We are going to start today’s homily with a survey. Please raise your hand if you consider yourself a teacher. Now for those whose hands were raised, how many of you think your educational advice was always followed.

From my perspective everyone here should have raised their hand for the first answer. We are all teachers in one way or the other. While we may not be a teacher in a school, we teach those around us by our words and our actions. This applies to even the youngest member of the assembly today, whoever that may be. As parents and grandparents we teach our children many things. Some of these would be, how to use a bathroom, how to talk, right from wrong, and maybe the most important that there are consequences for our actions.  For the younger folks out there they help teach parents humility, patience and that we must have a good sense of humor. If they are the older sibling they also teach their younger siblings how to act, by their example.

We hear today the Lord reminding Jeremiah that while he will go about teaching his people the ways of the Lord the people may not want to hear what he is saying. This should not dissuade him from teaching though as God will have his back so that no matter what is said to him or how he is treated the message still needs to be given and Jeremiah will be protected.

Now as teachers I think we can all relate to coming across those who will not listen to us, regardless of our experience or knowledge of the subject at hand. This is where it is nice to know someone has our back. This could be the other teachers in the teachers lounge listening to us, or our spouse backing us up in front of the children. This united front helps to show the people we are teaching that this is more than just one persons opinion.

Today we hear the continuation of last weeks Gospel where Jesus tells the people that he is the fulfillment of the scripture of Isaiah. Jesus had no one physically present to his fellow townspeople to back him up, yet he knew just as Jeremiah did that he had the big guy in his corner. It allowed him to feel comfortable in reminding all around that those you are closest too may listen to you the least. They know your shortcomings, who your parents are and what you may or may not have done to elicit such scorn. Hopefully none of us have upset those around us enough that they are looking to kill us.

Jesus teachings were not popular among his people in his own time so much so that eventually they did get their way and he was hung on a cross. It seems today his teachings are as well received as they were during his time. We see people who claim to be Christian yet they gossip, mistreat family and friends and do everything for the betterment of their own lives. Since many of these people are in places of influence and power the overall impression of non-Christians is why should we believe in what Christ said since the people who claim to follow him do little to nothing that is congruent with his teachings.

Who do we follow as teachers, is it Christ and his Church or someone else? That someone else could be a politician, a celebrity, an athlete or someone close to us. Who we learn from will determine how we act when we leave church this week. If we follow the politician who casts aspersions on others and tries to pit us against them, then we will not see that the other side may be doing the same thing and no one benefits. Well some people benefit, those who continually remind us that it is really all about how we feel and what we do that makes us successful.

The people of Jesus’ time and those who listened to Jeremiah were great at acting in a selfish manner; they did not act out of love for others. They were acting as we see many politicians and celebrities act, it is all about their level of popularity, not what is right. It was also all about what made them feel good.

Cam Newton who is quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL seems to walk this fine line of promoting himself so he can be popular, yet insuring he does for others. With every touchdown the Panthers score on offense he insures that a young fan in the stands gets the football. This is a wonderful memory for the child. Of course before this happens there is a dance to celebrate the touchdown. While to some this seems self-promoting, what he does after this dance and off the field is the example we need to see more of. In addition to giving footballs away when he is not on the field he uses the celebrity he has gained to help youth get a better education, keep fit and learn to serve others. While I have to admit I am not a fan of the dance and the showboating he does, the outcome of who he is and what he does with the notoriety he has attained is inspiring.

Mother Theresa was another model of a teacher for us as well. While she took care of the poorest of the poor she made sure to show, through her actions that all people mattered, regardless of their social or economic status in the world. When she went around asking for help, whether it be monetary or physical, everyone always knew that what she raised would help those most in need.

These two people help to teach us to act out of love for one another, and to insure we make sure that all those around us are taken care of. While none of us here may be recognized outside our own circle of family and friends we all have the ability to teach those around us the same thing that Jesus was trying to remind those in his hometown and Jeremiah taught the Israelites. That is, that God cares for all his creation, not just those with money, power, or popularity.  While this message can be lost amongst those who are closest to us, we still have the ability to teach them by our example.

How we treat others will always say a lot about us, more than what we say about treating others. Do we say all should be treated the same yet talk behind the back of someone we do not like? Will we be able to be the shining light that proves to others who look up to us that all of God’s Creation is worthy of our love regardless  of what may be in it for us? Jeremiah and Jesus went on to act and say all are equal, and as Paul reminds us that we are all capable of showing the Love of God to those around us.

The ultimate question is will we follow the teachings of the politicians and celebrities who say one thing and do another, or will we follow the teachings of Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus, Mother Theresa and Cam Newton in showing that all people are worthy of respect and Love.  We are all teachers, let us teach the right way to live.

We celebrate today Mary, the Mother of God. We each one of us have a mother, who we counted on as we grew into adulthood and beyond. In counting on our mothers we would listen to them and would hold them up as someone to be revered. This is the case even when we disagreed with a punishment, or a rule that she may have made us follow.
We would hold our own mothers, whether natural or adoptive, as a model for us to follow. Humanity was given a mother to follow at the crucifixion and that is Mary. Mary should be considered our mother as well. This was believed from some of the earliest days of the church.
At the council of Ephesus the church officially recognized Mary as the Mother of God with the following statement.
“We confess, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of                   God, perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and a body,                     begotten before all ages from the Father in his Godhead, the same in              the last days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary the Virgin                  according to his humanity, one and the same consubstantial with                  the Father in Godhead and consubstantial with us in humanity, for a            union of two natures took place. Therefore we confess one Christ,                  one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the                                  unconfused union, we confess the holy Virgin to be the Mother of                  God because God the Word took flesh and became man and from his               very conception united to himself the temple he took from her”                    (Formula of Union [A.D. 431]).
With this we are reminded that in Jesus, God came to us through Mary and took human form. We hear in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, God came to be human in order to receive all as adoptive sons and daughters. This was brought forth in that Jesus was fully human and fully God in the perfect hypostatic union.
As his adoptive sons and daughters, we still have the freedom of will to either follow his lead as the Father or to ignore it. This does not limit our freedom but brings us to a more perfect freedom. We are not held captive by material things, addiction to drugs, alcohol or any other things. We are free in the sense that none of these things would hold power over us.
During our lives we have all had times where have asked for our mother to intercede for us with our father. We as Catholics call on the Mother of God to intercede with us to the Father. We know we are to do this in many different situations simply based on the different names that Mary is known by. These include, Our Lady of Loreto, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Angels, Our Lady of Mercy, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blessed Queen and consoler of the Church Suffering. Many other names can be found in the Litany of the Holy Name of Mary.
When we ask for her intercession, our Heavenly mother will pray for us just as our human mothers pray for each of us. This prayer from our Heavenly Mother is special as she holds a special reverence in Jesus’ heart. Just like sons and daughters hold their mother in high esteem, Jesus holds his Mother in that same high esteem.
When we hear today in Luke that the first people that were told of the birth of Jesus were shepherds, see Jesus and tell Mary and Joseph what they have heard it makes Mary contemplate in her heart. We see in this that God wants all people even the poorest and most ridiculed to be his. The shepherds were never held in high esteem during that time as they were thought to be ignorant of the ways of the world and inevitably they would smell like the sheep they tended.
Yet Mary listened to them and did not send them away without listening and considering all they had said. This reminds us that Mary was still working on understanding all that Jesus would become to so many people around the world.
As we begin this New Year, let us all be mindful of how our mercy can be spread just as the Mercy of Christ was spread by Mary. We have a wonderful prayer to start the New Year that is given to us this day in Numbers.
“The LORD bless you and keep you!The LORD let his face shine                         upon you, and be gracious to you!The LORD look upon you kindly                   and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the                                Israelites, and I will bless them.”
He has blessed us with his son Jesus born of the Virgin Mary, let us continue to live as one as Mary has shown us the way.