The title of my homily for this 2nd Monday in
Advent is, “Sin As Paralysis.”
Sin can paralyze us. Sin can cripple us.Sin can cause spiritual strokes and
misses.Sin can weigh us down.
Say the wrong thing. Do the wrong thing. Don’t do the
right thing…. Well then when these things happen we can feel the nag of sin and
dumb for days, weeks, and for years….
TODAY’S GOSPEL
This is a message from today’s gospel - Luke 5: 17-26.
This man in today’s gospel is paralyzed.His buddies hear about Jesus as a healer and
they bring him to Jesus for healing. They get to the house where Jesus is - and
the crowd is blocking them from getting to Jesus - so they climb up on the roof
- remove some tiles. Then they lower him in his stretcher right through the
hole in the roof into the presence of Jesus.
It’s quite a scene.
Luke makes the story even better and more dramatic by
connecting it with sin - as well as the Scribes and the Pharisees - who have no
use for Jesus.
PENANCE SERVICES
This gospel story from Luke 5 is often chosen for Penance
Services.
We just had the kids making their first confession last
Saturday - and the text every year is the story of Zacchaeus being invited into
Jesus house by Jesus himself.
And the crowd whispers: “This man dines with sinners and
eats with them.”
I prefer today’s story that describes sin as paralysis.
SIN AS STONES
I like to talk about sins as stones which we can hold
onto by putting them into a pack on our back.
We can even ball point pen what our sins are.
They weigh us down. They slow us down. They are heavy.
At times we can throw them at others.
We can throw them at the Lamb - who takes away the sins
of our world.
Jesus said, “Let him or her without sin cast the first
stone.”
Our sins can hurt others - as well as ourselves.
Yet Jesus can take them away.
CONCLUSION
Today’s gospel tells us this basic message.
Ooops …. Better give some good news as well.
Today’s first reading from Isaiah 35: 1-10 gives us the opposite.
Instead of gathering sins, we can gather flowers. We can become a beautiful orchard. We can bloom.We can then run better. We can then be better
as a human being. Amen.
The title of my homily for this Second Sunday in Advent -
Year C - is, “Re-Do”.
It’s spelled, “re-hyphen-do” or simply “redo”.
I think it’s a good word and a good theme that can sum up
today’s first and third readings.
Re-Do.
FIRST READING
The first reading is from the scroll called Baruch. It’s a Jewish document, but not
in the Jewish Bible, but it was in the Septuagint - the Greek Old Testament
from the Jewish community in Alexandria and our Bible comes from that. So it's in that Bible - which the Catholic Church uses. [Cf. Baruch 5: 1-9.]
Commentators place it the Babylonian Captivity or Exile
[586-538 B.C.] - where Jewish leaders - were talking about and hoping from a
return to Jerusalem.
They wanted a re-do - a return - a restoration - a
re-beginning -of Jerusalem and their
country.
The mountains will be leveled and the gorges will be
filled up.
I’m sure parts of California - that were burnt big time -
want a similar re-do.
GOSPEL
The Gospel for this Sunday - from Luke- Chapter 3: 1-6 - talks about John’s Baptism - which John
proclaimed was to bea moment for repentance
- a starting all over again.
John brought all those interested in renewal to the
river. He brought them to the other side of the Jordan - to the spot - to
themoment - to the reenactment - the crossing - the re-crossing of the Jordan River. Their ancestors
coming from Egypt had just spent 40 years in thedessert. They crossed over to the other side of the Jordan river - into
the Promised Land - to begin a new life. They were to be a new people - ready for a
re-do - a new start - a new beginning.
Notice Isaiah's images in this gospel reading: every valley shall be filled - every mountain
will be made low - the rough ways will be made smooth. It’s the same hope as we
heard in the first reading from Baruch. In other words - traveling will be much
smoother. Life will that much easier from now on.
RE-DO’S
Think about re-do’s in life.
Sometimes marriages don’t work.
Sometimes relationships don’t work - jobs don’t work -
investments don’t work. Sometimes kids pick the wrong college for them. So too
homes or a neighborhood. They take a loss and move on.
Sometimes people try again from where they are; sometimes
people make a fresh start elsewhere.
I’m willing to bet if you walk down to waters here in
Annapolis, you’ll find a boat or two, with the name, “Second Chance” on it.
I love stories about people who get a second chance - and
they re-do their lives.
I hope prisons offercourses and training for people who want to start all over again. Others
just do their time and finally get out -
no different than the day they wentinto
prison.
Advent - Lent - are seasons preparing us for re-do’s.
I spent 14 years of my life in two different retreat
houses: 7 years in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos and 7 yearsin Long Branch,New Jersey, on the ocean - where people came
for a weekend or longer to ponder a re-do - a retreating - a renewal of their
lives.
I spent 8 ½ years of my life in my last assignment in
Lima, Ohio - giving parish missions - out of there, mostly in rural Ohio. A
Parish Mission is a Redemptorist hallmark - with the idea of challenging people
to look and re-look at their life - and see what has to be re-done.
EVERY DAY REDO’S
Or take everyday re-do’s in life.
Haven’t we all had the experience of walking into a room
or a situation and all goes wrong. We say something - or someone says something
- and it’s a disaster.
How many times in such a moment - have we been tempted to say,
“Wait a minute. Let’s redo this moment? Let’s try this again?”
So we step out of the room - take a deep breath - and
then come back into the room - as if the last coming into the room didn’t happen.
We could even say, “It’s a redo.”
It’s a do-over.
And we say out loud, “Let’s try this again.”
In football, I’m sure Navy can’t wait till next December
for another re-do.Besides that it sells
t-shirts.
In baseball, it’s a rare game, it’s a rare day, when
someone goes 4 for 4 or hits 4 home runs.
Hitting .333 ain’t bad - that’s one for three.
Why can’t we say, "That’s not bad - that’s life." Can’t we
realize that re-do’s are part of life.
I like it when I have at least 2 Masses on a weekend. I
can straighten out my homily and get it right - or better - the next time.
It’s not as easy in conversations - especially when we
say the wrong thing the first time.
CONCLUSION
The message and the hope of this sermon is: forgiveness, conversion and trying again. The message of this homily is saying and hearing, “I’m
sorry.” The message of this homily is second chances, 7 times 7 chances, coming home with the hope
someone there saying, “Welcome” - even though often there might be someone who is older who won’t forgive. Whenever that happens, please re-read the Prodigal Son story and notice that the forgiving father went out and tried to get the unforgiving brother a second chance to forgive his younger brother.
In golf - miniature or on grass - the others might not
give us a re-do - but hopefully in life - God and others give re-do’s -
do-overs - lots of mulligans.
This will be a successful sermon or homily if someone
here says to their spouse or family member - in the coming week - in the coming
year.
“Let’s do a re-do!”
ooooooooooooooooooooo
P.S.If Father
Tizio was giving this homily he would make the following comment.As you know you’re allowed 16 marriages - 16
re-do’s: 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer.
