We’re reading from the Book of Sirach weekdays at Mass until Ash Wednesday,. It’s always helpful to look into the background of the books of scripture and ask when, for whom, and why were they written.

The Book of Sirach was written by a Jewish sage in Jerusalem around 200 BC in Hebrew and was translated into Greek sometime later. Sirach was a writer who loved his Jewish tradition and wanted to pass on its wisdom to a generation that might be saying: “We don’t see anything in it for us any more.”  Judea had come under the control of Alexander the Great and his generals who introduced their Jewish subjects, sometimes forcibly, to Hellenistic culture. They were succeeded in 64 BC by the Romans.

The Book of Sirach seems to be a grandfather’s attempt to dissuade his grandchildren from abandoning their tradition as they experience the powerful Greco-Roman culture of their time. Sound like today? 

Sirach often speaks of the “fear of the Lord.”  He’s not saying be afraid of God, but keep God who is all powerful and all wise before you always. Don’t get lost in yourself or your experiences of life.

What does Sirach do? He speaks strongly of the presence of God who’s everywhere, of a wisdom found in the world and the experience of daily life. Learn from your experience of life, he tells his descendants; your religious tradition and its heroes will help you.

Sirach isn’t saying either to be afraid of life. Life’s not easy, but Sirach sends the younger generation out into the world to find wisdom there. Learn from life, he says, as those before you have done. As I have done.  

“Trust God and God will help you;

trust God, and God will direct your way;

turn not away lest you fall.

Fear God and grow old therein.

You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy,

and your reward will not be lost.

You who fear the LORD, trust him,

for lasting joy and mercy.

You who fear the LORD, hope for good things,

You who fear the LORD, love him,

Study the generations long past and understand.”

and your hearts will be enlightened. (Sirach 2, 1-11)

The Crucifix in the Passionist public chapel of  Immaculate Conception Monastery, Jamaica, NY, is a gift of the German bishops of Bavaria to Fr. Fabian Flynn, CP, for helping restore a broken Europe, particularly Germany and Hungary, after the 2nd World War. A book describing his work, “The Priest Who Put Europe Back Together”, by Sean Brennan, an historian from the University of Scranton, appeared in 2018.

Father Fabian was ordained a Passionist in Immaculate Conception Monastery in 1931 and served in its retreat center after ordination. He went on to become an editor for The Sign magazine, a Passionist publication.

During the Second World War, Fabian became an army chaplain in 1943. He served in combat with the 1st Infantry Division for 16 months. His service included North Africa, Sicily, France, and Germany. His unit ended up in Nuremberg, Germany, during the Nuremberg war trials. Fabian became chaplain for Allied participants in that trial. He also ministered to Germans in Nuremberg, including those on trial as war criminals.

During the trial, he celebrated Mass every Sunday. The Mass brought Allied personnel and German Catholics together in one of Nuremberg’s war-torn Catholic churches.

After army service, Father Fabian became Director of the newly created Catholic Relief Services in Germany and Hungary from 1946-49. He worked for Catholic Relief until his death in 1973. He helped millions of refugees displaced by wars and other tragedies in Europe and elsewhere. 

Catholic Relief Services was established by the American bishops in 1943, as an agency to bring aid to the victims of war overseas. It was distinct from Catholic Charities whose task was to aid those in need in the United States..   

At the end of his service in Germany, the Catholic bishops of Bavaria honored Father Fabian. They did not give him a medal or other sign of appreciation. Instead, they gave him a large 16th-century crucifix from their war-ravaged country. It was an appropriate remembrance of his ministry. He fulfilled one of the hardest teachings of Jesus: “Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you.” 

The Crucifix holds a prominent place in the Passionist monastery chapel today. It serves as a fitting expression of the work he did then. It is also a timely reminder of what we need to do today.

After the Second World War, the victorious Allied countries made a thoughtful decision. They avoided the mistake made after the First World War when Germany was left bitter and impoverished in defeat. They decided a peaceful Europe could only come through the development of a stable peacetime economy in Germany and other European countries. America channeled a large part of its relief aid through Catholic Relief Services. Father Fabian was an administrator of that aid. 

Historians today recognize the wisdom of that approach, and many warn about abandoning it. How we deal with enemies and rivals is currently a hot political issue.. 

People of faith, whatever their political affiliation, look to a higher wisdom Jesus teaches. “ Love your enemies, give to those who hate you…Be children of the Most High,for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” ( Luke 6)

Jesus lived according to this wisdom. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” Jesus said from the cross. The cross expresses his teaching.

The Crucifix in our Jamaica chapel holds the suffering Jesus, truly God and truly human. We profess this mystery over and over whenever we pray and celebrate our sacraments. We have to keep this mystery in mind. 

Jesus became one of us. He calls all humanity to his Cross: the poor who hunger and thirst, victims of war and other tragedies, soldiers lost or scared in battle, women and children without a home, the old, the sick, the frail, yes even our enemies and rivals. All are there.                                               

For this week’s homily please watch the video below.

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-9:1

He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

Mark notes that Jesus summoned the crowd  with his disciples as he begins his journey to Jerusalem. Here is a promise and a teaching meant for all.

Jesus tells those who wish to know “his Father’s glory” and see the Kingdom of God come in power that they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him. 

It’s no small gain he promises, not the riches or honors or pleasures human thinking can conceive. It’s no less than the Father’s glory and the glory of his kingdom. No less than your life must be given for that goal

He tells us all to take up the cross that comes from the circumstances of our lives, the cross that comes from life in our world, from the life we choose to lead and how we lead it. 

His call is made to all humanity. All creation is called to join him on his journey to Jerusalem.

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Mark 8: 27-33

“ Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.” A change of place prepares for something significant in Mark’s Gospel, especially here as Jesus and his disciples begin the journey to Jerusalem.  Responding to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” Peter, speaking for the others, says “You are the Christ.” The Messiah. Matthew’s gospel later adds “you are the Son of living God.” 

Mark’s first readers from the church of Rome would certainly note the place of confession. Caesaria honors Caesar. They would also recognize that Peter, after acknowledging the divine mission of Jesus falls into thinking “as human beings do” after Jesus announces he will suffer greatly, be rejected, die and rise again. How easily it is to fall into “human thinking” when faced with suffering.

In tomorrow’s reading, Jesus says “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark’s Roman readers would also recognize–as we should too – that Jesus speaks to all, as well as to his disciples. We are all on the journey to Jerusalem.

Today and tomorrow are crucial passages from Mark’s Gospel. 

Noah and the flood is a major story, not only in the Old and New Testament, but  also in our liturgy and our summaries of faith. Jesus says you have to understand the times of Noah to understand his times. (Matthew 24:37) To understand baptism, you have to appreciate the story of Noah and the flood, the Letter of Peter says. ( 1 Peter 3:20)

The patristic tradition is filled with commentaries on the story of Noah. He’s an image of Jesus, the Savior. He’s the new Adam, who brings humanity to the safety of a new creation. The wood of the ark prefigures the saving wood of the cross. The ark is a symbol of the church. Are those who enter the arch the righteous, or are sinners part of the church as well? The waters of the flood, are they waters that destroy, or are they waters than bring new life?

Noah and the ark is one of the most popular images in the catacombs. The story elicits questions  about death and life through the simplest symbols. 

At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark,
and he sent out a raven,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth.
Then he sent out a dove,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
But the dove could find no place to alight and perch,
and it returned to him in the ark,
for there was water all over the earth.
Putting out his hand, he caught the dove
and drew it back to him inside the ark.
He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark.
In the evening the dove came back to him,
and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!
So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth.
He waited still another seven days
and then released the dove once more;
and this time it did not come back. (Genesis 8:6-14)

Noah sends out a raven and a dove to discover whether it’s safe to land and disembark. The raven is a bird that feeds on dead things. It sees no sign of life.  The dove, on the other hand, finds a sign of life, the olive branch. Not  quickly or easily,  we should note. 

Two ways of looking at the world of Noah and the world of the Son of Man?  Two ways of looking at the world of today. Like a raven, or like a dove?  

The last words of our reading, God’s promise, are blocked off for emphasis:

” As long as the earth lasts,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
and day and night
shall not cease.” (Genesis 8: 20-22)