Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Homily for 19 July 2016

19 July 2016

“Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father are my brothers and sisters and mother.”  God will always be God.  And we will always be less-than-God.  And yet, by the way we live our lives, we become so close to God that we can call him “brother.”  As much as Jesus is the Lord God, he’s also our brother . . . and our child.

Every time we share a living faith, or lively hope, or merciful charity, Christ is made present again on the face of the earth.  Like our Blessed Mother, we, too, can give birth to Jesus—not in a figurative way, but really.  And the flesh Jesus takes on is our flesh.  So that when people encounter us, they run into not only a relative of Jesus, but also a mother of Jesus, and even Jesus himself in the flesh.

“Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father are my brothers and sisters and mother.”  Jesus isn’t just playing around with words and concepts.  He’s reminding us of our essential role in keeping his presence active in the world.  And the world needs a lot of Jesus’ presence—today and always. 

“Love one another,” Jesus said on behalf of God the Father.  “Love one another,” our Brother said to us—because it’s through the practice of mercy and charity that the family of God grows.  And the more the family of God grows, the less room there is in the world for despair and hopelessness.  Even among our differences and diversity, may we be brothers and sisters in Christ—for the glory of God, and the good of the world.

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