St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Friends,

Paul challenges us in the Epistle today to say “YES” to God.  It is very hard to follow all of Jesus’ sayings.  Jesus asks us to deny ourselves and to share our blessings with others.  It is not easy saying “YES” all of the time, but that is truly the way to peace of mind.  Jesus knows that we are weak.  Sometimes we pray fervently (especially when we want something).  However, most of us are neither hot or cold, but merely lukewarm.  I believe that St. Paul expects us to answer the call of Jesus with a resounding “YES.”  Most of us willingly sacrifice for our children, our spouse, our family.  We really should put Jesus into this family picture.  Your church is also a part of your family.  It is in church that we hear the Word of God and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.  What am I giving back to the Lord???  We have all been blessed more than 90% of the people in the world.  I am positive that Jesus expects us to share our blessings with others.  That is saying “YES” to the Lord.

Lent is just around the corner.  We have scheduled two Masses each weekday: at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.  We have Stations of the Cross each Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass.  We have asked Mark Price to come to our parish once again to learn more about the early followers of Jesus.  We have invited the Salesian Franciscan Mystery players to help us pray the Passion.  Get ready to say “YES” to some of these special moments with Christ.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell

When we upgraded our sound system, we gained the ability to record our Sunday homilies.  Many of these homilies are archieved so that you can listen to them later.  You can hear them by going to www.sjtech.org

Story: A man was looking for a short line in Lucky’s Grocery store, when he saw one woman with only a small basket of baby food. He was in a hurry, for no  good reason. He only wanted to pay for his few items and get home. The lady in front of him had about 15 jars of baby food and gave the clerk a check for $7.43.     The clerk ran up the check, but it would not clear. She had to call the manager. The man, who was in such a hurry, was angry. However, all he could do was wait. When the manager came he told the  woman that her check was no good  and she would have to pay cash for the baby food. The woman did not have any cash, so the clerk started to ring up the next customer as the woman left without her baby food. The angry man mused to himself: “She should manage her money better. Maybe she is an alcoholic or drug addict.” However, even though he had more than enough money to pay for those 15 jars of baby food, he did nothing. He let the woman go home without those 15 jars of baby food. He had a great opportunity to reach out and help that woman, but he did nothing.

Can anyone relate to that story?????? I know that I can. I could have told the story about myself with a few changes, but the result was exactly the same. I had a chance to help a needy person and I did nothing.

Reading the stories of Jesus does not help. Jesus never turned anyone away. In our story in today’s Gospel  a man with leprosy came to Jesus for help. Jesus had already established a reputation for healing sick people. This man had evidently heard these stories and he believed them. He knelt down on his knees and begged Jesus: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”      Now that is faith………”If you are willing,” said the man.  He believed that Jesus could heal the leprosy, if he wanted to.

I think you have heard about leprosy in Jesus’ time. It was a terrible disease with no cure. It was literally a living death. Flesh died and decayed while still part of the living person. Fingers, toes fell off. Noses and lips decayed leaving the person horribly disfigured.  Even worse than the disease was the treatment of society. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, declared that lepers were treated “as if in effect they were dead men.” Whenever leprosy was detected a priest would examine the sick person. If the priest detected leprosy,  the leper was banished from the community. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus the writer says: “He (the leper) shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp.”  The leper had to leave his family and live alone outside city walls, frequently among tombs and burial places. Where ever  the leper went he had to cry out: “Unclean. Unclean.” If a leper went into a walled city or towns he was punished with 40 lashes.

This was the desperate man who fell to his knees in front of Jesus. He did not doubt that Jesus could heal him. His only question was: was Jesus willing to heal him.  You understand that, don’t you????    You have no doubt that Jesus can heal you from cancer. . You have no doubt that Jesus can heal your addiction to drugs, alcohol or pornography. You have no doubt that Jesus can save your marriage. BUT IS GOD WILLING?????? That is the real question that haunts us all. And the answer to that question  from this Bible story is a resounding “YES.”

St, Mark continues the healing story. Jesus responded to this request: “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,”  he said, “be clean.” Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was cured.”

That is interesting. Jesus touched the leper. If anyone touched a leper, he was ritually unclean and could not enter in the synagogue. Why did Jesus break the law and become unclean himself????? Because he was compassionate. “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.”

That is the problem many people have with Jesus. Jesus is too compassionate. He is too soft-hearted. He forgives too easily. He too easily accepted peoples’ shortcomings. ………However, if Jesus were not compassionate, he would never accept us. None of us would stand a chance of salvation. And so we are stuck with a compassionate Jesus and what does that mean for us??? It means simply that Jesus has given us a clear mandate: WE ARE TO BE COMPASSIONATE ALSO.

If we call ourselves “Christian” then we must have a compassionate heart.

We have a chance just about each day to be compassionate. Maybe phoning a sick friend or sending a card to an old friend or reaching out to a lonely person. The problem is that we do not use the power we have.  Just like in the first story about the man in the grocery store who had a chance to help woman buy 15 cans of baby food, but he missed the opportunity.

Have you ever thought of compassion as a source of power?????? It is. Every time we exercise our sense of compassion, we are making the world a better place for somebody. That’s power. At such times we are like Jesus. We might not be able to touch a leper and make him clean, but we can  touch a leper and tell them that there is hope and that you love him and that you care.

Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts cartoon,  once said: “The people that make a difference in your life are not the ones with money or the most awards. The most important people are those who care.” And that is true.  

Jesus expects you to be a compassionate person. That is a fantastic gift and a wonderful challenge

Title: Mardi Gras Crab Feast
Location: St. John Auditorium
Description: Annual St. Johns crab feast.
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2009-02-21

Friends,

I was struck by one line in today’s Gospel: “So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons…..”  I don’t know of any demons here in El Cerrito, but I do see a lot of evil and maybe that is demonic.  I see the senseless violence among our young people.  I see the exploitation and violence against women and children.  I see the wasted lives of those who use and abuse drugs.  I see men and women in jail with awfully long sentences.  I see good families losing their homes through foreclosures and the loss of jobs after years of faithful work.  I see a whole class of men and women and children who are homeless and without hope.  I see a deterioration of family life and broken families …  Perhaps those are demonic situations, and if so, we need Jesus to cast out these demons in our society.  Jesus resisted all evil, and what we have here in the East Bay is Evil with a capital “E.”  May we as Christians not be satisfied with taking care of our own.  We must also love those who are troubled by various demons.  That is the way of Jesus.

This weekend we are having the annual Bishop’s Appeal.  Our parish has always been generous supporters of this important appeal.  Please do your share.  One dollar bill does not do it.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Scripture: Dt 18: 15 – 20, Ps 95, 1Cor. 7: 32 – 35, Mk 1: 21 – 28

“I know who you are-the Holy One of God!” “Quiet! Come out of him!”

“If today, you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart!”

Paul recommends adherence to the Lord without distraction, which is part of the call of each prophet as the Book of Deuteronomy presents to us, “But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.” Jesus is the perfect prophet for being Himself the Word of God. Nothing stands between him and God his Father. Jesus was announced by Moses whose prophecy is thus fulfilled (he is therefore a true prophet of the Eternal God – there is no doubt that the Jewish religion is a true religion established by God for universal salvation). It is important that the words of a prophet should come true. Yet it is only the Spirit of God, the Spirit that worked through John the Baptist, that can make someone recognize in Jesus of Nazareth, the Prophet God tells Moses, ” I will raise up [one] like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.” (Dt 18: 18).

Question: What prevents us from developing a powerful/life-giving relationship with God?

Answer: Dividedness is the cause according to St. Paul; and Paul is anchored in the life of Jesus Christ. What is then the cause of our dividedness? It is 1) Orphaned knowledge, 2) Idolatrous relationships, 3) Excessive fear of suffering, 4) Intentional manipulation of Reality or the rule of lies.

The very first Law is clearly articulated and broadly known: 1) Pay attention! 2) Nothing and nobody can replace the living God! 3) This is the only way to Life! (Dt. 6:4, Mk 12: 29 transliterated). The four Scripture-based identified causes contradict this truth (that God alone is Lord), by the exclusion of God.

First, the orphaned knowledge is the sin of the angels who became demons in the pre-human moment of time. They know the truth of God’s beauty, goodness and power. They saw God face to face, yet they rebelled (we see that vision is no guarantee of obedience higher than faith). For humans, many people dedicate their lives to various fields of knowledge and come up with sound and relevant results for human flourishing. For argument’s sake we may consider unfortunate that we are not all advanced scientists; but I cannot think of any serious self-reflective science that has real competence to define authoritatively the existence or non-existence of God, other than one mentally created –  just as Aaron and some of the people did in the desert of their homecoming to the promised land. A scientist needs to define a “God” to the measure of his mind, then search for it, and get a response according to the degree of his folly. Knowledge is always partial, tentative and open to more wonders. Knowledge has an application and that application should be for life-enhancement, even in its most indirect form. In our gospel-story, the demons through their victim, exhibit great and profound knowledge of the ways of God. The truth is that they resent it: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”

“Talk about what you believe and you have disunity. Talk about who you believe in and you have unity.”-quote. How many among us ask themselves before decisions, “How would Jesus react to this?” “What does Jesus teach about this?” “Where do I find that teaching of Jesus?” Yet many spouses and lovers wait to know the opinion of the other person before taking any commitment (light or serious), so much they care for their happiness. That is how we know that somebody counts in our lives. Does Jesus, the Voice of God, count in your life? “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart!”

A comedian shares his story like this:

In conversation with a person I had recently met, I asked, “Are you Protestant or Catholic?” My new acquaintance replied, “Protestant.” I said, “Me too! What franchise?” He answered, “Baptist.” “Me too!” I said. “Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” “Northern Baptist,” he replied. “Me too!” I shouted.  We continued to go back and forth. Finally I asked, “Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1879 or Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1912?” He replied, “Northern conservative fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council 1912.” I said, “Die heretic!”

To the hardened heart, nothing is good enough to help him see God; nothing is close enough to make us one in Christ, (for Christian denominations, and even non-denominations). In fact, if it is not for reasons of denominations that we split, it would be for other kinds of preferences (it is sad to see that many people desperately “need” to be miserable, and to see others miserable as well). Soon as we have made of any particular manifestation the essence-of-God-subordinated-to-human-needs, we have made an idol; we have made an option for death. The truth is that the life of the other person is already the glory of God, even before he or she comes to confess with his/her lips, Christ as Lord, or to register in our party, or to simply praise what we do, or do what we praise. “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart!”

The living God has never been – and God will never be a destroyer of his creatures, with due respect to the laws of the universe, His laws. For the hard-at-heart, God should stay far; God should never intervene in human affairs, lest he infringes on our dear freedom. God should never come close (Jesus should not come to his village Capernaum). This is precisely what happened in the time of Moses, and God promises to send a divine prophet less threatening than Moses was perceived to be, because of some wrathful divine operations and Moses’ own shining face (Ex. 34: 30), yet a prophet much like Moses. This prophet, though humble and approachable, faces rejection by the “powers of division,” the powers of the split in the soul. If we called upon International peace-builders to share, they would eventually tell us endless stories of warlords, allergic to peace-talks and disarmament. Yet we all know that powerlessness comes from dividedness either in soul or in society. How do we now understand the “new teaching with authority” that we find in Jesus? May we hear the Word of God’s tri-unity and unconditional acceptance of humanity as the “Power” of Jesus! Moreover, if you happen to hear, please, “harden not your heart!”

Secondly, idolatrous relationships are very common. Since we need precisely unity in order to be strong, we cling to those who provide that space where we feel stronger and well connected, and we “worship” them in a sense. I do not know how many studies about passion crimes have been conducted, and how much people commonly endure, because of attachment to other human beings, who actually cannot fulfill their genuine needs to be loved, respected and known. Non-spiritual “man or woman is anxious about how he or she may please the wife or husband,” and they easily get distracted for lesser focus. God’s voice affirms matrimony as sacrament of service agreeable to God.

Thirdly, excessive fear of suffering: “Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.” The purifying love of God, the trimming edge of the Word is not welcome for it affects us for change and for good. We want our comfort, our little tranquility in mediocrity. Suffering is “holy ground” when faced with the heart of Jesus Christ. However, the unclean spirits would not allow the purifying fire of divine love to make us whole. Some among us here told me that the current economic crisis would help us know the essentials in our life; that it will force us to discern with greater accuracy our needs from our wants. It appears thus to be a purifying evil that nobody really wishes – not even to a forgiven enemy. Since it is not very helpful to use many words about the mystery of suffering, we can simply pray for God’s Spirit to make of our suffering a redemptive experience, and help us to understand. “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart!”

Fourth and lastly, manipulation of reality when we speak words that do not come from our heart, speaking words that “were not commanded us by the Lord” (according to Deuteronomy); speaking words with a different spirit. That form of dividedness, again, according to the word leads to death. We know that this “un-cleanliness” is destructive because the unclean spirits of our gospel story are concerned about destruction. Either we live free from them (if we know them at all) or they will surely destroy us. Nothing, nobody that is good can possibly be afraid of Jesus Christ who is friend even with sinners and people of low social respect. What will be your conclusion after asking, “What is this?” and after noticing that “he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him”; after hearing of the fame of this Jesus from Galilee, what will be your footnote to his work in the book of life? “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart!”

Faith is about feeling, knowing and acting, accepting and remaining grateful with others. Do we not take from common wisdom the advice to “marry someone only when we discover how lucky we are for meeting him or her”? True life begins with wonder and gratitude. Life is a Eucharist! The Eucharist is the healing power of God available to us who believe in him whom God raised from the dead. The giver of a spouse is not really outside of the family; therefore, we cannot cling to the gift as though the Giver did not exist any longer. There is always a “trinity” of God-Wife-Husband, which opens up to children and friends and relatives in a loving embrace. Faith is recognizing the gift requested from God when it comes.  Faith consists of carrying an authority that frees; an authority that liberates others to be more of them-selves, to be the best they could be in this world. We come every Sunday or everyday to rediscover this saving truth in the Eucharist, the refreshing life of Christ, gratitude to God in human labor and joy of all those who understand. “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart; be Eucharist for others!” May God heal us from dividedness and fear in the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Friends,

In the Scriptures today, we hear the sacred writer using the example of the prophets who speak for God, and in the Gospel, we hear Jesus speaking with authority that comes from God.  Even today we hear the clear voice of God speaking to each one of us in the Bible readings that we use at Mass.  However, that is not the only way that God communicates with us.  Sometimes, a song, even a secular song, brings us a message from God.

Visiting with a friend, we can sometimes hear the voice of God.  I personally communicate with God most frequently in reading.  This last week, I read a remarkable book that brought me new insights into God and how God works in our lives.  The book is titled “The Shack” by William Young.  Its subtitle is “Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity.”  This book has been on the New York Times best seller list for 34 weeks.  It is that good.  Likewise, it is an easy read, and you’ll finish it very quickly.  I really felt God speaking to me as I read this remarkable book, and I hope you will give it a try.  You can find it at Barnes and Noble.

I also encourage you to pick up your Bible and do some quiet reflective reading of the sacred word of God.  God will certainly speak to your heart and soul.  Just give the Holy Spirit a chance.  My latest Bible reading was the Epistle of James.  This scripture spoke to my heart.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell