Su "sí" también significa "no".

Homilía: 34º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario – Ciclo C

Solemnidad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Rey del Universo

          En el Evangelio de hoy, saltamos hacia el centro de la narración de Lucas de la crucifixión. En él Jesús se burló de los espectadores mientras que él está en medio de su gran sufrimiento. Las autoridades judías, los soldados romanos, e incluso uno de los malhechores crucificados con él todo lo presionan para demostrar que él es el Mesías, el Rey nombrado por Dios de los Judíos, utilizando el poder divino para salvarse de la crucifixión. No puedo imaginar lo que sintió Jesús. Él sabía que él era el rey, pero, lo injuria, estos hombres lo llamaban un impostor, un farsante, porque el verdadero rey sería salvarse de esta desgracia.

          Jesús también sabía que él tenía el poder de salvar a sí mismo. Recordemos lo que sucedió cuando, en la sinagoga de Nazaret, la gente del pueblo trató de lanzar a Jesús sobre la cumbre del monte sobre el cual la ciudad fue construida debido a lo que había dicho, pero que Jesús "pasó por en medio de ellos" y escapó. Pero Jesús no lo hizo esta vez, ¿verdad? ¿Y por qué? Bueno, porque ya él sabía que ha dicho "sí" a hacer la voluntad del Padre, el que iba a ser sacrificado por la redención de toda la humanidad. Y debido a esto, se podría decir "no" a las distracciones que lo rodean: las tentaciones de usar su poder divino para salvarse de este increíble sufrimiento.

          Es un hecho simple que cuando decimos "sí" a algo, automáticamente dice "no" a muchas otras cosas. Muchas de estas cosas son conocidas a nosotros en el momento: las otras opciones de las cuales elegimos la cosa a la que dijimos "sí". Más aún, sin embargo, decir "sí" a algo también significa que hemos dicho "no" a muchas cosas que todavía no hemos encontrado. Por ejemplo, decir "sí" para casarse significa que he dicho "no" a muchas cosas: a saber, tener relaciones románticas con otras personas además de mi cónyuge y la libertad de haber vivido por mi cuenta. También podría significar, sin embargo, que tal vez sin tu reconocimiento consciente, ya has dicho "no" a la promoción del trabajo que te trasladaría a otra ciudad porque tu familia no podía moverse desde donde está.

          El autor y orador católico Matthew Kelly nos recuerda que dar vuelta hacia algo es al mismo tiempo alejarse de algo. Él nos recuerda esto porque reconoce que demasiadas personas ignoran esta realidad básica. En otras palabras, muchas personas piensan que pueden decir "sí" a una cosa sin realmente decir "no" a los demás. Pero esto es mentira, dice: una mentira que eventualmente nos dejará sintiéndonos perdidos e insatisfechos. De nuevo, en medio de todas las burlas e insultos, Jesús recordó aquello a lo que había dicho "sí" y, por lo tanto, podía decir "no" a usar su poder para salvarlo de la cruz. Del mismo modo, todos los que estaban injuriando a Jesús habían dicho "sí" a un tipo de Mesías que era diferente de la que Jesús les presentó. Por lo tanto, tenían que decir "no" a alguien que pretendía ser el Mesías que no encajaba con el tipo para el que estaban buscando.

          Sin embargo, hubo una sola voz que se negó a injuriar a Jesús: la voz del otro malhechor crucificado con él. Él, al parecer, podría ver algo... digamos... incongruente acerca de la crucifixión de Jesús. Este malhechor pudo ver que Jesús era inocente de cualquier crimen capital y que en realidad no había habido ninguna amenaza para el poder de los ocupantes romanos, y, por lo que, quizás pensó que Jesús realmente era quien decía que era: un rey que aún no se ha entrado en el reino. Y así, en su propio sufrimiento y la cercanía a su muerte, este malhechor hace un increíble acto de fe en Jesús, él decide a decir "sí" a Jesús reconociéndolo como Rey, y para ese "sí", recibió su recompensa eterna.

          Así que la pregunta, por supuesto, viene de nuevo a nosotros. ¿Hemos dicho "sí" a Jesús? En muchos sentidos, esto es lo que el Año de la Misericordia, que se termine hoy, ha estado a punto. Ha sido acerca de volver a descubrir y renovar nuestro "sí" a Jesús, diciendo "sí" a servirle por servir las necesidades corporales y espirituales de quienes nos rodean. Y si pasamos bien este año o no, hoy estamos llamados a reconocer la realeza de Jesús, que él realmente hace reinar sobre nosotros, y para renovar (o, tal vez, para hablar por primera vez), nuestro "sí" a seguir Jesús, por lo que un nuevo florecimiento de la fe puede florecer a medida que comenzamos un nuevo año litúrgico la próxima semana.

          Ya saben, como católicos, no hacemos la cosa "¿Has aceptado a Jesús como su Señor y Salvador personal?", pero la idea de esto es algo a lo que estamos siendo llamados constantemente. En el bautismo, recibimos la gracia de la salvación: la gracia ganada para nosotros por la muerte y resurrección de Jesús. Sin embargo, en algún momento de nuestras vidas, todos tenemos que decir "sí" a Jesús y tenemos que reconocer a él como Señor y gobernante de nuestras vidas. En otras palabras, tenemos que permitir que Jesús sea nuestro rey.

          Pero esto es peligroso, ¿verdad? Si decimos "sí" a Jesús, entonces tendremos que decir "no" a tantas otras cosas, ¿verdad? Entonces, ¿cómo podemos decir "sí" a él? Es decir, ¿dónde podemos encontrar el coraje para permitir que él sea el Señor y gobernante de nuestras vidas? Este coraje, mis hermanos y hermanas, viene solo a través de un encuentro con él. ¿Y dónde lo encontramos? En la oración (especialmente ante el Santísimo Sacramento aquí en la Iglesia) y en la adoración comunitaria (sobre todo aquí en la Eucaristía), en las Escrituras (especialmente cuando meditamos sobre ellos y les permiten hablar con nosotros y con nuestras vidas), y en nuestro sufrimiento (es decir, cuando somos capaces, en nuestro sufrimiento, a gire, como el "buen malhechor" en el Evangelio de hoy, y ver a Jesús, crucificado allí con nosotros).

          Mis hermanos y hermanas, cuando nos encontramos con Jesús podemos ver la inutilidad de nuestros esfuerzos en contraste con la esperanza contenida en la resurrección de Jesús de entre los muertos, y en este sentido podemos encontrar el valor de decir "sí" a él (y, por lo tanto, "no" a tantas otras cosas). En este encuentro eucarístico con Jesús, no temamos decirle "sí" y reconocerlo como nuestro Rey; y no temamos a todos a los que tendremos que decir "no" por eso: porque aunque nos haga sufrir por un tiempo en este mundo, el paraíso—es decir, la felicidad eterna—espera a los que perseveran en su "sí" a Dios.

Dado en la parroquia de Todos los Santos: Logansport, IN

el 24º de noviembre, 2013

Your "yes" also means "no".

Homily: 34^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

          In the Gospel today, we jump right into the middle of Luke’s account of the crucifixion.  In it Jesus is being taunted by bystanders while he is in the midst of his greatest suffering.  The Jewish authorities, the Roman soldiers, and even one of the criminals crucified with him all pressure him to prove he’s the Messiah—the divinely appointed King of the Jews—by using divine power to save himself from the crucifixion.  I can only imagine what Jesus felt.  He knew that he was the king, but reviling him these men were calling him a phony, a poseur, because the real king would save himself from this disgrace.

          Jesus also knew that he had the power to save himself.  Recall what happened when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, the townspeople tried to throw Jesus over the brow of the hill on which the town was built for what he had said, but that Jesus “passed through the midst of them” and escaped.  But Jesus didn’t do that this time, did he?  And why?  Well, because he knew that he had already said “yes” to do the Father’s will, which was to be sacrificed for the redemption of all mankind.  And because of this, he could say “no” to the distractions surrounding him: the temptations to use his divine power to save himself from this incredible suffering.

          It’s a simple fact that when we say “yes” to something, it automatically says “no” to a lot of other things.  Many of these things are known to us at the time: the other options from which we chose the thing to which we said “yes”.  Sadly enough, there are whole reality shows based on this premise.  Has anyone out there watched the show “Say ‘yes’ to the dress”?  This is the whole premise to the show: saying “yes” to one and, therefore, “no” to many others.

          Still more, however, saying “yes” to something also means that we’ve said “no” to a lot of things that we haven’t yet encountered.  For example, saying “yes” to get married means that I’ve said “no” to many things: namely, to having romantic relationships with other people besides my spouse and to the relative freedom of having lived on my own.  It could also mean, however, that, perhaps without your conscious acknowledgement, you’ve already said “no” to the job promotion that would relocate you to another city because your family couldn’t move from where you are.

          Catholic author and speaker Matthew Kelly reminds us that to turn towards something is at the same time to turn away from something.  He reminds us of this because he acknowledges that too many people ignore this basic reality.  In other words, many people think that they can say “yes” to one thing without really saying “no” to the others.  But this is a lie, he says: a lie that will eventually leave us feeling lost and dissatisfied.  Again, in the midst of all of the taunting and reviling, Jesus remembered that to which he had said “yes” and, thus, could say “no” to using his power to save him from the cross.  Similarly, all those who were reviling Jesus had said “yes” to a type of Messiah that was different from the one that Jesus presented to them.  Thus, they had to say “no” to anyone purporting to be the Messiah who didn’t fit the type for which they were looking.

          Yet, there was one voice that refused to revile Jesus: the voice of the other criminal crucified with him. He, it seems could see something… let’s say… incongruent about Jesus’ crucifixion.  This criminal could see that Jesus was innocent of any capital crime and hadn’t really been any threat to the power of the Roman occupiers, and so perhaps he thought Jesus really was who he said he was: a king who has yet to come into his kingdom.  And so, in his own suffering and nearness to death, this criminal makes an incredible act of faith in Jesus—he decides to say “yes” to Jesus by acknowledging him as King—and for that “yes” he received his eternal reward.

          And so the question, of course, comes back to us.  Have we said “yes” to Jesus?  In many ways, this is what the Year of Mercy, which ends today, has been all about.  It’s been about re-discovering and renewing our “yes” to Jesus by saying “yes” to serving him by serving the bodily and spiritual needs of those around us.  And whether or not we spent this year well, today we are called to acknowledge the kingship of Jesus—that he truly does rule over us—and to renew (or, perhaps, to speak for the first time) our “yes” to follow Jesus, so that a new flourishing of faith can blossom as we begin a new liturgical year.

          You know, as Catholics, we don’t do the whole “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior” thing, but the idea of it is something to which we are constantly being called.  In baptism, we receive the grace of salvation: the grace won for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Yet, at some point in our lives, we all have to say “yes” to Jesus and to acknowledge him as Lord and ruler of our lives.  In other words, we have to let Jesus be our king.

          But this is dangerous, is it not?  By saying “yes” to Jesus, then we’ll have to say “no” to so many other things.  So how, then, can we say “yes” to him?  I mean, where can we find the courage to allow him to be Lord and ruler of our lives?  This courage, my brothers and sisters, comes only through an encounter with him.  And where do we encounter him?  In prayer (especially before the Blessed Sacrament here in the Church), in communal worship (especially here in the Eucharist), in the Scriptures (especially when we meditate on them and allow them to speak to us and to our lives), and in our suffering (i.e. when we are able, in our suffering, to turn, like the “good thief” in today’s Gospel, and see Jesus, crucified there with us).

          My brothers and sisters, when we encounter Jesus we can see the hopelessness of our striving in contrast with the hope contained in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; and in this light we can find the courage to say “yes” to him (and, thus, “no” to so much else).  In this Eucharistic encounter with Jesus, let us not fear to say “yes” to him and acknowledge him as our King; and let us not fear all to which we’ll have to say “no” because of this: because, although it may cause us to suffer for a time in this world, paradise—that is, eternal happiness—awaits those who persevere in their “yes” to God.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – November 20^th, 2016

What is your "one thing?"

          I'm back! Our Catholic Heart Workcamp trip was amazing!  It was safe, and everyone (youth and adults) had a great experience.  I am exhausted and thankful.  Even though we arrived home late Saturday night, I still had to work on Sunday and so (hopefully for the benefit of you all) I have a homily to share.  In it I mention the "rocks in the jar" demonstration.  Here's a link to a video that you can watch to help you prepare for the homily if you've never seen this demonstration before (and it's a pretty entertaining one, as well).

http://youtu.be/icqceHzsCEc

          Perhaps I'll get the chance to write more about the trip later this week.  Right now, I have some catching up to do :)

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Homily: 12^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle C

          Franklin Covey is a popular writer and speaker about leadership and success in business.  In his works he often speaks about how prioritization is a key to success in both business and in life.  To show this, he developed a demonstration that perhaps some of you are familiar with.  In it he takes a jar and fills it first with small rocks and says that the small rocks are the small, mostly insignificant things that fill our daily lives.  These are things like, watching TV and surfing the internet.  Then he takes larger rocks and begins to place them in the jar.  These, he says, are the bigger, more important things that we value: things like our relationships with family, friends, and with God, and our careers.  What he shows is that with the small rocks already in the jar, the larger rocks don’t all fit.  And this, he says, demonstrates that if we allow the small, insignificant things to have priority in our lives, that is, to get into our jar first, we’ll find that we don’t have room for the things that we really value; and, thus, that we will be unsuccessful and unsatisfied in our lives.  He then empties the jar of all of the rocks and begins again, this time placing the large rocks in first, showing that there is plenty of room in our lives for those things that we value.  Then he pours the small rocks over the large ones and they all fall in, filling in the spaces in between the large rocks, which shows that when we give priority to the things that we value there is still room for those smaller, insignificant things that we, nonetheless, enjoy.  It’s a very strong image that has helped a lot of people turn around their lives to find success and fulfillment.

          Recently I saw a video that applies this principle a little more radically and that uses the example that Jesus lays out for us in the Gospels to demonstrate for us how to orientate our lives in such a way so as to achieve not just what we hope for, but rather what God has promised to us.  In it the man speaks of how Jesus was able to say “no” to many things in his life and ministry on earth.  For example, he said “no” when the crowds, seeing him perform a miracle, wanted to make him king; he said “no” when the people of a town of Galilee pressed him to stay with them, even though he had plans to go on to another town; he said “no” when his disciples wanted to protect him from the suffering he was to endure on the cross, and he even rebuked them for attempting to do so.

          The man in video goes on to say that, in order for Jesus to do this, he first had to say “yes” to something.  Jesus knew what he had been sent to earth to do, which the Gospel recounts for us today.  In it, Jesus said “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”  Now because Jesus said “yes” to this, the will of the Father for him, he could then say “no” to all of those other things that attempted to take him from this mission: the mission to preach the Good News in preparation for his suffering, death, and resurrection that would win salvation for us all.  This is the point of the video: that if Jesus had not first made that radical “yes” to the will of the Father for his life on earth, he would not have been able to say “no” so definitively to all of the other things that attempted to pull him away from it.  We, too, therefore, need to discover what that “one thing” is for our lives that we must say “yes” to; for when we do, we will discover the power to say “no” to everything else that attempts to pull us away from it.

          This is exactly what Jesus is demanding of us today in the Gospel.  For right after he reveals to his disciples the “one thing” that he has said “yes” to in his life, he turns and tells them that they, too, must do the same.  For he says: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  In other words, Jesus is telling them to say “yes” to the cross, and that this “yes” is a radical “yes” that will completely re-orientate their lives so much that their earthly lives will no longer seem to have value in the light of the life they are to gain by saying “yes” to the cross.  In other words, he is telling them, “say ‘yes’ to the life that you are to gain so that you can say ‘no’ to all of the things in you life that would try to keep you from gaining it.”

          My brothers and sisters, we, too, need to say “yes” to the cross that God has called us to carry—which is our vocation, that “one thing” that God has called us to do and to be in this life—and we need to do this daily, so that we, too, may say “no” to the temptations that the world offers us that would distract us from obtaining this life that God longs to give us.  This “yes”, as I’ve said, is radical.  For it means laying down our lives—that is, our dreams for personal success and comfort—so as to gain that “one thing”: which is nothing less than eternal life.

          Yet, we don’t do this, do we?  Rather, we allow ourselves to be distracted by all of the countless insignificant things that fill our days.  Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, Duck Dynasty, NCIS, two-a-day soccer practices, and more all tempt us daily to turn away from what God has called us to: from the “one thing” that gives our lives direction and purpose.  Yet Jesus calls us today to follow his example and, therefore, to take up our cross daily with our focus on the “one thing” that God has called us to: whether that’s the life of a spouse and parent, the chaste single life, or a religious vocation, like myself.

          Perhaps at this point you’re thinking, “Ok, I get that.  So how do I begin?”  Well, like all things in the spiritual life, we must begin with conversion: with taking a hard look at our lives so as to find the ways that we have failed to say “yes” to God’s plan and thus have refused to say “no” to all of those things that pull us away from it.  This, of course, is hard work.  But God hasn’t left us to do it alone.  Rather, as the prophet Zephaniah states in our first reading today, God has given us a spirit of grace and petition that will help us to recognize how we’ve failed.  It is a spirit that enables us to see “him whom we have pierced” by our sins: that is, by our failure to follow his plan.  And it is a spirit to repent, to ask for mercy, and then to commit to taking up our crosses daily—to saying “yes” to our vocation, that “one thing” that God has called us to—so as to obtain the eternal life that Jesus has won for us.

          This past week I was with some of our youth on the mission trip to Virginia and on it we all experienced what it means to say “yes” to God’s plan first—to worshiping him and serving those around us—and, thus, how to say “no” to so many other things that try to distract us from that.  Even with this experience, however, our challenge today as we return back to our “normal” lives is the same that Jesus makes to all of us today: to take up our crosses daily—that is, to say “yes” daily to God’s plan first so that we are able to say “no” to everything that would distract us from it.  My brothers and sisters, we must do this if we wish to inherit eternal life.  For Jesus says “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”  Let us, then, say “yes” to the life that God has promised us; and let us each take up our cross daily and follow him.

Given at All Saints Parish, Logansport, IN – June 23^rd, 2013