The Prodigal Son

As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church


Jeremiah 3:12b-15,19-22; 1 John 3:7-20; Luke 15:11-32

Preparing for the Lenten season, this parable today seems fitting when one considers the world at large. We all experience the foibles of living and the choices we have to make daily. This parable surely indicates some of our human foibles as carried out by the two sons. For the younger son, desiring to do as he self-centeredly pleased, without regard for anyone else, was a big foible. For the older son, being faithful to his responsibilities but being jealous, unforgiving, judgmental, and unloving toward his brother, was his.

 Forgiveness and love are two qualities the father, symbolizing God, represents. Do these two qualities describe how we approach our everyday lives? There must be things we can learn from this parable today to help us understand how to acquire these two qualities. 

From the Epistle from John we heard that all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters. I hear this question from some: “Who are my brothers and sisters?” It reminds me of the question put to Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?” We can have many different responses to what life with our neighbor presents to us. Our response will always, hopefully, be the response of the Good Samaritan. Being willing to help in whatever way we can. We need to think about who our neighbors are, and who our sisters and brothers are, that we need possibly to forgive but certainly to love. 

Throughout the centuries, there have always been bad people doing bad things. There have been great times of despair and horrible conditions. Even now, in this time, many countries are experiencing wars, horrific starvation, and killings. The pendulum swings back and forth in the ideals and values through the ages. If there are over 8 billion people inhabiting the earth at this point, can I, can we, direct the pendulum? Yes. We can hope and pray that we are getting better at discerning truth from fiction and will ultimately help bring about the Reign of God, as we pray in the Our Father. And before we think of finding fault with sinners, do we need to admonish ourselves for what we fail to provide for those we are admonishing? Forgiveness and love are essential components of how we can be the best person we can be with the gifts we have been given. That is the key.

 Each of us is blessed with many opportunities to reflect on our lives. First of all, on our relationship with our God: being conscious, or becoming conscious, of God in our lives by spending time praying or learning to pray. Giving thanks to God for both the good things and the seemingly bad things takes time that is well spent. 

Then there is our neighbor, our brothers and sisters, who are all part of the mystical Body of Christ. To love is not simply to do a kind act. To love as God loves is difficult. Our true goal is to engage in the practices that will teach us how to remove sin and reveal the incomparably beautiful image of God that we already are as human beings. This endeavor is especially difficult because of the violence of this world, whether it be the violence we commit or the violence experienced at the hands of another.     

We are all unique individuals, and by appealing to the Spirit in our midst, each of us will find our unique way to approach life and our choices. 

Prepare this Lent by remembering God’s faithfulness to those who call on the Spirit. Ponder this: Is it love that enables us to forgive, or do we forgive before we are truly able to love?                                                     

Christ’s Spirit is in our Midst.

Sermon 204 Jan 19, 2025: Ezk 34:11-16; Col 1:11-20; Lk 15:1-10 “The Good Shepherd” [lost and found]

As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

 

         When traveling did you ever lose your luggage? Your flight went one way and your luggage another? Getting it back can be both frustrating and time consuming. If you’re lucky the airline might deliver your found luggage to your door. In the worst case it might be lost forever. If the contents are really important to you, you will expend whatever energy is necessary to recover your luggage.

         It would be hard to miss the theme of today’s scripture readings. The Good Shepherd. And yet, what is the Good Shepherd? Even though I now live in rural upstate New York, I have no personal experience of farming and so for me the image of the Good Shepherd is only based on stories not on practical experience. But Jesus was speaking to people of a largely agrarian society who were quite familiar with the image of a good shepherd to which today’s scripture points. The Good Shepherd cares for his or her flock, for its safety and well-being. And the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. They know when they are safe.

The most important quality that runs through both of these stories is not so much about rounding up sheep but seeking out what is lost. The woman is searching for a lost coin, and in her life, the sum it represents is a major portion of her financial well-being. So, the lost sheep and the lost coin represent something of value, a value so great, in the image of the lost sheep, that the other 99 can be left behind while searching for the one lost.

If a lost sheep can be valued that high, the value of a human being is higher still. But of course, Jesus’ stories aren’t really about sheep and coins, they are about our relationship with God. Think of the 99 sheep as on one side of an equation and the lost sheep on the other side. Both sides of the equation are encompassed in the one reality that is God. The 99 are aware and secure in their sense of being with and in God while the lost sheep has lost that connection. Nothing is outside of God. However, the lost sheep, which could be any one of us, may be aimlessly walking in the dark. God is seeking to bring that lost soul back into the light of divine love to enable it to see once again it's communion with God. We may know when we are lost. But do we know when we are found?

Many spiritual writers, including the church fathers, speak about how we are to live in God and God in us. The 99 sheep are like those with God and the one gone astray is sought out by God to be brought back into the fold with the others who are already with God. The Good Shepherd and the Thrifty Housewife represent a loving God seeking what is lost. 

Those who are lost are not really lost but rather have gone astray and God is drawing them back. Jesus is telling his listeners how strong God’s desire is to bring back those who have lost connection with their true identity of being a special part of God’s creation: that is, sons and daughters of God. The message of Jesus’ stories is: do not despair, the situation is not hopeless. God is always seeking to bring all of us more closely into communion with him.

 

[We may intellectually perceive this but do we really feel it? I have experienced this in what some may think is an odd way. As I was pondering this, an unusual image began to emerge which I would like share with you. The image was not so much about understanding our relationship with God, but rather trying to image what it feels like. Bear with me for a moment.

         I invite you to close your eyes. With your eyes closed, rest quietly with the feeling of who you are. Not what you look like or what you might dream about or even what you think you might now see, but rather just rest with the present feeling of who you are. I am distinct from my physical reality. I am sensing my presence without actually feeling anything tangible or palpable. But I notice that I am real and living and aware of my distinctiveness. Whatever that sense is, it makes me aware of who I am. Then remember the name of God: I am. 

Now open your eyes. This little experiment is simply trying to give us a deeper sense of experiencing God in us and we in God. The very thing that Christ is imaging in these stories.]

 

Bringing back what is lost is God’s perspective. Being found, is our human perspective. When we speak of being in God and God in us, we might also say that where we meet God is when we really can feel God’s presence so closely that we truly sense that the “I am” of God and the “I am” of each human being truly occupy the same space, or rather, the same all-encompassing reality. That’s when we are found, when we finally sense being within God and God within us.

         Then truly, Christ is in our midst! 

Homily for the Circumcision (Lk 2:21-23, 39-40)

 As preached by Brother Christopher
Holy Wisdom Church

 

Today is the feast of the Circumcision – the immediate follow-up to the Nativity – which commemorates Jesus being formally stamped as a member of God’s chosen people, the one through whom humanity would be saved. For it is also the feast of the name of Jesus, the name the angel gave to Mary at the Annunciation and which now defines his mission: ‘God saves’. So taken together, today is a feast of identity, a feast whose mystery we enter into every time we utter the name of Jesus in faith and love.

Yet I have to admit that I was struck several days ago when we celebrated the feast of St Stephen, the protomartyr, who was put to death because he had the temerity to confront the high priest and the entire Sanhedrin with their inauthenticity, showing that there was nothing automatic about circumcision and that it only had real meaning to the extent that they followed God’s lead. Remember what he said? “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit...” Little wonder why he was soon under a pile of stones. For Stephen, circumcision quite obviously didn’t accomplish what it was supposed to signify.

          Which leads one to ask, ‘so why did Jesus get circumcised? What is the deeper meaning of him submitting to a procedure that would soon become obsolete as the definitive sign of being part of the chosen people? I believe it points to a deeper mystery that is taking place. In submitting to the law of circumcision it marks a transition: that Jesus is the fullness and completion of the Old Covenant, that by having this marked on his body as an infant, it will be completed and brought to fulfillment on the cross. And his resurrection will usher in a new age, a new covenant in which physical circumcision will no longer be a legal requirement for being part of God’s people, but which will now be transformed into a spiritual requirement that applies to Jew and Gentile alike. 

          I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t a ploy to let us get off easy. For submitting to a true spiritual circumcision is about the total stripping of the old person, consecrating and sanctifying our bodies as part of this transformation. It’s a process that takes place over the course of our lives. And this is not gender specific. Spiritual circumcision applies to all of us, male and female alike, because above all, what it’s pointing to is circumcision of the heart. It is our heart – whose depths include all our thoughts, feelings, desires... everything that is not in synch with our dedication and love for God. That is what must be excised and left behind. That can’t happen without a lot of personal effort combined with grace. But that’s what we’re called to.

          Today marks the beginning of a new year. While it is not the beginning of the liturgical year, psychologically it represents a new opportunity to turn the page of our tired habits and compromises. Let’s receive it as the gift that it is.

Sermon 203 Dec 25: Jer 23:3-8; Gal 4:4-7; Mt2:1-12 Christmas Surprise

 As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

Back in the 1950s a regular element in our family Christmas observances was to watch the TV broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, a made-for-TV opera by Giancarlo Menotti. This became the most widely produced opera in the world! The story comes from Menotti’s Italian childhood memories. Amahl is the key figure in the story. You might characterize him as an Italian version of Bob Cratchit’s son Tiny Tim in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. An impish shepherd boy negotiating his life on a crutch, who worries his poor mother no end. The story opens with the boy telling tales about a star with a long tail to his exasperated mother. When a knock comes to the door and Amahl goes to see who it is, he reports that it is a king. His mother's disbelief and a a return to the front door, the report changes, it is 3 kings. That’s the end, mother has to check this out herself, and SURPRISE, it is three kings! And yes, bearing gifts.

By the end of the story, Amahl and his mother have learned about the child the kings are journeying to see. They want to give a gift to the child too but realize they have nothing to give. Then the boy offers his crutch and at that moment he is healed. The surprise visit leads to an unexpected healing. The motive behind the gift was pure altruism.

It’s not unreasonable to assume Mary and Joseph were quite surprised too when they received the visit from the three magi bearing gifts. The visitors gave their gifts but they took away with them the experience of meeting the transcendent God who came into our world to be one of us and to be with us in our joys and struggles.

The image of gift giving surrounding this feast continues to this day. We may be forgiven for our very human desire to focus on the gifts we give to and receive from each other. To encourage giving can be virtuous. But the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus is about stretching the meaning of giving beyond us to God. The Great Entrance in our Divine Liturgy can, among other things, be symbolic of the Magi bringing gifts to the Christ child. And what then happens to those gifts? They are transformed into the body and blood of Christ and given back to us as the food that sustains us on our journey to the kingdom. The message is that what we give to God [the good soil we cultivate] bears fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, a hundredfold. [Mk 4:20]

       Amahl’s modest gift is measured by his intension not by its intrinsic value. God’s gift to us is measured by his unconditional love for us not by our efforts to impress God. Even the magi who paid a surprise visit to Amahl received a surprise gift from the child, witnessing a miracle and then being touched by the holiness that was transferred through that child. This was the gift the Wise Men who visited the Christ-child received. When they left the child, they didn’t go away healed as Amahl but rather transformed. They didn’t go back the way they came, but rather by another way, symbolic of their own transformation. Their eyes were opened to a new reality. They followed a star, but found new life.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Sermon 202 November 24, 2024 Lk 2: 41-52, Heb 2:11-18, Sir 24:9-12 Theotokos Entry to Temple

 

As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

 

       The English language often presents us with multiple meanings for the same word. Sometimes the connections are not hard to discern, but at other times it can seem puzzling to say the least. Temple may seem obvious, a consecrated space used for worship. It is also the flat part of either side of the head between the forehead and the ear. How those relate may not be so obvious. The fact that the ear pieces on a pair of glasses are called temples is easier to figure out. How about a device in a loom for keeping the cloth stretched? For Bible readers there may be less confusion. The word temple is used 213 times!

       Today we are given two scenes that are set in the temple in Jerusalem, and both involve children. Our first scene is presented in Luke's gospel. When Jesus says, "Didn't you know that I had to be in my father's house?" the reference is to the Temple in Jerusalem where it was understood that God dwelt. So this was an indirect way of Jesus saying that he was God's son, as well as saying that it was natural for him to be with God, his father, in his father's house. This statement left both Mary and Joseph bewildered, despite Mary's experience of the annunciation.

       Our second scene, the message of today's feast, is about Mary's Temple experience as a young child. Mary enters the Temple where she will be brought up in preparation for the role she will ultimately play in our salvation.

       In these scenes we are witnessing the child Jesus and the child Mary entering the place where God dwells. Their nurturing years will be connected to God in both a physical and spiritual way. And by this festal celebration we are encouraged to reflect on how we too can discover our connection to God in both a physical and spiritual way.

       But first we have to turn around the image of our relation to the temple. Near the end of Christ's ministry he spoke about tearing down the temple and rebuilding it in three days. Of course he said this while responding to his disciples comment about the Temple building, so it was not surprising that the physical temple building is what they had in mind. Only later do we learn that Jesus was referring to the temple of his body. And in an analogous way Mary is referred to in the texts of this feast as the temple of God whom she bore.

       So this image of the temple embraces not only a physical temple building, in this case in Jerusalem, but the human body as well. But even in that image at least two aspects also emerge: The physical body which, in Mary's case, bore Jesus' physical body, but also the spiritual center of our being, the heart and soul of every human being where God also resides.

       This brings to mind a phrase from a lenten hymn sung with Psalm 51 which says in part: "for at early morning my spirit seeks your holy temple." And what temple is that? Might it mean the temple where God dwells in each of us. A morning cup of coffee may awaken our senses, but our "spirit" is searching deep within our soul for the God who gives us life and guides our every step, if we are alert to that divine presence.

       So we come to church to worship God who is found in this temple, but also to inspire us to recognize and listen to the holy spirit that is found in the temple of our own hearts.

       Christ is in our midst!

Sermon 201 September 14, 2024 Mt 25: 1-13, 1 Cor 12:12-21, 26-7, Ezk 33:7-16 Ten Virgins.

 

As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

       "The foolish virgins took their lamps but they took no oil with them."

       When I was a student I can remember some kids thinking it was cool to be able to get someone else to write your term papers for you. It also wasn't unusual for kids to try to get the answers to tests before the exam to increase the likelihood of passing or doing even better. But in the end, these strategies fail. They don't prepare you for life. Someone else can't do that for you. When the darkest moments in life come, like the foolish virgins discovered, without fuel the source of light will flicker and fade.

       Jesus opened this parable saying "the kingdom of heaven will be like this." And he goes on to describe the wedding banquet as the image of the kingdom of heaven. And remember Jesus also tells us elsewhere in the gospels that "the kingdom of God is within you." [LK 21:17] We can make this a reality if we do as St Paul exhorts the Philippians: "have this mind in you that was in Christ Jesus." [2:5] Putting on the mind of Jesus can only happen if we really focus and pay attention to Jesus' life and teachings. That means spending time in prayer and with the scriptures.

       This was the error of the foolish virgins. After running off to get a supply of oil, they returned only to hear the Lord say to them: "I don't know you." The oil they needed was not available for purchase. For the message of the parable isn't about oil or banquets. It's about being known by Jesus in a way that he can recognize. Can Jesus recognize himself in us?

       Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Our daily challenge is to always be searching for ways to bring that light to the world. But in order to do that we first have to bring it into our own heart and soul. We may need help in doing this. This is the vocation of the church.

       Our participation in worship as community and in sharing the eucharist unite us with fellow believers. The seasons and feasts of the church year constantly remind us of Christ's life, teachings and sacrifice for our salvation. It also brings to our awareness the witness of the saints, martyrs and confessors who model for us the Christian vocation. Other church institutions including monasteries can offer opportunities for retreats, conferences, spiritual direction and quiet spaces for deeper personal prayer.

       At the end of the parable Jesus exhorts his listeners to: Keep awake! What does this mean? It means that all of us are called to be prepared, be alert, be conscious, be searching, be filled with wonder and awe before the magnificence of God's creation. It doesn't say to be perfect. Remember, this parable is not about good and bad, it is about wise and foolish. For all 10 virgins fell asleep. We are not called to be perfect, but rather to strive to be wise and at every opportunity be mindful of Christ's teachings, so that when the call comes, he will know who we are and welcome us into the kingdom of God where he has prepared a place for us.

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

Sermon 200 September 14, 2024 Jn 19:13-35, 1 Cor 1:17-28, Is 10:25-27, 11:10-12 Exaltation of the Cross

As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church



In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

     The cross is everywhere in our society. It is in things we don't even think about as having a cross: windows, building structures [remember the 9/11 photos of the collapsed twin towers], tile walls and floors, lamps, telephone poles, appliances, and many others. This doesn't include all the things we know to be used as religious symbols: cemetery crosses, hand crosses, crosses worn as emblems, and of course the familiar act of crossing ourselves. There is also the terrifying image in the film The Mission of the priest tied to a cross and thrown over the Iguazu Falls in Paraguay. And we also have the Old Testament story of Moses holding up his arms during the battle against Amalek. Today's feast, the Exaltation of the Cross, commemorates the story of St Helena, Emperor Constantine's mother, finding the True Cross in Jerusalem in the 4th century [ca. 326]. It is also a reminder of how important the Cross is to the Christian faith.

     In thinking about today's feast I was constantly brought back to the concept of the True Cross. It is an obvious reference to the wooden cross that Jesus was crucified on. Yet it also opens up the possibility of meditating on the cross not as a physical object but as the essence of our faith. How do we human beings live a life linked to the Cross?

     John Behr in his book Becoming Human, offers a meditation on the nexus between our humanity and Jesus Christ's human reality. God becomes a human being so that human beings can become God. All of creation comes from God. We humans simply work with and manipulate what God has created. The fact that we live is from God. The fact that we die is our human reality since God does not die. The fact that Jesus Christ died on the Cross as a human being and passed into life eternal is the redemptive salvation that Christ bestowed on humankind. What he did, he did once for all.

     As John Behr says in his book Becoming Human: "Death is... the only thing that all men and women have in common from the beginning of the world onwards, throughout all regions and cultures of the world." [p. 21]. But that death is not about an end but rather a new beginning. On our journey in this life, the more closely we are able to align ourselves with Christ's life the more fully we will be able to experience the life eternal that Christ has prepared for us.

     As we continue to align ourselves with the life of Christ, the more powerful is the reality of the Cross in our lives. The Cross that we carry is not some external physical object. What is the true cross? Stand up and hold out your arms. No you're not being frisked! That is the True Cross for us, we are actually made in it's image and likeness! We are born with it and carry it all our life!

     Glory to the Holy and Lifegiving Cross! Glory Forever!