Homilies

In having the faith even the size of a mustard seed is an incredible God-given gift.  The potential of the faith that we have is enormous.  In fact, nothing is impossible with God.  When our gift of faith is a quality of life, a way of living, and a way of seeing, we will encounter the Lord in all that we say and do.    As we gather at Mass today, you may have come with family members, but with faith-filled eyes may we see all of us gathered as sisters and brothers coming together in the name of Jesus. When we trust in the faith that has been given to us by our faithful God, to raise $230,000 CMA dollars to help people in need across our diocese is very, very doable.  In fact, it is a privilege for us to share from our resources to help others in need.  This is not a burden.  This is living out our high calling as disciples of the Lord Jesus. 

Today’s Gospel begins with the words:  “There was a rich man.”  The real message in this parable of the rich man is that he needs to see his life in the context of stewardship.  We could critique Jesus in his parables as always talking about money.  Did not Jesus get the memo that money is personal, and you are not supposed to talk about it?  After all, we come to Church to pray. Very, very true.  We come to Church to pray.  We come to Church to raise our awareness about spirituality, do we not?  We come to pray and reflect on our longing for God. In last Sunday’s Gospel and this Sunday’s as well, Jesus stays on point to an essential component of spirituality and discipleship -- what we do with what we have is to the heart of discipleship.  Jesus is saying again and again in Luke’s Gospel that we are to share what we have with those who don’t have.  We are to serve and to help and to love one another.

The Word of God challenges us about our relationship with God and with one another.  If God is so generous and forgiving to us, we too must be generous and forgiving with one another.  We cannot be the disciples of Jesus and think and act merely in terms of the raw justice of the world.  None of us could be saved if God applied strict justice on the basis of our merits. The readings today remind us of the duty to imitate the God of utter magnanimity, graciousness and forgiveness. The Gospel confirms this message, albeit in a way that is not obvious at first glance. This parable challenges to think and act in the way that God in Jesus has shown us which is not raw justice of the world but the justice and the very mercy of God.

As we examine the conscience of the church living under the very dark cloud of sexual abuse and the recent bankruptcy filing of the diocese, we ask ourselves:  what gives?  Can we place our trust in the Church of Rochester as we live with this dark cloud of sexual abuse and bankruptcy?  Is this the time for us to look for another Church we can put our trust in?   Do we feel abandoned by the spiritual leaders we have previously trusted? The truth is yes we personally  at times, too many times, have abandoned the home of our heavenly father through our sinfulness.  Our sin has separated us from God’s love.   Yes, we have also been blindsided by the institution of the Catholic Church in the horrific crime of clergy sexual abuse and now the bankruptcy of the diocese.  Who can we trust? The answer is very, very clear.  We can trust now and forever in the abiding, reconciling love of our heavenly Father.  One thing has not changed in the life of the Church:  Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Our future as individuals and as a Church is full of hope.  Why?  Because Jesus goes with us now and forever.  This Church, your Church, needs you now more than ever.  Jesus had not abandoned the Church, and hopefully we do not abandon the Church just now. 

The Franciscan Biblical scholar Robert Karras has written a book entitled EATING YOUR WAY THROUGH LUKE’S GOSPEL. If you read Luke’s Gospel from cover to cover, you will find some 50 references to food. Much of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel is centered around table fellowship. Jesus sits down with all sorts of people. Jesus will share a meal with anyone from a Pharisee to a leper. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners much to the dismay of the more proper scribes and Pharisees. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is dining at the home of a leading Pharisee. Jesus has obviously been invited for more than pleasant conversation. The people at the meal are observing him carefully. He is known for not following protocol during his table fellowship. As the story proceeds, the dynamic shifts from the people observing Jesus to Jesus observing them. He is a wisdom teacher offering lessons in humility.

My friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is near the end of his public ministry. He is making His way to Jerusalem. The place where He will first make a triumphal entrance and just a few days later be arrested, put on trial, beaten and eventually crucified. In His divine wisdom, Jesus knows what’s coming and the closer he gets to Jerusalem, the more urgently He teaches about salvation. Along the way, someone approaches Him and asks, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” It’s an interesting question. But, it’s the answer Jesus provides that really gets my attention.