St. Joseph Church Homilies

For weeks now, we’ve reflected on the ‘harvest principle.’ If you’ve missed any of our reflection so far, no worries. Fr. Isaac and I always post the text and a recording of our homilies on the parish website. The ‘harvest principle’ says: you reap what you sow. As planted corn produces a harvest of corn, the seeds of good words and works produces a good harvest and the seeds of selfishness, hatred and greed will produce a bad harvest if not for ourselves then for others. Like all principles, it’s a truth that applies to all; and while exceptions may be found, they don’t last. Birds that seem to defy the principles or laws of gravity must eventually return to the ground.

‘You reap what you sow; but the harvest always comes later’. No one plants a seed in the morning expecting a harvest by lunch or the next day; that’s not how it works. Many join us today because of the seeds of faith planted by parents long ago. Of course, this waiting can be frustrating and even agonizing at times and when this happens, Christians remember, ‘You reap what you sow, but the harvest is always greater.’ Kicking an addiction or habit takes time, but the reward, the harvest, is worth more than the seeds of patience, choices and effort required to get there.

During these last few weeks, we explored how the ‘harvest principle’ makes a difference when developing the character needed to live out God’s commandments to love God and others. Those who sow seeds of honesty, love and patience will have a character marked by honesty, love and patience. We also witnessed how the wise use of money, regardless of income or bank account size can bring great blessings. Indeed, we can’t take it with us, but we can send it on ahead. We build up treasure in heaven when we give sacrificially. We may not be called to give away every penny made. But disciples are all called to give in a way that requires making sacrifices.

When life is difficult, the ‘harvest principle’ becomes really practical too. The bad news is that all will face eventual grave trouble; there’s no escaping it, we’re not in heaven yet. The good news of God, however, reminds us that wisdom prepares us for those moments and instead of being broken down by hard times, we can shine. Wise disciples always view existence through the lens of eternity; they keep in mind how all the things that create distress and turmoil comes and goes and eventually comes to an end. But God, his kingdom and his faithful disciples who sow good seeds: they endure forever.

This weekend we celebrate Christ the King. It’s a great opportunity to examine how we build up our Church. After all, if Jesus is a king, then he must have a kingdom and it’s through the Church that the Kingdom of God is revealed and built up in this world. It’s to the Church that Jesus gave the mission to Baptize all nations. It’s to his Church that our Lord entrusted the Sacraments. It’s from within our Church that the Saviour first shared the Good News.

Now, I know it’s a bad time to propose that anything ought to be given to our Church at all. Recent memory screams out reminders of the many abuses that have happened in the name of our Church and reconciling these evils with the message of Good News our Church proclaims is impossible and even painful; but that’s okay. We don’t have to reconcile this discrepancy because while he was revealing and establishing his Church, Jesus knew that many would not live out the commandments of love. He knew Peter would deny him. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew that some would selfishly use the name of his Church to take advantage of or even hurt others. Jesus knew all this and still established a Church as the way for his Kingdom to be revealed here because those tragedies do not conclude the story or even make up a large part of it.

For a few weeks now, we’ve reflected on what we’ve called, ‘the harvest principle’. A principle is a fundamental truth that applies to all. While it’s sometimes possible to find exceptions that propose a principle isn’t true, these exceptions don’t last. Birds that seem to defy the principles or laws of gravity must eventually return to the ground. Briefly, ‘the harvest principle’, asserts, “You reap what you sow”. It’s a reminder of how seeds planted today determine the harvest that’s reaped. As planted tomato seeds always produce a harvest of tomatoes, the seeds of good words and works will produce a good harvest and the seeds of selfishness, hatred and greed will produce a bad harvest if not for ourselves then for others.

“You reap what you sow. But the harvest always comes later.” Many join us today because of the seeds of faith planted by parents long ago. However, many suffer deep wounds because of the failings of parents. When waiting for the harvest becomes frustrating, Christians remember: “You reap what you sow, but the harvest is always greater.” Transforming a house to a home or kicking an addiction or habit takes time, but the reward, the harvest, is worth more than the seeds of patience, choices and effort required to get there.

The harvest principle is especially true when it comes to forming character. Those who sow seeds of honesty, love and patience will have a character marked by honesty, love and patience. The two great commandments to love God and neighbour is a prompt to scrutinize the seeds we’re planting, to assess our character to see which habits urge us to faithfully live out these commandments and which habits hinder us from living these commandments.

The readings last week illustrated how the sacrificial offerings of a couple of widows brought great blessings. True Christian giving always involves sacrifice, giving something up. But instead of believing that we’ve lost something, we know there’s always a reward, a great harvest from the seeds of sacrificial giving. The things we accumulate, the dollars in the bank, can’t be taken with us. But we can send it ahead by using the gifts we’ve received to build a treasure in heaven.

The ‘harvest principle’ can be applied to some really practical areas of life too. The first reading today comes from the book of the prophet Daniel. The first half of the book describes the struggles of the people of Judah as they were conquered and exiled by the Babylonians. The second half of the book, where today’s reading is from, describes a series of visions, dreams and prophecies that Daniel had. The prophet is describing some truths and realities about the moments leading to the end of time that are incomprehensible to us. So, he uses symbols, lots of very unusual language that, at least at first glance, doesn’t appear all that useful or practical. The words of Our Lord in the Gospel seem equally cryptic and disturbing.

The prophet describes the time before the end of time as being unsurpassed in distress. Lots of turmoil; anything but peaceful. While enduring a pandemic, climate change, the fallout of the residential school system, inflation, fights over masks and vaccines and all kinds of divisions in the world today, it’s easy to relate to that sentiment. Certainly it at least feels as though we live in a period marked by unprecedented distress. It’s easy to wonder if we are now in those final moments before the second coming of Christ.

I don’t know if we are or are not in that period. Only God knows when time will end. But even if we aren’t; even if the end of time isn’t coming for tens of thousands of years, this passage about the end of time still applies to us today. After all, we will all experience turmoil in life. We’re all going to endure stress and distress; we’re not in heaven yet,

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been reflecting on what we’ll call, ‘the harvest principle’. A principle is a fundamental truth that applies to all. While it’s sometimes possible to find exceptions that propose that a principle isn’t true, these exceptions don’t last forever. Birds may seem to defy the principles or laws of gravity, but all birds must eventually return to the ground. Principles eventually get their way.

Briefly, ‘the harvest principle’, tells us, “You reap what you sow”; it points out how seeds planted today determine the harvest that’s reaped. Just as planted tomato seeds always produce a harvest of tomatoes, the seeds of good words and works will produce a good harvest and the seeds of selfishness, hatred and greed will produce a bad harvest if not for ourselves then for others. After all, often the harvest we reap, good or bad, comes, not because of our choices, the seeds we’ve planted, but because of the seeds others have planted.

“You reap what you sow. But the harvest always comes later.” There’s many who join us today because of the seeds of faith planted by parents long ago. At the same time, many suffer deep wounds because of the failings of parents. When waiting for the harvest becomes frustrating, Christians remember: “You reap what you sow, but the harvest is always greater.” Transforming a house to a home or kicking an addiction or habit takes time, but the reward, the harvest, is worth more than the seeds of patience, choices and effort required to get there.

Last week we examined how this principle forms character, how sowing the seeds of honesty, love and patience forms a character marked by honesty, love and patience. The two great commandments to love God and neighbour is a prompt to scrutinize the seeds we’re planting, to assess our character to see which habits urge us to faithfully live out these commandments and which habits hinder us from living these commandments. Christians work to sow good seeds because we know there’s a wonderful reward awaiting us: the Kingdom of God.

‘The harvest principle’, applies to money too. Regardless of income or bank account size, there’s all kinds of things that can be done with money. It can be spent, lost, wasted or even gambled. ‘The harvest principle’, however, challenges us to use it to sow good seeds. One way to do this is through sacrificial giving.

In the first reading, we heard about a moment in the life of Elijah who had to flee his homeland because he publicly challenged a horrible king who promoted idolatry. As a consequence, the prophet predicted a three-year drought. God safely lead the prophet to a widow who, along with her son, faced starvation. Thinking they would soon die, the widow was preparing a final meal of delicious sticks. Elijah asked her to interrupt her plans and first bring him some water and make him some food, promising a miracle of unending oil and meal in exchange.

The widow could have declined his request. After all, she and her son were starving and, at least to me, Elijah’s promise would have sounded like a scam. For us, it would seem perfectly reasonable for her to deny the prophet’s request. On the other hand, what did she have to lose by taking direction from Elijah? Death seemed inevitable. Either the prophet’s proposal would hasten an inevitable demise or it would bring a miraculous blessing. She decided to give sacrificially, to share what she had with a stranger. This widow sowed tiny seeds of generosity, sacrifice and hospitality and in exchange she and her son received all they needed and more to survive the long famine.

When giving, Christians believe, never that they’re losing something, but that they are gaining something, that there’s always a reward, a great harvest from the seeds of sacrificial giving.

Though we’re not primarily a farming community, Thanksgiving, the change of seasons and shrinking days has many thinking about harvest time. I mean, so many decorate their homes with pumpkins, corn stalks, gourds or straw: the produce of the harvest. At least, they do till Halloween decorations take over. The harvest defines seasons, shapes holidays, and guides communities. So, for a few weeks we’re going to reflect on the harvest and on what God may be trying to reveal to us through this season. During the next few weeks, we’ll call this the Harvest Principle.

A principle is a fundamental truth that guides behaviour. It’s a fact of life, a ground rule that works regardless of belief. It’s written into the laws of nature and applies to all people. Principles always get their way too, eventually. Sometimes it’s possible to find exceptions and this may tempt us to believe a principle isn’t true. But, these exceptions don’t last indefinitely. A bird may defy the principles or laws of gravity, but all birds eventually have to return to the ground.

So, here’s something we might learn from the harvest season, here’s the harvest principle we’re reflecting on. There’s a good chance you’ve already heard it. The harvest principle says, “You reap what you sow.” The basic idea is that, if the conditions are right, if there’s enough sun, rain and nutrients, a seed planted will eventually produce rewards, fruit.

This principle reminds us that the kind of fruit, the rewards produced, are directly linked to the seeds planted. It says that the decisions, words and actions of today will make an impact in the future if not on us, then on those who follow. Cucumbers only come from planted cucumber seeds. Good seeds produce good fruit and bad seeds planted will produce unwanted fruit. Of course, not everything we experience in life is a result of our own decisions, the seeds we’ve sown. Often the harvest we reap, good or bad, comes only because of the seeds others before us have planted.

“You reap what you sow.” The Harvest Principle applies to individuals, families, businesses, communities and even nations. In a couple of weeks we’ll observe Remembrance Day and reflect on how we enjoy the fruit of freedom today only because of the seeds planted by those who sacrificed and risked their lives long ago. At the same time, we’ve recently seen how bad seeds planted in our nation have caused immense harm through the residential school system.

I’m willing to bet that many join us today only because of the seeds of faith planted by parents. But, many suffer deep wounds because of the failings of parents. For our Church: today we reap knowledge and wisdom planted by our heroes, the saints and we’ve also witnessed incredible damage done by a few, including clergy, who planted seeds of selfishness through abuse of their position.

In today’s first reading, the prophet Jeremiah states, “With weeping they shall come…”[1]. The prophet is talking about the people of Israel. God had given his people so many advantages and gifts. But, for many generations the people responded with ingratitude; they often dismissed God’s message, turned to idolatry and even killed his prophets. For a long time it seemed like there were no consequences to these actions. But eventually, the people lost everything and were exiled.

It’s easy to find people who seem to defy the Harvest Principle. We all know of the student who can get by without giving any serious attention to studies. We’ve all worked with individuals who seem to always show up late, leave early, waste time and yet never get called out for it. Indeed, you reap what you sow, but the reaping always comes later. Sometimes,

Today’s gospel continues with the theme I spoke to you about last month. If you remember, the disciples were arguing with each other about who was the greatest amongst them. Jesus told them, “They must become last and not first, servants not masters.” Today, we heard James and John come to Jesus and say, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” By using the word, “whatever”, they have made a very open-ended request. Can you imagine our children especially our teenage children making such a request? I think our Spidey radar would be going off. Jesus’s radar also went off and he asks, “What is it you want me to do for you? Their reply, “Grant us to sit one on your right hand and one at your left. “ Places of honour like this were usually bestowed upon someone and not something that someone would request. But we have to remember, James and John were the son’s of Zebedee and Sal-a-me. Sal-a-me was Mary’s sister, and therefore, Jesus was James and John’s first cousin. Because of that relationship, James and John would have felt they had a good reason, to ask for such positions. Having that family relationship, I am sure their family also felt , it would only be natural, that James and John would have these great seats of honour, as family ties had great importance. Another point in their thinking is that they were already a part of Jesus’s inner circle with Peter, and quite often accompanied Jesus, while the other disciples were left behind. Therefore, in a way, our Lord was already giving James and John preferential treatment.

Just before this discussion, Jesus had told the disciples for the third time, he would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, be mocked, spit upon, flogged, and condemned to death. One would think all the disciples would be in a very sombre mood. However, James and John did not wait a week, a couple of days, or even a day to make their request, they approached Jesus right away. Therefore, in a way the request itself, is not the disturbing part of this Gospel. The disturbing part is after hearing our Lord’s plight for the third time, James and John showed, how little, they really understood, what Jesus was telling them. Maybe they were just more concerned with how they looked in front of their peers and were not really listening to what Jesus had just told them.  

The next statement Jesus made reminds me of a line from the movie, A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson says, “You Can’t Handle the Truth.” Instead Jesus says, “You do not know what you are asking”. (P) Jesus then asked, if they were, “able to drink the cup he must drink, or be baptized with a baptism he is baptized with?” James and John answered yes, not realizing, what they were saying yes to. When Jesus said these words, he was talking again, about the terrible experiences that he must go through, in order to bring salvation to the world.

Jesus then responded with, “the cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.” Jesus was telling them, by just being associated with him, would cause them great harm and eventually death. Jesus was warning them that maybe they don’t want the seats to His right and left.  We know today, 11 of the apostles were martyred and John suffered greatly for his faith in Jesus, so their yes answer, and Christ’s prophesizing would eventually become true. In the end, Jesus told them, that the seats of honour were not his to give. That power belonged only to God.  

Next, things got interesting as the remaining ten apostles found out what James and John had requested and they became very upset. This is familiar ground for most of us. When any of us are in a group or on a team how do we feel, if someone or a group approaches the leader secretly, and tries to improve their ranking or status.

In the first reading, we come across what is probably the first time that God expresses displeasure at something in his creation. After placing Adam in the Garden of Eden, granting him life and reflecting on creation so far, God asserts, “It is not good that the man should be alone…”[1]. Something is missing and until the solution, the missing piece, is found, the universe remains incomplete and God’s creative work that day cannot yet be deemed ‘good’.

You see, when God creates, there’s always purpose. Immediately after giving life to Adam, God places him in The Garden of Eden not just for Adam’s enjoyment, not to work on his tan or to relax, but, “…to till it and keep it.”[2] The Bible introduces God as someone actively creating, as one who works; and the first thing that God expects from human beings is to share in that work. Indeed, no one can make something out of nothing as God did, but we can do the next best thing by making something good out of, well, something. There’s no need for Adam to invent his purpose; it’s already been given.

But there’s more to God than just work and while Adam was made to share in the work of God, he was also made to love as God loves. At this point in the story of creation, something more is still needed. Adam, at this point the only human being in all of creation, is alone and it’s not good. The problem isn’t about loneliness; with God around, Adam isn’t ever really alone. But it seems that Adam cannot truly fulfill his task of tilling and keeping the earth; something lacking prevented him from truly living out his call to live in the image and likeness of God.

So, God made all living creatures pass before the eyes of Adam. Essentially, he allows Adam to look over all of creation to find that missing something. It must have been an incredible experience, but that missing piece was never found. God, of course, already knew what was missing and how to fill the void. But this process of presenting all of creation before his eyes reveals to Adam, as it does for us, how, without love, there is nothing in the whole created universe, as incredible and vast as it is, that can ever complete who we are.

Only then does God go ahead and create Eve, the perfect partner for Adam. Only through their partnership, through their relationship and mutual love, can the task of tilling and keeping the earth finally bear the true fruit God intended, the true fruit intended to fulfill Adam. The call to share in God’s work remained the same, but now through a mutual and loving relationship between man and woman, Adam and Eve, and all human beings throughout all time, can finally live out the call to live in the image and likeness of God.

Now, there are numerous ways in which men and woman can enter into loving relationships; we hopefully first encounter this in the relationship between mother and son or father and daughter. However, where the expression of love between a man and a woman seems best expressed, and where God seems to hope the relationship between Adam and Eve would eventually become is within marriage.

Before a couple can be married in the Catholic Church, they must first visit a priest and go through a kind of interview to see if the idea and purpose of marriage held in the minds and hearts of the couple matches what God set out at creation. This isn’t to screen couples or judge the quality or depth of their love; I don’t know how anyone but the couple and God could ever judge that. But there are many different kinds of love that all share many similar qualities, emotions and passions. While it may not be fair to rank one kind of love, say the love between a parent and child,

Surprise was nothing new for the disciples; most everything about Jesus was surprising and that’s probably what attracted many of the disciples in the first place. The casting out of demons, the witness of one being freed of an evil spirit would have undoubtedly been an incredibly joyful experience for those who followed Jesus, an affirmation of God at work among his people. But the reaction of the disciples seems far less joyful when they encounter a stranger casting out demons in the name of Jesus, even though the result is the defeat of evil and the freedom of one formerly subject to it, even though the good work is still attributed to the messiah.

Maybe the disciples were jealous to see another doing such works and maybe their negative reaction was established on pride. It’s easy to imagine how the disciples might have considered themselves to be the experts in the field of casting out demons in the name of Jesus. They were the students enrolled in the school of the Saviour after-all. In this case, seeing an outsider who hadn’t given up so much as the disciples had and couldn’t possibly know what they knew would have been a challenge of humility.

Pride kills progress, creativity and love. For those engaged in ministering to others, for those who offer up a portion of their time in service, maybe here at the parish or anywhere, there is always the temptation to pride, to become possessive of a particular ministry. A priest who falls into this trap, falsely believing that only ideas from his own mind will bear fruit, might not be able to see value in new initiatives proposed by other members of a parish and as a result the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of all disciples is silenced. A group who falls for this same tendency might wrongly suppose that only techniques or events done in the past will yield results and the creative genius of God is dismissed. An individual who slips into this temptation might mistakenly imagine that only they, who have been serving in a particular capacity for a long time, could ever truly fulfill the ministry they have taken on with the level of love and devotion; unwilling to try a new ministry or allow others to share the work, future growth is stunted.

Just as pride works to imprison new ideas or efforts in discipleship, as it did in the case of the disciples, pride may also hold us back from accepting a call from God to serve. Pride dismisses the possibility that all disciples are called to be instruments of God. Sometimes, pride proclaims that good works could only be properly accomplished by certain ‘experts’; it makes some feel unworthy to take on a ministry or to share in the work of Jesus. Pride proposes that, because of a lack of education or training, experience or even faith, some could never serve in any meaningful way or inspire strangers to worship with us. Indeed, experts in their fields should be respected; rockets should only be built by rocket scientists and brain surgery should only be done by proficient brain surgeons. But when it comes to developing faith, to being a disciple and to sharing in the work of Jesus, every baptized person is a capable and equipped expert.

After the Mass, you’ll find a few things going on in the parking lot. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus, burgers and hotdogs will be served. I hope you cam hungry. Different groups have also set up displays to share what their ministry is all about and how any can get involved. Of course, I know we’re all very busy people with our own limits. But I also think that life in our parish would look very different and our capacity to serve the larger community would deeply improve if each member of our parish offered up even one hour a month in service. Anyway, I hope you’ll take a look, ask some questions and consider getting involved in some way as you have something to eat.