21st Sunday Homily Foundations in Christ

Recently Virginia, our Coordinator of Youth and Young Adults ministry was telling me about their house in Texas. The foundations of many houses in that area are within in a particular clay. Therefore the foundation and the area around it needs to be watered, otherwise the foundation cracks. If that happens there is laborious repair work. Yet, what an image: watering clay and cement to keep it good. Not just the lawn.

A very appropriate image for our faith lives and our own foundations: a foundation in Jesus Christ.  As disciples we need to look at our foundation, our faith in Jesus Christ, from time to time. We need to care for it.  Usually we don’t figure that out until something comes along to upset us: a Pandemic, political and social upheaval, sickness in ourselves or family, to name a few.  

There are people who are confused now. How we believe and what we think we believe are challenged in these times. It can be scary. People’s foundations and what they thought was correct has started to crumble. Or it seems to be crumbling. This is not just personal, but also institutional.  People are confronting our church’s history in regards to racism. A faith seemingly built on exclusion. Here we thought we were loving, yet it seems not so much.  The institution of the church has been and will be confronted on our sins of abuse towards minors and women; the desire for power, money. Just this past week, Bishop Bransfield the former Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston had to apologize for his behavior and repay to the diocese money.

But we can’t be discouraged by these. More often than not, and often without less news coverage we shine when our foundation is firm in Christ.  The Church built firm on the Foundation of Christ’s love for all: that is when we have stood proud and worked for civil rights of black persons and all people; including workers and unions.  It is when we have been the voice of those without voices; the unborn, the sick and elderly, the poor.  It is when our doors open for all so that they can experience the freedom of what it means to be a child of God.

Jesus speaks to his disciples about the foundation of their faith. Simon becomes Peter, the rock; because he experienced the Christ in Jesus. Yet even Simon will need to adapt. He will be challenged in his faith, in his understanding of faith.   It will be the experience of the Resurrected Christ that ultimately helps him to transcend his past, grow in his faith and become the true Rock.

So it is with us, each of us.  We must allow ourselves to have that foundation care for, maintained, and if crumbled, let it be repaired.  

To be honest, many of us do not do too much after we learn about Jesus in First Communion. That Adult level understanding, that wider understanding does not get nurtured.

Now is the time to begin again. Start taking care of it.  There will come a time, a day, a moment and all that we think is important will be challenged. What do you think our reaction will be?  And as we worry about the world seemingly crumbling around us...we will know what we must do.