s forgiveness and healing. We acknowledge those things weigh us down and keep us from God so that we may be liberated. Then when we are absolved we shall be ready to welcome our Savior when He comes to us at Christmas.

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First Sunday of Advent (“A”) – November 27, 2016

From the Pastor /

Advent is a time when we are called to reflect upon the things in our lives that make us less human. Such reflection can be painful when it brings to mind those things that we have done – or that have been done to us – which have damaged our humanity. In order to find peace and healing it is important to see there is no one who cares for us and loves us no matter what we have done and cooperate with his transforming love. This doesn’t mean that all the effects of our damaged humanity will be healed overnight. We are complex creatures and the healing of our wounds and emotions takes time, and perhaps will never be complete in this life. Nor does it mean we should not find appropriate human help for our problems whether through professionals or through friends and family. But at the deepest level of our being the coming of Jesus Christ into this world enables us to live in hope that humanity will be healed and transformed through His love.

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Christ the King (“C”) – November 20, 2016

From the Pastor /

In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus defines His kingship in terms of witnessing to the truth, saying that all who are on the side of truth listen to His voice. In the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus’ words and actions require – demand – a response from those who claim to be His followers. He requires of His followers that they be merciful as His Father is merciful. If we need evidence as to what the mercy of God looks like, all we need do is look at action of Jesus, the King who embodies the mercy of God. As He told the lawyer who identified the Samaritan in the parable as a true neighbor, we can imagine Jesus saying to us that, if we would know what the mercy of God is like, we need only consider Jesus’ words and actions – and then “do the same yourself”!

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Thirty Third Sunday (“C”) – November 13, 2016

From the Pastor /

The Church invites us to think about the end of things. Our world, in which we spend so much time planning and securing our worldly future, is only temporary. Our own lives in this world will not last for ever, but, while on earth, we have a duty to be faithful witnesses to the message of peace and love given by Jesus. Jesus warns that His followers will be manhandled, persecuted, summoned before synagogues and imprisoned because of their faith. Some will be betrayed by family, relatives and friends. Jesus asks His followers to remain committed to Him in an often hostile environment. He counsels them not to be frightened but to be faithful. Each follower is encouraged to accept whatever persecution or rejection may come as an opportunity for witnessing to that commitment.

The Gospel challenges us to get involved in the world, working for the common good, justice and peace. Jesus urges His followers not to be passive, complacent or apathetic, but to be willing to take a stand to promote God’s kingdom, regardless of cost. We are called to remain steadfast in our faith in God’s reign. In our times, we are seeing terrible famines, wars and environmental crises, which are threatening life as we have known it, and they frighten us. Jesus promises that good will triumph over evil, love over hate, justice and peace over injustice and war, life over death. However, for many of us, the problem is not anxiety about the end of our world but living as if there were an eternity of tomorrow. The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are ignored. Yet the readings remind us how short and precious life is, calling us to reflect upon our lives, urging us to look ahead to see where we are headed and ask ourselves: What do we need to go to get ready for Christ?

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Thirty Second Sunday (“C”) – November 6, 2016

From the Pastor /

Today’s readings confront us with the question of what death is – and what comes after. And that question is important because it helps us to shape how we live in the present. In the first reading, those 7 brothers were able to endure terrible hardship because of their faith in God’s ability to raise them up after death. Their belief in the resurrection enabled them to remain true to their identity, to their values, to their God. In the Gospel, the Sadducees, who believed there is no afterlife, dragged up a little-used law about marrying your dead brother’s wife in order to ridicule Jesus’ belief in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus says that for those who belong to God, there is no need for such devices to try to cheat death. Those who have died and “are judged worthy” are living with God, where there is no need to think of marrying and having children to try to preserve your name or to carry on the human race. Why? Quite simply, because there is no more death. Jesus is crystal clear: this life is not the end. God wants us to live in God’s presence for ever.

Our belief in the resurrection shows us that to God, life is absolutely important. God created us for life, not death. God is God of the living, Jesus tells us, and what we do with our life determines our future life with God. Faith in the resurrection led the 7 brothers to resist an evil king. It led Jesus to the cross. For Christians, it leads us to cherish life in the here and now and to defend life for all – especially those whose quality of life is most threatened.

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