The Good Word

The French playwright, Jean Anouilh, wrote a play in which a group of people were gathered just outside the gates of heaven. They were impatient, knowing that they had reserved places inside. Suddenly, a rumor began to spread that God was going to forgive those other people, too. They were stunned and started grumbling, “After all the work it took to get here.” Then, they grew angry and began to curse God. And, in that instant, they were damned. That was the last judgment. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Early in my priesthood, an older confrere told me that the best way to respond to compliments was to simply say, “Thank you.” If you are curious, he said, you could perhaps ask, “Was it something specific that moved you?” Anything else would be taking the compliment as if it were ours alone, and not from the abundance of God’s grace. We are servants, or, we are supposed to be. That is why St. John’s gospel has Jesus holding a basin and towel at the Last Supper instead of a chalice and paten. If we are to follow Jesus, then servanthood must be our way, too. I think we will be surprised at who we will meet in heaven. Why? Because most of heaven’s population will be made up of people who did not garner headlines in life. They were quietly working behind the scenes making life better for the rest of us. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Are there reserved places awaiting us in heaven? Perhaps, but then why did St. Paul say that he still had to run the race, that he had not reached the finish line? We hope that God is preparing an everlasting home for us and for those we love, but we know that there is more for us to do. Prayers need to be said, sacrifices made, lessons still need to be taught - and learned. It is not our gifts and talents that pave our way to gates of heaven. It is God’s love and mercy that opens all doors. Blessings,Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time IIOctober 20, 2022Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time.Today our reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke: Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” The gospel of the Lord.HomilyIn the today’s gospel we hear Jesus say: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” These words can sound strange to us who cannot turn of the TV or the computer without witnessing the explosions of war and the senseless violence on our streets and in our schools across the nation. We see the effects of climate change as more and more violent storms wreck destruction across the face of the earth. The earth already seems to be on fire; but we know that this is not the fire of which Jesus speaks.Jesus never promoted any revolution except the revolution of love. We see that in his words: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” We know that the baptism of which Jesus speaks is his passion and death on the cross. By giving of himself even to death, Jesus shows the tremendous love that God has for us wayward human beings. But not everyone can accept Jesus and his revolution of love.That is why Jesus had to warn his disciple of the divisions that following him would cause. Not everyone is capable or even wants to put the good of one’s neighbor ahead of one’s own. We see that in society and may see it in our own families. As soon as one feels slighted or deprived of something they deserve, antagonism immediately arises.Paul saw this happening in his communities, so he writes: “Brothers and sisters: I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”The fire that must spread throughout the world is the fire of the Holy Spirit and the love of Jesus Christ. Christian families and communities should reflect the love that is found the Most Holy Trinity. That is why it is so sad to see Christian churches and even our own Catholic Church adhering to the culture wars in our society. We need to be agents of reconciliation, not on our own terms, but on God’s terms. We cannot pick and choose some elements of the Gospel to emphasize and others to practically ignore.Jesus never said it would be easy and Paul knew and shared his own difficulties. In the end it does not depend upon us, but on our willingness to cooperate with the grace of God. As Paul ends this section of his letter: “Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”May God bless you.Rev. Karl E. Esker CSsRBasilica of our Lady of Perpetual HelpBrooklyn, NY