Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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November 7, 2010
November 8th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 8 Period I.The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for November 8th are Luminous.
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November 7, 2010
Jeremiah DVD available
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Jeremiah 17: 5-8
Yahweh says this,
Accursed be anyone
who trusts in human beings,
who relies on human strength
and whose heart turns from Yahweh.
Such a person is like scrub
in the wastelands:
when good comes, it does not affect him
since he lives in the parched places
of the desert,
uninhabited, salt land.
‘Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh,
with Yahweh to rely on.
Such a person is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it has nothing to fear,
its foliage stays green;
untroubled in a year of drought,
it never stops bearing fruit.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time - February 11, 2007
INTRODUCTION: Life is full of options for people in the world today, but the Bible tells us that all our options ultimately will be reduced to two. We either make God the center of our lives or we don’t. Choosing to make God the center of our lives will lead to true happiness, making any other choice may satisfy us temporarily, but it will in the end leave us disappointed and unhappy. This was crystal clear to Jeremiah the prophet who lived at the time of the Babylonian exile. His way of expressing this truth is crystal clear too.
Jeremiah 20: 7-9
You have seduced me, Yahweh,
and I have let myself be seduced;
you have overpowered me:
you were the stronger.
I am a laughing-stock all day long,
they all make fun of me.
For whenever I speak, I have to howl
and proclaim, ‘Violence and ruin!’
For me , Yahweh’s word has been the cause
of insult and derision all day long.
I would say to myself,
‘I will not think about him,
I will not speak in his name any more,’
but then there seemed to be a fire
burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not do it.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle A
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 28, 2005
: (Jeremiah 20, 7-9) Our first reading goes back about 600 B.C. The author of our passage is the prophet Jeremiah. Apparently he thought that people would be grateful to him for speaking God’s word to them. But his job of telling them to change their ways and get right with God only made them hate him. The people ridiculed him, threw him in jail and even tried to kill him. We hear him complaining to God “You duped me! You tricked me, God!” I’m sure it wasn’t the first time God heard the complaint that life is not fair. Jesus’ faithfulness to his mission would bring him suffering too, but Jesus was well aware of what was going to happen to him as we hear him warn his disciples in today’s gospel. In last Sunday’s gospel Jesus praised Peter for acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus even promised Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. But Peter wasn’t ready for all this talk about suffering and when Peter tried to talk Jesus out of the idea Jesus called him Satan. That’s because Peter was trying to tempt Jesus away from being faithful to his calling.INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah 20: 10-13
I heard so many disparaging me,
‘Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who were on good terms with me
watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we shall get the better of him
and take our revenge!’
But Yahweh is at my side
like a mighty hero;
my opponents will stumble, vanquished,
confounded by their failure;
everlasting, unforgettable disgrace
will be theirs.
Yahweh Sabaoth,
you who test the upright,
observer of motives and thoughts,
I shall see your vengeance on them,
for I have revealed my cause to you.
Sing to Yahweh,
praise Yahweh,
for he has delivered the soul of one in need
from the clutches of evil doers.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle A
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 22, 2008
INTRODUCTION: The prophet, Jeremiah lived in Israel about 600 years before Christ. The Babylonian destruction of Israel was immanent. The Babylonians came from modern day Iraq. Their capital, Babylon, was located just 100 miles south of Baghdad. Jeremiah was warning God’s people that they could avoid the destruction that was on its way if they started living according to God’s laws (most of which were being flagrantly ignored or violated. The people didn’t like the message, so they decided to kill Jeremiah. His words in today’s first reading reflect the pain and misery he experienced for being faithful to his mission. We should not be shocked when we hear him pray that God take vengeance on his persecutors. After all, he was human and not as perfect as Jesus who was able to pray for those who crucified him.
Our first reading leads into the gospel. As we heard last Sunday, Jesus had just chosen his twelve apostles. In today’s gospel he prepares to send them out as missionaries. He is warning them their message will not always be well received, they may even suffer and die for it, but they must preach with courage and not be afraid of what might happen to them if they meet rejection
Jeremiah 31: 1-9
When that time comes, Yahweh declares, I shall be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.
Yahweh says this:
They have found pardon in the desert,
those who have survived the sword.
Israel is marching to his rest.
Yahweh has appeared to me from afar;
I have loved you with an everlasting love
and so I still maintain
my faithful love for you.
I shall build you once more,
yes, you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
Once more in your best attire,
and with your tambourines,
you will go out dancing gaily.
Once more you will plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria
(those who plant will themselves
enjoy the fruit).
Yes, a day will come
when the watchmen shout
on the mountains of Ephraim,
‘Up! Let us go up to Zion,
to Yahweh our God!’For Yahweh says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout,
‘Yahweh has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’Watch, I shall bring them back
from the land of the north
and gather them in
from the far ends of the earth.
With them, the blind and the lame,
women with child, women in labour,
all together: a mighty throng
will return here!
In tears they will return,
in prayer I shall lead them.
I shall guide them to streams of water,
by a smooth path
where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my first–born son.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle B
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 29, 2006
INTRODUCTION: (Jeremiah 31, 7-9; Hebrews 5, 1-6; Mark 10, 46-52) The Jews have had numerous periods of great suffering throughout history. One of those difficult periods was during the Babylonian exile. The prophet who speaks to us in today’s first reading, Jeremiah, lived through it all. Before the exile he had the unpopular task of telling God's people what hey needed to do in order to avoid disaster – unpopular because he had to tell them they had to start obeying God's laws. Instead of heeding his counsel the people tried to kill Jeremiah. When the Babylonians descended upon Judah, they took many people captive as slaves to Babylon. Jeremiah could have said “I told you so.” But he didn’t. Instead he offered God's people hope. We hear him in today’s first reading telling a conquered people: “shout for joy for Jacob” for God would bring his people back home. Even the blind and the lame would not be left behind. The passage prepares us for the gospel where Jesus heals a blind man.
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
“Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall fulfil the promise of happiness I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:
In those days and at that time,
I shall make an upright Branch
grow for David,
who will do what is just and upright
in the country.
In those days Judah will triumph
and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name the city will be called:
Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.”
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
1st Sunday of Advent - December 3, 2006
INTRODUCTION: The prophet, Jeremiah, lived during one of the most devastating times in the history of Israel. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. He saw many of his fellow citizens enslaved and taken into exile. Yet his words reflect hope and not despair. His hope is based not on human capabilities but on God's faithfulness to God’s promises. Jeremiah recalls God’s promise to his people made over 400 years earlier, during the time of King David, that God would bring to the throne a successor to the King who would bring peace and security to Jerusalem. We still wait for peace and security not only in Jerusalem but all over the world, but the promised one, a descendant of the House of David has begun his reign. The gospel tells us one day he will come in great glory to establish the kingdom of God forever.
Jeremiah 38: 4-6
The chief men then said to the king, 'You must have this man put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. This man is seeking not the welfare of the people but their ruin.' King Zedekiah answered, 'He is in your hands as you know, for the king is powerless to oppose you.' So they took Jeremiah and put him into the storage-well of the king's son Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the storage-well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
INTRODUCTION: Unfortunately suffering and turmoil have been part of everyday life in the Middle East for a long time. Our first reading takes us back 600 years before Christ when the land we now know as Iraq had the name Babylon. The Babylonians were in power at that time in history and the king and his army’s ambitions were to conquer all the nations around them. The events in our first reading occurred at a time when the Babylonians were trying to take Jerusalem. Jeremiah, God’s prophet, told the Jews it was useless for them to fight or to try to defend themselves; they should just go ahead and surrender or Jerusalem would be destroyed. Such talk was viewed as unpatriotic and Jeremiah was considered a traitor. Many of the Jewish leaders decided to kill Jeremiah and they persuaded their king, Zedekiah, to give in to their wishes. He allowed Jeremiah to be thrown into a cistern to die. Later, Ebed-Melech, a Cushite (which means an Ethiopian), one of Jeremiah’s friends, persuaded the king to change his mind.
Jeremiah 23: 1-6
‘Disaster for the shepherds who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Yahweh declares. This, therefore, is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people, “You have scattered my flock, you have driven them away and have not taken care of them. Right, I shall take care of you for your misdeeds, Yahweh declares! But the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather from all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; they will be fruitful and increase in numbers. For them I shall raise up shepherds to shepherd them and pasture them. No fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost, Yahweh declares!
Look, the days are coming,
Yahweh declares,
when I shall raise an upright Branch
for David;
he will reign as king and be wise,
doing what is just and upright
in the country.
In his days Judah will triumph
and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name he will be called,
‘Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.’ ”
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle B
INTRODUCTION – (Jeremiah, 23, 1-6; Ephesians, 2, 13-18; Mk. 6, 30-34) (I used the following as introduction to the penitential rite): In the Scriptures, those who were leaders of God’s people: kings and priests, teachers and other spiritual leaders were often compared to shepherds. Frequently these leaders were more interested in serving themselves than they were in providing good leadership for God’s people. Jeremiah, today’s first reading, blames the kings of Judah for the destruction of the nation under the Babylonians. In today’s gospel our Lord views the people of his day as sheep without a shepherd and has compassion on them. He is a good shepherd. He desires to lead his followers to glory and eternal happiness. The way to follow him is through faith and love. For the times we have failed, we ask his forgiveness and his help to do better.
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 19, 2009
HOMILY: There was a man who worked in a museum whose job it was to explain the different exhibits. On one occasion he pointed to the bones of a dinosaur saying the bones were 100 million and 9 years old. Someone asked how they could date those bones so accurately. He said “well, when I started working here, I was told these bones were 100 million years old and I’ve worked here for nine years.”
Today I want to give everyone a little history lesson. I’m not going back to the dinosaurs, but I am going back pretty far – to King David, 1000 years before Christ. When I was in school, I hated history. It wasn’t until we studied the history of the Old Testament in the seminary that I began to appreciate it. I cannot cram 1000 years of history into a couple of minutes. I just want to touch on the parts of Jewish history that are mentioned in today’s reading. If you want to learn more, read everything in the Old Testament, but be sure you have a commentary to help you. Otherwise, you’ll give up in despair because you won’t know what it’s all about - especially the prophets and the historical books.
When David was king 1000 years before Christ, David wanted to build a house for God, since there was no Temple for God at that time. God did not give David permission to do so, however God promised David through the prophet Nathan that he would bless him and build David a house in the sense that David’s kingdom would continue forever and one of his descendants would always rule. This blessing lasted through the reign of David’s son, Solomon; but we humans somehow have the ability to sabotage God’s blessings. Solomon turned to pagan gods and over-extended the country financially by elaborate building projects and exorbitant taxes, so when Solomon died there was a rebellion and most of Israel broke away from Solomon’s successor, David’s grandson, Rehoboam. Rehoboam continued to rule over the southern part of Israel, the area we know as Judaea . For 400 years (and this is amazing) the kings of Judaea were descendants of King David. The northern kingdom that rebelled against David’s successors suffered under a succession of kings and rebellions. In less than 300 years the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians, people from northern Iraq. About 100 years after that, the Babylonians from southern Iraq conquered the Assyrians and took control of the entire Middle East. The conquest of the Babylonians brings us up to Jeremiah whom we heard in today’s first reading. At the time of Jeremiah, here was the situation: the northern kingdom no longer existed. The southern kingdom, Judaea, was still being ruled by David’s descendants but they were not loyal to God or to God’s laws. Jeremiah spoke to these kings as they came into power, the last four being: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoikin and Zedekiah. Zedikiah, the last reigning king, died in disgrace. After the Babylonians captured him, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, he was then blinded and led off to Babylon in chains where he presumably died. You can read how Jeremiah spoke with them in great detail in the book of Jeremiah. He told them exactly what they needed to do to survive the invading forces of Babylon. His messages were ignored. He blames them and their leadership for the destruction that came upon God’s people. As we heard in today’s first reading, God speaks through Jeremiah: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” God said he would take over shepherding his people; he would bring them back from exile; he would appoint leaders over them who would serve them well and lead them to peace and security. It took 600 years before God thought the world was ready for this king who would reign and govern wisely, who would do what is just and right in the land.
But then he came, through the announcement of an angel to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said to her “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
In last week’s gospel, Jesus sent his apostles out to heal and cast out demons and to call people to repentance. In today’s gospel we are told of their return, excited over their experience and tired. Jesus wanted to some time off, but he couldn’t. The mission of Jesus and his apostles apparently was so successful that a great crowd caught up with them before they had chance to catch their breath. Mark describes Jesus taking compassion on them (his heart was moved with deep sympathy for them would probably be a better translation). He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, - people without leadership, and he began to teach them.
One of the important messages in today’s readings is that in love our Lord leads us, by teaching us and appointing others to teach us. But we need to listen, and we need to keep on listening. We’ll never be finished listening and learning as long as our world suffers from injustice, poverty, hunger, discrimination, war, hatred and killing of innocent people. Christ would be put to death before he would stop teaching. It is to our own great loss when we stop listening. That’s one of the reasons we are here each weekend, to listen and to learn. We call ourselves disciples. The word disciple means learner. When we’ve quit learning, we’ve quit being a disciple.
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