16th Sunday- Salvation within Community

To repeat a familiar refrain, Jesus came so that we may have life in the full. Jesus came so that we may be one, as God is one.
This is salvation:  Life in the full is life in communion with others.
To be able to live in eternity with all, we need to be able to live with others in this reality.
There was once these small groups of people, not particularly large at first, maybe 30-50 people.
They were from various walks of life; rich and poor, of mixed ethnicities.  They existed in the big cities.
The larger community considered them strange because they did not act like the rest of the people. They were kind to each other and supported each other, although they were of different classes.  The men even treated their wives with more respect  They were model citizens in most regards.
They were joyful people as well.
This ended up attracting more people to this group from different walks of life. So the community began to grow.
Finally, the civil authorities grew suspicious of these people.  They began to perceive them as threats to the way things were supposed to be done.  And in some places began to take steps to suppress them.
This is our story as Christians.  
We are Christians because we believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Son of God came so that all may have life, have life in the full and be as One, as God is one.

St. Paul did so much to spread this good news.  He helped to form many of these early christian communities.

This wonderful letter to the Ephesians, reminded them and and reminds us today, that the core of our salvation in Christ is lived out and experienced through our lives with others.
Our Christian faith is that as a human person, we need each other to be who we are.
“My” uniqueness, “my” personhood is experienced when I am connected with others.
We cannot BE without Being with others.
Our faith in the Trinity expresses this.
This is our hope, this our strength!
As parish, we reflect this.  Or at least that is our mission.
Think of funerals.  As parish we gather around those who grieve; to support them; to walk with them through those frightening, sad moments.  This is our role.
Think of weddings.  By the sacramental sign, matrimony signifies the power of community, the power of family to help fulfill people.
Ordinations are communal events.

We Catholics by nature are communal.  Consciously or unconsciously we recognize the need for others.  
Eucharist we say is essential for our salvation...well it’s not because taking communion is a magic pill that we get.
Eucharist, the entire celebration reminds us of God’s desire for our unity
Eucharist, the entire celebration reminds us of Jesus’ love for us to form this community
Eucharist is our assent, our commitment to be a community, to be unified, to lift each other up, to rejoice with each other, to spread the good news with our Joy.
It seems every person has asked me how I am going to be able to manage being Pastor at Snows, while still remaining as Chancellor, Co-director of Vocations and Moderator of the Curia; and keep on fishing and skiing.
Really, the answer is community. If it were up to me alone, crash and burn people.
There is such life, there is such power when a community works together, gives together.
We have so much to offer this city!  

Because we are a community of believers; because we are free in Jesus Christ.

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