{"id":4646,"date":"2017-01-22T18:35:01","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T02:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/?p=4646"},"modified":"2017-01-22T18:46:10","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T02:46:10","slug":"one-heck-of-a-story-homily-for-the-third-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/one-heck-of-a-story-homily-for-the-third-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a","title":{"rendered":"One Heck of a Story – Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mark

Fr. Mark Link, SJ<\/p><\/div>\n

There were many newsworthy events this past week
\nand there are many more going on this weekend;
\nbut there\u2019s one event that happened this past Wednesday
\nthat you probably didn’t hear about:
\none of the world\u2019s best-selling authors passed away at the age of 92.<\/p>\n

They say that if a book sells more than 20,000 copies in a year,
\nthen it\u2019s in the top one percent of all book sales.
\nThis author sold over 10 million copies of his books.
\nAnd yet, despite being so successful,
\nyou probably didn\u2019t hear about it on the nightly news,
\nor see his obituary<\/a> on Facebook or Twitter.
\nAnd that\u2019s because Fr. Mark Link was a quiet, unassuming priest
\nwho was more interested in sharing the good news
\nthan in sharing the limelight.<\/p>\n

Fr. Mark wrote over 75 books in his lifetime,
\nmost of them about praying with scripture.
\nAnd when he turned 80, he didn\u2019t stop writing,
\nbut instead talked his nephew
\ninto helping him set up his own inspirational website
\ncalled StayGreat.com<\/a>.
\nThe website\u2019s theme is,
\n\u201cGod made you great. Stay great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr. Mark continued writing even up until his last days.
\nWhen he was asked what motivated him to keep writing, he said,
\n\u201cWriting\u2026is one of the greatest ministries\u2026
\nAs Christians we\u2019ve got one heck of a story to tell.
\nThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s gospel,
\nMatthew continues telling this \u201cone heck of a story.\u201d
\nHe cites the prophet Isaiah,
\nthe very reading we heard first today,
\nsaying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy:
\n\u201cthe people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.\u201d
\nThis is good news!
\nIn Fr. Mark\u2019s words, this is \u201cone heck of a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re at the beginning of Jesus\u2019 public ministry.
\nToday we start our continuous reading of Matthew.
\nFrom now until the end of November
\nwe\u2019ll read the Gospel According to Matthew straight through,
\ninterrupted only by the seasons of Lent and Easter.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s gospel lays the foundation for the entire year.
\nIn fact, we get the entire gospel in a nutshell.
\nIn this passage from Matthew we hear the core of Jesus\u2019 message,
\na message that he will explore, and explain
\nthroughout his ministry:
\n\u201cRepent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is a sentence worth committing to memory,
\nworth meditating on,
\nworth sharing with our family and friends.<\/p>\n

All that Jesus does, all that Jesus says,
\nis contained in that one concise sentence,
\n\u201cRepent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.<\/p>\n

When Jesus says, \u201cRepent,\u201d
\nhe is talking about a change of heart, a change of mind.
\nA transformation.
\nRepentance is turning away from sin
\nand turning toward the Kingdom of Heaven.<\/p>\n

The Kingdom of Heaven is God acting in our lives, here and now.<\/p>\n

Each and every time we hear from Matthew on the Sundays of the year,
\nJesus will either be telling us how to change our hearts,
\nor he will be describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.<\/p>\n

One time Jesus will say that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner
\nwho went out at dawn to hire laborers for the vineyard.
\nAnother time he\u2019ll say
\nthe Kingdom of Heaven is like a king that gave a wedding feast.
\nAnd still another time, he\u2019ll say
\nthe Kingdom of Heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps
\nand went out to meet the bridegroom.<\/p>\n

But the core of Jesus\u2019 message is that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
\nGod is not some distant power who set up the universe and left it alone.
\n\u201cGod is acting now\u2014this is the hour when God is showing himself in history
\nas its Lord, as its living God,
\nin a way that goes beyond anything seen before.\u201d
\nSomething new takes place,
\nand is continuing to take place in our own time.
\nWhen we hear that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,
\nit\u2019s just as true today as it was when Jesus first spoke those words.<\/p>\n

This is the gift that Jesus will continually preach and teach about,
\nthis is the gift that Jesus will demonstrate by healing the sick.<\/p>\n

And this gift requires a response from us: conversion.
\nRepentance.<\/p>\n

It can be difficult to admit the need to change our lives.
\nIt can be difficult to get ourselves motivated to be transformed.
\nWe may feel that we are already converted,
\nthat we have no need to repent.<\/p>\n

But it was St. Bernard of Clairvaux who said,
\n\u201cThere are more people converted from mortal sin to grace,
\nthan there are [people] converted from good to better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both types of people are in need of conversion,
\nthose who have drifted far away from God,
\nand those who are comfortably content with their relationship to God.<\/p>\n

The second part of the gospel shows us good men doing good work.
\nFrom what we can tell from scripture,
\nPeter, Andrew, James and John,
\nwere living good, productive lives.
\nThey were faithful Jews and hard workers.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t bad men, godless men.
\nAnd yet Jesus sought them out and said, \u201cCome after me.\u201d
\nPeter, Andrew, James, and John respond immediately.
\nAnd Jesus helps them to move from good to better.<\/p>\n

The same is true for us.
\nIn today\u2019s gospel God is speaking to each one of us.
\nJesus says, \u201cCome after me.\u201d
\n\u201cI know you\u2019re good, I know you\u2019re productive,
\nbut there is so much more in store for you,
\nmore than you can imagine.
\nThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u201d
\nIn other words,
\n\u201cRepent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today Matthew sets the stage for us
\nto be more deeply converted.
\nAs the gospel unfolds throughout the weeks ahead of us,
\nJesus will teach us by his words and actions
\nhow to come after him and be transformed.<\/p>\n

Conversion isn\u2019t always the sudden and powerful experience
\nwe see in today\u2019s gospel,
\nor like St. Paul\u2019s conversion on the road to Damascus.
\nMore often it\u2019s slow and gradual,
\nlike water dripping in a cavern,
\nforming stalactites and stalagmites over decades.
\nBut it does take a conscious effort and decision.<\/p>\n

The invitation today is to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask,
\n\u201cWhat is keeping me from deeper conversion?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is preventing me from leaving all and following Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n

One possible answer comes from Fr. Mark Link,
\nthe 92-year-old author that hardly anyone has heard of.
\nIn his book Vision<\/em><\/a> he offers this reflection on today\u2019s gospel:<\/p>\n

Psychologist Abraham Maslow
\nhad an interesting response
\nto the question of why so few people
\nleave all to follow a dream\u2014
\nor to pursue a noble goal.
\nHe said they are afraid to become
\nwhat they are capable of becoming.
\nThey thrill at the possibility,
\nbut they also shudder at it.<\/p>\n

How do I respond to the thought
\nof stepping out in faith
\nand following Jesus more closely?<\/p>\n

How do I react to the idea
\nof embarking on a noble goal with Jesus?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are the questions to pray about this week:
\n\u201cHow do I respond to the thought of stepping out in faith?\u201d
\n\u201cHow do I react to the idea of embarking on a noble goal with Jesus?\u201d<\/p>\n

Next week, Jesus will go up on the mountain,
\nand we disciples will gather here again and listen
\nas he begins his Sermon on the Mount.<\/p>\n

What we heard in a nutshell today,
\nJesus begins to break open next week.
\n“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”<\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/stpeter\/SP-2017-01-14-586.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: RSS<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were many newsworthy events this past week and there are many more going on this weekend; but there\u2019s one event that happened this past Wednesday that you probably didn’t hear about: one of the world\u2019s best-selling authors passed away at the age of 92. They say that if a book sells more than 20,000 copies in a year, then it\u2019s in the top one percent of all book sales. This author sold over 10 million copies of his books. And yet, despite being so successful, you probably...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"One Heck of a Story - Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[892,471,894,895,893,896],"class_list":["post-4646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-fr-mark-link","tag-gospel-of-matthew","tag-kingdom-of-heaven","tag-repentance","tag-sj","tag-st-bernard-of-clairvaux"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Link_Mark_SJ.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-1cW","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4646"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4649,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions\/4649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}