Archived Homily: “The Wine of Transformation: How the Contemplation of Heaven Changes Us”

Brothers, there are some sermons over which I labor. There are some that the Lord shows me in an instant. And there are some that – well, there’s no other way to put it – bubble up within me. Sometimes the Lord will use a movie, a bumper-sticker, a song, or a funny story to show me how to preach the text at hand. This time he used a wonderful little novel, “The Enchanted April,” to show me an aspect of today’s Scripture lessons that I’d overlooked. One night last week, as I lay in bed reading that novel, it struck me – deep down – that it’s really okay to enjoy – even to get lost in – the beautiful things of God and his creation. I have to tell you, that simple, little notion took my breath away. How many of us forget – or have never heard – that it’s okay to enjoy God; that one of his deepest desires for us is the kind of fellowship that’s too deep for words and too profound for anything but awe and reverence. A couple of years ago Emily and I were given a copy of a movie based on Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel “The Enchanted April.” Though I don’t think the author was a believer, her story has a profound fixation on the transforming power of heaven. Picture, if you will, four souls trapped in the dreary drabness of late winter. One after another, they see an advertisement for a villa in southern Italy – a villa described as a little bit of heaven. One after another – each for their own reasons – they ponder an escape from the dreariness of winter and their daily lives. Unfortunately, their ponderings have more to do with escape from dreariness than with the beauty that awaits them. You see, just like so many of us – just like the Israelites of old, and just like the people of Jesus’ day – these four ladies can’t see the forest for the trees. There’s a profound difference between escaping from something and running to embrace something; between concern for meeting our needs and allowing ourselves to be surprised by beauty and joy. Contemplating the list of our needs and contemplating the One who lavishly meets those needs are not the same thing. The difference between the two is whether we wear God down with our lists or allow him to speak to us; whether, in the final analysis, we allow God to surprise us. These four ladies – as they contemplate their journey to Italy – aren’t focusing on the grand beauty and surprising joy that await them. No, they’re clawing at the edges of their dreary, boring, and loveless lives. In fact, they’ve made up their minds that they’ll each control as much of the villa and their time there as possible. Not only do they want their list of needs met, they know exactly how they want them met. What a shame that they’ve left no room for surprise, no room for beauty and joy and love! So – and I must ask this question – are most of us not in the same boat? Are we not so focused on our needs and how we want them met, that we’ve left no room for God to step in and surprise us? The truth of the matter is this: We’ve become so insulated, independent and self-sufficient that we’ve squeezed God and each other right out of the picture. At worst, we think, “Jesus is okay, as long as he meets my needs.” At best, we think, “Jesus, stand by until I need you.” Once our four ladies arrive at the Villa in Italy, they go about the business of staking out their territory and guarding it jealously. The walls of emotional protection are up in full force. There’s sneering, there’s building of barricades – literally! – and there are plenty of unspoken, nasty thoughts. It sounds like some days around here, doesn’t it! It wasn’t bound to last for long, though. Once the realization sets in with one of the four that they’ve landed themselves in a sort of heaven, she begins to change. As she contemplates the beauty of what she can only describe as heaven – the flowers, the sunshine, the azure blue of the sea, the singing of the birds – her heart begins to open. She undergoes a radical transformation of temperament and receives a willingness to share. She realizes – in her own way – what the Gospel commands of us: That we are to be light in the darkness and love to the unlovable. Within a day of arriving, this gentle soul drops her guard, takes on a saintly patience for her companions, and invites the partner of her loveless marriage to join her in Italy – all because she recognizes that ‘heaven’ has changed her and will change those around her. She insists on being patient as, one by one, they all watch her in her contemplation of beauty and joy. And, one by one, ‘heaven’ works on each of them as they are transformed – as they contemplate ‘heaven’s’ beauty and joy. As it is in this little villa, so it was in Cana of Galilee. Our Lord was born into the world of time and space – a world full of men and women as unchanging in their fallen human nature as he is steadfast in his love, beauty, and purity. In today’s Gospel lesson we see our Lord at a wedding feast. (By the way, I find it interesting that the beginning and ending of Jesus’ public ministry are both marked by a wedding feast. But more on that later.) We all know the story. In fact, we might know it a little too well. When we think we know things we miss the point, we overlook the beauty and the joy that are inherent. We’ve come to think of the happenings in Cana as being performed without any forethought – even done reluctantly and in haste – the only purpose being to save the reputation of the bridegroom. How little we know! How small our minds! How horribly attached to our lists of needs we must be to assume that our Lord’s only purpose was to re-supply wine for a wedding reception! But the picture changes radically when we allow ourselves to contemplate heaven, doesn’t it? We see the Lord of heaven and earth bringing forth beauty and joy as he surprises the servants, the steward, the bridegroom, and us! If the contemplation of beautiful flowers and sunshine in an Italian villa can radically transform a soul, how much more should the real transformation of water into wine jumpstart our own transformation? So let’s take a moment and contemplate the intervention of heaven into our world. Why turn water into wine? Why do it at a wedding feast? Come on, now, contemplate it with me! Look behind the words and our own neediness and see what’s really happening! Just as Jesus calls us to be salt that brings ‘flavor’ to the world around us – just as he calls us to be filled with the divine ‘flavor’ that was made bland and ordinary by human sin – so he takes the water that sustains ordinary human life and changes it into flavorful wine. And not only that, he does it in the context of a wedding feast – a feast celebrating the union of two becoming one. Now keep on contemplating with me! It’s no accident that Jesus does all of this at a wedding feast. We’re told in both Scripture and Tradition that when the body of Christ gathers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper it’s a foreshadowing of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb at the end of time – the consummation, if you will, of the marriage of the Church to her heavenly Groom. We’re also told in Scripture and Tradition that the first service of Holy Communion in the Church – the first foreshadowing of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb – takes place in the Upper Room as Jesus gives his precious Body and Blood to the disciples. Do you feel your eyes opening? Is there a feeling welling up in your souls reacting to this contemplation? I hope so, because there’s more to come. You see, the transformation of water into wine begun in Cana comes to its completion in the Upper Room when Jesus transforms the wine of the Passover meal – the Marriage Feast of the Lamb – into his most precious Blood. And that Blood is our new life in Christ. It’s the covenant of our forgiveness in him. Without it we are dead, ordinary, bland, and terminally self-centered. Without the precious Blood of Jesus – which we receive at every Mass, through the miracle that takes place in our midst – we’re utterly incapable of beauty and joy. Beneath the appearance of all that is ordinary, loathsome, and dreary is the hand of him who is extraordinary, beautiful, and loving. Beneath the appearance of water was wine; beneath the appearance of wine is the precious Blood of our Savior; and beneath the appearance of our desperate longings is the beauty, joy, and love of Jesus attempting to break through. Even beneath the appearance of punishment in this place is the grace of God’s love, transformation, and restoration. We have only to contemplate it, embrace it, and listen to it. How do I know this to be true? Because God has promised it. Speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, he tells us that he’s not going to rest until our contemplations are fruitful and his vision for us comes to pass. His relentless love is contemplating us as he makes this promise. He says: ‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch…You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed “Forsaken,” and your land shall no more be termed “Desolate;” but you shall be called “My Delight Is in Her,” and your land [shall be called] “Married”…’ (selected verses from Isaiah, chapter 62, RSV) Talk about a vision to be contemplated! And yet, Jesus takes this deepest of desires and shows it to us in what – we wrongly assume – is a simple little miracle. We’ve taken a miraculous sign from him and – because of our sinful neediness – we’ve turned it into nothing more than a last-minute trip to the local liquor store. Jesus’ purpose in all this is to awaken within us his truth. He desperately wants his Bride next to him. He wants her to see what she can be and to experience and share it to the fullest. Just like the lady at the villa whose contemplation of ‘heaven’ caused her eyes to be opened, her list of needs to be dropped, and her heart to be opened for sharing, so we who have contemplated this miracle of Jesus must be very vigilant against the smallness and ordinariness of life trespassing on the beauty and joy of Jesus. The Blessed Mother said, “Do whatever he tells you.” I couldn’t agree more! When you feel the weight of your list of needs growing; when you look around and see only dreariness and sadness; when you open your eyes and fail to see, take a moment and do what he tells you. Take a moment and remember the beauty and joy beneath your burdens. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Father Todd Boyce, Vicar The Fellowship of Saint Joseph Sunday, January 17, 2010

Archived Homily: “Why? Because the Need Is so Great!”

Brothers, we’ve made it through another Christmas; we’ve witnessed the birth of our Savior, the coming of the Magi, and, today, we witness the Baptism of our Lord. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Yet, even in the midst of that tiredness, I’m excited about today because – like the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity and the Feast of the Epiphany (the coming of the Magi) – there is a great truth to be shared in the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. My soul thrills at the thought of recounting not only the circumstances of our Lord’s baptism, but the reason for it. Mankind’s desperate need – our need for redemption, which is the restoration of hope, joy, love, and peace – is the sole reason that Jesus came to earth, born in human flesh, to suffer and die for us. And, if we pay attention closely, we can see him putting together the final pieces of his plan to meet our needs – we can actually watch as thousands of years of preparation come to completion in the birth and manifestation (revealing) of our Messiah. What we’re witnessing in Scripture today is not some isolated incident. It’s actually one more piece of the puzzle being placed in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. We readily understand the how the birth of Messiah plays into God’s plan of salvation; we easily grasp where the cross fits in and how the empty tomb punctuates the Good News. But we tend to forget – or gloss over – puzzling pieces like our Lord’s baptism. It’s almost easier to say, “Isn’t it nice that he did that? He took some time out of his busy schedule to show us what we ought to do when we join the Church.” But it’s so much more than that. It’s much more than a vague symbol or an indication of Church protocol and etiquette. It’s more than a grand, theatrical introduction of Jesus to the world. And it’s more than Jesus being obedient an obedient Son. There’s also something it’s not: It’s NOT Jesus – the sinless Lamb of God – seeking forgiveness for some secret sins. No, it’s the putting into place of a vital and necessary piece of God’s plan to meet mankind’s deepest needs. Because Jesus did what he did – by allowing John to baptize him – baptism itself became much more than a symbol of our sins being washed away. Because of our Lord’s baptism, our baptism became a REAL washing away of sins, a REAL lifting of burdens, and a REAL indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Without Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan there would be no way for us to die with Christ, and so be raised with him. Our Lord’s baptism anticipates his death and resurrection, and it applies the power of the cross and the empty tomb to the lives of those who are covered in that holy flood. So what, exactly, happened in Jesus’ baptism? If he didn’t need to have sins forgiven, then why was he baptized? The answer is both simple and profound: In the same way that Jesus took the Seder/Passover meal and fulfilled it’s meaning by feeding us his precious Body and Blood, so he took the waters of baptism and fulfilled them by imbuing them with his innocence and purity. In other words, because Jesus stepped into the Jordan and was baptized, he made the waters of baptism (the waters set aside or consecrated for use in baptism) for ever capable of washing away our sins. I’m so thankful that our Lord opened this door of grace for us. I’m so grateful that he took ordinary water and still makes it do something extraordinary. But I’m especially thankful that he saw our hurts and our longings and gave us a way to have our deepest needs met. You see, the baptism of John – before Jesus entered the Jordan – was just a symbol. John was preaching that God’s people needed to repent of their sins and be baptized as a way of showing their repentance – as a symbol of their repentance. The people who heard John preach were indeed convicted of their sins, but the door of God’s grace was still shut – that is, until Jesus showed up. People were asking themselves whether John might not be the Messiah, the Anointed One. John emphatically denied this and pointed to the Messiah who was coming – whose baptism would be not only with water, but with Holy Spirit and fire. But why the Holy Spirit and fire? Because fire refines and consumes, because fire represents the passionate desire of God to save his children and because fire is itself a symbol of the Holy Spirit who breathes new life into each believer during baptism. This combination of consecrated water, the flame of God’s love, and the Presence of the Holy Spirit is the grace of God that brings about forgiveness and new life in each believer. The crowds listening to John wanted – like so many today – to be freed from their past: From addictions, from condemnation, from bitterness, and a host of other things. But until Jesus put in place the missing puzzle piece, they were bound in oppression. Can’t you just see the picture? A crowd of people – a growing crowd wanting redemption; wanting hope and joy and love and peace – gathering round to hear this prophet of the Lord. And into their midst – as into our midst – walks Jesus. He already knows each of them by name and can recite everything about them. He looks at them – as he looks at us – and has compassion on them and allows himself to be baptized. Why? “To fulfill all righteousness.” What’s the righteousness that Jesus is talking about? Well, it’s the right ordering of human lives according to God’s plan. Among other things, it’s the free-flowing of his purity, love, and innocence into our hearts. It’s the filling of our deepest needs. It’s the healing of our souls. Over the past few weeks I’ve witnessed and heard more than I care to say. I’ve been asked to pray with and for a couple whose marriage is ending; I’ve been asked to tell people that a loved one has died; I’ve seen that horrible look of loneliness on the face of one who’s surrounded by people; I’ve seen the toll that a child’s illness is taking on his parents; and I’ve seen, again and again – as you do – that lost look on the faces of so many. These are the people for whom – if you will, the reasons why – Jesus did what he did. These are the people who need the hope, the joy, the love, and the peace that can only be found in Jesus – the same Jesus who applies the gift of salvation to our lives through his baptism. I know how they feel – these people who feel lost, alone, and desperate – maybe you do, too. I know that there’s only one way to meet their needs and ease their pain. It’s the same way my pain is eased and my needs are met: In Jesus. I thank him that the flood of his hope, joy, love, and peace overflow within me. I see him at work within me each day. I feel his proddings; I see his hints; I feel, from time to time, his rebuke. I want to rise up and shout the Good News. I want to do something to reach out to those who are in need. But this begs a question, doesn’t it? Since we are called to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” we surely have a role in the ongoing work of Jesus. If we’ve gained forgiveness and new life because of the Spirit’s work in our baptism; if our needs have been so splendidly met by our Lord, then what’s to keep us from sharing in his work? In a word: Ourselves. We get tied up in navel-gazing. We forget that it’s not always about us. We forget that – as baptized believers – we share in the ministry of Jesus. You see, Jesus also did what he did – allowing himself to be baptized – because he knew that his Spirit coming to live in each baptized believer would multiply his Presence in this world. Are we not the Body of Christ? Are we not his hands, his feet, his love, his tools of grace? If so, then it’s time we take much more seriously the meaning of our baptism into Christ. Because we’ve been made one with him, Jesus desires – even needs and expects – us to be in deep fellowship with him. That means prayer – especially the kind of prayer that focuses on listening to him. That means worship – the placing of our emphasis on him rather than us. And that means self-giving service to others – the kind of love in action that seeks out those who are in need and puts the priority on helping them. Dear Brothers, how is it with you today? Are you living out the truth of your baptism – the truth of your re-gained purity in Christ and your unity with him – in a way that gratefully demonstrates its full meaning to him and to his world? Are you progressing along the road of self-denial and genuine love? Are you increasingly aware of the needs of God’s children and how he wants you to join him in meeting those needs? Most importantly, are you growing in intimacy with our Lord? May God grant you the strength to ask and answer these questions, and to live in the blessing of your baptism. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Father Todd Boyce, Vicar The Fellowship of Saint Joseph Sunday, January 10, 2010 The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord

Archived Article: Making a Real Difference - Part 1

(This article was printed in the August 30, 2009 edition of SpiritAlive! and was seen by the brothers at that point.) Brothers, I read something online the other day that I need to share with you. It’s all about taking our talents, our mistakes, and our desire to be transformed in a direction that will bless the Lord and those around us. Now I can’t speak for the people talked about/interviewed in the article – as to whether or not they’ve given control of their lives to Jesus – but I can vouch for the applicability of what they’re thinking and doing to our circumstances and goals in the Lord. I’ve shared my heart with you regarding the call the Lord gave me about establishing The Fellowship of Saint Joseph in this place. I’ve shared with you how I believe he’s calling us to be men who are committed to Prayer, Worship, and Charity (sharing the love of Jesus in the form of self-giving service to others). In fact, I think he’s calling us to take vows of Prayer, Worship, and Charity – just as other men in the religious life (monks) take vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. More on that a little later. For now, without any further ado, here’s the internet article I want to share with you. It’s called “‘Put-pockets’ Give a Little Extra Cash”: LONDON (Reuters) – Visitors to London always have to be on the look out for pick-pockets, but now there’s another, more positive phenomenon on the loose – put-pockets. Aware that people are suffering in the economic crisis, 20 former pick-pockets have turned over a new leaf and are now trawling London’s tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets. Anything from 5 pounds ($8) to 20 pound notes are being surreptitiously deposited in unguarded pockets or open handbags in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and other busy spots. The initiative, which runs until the end of August in London before being rolled out countrywide, is being funded by a broadbrand provider, which says it wants to brighten up people’s lives in unusual ways. “It feels good to give something back for a change – and [the British people] certainly need it in the current economic climate,” said Chris Fitch, a former pick-pocket who now heads TalkTalk’s put-pocketing initiative. “Every time I put money back in someone’s pocket, I feel less guilty about the fact I spent many years taking it out.” London’s police have been briefed about the plan, which will see at least 100,000 pounds given away. Isn’t that something?!? You and I have been placed here because we’ve got issues to deal with – I don’t care whether they’re issues having to do with the law or nothing to do with the law. We’re here because the grace of God knew we needed each other. We’re here because something in our lives needs to be corrected. The best way – the only way – to see real change in our lives is to put our focus entirely on Jesus. Just as the put-pockets are putting the focus on restoring what was stolen – in a manner of speaking – Jesus is calling us to put the focus where it always should have been: On him! We can spend our time in this place thinking about and praying for ourselves – which means that we’ll end up looking like the world, not the men Jesus is calling us to become. Or, we can spend our time here fixing our gaze upon the One who can make us whole, who can restore what we’ve stolen from others and ourselves, and who can put the broken pieces back together in the right way. I’m struck by what those put-pockets are trying to do. I’m struck by the fact that they’re going about their act of charity in a way that could get them accused of doing something very different than what they’re doing, something very illegal. Their willingness to be vulnerable as they seek to restore, share, and love is exactly what Jesus has in mind for any who will willingly follow him. The question for us is this: Are we ready to say to Jesus, each other, and the world around us that we’re now in the ‘business’ of loving God and our neighbor, even if it’s difficult and/or dangerous? I hope so. Because loving the world in the Name of Jesus has never been something for the faint of heart! It requires both a radical giving away of self and a denial of one’s own wants and pleasures and choices in favor of obedience to the Lord. In fact, for centuries faithful men and women have sought to love Jesus and their neighbors by taking vows of poverty (owning very little, if anything at all), chastity (abstinence from sexual activity), and obedience (submitting to the authority of brothers/sisters in Christ within the context of a religious or monastic community). What I want to spend the remainder of this little article explaining (and the one to follow in next week’s SpiritAlive!), however, is not how we can take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience – or even whether we should desire to do that. Let’s face it, we’re already living as though we’ve taken vows of poverty (we own very little in this place), chastity (presumably, we’re abstaining from sexual activity), and obedience (every moment of every day we’re forced to obey the rules of this institution). No, what I want to do is something quite different – I want us to explore the kind of vows that will change our hearts, not just our outward appearance. I want us to explore the kind of vows that will move us toward giving ourselves away to Jesus, just as a bride and groom give themselves to each other. What our friends in London – the put-pockets – are doing, and what our friends who have taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are doing is an attempt to bend and break the heart by acts of self-denial. We are already being denied; the question is, are our hearts being broken open for Jesus? If the point of taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience is to force the heart open to Jesus, then, my brothers, we’re a step ahead of our friends in the religious life (men and women who have committed themselves to living solely for Jesus in a monastic community). Where they struggle to rid themselves of possessions and worldly attachments in order to focus more clearly on loving Jesus and their neighbors, we have been stripped naked of those things and left to ask ourselves the question: Jesus, how can I start loving you and my neighbors as you rightly deserve? I guess it all begins where God’s Word tells us it begins: With listening to him, loving him, and loving those around us as ourselves. More to come in next week’s SpiritAlive! Until then, God bless you! Father Todd Boyce, Vicar The Fellowship of Saint Joseph Sunday, August 30, 2009