Homily - October 25, 2015 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - preached at St. Kateri St. Margaret Mary site 8a and 11a

Daily mass readings for today:  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/102515.cfm

            I very much like our new St. Kateri vision and mission statements – they’re concise and to the point and define, I think, exactly what we aspire to be as a Catholic parish here in the Town of Irondequoit.  Our vision -   Friends and neighbors joyfully sharing and living the Gospel and the transforming love of Jesus Christ through our Parish Family.  And our mission - to invite and welcome people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life to embrace and celebrate our vocation - to be Christ to the world.

            But it was another parish’s vision statement – that I saw a few weeks ago – that came to mind as I was reading and reflecting on our Gospel today – similar but also a bit different.  That vision statement reads:  it is our vision to offer every person in our community a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. 

            That, sisters and brothers, in a single phrase, sums up the mission of our Church and each one of us who professes faith in Christ Jesus.  To offer every person in our community a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

            That’s what Bartimaeus experiences in this Gospel, does he not?  In fact, I’d say that this Gospel story has all the elements of what it looks like to encounter Jesus and come to real faith in Him.

            We start with Bartimaeus’ blindness.  Unlike the man born blind whom Jesus heals in St. John’s Gospel, perhaps Bartimaeus once could see, but we know he’s now blind, and more importantly, he knows he’s blind.  And he wants to see.

            Along comes Jesus on the road, leaving the City of Jericho, on His final journey toward Jerusalem, with His apostles and disciples in tow – a sizable crowd, St. Mark tells us.

            And Bartimaeus calls out to Our Lord – “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”  Echoes of the poor sinner “Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” 

            Somehow, Bartimaeus knows about this Jesus fellow, maybe has heard of His healing of others.  Something in his heart says “oh what the heck, what do I have to lose?” And he calls out.

            Now the “faithful,” the disciples, try to shush him, but he cries out all the louder “Son of David, have pity on me.”

            Jesus hears him and tells the disciples to bring the man to Him.  “Take courage,” they say, and upon hearing the Lord’s invitation, we’re told Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and hurries to Jesus.  The Lord asks him the same question He posed to James and John in last week’s Gospel – “what do you want me to do for you?” 

            James and John wanted power and privilege. Sit at your right and left. Talk about blind.

            But in faith and humility, Bartimaeus’ replies “I want to see!”

            “Your faith has saved you.  Go on your way”  And Bartimaeus’s eyes are opened and he follows not on his own way but follows after Jesus on the way – he becomes a disciple of Our Lord.  His life is radically changed – he’s had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

            Sisters and brothers, you and I are also called to a life-changing encounter with Christ – it’s what it means to be His disciple, His follower.  It’s what it means to walk with the Lord.

            You and I are also called to recognize our blindness, our spiritual blindness, all the ways in which we fail to see rightly, blinded by the distractions, distortions, disorder of this world.

            You and I are called to take courage, and come to the Lord and beg Him to take pity on us, to ask Him for healing, for mercy, to ask Him to allow us to see rightly.  And healed and restored, you and I are likewise called to follow Him, ever more closely.

            Truth be told, the journey with Christ consists of many life-changing encounters with Christ, over and over and over again.  It’s not a one-and-done thing, once saved, always saved, as some would have you believe.  It’s an ever-deepening relationship with Christ, an ever deepening friendship with Him, the only one who can truly satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts.

            But back to that vision statement, brothers and sisters, you and I are also called, by our baptism, to be for others a life-changing encounter with Christ.  Our Blessed Lord, after all, ascended into heaven 2000 years ago, leaving you and me to carry on His life-changing, life-saving mission. 

            He didn’t leave us alone, to be sure, as by our baptism and confirmation we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire.  And we have the wondrous gift of His most sacred Body and Blood which we receive here at this altar, to strengthen us, so that we might grow in holiness.

            Empowered with His Holy Spirit and strengthened by the sacraments, you and I are called to go forth from here and truly offer to everyone out there a life-changing encounter with Christ, through us, His followers, His disciples. 

            If they out there don’t encounter Christ through us who come here, how else are they going to encounter Christ?  How else will they come to know His love, His healing, His mercy, His redemption?

            I don’t know about you, but to me that is a tall order – a big vision, a challenging mission. But it’s the very mission we were called to through our baptism.

            How, you might ask, are we to do that?  The answer I would propose is this.  We all remember the initials WWJD - What would Jesus do?  We saw it on bracelets and bumper stickers and facebook posts.

            But the real question, it seems to me, is this – WWJB?  Where would Jesus be?  We see in this and the last two months’ Gospels Our Lord out there, on the road, journeying to Jerusalem, encountering all kinds of people along the way.  You and I need to be in the same place as Jesus – out there, out of our homes, out of our church buildings, in places and situations in which we can encounter people and bring them the love, healing, mercy and yes redemption that only Jesus, through us, offers.

            Visiting the homebound perhaps.  Volunteering at a soup kitchen or hospice home.  As a big brother or big sister to an underprivileged youth.  Helping unwed expectant mothers at a crisis pregnancy center.  Just a few examples.

            One thing’s for sure – if we’re going to be where Jesus would be, WWJB, we need to go out into the world. Turn off the shows and the sports on the big-screen TV, turn off the handheld or the computer, hang up the golf clubs for awhile.  Focus on the only thing that will bring us true and lasting joy, lasting fulfillment, and that’s not a thing, He’s a person – Our Blessed Lord.  And focus on our mission of carrying on His mission to encounter the world. 

            Brothers and sisters, you and I must go out - into the world.  Because that’s where Jesus was, that’s where Jesus would be.  That’s where Jesus still is.

Homily - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B - Sat/Sun October 10/11 - Christ the King

Mass readings:  Today's readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101115.cfm

     

            It’s election season, and I came upon this story this week which I thought I’d share with you:

            A powerful politician died after a long illness, and his soul is whisked away to the gate of heaven, where he meets St. Peter at the entrance.

            "Welcome to Heaven," says St. Peter. "I have to tell you, we don’t see your type around these parts very often.  Here’s the deal – we'll have you spend one day in Hell and one in Heaven. Then you can choose where you want to spend eternity."
            "Oh I’m sure I want to be in Heaven," says the politician.
            "I'm sorry but we have our rules."  And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and down, down, down he goes to Hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a beautiful green golf course. There’s a massive clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians he had worked with him.  Everyone looks very happy in their formal evening attire. They run to greet him, hug him, and reminisce about all the good times they had while alive.
            They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar. He meets the Devil, who turns out to be a charming guy with a quick wit. They are having such a good time that, before he realizes it, it’s time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves while the elevator rises.
            Up up up goes the elevator and the door reopens where St. Peter’s waiting for him.
            "Now it's time to visit Heaven," says St. Peter.
            So 24 hours pass with the politician joining a group of peaceful, contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing praises to God. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
            "Well now, you've spent a day in Hell and another in Heaven. Now you have to choose your eternity."
            The politician thinks a minute, and then answers, "Well, I would never have said it, I mean Heaven has been delightful, but I think I’d be better off in Hell."
        So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator back down down he goes down Hell.  The doors of the elevator open and now he’s in the middle of a dark, barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed now in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The Devil comes over to him and lays his arm on his back.
        "I don't understand," stammers the politician. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf club and we ate lobster and caviar and danced and had a great time. Now all there is, is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.”
        The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...Today you voted for us!"

            Now in the context of today’s readings, this story has less to do with elections, and more to do with choosing.  For our readings today speak of choosing – making wise choices.  The first reading speaks of wisdom, and wisdom is defined as discerning what conforms to the will of God.  And our first reading tells us that wisdom is more valuable than power - scepter and throne.  Or worldly wealth - gold and silver. 

            And in our Gospel, St. Mark presents us with a real life example of wisdom – the story of a critical fork in the road.  The late Yankee great Yogi Berra said, “when you come to the fork in the road, take it” but real wisdom is knowing which way to go.  

            Our Lord Jesus looks on this rich man who’s kneeling before him with love, and presents him the most important fork in the road of his life.  The very crux of his life.  Abandon your possessions, give the money to the poor, and come follow me.  Or go away clinging to your stuff.  What are you gonna do?

            Now to his credit, the rich man has come to Jesus recognizing that something is missing in his life, that religiously following the law, the “rules,” from his youth is not enough, that there must be something more. 

            And also to his credit, the man is asking the right question, the most important question – “how do I gain eternal life”  He recognizes that there has to be more than this life, and he wants that, so how to get that?  Even if he phrases the question all wrong – “What must I do?” he asks. 

            Well we’re told how he chooses – he doesn’t see the great love Jesus has for him.  He doesn’t recognize that eternal life isn’t something he must do to earn, but a free gift this Jesus before Him wants to give to him.  And he walks away sad, for he has many possessions.  As much as he recognizes that something is seriously missing in his life, he can’t bring himself to part from the possessions he holds dear.  Eternal life might be pretty good, but is the promise of that off in the future worth giving up what I hold dear in the here and now?

            Brothers and sisters, you and I are faced with the same choice, at this moment and over and over again throughout our lives.  Do we trust in the love Jesus has for us?  Do we recognize that eternal life begins now, in following Jesus with all our being, in loving Jesus with all our hearts, or is it simply too much to risk what we hold dear?

            With the rich man, it was his many possessions that he couldn’t risk.  But I don’t think this Gospel is simply about giving up worldly possessions and giving to the poor, vital as that is.  After all, we can assume the rich man, in following the law, was generous to the poor.

            Rather I think it’s about giving up, becoming unattached to,  whatever it is that gets in the way of our following the Lord with all our mind, heart and soul.  Whatever keeps us from loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul.  Whatever that may be that gets in the way, and I dare say it’s different things for different people.

            Might be good things, or not so good things - habits, addictions or sins.  Might not even be a thing – could be a relationship, or ways of thinking, or beliefs.

            The politician in the story found the lure of power and luxury too attractive.  Maybe it’s prestige – being thought well of.  Maybe it’s the big house, nice car, or the big screen TV you think you could never part with.  I saw this on facebook this week – “The devil doesn’t come to you with his ugly, red  face and scary horns.  He comes to you disguised as everything you think you’ve ever wanted.”

            Whatever you and I in our heart of hearts, cling to and place ahead of our relationship with Our Blessed Lord is what He’s talking about. For real wisdom tells us that He and He alone is the only treasure of our lives, the only treasure worth our lives.

            For some, that might mean exactly the choice Jesus asked of the rich man in the Gospel – to give up everything to follow Him.  We have a wonderful example right here (Fr. Morgan, Fr. Paul) – someone who has given up all to follow Him and serve Him and His people.  As the year of consecrated life comes to a close, perhaps some here are likewise being called to such a vocation, to such a witness of the power and love of Jesus Christ in your life.

            But even if our vocation isn’t as a consecrated religious, as Christians we are called to a spiritual abandonment of all that is not Christ – to have a heart that, as St. Paul wrote, counts all as rubbish that is not Jesus Christ.

            In living this vocation, we are blessed to have the witness of all the saints and especially the Blessed Mother of God, who completely surrendered her life to the will of the Father, and by whose “yes” to the Father’s will we gained our Savior!  In the witness of Mary’s life, we see the real wisdom of God. 

            As we go forth, sisters and brothers, it is our task, yours and mine, to reflect on what exactly in each of our lives Our Lord is asking us to surrender – what exactly is it that is keeping us from following Him unreservedly?  And to ask for His grace, His help in putting that aside, fully trusting in His love, and in every decision of our lives, choosing Him who alone is our real treasure.