What Do You Get Out of Church? (3rd Sunday of OT, Year C)

 There's a story about a couple leaving church one Sunday. As they walked to the car, the wife asked her husband, "Did you see the strange hat Mrs. Jones was wearing?" “No, I didn't," replied the husband. “What about Bill Smith?” she asked, “he really needs a hair cut, don’t you think?" "I didn't notice," her husband said. “Well, you must have noticed the awful outfit that Ms. Brown tried to pull off,” his wife commented. “I missed that” her husband said. Fed up, his wife said, "You know, John, sometimes I wonder if you get anything at all out of going to church."

Now this of course is a ridiculous story, but one that illustrates an important truth. People get different things out of going to church, depending on what they focus on when they get there. Today's Gospel reading begins by telling us that when Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, he went up to Nazareth, which was his hometown, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.

These last words form an interesting statement that should make us pause and reflect. Jesus went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. In other words, it was his habit, his practice, and his custom to worship there on the Sabbath day. Now let’s remember when all of this is taking place. Jesus returns to Galilee, to this synagogue, after his baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit, here he is, after already having demonstrated his power and his righteousness; here he is, after miraculous healings and authoritative teachings. What does he do? He attends weekly worship in the synagogue in his hometown, according to his custom.

But why?

This question needs to be asked because there are many people who claim to be connected to God, many people who say they are aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives and in the world but who do not attend Holy Mass on a regular basis. People who profess to be spiritual but not religious. There are many who claim that they can be acceptable Catholics without a custom or habit of going to Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. That somehow they are exempt from this need for regular public worship because they are connected to God in their hearts. Others claim they don’t go very often because they don’t get that much out of it, that it’s too boring or dull and the priest always gives terrible homilies. Today in the gospel, we see that the most holy person this world has ever seen, the person who men and women recognize as being the most righteous and beautiful that history has produced, a person who had the deepest kind of prayer life and a profound intimacy with the Father, here we see that he attended public worship that he entered the synagogue, on a regular basis.

We might wonder, “what did the Son of God expect to learn during that time in the synagogue? What did he get out of it? Why did he go?” Surely he knew it all already? Surely the prayers of the temple, the psalms that were sung, the scriptures that were read, and the message of the rabbi were nothing new to him. We would all have understood if he had spent the time alone on a mountain or praying in the desert. Certainly it would have made sense if he used this time to rest and relax after a busy week of being about his Father's business. And yet he attended the public prayer of the synagogue, week in and week out, year in and year out.

I think that there are several lessons to be learned from Jesus’ custom of faithfully going to the synagogue on the Sabbath.

The first lesson is that he is giving us, his followers, a good example. As we know from the gospels, he came, not to abolish the law but to fulfill it And keeping holy the Sabbath was and still is a central element of keeping God’s laws. Jesus teaches us the importance of dedicating time, every week to worship God. He shows us that keeping holy the Sabbath is done by setting aside sacred time for God alone. Yes, often, there are many other “practical” concerns and demands that would seem to be better use of our time, but the example of Jesus shows us that weekly worship of God on Sundays should be a sacred time and a sacred duty that must not neglect. Instead, we should make this a top priority.

The second lesson involves the communal aspect of worship. Our presence at Sunday Mass is not simply about us as individuals. We come together as a body of believers, that very Body of Christ which St. Paul talks about in our second reading. And if one member disregards their spiritual life and neglects their Sunday obligation, it is not only they who suffer, but the whole Body of Christ. Jesus’ presence in the synagogue was likely more beneficial to those around him than to himself but through Him, God was able to lift the hearts and minds of others in prayer. The same can happen through us by our humble, faithful, and pious participation at Sunday Mass.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is an inexhaustible richness to the liturgy we celebrate each and every Sunday. Every week we sit and listen to the same Scriptures Jesus did. Jesus went back to the synagogue, week after week to hear the Word of God, to be encouraged by its promise, renewed by its power, and reminded of the Father’s love for the world. No student is greater than his teacher; how much more each of us needs that encouraging, renewing, and reminding that Scripture gives! And now, because of the gift of the Eucharist, we are fed not just with the Word of God but the very Body and Blood of Christ!! In this way, Sunday Mass fulfills God’s command to keep holy the Sabbath, it unites us the whole Body of Christ, and it opens our heart, mind, and soul to receive the infinite riches gained by Christ during his life on earth.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the homily, we get different things out of Mass, depending on what our expectations and efforts are. If we come to Sunday Mass expecting to be bored, unimpressed, distracted, unprepared, or stuck for an hour, that is likely what we will get. Even more so if we only come a couple times each month or a few times a year. But if we come to Mass faithfully, week after week, expecting to be inspired, renewed, guided, strengthened, forgiven, and taught, Christ will gladly give us these good things and many more. As we continue with this Mass, to worship God and thank Him for His many gifts, let us expect great things and abundant graces. We can be assured that God, in his infinite goodness will always give us more than we can ask or imagine.

Did Jesus Need to be Baptized (Baptism of the Lord, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

One of the most common questions we are asked as priests happens with Saturday weddings and holy days of obligation that fall on a Monday. Can you guess what the question is? I’ll bet you can because all of us have asked it at one time or another! Does the wedding count for Sunday? If I go Mass on Sunday night, do I need to go again on Monday for the Holy day? Of course, this question is much bigger than mass attendance; we humans like to learn what is needed and required so we know where we stand with God and each other. This same question comes up when we celebrate this feast, the Baptism of Jesus. Did Jesus NEED to be baptized? The short answer is, NO. Like everything dealing with our salvation and the Incarnation, Jesus was not required to do any of it; he chose to do all of it out of love and each action had real purpose and effect. 

The Fathers of the Church reflected deeply on the Lord’s baptism; their explanation is both true and beautiful. They concluded that Jesus was baptized in order to make the waters holy. He was not changed as John the Baptist submerged him but the water was! Jesus was baptized so the water could change us! And because Jesus is God, he has that power. The sacrament of baptism actually changes us, takes away our sins and spiritually cleans us. It’s not just a symbolic procedure that represents something abstract and unseen. When the water touches someone’s head and those words are said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, their sins are taken away and they are adopted as God’s son or daughter! It’s really an incredible thing, don’t you think? That Jesus has given such spiritual power to water to wash away our spiritual slop! Sam Houston was the first president of the Republic of Texas. It’s said he was a rather nasty fellow with a checkered past. Later in life Houston made a commitment to Christ and was baptized in a river. The preacher said to him, “Sam, your sins are washed away.” Houston replied, “God help the fish.”

Our celebration of Jesus’ baptism today acknowledges what he has done for us. It is also a chance to reflect on that crucial moment when we were claimed for Christ, many of us as little babies. The Church encourages us to observe our baptismal birthday each year in the same way we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. If you don’t know when that date was, you can contact the parish you were baptized and ask them to look it up. If your parish of baptism is closed, you can request the date from the Archdiocesan archives and I can give the the link to do that. My baptismal birthday is coming up! January 17, 1982 was the day I became a son of God and it is probably the most important date in my life because that was the moment that I was given the opportunity for eternal life! In honor of Jesus’ baptism, take some time in the next week or two to discover your baptismal birthday and thank God for cleansing the waters so they, in turn, could transform you!

I’d like to end the homily with a story. It’s one some of you may have heard before but it does a great job of reminding us what a privilege we have in becoming children of God through baptism. This sacrament unlocks access to God that was previously unthinkable and impossible.

During the American Civil War, a young soldier in the Union Army lost both
his older brother and his father in the Battle of Gettysburg. The soldier decided to go to Washington, to see President Lincoln. He wanted to ask for an exemption from military service so he could return to the family farm and help his sister and mother with the spring planting. Without his help, the planting would not be completed and his family would lose their farm. When he arrived in Washington, he went to the White House. Approaching the front gate, he asked to see the president. The guard on duty told him, “YOU can’t see the president, soldier! The president is a very busy man! Get back to the front lines, where you belong!”

Understandably crushed, the soldier wept outside the White House. In his despair he didn’t first notice a little boy staring at him. The child asked what was wrong. The soldier began to share his sad story. The little boy listened and said “I can help you.” He took the soldier by the hand and led him back through the front gate, entered a side door of the White House, where  they walked right past generals and high ranking officials, and yet no one said a word. The soldier couldn’t understand what was happening. Why didn’t anyone stop them? Finally they reached the Oval Office—where the president was working—and the little boy didn’t even knock on the door. He just walked right in and led the soldier in with him. There behind the desk was Abraham Lincoln, hard at work. The president glanced at the soldier and then looked at the boy with a smile. “Good afternoon, Tad. Can you introduce me to your friend?” And Tad Lincoln, the son of the president of the United States, said, “Dad, this soldier needs to talk to you.” The soldier pleaded his case before Mr. Lincoln and he received the exemption through the intercession of the president’s son.

Friends, God loves each of you, right here and right now. As his children, his door is always open to you for anything. We do not and cannot earn that love. It is being showered on us constantly, if we stop and receive it. But it’s not just about receiving for ourselves. We also must share the love God has for us by helping to lead others to our father where he can help and heal them. We are called to do this before being asked, before others have done good or bad, whether or not they deserve our favor and encouragement.

And after loving others, after creating an atmosphere of encouragement, kindness, and charity; pray and thank God, and do it all over again, knowing that this is how God cares for us every day as his beloved sons and daughters!