27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (Cycle A)

At first glance, the readings today might seem like an endorsement from God to take a nice fall drive to some of the wonderful wineries that are nearby. The first reading, psalm and gospel all tell us, in great detail, about vineyards: cultivated, planted, and ready for the harvest. It sounds wonderful, especially as Autumn envelopes us with its cool breeze and tapestry of vivid colors! But there is a problem in these vineyards; a big problem. These are not just any fields full of grapes; they are the vineyards of almighty God. He has taken the time and trouble to turn the earth, remove the trees, bushes, rocks, stumps, and roots from the soil. He has planted the vines in long straight rows, installed a tower for guarding, a hedge to keep out the pesky animals that would steal the fruit, and even built a winepress in anticipation of the great harvest. In the first reading, the grapes indeed come but they are wild, bitter, unusable. 

In the gospel, Jesus offers a similar parable to the chief priests and leaders of the people. It is actually the second of three judgment parables (we heard the first last week with the two sons who were asked by their father to go work in his field). In Jesus’ version, the landowner does all the hard work and then entrusts it to tenants to care for and harvest his field at the appointed time. This time, there is a great harvest but the tenants get greedy and want to keep it for themselves. When the landowner sends for his share, they beat, kill, and terrorize his servants. No matter how many he sends, they ignore him and mistreat his messengers. In a final, generous gesture, he sends his son, hoping that will cause them to be reasonable. It only makes them more irrational and they kill the son. Jesus asks what should be done to these wicked, greedy servants who have killed not only the master’s servants but also his beloved son. They answer that the evil tenants should be put to death and the vineyard given to better tenants. Jesus then turns their own judgment against them: in the same way, the kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to a people who will produce good fruit. He will do the very same thing next week and, not surprisingly, the leaders will start looking for a way to kill him.

It can be very easy for us to listen to these parables, shake our heads, roll our eyes, and think what blind fools these chief priests and leaders must have been. I mean, didn’t they see it coming? Didn’t they know that Jesus was talking about them?! But if we fall into that trap, if we fail to apply these parables to ourselves, then we are becoming the very same people and will experience the exact same result.

When you think about it, the readings are more than a little bit frightening. The readings are demanding that we bear fruit or have the Kingdom of God taken from us. This is contrary to the popular feel good concept of Divine Justice. I am referring to the attitude in life that results from reducing God to a weak, pushover who does not hold us accountable for our actions. Yes, we commend our dead to the mercy and compassion of God. And God certainly promises us mercy and forgiveness for each and every sin so long as we are sorry and seek absolution. But this does not absolve us from our present responsibility to live as the Lord told us to and to do the work of God. We have to move away from the mentality that we can get away with purposely behaving badly, acting without concern for the consequences of our actions. 

All of us are tempted to believe that God will forgive and forget, no matter how badly or how often we reject Him. It is a horrible thing to assume that God really doesn’t care about our sins. This is contrary to Scripture. This is why we teach our children from the time they can understand right and wrong about sin and responsibility along with God's love and mercy. It is not good enough to be better than the worst sinner out there. I can’t tell you how many people get defensive when confronted about a sin in their life and say something like, “well, at least I haven’t killed anybody.” Our actions are judged by themselves, not in comparison to the actions of others. Not only are we called to take responsibility for our actions, we are also called to recognize the consequences of our inaction. In the parable, the keepers of the vineyard are condemned for not producing fruit. 

We are called to lead others to God, especially within our own families. We need to ask God to help us fight against anything that is keeping us from giving our best to His people. He has planted His vineyard, His Kingdom within each of us. Each of our lives contain the rows and rows of God’s gifts, blessings, and protections. We need to produce a harvest from the field of our hearts, which has been planted by God himself. But we cannot do this alone. Nor do we have to. God is present with His Grace to help us fight off the temptations to push Him aside. We receive communion weekly for the strength to care for His vineyard and to ask pardon when we have failed. Our actions have consequences. Fortunately, this is not restricted to the negative. Good actions have good consequences. In the conclusion of the parable, those who made the best use of the talents God has given hear, "Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your master.” May we too hear those words because of our loyal service to him!

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (Stewardship Sunday)

As we approach the end of our month of stewardship, I thought I would devote a homily to the history of the parish and how stewardship built the building we pray in. Hopefully you will find it as interesting as I did.This church was founded in the spring of 1895, responding to the request from a number of German-speaking people in the area for a new parish. A number of lots, 17.5 in fact, and a building known as the Murdoch mansion were purchased and the first mass was celebrated in the home on July 28th, 1895. 

About two years later, a wood frame church was completed and consecrated. It was located behind this present church, somewhere around where the parking lot gate and gym are now. The name was finalized as St. Michael the Archangel, although Corpus Christi had been the first choice. The new church of 1897 held about 160 people and cost about $1800.

St. Michael continued to grow through the years, and by 1910, a transept or wing was added to the church so that it could now hold 320 people. The school continued to grow from 46 students in 1895 to nearly 250 when a decision was made to build a new church. In 1939, Fr. Preuss moved to build this current church that we are sitting in. He had already been pastor for some 30 years, but he was confident that the beautiful new building would be supported by the people and benefit them for generations to come.  At the time of construction, there were 350 registered families in the parish. The new church cost around $91,000, which would be equivalent to about $1.4 million dollars in today’s market. 

Allow me to highlight a few of the beautiful details of this church, which is now approaching its 75th year. 

Windows: Most of the stained glass in the church was crafted by the Emil Frei company. They still operate from their shop in Kirkwood and one of the family is a member of this parish. The Frei company did Stained glass for many churches throughout St. Louis, both catholic and non-catholic. To give you a perspective on the treasure that we have here, the center window above the altar, the image of St. Michael is about 12 sq. ft. If this was built today, it would cost about $1400 a sq. ft. or about $18,000. Such a window, full of detail and skill would take about 3 months to complete. The other windows on either side of the sanctuary, which depict the four gospel writers would cost about $950 a sq. ft. and take about a month each. The other windows in the church, while less elaborate and valuable, still add to the beauty and presence of this wonderful space.

Wood: the exposed beams of the ceiling are made of solid wood timber and fitted together with bolts and pins. On the front of each wood truss is a hand carved face of an angel, perhaps the friends of St. Michael. If you look closely, you might see little variations between each cherub as the craftsman, Alfred Hagemann, labored to complete them. 

Arches: There are 24 stone arches and also stone columns throughout the church. They are not facades covering steel or wood supports. They are made of solid Indiana Limestone.

Entry doors: These doors you enter each week are made of solid oak. The front doors lack traditional hinges and are mounted with hand-wrought brackets integrated into the masonry. They each weigh hundreds of pounds. 

Altars: the side altars of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the Sacred heart were imported from Italy and are made from Red Verona Marble. The main altar uses St. Genevieve rose marble, which comes from St. Genevieve, MO and was considered the best american marble at the time.

Finally, we have the reredos. Hand-carved in Germany, it has statues of the apostles as well as the depiction of the crucifixion. Angels and other beautiful embellishments can be found throughout. We can only imagine the skill and time involved in carving and assembling this masterpiece that we enjoy every time we gather here to pray. 

Although it seems like a bargain today, the sum for this church would have been intimidating. The Great depression had ravaged the economy and people’s savings about 10 years prior. Hostilities among nations was increasing and World War II was already beginning in Europe. It would have been very safe and easy to settle for the old frame church of 1897. But the parishioners and pastor of St. Michael wanted to do more for God and each other than what was strictly required or practical. They wanted a beautiful church that would glorify God and proclaim their faith. They wanted a building that would not only help them grow closer to the Lord, but would also be well-built and beautiful for generations to come, so that many others could be blessed by their sacrifice and foresight. 

This, in a nutshell, is stewardship. Taking a piece of the best of what we have been blessed with and consecrating it back to God. A true steward does this as a way of thanking God for the gifts that have been received. It is not about tax deductions, or status, or even getting something named after us. Those are all bonus items. Stewardship realizes that everything we have is a gift from God; each day of our life, each talent and ability that we have discovered and refined, each dollar and material thing we own, all of them gifts. Stewardship says, “I am going to give a small portion of those blessings back to the Lord” Not the leftovers or things that I really don’t don’t want or need. No, a portion of the best; that is what we give to God.

We see this reflected in this church. Everything is beautiful, well-built from the best materials, and made to last. We have received this church as a gift from the parishioners that went before us. Now this is our time to be stewards, to care for the church, to further her mission, to give a portion of the best of ourselves: our time, our talents, and yes, our treasure. We need to give all three, in the measure God shows us, so that this parish can continue to feed and foster the faith of generations to come. My prayer for you and for me, is that we become better stewards every time we walk in these doors and that generations from now, our faith will be apparent to those who are still praying in this place!

Life is not Fair! (25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

How many of you in church this morning happen to be the oldest child in your family? Go ahead and raise your hand, so I can see how many sympathizers I have! As a matter of fact, those of you who are higher up in the birth order might also agree with me. I believe, as a general rule, and I am being completely biased here, that the oldest child has life a little bit harder than the youngest. Why? Well, our parents were experiencing parenthood for the first time and they wanted to do everything just right. Prior to our arrival, many of them read books and listened to experts explain about how to dialogue with baby, how to prepare him or her for a bright future from the instant of birth, and what procedures to put in place so that this bundle of joy could be healthy, wealthy, and wise. The truth is, most of our parents learned on the fly and we essentially served as very talkative and often irritating guinea pigs. By the time, our younger siblings came along, they had things somewhat figured out, important things like “don’t sweat the small stuff” and “they will be fine.”  

I still watch in disbelief at the liberties of my younger siblings. Did you know that you can get your driving permit before the age of 17? I can’t imagine having Facebook in grade-school? Or my own room! Or cable TV in the house! Only in my dreams would I have asked about staying out with friends past midnight! Having a cell phone to begin high school wasn’t even an option! These things, which would have been grounds for capital punishment in my youth are now tolerated and even approved by my parents! One of the first reactions that comes to my mind often as the oldest is: “That’s not fair! I had to work a lot harder and wait longer for those same privileges!”

But you don’t have to be high in the birth order to feel that life isn’t fair. We humans have a pretty good sense of that. We see good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. We see some people labour for hours for a morsel of bread, and others make hundreds of thousands of dollars with a simple phone call. We see some who are physically fit and look after themselves die suddenly and others who abuse their health and still live to a ripe old age. We could go on and on with examples, but the simple truth is: “Life is often unfair.”

At first glance, the gospel appears to be one more example of this truth. Jesus describes the kingdom of God with a parable, a story where a landowner hires workers to toil in his vineyard. Some he hires early in the morning, others, around noon, and even a group at the end of the day. To all of them he promises to pay them what is just. At the end of the day, when all of the workers are lined up to receive compensation, the master starts with the last to arrive. He gives them a full day’s wage for their hour’s work. When the laborers, who toiled the entire day are paid the same amount, they grumble in disappointment. 

I don’t know about you, but I tend to sympathize with the guys who put in a whole day’s work. Something about the whole thing just doesn’t sit right. How can a person who worked an hour receive the same amount as one who worked the whole day? And this is what the kingdom of heaven is supposed to be like?  

But if we take a moment to shed our indignation and outrage, if we humbly reflect on the final words words of the master, then we see that this parable is not about fairness at all. No, it is all about generosity! The same Divine generosity that moved Christ to eat with tax collectors, and hang around with prostitutes and known criminals, and heal people on the Sabbath day, and tell sinners that they were forgiven simply because they had faith in him, simply because they repented and trusted him. If we choose to see life only in terms of fair or unfair, if we view God’s generous love and forgiveness as something to be earned, we will quickly be upset at how merciful He is and how freely He shares his life with the sinful and imperfect. It won’t be long before this mindset makes us blind to our own need for God’s grace and how imperfect we ourselves truly are. This is the attitude that led the Scribes and Pharisees to reject Christ. This is the attitude that blinded them to their own need for salvation. This is the attitude that prevented them from receiving the many good things Jesus desired to give them.

As we reflect on this parable today, this story which teaches us so much about the kingdom of God and how He loves us, we should thank God that he doesn’t deal with us according to what we believe is fair and unfair. No, even though we have a God who is infinitely fair and just, he doesn’t deal with us simply in those terms. If he did, we would not be forgiven, we would not have the sacraments, we would not be capable of eternal life. Thankfully, we have a God who always treats us with overwhelming generosity and mercy. All of us, even the best of us, has received immeasurably more than we earned from God, the master of the vineyard. 

So let us thank God, right here and right now in this Eucharist, for his extravagant generosity. Let us show him our gratitude for the countless ways he enriches our lives, even though we have done nothing to deserve such kindness. Let us be joyful when we see God pouring his love and blessing on others rather than focusing on whether or not it is fair or deserved. We are all his children and we all need his love; we all need his forgiveness. And praise God, that is what we receive when we turn to God, when we receive Christ into our lives and do the work that he has set before us to do.

My friends - we don't earn God's love; we respond to it. God loves you.  End of story. God loves you. Beginning of brand new story. May we live that new story.  May we come to God in gratitude for what he has done for us, and in thanksgiving for what he does for everyone who turns to him.  

Triumph of the Holy Cross

Perhaps many of you know how important a figure was a man named Constantine. He was the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, who ruled early in the 4th century. In 313, He issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal, and from there, our Faith grew by leaps and bounds. His rule brought a unity between the Eastern and Western kingdoms and his seat of power became the city of Constantinople. As important as Constantine was, his mother was equally important in the history of Christianity. Her name was Helena and she was a strong woman. One of her missions was to find the cross that Jesus died on. She tore down a pagan temple and began digging for the true cross. Tradition holds that she found three crosses and had to figure out which one belonged to Christ. There was a sick woman, near death, who was brought to the site. When she was placed on the first two crosses, her condition didn't improve. When she touched the third cross, she was healed instantly. At that moment, St. Helena knew she had found the cross that redeemed the world from its sins. The cross was cut into tiny pieces and sent all over the world. The Cathedral basilica has a one of these pieces of the true cross and you can venerate it on Good Friday.

Thanks to St. Helena, we can see and touch the Holy Cross, which as Catholics, probably doesn’t seem all that strange or unusual. But take another look up at the altar, look at the crucifixion scene where Christ hangs above his Mother Mary and the Apostle John. If we stop and think about it, at least in human terms, celebrating the cross is not only unusual; it is downright illogical. By modern standards, Jesus was a total failure. He had no college degree - in fact, he had very little formal education at all. He had no career - in fact, for the last three years of his life he had no paying job at all. He had very little money - in fact, he had to live entirely from donations and begging. He didn't have a fancy house or chariot - he slept outside most of the time, and traveled by foot. He had no friends among the elite - in fact, they considered him a lunatic and a criminal. He wasn't even popular among the people of his hometown - when he preached in their synagogue, they tried to throw him off a cliff. By all the standards according to which success is usually measured, Jesus was a total failure and this failure would be most powerfully seen in his death on the cross, which was considered the most painful and humiliating way to die.

And yet, St Paul is able to write in today's Second Reading that God the Father has given him "the name that is above every name," and he is the Lord before whom "every knee must bend." Why did God the Father raise Jesus to the eternal throne of glory, exalting him so thoroughly, if his life was a failure?

     This happened because God's standards are different than this world's standards. According to God's standards, Jesus triumphed in the one category that really matters and that is humble service. As we just heard in St Paul's Letter to the Philippians, Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave... "...he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. "Because of this, God greatly exalted him..."

This is what the Church is celebrating on today's Feast of the Exaltation the Cross; the victory of Christ's humility over the pride of the devil. God is training us to have a humble heart like his, a heart that St John described beautifully in today's Gospel: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."

              Christ shows us a humble God, more interested in us and our needs than in himself. That's why Christ's self-sacrificial death on the cross won an eternal victory over the self-centered indulgence of sin.

              We all can appreciate the beauty and value of humility. It frees us from anxiously worrying about what other people think of us. It also frees us from the paralyzing fear of failure and allows us to maximize our human potential. Humility transforms us from self-centered individuals into people that care for others and put them first.

We would all like to be humble. Yet, few of us like to be humbled, which is the only way to grow in humility. Luckily, God has given us a shortcut. If we want, we can grow steadily and deeply in humility. This shortcut is something within easy reach for all; it's called the sacrament of reconciliation.

This sacrament fosters true humility for two reasons. First, when we go to confession, we aren't being humiliated; rather we are actively humbling ourselves. Every time we receive this sacrament worthily, we are growing in humility because we kneel before God's representative and admit our failings, our sins, and need for God's grace.

But secondly, since confession is a sacrament, it actually increases the grace of God in our soul, pouring grace onto the wounds of sin, so that they heal with supernatural speed and effectiveness. The Pope understands this, that's why he goes to confession every week. All of the saints of our church have known this and often made use of this great sacrament.

Look again at the crucifix. See in Christ the perfection of humility and the fullness of greatness. Resist the temptation of our society to view humility as a weakness or failure. Oftentimes our world doesn’t value humility because it doesn’t value the cross.  But for God, humility matters most, as he will demonstrate by giving himself to us in the Eucharist. On this feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross let us pray for the grace to value the cross as we experience it in our own lives. If we do so, we can be sure that humility will follow and we will be exalted forever as friends of God in the life to come.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Being from a large family, one of the things we looked forward to was going to the movie theatre together once or twice a year. Since we so seldom went to the movies, it was a big deal for us and we would be very excited to see something playing on the big screen, even if it was the dollar show. There was one instance that is burned into my memory. We were preparing to go to this movie but we were waiting on two things; we needed my dad to return from work and my brother to do his homework. My dad arrived on time but my brother still hadn’t completed his work. As a matter of fact, he decided he really didn't need to finish it because he figured my parents would give in and let him go anyway. It became clear that this was a battle of wills between my parents and my brother. We older children had already found out how these sorts of things ended; my brother was about to. When my brother was unable to produce his finished assignments, my dad loaded all of us into the van, all of us except my brother, and we went to the movie. My mom stayed home with my brother and he finished his homework with a biblical dose of wailing and grinding of teeth. It was a classic example of tough love, the kind of unpleasant but necessary experience that parents have at some point with their children. While my brother resented this tough love at the time, it taught him an invaluable lesson in getting his work done and he was better off because of it.

            Today, Jesus speaks to his followers about how they are to correct one another when there has been wrongdoing. It is a biblical lesson in tough love and something we need to hear. Jesus makes it clear that correcting a fellow Christian is not something to be considered as optional or just a nice idea. No, he gives very specific guidelines on how to approach the person who has done wrong and we would do well to learn them.

            The first thing we should take note of is who initiates the correction. Jesus tells us, “ if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”  This, in and of itself, is difficult. Our instincts tell us that the one who caused the injury should be the one who initiates the healing process, usually by making some sort of apology. But our Lord tells us that the one who has been offended should get the ball rolling. He doesn’t say to wait until they have apologized, he doesn’t tell us to make sure they are sorry, and he certainly doesn’t want us to wait for the person to approach us and ask for forgiveness. Loving and forgiving like Christ is not passive; it actively seeks out those who have separated themselves from others by their sins and offenses. Christ is calling you and me to have this type of love for sinners. And we live this kind of love by the way we deal with those who have hurt us.

           Secondly, Jesus instructs his disciples to tell the fault to the one who has hurt them and that person alone. I think this is one of the hardest parts of our gospel !! How many times have we been hurt and offended by someone and then gone and broadcast this offense to our friends, family and anyone else who would listen. Far too often, the last person we consider speaking to is the one who offended us. It can be so tempting to talk to others about how we were wronged and who hurt us. We look for sympathy, which is understandable, but we miss an opportunity to resolve the conflict and bring one of our brothers or sisters back to the fold. In our gospel today, Christ is teaching us a fundamental truth; Christians are to live lives defined by love. And oftentimes, this love needs to be “tough love”, a love that doesn’t feel good at the moment but bears fruit in the future.

           Most of our conflicts can be solved by the one-on-one correction, but some folks are hard-headed; I know because I am one of them. And sometimes, when approached by another about something they have done wrong, they will deny it, rationalize it, or make excuses. When this happens, Jesus tells us to take one or two others with us to establish the facts and give credence to our correction. If we think about it, this makes a lot of sense; this is the method used in the case of an intervention with someone who is in denial about a dependence on alcohol, drugs, or any other substance.

            Finally, if the first two attempts fail to correct a wayward brother or sister, Jesus tells us to go to the Church. This is the last and most serious action to be taken but it also has eternal consequences. If a person fails to listen even to the Church, Jesus himself tells us to treat them as a tax-collector or a gentile. What he is describing here is excommunication. That’s tough love and it’s coming from our Lord!! But it is not done so the Church can blatantly exercise her authority or punish a wayward member. Rather this course of action is done in order to alert the offender to the seriousness of their actions and to hopefully bring about reconciliation to prevent that soul from suffering eternal punishment.

            The words of Jesus in the gospel today are challenging for us and they will never be popular. It is far easier for us to feel sorry for ourselves when we have been hurt and commiserate with others. But Christ is calling you and me from our natural way of doing things to a supernatural way of living. This Christian lifestyle involves tough love at times and it calls us to initiate forgiveness and healing, even when we are the ones who have been hurt. This Christ-like lifestyle is not easy but it is the way to salvation and it is far more rewarding and joyful than a life spent in self-pity and shallow grievances. May you and I live the words of St. Paul in the second reading to “owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

22nd Week in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

I have to ask you all a random question: Do you remember those optical illusions called “magic eye?” They were popular about 15 years ago. They could be found in reception rooms of the doctor’s office, on people’s coffee tables, and in the case of one of my relatives, framed and hung on the walls of their house. At first glance they didn’t look like much; just a collage of colors and patterns that appeared to be really busy wallpaper. But if you stared long enough, a hidden image or scene would ‘magically’ appear. I have to say, I wasn’t very good at the magic eye thing. I wanted to be but I found it really difficult to adapt the method of seeing the image that was hidden. In order to discover the hidden image, you were advised to bring the picture close to your face and stare at the middle of the page. Even though you were looking right at the paper a few inches in front of your nose, you weren’t supposed to focus on any given point or look too intensely at the image. Slowly you would move the picture back from your face and then the hidden picture would supposedly come to life, right before your eyes. I generally got impatient as I heard my siblings, one by one, exclaim, “I see it” and “that’s cool” while all I saw was a jumbled mess of colors and patterns. 

But every once and a while it would work. And the image would appear in all its glory and I couldn’t help but see what used to be hidden and incomprehensible. It made all of the crossed eyes and frustration well worth it.

Now believe it or not, I mention the whole magic eye thing because it was the first image that came to my mind when I read the gospel we just heard. At first glance the words of Christ might appear to us as ridiculous, ludicrous, and hard to believe! What does he mean that “"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

How do we save our lives by losing them? How do we lose our lives by trying to save them? Even St. Peter is troubled by the words of Christ. He takes him aside and gently chides the savior. The first pope wants there to be another way for Christ and for those that will follow after him. Even this great saint struggles to see the picture that is hidden beneath these very difficult words!

This is indeed a spiritual magical eye! At first glance the words of today’s gospel appear as nonsense, as nothing more than a bold statement by Christ himself. If we look at what Christ is saying, with the eyes of the world, we will never see the wisdom behind them. But with the eyes of faith a beautiful picture emerges. With God’s grace, we begin to see life where the world sees death, joy where society only finds misery, hope and salvation where others despair and run away. 

I think if most of us are honest, we are suspicious of what Christ is saying as well. We live in a culture that spends enormous amounts of time caring for the body and trying to prolong life. Just walk down the aisles of Walgreens to see the many ways that we try to medicate ourselves to avoid the cross and any physical suffering. Now I am not saying that we shouldn’t take care of ourselves or stay away from medicine. But all of us have that tendency to run from the cross, to avoid every ache and pain, and to view suffering as worthless and without meaning. 

Jesus invites us today to look at things a little differently. He wants us to see what he sees. He wants to live like he does, to love as he loves. In return, he promises to save our lives. Maybe not by adding years to this life or taking away every setback or suffering, but certainly by giving us eternal life when it really counts, in the world to come. To receive this eternal gift, we have to be willing to accept suffering. Actually, not just accepting it but even embracing it. We have to be ready to witness to Christ and carry the cross that he gives us. For some of you, that will be in the form of financial struggles and worries. For many of our younger families, it will mean staying open to the possibility of new life and remaining faithful to the Church’s teaching on married love. For others, it will be a person, a relationship, perhaps even a spouse or child who drives you to your knees. Still others will find their cross in caring for a loved one or battling illnesses of their own. 

If you embrace your God-given cross, if you agree to carry it with love and obedience behind the one who carried his cross to Calvary, well, he will open your eyes. He will enable you to see the magnificent reward, the everlasting life that he has prepared for those who let go of their plans, of their own desire for control, their own idea of the good life, and are willing to come and follow him. Countless men and women have done so before us and they have found the fulness of love, life and joy in the midst of what the rest of the world might simply see as misery. Christ invites you and me today to take up our cross, to save our life by losing it to him. Will you follow? 

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Do you remember the first time mom or dad gave you the keys to the car, after you got your license and could legally drive alone? Remember the excitement, the independence, and the bit of fear as you pulled away, knowing that you were in charge of the vehicle? Having the keys to the car brought exhilarating power and responsibility, even if only for a few miles or hours. Or how about the moment when you closed on a house, especially your first house, and the keys were handed over to you? How awesome it was to unlock the door and realize that now this place was yours. You decide who comes and goes, and it is a place that can express who you are. One of the first things I did when I arrived here on June 16 was to shake Fr. Doyle’s hand as he was leaving and then receive the pastor’s set of keys. Yes, keys confer both power and responsibility, a sense of ownership and commitment that is much larger than their physical properties.

This Sunday we are presented with two figures who are given keys. The first is Eliakim. Eliakim was the secretary to Shebna the Master of King Hezekiah's palace, about 700 years before Christ. According the first reading from Isaiah, Shebna lost favor with the Lord and was replaced by Eliakim. Isaiah goes on to say that God placed the keys of the Kingdom on Eliakim’s shoulder. He would be Master of the Palace and the one through whom others would have to go to gain access to the King.

The Gospel from Matthew presents Peter as receiving the keys to the Kingdom of God. Like Eliakim, he would determine who has access to the King. Peter is usually pictured as having keys, representing the authority given to him by the Lord. In fact, if you look closely at the statue of St. Peter here on the left of the altar, you will see that he is indeed holding a hefty set of keys. So who holds the Keys of the Kingdom now? Jesus Christ is the judge of the Living and the Dead. He is the one who determines who will enter into God’s presence after their death. But who holds the Keys to the Kingdom here on earth? Since these Keys were entrusted to Peter, and since Peter was the head of the Church in Rome, his successor, the Bishop of Rome, holds the keys to the Kingdom. Right now, Pope Francis is that person. But the keys had been held by many before him and they will be held by all the popes who will come after him.

We have a concrete authority who guides us. Because of the Pope and the teaching authority of the Church, we know who we are when we say we are Catholic. We know the fundamental beliefs of our faith and the basic demands of our morals. These do not change based on the country we live in or who is Pope at the time. These parts of our faith remain the same throughout the centuries. We are firm in our faith, even if those in authority should give us a poor example, we still maintain our Christianity. Even though there have been bad leaders in the Catholic Church though out history, the Church still flourishes. Why? Because the Church is far more than individuals, it is the Body of Christ. Because Jesus is guiding our Church through the Holy Spirit, God can even use weak and sinful leaders to guide His Church and the fundamental teachings never change.

One of the problems with keys is that everyone wants a set. We see that here in the parish with the gym, church, and rectory. But if everyone has keys, there is no accountability and it becomes very difficult to maintain the integrity of what those keys protect. In his wisdom, Christ entrusted the keys to the kingdom to one person, the pope, to ensure that the path to heaven would stay open and accessible throughout all times and circumstances. The challenge for us is humbling ourselves to follow the Vicar of Christ as he leads us with those keys. We may not always understand why our Catholic Church teaches what she does, we might even think we could do it better by ourselves, to bind and loose as we see fit. But this will always lead to disaster and division, despite the best of intentions. 

Today’s readings remind us why we honor the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. We don’t honor him for the individual he is. We honor Pope Francis, because he has been entrusted with the Keys of the Kingdom. In the recent times we have been blessed with popes who were very holy men. Blessed Pius IX, St. Pius X, St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II each gave us examples of how to live our Christianity. These men were intensely spiritual throughout their lives, not just when they were popes. They were beatified and canonized for the way they lived their Christianity, not just for the way they exercised their authority. Other popes may not be candidates for canonization, but they were holy fathers, entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom. 

We pray today and every day for our present Holy Father, and for the ones who will eventually succeed him. We thank God for providing the papacy as a way to lead and guide us on our journey through the many challenges and confusion that we face during this life. Let us ask God to make us humble that we will always follow the one he has entrusted with the keys, even when we don’t fully understand or agree.