Homily for July 7

Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
Scriptures for today's Mass

What a great text I have to work with

on my first weekend in a new assignment!

Here’s Jesus appointing and sending out his 72 disciples

to bring the message of the gospel to people they didn’t know,

in places where they’d never been.

And here am I, assigned by Cardinal O'Malley

to serve in St. Luke and St. Joseph Parishes,

to preach the gospel to people I don’t yet know,

in a new place that’s now my home.

So, for my first greeting to you

I'll offer the one Jesus told his disciples to use:

“Peace to this household!

Peace to St. Luke Parish!  Peace to St. Joseph Parish!

Peace to the New Roads Catholic Community!”

And I'll build my first homily, my first message to you

on just what Jesus told his 72 disciples to preach:

 “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you!”

Now, it’s a lot easier for me to say - and for you to hear -

“Peace to this household!”

than it is for me to declare

and you to take in the meaning of the words:

 “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  What's that all about?

Well, here’s the deal, folks:

Jesus was born,  

Jesus came into the world as a human being,

precisely to tell the whole of humankind,

throughout all of history,

including every one of us here this morning,

that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Or, to put it more simply, the whole of the message of Jesus

can be summed up in two words:

“GOD'S HERE!”                       

• That's what Jesus came to tell us - GOD'S HERE!

• The reason for the existence of the Church

is to keep alive Jesus' message that - GOD'S HERE!

• My work as a priest is to preach, over and over again,

that GOD'S HERE!

I've been doing that for 46 years now!

• And you're here this morning not just because you believe

that God’s Here in this special, sacred place.

No, you’re here in this sacred space

because you believe,

or maybe because you used to believe,

or because you want to believe,

or you want to believe again,

or you want to begin to believe more deeply that -

- that God's here       

- in the universe, in our world, in this town,

in this sacred place

in our families

- and in your heart and in mine.

GOD'S HERE!

And that makes all the difference –

or it has the potential for making all the difference in the world.

• It’s easy to remember that GOD'S HERE

when you walk into church

but maybe not so easy that GOD'S HERE

when you get out of bed in the morning

and before you have your fist cup of coffee.

• It’s easier to trust that GOD'S HERE when you’re praying

than when you’re trying to talk

with that one family member or neighbor or coworker

- whom you absolutely can’t stand!

• It’s easy to remember that GOD'S HERE

when things are going just the way you hoped they would

- but much harder when it seems you just can’t catch a break.

• And certainly, it’s easier to believe that GOD'S HERE

in times of peace and contentment

- and more difficult in times of turmoil and change.

• Like the Chosen People in this morning's first reading,

it's hard for us to believe that GOD'S HERE

when everything’s in pieces, when even the temple, our church,

appears to be falling apart.

• It’s so much easier to believe that GOD'S HERE

when we have reasons to be joyful

and so much harder when we're burdened

with disappointment, worry and grief.

That’s why it’s so critically important

to preach and remember and celebrate that God is here

- in good times and in bad

- in sickness and in health,

- in grief and in joy.

And that's why the number 72 is so important in today's gospel.

We know that Jesus had 12 apostles

but he needed more than a dozen helpers

to spread the Good News of the gospel,

the news that  -  GOD'S HERE!

In the same way,

it's not enough for me and Fr. Mahoney to preach that GOD'S HERE.

Only a small percentage of people registered in our parishes

and an even smaller percentage of people in town

will hear our words this weekend..

So we need,

the Church needs,

your parish needs others -

needs you -

to spread the good news that GOD'S HERE.

We all need to find ways to carry that message

out into our daily lives.

• When I'm interacting with, when I'm speaking to that person

I just can't stand

- I need to remember that God's here!

• When I'm tempted to doubt God's presence in my life,

tempted to think that God has forgotten me

- I need to remember that God is always here!

• When fear or worry or grief or anxiety have a grip on me,

- I need to remember that God's here!

• When I'm faced with hard choices and decisions,

with opportunities:

to be generous or selfish;

to be hard-hearted or forgiving;

to be kind or harsh;

to indulge my flesh or choose to be chaste;

to carry a grudge or let things go;

to speak the truth or tell a lie;

to remain faithful or betray a friend;

when these options are before me,

I need to remember,

I need to pray,

I need to say

-even out loud, even for others to hear:

that God is here!

God's here with me.

God is here this morning with you.

God's here with us.

God is always here.

The Kingdom of God is at hand!

In a few moments we'll gather at the Lord's Table

and through the power of the Holy Spirit,

we'll pray and find in the bread and wine we offer

the Body and Blood of Jesus.

In the sacrifice of the altar,

in the Supper of the Lord, in the Eucharist,

we will find and we will know, once again: 

GOD'S HERE!

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