Finding Christ’s Peace in Our Lives | 2024 Diocese Retreat Homily

In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, one

God forever. Good morning, beloved brothers

and sisters in Christ. My beloved children, what a

beautiful sight that is. You see the ancients directed

through the light. Good morning and welcome to this

morning's Eucharistic service for the 2024 Diocesan retreat.

We come together as children of God, as brothers and sisters, as

the children of one holy and one Apostolic and one universal

complete Catholic denoting universal complete church.

The past two days we have been discussing, we've, we've been

engaged in activities and both social and religious and trying

to really absorb what and understand and fathom what the

theme is Peace be with us. And I'm sure if we go around,

everyone has some sort of an understanding what we've been

discussing and what the aim of this retreat has been.

And it's so beautiful. The gospel reading is so

beautiful today. It's befitting for our retreat

because we see when we read the Gospels in the ministry of

Christ, in his three years of life on earth, he was constantly

being approached and asked questions, and they constantly

asked in question. They questioned him because they

wanted to somehow find a fault in him, to capture him.

So it was like for three years, Jesus just took it.

He took whatever they dashed out on him.

He replied to them. He never backed away from a

question, never backed away from a challenge, replied to them in

love, in peace, in harmony, and through the Holy Scriptures.

And each time they would ask him a question, he would not

directly reply to that question. When you read the scriptures,

you think maybe Jesus is trying to avoid the questions.

He would come back and ask them and reply them with another

question, and he would catch them.

But now as we approach through the Gospels, obviously we're

approaching the birth of Jesus Christ.

But through the Gospels we're approaching the capture of Jesus

Christ before he leaves the earth.

He then confronts his opposers, not so much enemies, those who

oppose them continuously. He approaches them with a

question and asks them, who do you say is Christ?

They had a perfect understanding of who Christ was or is the

Messiah, the promised Messiah who would come and deliver the

Jews from the hands of the Romans and restore all their

lands and their authority. They had that understanding and

for three years Jesus praised me to his name.

Fulfilled, not abolished. When you hear some, some

preacher or someone get up on TikTok and and rap, I remember

this so many years ago, rapping and you know, Jesus came, he

abolished every law. Jesus did not abolish law.

He actually fulfilled all the laws.

And yet they were so stubborn, they couldn't understand.

They didn't stop for a minute and say and think, Oh well,

money there. He's fulfilling laws, his birth.

He's escaped to Egypt. The the, the, the star, the

Maggies, the wise man who came, They were so stiff necked and

stubborn. And he healed.

He raised the dead. You know what intrigues me most

is this. A cripple cannot walk.

For 38 years, he's been thrown by a wall and he's begging.

He's crippled Jaria. He's waiting for someone to help

him. For 38 years, these people would

have been going past and and seeing him and then maybe just

Miskina. What we say, what we do, Sharia,

Miskina just walked past and then Jesus heals him.

Yes, he was on a Sabbath. He was on a Sabbath.

Jesus heals him. You know what their problem was?

You know why they were ticked off?

They didn't care about this man is now walking.

They didn't even ask him what's happened, how did this happen?

They approach him and say who healed you on the Sabbath?

Didn't care about the well-being of this man.

And then they confront Jesus again.

Why are you healing on the Sabbath?

I should have a Shidani. And honestly, these people are

really stick and to date they are stiff naked.

By the way. By the way, let me give you an

amazing news and this shouldn't surprise us.

And you know, we start beating the drum.

You're just we know this, we know this.

They just found evidence in Jerusalem in mosaics 1800 years

ago. So 200 years give or take after

Jesus Christ. They have found an inscription

that says God, Jesus Christ, praise his name, praise we don't

need. You know, everyone's Robbie.

Look at this. The first person said to me was

Kirk, my son-in-law. Robbie used to check this out.

You know, I said, yeah, oh, praise God.

But why he's surprised? Why he's surprised?

For my 20 years old priesthood, I've been jumping up and down

and telling people Jesus is God, Jesus is God.

But for our critiques, for those who are against Jesus Christ,

there's your evidence 1800 years.

And now it's been proven scientifically number one, that

yes, this this mosaic is 1800 years.

That doesn't prove Jesus is God. But then when the scholars come

and read the inscriptions, they say Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Netanyahu

and and Mr. What's the Ayatollah's name in Iran?

And Mr. XI Chambu of your Buddhas and Mr. Bakwan of your

Hindus. Jesus is God, praise be to his

name. And they didn't understand that.

But today, thank you, Lord, you seal them.

So Jesus confronts them. Who do you say this Christ is

now and you know, shooting from the hip?

Harisha, let me let me give you this guy, this answer.

He's the son of David. They were right.

Yes, Jesus was the son of David in humanity.

He was from the tribe of David. Like we have the Mushabbas.

This guy, when he is Mushaba, he wants to jump and praise the

praise the Lord, right? He was the son of David.

Matt Mariam was from the lineage of David, right?

They were right, but they stopped there.

Then Jesus knowing their heart. You know why?

Because he is God. Jesus is God, knowing their

hearts, knowing their motives, just like right now, Jesus knows

my motive. You don't know what I'm what's

going in my mind. I don't know what's going

through your mind. He is God, He examines the mind

and the heart. He said, OK, well let me ask you

a question then. If Jesus is the son of David or

if the Messiah is the son of David, So why is David the son

of the Messiah calling him Lord? Now let me ask you a question

guys. Raise your hand if ever your dad

called you my Lord. Actually, you requested all of

that to your battle. My Lord.

We may, we may refer to our fathers as Lord.

Let me tell you something, my beloved sisters and I pray that

that this is the type of relationship in a marriage that

we go back to our our understanding, our forefathers

understanding. You know, the wife would call

her husband Lord, your Lord. Lord God.

Yeah, Yeah. She would call the Lord just

right. Sarah would call Abraham Lord.

Lord not meaning your. I'm your, I'm your material.

You do whatever you want with me.

No, no, no. That's the Middle Eastern

understanding Lord, meaning you are my head, you are my Lord.

I've been betrothed to you now, just like Jesus is the Lord of

the church. I am the church.

I'm going to produce children and you are my Lord just like

Jesus is Lord. So you never you've never I'm

not I'm I'm I could be. I am 100% sure a a father never

refers to his son as Lord. So now he's saying well if David

is the son of the Messiah, why is David?

And he quotes scripture again. Why is David calling his son

Lord from that point onwards? I love this scripture.

From that point onwards no one dared to answer and from that

point no one dared to ask him any more questions.

He slammed up them, he hammered them, he put them in their place

with 11 simple question, one simple question.

See, this is the peace that we have from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Beloved, he is God, your Lord, you're Jesus, you're Jesus that

we were singing. We will follow Jesus and we're

going to sing it again. And I think everyone should sing

it when we're when we're communion, we will follow.

Why? Why do we follow Jesus?

Have you heard the song? You know they come up to you.

Do you know Jesus? Do you know Jesus?

When people ask you, do you know Jesus, say no, I don't, Don't.

I don't know Jesus. What?

And you call yourself a Christian?

You don't know Jesus? No.

Do you know Jesus? Of course I do.

Who is Jesus? He's the Son of God.

Do you actually understand that? Do you understand the Father and

the Son and the Holy Spirit? Do you understand the Spirit?

You know This is why there's a there's an issue with infant

baptism, right? Because they don't understand.

Who understands who? I don't understand.

I don't. But there's one thing I know

I've accepted him as my Lord and my Saviour and I want to

experience his life. That's all.

I don't need to know. I won't know.

I can't know. I cannot fathom because he is

greater than my thoughts and my understanding.

I know he is gracious. I know he loves the world.

He loves the world. You don't drive by any red light

streets, 9th St. in in Modesto, right?

Those that are selling their bodies, those that are now

shooting up and most probably OD ING those that are right at this

moment stealing, murdering, those that are right at this

moment committing abortion, whatever it is, whatever it is,

Jesus loves every one of them. He hates what they're doing to

themselves and knowing what we have not fathoming and

understanding in its fullness. No one, no one can one of the

church fathers mother from rubber rights.

The more you try to draw near to God in understanding not I want

to draw me to God because I want to let go of my sins and my

transgressions. I want to have a relationship

with God. No, no, no.

The more you want to go in and say I want to know, I want to

know, I want to know, the further you will be driven away

because we cannot know. But there's one thing we know,

beloved, that cross that he was hanging on.

That's the peace that he brought for you and I the Peace of Mind

is this that Jesus is the with a definite article, the Son of

God. Jesus is the Lord Jesus is God

praise his name and that peace that he brought.

And you know what, let me tell you, Let me confess confession

time when we were driving here, I was such a not scared.

I was concerned because I thought, I don't think we

prepared enough for this, for this retreat like we did with

others, right, because we're, we're such a rusty and I was

thinking, well, I hope they, you know, everyone gets along.

But the past two days, I glorify God first and foremost, and I

thank you. I thank you and God bless you.

I was looking in your faces when we were up there by the cross.

Everyone was just joyous and happy.

There was peace in our heart, right?

I had so much peace. I was trying to prank people

with insects. Well then thanks.

I was so joyous and seeing everyone just mingle together.

And your, your promptness, I should say, being at the

services, God bless you. This just goes to show, this

just proves two things #1 Allah, whatever you've been praying

for, whatever you've had in your minds, rest assured God has

heard it. Wait for His perfect timing.

And secondly, that the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly

dwelling in your hearts. So what do you do from here?

Go back to your parishes. Go back to your parishes in a

way where people say what's wrong with you've changed that

when people say you've changed, glorify God.

Have a change for good, huh? When people say you look more

beautiful, you're glowing. What's wrong?

You've changed, you say, well, thank the Lord because I have

Christ's peace in my heart. And may that peace be with you

wherever you go, as you go back to your parishes, you're going

to start, I'm going to I'm going to rain on your parade.

You're going to go back to school, you're going to go back

to work. Take that peace with you

reflected manifested as Ravi Asha John said reflected upon

others so that they will say why is this peace?

Then you pull up that that YouTube and say just look at

this discovery that this is the peace of Jesus Christ our Lord

our God. Praise be to His name, now and

at all times and forever. Amen.