(Sat Vigil) June 14, 2008
11th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
Matthew 9:36-10:8
(We are called, as were the 12, to go forth and bear witness to the reign of God)
My name is Pat Kearns. As of last Saturday, I became "Deacon Pat" Many of you have played a significant part and assisted me in this process of becoming a deacon, and some of you I have yet to personally meet. I, along with 17 other men, have spent the last 5 years in formation, and have now received the sacrament of Holy Orders in the Cathedral from Bishop Weigand and Bishop Soto.
Father Hebda was kind enough to allow me to speak to you today, THANK YOU FATHER HEBDA. I can remember last year while attending a class on Homiletics, and learning about preaching techniques, that our professor made it very clear that our first homily better be good. We all asked why? He stated that if your pastor ever gives you an opportunity to preach, he will be watching you very closely, and if you don=t do a good job, it is more than likely, that your first homily might just be your last......... He also stated that if your first homily goes well, your second better be even better.
We asked him why? He said, because the pastor will be really watching you, he will want to know if the first homily was just beginners luck......... As you know, a Homily is an opportunity to look a little deeper into the readings, looking for its pertinent meaning as it relates to our lives. Today in the Gospel we clearly saw Jesus' compassion for the lost sheep, and hear Jesus' summoning of his twelve disciples. He gave them authority, instructed them, and commissioned them to go out into the world and to serve. He also proclaimed that "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand" So what does this really mean, how does it relate to our lives today, especially in Redding California? Look around yourself when at work, at home, at school, and when at the market. Is the "Kingdom of Heaven at hand?"
Jesus also mentioned in the Gospel something about having compassion for the lost sheep.
Who are the lost sheep? And how do we identify them? We should probably first look at ourselves and our own households. Do we truly understand the Gospel (the Good News), and the saving message of Christ? Do we live our faith, each and every day? Is love at the center of all of our actions? Is charity, service, and respect given a higher priority than our own desires? Who are we serving each day when we arise and venture out into the world? I truly believe that to make a difference in this world, it must first begin within ourselves and at home, the domestic church. It is through the loving relationships of parents, children, and grandparents, that the love of God is experienced and understood. These experiences and behaviors can then be replicated to our neighbors, friends, new acquaintances, and even to strangers. I don't think that many of us are called to do heroic or supernatural things, but rather to embrace the little things in our lives and look for holiness in them. It is the little things in life that really do make the difference.
I can remember an experience of a young girl that my family and I met last year in Guatemala.
Her name is Bety and she is about 12 years old. She is very small, thin, wears her deep black hair long, and is dressed in traditional bright colored woven clothing. I can remember this beautiful Mayan girl sitting on the steps of the 100 year old village church. We began visiting with her, and noticed that she was hold a small beautiful baby. I remember her saying "this is my new brother" I asked her to tell us about him, thinking that she was going to tell me that he had been born a few months ago and that she was helping her mother care for him while the mother was cooking, but was surprised to hear what then came out of her mouth. Bety told us that one day she was walking home from school and she heard a faint cry coming from the distance. She followed the sound, the cry becoming less faith, and it lead her to a large pile of trash, a dump. She searched for the source of the crying and found it, a small baby that had been thrown away.
She told us that the baby was dirty, appeared cold, so she took off her outer clothing, wrapped the baby, and took him home. Bety already had 7 siblings, they lived in poverty in a home with dirt floors, and they often didn't know how they were going to eat the next day. But, the entire family, a family attempting to live their faith, felt that this baby was a gift from God, and they brought the child into their family and he is now called Juan David, Bety's brother.
Did Bety do something that was heroic? Or supernatural? No, She found a lost sheep, had compassion, and followed her heart. Are we not all disciples of Christ? Haven't we already received much from Him? Jesus mentioned that "without cost you have received, without cost you are to give."My name is Pat Kearns. As of last Saturday, I became "Deacon Pat" Many of you have played a significant part and assisted me in this process of becoming a deacon, and some of you I have yet to personally meet. I, along with 17 other men, have spent the last 5 years in formation, and have now received the sacrament of Holy Orders in the Cathedral from Bishop Weigand and Bishop Soto.
Father Hebda was kind enough to allow me to speak to you today, THANK YOU FATHER HEBDA. I can remember last year while attending a class on Homiletics, and learning about preaching techniques, that our professor made it very clear that our first homily better be good. We all asked why? He stated that if your pastor ever gives you an opportunity to preach, he will be watching you very closely, and if you don=t do a good job, it is more than likely, that your first homily might just be your last......... He also stated that if your first homily goes well, your second better be even better.
We asked him why? He said, because the pastor will be really watching you, he will want to know if the first homily was just beginners luck......... As you know, a Homily is an opportunity to look a little deeper into the readings, looking for its pertinent meaning as it relates to our lives. Today in the Gospel we clearly saw Jesus' compassion for the lost sheep, and hear Jesus' summoning of his twelve disciples. He gave them authority, instructed them, and commissioned them to go out into the world and to serve. He also proclaimed that "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand" So what does this really mean, how does it relate to our lives today, especially in Redding California? Look around yourself when at work, at home, at school, and when at the market. Is the "Kingdom of Heaven at hand?"
Jesus also mentioned in the Gospel something about having compassion for the lost sheep.
Who are the lost sheep? And how do we identify them? We should probably first look at ourselves and our own households. Do we truly understand the Gospel (the Good News), and the saving message of Christ? Do we live our faith, each and every day? Is love at the center of all of our actions? Is charity, service, and respect given a higher priority than our own desires? Who are we serving each day when we arise and venture out into the world? I truly believe that to make a difference in this world, it must first begin within ourselves and at home, the domestic church. It is through the loving relationships of parents, children, and grandparents, that the love of God is experienced and understood. These experiences and behaviors can then be replicated to our neighbors, friends, new acquaintances, and even to strangers. I don't think that many of us are called to do heroic or supernatural things, but rather to embrace the little things in our lives and look for holiness in them. It is the little things in life that really do make the difference.
I can remember an experience of a young girl that my family and I met last year in Guatemala.
Her name is Bety and she is about 12 years old. She is very small, thin, wears her deep black hair long, and is dressed in traditional bright colored woven clothing. I can remember this beautiful Mayan girl sitting on the steps of the 100 year old village church. We began visiting with her, and noticed that she was hold a small beautiful baby. I remember her saying "this is my new brother" I asked her to tell us about him, thinking that she was going to tell me that he had been born a few months ago and that she was helping her mother care for him while the mother was cooking, but was surprised to hear what then came out of her mouth. Bety told us that one day she was walking home from school and she heard a faint cry coming from the distance. She followed the sound, the cry becoming less faith, and it lead her to a large pile of trash, a dump. She searched for the source of the crying and found it, a small baby that had been thrown away.
She told us that the baby was dirty, appeared cold, so she took off her outer clothing, wrapped the baby, and took him home. Bety already had 7 siblings, they lived in poverty in a home with dirt floors, and they often didn't know how they were going to eat the next day. But, the entire family, a family attempting to live their faith, felt that this baby was a gift from God, and they brought the child into their family and he is now called Juan David, Bety's brother.
Are we really aware of how much God has given to us. Can we truly see and appreciate what blessings exist in our lives. These gifts have been given to us without cost. What do we give of ourselves? Is "The kingdom of heaven really at hand." As Jesus said: "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons." Through our baptism, we are all called to be disciples of Christ, a holy people. Each day should be devoted to spreading the good news, through our actions, through our words, through our relationships, and through our compassion and love for each other.
As I begin to close this brief homily, I also want to mention something about the special day assigned to tomorrow, "Father's Day." You fathers have been given something so very precious. Not only have you been given a wife to love, cherish, and support, but you have been given the gift of a child. You have been entrusted with the responsibility of guiding, protecting, and educating this child for God.
As I just mentioned, this wonderful gift also comes with a unique responsibility. The responsibility to be that heavenly representation of the Father. Your actions, or inactions, have a direct and irreplaceable impact on your child, and represents in so many ways the qualities of Jesus to them. So many of you already know this and have risen to the task, the responsibility and the opportunity. You are Great Fathers and Great Husbands.
Fathers posses something so very unique, that it is often difficult to describe. You only have to watch a father and daughter interact with each other, a son and a father spend time together, to see exactly what I am talking about. Those special conversations that spontaneously occur while in the car, the hand holding walks, the reassuring hugs when a crisis occurs, are all special moments when you are the voice and presence of Jesus to them. There is a holiness, a connection, within these encounters, that in many ways are a direct reflection of the relationship that our God wants to have with us.
Fathers, tomorrow is a special day of honor for you.
You are loved more than you probably know, and God has felt so assured of who you are, and knows what you are capable of, and he has entrusted his children to you, to love, to serve, to cherish, to adore, to educate, and to protect. Just by the fact that we are sitting here today, men, women, young, and old, shows that Jesus has already had some kind of impact in our lives. We have been called to be disciples by Jesus, to see the lost sheep in this world, have compassion, to realize that the "Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and to serve, love, and respect, each other as the Body of Christ.
I challenge you as I challenge myself, to see Jesus in the people that surround us, to understand that God loves everyone, that we are to realize our unique purpose in life as a Christian, embrace the opportunities that God presents to us, and to focus on the small acts of kindness and love, that can change the world......... For Juan David, in his world, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Is the kingdom of heaven at hand in your world?
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