Drinking the Cup: On Mission for the Church Alive!

Homily for the 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
18 October 2015

       Today, throughout our entire Diocese of Pittsburgh, all priests and deacons will stand before their Communities of Faith and with one accord echo a proposal for all parishes to follow faithfully. On Mission For The Church Alive! throughout the six counties of the Diocese is our concerted effort to fulfill the mandate of Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel. As the disciples of the Lord Jesus we must be concerned beyond our own desire and wants so that our Parish Family of Resurrection will become conscious of what is happening throughout our entire Diocese.

       Bishop Zubik has chosen this weekend – when we celebrate World Mission Sunday – to ask us to speak to you, which is not coincidental. On this Sunday, we are forced to answer the same question posed by Jesus to James and John: Can you drink the cup? Hopefully we will be as zealous as the Sons of Zebedee in our answer of “yes.” However, to be a parish On Mission For The Church Alive!, to be a community willing to drink the cup, we must become aware and willing to form a new understanding of what it means to be disciples of Christ in light of the call of the New Evangelization and Pope Francis’ invitation to be a Church of service rather than topics.

       This Diocesan Mission stems from the heart of the Bishop and his call for us to awaken the Faith within the individuals, families, institutions, schools and parishes within Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington Counties. As one of the 200 parishes of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and as the parish which bears the title of the pivotal event of the Life of Jesus, our willingness to drink His cup is essential for us to be a family alive in the newness of life brought about by the Resurrection of Christ.

       In his book, Can You Drink the Cup?, Henri Nouwen, the great spiritual author of the Twentieth Century, gives us three motions to contemplate Christ’s cup: holding, lifting and drinking. In holding the cup, Nouwen reflects that we hold a cup of sorrows and a cup of joy; in lifting the cup, it is a cup of blessing that we lift to life; in drinking the cup, we consume from the cup of salvation to the bottom. This cup of Christ, which James and John had the audacity to presume to drink from, is the same cup that you and I not only drink from as well, but also profess as we gather each week as the Body of Christ. It is this same cup that we hold and lift as we go out to serve our brothers and sisters as the presence of the Risen Lord. In his book, Nouwen reminds us that this cup that we hold, lift and drink from is an entrance into and participation in the life of Christ. It is this cup from which we are nourished to be On Mission For The Church Alive!

       In his first pastoral letter to our Diocese, The Church Alive!, Bishop Zubik names five areas where we – as individuals and as a parish community – need to focus on to be renewed and alive in the Faith: evangelization, stewardship, formation, catechesis and Eucharist. These five areas are the ingredients of the Essence of Christ found in that cup which we hold, lift and drink from – this Cup of Sorrow, this Cup of Joy, this Cup of Blessing . . . the Cup of Salvation. Evangelization, stewardship, formation and catechesis are not only found in the Body of Christ that is living, but of Christ, Himself, since they all flow from and return to our celebration of the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of our Faith, as the Second Vatican Council teaches us.

       To drink the cup means that we evangelize, that we go out and spread the Gospel, the Good News that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and that Christ will come again. To drink the cup means that we become good stewards of the gifts of time, talent and treasure that the Lord has given to us. To drink the cup means that we are people who are formed in the Faith, allowing that faith in Jesus Christ to guide all of our thoughts, words and actions. To drink the cup means we are a people who learn, love and live Jesus by coming to know Him through His Church. To drink the cup means that we are a people of and centered in the Eucharist, and that our celebration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is that which transforms our lives to be that reflection of the presence of Christ.

       What, then, does this mean for us as the Resurrection Parish Family? This is a question that we must be willing to look at, discuss, and answer through our participation in On Mission For The Church Alive! However, this is a question that we have been pondering through our participation in the Beechview-Brookline Catholic Collaborative. For more than a year, we have been gathering with the four other parishes in our cluster to understand and further define our role in the community, and how, together, the parishes of Brookline and Beechview can cultivate a Church that is truly alive in Christ through the way we not only minister to the parishioners of our own faith communities, but all of the people in our neighborhoods. To that end, I would like to remind you of our Inter-Parish Assemblies being held [tomorrow / today] from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at Saint Pius X Parish in Brookline and on Wednesday from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at Saint Pamphilus Parish in Beechview. Your participation in these assemblies is important not only because we want to hear your feedback, but also that you have the opportunity to hear first-hand the information presented. If we want Resurrection to be a parish alive in Christ and on fire with the Holy Spirit, then we need to be able to take a step back and not only come to understand our place in a changing community, but also to have the opportunity to further define our role within the Body of Christ.

       Ultimately, to be an individual, a family, a parish, or a diocese this is On Mission For The Church Alive!, we must be that individual, family, parish and diocese that is willing to drink of the cup that Christ offers. Yes, it will contain both joys and sorrows, but the cup we hold, lift and drink from nourishes and sustains us so that as we consume from the Cup of Salvation, we will be those people who enter fully into the evangelical mission of the Church. We, as a parish family, are this day being invited by Bishop Zubik to drink to the bottom from the cup Christ offers us by being a parish family that is alive in Jesus Christ, His Spirit, and the mission we are called to.

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Enjoy the journey . . .

Things and Stuff

Homily for the 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
11 October 2015

       A few days ago, I had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one of my Godsons. He is at that wonderful age of four, where the world is still so full of wonder. Yet while he is still learning much, he is also a wonderful teacher.

       At his party, he was excited – as most children are – to open his presents. He couldn’t wait! (And neither could his little brother.) There was the anticipation to see what he would be getting, and what he could call his own. He was, of course, more excited to get the gifts that he could play with instead of wear, but he presented us with a great teachable moment, nonetheless.

       How much are we like my Godson or the man in today’s Gospel? We are happy to have “things” that we can call our own: our house, our car, our phone, our clothing. But if we are asked to give one of these “things” up or go without them for a period of time, we sulk like the young man in the Gospel, or we throw a temper tantrum like my Godson. We like our “stuff”; we like to spend time with our “stuff”. The “stuff” and the “things” of our lives preoccupy us, and keep us diverted from what really matters in this life.

       When Jesus talks about how difficult it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God, He wasn’t necessarily talking about everyone who has a lot of material wealth. Rather, our Lord was referring to those who are preoccupied with the “stuff” of this life. While it is necessary to have a certain amount of material goods for one’s basic survival, it is important for us to not be dragged down by the “stuff” of life. As it’s been said before: The possessions of one’s life should not possess us; that which we consume to survive in this life should not consume us.

       Yet, this holds true for us even in living out our spiritual lives. This is why our Gospel is paired so wonderfully with our First Reading from the Book of Wisdom. What should really preoccupy us in this life is discerning the Mind and the Heart of our God. The rich young man could not allow himself to deny his Earthly life so as to pursue the Wisdom of God. And how much are we like that young man?

       Even in the pursuit and discernment of the Heart and Mind of God, we tend to hold on to the “things” which ought to help us grow closer in our relationship to the Lord, and when we misplace or lose them, we are preoccupied in finding them instead of taking the opportunity to grow in our spiritual life. Have you lost your favorite set of Rosary beads? Use your fingers, reminding yourself of how you are made in the image and likeness of God. Misplaced your favorite devotional book? Take this opportunity to seek out a new one, opening yourself to a new way for the Lord to speak to you.

       Even as a parish family, we must be able to move beyond the “stuff” of life, always seeking how to best spread the Gospel and minister to our brothers and sisters in the best ways possible. [This weekend / At this Mass], we will be commissioning two new members of our Pastoral Council, praying that they will continue to discern and deepen their commitment to dwelling in the Heart and Mind of God for the good of our parish community. At the same time, we, as the Resurrection Parish family, must continue to dive deeper in our discernment of what God is calling us to, to not only serve and be the presence of the Risen Lord to those in our particular parish territory, but also for how the Lord is calling us to minister to those in our cluster community of Brookline and Beechview.

       To paraphrase the opening lines of our First Reading: “We prayed, and prudence was given us; we pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to us.” This is the “stuff” – the prudence, the wisdom – that we need to be filling our lives with. Everything in this life is transitory, is temporary. The wisdom that comes from the Heart and Mind of God is eternal, and that is what we should be yearning for, seeking for, and desiring after. It is when we possess these things that we are able to discern the Mind and Heart of God, but we are also able to live out our call and promise to be the disciples of Christ.

       The rich young man left Jesus because he couldn’t let go of the “stuff”, of the “things” that are temporary and transitory in this life. He couldn’t see the eternal promises that Jesus was offering because of his lack of ability to discern the Mind and the Heart of God – even when God, Himself, was standing before him. My four-year-old Godson can’t yet comprehend a life without “stuff” – but eventually he’ll learn what it is to discern the words of Jesus. Yet you and I, who are gathered here today, have the understanding – and hopefully the desire – to discern where God is calling us.

       In discerning the Mind and Heart of God, we need to be able to let go of all the “stuff” of this life and the “things” that possess or consume us. As we prepare to receive the Eucharist in a few moments, we need to turn over to the Lord all those things of this world that possess and / or consume us. We cannot consume the Lord and hope that He will consume us if there are “things” blocking our discernment of His Mind and Heart.

       How are you and I like the rich young man? How are you and I like my Godson? Probably in more ways than we would like to admit. Nevertheless, if we only desire the “things” of this world, then we will never open ourselves to desire to know the Mind or Heart or will of the Lord. To truly be people of the Resurrection, we only need to be a people united to His Heart, His Mind; we only need to be people desiring His will. Let us not walk away from the Lord downtrodden, but, instead, be the people of hope and mercy that the Gospel urges us to be and to become.

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Enjoy the journey . . .