33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time @ Ss. Francis and Clare, Birch Run

The “ouroboros” is an ancient symbol of a snake eating it’s tail. It comes from two Greek words meaning “tail-eating,” and seems to have originated in Egypt. It can mean “infinity,” or “eternity,” as well as “death,” and “rebirth.”

In fact, in the 19th century, German chemist – August Kekulé – was inspired by a dream of just such a symbolic tail-eating snake, led to his discovery of the chemical structure of the compound Benzene.

Although there is a debate on whether he really had the dream first, or if he just used it to embellish the story around his discovery.

Today is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our continued focus throughout the month of November, is of an “eschatological” theme. “Eschatology” being the area of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final disposition of the soul.

And so we commemorate the faithful departed, and we remember – in a special way – those who passed away in the last 12 months.

In 2 weeks, we will end the Church Year, and being a new one – focusing on the Gospel of St. Luke, and once again moving through Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

Our first reading comes from the Book of Daniel. Written two-hundred years before Christ, and recounting Jewish history from four-hundred years before that; it consists of two parts: the first being the goings on in the royal court of Babylon (during the Babylonian Captivity,) and the second being four apocalyptic visions … the last of which we heard proclaimed today.

The second reading wraps up this section of the Letter to the Hebrews on Christ’s priesthood and sacrifice – contrasting the temporary priesthood in this temporary world with the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ in Eternity. Calling us all to look beyond our lives here and now … toward the future life to come in Eternity.

The Gospel reading from St. Mark comes from near the end of the thirteenth chapter. This chapter begins with Jesus prophesying the destruction of the temple. He then speaks of the signs of the end, a coming persecution, and a great tribulation. In what we heard today, Jesus speaks of His own second coming.

The chapter ends with an admonition to “be watchful! be alert!” This section was read last year on the First Sunday of Advent, bringing us full-circle through the Gospel of St. Mark.

Throughout history many people have come up with claims of when the world would end. There was December 21, 2012 when the Mayan Calendar ended, and supposedly the world going to end as well.

In the year 1999, 25 years ago, all computers were going to break down on New Year’s Day, because most of them had only been programmed with two digit dates. But somehow we survived.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have predicting the end of the world for over 100 years: in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994. Never the less,  they still hold their annual conference in Saginaw every year in early July.

We should be prudent in our own interpretation of the signs of the times ... as well as the symptoms of our times. After all, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Or as Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

For ourselves, we must keep our eye fixed on Jesus Christ, and we must keep our minds focused on the things that are eternal. Knowing that, despite our immediate thoughts and worries, that God is in charge, and that God’s plan for us is much bigger than we can imagine.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us rely more and more on supernatural and spiritual helps provided to us in the Sacraments. May our lives be an expression of God’s grace and mercy and love - our spiritual inheritance from God as His beloved children, redeemed in Christ, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time @ Ss. Francis and Clare Parish, Birch Run

The election of 1960 was hotly contested.

Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon only lost the popular vote by 118,524. But if you subtract the six rogue electors from Alabama, who refused to endorse Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, Nixon would have won the popular vote by 58,000; even though he lost in the electoral college 219 to 303.

In the House and the Senate, Democrats held a very comfortable majority — 262 out of 435; and 64 out of 100.

In his inaugural address given on January 20, 1961, then-president Kennedy near the end spoke these memorable words:

ask not what your country can do for you 
— ask what you can do for your country.

Finally ending with:

With a good conscience our only sure reward, 
with history the final judge of our deeds, 
let us go forth to lead the land we love, 
asking His blessing and His help, 
but knowing that here on earth 
God's work must truly be our own.

Today is the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, and our readings focus on sacrifice.

In both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel we hear of two widows. One who gave what food she had to a stranger, and the other who gave everything that she had.

The word widow is very unique in that it comes out of a single Indo-European root . . . meaning this word, or a variant of this word, has been used for thousands of years and all the languages of the world share a common root dating back to the origins of language.

In both Hebrew and Greek, the languages of the Old and New Testament, the word for widow is related to the word for a chasm or a desolate place.

Yet in both of these Bible stories, the widows give from their need — not from their surplus. The depth of their sacrifice made a noticeable dent in their lives. Or, in other words, they both gave until it hurt.

As we continue our sequential reading through Hebrews, the writer points out the superiority of Jesus’s sacrifice. Where in the Old Law, the priest sacrificed an ox and sprinkled the altar with its blood; Jesus sacrificed Himself for our salvation, in His own Body and with His own Blood. 

Where the Temple was meant to be a model . . . an image . . . and icon of Heaven, Jesus ascended into Heaven at God’s right hand, making “a holy sacrifice” on our behalf in the presence of God the Father.

The offerings of the two widows from their need is a model . . . an image . . . an icon of Christ’s own self-gift . . . His kenosis . . . His total self-emptying sacrifice.

Jesus’s sacrifice is once-for-all, perfect, and complete. And we re-present it here on this altar for the you and your intentions.

I will close with a Danish proverb. Like Kennedy’s famous “ask not” quote, it should leave us with a challenge.

What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you do is your gift to God. 

 As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ; let us ask ourselves — “How shall I make a return to the Lord, for all the good He has done for me.” 

Let us take what we have, and who we are . . . and through our thoughts, words, and deeds . . . make a worthy sacrifice to God, united with Christ Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.