How is the Shepherd of the Flock at work among us?

+ J. M. J. +

Homily Outline for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Jesus had gone to some lengths to give Himself time with His apostles in a deserted place, but even there people find them. The last sentence of the Gospel sets our theme:

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ responds with spontaneous love and mercy towards the vast crowd, the Heart that would be pierced by the lance already pierced by love. He sees their broken and hungry hearts, He sees their sinful and confused hearts. Without a shepherd of their souls, they are wandering, drifting, astray, and vulnerable. He is moved deep within Himself, and He teaches them. Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, True God and True Man, the Living Word of the Father teaches them.

In this moment we see how God kept His promise to His people. The People of Israel, God’s Chosen People, had gone astray, they had been lead astray, and had ended up far from God, surrounded by bitterness and failure. The He made a promise through the prophet Isaiah:

I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land.

This is just what God did… He DID NOT SPEAK THROUGH HIS PROPHET IN VAIN. God keeps His promises. God keeps His promises to us. In the fullness of time His Only Son Jesus Christ came to us, the righteous shoot, the king to reign and govern wisely. He reigned and governed and taught and saved, all of this labor perfected when He went to the Cross and died, and was buried, and rose again.

Now, my brothers and sisters in Christ, here is where it really gets interesting, but also challenging… After Jesus had ascended into heaven, what did He leave? A book? It wouldn’t be written and collected together for decades. He left a living community, the Church, chief among them the Apostles. They had received His authority to teach, to sanctify, and to govern the flock. We are connected to that flock, and here in our midst is a living successor of the Apostles, standing in that line, in that mission. This is not a theory, it is not an idea, it is a living reality, and Bishop Sample is in our midst, and through him we are shepherded, through him we are connected in a living way to Jesus Christ. He ordained me, and sent me to you as your shepherd; let me emphasize the smallness of that S. Bishop Sample participates in the very fullness of Christ’s priesthood, and he ordains priests, and deacons, to be his sons and collaborators in that mission. I am able to celebrate this Eucharist for you, and to absolve your sins because he laid hands on me and invoked the Holy Spirit and ordained me a priest of Jesus Christ. Thus the rich gifts of the sacraments continue to pour forth from the loving shepherd heart of Christ upon the Church. Listen to the words Paul uses to describe this mission:

you who once were far off have become near… he … made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity …establishing peace…He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

This is what the Lord is speaking to us, a little portion of the flock desperately in need of shepherding, we who in so many different ways need to be drawn near to the Father, we who need to have our barriers broken, we who need to receive God’s peace, we who have been far off and are now drawing near to this altar. Through Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd of the Flock, we have access in the Holy Spirit to the Father.

Look within your heart and life… where is God calling you to be reconciled? Where has your conscience been bothering you and inviting you?

Thus far, brothers and sisters in Christ, it might sound like I’m painting a pretty dramatic picture of my mission to you… Well, I think it is pretty dramatic, to be here as your pastor, to be called to be an assistant shepherd to this particular portion of God’s flock. I won’t apologize for thinking that is pretty awesome. HOWEVER… this is not my mission, as in my personal possession. A number of you have asked me to bring back the lost sheep, and I’m sure as you said this, you had the faces of any number of loved ones before your mind’s eye. We all know many others who should be here right now. I am confident God is calling me to be part of this… but I cannot do it alone. How will I meet our lost sheep? Who will bring them to me? Who will encourage them? Who will invite them? Most important, most difficult: who will live for them in such a way that they want to draw near? Who will live the burning fire of Jesus’ pierced heart? It cannot be me alone. That is not Bishop Sample’s call, it is not my call in the sense that it is not also your call. God will do this work in us, but it must be US, and not someone else over there. Together, all things are possible in God. As we prepare to draw near this altar to receive the Shepherd of our Souls, let us place on this altar in prayer our need for conversion and healing, and let us place on this altar every person who should be here with us right now, and ask God that together we may be His instruments in drawing together every member of the flock.




 (the readings for this weekend: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072212.cfm )

What's this preaching thing all about?

Homily Outline for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Let me begin by making a confession – I think God called me to be a priest so that I would sleep through fewer homilies!  Unfortunately, I know firsthand how easy it is to drift away.  As we begin our shared mission together, I commit myself to trying NOT to put you to sleep!

As your pastor, one of my most sacred duties is to preach to you the Word of God.  The priest’s mission can be summarized with the tria munera Christi, that is to say, the three tasks, or duties, or burdens, or offices of Christ.  The priest’s mission is to be priest, prophet, and king—to sanctify, to teach, and to govern as a servant.  One prominent expression of my prophetic teaching mission is the Sunday homily.  We see the roots of this mission in our readings today. 

Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach the Gospel, specifically repentance.  This mission of preaching the Truth of Jesus Christ is also foreshadowed in our first reading.  We hear of the prophet Amos, who was not a professional, but a shepherd and vinedresser, used to working in quiet solitude. Amos said, “The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  An authentic prophet is very frequently one to whom this call comes unexpectedly!  Amos did not expect to be called away from his flocks and vineyards and sent to the king, nor did the Twelve expect to be called from their nets and sent to the nations.  While I’ve never had a flock of sheep myself, I studied forestry, like my dad, and in high school and college I definitely imagined myself shepherding trees, not people!  Trees might have been more cooperative!

These then, are the roots of what we do here together each time we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Our mother, the Church, gathers us and places before us the Living Word of God, and as your priest, I am charged with breaking this open and putting it in contact with our lives.  What is this meant to achieve?  Well, first of all, it is meant to prepare us for encountering the Living Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, at this altar.  The Liturgy of the Word is an essential part of the Mass, but it is also preparatory.  It tills the soil of our hearts so that Christ Himself can be planted there. 

What tools shall I use to do this? Well, I will certainly attempt to entertain you from time to time, mostly at my own expense!  I’m not one for telling a lot of lengthy stories or jokes during Mass, but my own weakness often gives me occasion to invite you to laugh with me!  I will also attempt, with God’s help, to teach you.  Our faith is a rich gold mine, far too broad and deep for any one of us to every fully master it. Our Church communicates God’s self-revelation to us, but if we can wrap our minds completely around something, rest assured, it’s not God!  So, we are constantly called deeper into mystery, knowledge, and understanding—to know Jesus’ teaching, but even more importantly, to know Christ Jesus Himself.  Have you ever been asked, “Do I know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior?”  The manner in which many Fundamentalist or Evangelical Christians understand this is incomplete, but it’s still an excellent question to ask ourselves.  Every person is indeed called to an intimate and loving relationship with the Lord.

Most importantly, in each homily I want to invite each of you, and myself, to deeper conversion.  I want to encourage and persuade and convince you to come closer, to go deeper, and to seek the Lord.  Even more, I want to encourage you to say “Yes” to God’s call in your life, whatever form that may take.  In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul said:

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

We were also chosen… every one of us!  This call to be priest, prophet, and king is not something that is exclusive to ordained priests. The most basic reality of this triple mission came to us by baptism.  By your baptism, you are priest, prophet, and king to the world. Is that the same in each person’s life?  Of course not: the young mother, the retired engineer, the fifth-grader, Carmelite nun, the forester, and the priest each live this differently.  In the midst of our daily lives, though, we are each called to holiness, to a radical and transforming love for the Lord, and to be His servants in transforming our very broken world.  If we are to do this, WE must first be transformed ourselves.  This is my task… more importantly, this is OUR task!  No one here can do it alone, but working together, all things are possible in God.    

Every Mass begins with the Collect, often referred to as the “Opening Prayer.”  As its proper name suggests, it is meant to collect, to gather up, our desires and lives as the Mass begins, and to focus them.  Listen to our prayer today again:

O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians / the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ / and to strive after all that does it honor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Together we all say, Amen… so be it, may this be done in our lives today.

My First Sunday Homily as a Pastor... An Invitation

Homily Outline for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a great joy and privilege to be among you for the first time as your pastor! I hope I know how little I have earned or deserve such a title, and yet in God’s providence here I am with you. In that light, the readings this Sunday are not a little daunting! God said to Ezekiel: “Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! And whether they heed or resist--for they are a rebellious house--they shall know that a prophet has been among them.” Yikes! What is God saying to us here!? Then, even more ominous, Jesus preaches in His hometown, and is able to do almost nothing because they have little faith and their hearts are hardened against him. Now, this certainly isn’t my hometown, but having spent the last year down in Chicago finishing my thesis, coming back to the U.P. certainly feels to me like coming home! Is God warning me? Is He warning you?

Fortunately, I don’t think these readings foretell your rejection of me, but nonetheless, I do believe they speak right to the heart of our shared situation. We are God’s people—He created us in love and lovingly sustains each one of us in existence at each moment. He redeemed us on the Cross and through our baptism, by which each one of us is priest, prophet, and king. As such, we are called to holiness, and nourished and empowered by the Word and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. By baptism we are members of Christ’s Body, the Church, and members of His family.

All of this is a gift, graces freely offered to us, if we will but accept them. But… THERE’S the rub… WILL we accept such gifts? Adam and Eve rejected them. The People of Israel, from Abraham on down, often failed to respond to God’s call and mercy. Most of Jesus’ countrymen and women, whether in Galilee or Jerusalem, rejected Him and turned away, to the point that He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Are we any different? If we look around our country, if we look around our Church, if we look around our community… we can certainly see a lot of people who say they’re Christians mixed up in a whole lot of stuff that certainly isn’t holy. Far more to the point… what do I see when I look into my own heart? What do you see when you look into your own soul? Is it possible that at times we haven’t always responded to God’s gifts with joy?—the gentle nudge to help someone in need? The Lord’s invitation to forgive or seek forgiveness? Is it possible that before the Lord we have been “hard of face and obstinate of heart,” as the Lord said to Ezekiel? I know for myself that these words strike uncomfortably close to home, inviting me not so much to harsh judgment of a very broken world, but rather inviting me to re-evaluate my own choices, and to seek the Lord.

In our 2nd reading, St. Paul dramatically describes his own journey into a deeper relationship with Christ, a journey that reached its deepest and most intimate point when he came face to face with his own  weakness.  We don’t know what the “thorn in his flesh” was, but it must have been terrible. St. Paul wanted it to go away: “Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” God’s great gift to St. Paul was to reveal to him his total and utter reliance on God’s grace. This same invitation is made to you and me—will we turn a hard face and an obstinate heart to the grace offered us by the Lord? Will we turn away rather than face deeper conversion and healing, rather than embrace a call to greater generosity and service? Will we follow the crowd and go with flow of our sad and broken world, seeking ephemeral fame or prosperity or comfort rather than the Lord? It’s certainly not impossible! In fact, it seems to be more and more the majority preference… but that path is not God’s path, it is not the path of the Gospel, it is not the path of a Christian. You are called, and I am called…we are called together to holiness, to higher things, to a deeper joy, even in the midst of struggle and failure.

So, my friends… where do we turn for courage when we fail? Where do we turn for grace as we become more and more aware of how much we need God’s help? Listen again to the words of the psalmist: “To you I lift up my eyes who are enthroned in heaven -- / As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters. / As the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, / So are our eyes on the LORD, our God, till he have pity on us.”

At this altar we will stand in the presence of Jesus Christ Himself, just as surely as the people of His hometown did on that day when He preached to them despite their hardened hearts. In the Eucharist we will encounter Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. No one here will approach this altar worthy to receive this gift, and yet in His infinite mercy the Lord will offer Himself to us. May we receive him with joy, deeply aware of our desperate need for His infinite grace and mercy.

"For God so loved the world..."

A new venue...

Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears...

I'm now the pastor at (from west to east) St. Sebastian Parish in Bessemer, Immaculate Conception Parish in Wakefield, and St. Catherine Mission in Marenisco!  May the good Lord save us all!

It is very exciting to be back in the UP, and both exciting and daunting to be a pastor of three communities.  I know the Holy Spirit will be very much at work, and that I have a great deal to learn.

As I transition back into parish life from this past year of further studies, I'm hoping to post my homilies here regularly, and perhaps other commentary as well.

This western end of the UP is big snow country, so the title here is all the more apt!

God Bless,
Fr. Ben


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