Shortest Sermon Ever!!!

Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke (Luke 4:14-21) is a hard text to get your head around from preaching. There is no dramatic story for me to break down, no wise and confusing parable for me to explain, nor is there a dramatic miracle that takes place that I can talk about. This is a simple short story about Christ's first sermon.

This Gospel takes place at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Remember, He had been baptized by John and then was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days of prayer and struggling with the devil and his temptations. Jesus comes back from his baptism and desert experience - filled with the Spirit - and suddenly understands his purpose. He understands why he is here on earth, and then he wants to go out and tell the world. So he returns to Galilee and begins teaching in the synagogues in the surrounding communities. Now at this time in Luke, Jesus had not healed anyone, hadn't cast out any demons, and hadn't multiplied any loaves and fish. All he had done was teach, and that teaching according to Luke, was pretty impressive and caused people to praise him. So Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and this occasion seems to be the official launching of Jesus' public ministry. So on the Sabbath, Jesus stands up to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has annointed me to bring to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and he sat down. Presumably this means he sat down to preach, as was the practice, on the preacher's chair which was located at the front and center of the synagogue. And everyone was looking at him to hear his sermon. And then he said,

"Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

And that was it! The sermon was over. Jesus returned to his pew, presumably having broken the record for the shortest sermon ever! Jesus claimed to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah and in doing so, he identified himself as the long-awaited Messiah.

The key in the Gospel is that Jesus was filled with the power of the Spirit, and that's when it hit him! He knew in his heart that what he was doing was something he was called to do. He knew that when that scripture was read that it was really about his life and what he was sent to do on this earth. He was sent to give sight to the physically and spiritually blind. He was sent to release the oppressed and not just those who were socially oppressed, but all of us who fall victim to that little thing called sin. He was sent to proclaim that all are set free and that there is now a path to heaven. Jesus saw the path that he was to take, and he started to walk it.

St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians talks about the community of Christians as one body. He tells us that we are all created differently, but we are part of one body, the body of believers, the body of Christ. Since we are a part of that body, we are supposed to do our part for that body. In other words, we are all created differently so we must do what we are created to do, to do what we were made to do.

We are a part of that body of believers. Amongst us are hands, feet, hearts, lungs, eyes, ears, mouths and brains. We are all created differently, all with different gifts, but all of the same Spirit. We are to follow the example that Christ gives us and go out, filled with the Spirit and do the work of God that we were called to do. We must name it, claim it, and attain it. We must name our gifts, otherwise it remains unknown. We must claim it, or take ownership of our gifts. And then we must attain it, or do it or achieve it. What good is it to have a gift if we do not use it to help others, and to bring glory to God?

This is not easy to do, and I, myself am struggling with this right now. I was laid off from my job last Thursday. Now I have to look within and pray that the Spirit directs me where I need to be, to where my gifts will be best used. It's hard, but I know that when a door closes, God will open a window! (I just need to find the room where that window is located!) But God will give us everything that we need! All we have to do is to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to be with us, to fill us with the power of the Spirit, and to live within us.

Jesus could not do it without the Spirit, and neither can we. Jesus needed assurance that this was what he was called to do, and that is what the Spirit gave him - and that is what the Spirit can give us. All we have to do is to listen, pray, and invite the Holy Spirit into our daily lives.

Be At Peace

This has been quite the roller coaster of a week for me, with a variety of highs and lows. Unfortunately, the lows seem to keep coming.

With today being the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, I turned to him for some words of peace. No matter where you are in your life, these words should provide some comfort.

Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;

rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,

God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things;

and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

the same understanding Father who cares for you today

will take care of you then and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering 

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

Amen.

The Ultimate Wedding Speech

Being a professional musician and playing my share of weddings over the years, I have seen what seems like thousands of wedding speeches and toasts. Most were very dry and boring, but some were quite entertaining. But none have even come close to this - for this is truly amazing...

Planning a wedding? Good luck topping this…

Prayers to Start Your Day

I often hear from people that they struggle with praying on a daily basis. Like anything else, you need to make prayer something that you do everyday until it becomes a habit. But the question I always get is, "How do I get started?"

Here are a few examples of how to start your day with prayer. Once you continue to do this, you will find yourself going deeper and doing more spontaneous prayers. I hope these help you grow your prayer life.

This is another day, Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give the the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, I awake this morning aware of people who need my prayers, and so I bring them to you in hope and trust that you will give them what they need. I especially ask that you give  them a sense of your presence and love. At the same time, strengthen me to be your presence to everyone I meet today. Slow me down so that I can recognize opportunities to serve others in your name. Amen.

Gracious Lord, I don't want to take this day for granted, for I know that each moment of my life is a gift. Help me to savor the whole day, even those parts of it that appear most challenging. Through your Holy Spirit may I find you in all things and so discover the path to lasting joy. Amen.

Beautiful Prayer

Here is a prayer often attributed to Oscar Romero, but actually written by the late Bishop Ken Untener:

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

All in the Family

Family is a wonderful blessing! (Archie Bunker may not agree with me on this, but it is the honest truth!) Spending time with all of them around the holidays was truly a special event. However, when you talk about family, especially if you are referring to overall size, my family is dwarfed by my wife's family. In other words, my family is very small, while hers is very big.

When one has such a large family, you start a tradition of having yearly family reunions. I'll never forget the first time that I attended my wife's family reunion. I was quite amazed at the turnout of family members in attendance. So many, that I couldn't even keep them straight. It even got to the point that the family couldn't even remember who was who, especially if they hadn't seen them in quite some time. So the addition of name tags came into play. Everyone began wearing name tags to remind everyone of their relationship with each other.

After reflecting on today's first reading from John, maybe all of us should wear name tags that say, "Child of God." After all, this is the essence of our identity. It would remind us of our relationship with God AND with each other - that we are all part of the same family. And despite all of our differences (color, gender, religion, etc.), we are all related...we are all in the family!

Try this sometime: walk down the street, or your office building, or the even the mall and look at others and say to yourself, "That's my brother!" Or, "That's my sister!" Or for a real challenge, when you are driving and you come in contact with a really poor driver, say to yourself, "That's a Child of God!" This will truly change your perspective about others.

The greatest sign of God's love is the gift of His Son that has made us true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of our lives to come. True knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, but we need to prepare ourselves NOW by imitating his Son. That is our challenge.

We are all in the same family. So don't be a meathead. Let's mingle with all of our brothers and sisters and love one another as God loves all His children!!!

Happy New Year!

We say this all the time, but do you ever stop to think what we are actually saying when we speak this phrase? What do these three words actually mean?

I believe that it can mean a number of things. For example, Happy New Year, in its most basic translation can mean that we hope that the person whom we are addressing does indeed have a happy 2013. And with that is associated some of the following: health, wealth, good friends, love, happiness, joy, etc.

This phrase can also mean that we place a blessing on the individuals to which we say these words. We pray that the upcoming year allow you to be the person whom God made you to be; the one who goes out and follows the Gospel by word and deed. We pray that during times of trial that we truly trust in the Lord to guide us in the way of his truth, and to not second guess his plan. We pray that we take the time to pray and to find the silence and solitude that will bring us ever closer to our Creator. And we pray that we may be always listening for His call, and following Him until the end of our days.

May 2013 be the year that we truly act on what God is asking us to do, and embark on the journey of faith that will lead us to ultimate happiness and love.

Happy New Year, indeed!!!