Homily: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Friends,
our readings today remind us of the importance of giving witness to the faith
that we proclaim. In other words, they
remind us that it is not enough to say
that we believe certain things and that, therefore, we must behave in certain
ways. Rather, we must also act, striving to put into practice that
which we claim to believe. Failure to do
so harms us, as individuals, because each failure, big or small, is a sin: and
sin harms our relationship with God and with those around us. Failure to do so also harms the faith,
itself, because it leads people to believe that they don’t actually have to
behave in accord with the faith, since those who profess the faith don’t themselves
act in accord with it. We see this in
our lives, right? How many people do you
know who say, “I’d go to church and be active in the faith if I didn’t see so
many people who go to church acting contrary to the faith in their daily lives”? I’ve heard it numerous times from people
throughout my years as a priest. Yes, it
is crucially important that we give witness to the faith that we proclaim by
the way that we live our lives if we hope that others will decide to follow the
faith that we proclaim.
Now,
you might be sitting there and saying to yourself, “Wait, Father, weren’t the
readings talking about religious leaders who weren’t giving witness to the
faith, not the laity?” If you are, good
for you, because you’re right: the first reading and the Gospel reading were
messages directed at the religious leaders of their times. This is because it is doubly important for
those who teach the faith to give witness to it in their lives. Thus, the harsh words of the prophet Malachi
to the Old Testament priests, and the harsh words of Jesus about the scribes
and Pharisees in his time. As teachers,
they demanded strict adherence to the Law that they taught, but often failed to
live it out in their lives. Or, worse
yet, they made their own adherence more about puffing up their pride, than
about serving God and helping others to serve God, too. In other words, they held themselves up
because they were acknowledged teachers when, in reality, they should have been
striving to lead by giving witness to their teaching in the humble way that
they lived.
As
a priest, I can tell you that this week’s readings are like holding up a mirror
in front of me. As I read and reflect on
them, I am reminded of the immense responsibility that I took on my shoulders
when I agreed to be ordained a priest.
As an acknowledged leader of our religion, I am a “public person”, which
means that my actions no longer reflect only me and my personal convictions,
but also (and more prominently) the Church and all believers. Therefore, it is all the more important that
my actions reflect what I teach (and, of course, that what I teach is in accord
with the “deposit of faith”, that is, the teachings of the Church). When I (or any priest) fails to do so, it
hurts me, for sure; but it also hurts the faith and all believers because it
discredits the faith itself.
My
guess is that the majority of you here have had some experience with what it is
like when a priest (or a deacon, or a bishop) fails to act in accord with what
he teaches and how that has affected your own faith as well as the credibility
of the faith itself. This might be
something as simple as having a priest respond to you harshly, when you
expected kindness and charity, or as complex as a more public scandal of a
priest betraying his promises. Either
way, in greater and lesser degrees, these behaviors affect your ability to
trust the faith as well as the credibility of the faith when you try to teach
others about it. It can affect your
ability to be an effective witness to the faith as well as create barriers that
prevent others from coming into the faith.
Thus,
as I, a teacher of the faith, stand here before you, I want to take this opportunity
to say to you that, on behalf of my brother priests, I am sorry for any time
that our behavior has hurt you, and, thus, your faith. I know that the great majority of my brother
priests acknowledge the responsibility that we take on when we agree to be
ordained and that we strive every day to fulfil that responsibility. We still make mistakes, of course, but our
goal is to serve and to give good witness to the faith. Some priests, however, are more like the
priests described in the first reading and the scribes and Pharisees described
in the gospel reading. These are the
ones about whom it can be said, “listen to what they teach, but do not follow
their example.” As Catholics (clergy and
laity), we must stand together to ensure that these individuals do not harm the
faith by their “false witness”: that is, their actions that do not accord with
the faith they teach.
Pope
Saint Paul VI once said, “Modern man more readily listens to witnesses than
teachers; and if he listens to a teacher, it is because the teacher is first a
witness.” Friends, Bishop Doherty’s pastoral
plan for our diocese, Uniting in Heart, has at its heart the goal of evangelizing
our diocese. This work of evangelization
will be most effective when the evangelizers (you and me) are first strong
witnesses to the faith by the way we live our lives. Thus, we are each called (me, especially) to
examine our lives and to root out any behaviors that contradict the faith in
any way, so that the witness of our lives will be the first evangelization,
thus giving credit to the words that we will teach when those who have been
evangelized by our witness seek to understand the faith that we are living.
As
we approach this altar today, we are reminded that our Lord Jesus offered
himself as the perfect witness to the truth of his teaching: “No one has
greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Following his example and strengthened by the
grace that we receive by his sacrifice offered on this altar, let us
courageously take up this good work of becoming ever more authentic witnesses
of our faith so that God’s kingdom might be manifest among us and we might be
made ready for the glory that awaits us in heaven.
Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN –
November 5th, 2023
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