In this week’s news:
41 year old actor Nicolas Cage and 20 year old Alice Kim have a new baby which they named Kal-El. That’s right, for those who do not recognize it, Kal-El is Superman’s original Kryptonian name.
My sisters and brothers, my family in Christ,
Today the PNCC celebrates the Solemnity of the Christian Family. A remarkable and righteous celebration of what is good in God’s creation.
Our first reading explains God’s design. He created us in His image. Both men AND women, in God’s image. As a family, in God’s image. How amazing, the all powerful, everlasting, just, God created us in His image. Jesus Christ stood there at creation, the co-eternal Son of the Father, and the Holy Spirit moved across the waters —“ and life was brought forth. Life in the shape of the family is life in God. Jesus came to us as a child, part of a family. Jesus built community around Him in his disciples and Apostles —“ the family of the Church.
Thinking on this is wonderful. It is all warm and fuzzy because we can relate to family. Whether it is nuclear, single parent, or extended, whether our family is represented in our friends, co-workers, in the Church, in a mentoring relationship, our experience of community tells us —“ this is right. This is God’s plan.
But, I bring you a sad message and a call to action. God’s creation is in great danger, and Jesus message, the Gospel, is being threatened at every turn.
The Hollywood agenda —“ pure selfishness. Name your son after a fictional character, carry on the fiction of your relationships, and all the while feed and expound on your own ego. Obviously wrong —“ but we accept it. We even support it in the guise of being open minded and artistic.
The new world order and its affect. We have to respect whatever any individual dreams up, because it is part of their ‘cultural’ imperative. We have to respect each person’s SELF-determination, accent on the self part. Obviously wrong —“ but we accept it. We even support it in the guise of being open minded and democratic.
The ongoing fight to destroy the institution of marriage, to make it something it is not, the culture of death, it’s all ok, it’s my right.
As a matter of fact none of it is right, and it is not ok. It is sin. It is placing man, and mans’ desires before God. It is denigrating God to a philosophical construct at best. It seeks to destroy the Christian family.
Is the Gospel of Christ getting uncomfortable for you yet?
It really shouldn’t matter; for today the Gospel is no more than the philosophical ramblings of a guy named Jesus. He lived a few thousand years ago, talked a lot about love (oh, forget the responsibility and repent part), and he ate and drank with sinners, because he thought sin was cool.
Is this what we believe?
Are we judgmental —“ in fact yes, and we are prejudiced too. We have the ultimate standard to judge by. That is God’s standards as taught to us in the Holy Bible. We have the words and teachings, the example and light of Jesus Christ. And that is the key. Our Church family, our Christian way of life is opposed to the way of the world. The answer to the world’s ways is Jesus. Buddha is not god, nor is Shiva, nor the Great Spirit or Mother Earth, nor money, nor the world.
Jesus Christ is God and unless we can fall before Him in praise and adoration, declaring and believing with every part of our being that He is the everlasting, the Alpha and Omega, the Just Judge and ruler of all, then there is no sense in being here. If he is not the center of our family life, if we as parents are not holding our children accountable for their faith, if we are not modeling the Christian behaviors and attitudes we want to see in our families, our children, and in the world, then we possess no more than an interesting philosophical debate for dinner parties.
This is your call to action. This is your call to, as the title of the homily suggests, be a Christian family —“ a fiery reflection of God’s light. As Christian families, and as a church family, we are called to reflect the light of Christ. To be a light to the world, and to face some hardship in doing so. In the fire of the world’s desires we will be tested and refined. We will be purified for the heavenly kingdom.
Therefore, affirm Jesus Christ as God and live as a Christ centered family. By doing so you will change all that may be hurting you and you will bear witness to Christ before the world.
As a family let us reflect and pray,
Lord, Jesus, today’s psalm tells us that those who fear You and walk in Your ways are happy. Help us to lead exemplary lives as Christians, as Christian families, and as a Christian community. Grant us the grace to resist the promptings and ways of the world for You are all we need. Give us and our world a spirit of responsibility and repentance. Help us to remember that You forgive our sins, and have washed us in Your blood. In all things gather us together, as a family, under the banner of this Church, and grant us the blessings and happiness reserved for those who fear You and walk in Your ways. Amen.