The Problem & the Solution

 

Deacon Dave · 260222_002

Homily for the First Sunday in Lent, February 22, 2026. Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Gospel of St. Matthew 4:1-11. Theme: The Problem & the Solution 

 The great scientist, Albert Einstein, was once asked what he would do if he had just one hour to solve a perplexing problem. He replied: “I’d spend 55 minutes getting to know the problem, and then I would only need 5 minutes to come up with the solution.” In other words, we can’t arrive at a successful solution if we don’t first really understand the problem. And this is exactly what our readings are hoping to do for us today on this First Sunday in Lent. The first one from Genesis investigates the root cause of a universal human Problem that resides within each one of us. And then the second reading from St. Paul shows us where we can find the Solution. 

 So, first we start with the Problem. Everyone knows by experience that there is something off-whack deep within us. It’s a kind of inner-force that moves us to say or do things that we know we shouldn’t but which makes them seem so darn appealing. At other times, this Problem manifests itself as a kind of emptiness within us that we try to fill up by doing more or by buying more or by becoming more. So, why do we have this inner disturbance? Where did it come from? How did it start? Well, to answer these questions the first reading brings us back to the beginning of the human race. It tells us the story in symbolic language that passes on some very important truths. It tells us about the creation of Adam and Eve, and how God gave them an ideal garden as their home. Its lushness represents the perfect life they lived in blissful harmony and intimacy with one another and with their Creator. But then something went terribly wrong that gave rise to what we now identify as the Problem. But to understand what happened, we have to take a closer look at the two special trees mentioned in the reading. 

 The Tree of Life symbolized the ideal existence humans enjoyed with one another and with God. This state of holiness and happiness was intended to last forever and be passed on to all of us who are their descendants. God very much desired this for them (and for us) and this is why the story says that the couple were welcome to eat freely of that fruit! But the other tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, was forbidden to them. It symbolized the choice to sin which would allow evil to make its debut in the world. You see, up to this point the couple had no experience of sin because they had not yet eaten this forbidden fruit. 

 But their ideal life drastically changed when Satan came into the story. It pictures him as a serpent because to the Hebrews, such a creature represented danger, sickness, suffering and death. He slithered into the garden and sowed the poison of doubt about God’s goodness in Eve’s mind. She passed this temptation onto Adam and together they fell victim to the devil’s lies. They committed what we now call “original sin” because it took place near the origin or beginning of our creation. As a result, human beings lost access to the sweet fruit of the Tree of Life and now could only eat the bitter fruit of struggle and conflict, of angst and confusion. The subsequent chapters of the Book of Genesis show us that this original sin spread its infection to all mankind. 

 So, that’s how the Problem of Adam and Eve became our Problem. And the thing is that no matter how hard we try, we can’t overcome it on our own. We can’t fix ourselves. And it’s not that we don’t try! For goodness sakes, we collectively spend billions of dollars a year on self-improvement! We think that if we look better, if we dress better, if we have a better job, or move to a better place, or find a better spouse, or whatever, then we will finally be happy, peaceful and whole deep inside! But these things don’t do the trick because the Problem is something within us and not outside of us. It's a spiritual disease but we keep trying to medicate it with material remedies. 

 But fortunately, our Liturgy doesn’t leave us stranded at this dark spot of hopelessness. It goes on to the Second Reading from St. Paul who tells that there is indeed an effective spiritual remedy to the Problem. He bases his teaching on the fact that since it was a sinless man (Adam) who first brought evil into the world, then what humanity needed was another sinless man but one who would be far superior to Adam. He would need to be a man motivated by total love and who had such perfect obedience to God that it would undo what Adam’s selfishness and disobedience had done. But the dilemma was that no human being could fill this role because all descend from sinful fallen Adam, so all would be equal to or even less than him. This left humanity in a seemingly impossible predicament! 

 However, nothing is impossible to God who came up with the Solution and it was this: He himself would come down to planet Earth and become that Perfect Man, that New Adam. In him both divinity and humanity would come together and this would make him infinitely greater than the first Adam, and yet still a real man. This meant that everything that Jesus did, God was doing because he wasn’t a split personality! And so, every aspect of being human, from conception through death, was healed and sanctified from the inside out because God himself was doing it, God himself was experiencing it. And to illustrate that Jesus is indeed the Solution, the Gospel today presents us with the story of how this Perfect Man, this New Adam, triumphed over Satan’s temptations. It’s the polar opposite of how the Problem first started in the first place in the garden when Satan was the one who had the victory! It assures us that from the very start of his mission as the Messiah, Christ pushed the Reset Button that put humanity back on our original track with God. 

 But as with any Solution, it can’t work if it’s not put into practice! So, the most important thing for us this Lent is to intentionally recommit to following Jesus so that through him, with him and in him we can push the Reset Button in our own personal lives. The very purpose of Lent is that we refocus on our personal connection with Christ and deepen our union with Him. We can do this in many ways but especially through a more mindful reception of the Eucharist and by daily prayer with meditation on his Gospel. Lent invites us to join with Jesus in overcoming the Problem by fasting which strengthens our spiritual muscles and by giving alms for the poor which helps us to share in his compassion for others. Then as the 40 days of Lent move forward, and if we keep faithfully applying this Jesus-Solution in our lives, we will see that the Problem is becoming less of an issue and we can have a more sure hope that by the time Easter comes around, we’ll start tasting the sweet fruit of the Tree of Life once again.

What’s Supernatural Cardiac Surgery?

 

Deacon Dave · What’s Supernatural Cardiac Surgery?

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 15, 2026. Gospel of St. Matthew 5:17-37. Theme: What’s Supernatural Cardiac Surgery? 

 In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims that he didn’t come to abolish or replace Judaism, but to fulfill it. This may sound strange to Christian ears because we know darn well that we don’t follow the Torah (Law) of Israel. We eat pork. We don’t have to be circumcised or follow umpteen rules about ritual washing. We even moved the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. So, isn’t the Old Testament Law abolished? No, it’s not. Rather, it has been fulfilled for us in Jesus, whose words and actions brought to full bloom the promises that God made to Israel. And when something has been fulfilled, its function is over and it passes away because it’s no longer needed. This is quite different from being abolished and done away with! 

 You see, in God’s original plan, Judaism was always meant to develop into Christianity. The coming of the Messiah was supposed to result in a smooth transition from the Old Israel into the New, Improved and Expanded Israel, with membership no longer restricted just to Hebrews but now open to all who place their trust in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and Lord. And, indeed, it originally started out that way but, as we all know, it didn’t end up that way. At first, Christianity was seen as a branch of Judaism but by the end of the first century, Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah were expelled from synagogues throughout the Mediterranean world. Christianity then began to express itself as a separate and distinct religion. But we never forgot where we came from and this is why we still read from the Hebrew Scriptures in our liturgies and revere the Old Testament as part of the inspired Word of God. 

 In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is showing how the Law becomes fulfilled, that is, finds its ultimate meaning, in his teachings. You see, over the centuries, the Law became vital to the Jewish people as a way of preserving their unique identity in the midst of a pagan world that was all around them. It helped to keep them faithful to the Covenant with God and enabled parents to impress upon children a sense of their heritage as the Chosen People. This role of the Torah became so magnified that the original 10 Commandments were expanded over time to become 613 detailed regulations for proper Jewish living! And we all know, when the law becomes too burdensome or ridiculous, people begin to ignore it and conform in public only for the sake of staying out of trouble. And this was the general spirit of things when Jesus came onto the scene. 

 He brought a new and refreshing approach to understanding and living God’s law. He often scolded the Scribes and Pharisees in public for making the Commandments a burden too heavy for anyone to carry. He regularly called them out for abusing their roles as spiritual teachers and, as a matter of fact, they are the only people in the Gospels whom Christ condemned with harsh words! Jesus taught that spirituality and morality must come from the heart and not be concerned with just external actions. This flew in the face of the Jewish leadership’s approach which was based on going through the motions regardless of how one felt about it. If on the outside everything looked good, if everything was done according to the letter of the Law, then they considered themselves righteous or devout. Wherever their hearts might be in all of this didn’t really come into the picture. 

 But Jesus taught a much deeper and transformative way of being guided by the Law. For example, as we see in today’s Gospel, he said that we are not to be satisfied simply because we haven’t murdered anyone, but are to dig deeper to discern if we are harboring anger or resentment towards others in our hearts. We’re not supposed to pat ourselves on the back just because we haven’t committed perjury, but go beyond this and see if we are guilty of gossip and destroying a person’s reputation. Overall, he is pointing out that both good and bad, both vice and virtue, begin deep within us. They are a matter of the mind and heart before they are manifested in our external actions. 

 Christ calls us to live the Commandments with a new outlook, with a new approach, with a new mindset. Now, he knows that while our intentions may start out as good, the tug of sin easily pulls us down and can even make us feel powerless in our moral struggles. And so he comes to our aid and gives us a share in the Holy Spirit who works with us from the inside out. Jesus himself called the Spirit “the power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) and told us that it’s a power which can be ours for the asking. This empowering Gift of the Spirit was foretold by the prophet Ezekiel who said: “He will give you a new heart and place a new Spirit within you; He will exchange your heart of sin for a heart of love and put his Spirit within you to enable you to follow his decrees”. (Ez 36:26-27) 

 We can look at the Holy Spirit and the Risen Lord Jesus as a kind of divine medical intervention team who are performing supernatural cardiac surgery on us. This is the spiritual procedure in which Ezekiel’s prophecy is fulfilled within each one of us so that we come out on the other side as new and transformed persons! The Church, through the experience of the saints, has learned that we can do our part to promote a successful outcome to this procedure by our prayer, Bible reading, works of mercy, and reception of the Sacraments. Throughout this spiritual therapy and rehabilitation, God gradually replaces our weak hearts of sin with strong hearts of love that will enable us to live the Faith as it was meant to be lived, not as a burden to be carried but as a blessing to be shared.

Salt + Light

 

Deacon Dave · Salt + Light

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 8, 2026. Gospel of St. Matthew 5:13-16. Theme: Salt + Light 

 In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues his famous Sermon on the Mount. He tells us that we are to give public witness to him and that by doing so his Gospel will make the world a better place. He compares us to salt and light in order to graphically illustrate what he’s talking about. 

 Like salt that enhances food, our lived Christianity is meant to bring out the best in us and inspire others to become curious about the Faith. The social teachings of Christianity can bring goodness to a culture and help preserve it from moral corruption. But Jesus warns us that if we lose our saltiness, that is, if we lose touch with our Christianity and begin to think and speak and act just like everyone else then we become useless for carrying out the mission of drawing others to Him. 

 Moving on to the example of light, we all know how vital it’s to our daily living! Among other things, it brings us clarity of vision in otherwise dark places. In the same way, the more people see our Christian behavior, the clearer it can be for them to find the pathway to happiness in this world and the next. The inner peace and strength we possess through the ups and downs of life might enlighten them to investigate a relationship with Jesus Christ for themselves. 

 But in addition to changing individual persons, the salt and light of Christianity can - and indeed has - changed the world! Western culture as we know it would not be ours to enjoy today had it not been for Christianity sprinkling the salt of the Gospel and diffusing the light of Christ throughout the world for the past 2,000 years. We should be humbly and properly proud of how our faith has helped to make the world a better place, especially today when Christianity’s moral and social influence is being ignored or even openly attacked. We need to remind others of this indisputable fact. 

 Christianity’s salt and light has fueled many scientists to make vital discoveries in their fields. Notable examples are Copernicus, the priest who discovered that the sun is the center of the universe; the Jesuit priest George Lemaitre who came up with the Big Bang Theory of the universe’s origin; Gregor Mendel, a monk who gave birth to modern genetics; and Louis Pasteur, a committed lay Catholic and pioneer of infectious disease control. Christianity’s salt and light also gave inspiration and encouragement to classic works of the fine arts such as Michelangelo & Leonardo DaVinci in sculpting and painting; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Johann Sebastian Bach in music; Dante Alighieri & J.R. Tolkien in literature. 

 Christianity’s mission to be salt and light motivated heroic figures who stood up on behalf of women, children, the dying and the disabled. Before Christianity arrived in various parts of the world, women were considered property along with a man’s life-stock; children were regarded as not much better than slaves; the dying were abandoned in the wilderness; and the disabled were killed for being thought of as cursed. In response to such things, Christianity spoke up loudly for the sanctity of marriage and the equal dignity of women. Christianity threw its collective arms around the vulnerable and the disadvantaged protecting their right to enjoy a truly human life. Missionaries established hospitals, schools and medical clinics in countries that were too poor and underdeveloped to provide these social services. And the Catholic Church remains today the single largest sponsor of educational, social and charitable aid in the world. 

 Christians who took up Jesus’ call to be salt and light became leaders in the civil rights, human rights and right-to-life movements. The slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass was a Christian minister and Harriet Tubman, mother of the famous Underground Railroad to Freedom was also a devout Christian. St. Katherine Drexel, a Philadelphia socialite, gave her whole life as well as her multi-billion dollar inheritance for the education and social promotion of Black and Native Americans. And of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a minister who, together with the mostly Christian communities of the Southern USA pressed forward through bloody violence until racial equality became the law. And today pro-life activists carry on this civil rights crusade for the equality and dignity of millions of unborn children. 

 So, with all this in mind and knowing what a Christian is called to be, let’s ask Jesus for the grace to never lose our saltiness; for the grace to never cease to be light in the darkness. The Christians who have gone before us, and who made such an impact on the world, show us what the Gospel can do when it is truly lived out in flesh and blood reality. Their witness gives us absolutely amazing testimony that both people and places can be transformed by coming into contact with the salt and light of Christ that flows out of ordinary Christians like you and me.