This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.

I was joking with Father Andrzej this past Sunday. He asked me to prepare the homily for this Sunday. I told him that I hoped that the readings and Gospel wouldn’t be all too difficult, too much of a downer, too incomprehensible.

I was hoping for a joyous set of readings and Gospel. This occasion, PolishFest, is obviously a joyous occasion for our parish. Those among you, who are here for PolishFest, are our guests. We celebrate the fact that you are here. We want you to feel welcome. We want to sing out our joy, and focus on the manner in which God builds up our community through this experience.

God obviously had other plans. I ended up with one of the most difficult set of readings, and indeed, the most difficult Gospel in the cycle of Gospels.

In our first reading Amos observes the cheating and the coldness of heart evident among the chosen people. They sat around, observing the formalities of the Sabbath, and every moment of the day they thought: When will this day finally be over so I can get back to business?

They fixed the scales; they bought the poor by fixing the terms of the sale, so they stayed indebted. Listen to the list:

“We will diminish the ephah,
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!—

The cynical among us might ask: What has changed since then?

The sad fact is, not much. Maybe the people of the world are a little more sophisticated. They use terms like sub-prime, derivatives, short and put sales, rent-to-own, lease-to-buy. As a matter of fact, they won’t even wait till the Sabbath is over —“ go now, easy terms available.

Then comes the Gospel taken from Luke 16.

This passage is one of the most difficult in the Gospels.

Now being one of the most difficult does not present a problem, because with the power of the Holy Spirit and a touch of my Polish stubbornness I was determined to attack it.

From what we read Jesus would seem to be praising the crooked steward. Jesus seems to commend stealing.

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
—For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Now that can’t possibly be right. What is Jesus trying to tell us? Did St. Luke miss something? Did he forget to record a few lines?

I had to figure this out.

Now I’ve read so many exegetical comments on this Gospel, trying to make sense of it, that I felt like my head would explode.

No clear answer.

I read it over and over, and in context with the other readings. I prayed.

The light finally came on.

My friends,

What it comes down to is that the master and the steward were on the same wavelength. The master recognized that the steward had cooked the books to save his own skin and said: ‘Cool, you cooked the books, you and I are on the same wavelength.’

The folks that Amos accused were on the same wavelength as well.

We will diminish the ephah…
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
…even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!—

We will do it. We’re the people of the world. We revel in the world and the victories of the world. We are perfectly comfortable with the ways of the world and we recognize our fellow travelers.

Jesus is using these people of the world as an example for us —“ the people of the Kingdom.

Now you may be in church for the first time in a long time. You might be here for the cultural aspect of our worship, or for the music. You may be sitting here waiting for those delicious pierogi. You may be here every week.

Regardless, all of us are the people of the Kingdom of God. We are citizens by right —“ by our baptism into the body of Christ. As a citizen we have separated ourselves from the world.

My fellow citizens of the kingdom, Jesus is looking to us and is telling us that we need to be on the same wavelength.

It is about how we live.

Our ancestors, whose ways we celebrate and honor this weekend; those stubborn immigrants lived right lives attached to the Kingdom of God. They lived right lives in union with the Catholic faith. They held that faith precious and did not separate it from their way of living.

They weren’t interested in dishonest lives or cooking the books. They didn’t differentiate between the Sabbath day and the next, being clean, honest, and practically perfect on Sunday while going petal to the metal the rest of the week.

For them, each day was a day on the journey toward God and His heavenly Kingdom.

They built communities that celebrated who they were: God, family, community. Church was not a Sunday pass time or a disconnect —“ it was, and still is, the real deal.

Brothers and sisters,

I was on my way over to the Armenian Center over in Greenville this past Wednesday. Our Ecumenical group is invited there every September for an excellent luncheon and some fellowship. Fr. Stepanos and Fr. Bedros are wonderful hosts, and the Armenian food is simply wonderful.

Traveling down Route 32 I came across a sign. It said Family worship every Sunday.

This sign is deep in irony. What, exactly, are these folks being invited to worship?

It could just have easily said self worship, money worship, or pierogi worship.

As Christians we belong to the Kingdom —“ yes and I mean each and every one of us. What we must ask ourselves is whether we will be shrewd in our faith, putting God, the right and due worship of God, the building up of His kingdom, and living in accordance with all He teaches through the Gospel and His Holy Church before all else.

Jesus is challenging every Christian to ask this: “How much energy, creativity, ingenuity am I giving to the task living in union with His kingdom?” Are we as shrewd as this manager? Are we as motivated? As resourceful? As bold?

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.

Be shrewd, motivated, resourceful, and bold in coming to God and in bringing your brothers and sisters to the kingdom. You are welcome to join us in doing so.

Amen.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

How does it feel to be wrong all the time? How do you find your way out?

Now, I’m sure that you don’t think you’re wrong all the time. I certainly don’t, but the real problem is that we are far too sure of our self determined righteousness.

The Jewish people were sure of their righteousness. After all, Moses went up the mountain to meet with the Lord, and had been gone for many days. Would anybody have blamed them for relying on themselves?

Where was the leader? Wasn’t he self proclaimed? What right did he have in making us wait?

We know, from the readings, that God certainly expected more from them. But how were they to know?

The fact is that God does expect more from us. He expects us to know —“ because it is so simple, any child can grasp it. God says, here is My word, My example, My Son, and My Church. The rules to live by.

God expects us to live by His teaching and expects excellence in our conduct. Our conduct toward our brothers and sisters, and toward creation.

St. Paul, writing to Timothy notes:

I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy

The fact is, God does consider us trustworthy. In baptism we come into relationship with God, we are buried with Christ, literally buried in the water of baptism. We are made part of Christ’s body by our partaking of His body and blood —“ something that unites all of us —“ even the people we don’t like so much. We have the promise of eternal life, the pearl of great price, for which we should be willing to sacrifice all.

God gives us the strength we need, and like Paul we need to be circumspect about our righteousness.

Now remember that Paul, who was a Jewish Pharisee, considered himself righteous. He believed in his righteousness —“ a righteousness obtained through the observance of the Law.

Later, in writing to the Philippians he would say:

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

Today, Paul declares himself the greatest sinner of all —“ and proclaims the fact that he has been mercifully treated so as to be an example of fortitude to all Christians.

But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.

That, my friends, is the key.

Righteousness cannot come from one’s own actions, nor from the simple observance of laws, rules, and regulations. The other son, in the story of the Prodigal son, made that mistake.

Rather, righteousness can only come from faith in Christ Jesus, and from God’s surpassing generosity towards us.

Brothers and sisters,

We are to acknowledge and act upon that gift by acting in the manner God expects from us. We are to bring our life into accord with the gift we have been given. We are to live lives that are in tribute and testimony to the gift we receive —“ the precious gift of faith.

Yet, for all the glory of the gift, for all the power of faith, for the example of the myriad saints and martyrs, for Jesus’ real and human example, we fall and fail.

When we sin we must rely on the confidence God has given us through His self-revelation. He let us know that He is the shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep. He is the woman that lights a lamp and sweeps the house in search of the lost coin, He is the Prodigal Father who will open His arms to His repentant son, and even love the surly, stubborn son.

His arms are open to us when we return in sorrow and in repentance; when we decide to make amends.

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’

Not only will His arms be open to us, but He Himself, and His entire household, that is, the Holy Church, will celebrate.

‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.

We are not wrong all the time, but when we are, when we sin, it is because our self righteousness gets in the way of the true righteousness that comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ.

The way out is by repentance, living a life in accord with the gifts we have received, and ultimately reliance on God’s great mercy.

Praise be God for the gift of faith, through which we are made righteous. Praise be God, for His everlasting font of mercy.

Amen.

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’

Taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, Tenth Chapter, Verse 29.

Now Jesus will take an opportunity to teach the young lawyer. He will instruct him on the requirements surrounding acts of neighborliness. Jesus will tell him in no uncertain terms that we are all joined together as brothers and sisters. Jesus will ask the lawyer to go and believe the same thing.

We do not know if Jesus’ words made an impact on the young lawyer. Did he go out and change his ways? Did he take the focus off his desire for personal justification? Did he learn that justification comes from living a life in accord with God’s way?

In the same way, we do not know that much about each other. How much will today’s readings, the message of this homily, the sacraments, bring about change in our lives? How much will this Solemnity of Brotherly Love bring about a change in us? Will we still ask: Who is my brother?

We are certainly pious. We are here every week. We work hard for the Church and for each other.

But are we changing?

The Orthodox Jewish singer Matisyahu sings about change in his song —Chop ’em Down.— In the song he sings:

From the forest itself comes the handle for the ax

Consider that: the forest provides the wood for the very ax that will change the face of the forest. From within the forest comes the tool that will make the forest over.

Brothers and sisters,

By our baptism we are God’s children. Jesus Christ is within us. That’s the starting point. Now we must accomplish great changes, both within ourselves, and across the world.

From the very depths of our being we must find the tool, the thing that will bring about change in our lives and in the world. We must recognize Christ within ourselves —“ the demanding and exacting Jesus who teaches all righteousness. Then seeing Him, we must live His word and see Him in each and every person we meet.

The lawyer’s idea of justification is wonderful. We can have life with God forever —“ and that’s great. But if, like the lawyer, think that the road to the justification is paved with easy platitudes, or pre-set formulas for accomplishing change, we are sadly mistaken.

It is not an easy road. The road to heaven, the road to treating each and every human being as a brother and sister, is most difficult.

Difficult, not only in recognizing Christ in our brothers and sisters, but also difficult in witnessing to them —“ witnessing by actions that accept them in love, witnessing in accepting and loving them while holding up Christian witness to the proper path and way of living. Witnessing, not be preaching to them, but by loving their humanity and by acting as Christ would. To live according to God’s ways.

We all have the thing in our personal forests that can be fashioned into a tool to make ourselves and the word over. We have the capability to treat each person as a brother or sister, for God is in us. That is a gift from God. It is not self made, nor is it put there to be admired from afar. It is there to be used, and used in doing right, worshiping right, and witnessing correctly.

God states, through the prophet Jeremiah:

I will place My law within them, and write it upon their hearts.

He fulfilled that promise in His Son, Jesus. He wrote His law in the flesh of our hearts. He writes it in each and every heart, and we are to recognize Him.

That is why each person is a brother or sister. That is why each is the image of God.

We are the instruments of change. We are the good Samaritans, we are the wood of that ax handle —“ the one that will change everything. We must take action to cooperate in making all things new.

We may never know the extent of the change in that lawyer, or in the person sitting next to you. That is really unimportant. The only thing we can know is the extent to which God has brought about repentance, change, charity, and compassion in our lives. How my eyes and your eyes have changed.

St. John concludes by telling us that:

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world.

If we bear Christ, if we are one with Him in our journey of change, if we bear His love, the gospel message, and our witness in treating all with brotherly love, then we will be confident before God’s throne.

Let us begin today.

—Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.—

How has the revelation of God, made real in His coming as man, helped us to understand who God is?

Can we narrow God down to a few faces? Can we place Him in the appropriate box with the appropriate label? Can we write a theological treatise and say —“ yes there, that’s the answer.

We have several limitations. Our minds cannot comprehend the totality of God. Further, we tend to take our life experience and our conception of the universe —“ the way things work —“ and stress a facet of God that fits with our philosophy.

In today’s readings and Gospel we are asked to suspend our pre-conceived notions. God asks us to be open to a new understanding, completed and made real in the coming of the Christ.

In the Book of Sirach we find this key passage:

What is too sublime for you, seek not,
into things beyond your strength search not.

The introduction to the Book or Sirach states:

The author, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, was thoroughly imbued with love for the law, the priesthood, the temple, and divine worship.

The Book presents wisdom that flows from love.

So this passage forms a sort of basis for the oft repeated phrase —“ who can understand love?

The love of God is not something dissectible. The face of God, His personality, ways, and reasoning are too vast for analysis. We can struggle with the search for a label, but is that struggle tied to the process of spiritual development we are required to undertake?

My friends,

When we decide for Jesus, when we are reborn and consciously aware of the goal to which we are all called —“ eternal life with God in heaven, we venture down the road of becoming. We take the steps necessary to set aside the pre-conceived notions of what life should be about. Our goal and focus changes —“ and all is held in relationship to our becoming more and more Christ like.

Besides setting aside the pre-conceived notions of what life should be about, we set aside our pre-conceived notions of who God is.

Brothers and sisters,

The letter to the Hebrews makes this plain.

The Jewish people remembered the receipt of the commandments of God, the receipt of the commandments on the Holy Mountain. That was the day that God came to visit them.

These are a few passages that paint the picture of that day:

The LORD also told [Moses], “I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also.” When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people,
the LORD added, “Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments
and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.
…
On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder.
…
Then God delivered all [the] commandments
…
When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away
and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die.”
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin.”
Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was.

The letter to the Hebrews asks the Jewish people to put that picture of God right in the forefront of their minds and then it tells them that in Christ everything has changed. Now they will approach Mount Zion:

and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

Faithful friends,

How has the revelation of God, made real in His coming as man, helped us to understand who God is?

It has helped us understand God because God speaks directly to us. Not in trumpet blasts, fire, smoke, and thunder, but in words we can comprehend. His sacred word and the life of His son Jesus Christ has changed, challenged, and thrown over all pre-conceived notions.

God says to you and to me —“ approach my holy mountain and the new and heavenly Jerusalem. Come in faith, saying yes Lord, amen.

We are to change ourselves and admit our failure to comprehend —“ and that is humility. We are to be revolutionaries of the new Kingdom, overturning fear, hatred, bigotry, and the place society, the world, has set for each person. We are to say no, nothing for repayment, but all for God.

Jesus, fully accepted in our hearts, changes everything. In Jesus the foolish are wise, the child knows more than the adult, the blind see, the crippled walk, those who do without repayment are repaid, and all may come, in love, to the heavenly banquet.

Amen.

Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

Brothers and sisters,

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. Today we celebrate witness to truth.

Now Herodias had a definite grudge to bear. St. John the Baptist called her out on her sin, taking up with another man while being married to his brother, and she didn’t like that very much.

Now we look at situations like that and think, oh the rich and powerful, the crazy things they do. How can you be married to one man and take up with his brother at the same time? We also tend to think that since Herodias was consort to the king, she had the power, wealth, and resources to seek her revenge.

We watch as Herodias slides down, deeper into depravity, using, and prostituting her daughter Salome to accomplish the task.

Herod himself appears to play the role of the innocent bystander, taken in by Herodias and Salome. But if we look at some of the commentaries on the event, Herod was fully engaged in plotting as well. He set John up and played the taken-in fool for cover.

We can sit back, take a deep breath, and say wow, incredible. We do that all the time, incredulous at the sins of others; the clay feet of the holy, the machinations of the politicians, the greed of the rich and powerful, the depravity of the movie and music industries.

If John the Baptist were to stand outside your door, as you drive home from work, what would he call out? Would he look at you and say —“ oh, righteous one, you are blessed of God?

The psalmist pegged it well when he sang:

Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
If I say, —Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light——“
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

Yes, God knows. You and I wouldn’t have too easy of a time with John standing across the street from us.

The point is, how will we react? Look at every criticism received, and let’s ask ourselves, how did I react? That is where we will find the answer. Down deep, do I want the critic dead?

Like Herodias we want to hide from sin, place our sins in a black bag, and only look at them while we are enjoying them. We don’t want anyone to notice them, or call us out on them.

In today’s culture of permissiveness we may even go so far as to ask those around us to celebrate our sin. Aren’t I cool? Don’t I just have it down? Look at me…

My friends,

Most folks grumbled quietly about Herod and Herodias. They spoke in whispers, but outwardly paid their respects. But not John! John spoke the truth —“ and died for it.

The respect of our fellows is worthless if it is only a faí§ade. The judgment of God and the truth proclaimed by His prophets is the better guide, the only one that counts. How we react, whether we repent, act in faith, and believe in the Gospel is what counts.

Perhaps, pondering our sins and what John would say to us, we ought to listen to Paul:

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

Brothers and sisters,

Trust in the Word of God, that you received. It is at work in you. Take it up and turn away from sin. Be a witness to faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

Today is a precious day for the Holy Church. Today marks our patronal feast —“ the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa.

The universal Church celebrates this feast, but it has particular import for us. For under her patronage we are blessed. Under her patronage we strengthen our drooping hands and our weak knees. We make straight paths for our feet. In truth we work and struggle so that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

Brothers and sisters,

If I had intended to bore you today I could have gone on about the history of this icon, this miraculous image. I could have talked about the writing of this icon, its travels, and the wars that raged around it, the great and small miracles attributed to it.

I could paint a picture of the walls of the monastery at Jasna Gora, bejeweled with the gifts of the rich, the gifts of kings, princes, and knights —“ all in thanksgiving for blessings received through her patronage. I could describe the crutches that adorn those walls —“ and all the medical devices that were left behind in tribute to her for the healing found there.

It is magnificent.

But, brothers and sisters,

Listen instead to the words from Isaiah which we proclaimed today:

I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.

Isn’t that us? Aren’t we those fugitives? Aren’t we immigrants and children of immigrants? And, isn’t she the sign, the patron, under whom we proclaim God’s glory to the nations?

Oh, yes, she is —“ and so much more. Our beautiful mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa is a sacramental sign, a doorway to faith in God, faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The Orthodox Church teaches that Icons are simply Holy Scripture made visible, just as the Word, Jesus Christ, is made visible through the incarnation. They are more than pretty pictures —“ and they are not painted, but written in prayer.

Through this icon and under our Lady’s patronage we gather to learn. We gather to receive the most precious gift of all, her beloved Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. We look at her and listen to her Son as He teaches us. The doorway is opened and we experience miracles.

We are healed, we are brought together, enmity is set aside, and hurts are acknowledged and forgiven. We subsist and we grow. We gather in the harvest and feed the hungry. We care for the weak and we educate the young. We pray.

This parish, founded under her patronage, does not ‘get-it’ easy. There is no lack of suffering and sadness. Yet, as the Letter to the Hebrews teaches:

—…for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.—

We have heard the Letter to the Hebrews preached from this place, in front of this icon, for eighty-seven years. We have endured our trials as —discipline.—

As we are told:

all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

…and we have been trained by it.

My friends,

I mentioned that the Letter to the Hebrews has been preached in front of this icon for eighty-seven years. It was preached in front of her, even when we could not see her.

Even when her image was destroyed by fire on December 31st, 1946, she remained with us.

By faith we saw beyond what we could see —“ and that my friends, is what this icon is all about.

Now, through the beneficence of the Very Rev. Wieslaw Pietruszka she adorns this place once again. Yet, by our suffering, we have been trained to look at her, and to pass through her, to see into eternity, to see the love of God.

On this patronal feast, we must consider our faith. Consider how the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa adorns our lives. Where does she hang in your life and mine? On a wall in the living room or bedroom?

Not only —“ for I know that she adorns our hearts. I know that she is part of us. I know that she stands ready to open the door to us —“ to point to her Son, as she does in this icon. She is saying, here He is. Listen to Him. She waits for our response.

Beloved in Christ,

Today we sing the song of praise written by the psalmist:

Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Under her patronage we tell the Good News. Under her patronage we will be victorious.

Amen.

She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.

When you are a child, some of these adult words can be very confusing.

I recall asking my mother, on more than one occasion, what the difference was between the Ascension and Assumption.

Being ever patient with me she would explain that to ascend, one must do so of one’s own will and power. To be assumed means to be taken up, not of your own power, but by the will and power of another.

Jesus, being God, ascended.

Mary, being human, was assumed.

When you are an adult, some of these adult words can be very confusing.

So what is this solemnity of the Dormition slash Assumption?

Simply put, we celebrate the day on which Mary, the Mother of Jesus, fell asleep. She died. That is her Dormition. She was mourned by the Apostles and was laid in a tomb.

Concurrently, we celebrate that day when the Apostles found the tomb empty. That, as was revealed to them, was her Assumption.

Words are confusing, especially in theological context. What is said, or left unsaid, especially in regard to the life of Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles, is repeatedly interpreted, added to, misconstrued, and misunderstood.

The Holy Church makes it easy for us common folk.

Jesus, by His coming to us as man in the Incarnation, remained fully God, and became fully human – one with humanity in all its travails, except sin. Jesus, the God-man chose Mary as His mother.

The angel Gabriel asked, and Mary said yes. She recognized that God:

—…has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.—

In Jesus’ coming, in His suffering, death, resurrection, and Ascension, God

…has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

In the presence of His followers Jesus ascended into heaven. As St. Paul reminds us:

Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

St. Paul also provides us with perspective:

For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father

The Church helps us non-theologians to understand Mary’s proper role and place.

Brothers and sisters,

It is so sad to see the manner in which Mary’s beauty and witness has been corrupted. She has become many things to many people, all because, improperly understood, and with some things left unsaid, people make her into anything but who she is.

We have the Mary of visionaries. We picture the Father, Son, and Spirit sitting in a boardroom discussing the sins of humanity. Jesus pipes up, ‘Father, it is terrible down there, it is time to crush them.’ The Spirit is waiting with the heavenly host, ready to bring about a cataclysmic end. The Father intervenes —“ ‘Let’s send Mary to some children in Fatima, Lourdes, Medjugorje, or Knock. She’ll set ’em straight.’ Of course these folks miss the message of Jesus —“ clearly taught by the Church. If we cannot grasp Jesus’ simple message, no vision or secret message will scare us into grasping that message. Visions of the heavenly host, poised for war, make no difference. We can only make a difference by doing as Jesus asks of us.

We have the Mary of the perfect birth. Some believe that Jesus was transported out of Mary’s womb in a painless, blood and mess free manner, gently placed in the manger. These folks miss the fact that Jesus was like us in all things but sin. How exactly is He like us if His birth is so unlike ours? We get squeamish thinking of Mary, in a stable, giving birth, and the reality of that process. Not easy for a young woman and her husband – all alone. We would prefer clean – and not quite human. If it is not quite human we have an excuse for not living up to Jesus’ expectation of us.

We have Assumption purists who believe that Mary was pulled up into heaven without experiencing human death. This is not taught by any Church, but is left unsaid by some. In being left unsaid, well, people fill in the blanks. In this scenario Mary trumps Jesus —“ who suffered and died. Again, an excuse. This is so far beyond me I couldn’t possibly live the kind of witness Mary lived.

We have Mary worshipers. Mary becomes the female Christ, the co-mediatrix of grace and salvation. These poor folks treat Mary like a vending machine. Pray to Mary, she’ll get you what you need.

In this Solemnity we recall Mary’s humanity:

She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

We recall her yes to God’s will. We recall her death. And, we recall the miracle of her Assumption.

Today we recall Mary’s humanity. Mary, fully and completely human in every way said yes to God. Because of this, Mary’s place within the Church is set. Because this lowly human being had the capacity to live for God and in complete conformity to God’s will, we know that we can do so as well. She did it. We can do it was well – and there is no excuse not to.

Mary is the first witness, the perfect servant, the beautiful mother. She is singularly honored by her Assumption into heaven, a foretaste of what we shall all experience —“ what she is, we can be.

During her earthly life she continually pointed to her Son and reminded His followers:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

Mary witnesses to us today. She once again proclaims of the powerful love and grace of God. Love and grace that touch every human life. Elizabeth saw this clearly.

—Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.—

Yes, Mary, Blessed are you amongst women —“ for your firm believing and for your yes.

Mary, pray for us that we might have faith like yours, a voice to say yes, and the will to live in complete conformity to God’s will. Help us to understand and help us to do whatever He tells us.

Amen.

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.

The a-ha moment, when the light comes on and we have a sudden understanding of something we’ve struggled with.

Our first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, recounts the benefits derived from being faithful. This was faith as perceived by the old Israel —“ salvation for faithful Israel and destruction for their faithless enemies.

This is an ancient faith, and a simple faith. We have faith, those without faith are destroyed, all is good.

The psalmist seems very confident in this promise when he sings:

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Our second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, recounts Israel’s history, but in light of the faith necessary to grasp the Gospel.

Abraham was a stranger in a strange land. He lived in tents. He had no promise regarding the destruction of his enemies, only a promise that an old man and a sterile wife would have descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, the sands of the seashore.

The writer tells us:

…for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

Brothers and Sisters,

If Jesus were among us today in human form He would very well tell us to divest of our stocks and bonds, sell our houses, give the proceeds away, and focus on the only asset worth having —“ faith in God.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven

Jesus then talks about the servants who are prepared. Peter questions Him:

—Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?—

To which Jesus replies:

—Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward?—

The prudent servant is the servant who lives by faith, faith like Abraham had, in that trustworthy promise.

The key is, the Lord’s words are meant for everyone. Everyone is invited to partake, to be a prudent servant.

My friends,

We are all unsure of our eternal place. What will happen to me?

In our hearts we long for eternal life with God.

Consider the song —Knocking of Heaven’s Door.— Personally, I like the Polish translation of the song, because the words are particularly directed toward God. Here’s a rough translation:

I stand in the corner, near Your gates.
Please Lord, open them for me.

Let me in today, although I am far away.
I am waiting for your pity
I pound on your gates O Lord.
Do not let it be Your will that I stand outside.

We desire heaven —“ God’s love, a love that is all consuming, the complete love of the Father for His children. That love is a love that fills us so completely that no word could possibly describe it.

The desire for that eternal love lives in everyone’s heart.

It lives in the heart of the faithful, prepared servant;
The heart of the abusive servant;
The heart of the unprepared servant; and
In the heart of the servant who is ignorant of his Master’s will.

Jesus’ expectation is the same and His standard is the only one that counts. It is against His standard that all servants will be judged.

So, my friends, we have a choice.

We cannot claim ignorance of our Master’s will —“ that excuse won’t help us.

That leaves us with the choice of being abusive, unprepared, or prepared.

Brothers and sisters,

The desire for God’s love lives in our hearts.

If we acknowledge that desire, we will knock, He will open.

Be prepared by doing His will now and always.

…and what is His will:

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Simply, be prepared, put your faith in His promise, a trustworthy promise. Listen, and live the Gospel message. It is the gold standard against which each of our actions will be judged.

—O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.—

Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman brings lack of faith full circle.

In our first reading from Numbers, Israel responded to the Canaanites out of fear. The Israelites, with God marching with them, forgot the most important lesson of all —“ faith in God is paramount. Faith in God is stronger than any obstacle.

The Israelite scouts went into the land of Canaan, a people without faith in the true God, and came back afraid. They were not just afraid, but they encouraged fear in the people.

But the men who had gone up with [Caleb] said,
—We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us.—
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel
about the land they had scouted, saying,
—The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants.
And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants
we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.—

Those men certainly sinned against God, and lost trust in Him. Perhaps the sin they committed, their lack of trust, would have fallen on them alone. But no, they couldn’t leave it at that. Misery loves company.

So their sin spread:

At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries,
and even in the night the people wailed.

Today, we would attribute the Israelites response to human weakness.

Human weakness and human self-confidence are both sinful. Consider Caleb’s statement:

Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said,
—We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so.—

Ahem, who can do so?

We can do it or we are afraid and can do nothing.

The psalmist got it right when he said:

They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.

The Canaanite woman stands in stark contract. She has no standing in Israel, a member of the race cast out by Israel, people still without faith in the true God.

Yet she persisted. Despite all the obstacles, bitterness, and suffering of her people, she persisted in faith —“ a faith that produced results beyond human understanding.

Brothers and sisters,

Today we commemorate the Fourteen Holy Helpers. These were people of faith. They were bishops, soldiers, abbots, virgins, and all but one were martyrs.

They had faith.

The people of Bavaria developed a strong devotion to these saints and their intercession. Their faith told them that by prayer, and by trusting in the Lord’s bountiful mercy, these saints’ intercession for the people’s needs would be heard.

[1] St. Christopher and [2] St. Giles against plague, [3] St. Denis, against headaches, [4] St. Blaise, against ills of the throat, [5] St. Elmo, patron of abdominal maladies [6] St. Barbara, against fever, [7] St. Vitus, against epilepsy, [8] St. Pantaleon, patron of physicians, [9] St. Cyriacus, recourse in time of temptations, especially at the hour of death; [10] St. Catherine for protection against a sudden, unprovided death; [11] St. Eustace, patron of all kinds of difficulties, especially family troubles. Sts. [12] George and [13] Erasmus, are invoked for the health and protection of animals. [14] St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron of safe childbirth.

The Church, through Her witness proclaims the power of faith.

The Church’s saints, by their example, witness to the power of faith lived.

The Church doesn’t just make its proclamation to the un-listening world, to the anonymous masses of people out there. She makes that proclamation to us.

Have faith, trust in God, God is stronger than human weakness, be like that Canaanite woman. When you cry out, like the Canaanite woman,

—Lord, help me.—

…trust that He will actually provide what you need.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.

Well that’s Jesus for you —“ all dazzling, all miraculous, and all powerful.

Consider all the displays of power exhibited by Jesus. He turned water into wine; healed; cursed a tree and it withered; and he raised people from the dead. Consider Jesus in the Jordan, with the Holy Spirit descending and the voice of the Father from heaven, much like at the Transfiguration, saying:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

If there were any doubt, surely it was dispelled with His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven.

We could spend a long time focusing on Jesus’ power —“ and people’s disbelief. We could ask how disbelief is possible. Consider Peter’s words:

We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Eyewitnesses —“ you cannot do much better than that. Will disbelief continue even when there are witnesses?

I have trouble believing, you have trouble believing, he, she, and they have trouble believing. Those folks out there don’t believe at all —“ they deny believability.

Brothers and sisters,

Jesus’ display of His glory was not only for the benefit of believing —“ so that we would believe more strongly —“ but more importantly it was His promise to us.

This miracle is not about those who question belief, nor is it about forcing belief.

Rather, in Jesus’ changing appearance we are to recognize a foreshadowing of the way, and manner, in which we will change. His transfiguration is a promise to us.

That Jesus, transfigured on the mountain side, is a revelation of what we will be one day. His conversation with Moses and Elijah will be our conversation with our forbearers, the prophets, and the saints.

The Father speaks to us and tells us:

—This is my chosen Son; listen to him.—

When we listen to Him we become more and more like Him.

By our baptism we began a journey toward becoming more and more like Jesus. At some point we were confirmed, completing our baptismal journey. After that, we made some kind of decision to show up here each Sunday.

We come here to pray, to be forgiven, to listen to God’s word, and to receive Jesus.

As with the transfiguration, our communion changes us. We become that holy bread —“ the Body of Christ. We are changed. Over and over, we are changed.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, today is about more than a miraculous event some 2,000 years ago. It is about the on-going change we are to experience. It is about the miracle we experience when we stand here, shoulder-to-shoulder, praying as one. It is about our journey out of here and into the world, carrying with us the gift that changes us inside and out.

Today is about the promise of transfiguration.

Recognize and appreciate the transfiguration as God’s gift for each of us.

St. Peter reiterates this very point:

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

That will be the day we stand shoulder-to-shoulder before the throne of God. We will stand before God in garments of dazzling white, serving Him in union with the entire communion of saints. It will be the day Daniel prophesied:

His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

Be changed! Stay on the path to your transfiguration , and attend to the Most High and the Lamb.

Amen.