02/24/13 DIY Religion: Jesus: Dozens of Models to Choose From, Pick Your Own

Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent.

"What is the idea of creating a Jesus of my own making, of my own choosing, of my own invention? ...Basically, when it comes to all of the Greek gods and goddesses, what they are is it's divinizing, it's a way of making a god out of whatever it is that you want. And so you actually get to, as we'd say in Christian terms, you get to baptize your own desires. So choosing something now simply means choosing God. If I want this thing, of course I would want this, because God would want this. This idea is completely alive and well, not that we believe in the gods or goddesses of ancient Greece, but we have re-cast Jesus so often to fit our own desires. ...Who is the real jesus? ...Is it Jesus who weeps in the face of death at Lazarus' tomb? Yes, Jesus hurts when we hurt. But it's also Jesus who commands death at Lazarus' tomb. The God of the Resurrection. It's Jesus, whose face today in the Gospel is glorified beyond recognition, is also the Jesus in the Gospel, four weeks from now, whose face is beaten beyond recognition. ...We need to recognize this, that I might have to change my vision of Jesus, not make my vision of Jesus based off of me."

Mass Readings from February 24, 2013:
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
Philippians 3:17—4:1
Luke 9:28B-36

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