6th Easter Homily

“Maintenance to Mission”

This is phrase in church circles describing a movement, or a return actually to our roots.

Each October, dioceses around the country, including ours, takes what is called the October count. The number of people are counted at all the masses to provide an indication of mass attendance. This is one of my tasks as Chancellor.


Last Fall I presented to our parish council a graph showing our October counts for the past 18 years and it shows a gradual decrease in mass attendance. The Council was somewhat alarmed at this. “What are we going to do about this?” was their question.

Across the world, and clearly in the united States, mass attendance has declined, especially in younger people.

Yesterday we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for around 20 some teens. It was great.

But me, and many others are concerned about how many of these young persons will continue to follow the Catholic Faith.

Study shows that people leave not because they do not believe in God.
Rather, they do not find deep meaning in the faith they were raised with.
The Faith as practiced is not giving them answers.
The people who “live the faith” do not seem to make a difference.

The so called Council of Jerusalem took place around the year 50, so some 20 years after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.
The first reading from Acts captures this amazing council.

The first Believers of Jesus were overwhelming Jews. They still attended Temple and synagogue, and were considered part of the Jewish people, albeit an odd branch.
Saul, later Paul, after his conversion preached to his fellow Jews, without much luck.
However who did hear his preaching about the Good News were Gentiles. And they believed and wanted to join.

This raised a question to the larger group. How do they join?

Jesus did not give an instruction manual on membership.
There was no constitution nor by-laws.

Now some of the Group wanted to maintain themselves and wanted these Gentiles must become Jews and follow the Law.
Paul and others disagreed, saying it would impede them and said as well that following the Law did not do so well for the Jews, why impose it on the Gentiles.

Paul’s side won and the church EXPLODED! After that.

Maintenance or mission?

Paul really inspired the Gentiles because of his conversion; and as well the early Christians who truly lived the mission!
They truly believed in God’s love for them.
They truly believed in the goodness of all.
They shared their lives with each other. They helped each other live lives more freely. They found meaning.

Jesus Christ, how has this man, this Son of God, this teacher, who was crucified and raised from the dead, how does he transform our lives? Has he transformed our lives?

Or do we simply maintain?

There was a man who loved power and authority, he loved control and exercised that control. Then he lost it, was exiled, and he had a revelation in Christ. He learned about Christ’s humility, Christ’s love. He was changed after that. More at peace with the world.
He eventually was returned from exile, and was later named bishop, then archbishop and later Pope. 

Francis was transformed in Christ.

There was a woman who searched for meaning. She had made some bad choices in life, wrong men. Still she persisted, always attending mass, but searching for more. Then she found her calling in Christ, helping the poor.
She founded houses for the poor to live in, and places for assistance. She worked and advocated for the rights and dignity of the poor and workers. Transforming and reminding the world about this children of God. Dorothy Day did this in the name of Christ.

People with lives consumed by anger and found the power of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
People with lives consumed with addictions, found healing in Jesus Christ.
People who were lost have found a deeper meaning to their lives in jesus Christ.
They moved from maintaining their lives to mission.

How about us?

Jesus Christ truly Saves us.
Not in some magic way. And Salvation is not just getting into heaven.
It requires us opening ourselves to the Spirit, and personally making the way of Christ a part of our lives.

Even Paul, after getting knocked over, had to spend a couple of years, getting to know more of Jesus before he went out.
As a Diocese and as a parish, our work is to be transformed as a people so as to transform people.

I assume because we are here that we believe in Jesus as the salvation.
I assume we want others to believe as well, so that a world saved would be a world in which there is no more suffering….
...no more children who are hungry despite living in the so called richest and best country in the world.
...no more people forced to euthanize the sick and elderly because it is simply considered too expensive to love them.
...no more teens hurting themselves because they do not see any hope.

So what are we going to do?