Shawn The Baptist - Sunday Scriptures

For the past six weeks, we have been reading from the letters of St. Paul to Timothy. Today we come to the end of these letters, wherein Paul gives us what is often referred to as his "last will and testament." He knows he's about to be executed, and he sums up his life saying, "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." What a blessing to come to the end of life with such a clean conscience. What is also so amazing is that, in spite of all the hardships Paul has had to endure, he still has great trust in God to deliver him. Yet Paul has never looked for deliverance from earthly hardship; he wants only to be delivered safely to heaven.

The lives of St. Paul and the other apostles remind us that, when the gospel is preached, it is often met with opposition. The Greek word used to describe their preaching is dynamis, "power," the same found in the root of the word "dynamite." When the gospel is preached, things should explode! Sadly, today it seems we expect, and maybe even hope, that nothing will happen as a result of our preaching. We like blending in and leading our lives in relative tranquility without "making waves." We certainly hope to avoid "explosions." This may be "safe," but it is not what we're called to be.

This past week, emails in the "Wikileaks" scandal revealed some of the thoughts of politically influential people about Catholics. There were many bigoted, hateful, anti-Catholic comments. Yet this is not what caught my attention. Political leaders despising Catholics is nothing new. It was certainly not unusual for St. Paul and has been the norm in much of history. What really bugged me was a comment speculating as to why so many "respectable" people are Catholic. One high level politician suggested that it's because Catholicism is "the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion... Their rich friends wouldn’t understand if they became evangelicals."

This really bugged me because it says that, in the view of outsiders, the Catholic Church has become just a "socially acceptable" little club. You can have a little bit of your religion and still compromise enough to blend in perfectly with society. This attitude would have been very foreign to St. Paul who certainly never experienced the faith as "socially acceptable." Yet I think the comment reflects a sad reality. We as Catholics have compromised the faith so much that indeed we do just blend in with everyone else. Look at all the Catholics who say, "I'm Catholic...BUT...I'm also pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia, pro-gay marriage, etc." The gospel has been robbed of it's dynamis and instead of exploding and bumping up against the culture, we have become "socially acceptable," while settling for lives less and less acceptable to God. Again, it's not unusual that political leaders would be anti-Catholic. What is new, and scandalous, is that now Catholics actually vote for these people.

If we look only at the national or world picture, it would be easy to get depressed. We can't change the world overnight by ourselves, but we can change us. We can change our families. How in your own family have you compromised the dynamis of the faith so as to just go with the flow? Do you fall into the "Catholic...BUT" crowd? We change the culture one person and one family at a time. So, as St. John Paul II reminded us 38 years ago this weekend, "Do not be afraid!" Your life may end up looking more like St. Paul's. You may wind up getting beaten, and bruised, and left for dead. Good! This means you're doing it right. Persevere. Don't give up. Don't compromise the dynamis of the gospel. Then, at the end of your life, you too will be able to say like St. Paul, "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith."

In today's second reading, St. Paul reminds St. Timothy about the importance of Sacred Scripture. As Catholics, we can fall into the tendency of focusing on Mass and the sacraments and thinking that these are the primary tools for growth in holiness. What a terrible thing it would be for us to neglect the Sacred Scripture in favor of things that seem more routine. While the Mass is obviously filled with readings from the Bible, how much time do you really spend studying those readings and praying with them?

Today's homily is a short introduction to the Bible. One of the most important things we need to keep in mind is the context from which the Bible came. The Bible is not the complete instruction book for life. So first we consider where the Bible came from. The same authority that gave us the Bible remains the authority we need to interpret the Bible today. That authority is the Catholic Church. After we understand this, the homily moves on to talk about the important concepts of "inspiration" and "inerrancy," and then finishes with some practical tips. Let's heed St. Paul's words to St. Timothy and give the reading and study of Sacred Scripture the important place in our lives it deserves.

Today's readings give us three lessons we can learn from some lepers who are the star characters: humility, identity, and consistency.

John Brown gave his life fighting the injustice of slavery and sparked the Civil War. Modern crimes against life call for a new response.

When was the last time you thought about your baptism? St. Paul brings up the topic today, referring to the "noble confession."

One of the great story lines is "The Journey Home." Some one is far from home and struggles to get back. Today's homily is about that story.

Imagine someone you know is interested in learning what Christianity is really all about. What would you tell them? What's the core message? Probably most of us could think of some attractive good thing to share. However, in today's Gospel, we see the message Jesus shared with the crowds that were following him. "If you want to follow me, you have to be willing to sell all your possessions, hate your family, and ultimately be tortured to death.... Anyone still interested?" It's not the most catching message for attracting followers. Many crowds followed Jesus because of the miracles he was performing. Yet, when it comes to actually being his disciples, it takes a lot more than casual interest. He likens it to building a tower. Before you even start, you better be sure you're willing to go all the way and see it through to completion. Don't say you want to follow Jesus unless you're really in. You have to really want it, and it's not going to be easy.

While it is true that being a disciple of Jesus is the path to surest happiness in this life and in the world to come, it's not something superficial that you just get as some kind of signing bonus for beginning Christian. It takes time. You have to have two things to arrive at the true joy of Christian discipleship: First, you have to desire it. Secondly, you have to be willing to do the difficult things God asks. There is perhaps no one who did these two things better than Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta. She loved Jesus with a passionate desire of her whole life and was willing to do anything to see Jesus, including living her life in the slums of Calcutta. In today's homily, I share one of my favorite Mother Teresa stories. Do you want to see Jesus? Have a listen and see how one person had that wish come true.

The scene described in today's Gospel reminds me a lot of the political atmosphere in Washington, DC: people jockeying for positions of influence, throwing parties to make allies. It can be a very self-centered culture. Jesus tell us, as Christians, that our lives cannot be like this. Rather than looking to be exalted, we should humble ourselves. Rather than always looking to get something, the joy of the Christian life is found by those who are always looking to give. Today's homily comes on the occasion of the release of the annual financial report to the parishes and offers some concrete advice about stewardship and giving.

In the end, the thing that is most dangerous to us on our path toward heaven is our own selfishness. Anytime we put something ahead of God, we fail and are ultimately unhappy. The secret is to put God first. To put God first, we must pay God first. This is the beautiful secret to Christian happiness, a truth that I find best symbolized by, of all things, a mosque in the middle of the desert.

If you have been baptized, you are a missionary. You have a mission and Jesus is sending you. What will you do with your mission?

I, like many people, have spent a lot of time this last week watching the Olympics and marveling at the great ability of the athletes competing. I especially like it when they do a sit-down interview and you can learn a bit about the person behind all the medals and hear how they got to where they are. Some, like Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles, you find out are committed Catholics. With all the athletes, it's inspiring to see how driven they are and how much effort they have put in to being the best of the best.

Our Second Reading today makes some comparisons between the world of sport and the spiritual life. We are called to "persevere in running the race." How many of us would say today that we are as committed to spiritual success as the Olympians are to physical earthly success? Behind every great athlete is a disciplined training regimen. No athlete expects someone just to hand them a gold medal simply for showing up and "participating." Why would we expect that somehow will arrive at the gift of eternal life like it were some kind of participation trophy? No one arrives in heaven simply by running out the clock.

Jesus has already done the hard work through is suffering, death, and resurrection, but we have our part to play. It's time to start training. Today's homily provides some a sample training plan to get you going. It doesn't matter how old or young you are or what you have or haven't done. Today is the day to start running the race. Jesus doesn't want mediocre Catholics; he wants us to set the world on fire! So get up and get going. Be a champion. See yourself as a spiritual Olympian.