Homily for October 6, 2013 (27th Sunday C)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Saint Paul writes to Timothy, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.  On Sunday evening I will be going on retreat.  This is an annual event for the priests of the Diocese of Charlotte and it is held every year during the first full week of October.  We gather in Maggie Valley, in the mountains, and with the Bishop, and a retreat director, we spend the week on retreat.  I am often asked at this time of year, “What do priests do on retreat?”  Honestly, dear brothers and sisters, the answer is not very exciting. 

We pray.  We gather for communal prayer each day in the morning and in the evening.  We offer Mass together each day.  On Wednesday we pray in a particular way for our brother priests who are sick or suffering.  Throughout the week we pray for our brother priests who are absent from the retreat, and we pray for our brother priests who have abandoned the priestly ministry.  On Friday, we pray for our brother priests who have died in the past year.

We listen on retreat.  Priests preach; we do not often hear preaching.  During the retreat the retreat master preaches to us.  We hear again and we receive again the Word spoken to us and the promises that the Eternal Word has made to us.  We recall that we are first disciples of the Lord Jesus who join him on the mountainside, before we are apostles sent to proclaim the good news.  We listen to the counsel of a brother priest and we receive the grace of absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Yes, priests go to confession too.  We who proclaim mercy stand in need of the same mercy.

We rest on retreat.  Days in ministry are very long and weeks pass very quickly.  We need to rest so that we can be renewed.  We need to rest in the presence of the Lord so that we can reflect the presence of the Lord.  We rest so that the flame of faith can be fed by the light of the glory of Christ.

And we eat on retreat.  No retreat is complete without the sharing of food and drink and time and company.  We are nourished by the Word of God, by the Bread of Life, and by the meals that we share in each other’s presence.  We strengthen the bond of priestly fraternity, and stir into flame the gift of God that is within us by the laying on of hands.

And, my dear brothers and sisters, what the annual retreat is for priests, the Sunday Mass is for you.  It is a time apart from the busy events of every day.  The hour of the Sunday Mass is different from every other hour in your week.  In the celebration of the Mass, the daily sacrifices of your life of faith are united to the one sacrifice of Christ for the redemption of the world.  It is a time set apart, by the invitation of God, to join in prayer for the sick and the suffering.  It is an invitation to pray for those who should be here and are not.  It is an opportunity to pray for those who have abandoned the faith and rejected the promises of their baptism.  And it is a time to pray for those whom the Lord has called unto himself.

The Sunday Mass is a time to listen.  The Word of God is spoken to you and is not the record of some past event.  The living Word of God invites you to life, and to a life of faith.

The Sunday Mass is a time to rest.  The days of work and family life are long and the weeks pass very quickly.  In the celebration of the Mass the Lord invites you to rest in his presence and be refreshed and renewed.

And the Sunday Mass is a time to be fed.  We are fed by the presence of the Lord in his Word, by his presence in the Eucharist, and by his presence in each other.  We are strengthened by the Sacraments and by the bonds of Christian fellowship.

May we treasure, dear brothers and sisters, this weekly retreat, and stir into flame the gift of faith that is within us.  Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for September 29, 2013 (26th Sunday C)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Last week the Lord Jesus told us that we can follow only one master.  As we follow Christ as our only master, we follow him with boldness and creativity in prayer, in worship, and in service to the poor.  Today in our readings we hear a warning given to the wealthy and we hear a lesson about the true treasure.

In our reading from the book of the prophet Amos and in our reading from the Gospel, we hear words of warning.  Last week the unjust steward had obtained his wealth through dishonesty.  The people addressed by Amos and the Pharisees addressed by the Lord Jesus had not acquired their wealth by dishonest means.  There is no indication in the text that they had amassed their fortunes by exploiting the poor.  What is clear in the readings today is how they used their wealth.  Beds of ivory, the finest of sumptuous meals, wine and oil in abundance, and garments of purple, the color of royalty are how they used their wealth.  In the parable presented by the Lord Jesus, the rich man is so consumed by his riches and the abundant banquet, that he does not even notice the poor man at the door.  The people addressed by Amos and the rich man in the parable spent their wealth completely on themselves.  They never shared.  They lived their lives by the fifth word that we all normally learn.  Mama, dada, yes, no, and the fifth word: Mine.

Today the Lord Jesus invites us to think about ownership.  Can we say dear brothers and sisters that we really own something that does not last forever?  The ivory couches, the sumptuous meals, the garments, the mansions and all of the goods of the earth will pass away.  They will not last forever. We possess them only for a time.  And therefore, we are not truly owners of earthly goods.  We are stewards.

Stewards have the responsibility to care for what has been entrusted to them.  The stewards care for these earthly goods perhaps even more carefully than they would their own, because ultimately, these goods belong to another. All of heaven and all of earth is the possession of the Almighty Father.  We were made stewards of creation from the time when God created the heavens and the earth.  We have been made the stewards of the goods of earth, of houses and cars and money, through the goodness of God and the work of our minds and hands.  But, dear brothers and sisters, in our baptism and in our confirmation, we have become stewards of the gifts of heaven.  We have been given a share in the gifts of God for the building up of the people of God.  By Sacred Ordination, I was made a steward of the mysteries of God, as Saint Paul says.  What I received in ordination, the mark on my soul and the power to consecrate the Eucharist and absolve sins, was not entrusted to me for my benefit.  These gifts were given to me, so that I might give them to you.

And it is the same with the gifts and talents that Our Lord, in his goodness and mercy, has entrusted to each of you.  Each of you is a steward of the gifts of God.  They are not your gifts, but the gifts of God given to you.  And what God has entrusted to your stewardship, God invites you to use for the benefit of others.  He calls each of us to be good stewards.  He calls us today, through the words of the Apostle Paul, to pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love and gentleness, and to lay hold of eternal life.  This, dear brothers and sisters, is our true treasure and our true wealth: the spiritual abundance that the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us for the building up of his kingdom.  Today, we heed the warning of the prophet Amos and put the gifts we have received at the service of others.

As we celebrate this Eucharist today, we ask the Lord for the grace to recognize the gifts and talents that he has entrusted to our care.  We ask for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to lead us to opportunities to share what has been given to us.  And we ask for the grace to be good stewards of the mysteries of God that will lead us to eternal life.  Amen.

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC

Homily for September 22, 2013 (25th Sunday C)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

We are invited to serve many masters.  We are, in fact, invited to serve many many masters.  We may follow only one.  Only one can be the true master of our heart, our mind, our strength and our life.  If we choose as our master something of earth, the rewards are only of this earth.  If we accept the invitation of the Lord, and choose as our true and only master Christ, the rewards are of heaven.  We gather for this celebration of the Eucharist to confirm once again our choice, that we will follow Christ the Lord, and no other.  With every Amen, we confirm our choice.  How then, dear brothers and sisters, shall we follow Christ as our only master?

We are invited to serve our one master with boldness and creativity.  The parable that we hear today from the Gospel of Luke is one of the most difficult parables of the Lord Jesus.  He seems to praise a dishonest steward, a thief, and gives him to us as a model.  But looking closely at the parable we see that it is not the actions of the dishonest steward that are praised.  The actions of the steward are dishonest and can never be praised.  What the Lord Jesus praises are the prudence, the boldness, and the creativity of the steward.  The Lord Jesus challenges the disciples and he challenges us to follow him with boldness and creativity.  The dishonest steward probably sacrificed his commission or payment in settling the accounts of the master.  The dishonest steward was willing to sacrifice something today in view of something better tomorrow.  This was something prudent, bold and creative.  As we follow the only master, Christ the Lord, we will often sacrifice what is immediate for what is eternal.

Following Christ with boldness and creativity, we follow Christ our master in prayer and worship.  In our reading from the letter of Paul to Timothy we hear the apostolic instruction that prayers be offered for everyone.  In particular, Paul asks that prayers be offered for kings and rulers and all in authority.  We continue to fulfill this command as we pray for civil and government leaders in the intercessions of every Mass.  We bring before the Lord the whole Church of God and her leaders, the leaders of nations and peoples, the sick and those in particular need, and we pray for mercy on those that the Lord has called unto himself.  The priestly people of God offer prayers for the whole world as we then enter into union with Christ the High Priest who is the one mediator between God and Man.  We follow Christ the Lord as our only master in prayer and worship.

But then dear brothers and sisters, with boldness and creativity, we must follow Christ from prayer and worship into service.  Our worship of the Father in Spirit and in Truth is not complete until we become in loving service the Christ we have received in loving reverence.  Christ has called us to transform us and through us to transform the world.  Our reading today from book of the prophet Amos reminds us of the care of the Lord for the poor.  The prophet Amos, speaking to those who exploited and mistreated the poor, warns them that the Lord God will not forget their sins.  The mistreatment of the poor and the weak, Amos reminds us, is an offense unto God and an offense against God.  We do not follow Christ the Master completely until we see him and serve him and love him in the poor.

As we celebrate this Eucharist today and join in the offering of the One Mediator, we continue to follow Christ as our only Master.  May we receive the grace of boldness and creativity as we follow Christ in prayer and service.  And may our worship of Christ today equip us and transform us for service tomorrow.  Amen. 

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe NC   

Homily for September 15, 2013 (24th Sunday C)

May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.

Last week, only eight sentences seemed sufficient for the homily.  Today, one word would suffice.  The word is mercy.  Everything in our readings today draws our focus to the mercy of God.  The mercy of God awaits us and pursues us.  The mercy of God reminds us of our identity.  And the mercy of God brings us joy.

In our reading from the book of Exodus we see Moses interceding for the people.  This was chosen people of God whom Moses had led out of Egypt.  They had been freed from their slavery to Pharaoh by the mighty acts of God.  And yet, while Moses was communing with the Lord God and receiving the gift of the Law, the people turned away from the Lord and made an idol.  They exchanged the worship of the Lord God for the worship of a golden calf.  The actions of the people deserved the wrath of God, and Moses prayed for mercy.  He recalled the promises made to the patriarchs.  He appealed to the promises and to the mercy of God.  And the people received mercy.

In our reading from the Gospel of Luke we hear three very familiar parables about the mercy of God.  We hear of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  Like the good shepherd and like the woman with the lost coin, the Lord God in his great mercy pursues us.  That is how very precious we are to God.  He pursues us with his mercy.  Like the forgiving father who awaits with eager anticipation the return of his son, the Lord God eagerly awaits to bestow his mercy upon us.  The great mercy of God awaits us and pursues us.

The mercy of God reminds us of our identity.  When the Good Shepherd found the lost sheep, the lost sheep was restored to the flock.  The woman who had lost one of her ten coins had lost more than money.  The coins were a sign of her identity and her relationship.  During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, it was a common practice for woman to be given a headband made of ten coins when she married.  This headband would be something like a wedding ring.  It was an important symbol of her identity and her relationship.  The forgiving father immediately restores to his returning son the robe and the ring that signifies that he is a beloved son in the house of the father.  The mercy of God reminds us of our identity as part of the flock of God, signs of the Lord’s relationship with his people, and beloved children in the house of the Father.

And the mercy of God brings us joy.  The apostle Paul constantly rejoiced because he had received mercy.  Though he had once been an opponent of Christ and a persecutor of his people, the mercy of God transformed Paul into an apostle of Christ and an agent of mercy.  The mercy of God brought joy to the heart of Paul, and the mercy of God brings joy to the hearts of the Lord’s people.

In every celebration of the Eucharist and in the official prayers of the Church, I stand daily before the Lord imploring the mercy of God for the people entrusted to my unworthy care.  Each day all of the baptized children of God are called to seek out the lost sheep of the flock, search for the precious coin, and eagerly await the return of the lost son.  God has shown us mercy.  He offers us an encounter with his mercy in the Sacrament of reconciliation and strength for the journey in the Eucharist.  In the Sacraments, we receive the mercy of God.  We are reminded of our identity.  And we respond with hearts filled with joy.

Let us receive, dear brothers and sisters, and let us live, by the word of mercy.  Amen. 

Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC