Fr. Luke's Weekly Sermon
Fr. Luke's Sermon- June 2, 2024- Corpus Christi
“For if the blood of goats and bulls can sanctify those who are defiled, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” Words from our 2nd reading today from the 9th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
The idea of blood is a little repulsive to us. If you’ve seen a deer or some other animal hit on the side of the road or a really graphic movie, or God-forbid you were in a tragic medical emergency, you know how grotesque something like this can be. I don’t know about you, but I have a weak stomach and I grow faint at the sight of blood. It may seem moreover that the idea of sacrificing blood on these altars is a little old fashioned. But the idea of blood, in Jewish thought, is that it is recognized as a sort of ‘life force,’ without which we cannot live. We need blood in our systems. When we think of donating blood to the American Red Cross, we know how important and life-giving blood is for someone. Furthermore, they say blood is thicker than water referring to the bonds of family. Indeed, blood relationships are some of our most cherished bonds from which we draw life.
When covenants were thus forged, they were sealed in blood as a sign of that life and the bonds of life that come from it. That is why we hear in the first reading about how the Israelites were sprinkled with blood when they made the covenant with God at Mt. Sinai as they were established as God’s own special people. The annual commemoration of this was the Passover, in which lambs were sacrificed, blood put on the door posts, and a meal was shared, as believers came to know for themselves that God rescues his people from slavery and death brings them to newness of life. The lectionary cycle containing our readings today underlines the fact that the Eucharist is the new Passover meal and pointed to the new and everlasting covenant initiated with God. Notice the many parallels with this Passover feast from of old. The Gospel details how there was great preparation for this feast. There is hymn singing. Just as Israel committed themselves to following the Lord, so the disciples act on Jesus’ word: take, eat, and drink - do this in memory of me. Then, there is a lamb, the true lamb of God, Jesus Christ, whose perfect blood is poured out for our salvation and becomes a seal of that new covenant.
Within Judaism, there is a traditional phrase that you say when you raise your glass for a toast: L'Chaim, to Life. You may recall I mentioned this in my Easter Sunday homily, and if anyone has ever seen the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, you know joy and celebration of the townspeople as they raise their glasses to the upcoming wedding of Tevye’s and Wolf’s children and they dream of a future of happiness for them, for their families, from freedom from oppression in Russia; they dream and celebrate having life and having it to the full, and they sing merrily: L'Chaim, to Life. That is the whole idea. We desire to enter into that life-giving relationship and cement this bond of communion that we have with God. We desire that divine life, free from sin and death. Blood is life. So, we raise this glass, we raise this chalice, with the blood of Christ, the blood of the new covenant, and in a manner of speaking we say, “L'Chaim, to Life.”
But this is not something taken trivially. Blood comes at a cost. The Last Supper was just that, a last supper made in anguish with those who would deny and betray him. Holding the cup of life means looking critically at what we are living: a cup that contains torture, starvation, loneliness, abandonment, and great anguish: “Father, let this cup pass me by!” And yet Jesus possessed a trust beyond betrayal, a surrender beyond despair, a love beyond all fears. It is the cup of joy as much as it is cup of sorrow. The cross of Jesus from which his blood is spilled is also a throne of glory and a sign of victory, where he himself passed over from death to life and in being lifted up drew all people to himself. As Jesus lifted up his life for others, as he lifted his cup, he turned it into a blessing for all. When each of us can firmly hold the cup filled with its many accompanying joys and sorrows, claiming this life as our own, then we too can lift it up for others signifying that we are with you in this life as we share it together. And as we hold the cup and lift it for the sake of each other, we then drink from it, fully appropriating and internalizing the life that God has in store for us, attained for us in Jesus’ blood.
“Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” Jesus asks James and John. “Can you taste all the sorrows and joys contained therein? Can you lift it up together with your cross and follow me? Can you live your life to the full whatever it will bring? Can you empty it to the dregs?” There are many kinds of cups. There is the Stanley Cup of victory and there is the cup of poison by which Socrates is killed. Cups come in all shapes and sizes. Jesus says, this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. On Corpus Christi today, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, may we say like our ancestors before us, “we will do all that the Lord has asked us,” and with courage and thanksgiving, say with the Psalmist: “The cup of salvation I will raise.” Le Haim! To life! To life everlasting!
Fr. Luke's Sermon- May 19, 2024- Pentacost
Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and when he had said this, he breathed on the, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.” Words from our Gospel today from the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
Today, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, in which the disciples received the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and in which the Church was born to herald Christ’s enduring presence and mission to all the world. In some respects, you could say, happy birthday to us! Our readings today recall for us some of the backstory surrounding this feast, but if we listened closely to the Scriptures that were proclaimed for us, we would notice that there are very different accounts of the Pentecost event. The narrative we hear in the Gospel of John, occurs right after the resurrection. With the crucifixion of the Lord fresh in their minds, the disciples are huddled together behind locked doors in fear. Thomas is not with them in the Upper Room, and Judas has gone off and hung himself. This encounter is the first time that Jesus has appeared to his disciples, and after showing them his hands and side to prove his triumph over the grave and wishing them peace in the midst of their anxiety, Jesus goes on to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit and commission them in the work of forgiveness that very Easter Sunday night. On the other hand, we have Luke’s account in the Acts of the Apostles from our first reading. In this instance, some time has now passed since the events of Jesus’ Resurrection, the disciples have encountered the risen Lord on numerous occasions, and Jesus has since ascended into heaven. Thomas was with the group, St. Matthias was chosen as a successor of Judas to the office of Apostle, and the community of disciples were gathered together in celebration not fear. Indeed, they were gathered in gathered in Jerusalem with their fellow Jews throughout the world to celebrate together the Jewish feast of Pentecost, in which the Covenant of Sinai was commemorated, and which worshippers brought the initial harvests from their fields to be offered at the temple in thanksgiving for their relationship with God. Why these differences between the accounts? It’s important to remember that – although they certainly draw from history – St. John and St. Luke are not describing Pentecost to us as historians, but as theologians. So, the real question we have to ask ourselves then is, “what is it exactly that John and Luke are trying to tell us about Pentecost?”
First to St. John. If you were wondering why the doors of the Upper Room were locked, it’s because Mary Magdalene had just encountered Jesus in the garden and returned to the disciples saying, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Jesus is alive; the bad news is that he wants to talk to you guys about abandoning him last Friday. OK - bad joke Fr. Luke. But some of this is true. There was guilt on the part of the disciples in having abandoned and denied Jesus. There was also a lot of fear that being discriminated against and labelled as they were, that they might be crucified next. There was uncertainty as to what they were supposed to do now. And then Jesus comes and shows them the nail marks in his hands and feet and shows them his pierced side. In no way does Jesus hide these grim realities or shy away from the pain and hurts that have been caused. But in the face of difficulty, even overcoming the greatest of difficulties, Jesus comes with the message of peace, and I think that’s the key to understanding John’s account of Pentecost, because the Holy Spirit is given – why? – for the forgiveness of sins. And that is what the apostles are commissioned to do. We know ourselves, that we haven’t been perfect either, that we are also carrying great burdens, and that many of us are being tested beyond our limits – scandal, racism, political divisions and wars… In one form or another peace has been taken away from us, but amid our own guilt and fear and anguish, the only way we are going to find peace again is by forgiving one another. Locked doors won’t solve any problems. New laws won’t change any hearts. You want peace: learn to forgive one another, show your nail marks without resentment, as Jesus did. That could be a powerful Pentecost moment in your own life, where Spirit of God sows peace in your hearts and works through each of us to renew our relationships with one another as God would have it. Peace is something the world cannot give. The peace of Jesus: that’s a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven. Disciples forgive in Jesus’ name.
What about St. Luke’s account in the Acts of the Apostles? Already I mentioned that the disciples were celebrating the Jewish feast of Pentecost, commemorating the special relationship God established with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. On Mount Sinai, there were peals of thunder and lightning and trumpet blasts and fire streaming forth from heaven. St. Luke goes to great lengths to show how this new Pentecost moment, this coming of God’s Spirit, is much like that monumental event in Israel’s history. The tongues of fire, the loud sound of rushing wind coming from the heavens, and the speeches that are heard are all reminiscent of the signs of the Divine presence found on Sinai. And just as at Sinai, the Israelites were transformed, from no people into God’s people and were established to demonstrate God’s power to the world, so now has Holy Spirit transformed the disciples into apostles, from those who learn to those who are sent, sent to proclaim God’s mighty deeds to all the world now gathered together in Jerusalem. So, participating in the feast of Pentecost therefore means celebrating the transformation that God’s Spirit has brought about in us and joining ourselves in the service of God just as the Israelites and disciples did before us. The traditional way of celebrating Pentecost meant coming to Jerusalem to offer God the first fruits of one’s labors and harvest in thanksgiving for all that God has accomplished for them. Again, in some ways, the Pentecost St. Luke describes was a harvesting of first fruits for God on behalf of the Church, in which 5,000 people in the crowd who rushed to the disciples to see what was happening were thereafter converted and baptized. As such, these people were initiated and joined together into Jesus’ own offering of his labors, his sacrifice on the cross, the work of salvation. As disciples, we are likewise called to come and offer God the fruits of our labors, rejoicing with God for the Spirit’s work of transformation already accomplished for us and in us. But as much as Pentecost is an ending, it is also a beginning! In that Pentecost is a celebration involving first fruits means that there is more fruit to come! There is work to do still, which the Spirit energizes us for. It’s been an honor to harvest those fruits with you here, but I believe and look forward to a greater harvest still to come.
So, following the lead of Luke and John on this feast of Pentecost today, let us indeed celebrate the transformation God’s Spirit has produced among us, let us offer ourselves in the service of God’s Kingdom, and let us invite the Holy Spirit to bring true peace into our world by forgiving one another.
Fr. Luke's Sermon- May 12, 2024
“When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost... I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.” Words from our Gospel today from the 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
Doug’s room was never the tidiest and his mother was always getting on his case to clean his room. Doug, however, realized she was getting serious about straightening up his room once and for all, when he found out that she was learning to drive a bulldozer for work… Mother to her son: “I’m warning you. If you fall out of that tree and break both your legs, don’t come running to me…” When Erin’s mother knit her 3 socks instead of the usual pair, she knew that she was growing up too fast. Trying to explain this to her friend, she exclaimed, “Mom gave me an extra sock this year because I grew another foot…” Sunday school teacher: “Tell me, Cindy. Do you say prayers before eating?” Cindy: “No, ma’am, I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook…” Whether it’s teaching us how to care for ourselves or making sure we’re well-dressed and fed, and everything in between, our mothers always have a way of taking care of us. Becoming a mother gives a whole new depth of meaning to life. Our children change us, challenge us, transform us, depress us, motivate us, and fill us joy and gratitude. They determine what we read, who we know, how we spend our weekends… They are who we live for and they affect us in every way.
As I was reading through the Gospel earlier this week to prepare for my homily, I stepped out of my shoes a little bit, and I tried reading the Gospel through the eyes of a mother. As I was reading it, it seemed almost as if Jesus’ prayer which we heard today is borne out of a mother’s heart. I’m going to re-read some of the passages from the Gospel, and I would invite you to imagine that it is our mother’s prayer for each of us… Their prayer, like Jesus’s prayer might be said thus,
“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. May they now share in my joy completely. When I was with them I protected them, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost. And although they do not belong to the world, I ask that you do not take them out of the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. For, I gave them your word, which is truth. Consecrate them in the truth. I consecrate myself for them so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
What a wonderful prayer expressing their great love for us, asking that we would be safe, that we would know joy, that we would experience wholesome relationships with God and with each other, free from worldly vices and immoralities. They have completely dedicated themselves to always wanting what is best for us. We will never know or appreciate enough all of the sacrifices of love that our mothers have made throughout our lives, themselves following in the example of the Paschal mystery of Christ. Indeed, what a wonderful and sacred vocation it is to care for others with a mother’s love, and we celebrate that here in the United States in a particular way this weekend as we celebrate Mother’s Day. In the Church, we also give praise to our mother Mary in a particular way during this month of May, as we’ve celebrated with her crowning, and when we pray the rosary in her honor. But I think the greatest honor we could give to our mother’s would be to show our loving care for others in turn, just as we have been cared for by our Moms. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, the giving of love is an education of itself. May we follow in their good example, indeed in the example of Christ, allowing their love to touch and transform our lives. Thus may we be the answer to their prayer and truly become the best version of ourselves, the kind of persons that know, because of our mothers, how to care for one another in turn.
Fr. Luke's Sermon- May 5, 2024
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” Words from our Gospel today from the 15th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John – sisters and brothers may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
Last week Thursday and Friday and Saturday, was the player draft for the National Football League. In Buffalo, of course, there has been a lot of hype around the draft for the last number of years because it is our annual chance to add some talent to the roster and work towards building a super-bowl caliber team, and we are not able to rely on some of the veterans that have been let go over the offseason. Some are happy with our picks, while some are disappointed that there weren’t more skill positions addressed; of course, right now, we don’t know how everything will pan out, but we can say, however, that there has been a great emotional investment on the part of Buffalo Bills fans over these past months as we dreamed and hoped and envisioned what the future could hold for us and for our team.
Similarly, God has been invested in the future of his Church and his Kingdom. God has done his homework and has been scouting us; he sees our gifts and our talents and wants to develop them that they might be put to good use. And the moment has come: Jesus has chosen us to play for his team; we have been selected, drafted. We don’t always realize it, but we are here today because God has called each of us, by name. Somewhere along the lines of our life, God has reached out to us to be on his team. And we gather together with Christians everywhere this day, as we do every Sunday, for our weekly team meeting, where we listen to the readings and hear of God’s game plan for our lives. In our readings today, he shares with us his vision of a self-sacrificing love, a love that gives up personal glory as we play our part for the good of all. There isn’t an ‘I’ in team; rather, as the acronym T.E.A.M. goes: Together Everyone Achieves More. And our coach leads us in this, loving us first; he doesn’t only talk the talk, he walks the walk. He has put everything on the line for his people, has laid down his life for us, and indeed the victory of the resurrection over sin and death is felt and shared by us all. God’s vision is a winning formula. We ought to listen to the coach and follow his commands. Christ is Risen! He knows what it takes to win.
Each Sunday, we come together to put that vision into practice as we celebrate the Eucharist and we re-enact the Paschal Mysteries that have been handed on to us, as we remember Jesus’ sacrifice and share his Body and Blood in anticipation of that glorious day when we are all victorious over sin and death and dwell forever in heaven as it was for Jesus on that Easter Sunday morning. Each Sunday we are sent on mission – the priest or deacon tells us to go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life, that we may do our part in turn, to build up God’s Kingdom by loving as he loves, and so help secure that victory. Coach Christ tells us in the Gospel, “I have chosen you and appointed you to bear fruit that will last.” Put me in coach! Indeed, God has an important role for each of us on his team so that the Kingdom of God can come to fruition.
But we know that draft choices don’t always pan out. Certainly, God doesn’t want us to become draft busts. Jesus tells his disciples these things over the course of the Last supper, when he knows that he is facing crucifixion and death the next day, because he wants to assure them and rally them for the challenges to their faith that lie ahead. Like Coach McDermott, he is asking them to trust in the process as they go through all the ups and downs of the long season ahead of them, the season of life... Jesus wants us to be victorious, “I tell you this,” he says, “that your joy might be complete.” God believes in us, and has given us all the tools to do well, but what we do with those tools are up to us. We’re not slaves here, but friends, teammates, disciples working towards the same goals, following the same vision. We all are here for a reason and have to discern our part. What is that you bring to the God’s team the church? What do you bring to the table, to be offered on this altar, to stay on this roster? What are you doing to remain, to remain in his love? May we who play for Christ’s team, do our part to remain in his love in spite of all the challenges of life, making the most of this opportunity that is before us so that we will not become draft busts but instead bear fruit that will last as we put into practice God’s game plan for the salvation of the world; that ultimately we all might together come to share in the glory of Christ’s victory.
Fr. Luke's Sermon- April 21, 2024
“I am the good shepherd. I know mine and mine know me.” Words from our Gospel today from the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
This past week, I was out for dinner with a couple, and they mentioned that sharing a meal together daily is a great time for them to interact and spend time exclusively with each other. It reminded me of the TV commercial that has been circulating lately – #devicefreedinner – where the family is all sitting down around the dinner table, looking very somber and sad. The youngest, having not even touched her dinner, says to her mother, “I’m not hungry… I miss Daddy” at which point the camera pans over to the head of the table showing how the Dad, played by Will Farrell, is too busy on his phone to be engaged with his family around him. Certainly, the commercial is an exaggeration, as most of us, I believe, wouldn’t completely ignore those around us. Yet it goes to show how much the Internet and Mass Communication have revolutionized the way we interact with one another. What an amazing phenomenon in which we can share something literally every day, every hour, making history quicker than ever before! Not only can I call anyone, from anywhere in the world at any time using my cellular super-computer, but I can also send them pictures and videos with various apps like snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok; I can self-report happenings and news and personal messages for the world to see through X (Twitter); I can order the most exotic things from Amazon and receive it in less than 24 hours. My life’s story is available at the click of a button on Facebook.
In spite of all our helpful technology to foster communications, I am left to wonder if we are actually connecting on a personal level. Despite the promise of technology for maximizing our time and energy, it has led to a minimalization instead. One night with our youth group at a previous parish, we asked, “How much ‘Facetime’ do you have with others?” (That’s an app you know, a program like Skype, or Zoom for talking to each other with videos). But we weren’t referring to the application on your phone or computer; we were referring to how much physical time you would spend in the presence of others. If you didn’t have your phone, how much personal ‘Facetime’ would you have to connect with others in ways that matter? Some answered not at all while many others similarly mentioned there personal one-to-one interaction with others would be rather minimal. Maybe there is some semblance of truth and the desire for more personal authentic communication being conveyed in that device-free-dinner commercial. That’s not to say technology is bad; please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not asking to scrap our phones and our social media accounts - these are helpful supplements to a healthy relationship when used correctly. But I am led to believe that the love we are meant to have for each other is not being supplemented but replaced by quick and easy routes that are ultimately de-personalizing. One needs only look at the problems of cyberbullying, the breach of privacy, and the lack of basic personal-social skills exhibited to see these breaches of human dignity that are occurring at alarming rates today.
These kinds of interactions seem eerily similar to the hired man in today’s Gospel who is to tend to the flock. Sure, he might know a lot about tending to the sheep’s needs such as how to ensure they are nourished. He certainly interacts with the sheep on a daily basis, like we do with our fellow human beings every day. But there is nothing to be said on a personal, intimate level. He doesn’t take the time to know each of the sheep by name. He doesn’t care about shepherding in general, paying no heed to how the other flocks in the region are getting along. His relationship with the sheep is one of exchange, of transaction: I will have a relationship with you only to the extent that there is something in it for me. When the hours have been put in and the job is done, he doesn’t have a relationship with the sheep. He may be connected but he is not connecting. There is no sense of belonging. Furthermore, in the event of personal danger, he flees the sheep in order to save himself. Despite his own welfare literally revolving around that of the flock, ultimately, he is described as having no real concern for them.
On the other hand, Jesus tells us today, that I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and mine know me. Everything that the good shepherd does is based on that deep relationship he has with each of them, even willing to sacrifice for the good of the other. This is what John’s letter tells us in the second reading – the reason the world does not know us is that it does not know him (2x). Folks haven’t taken the time to get to really know and connect with each other, not least of whom is God. Today, God is trying to strike up that conversation, trying to break through our defenses, trying to meet us on a personal level and say to us: you are my son, you are my daughter. John says, “see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God and so we are!” Let’s make this Eucharist and this meal, a #devicefreedinner. Let God speak his words of love to you and connect with you that we may do the same for one another. I want to conclude by reading to you a letter, composed entirely with verses taken from Scripture, from the Bible and I’ll have a few copies of this letter available for you to take home with you if you’d like so you can hear this again or see all the Scripture citations, but for now, close your eyes, listen to the word of God as it is spoken, and know that God is looking to personally connect with you, and is saying these things directly to you here today.
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Fr. Luke's Sermon- April 14, 2024
“The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread…” Words from our Gospel this morning from the 24th chapter of Luke – Sister and Brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and joy.
On the first Sunday in our Easter season, Easter Morning, we heard the story of an empty tomb. If you want to go out and tell other people about Jesus’ resurrection, then this is probably not a particularly convincing story. I suppose that any number of things could have happened to Jesus’ body and in fact this is what many of Jesus’ followers at first presumed. Mary Magdalene came back to tell the disciples – they have taken him and we don’t know where they put him. Peter and the beloved disciple looked into the tomb only to find his burial cloths there. The angel said, you are looking for Jesus – he is not here. I suppose John’s empty tomb narrative gives us something to think about: No one has seen the event of the resurrection itself and so without any conclusive evidence we must make a rather fundamental choice: do we believe that he rose from the dead or not? It certainly makes for an interesting case.
Much more convincing, I think, than an empty tomb is to have encountered Jesus himself, risen from the dead. This brings us to today’s readings, where the disciples have come together to recall what had taken place to them along the way. They shared their stories with each other – Mary Magdalene who thought that Jesus had been taken away by the Gardener, discovered that it was the risen Jesus himself who was tending to the Garden and taking care of his creation. As Peter and his brothers resumed their livelihood as fishermen, Jesus appeared on the shore and helped them to catch 153 large fish, and then cooked breakfast in their midst. When Thomas returned to the upper room, the rest of the disciples told him how Jesus had appeared in their midst, even though the doors were locked. As two of the disciples left Jerusalem to return home, Jesus traveled with them along the road to Emmaus, spoke to them about the meaning of the Scriptures, and made himself known to them in the breaking of the bread. And when everyone came together to share their stories of what had happened to them, and how they had encountered the Risen Lord, Jesus became present to them once again.
What do you talk about when you normally get together with others: the weather? how work is going? the Bills’ offseason? the Sabres drought? what just happened at school? what happened to so-and-so in the family? The upcoming election? The wars in Ukraine and Israel? What’s for dinner? We talk about things that are happening around us, right? So, tell others what has happened to you with regards also to your encounter with the Risen Christ. I am certain that God’s grace has affected each and every one of us in some manner “along the way” of life’s journey, no matter how ordinary we think our story is… Every time we recount what has happened to us, every time someone repents from evil and changes their lifestyle, every time we open up our minds and hearts to listen to God speak to us through the Scriptures and in prayer, every time we participate in the breaking of the bread around this altar table, whether it’s our first communion or our 500th communion, every time new life is born to us and we celebrate baptism, every time we reach out to the outcast of society, every time we find healing, every time we support our neighbors, every time we show forth our love to our family, every time we see goodness triumph or the power of grace at work in our lives - though they may be glimpses only - we truly see Christ’s resurrection. We are convinced that He is alive, that God is at work in our lives blessing us and filling us with grace even today. Like the two disciples who shared their story about encountering Christ on the road to Emmaus, we too have a story to tell. It may seem to be an ordinary story, but there is extraordinary power in it, I promise you… if we share what we saw at Mass today, or what we heard in the homily, or what’s going on at St. Peter’s or any of those things we mentioned earlier or whatever it is… telling our story helps others to know of the resurrection of Christ and allows us all to share in that new life he has promised. Tell people what is happening in your life also as it regards these aspects of our faith.
Let us return to the curious case of the empty tomb of Jerusalem 2000 years ago. In a court of law, the testimony of a witness is presumed to be more reliable than circumstantial evidence. Whereas the scene of the empty tomb provides only circumstantial evidence that Christ’s body is missing, an authentic witness testifies to the world and shows forth the perfection of love that God has brought about. Our readings remind us that we are witnesses of these things. Without a doubt, our testimony should solve the case of the empty tomb. What does our testimony look like? Our second reading reminds us to be true to God’s word, to follow God’s commandments, to be a people of love so that after cross-examination our witness might be found to be reliable, that people might see the risen Christ inside us. St. John warns us that those who say, “I know Christ,” but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. Well, we are under oath, and the jury is out, and the court would like to know. Have we shied away from telling our story and the truth of Jesus Christ and his Church? Do we practice our faith in a way that shows the integrity of our witness? What will the verdict be?
[[We have with us today a speaker from Catholic Charities who will tell our story here in Western New York, how our service of Catholic Charities is an authentic demonstration of the love of Christ, how others have come encounter Jesus through us, and thus come to know of the resurrection for themselves, receiving hope and new life when there was none.
Fr. Luke's Sermon- April 7, 2024
“With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. Indeed, the community of believers was of one heart and mind.” Words from our first reading today from the 4th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
Today’s Gospel features the infamous story of poor, Doubting Thomas. As we know, Thomas wasn’t among the rest of the disciples when Jesus first appeared to them in the Upper Room that Easter Sunday. The best guess I could come up with is that he was probably out doing some grocery shopping at all the outlet Malls here on Niagara Falls Blvd, since all the leftovers from the Last Supper were gone at this point. And with eleven mouths to feed, the food disappears rather quickly, even more so during such stressful times. So, when Thomas returned from shopping and the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, Thomas was probably thinking to himself, “Why exactly am I staying with a bunch of crazy people who are seeing things? We just saw Jesus murdered in plain daylight. If he was indeed alive – which is hard enough to believe – how then did he physically get into the room to see you when all the doors were locked? How do you know you weren’t imagining things or seeing a ghost? Why didn’t you put your fingers into the wounds that you claim he showed you? The trauma of it all is really getting to you.” And so, the name has since stuck: he is forever been known as doubting Thomas.
I want to point out that what is often overlooked in this story is the fact that Thomas remained with the group. Let that sink in for a minute. If he didn’t believe their story, he had no real reason to stick around. The dream was dead. Jesus was gone. The disciples seem to be delusional. And with everyone waiting to persecute Jesus’ followers next, this would be a good time to get out of Jerusalem and go home. Yet, for some reason, Thomas was still with them at the end of the week. There is something to be said, then, of the witness of the community of disciples that reached out to Thomas so that the next time Jesus appeared, Thomas was still found with them. And really, it was only within the presence of the community, there in that upper room, that Thomas was able to encounter for himself the Risen Lord. The reality is that we need each other. The etymology of the word, ‘religion’ comes from the Latin ligare, meaning ‘to be connected’. Thomas was struggling with the death of his friend, the fear of persecution, and personal doubts of faith. Yet Thomas remained connected to the community of believers, and because he remained connected in spite of his misgivings, he was able to experience Jesus.
Unfortunately, many people today will often say, “I’m spiritual but not religious”. So, while most Americans do still believe in God or in some kind of higher power, the latest Gallup poll shows that more than half the country is no longer affiliated with a religious tradition. Moreover, our culture, in a rail against institutions, is desperately trying to privatize the faith and categorize it as something individuals go off and do by themselves – just don’t bring it into public life. Now, faith is indeed very personal, and we cannot overlook this, but in the end, any notion of an exclusive relationship between God and Me will leave us like the Thomas who doubted – ‘I haven’t experienced the Lord in that way, so it can’t be true.’ But the faith that has been handed on to us is not simply between God and Me, but between God and Us all: I will be your God and you will be my people, plural. It is this collective witness to the risen Christ that we need to make our own, experience for ourselves, and live out in the context of our lives. The Acts of the Apostles reminds us that the disciples of the early Church were of one heart and mind. All of us are connected to each other. In this communion, we are connected to each other as a parish, as a family of parishes on the Lower Niagara River, as a Church of Buffalo, as the Roman Catholic Church in the world; we are also connected to our relatives and friends who have gone before us, and their relatives and friends who have gone before them all the way back to the Apostles themselves; and we are connected to all those who will come after us who will receive the faith in turn. It is impossible to live out our faith alone. We are a part of each other. And with each other, we are together connected to Christ. That is what we are celebrating here at this Eucharist, that we have communion with each other together in the Lord.
When Thomas could accept that, when Thomas remained connected and lived in communion with others, it was then and only then that Thomas could encounter Jesus for himself. And rather than doubting, he became the first disciple in turn to acclaim Jesus, not merely as the promised Messiah, but indeed as the one true Lord and God himself! Indeed, the profession of faith that Thomas made in the Upper Room that day, is the greatest acclamation of Jesus’ divinity, even surpassing Peter’s, and those declarations of the other Apostles. Such is the power of religion, of being connected, of living in communion... We are spiritual and we are religious. The lesson of today is that, if we want to encounter Jesus, then we need to be a part of this communion, like Thomas was. We need to gather together with 2 or 3 others in his name, for then he comes into our midst. This communal aspect of faith is something that we need to reclaim today. Private Faith, Interior Morality, Virtual Engagement through the Computer, notions of ‘well, I’m a Good Person’ can only get us so far. When people find themselves off on their own, they realize that something is missing, that none of these are good substitutes for being present to and connected with each other, and because of this individualism, that some part of their humanity is cheapened. Seriously, what does a faith that is spiritual but not religious look like in practice? Disconnected from the life-giving vine, it eventually dies out… By ourselves, we will be stuck in our doubts, like Thomas. But also like Thomas, with others, we can experience the Risen Christ. Disciples stick together. Are we together in mind and heart with the disciples? Do we realize the great witness we exhibit when we come together as Church that others may come to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and God? Let us not give up on communion, but live out the relationship between God and Us so that God’s favor might yet be accorded to all.
Fr. Luke's Sermon- March 31, 2024- Easter Morning
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” Words from our Gospel this morning from the Gospel according to St. John – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace and his joy.
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If we can have our kiddos come down for the homily today. Come on up and sit around here.
Parties are fun occasions, right? What are some things that we see at parties?
- Having Friends and Family come together (a constant)
- Special Decorations (themes)
- Dress up a little bit (nice outfit, birthday hats)
- Give each other gifts and cards (eggs, presents)
- Singing (Christmas songs, Easter Songs, Happy Birthday)
- Food and Drink are shared (Easter Basket, birthday cake with candles)
When we come to Church, it’s like coming to a party
- We come with family and friends to celebrate how special Jesus is to us
- We have decorations, flowers, banners,
- We have special dresses and outfits
- We hear passages from the Bible read to us, like God sending us a card
- We hear singing at the church
- We have food and drink, which might look like ordinary bread and wine, and we do have candles around it like a birthday cake, but it is even more special because it is God himself whom we receive in the Eucharist. It’s the best gift there is because this way we’ll never be alone.
And can someone remind me, what are we celebrating at our party at Church this morning?
- That Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
And why is this so special and important, because we know that God can love us through anything. Death can’t stop him. Sin can’t stop him. So when you feel lonely and discouraged and upset, know that God can help you through it, that he wants you to have life and have it to the full. And that’s worth celebrating. Thanks for helping me set the tone for my homily. Ok, I’m going to speak to everyone else now. You can go back to your seats
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There is a Jewish saying as you gather with each other and raise your glasses for a toast, “La Heim,” to life, which you may have learned from the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. Today, we Christians gather in festivity to raise a glass with our own version of La Heim, to life, as we acclaim: “Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!” knowing that in his resurrection, God has opened up for us that path to life, that we may all have life and have to the full. We have hope. This is cause for rejoicing and gladness and for celebration. Josef Pieper once remarked that the human capacity for festivity arises from the ability to affirm all creation as good – from the ability to embrace, in one resounding “yes” the length and breadth, the heights and depths of our experience in this world. We can hear this yes in Mozart’s music. We can hear it in the delighted squeals of a child as its face is licked by the moist tongue and hot breath of a new puppy. We can even hear it in the contented, prayerful whispers of an elderly woman – full of love, grace, and year, as she prepares to meet death with quiet courage and dignity.
Saying yes to all of life, letting it all in – that is festivity’s sustaining source. But therein is also the rub. We live in an intensely mobile culture of fast food, faster cars, disposable diapers, and planned obsolescence. Few of us can say yes to anything for very long. At parties, we do not carry on conversations; it is something more like posturing: repeating to one another snippets of dialogue from movies, beer commercials, sitcoms, social media posts or interviews with sports’ celebrities. We are connected but not connecting, isolated and lonely, incapable of forming meaningful relationships that last. Small wonder, too, that as a people we find ourselves increasingly bored, angry and tired – enraged and terrified by the awful emptiness that seems to stretch in every direction around us and pulls us into despair. Given such cultural conditions, the Christian celebration of Easter for fifty days of celebration will strike many as crazy. Fifty days of “dwelling in” the paschal mystery! Fifty days of surrendering in joyful faith and love as the Spirit of God takes possession of our lives! Fifty days of mystagogy, of unpacking the baptismal mysteries of his death and resurrection. What an order!
One reason why such a prolonged celebration strikes us as difficult is that we tend to link feasts and holidays with mindless hoopla. “Party time,” for many, is an invitation to obliterate consciousness, to get wasted, to veg out, to forget. But a season of festival is precisely the opposite. It is a time of intentionality, intensified consciousness, finely tuned awareness, awakened memory. All are welcome to join us here to find ways to sustain their hope throughout their whole lives. The great fifty days until Pentecost are not an unwelcome, unrealistic, obligation to “party on,” even if we don’t feel like it, but an invitation to explore more deeply God’s presence and power in our lives and to appreciate more fully the gift of life itself as good and wholesome and full. In short, Easter is a season for learning how to continuously say YES to life in a culture that wants to keep on saying no. Why is that - because Christ is Risen; He is Risen Indeed!
“You know what has happened - we are witnesses - they put Jesus to death by hanging him on a tree and God raised him on the third day.” Words from our first reading this morning from the 10th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles – sisters and brothers, may the Lord give to you his peace & his joy.
When my younger brother was born, he had a medical condition that forced him to be in the hospital for the first few years of his life. To spend time with him, Mom and Dad alternated night and day shifts between their work and being at the hospital. Myself, being only two years old at the time and in need of care, I came to live with my grandparents and my aunts and uncles, moving from household to household every few months until my schooling began. Our family situation really could have been a traumatic experience for us, but my extended family responded heroically. Though they couldn’t change the disease or make the pain go away, they yet “loved us through” that challenging time. As I reflect upon these as well as some of the other toughest moments of my life, I have to admit that I prevailed only because I was “loved through” these great difficulties.
I witnessed a beautiful, painful, and yet powerful thing this past Good Friday. As I watched folks come forward to venerate the cross during the Good Friday liturgy, I was thinking about the different crosses they were carrying.
As I’ve gotten to know my parish family here over the past year, I began praying for so-and-so who approached the cross, who was diagnosed with cancer. I began praying for the person who was struggling with being judgmental. I began praying for so-and-so’s hope that his son would make it to Eagle Scout. I was praying for the mother who could no longer provide for her child. I was praying for her child that she would have the patience and strength to now take care of her mother. I was praying that so-and-so’s job situation would work out, and for the parents who are trying to save up enough money to get their kids through college. I was praying that so-and-so who just lost her husband of 55 years. I was praying for someone’s teeth, someone’s mental health, someone’s addiction, and someone’s difficult family situation…
So many of God’s people came forward to unite their sufferings to Jesus’s suffering on the cross.
Certainly, all of us can relate to such moments. Yet we made it through whatever trial we were facing because someone was there embracing us & walking with us through it all. Dare I say, this is what God does for us – God loves us through. God also understands what it’s like to have experienced painful circumstances and great loss. On the day that Jesus was crucified, our Heavenly Father experienced the death of his only Son. God didn’t take away the pain or stop the injustice. God didn’t prevent his Son’s death. God humbled himself so as to accompany us even in our powerlessness in the face of this overbearing and overwhelming world. And yet, God never stopped loving his Son. Indeed, God’s love for his Son is so powerful that it brought him through the experience of death to new life in the resurrection which we celebrate today. I believe that’s exactly what God does for us, what love does for us - it carries us through.
St. Peter affirms us today, saying in our first reading: you know the story. You know what has happened all over Judea regarding Jesus of Nazareth, who went about doing good and who was healing people, and how he was crucified and how God loved him through it all raising him to new life. But you also know how God has been at work in the world today, loving you through the various trials and tribulations of your lives bringing new life and salvation to you. This Easter day, we use the term salvation and say that salvation has been won for us in the resurrection. Those who have made it through their trials and difficulties know the real meaning of that word, salvation, and that is not just a word at all. Only the survivors know the full terror of the passage, the arms that held them through it all, and the power of the obstacles that were overcome. All they can do is thank God they made it through! As I think about the context of my own life, and the lives of those around me, I can say that amidst the things that should and shouldn’t be, among all that is right and all that is wrong with the world, in the highs and lows, ups and downs, joys and sorrows of life… that we have been loved through it all. And the resurrection shows us that nothing, not even human mortality or the evil of sin, can overcome God’s accompanying love for us. Hope is restored. New life is given. We are witnesses to the joys of Easter because we ourselves have been loved through. We’ve made it! And so St. Peter instructs us to go forth and share the good news today, to share our Easter joy by loving others with the same accompanying love that has been shown to us. From our parish family to yours, Happy Easter!
Fr. Luke's Sermon- March 30, 2024- Easter Vigil
This night of the Easter Vigil is the most solemn celebration of the Church in her liturgical year. It is in the vigil of this night that we anticipate and celebrate the Lord’s resurrection from the dead. It is a night of transformation: transformation of our world, of our life, of our destiny, of our relationships and of ourselves. We celebrate this transformation in 4 liturgies that all come together in this vigil.
The first liturgy is a Liturgy of Light. We began gathered around the fire outside. As we look at the flames, we see that fire is chaotic, is dangerous, is out of control. And yet, when channeled and harnessed correctly, how useful fire becomes in providing warmth, for cooking our food, for bringing people together, for our combustion engines, for giving us light. The symbol of this transformation is found burning in the light of our Paschal Candle, commemorated by the Exultet we sang, that Jesus is the true light of the world, not chaotic or dangerous, but harnessed and given to us directly as a gift. He is the true light which never sets, bringing light to transform our darkness.
The second liturgy is the liturgy of the Word. In a special way this evening, we listened to many stories of our salvation history. Some of the readings were more nostalgic of days gone by. Some of them were filled with dreams of a future possibility amidst misery. All of them were filled with a certain waiting for a certain reality to set in. And indeed, tonight that reality is ushered in, is present among us; it moves beyond wishful thinking or a concept of the imagination, but we have it within our grasp: the fulfillment of deepest longings. And as we look at our salvation history, we realize that God has been transforming us all along, beginning with the creation of the world as the universe was transformed according to God’s very goodness, made in his image and likeness. And then we heard how God transformed the plight of the Israelites as they were freed from slavery and death in Egypt and then delivered dry-shod to the Promised Land with all the spoils of Egypt. We heard how God transformed the nation of Israel from the misery of her disobedience and exile and through the prophets made her ready to embrace the covenant once more. In the Gospel, this ultimate transformation is announced to us, that Jesus has fulfilled these promises, that he is alive and victorious over every power of evil. St. Paul asks us therefore to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. Our readings celebrate this transformation.
Our next liturgy that we will soon partake in is the Baptismal Liturgy, where this year we welcome (3) candidates and catechumens into initiation with us in the Church together with our candidates and catechumens at St. Raphael, and where we ourselves renew our own baptismal vows. In this liturgy, the primary metaphor we run with is of course water. Water can be powerful, destructive, and has claimed many lives over the years. And yet, nothing can live without water, such is its life-giving propensity. In this liturgy, we celebrate our own transformation, in that through Baptism we share in Christ’s death, purging from ourselves our old lives to sin, so as to be transformed and receive the new life of Christ within us. We are confirmed in this life, and we recommit ourselves to this life, asking for God to bless us more abundantly, to strengthen us, that we would have this life and have it to the full.
And lastly, the transformation we celebrate this evening culminates in the liturgy of the Eucharist, where we bring forward bread and wine, ordinary food and drink, and they are transformed upon this altar into the very being of Jesus himself, his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. And what is so amazing is that, not only does the Holy Spirit come down and transform these gifts alone, but the Holy Spirit is called down upon all of us who are gathered here, that we would be transformed ourselves into the Body of Christ, and make our return to the Father together with Jesus, caught up in an eternal Communion together.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, our world is changed forever. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, death has been transformed into life and even sin, and suffering, and the crosses we face have been robbed of their power. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, a new destiny is opened up for us, with victory and rejoicing and happiness forever in heaven. Because of the resurrection, our relationships are transformed to something meaningful, enduring. Because of the resurrection we ourselves have hope. Tonight is the night of transformation. Stand and live in the new life that has been opened for you. Amen. Alleluia!