Monday, June 6, 2016

More than experts in spiritual things...

Homily: 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
          Mass, giving counsel to a teenager suffering from cancer, a youth ministry meeting, washing laundry, celebrating a wedding, going to a graduation party, responding to an emergency call to the hospital, and playing in a softball game… this pretty much sums up my last 48 hours (oh, and I did eat, sleep, and say a few prayers once or twice in the midst of all of that).  Now, I’m not sharing these things because I want you to think I’m important.  Nor do I share these things because I want you to pity me because I’m “so busy”.  Rather, I share these things because as I reflected on these last 48 hours, none of it made me step back and say, “What the heck am I doing?”  Let me try to explain.
          Like every vocation, the vocation to the priesthood is rich and complex.  While on the surface it might seem like the priest is here to lead us in prayer and otherwise be a kind of “professional about spiritual things” (much like a doctor is a professional about medical things and a contractor is a professional about construction things), the fullness of what the priesthood is is much deeper than that.
          As I reflect on my last 48 hours and on what the fullness of the priesthood is—or, perhaps, it would even be good to say of why the priesthood is—I feel like I can boil it down to just a few main things.  First, the priest, more than just being an “expert about spiritual things”, is meant to be a reminder of God’s physical presence and closeness in the world and to be his prophet.  In the book of Deuteronomy the author proclaims, “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?”  This closeness, of course, was amplified infinitely when God, himself, took on human flesh so that he could walk among us, dine with us, speak his words to us directly, and suffer with and for us.  Since then God has continued to remain this close to us in the form of his priests.  To see a man walking around in black clothing and a white collar is a reminder that God is always close by.  And a priest must always be careful of the words that he speaks, because he always speaks as a prophet of God.
          Second, the priest is someone who intercedes to God on behalf of the people.  In other words, he is one who takes the prayers, praises, and offerings from the people and presents them before God.  This is most obvious here at the Mass when, at the offertory, we present our gifts to the Lord to be offered to him at this altar.  All of you bring your gifts to me, one chosen from among you, so that they can be offered collectively to God, together with our petitions and our praises, in thanksgiving for the abundant blessings he bestows upon us.  This happens in other situations, too, however.  Like when a sick and suffering person will ask the priest to pray on their behalf because they are in too much suffering to pray themselves.  The priest is meant to be the one through whom, we can be assured, God hears our prayers.
          Third, the priest is meant to be a conduit through whom God’s blessings come to his people.  In other words, the priest is not a “one-way” channel, passing the people’s prayers, praises, and offerings to God, but rather a “two-way” channel in which God’s sends his blessings down to his people.  Again, this is effected most concretely in the sacraments, which are seven practical ways in which we receive grace from God; but it also happens when we receive a word of consolation or direction from a priest that reminds us that God’s grace is always available to us when we seek it.
          These characteristics of the priesthood are supported by the Scriptures, even those that we heard today.  In the first reading, we heard about how the prophet Elijah interceded with God on behalf of the widow with whom he was staying to revive her son so that she would not be alone.  God heard the prayer of the “man of God” and responded to restore this woman’s son to her.  In the second reading, we heard Saint Paul claiming that he had been “set apart from his mother’s womb” for the task of proclaiming God’s truth to the world—a truth that he had received in direct revelation from God—not because of his exceptional worthiness (he, himself, admits that he was the Church’s greatest persecutor), but rather simply because God had called him.  Finally, in the Gospel reading, we see Jesus, himself—Emmanuel: God with us—acting in his role as Eternal High Priest and bringing God’s blessing of healing by restoring to life the son of the widow in Nain.  The priest as God’s presence and prophetic voice, as one who intercedes with God on behalf of his people, and as one who brings God’s blessings to his people.  This is the priesthood that I, and my brother priests, continue to live today.
          We are all very familiar, I suspect, with the fearful talk about the shortage of priests in the Church.  Unfortunately, I think that this fearful talk tends to focus on the wrong thing.  It often focuses on “Will we have a priest to staff my parish?” and “If not, will we have to close?”  These are valid concerns, to be sure.  But I think that the more necessary concern ought to be a concern that the three things that I mentioned would be lacking for us: that there would be no one who would be a sign of God’s living presence among us, that there would be no one to offer our prayers, praises, and sacrifices to God on our behalf, and that there would be no one to bring God’s blessings to us in concrete ways.  Perhaps these concerns underlie our concern about our parishes, but it’s certainly helpful to say them out loud.
          My brothers and sisters, this coming Saturday our bishop will ordain two men to the priesthood for our diocese; for this we should rejoice!  Hopefully, however, we also will be energized to promote vocations to the priesthood among our young men.  I guarantee you that it is not God’s fault that we are short on priests, he is not failing to call young men to this vocation, but rather that we are not doing enough to ensure that young men are hearing this call.  Our Lord wants to work many more miracles in our day, and he desires priests to help make that happen.  And so, let us commit ourselves to promoting this among our young men; and let us be sure to support the young men already responding to this call.  For when we do, we ensure that God’s powerful presence among us will remain visible and active; and, through his grace poured out upon us, our world will be transformed to prepare us for the glory that awaits us in eternal life: the glory we view dimly even now, here in this Eucharist.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – June 4th & 5th, 2016

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