As we celebrate the final Sunday in the 2023 liturgical year, we celebrate the feast of The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe….a title ripe with patriarchal overtones. Yet, today throughout the church, we will focus on Jesus’ love for each of us, not so much on a title.

The first reading recasts "the king," not as a controlling or ruthless overlord, but rather as a gentle shepherd who seeks out the lost and the lame, binding up their wounds. And that image of the "good shepherd" is the subtext for Jesus' rather harsh words in today’s Gospel.

Jesus' frustration with the people's lack of acceptance of him and of his message of love is apparent by the tone of his warning. Jesus had clearly outlined what was required of those who would be his disciples: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, visit the sick and imprisoned, shelter the homeless and welcome the stranger…and, love God with our whole being and our neighbor as our self. By these actions or failure to do them, we will be judged.

The bottom line is that while we may cry out " Lord, Lord" we will not be recognized by what we say, but rather, by how we have lived our lives! No one wants to be singled out as one of the "goats" in today’s Gospel, so the message is: Follow Jesus, not by what you say, but by how you live your life.

The reality is that we are free to choose to live as Jesus taught us or we can choose to live as if he had never been born.

Remember those "WWJD" bracelets?...more of a marketing gimmick than a religious statement as evidenced by how quickly they faded from all the major stores. I have often wondered, why did they fade so quickly? Perhaps because it was asking too much -- did people really want to know the answer to that question?… “What would Jesus do?”

And as we, as a nation, still struggle to take on systemic racism and racial inequality and to deal justly and lovingly with immigrants and refugees, and to house the unhoused and help the chronically unemployed and underemployed…and the list goes on…but in each of these situations, we are called to seriously ask ourselves, what would Jesus do?

And I think we must ask ourselves, what will I do? As I open myself to the love of Christ will I allow it to transform my heart into the heart of Christ? As I encounter challenging situations in my own life am I willing to risk asking myself: What would Jesus do in this situation? And then try to respond with the love of Christ regardless of the cost to me, and let Christ’s love reign supreme within me?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

As we continue to move to the end of the liturgical year our readings remind us that one day the world will end. Christ will return…but, when?

Some Christians routinely (and incorrectly) announce the return of Christ; they seem to forget that Jesus clearly said that no one, not even “He” knew when it would happen! And yet there are those who continue to claim to know the date and time: remember the billboards “Jesus is coming on May 21st” that dotted the highways five or ten years ago?

In today’s 2nd reading, St Paul warns that the end will come like a “thief in the night,” and “knowing” when Christ will come is not the point, but rather, it is all about being ready when Christ returns!

Am I ready?
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At the center of the readings is a message of total reliance upon the unbelievable mercy and boundless love of God. It is about keeping our hearts and minds open to God’s living presence within us and running, like a river, through our daily lives and filling the world around us! The psalmist reminds us that God is our portion and cup, our inherence and therefore our hearts are glad and our souls rejoice…for we are God’s beloved! By keeping God at the center of our daily lives we indeed will be ready if the world were to end in our days.

Because of the love and mercy of our God we need not fear “the end” for we will be transformed into beings that shine like the stars in the heavens!

Through Christ we have inherited eternal life and each of us is a part of “the great cloud of witnesses” who give glory to God.

And part of “being ready” is standing up to injustices, speaking out against all forms of abuse, misogyny, racism and bigotry, and recognizing the dignity of all women, children and men of all colors and races and religious beliefs! And I believe we best can do that when we keep God at the center of our daily lives. We can stand with our sisters, our children and our brothers who are bullied, abused and exploited. When we do this, we actively build up the Reign of God in the here and now. “We stand ready” and we more fully live out our identity as the “beloved of God”!

Let us all go forth embracing our identity as the beloved of God. Allow that identity to transform our lives and for us to transform the world around us into a more peace-filled, more just and all-embracing world!

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

The Gospel calls us to be ready for when the “bridegroom” comes! It is an obvious metaphor for the second coming of Christ. And, the message is to live our lives “ready” for that day!

As I was getting ready to make my final vows in the Spiritan Community I was expected to make a “memory card”, a card not unlike the ones made for funerals! But it is meant to mark a special occasion, and for the front of the card I chose a quote from Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” 

I chose it because I believe it speaks of a profound gratitude to God for all that has been in life and of an openness towards God and towards whatever lies ahead in life and in death.

November is traditionally a time in which we remember the dead. In parts of Latin America and in other parts of the world, many of the people set up little home altars on which they place photos and mementos of their loved ones who have died and gone ahead of them to that which we call the afterlife: heaven. We do not know what lies ahead, but yet, we are part of it -- promised resurrection through our Baptism.

As we careen towards the end of the liturgical year our readings turn toward “the last things.” This is not meant to cause us fear or make us gloomy or sad; on the contrary, it is meant to offer us an opportunity to reflect on the transitory reality of this life in the context of the amazing gift of the promise of eternal life. 

While none of us really know what it will be like --the speculation has made for good reading over the centuries -- some theologians today talk of it as something analogous to a glorious and knowable uniting…a joining with God in a new and spectacular way…far beyond our wildest hopes and dreams! 

Heaven! What do I think about heaven and the afterlife? Do I fear death, or dying…realizing they are not the same thing? 

If I built a little home altar, whose photos and mementos would I place on it? 

In the midst of all the chaos in the world that we are living in, what are the things in my life for which I am grateful? And what are the things in which I can find openness to God and to what lies ahead in life and in death, believing that God journeys with me through it all?
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Blessings,
Fr. Tim

Pope Francis has talked about the priests who walk around looking like they just came from a funeral… he asks, where is their joy? He seems to wonder about their inner life and their outer life.

Jesus’ harsh words for his religious leaders are because he felt that they were frauds. They made, in perfect fashion, all the outward pious signs but the signs were empty for inside; they were mean and cruel men. They made life difficult for their followers and did nothing to help them.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is challenging his disciples not to become the pious frauds that he has called out some of the religious leaders to be. Just like the prophet Malachi in the first reading, Jesus calls out the hypocrisy of those who are supposed to be the leaders of the people and who are called to lead by example but do not.

And today it is no different. In the church and in our nation some leaders fail. I include myself in the group for I am far from sinless. We have priests and bishops who have covered up the sinful behavior of other priests and bishops and our political leaders, who claim to be people of faith, whose trade is fraud and whose goals are to mislead the people for personal gain. Our most senior politicians lie without hesitation and their actions show they care nothing for the poor and most vulnerable of our sisters and brothers.

Jesus challenged the integrity of the religious leaders of his day, he challenged them to live up to the call they had received from God! Pope Francis has challenged us to do the same, and for that, some plot against him or ignore him, sure that their pious acts alone will save them.

But Pope Francis has heard the call of Jesus -- it is not the perfectly performed pious act that God desires of us, but rather LOVE! Lavish love for the immigrant, for refugees and for the poor and the abandoned, for the one who is “other” from me.

As I have asked many times, am I willing to open myself up to dangers by living as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Am I willing to risk being a disciple of Jesus Christ knowing what it led to for him and for some of his closest followers? Can I open my heart wide enough to allow myself to be the beloved of God and to live from that identity, and risk my life for God? What can I do so as to better let God transform my inner self so as to match my outer actions of charity and love?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim