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.