St. Joseph Church Homilies

Success in life and finding happiness often demands so much time and energy divided across so many different areas that it appears there’s never enough. Family, school and work, finances and health, faith and friends: giving enough to all these areas seems near impossible and yet everyone knows happiness and success will only be found when enough is given to each of these demands.

We’re reflecting on the idea of being enough. Everyone wonders if they are enough: if they have enough or love enough or accomplish enough. We started by looking at a moment when Jesus healed a deaf man. It’s easy to imagine the deaf man worrying that his voice would not be enough to be heard above the loud crowd who demanded Jesus to heal him. It’s easy to picture the crowd feeling they didn’t have enough to help the poor deaf man. Through Jesus we learn, however, that God’s people don’t have to worry about being enough because God is more than enough and meets us where we are. Jesus took the deaf man aside, away from the noise of the crowd, and healed him through touch and gestures.

Because God is more than enough, maybe all our worry and efforts to be enough just isn’t the right goal at all. I mean, it never ends well when a couple invests just enough into the marriage to avoid divorce; that’s not really love. The employee who puts in just enough effort to avoid getting fired isn’t really a great employee. The student who aims for just enough to pass the course can never be a high achiever. While everyone is haunted by the goal of being enough, doing enough and having enough, maybe enough isn’t even the right goal, maybe that frustration of never reaching enough despite all best efforts comes because of working for the wrong thing.

Today’s Gospel features a conversation between Jesus and his closest followers. It’s a kind of heart-to-heart where Jesus reveals what his followers should aim for, what their goal in life should be and why.

First the why. When Jesus asked his disciples, “…who do you say that I am?”[i], Peter gave the best response possible, “You are the Messiah.”[ii] Jesus is the Saviour. He rose from the dead. So, when he gives a goal for his followers to aim for, there’s great reason to take his words seriously.

I mentioned the why first because that’s the easy part. We follow Jesus because he’s the Saviour and he’s trustworthy. Where he asks us to follow, what disciples of Jesus should aim for, however, is a bigger challenge because he doesn’t ask his followers to just be enough. No, Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me.”[iii]

Our real goal isn’t to be enough or to do enough or to have enough. No, the goal of disciples is to follow the Saviour, to let Jesus guide and direct our steps. Disciples truly follow the Saviour when they deliberately choose to go where he goes, even when that means going to the cross and there is the real challenge. Following Jesus is not passive act; you can’t just accidently follow Jesus because the natural tendency is to run from the cross, not to take it up as our Saviour does.

We all have crosses to carry. Burdens are placed on each demanding time and energy. When you arrive here next weekend, you’ll find nametags and pens in the pews; I hope you’ll fill in a nametag and wear it. I know it’s easy to roll eyes at the idea, but I hope you’ll wear a nametag so we can pray for one another. We do all have crosses to carry and nametag Sunday isn’t just about getting to know one another by name, it’s an opportunity for us to recognize our crosses and pray for one another.

I know we could all use some prayers because our crosses tell us we’re not enough. As disciples, though, we have a choice. We can listen to the voice of the crosses we carry and spend life striving to be enough, do enough and have enough. We can carry the constant worry of not being enough in our relationships, work, health or finances, or we can follow the Saviour who is more than enough and transforms crosses into something life giving.

As disciples, we carry our crosses and follow the Saviour when we put following him above all other priorities. When we make prayer or coming here a priority even when our crosses declare there isn’t enough time, when a disciple prays with another or offers some time in service for others even when our crosses proclaim there isn’t enough energy, we follow the Saviour.

We carry our crosses and follow Jesus as individual disciples, but also work to do that as a parish. For several years now, you’ve heard about pastoral planning, an exercise our bishop has asked all churches in our area to go through. It’s a way for us, as a parish, to explore how we can make sure what we do here supports us in following the Saviour.

Beginning this week, we’re continuing the conversation by looking at our worship. We’re going to talk about making sure everyone is given an opportunity to serve and participate in worship here. We’ll reflect on how we can work to make what we do here a place for all to meet God, a place worshippers want to return to. If you would like to join this discussion, just show up to the Columbus Hall on Thursday evening at six-thirty. There’s no obligation to do anything but come and share.

Ultimately our crosses present us with the same basic question Jesus asked his disciples “…who do you say that I am?”[iv] How we respond to crosses is our answer to that question. If he truly is our Saviour, then there’s no need to worry about being enough because we know he is more than enough, and we’re happy to follow our Saviour anywhere.

God of all that is good, as your Son transformed his cross into something life-giving, we beg you to transform our crosses too. Through your Spirit, abundantly bless our efforts, so we may, in turn, become a blessing for others and grant us courage so we would never run from our crosses but instead pick them up and follow our Saviour, in whose name we pray. Amen.

[i] Mark 8:29 NRSVCE

[ii] Mark 8:29 NRSVCE

[iii] Mark 8:34 NRSVCE

[iv] Mark 8:29 NRSVCE

Ever wonder if you’re enough? I know the question comes up for me all the time. Do I pray enough? Am I enough as a friend? Do I serve enough? At the end of the day, I don’t stop work because I don’t have enough things to do, but because I feel I don’t have enough time or energy. Do I accomplish enough?

I feel I’m in good company here though; we all have similar questions because no matter how much we do, regardless of how much time, energy or resources invested into any part of life, there’s always more that can be done. A loving husband or wife may wonder if they are enough for their spouse or family or if they may be reserving a little too much for themselves. A parent may wonder if they give enough for their children. A single person may wonder if they have enough strength to make it on their own. Maybe someone here wonders if they’ve saved enough to happily retire or if they’re available enough for their friends. Some are perhaps unsure if their faith is enough or if they are kind enough. Let’s not even talk about doing enough for health; that’s another set of questions. When is it all enough?

For the next bunch of weeks we’ll take a look at the question of enough and we’ll start with the Gospel for today. It recalls a moment in the ministry of Jesus, when a group of people brought forward a deaf man, begging that Jesus heal him. We can picture the concern these people had. We might imagine the people feeling as though they didn’t have enough to offer the unfortunate man. I’m sure they had worked out their own ways of communicating, maybe some form of sign language. But there would always remain a barrier that no one had enough to overcome. But then came Jesus.

Now, in other miraculous healings, we witness how Jesus, with just a word, could heal someone in front of everyone. With a word, Jesus brought the daughter of Jairus back to life before her parents. In front of a large crowd, Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus with a word. But, there’s a couple unique features in the healing of the deaf man we heard about today. Instead of healing the man with a word in front of everyone to see, Jesus takes the deaf man aside, alone, and touches his ears and tongue.

We know Jesus doesn’t have to do those extra things, but he did because God meets each of us where we are. The deaf man couldn’t hear, so instead of using just words, Jesus used gestures and touched him; he met the man where he was. The deaf man and those who brought him to Jesus for healing didn’t have to be enough, because God is more than enough and meets each person where they are.

Jesus also took the deaf man aside. With all those loud people begging Jesus to do something, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it could have been for the deaf man to communicate, how easily his voice might have been drowned out by the voices of others. God meets his people where they are. The man didn’t have to worry about his voice being enough. Jesus took him aside to hear him, away from the noise of the crowd.

We don’t have to worry about being enough for God because God is more than enough and meets us where we are. But receiving his healing work does take a little effort on our part. The deaf man had to agree to be taken aside, he had to trust and go be alone with Jesus. That may be a similar challenge for many of us because life is filled with all kinds of noise that works to drown out our own voice and prevent us from hearing the words of our saviour.

So, a couple challenges for the week: first, maybe take a moment in the week to see in what areas feelings of not being enough arise. They could be brought up through thoughts about relationships or career, health, finances or really any area of life. Where do you feel you aren’t enough?

Next, find a moment to go aside to be with Jesus, find a place and moment to shut out, even briefly, all the noise that makes it difficult to hear him. For those who can’t find such a place at home, the chapel is available here most days of the week and it’s very quiet. On Fr. Erwin’s return it will go back to being open every day. I know some come here in the week to meet Jesus in the daily Mass too and are touched by the sacrifice offered here. Wherever it is, find a place where you can ask Jesus to bring healing into those places where you feel you’re not enough. We trust that God meets us where we are and there’s no need to worry about being enough because our God is more than enough.

God of all goodness, as a group of people begged Jesus to heal their deaf friend, we too come asking for your healing touch. In the face of evils and those powers that work to tear down, we are not enough and turn to you. Through your Holy Spirit, open the ears of our hearts to listen for your word and may the sacrifice of your Son, made present at this altar, renew our trust in you, who are more than enough. We make this prayer in his name. Amen.

For anyone on a journey, food is a big deal. No road trip is complete without the right food. A camping trip can fall to pieces if enough food isn’t packed. I suspect the purses of many mothers here have at least a little food in them, just in case. Once, while on a walking pilgrimage, I stumbled on this tree that had something that looked like walnuts growing on it. I wasn’t carrying much food with me because over a day, extra food gets heavy. So, finding food along the way was always a blessing. I took and cracked open one of these nuts and bit into it only to find it completely inedible. It tasted awful and my mouth even went numb for near an hour. Having the right food is important for any journey, big or small.

In the first reading, we heard about one of the early challenges God’s chosen people faced as they journeyed to the Promised Land: the problem of hunger. The people were on a journey, constantly on the move, so there was no time to farm. When hunger appeared, they worried for their survival. Some even went so far as to accuse God of leading his people into the wilderness to die of hunger.

God responded to the cries of his people with a miracle, with the appearance of an edible bread-like substance nearly every day. The people called it ‘manna’, and this food sustained God’s people through the remainder of their journey to the promised land. We learn how God miraculously feeds his people, but he feeds them for a journey.

Last week, we heard about a miracle Jesus did before a crowd of thousands who had followed him to a remote spot. They had been with him so long that they ran out of food. Instead of sending the people away, Jesus multiplied loaves of bread and a couple fish and everyone had their fill. Afterwards, instead of returning to their homes and jobs, the crowd followed Jesus across a lake. He could make food out of nothing; there was very good reason to follow him. Jesus called them out, saying, “…you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”[i] The people wanted more free food and Jesus knew it; free food would certainly make life much easier. God, however, didn’t come to make life easier. No, his plan is to miraculously feed his people for a journey.

When we come here or when we pray, disappointment is easy to find because when we expect God to make life easier or to help us survive from day to day, what we discover here is something very different. God doesn’t feed us to survive, he miraculously feeds us for a journey. If we forget that we’re on a journey to God’s Kingdom, when the primary concern becomes survival here, then our worship here seems pointless. We come here because survival isn’t enough, we long for something more. We may have built incredibly comfortable homes here, but we know we’re still on a journey. We come here to find a miracle, a food we cannot find anywhere else.

For God’s chosen people who fled Egypt, the journey was to the promised land. For us today, the journey is to God’s Kingdom; and just as God’s chosen people were unable to give themselves the miraculous food needed to reach the promised land, neither can we make for ourselves the food that’s needed for our long and difficult journey. We come here not to find food that will feed us for a day but to receive the food needed to reach his Kingdom.

The miraculous food God feeds us with is his very self, offered on the altar here pretty much every day. It may not be especially filling, it may not taste particularly delicious, but this miraculous food forgives sins, units us to God’s family and gives us the strength needed to share in God’s work. Even our efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry through the food bank are derived from what we receive here. The ordinary food given out here, our care for those who cry out is hopefully a reminder of the greater care and miraculous food God offers.

Near the conclusion of the Gospel, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the bread of life.”[ii] and with these words he started a long conversation with the crowds who followed him. It’s called, ‘The Bread of Life Discourse’, and in this conversation Jesus encourages those who follow him not to seek survival, but to seek all that’s needed to reach the end of a great journey. For the rest of the month we’re going to explore this conversation. We’ll see how Jesus calls all to accept his miraculous food and follow him on the journey and how this call, sadly, eventually leads most to turn away from him.

God of all that is good, your people cry out to you in need. For some, survival is threatened as they hunger for food, purpose, security and peace. Guide us and make us your instruments to bring relief to those who suffer. May our prayers here, your Word and the gift of your very self on the altar nourish us for the great journey you call us to accept. May we never turn away from your Son, but draw close to him, the Bread of Life. In his name, we pray. Amen.

[i] John 6:26 (NRSVCE)

[ii] John 6: 35 (NRSVCE)

We’ve been reflecting on our Baptism, especially on the moment when consecrated oil is placed on the head of the newly Baptized in the sign of the cross while they’re told they’re now united to Jesus as priest, prophet and king. This is not just a ritual but the continuation of an ancient practice reaching far back into the Old Testament. The anointing wasn’t just a blessing, but a sign of dedication and support. The people knew, as we do today, that God leads his people through priests prophets and kings.

We considered how each Baptized person is a priest, given the job of leading God’s people through prayer, worship and sacrifice. That’s what the priests did in the temple and it’s what we continue doing in our church. Through participation at Mass, we offer God prayers for the needs of all. Through the collection we present a sacrifice, asking God to transform it into something life-giving; and through music, gestures and the various ways so many contribute, we offer God worship.

Some, like Fr. Erwin and myself, may be called to live out the priesthood we received at Baptism as ministerial priests. We’ve been given the task of making sure this place remains a place of prayer, sacrifice and worship, especially through the Sacraments. But every other Baptized person has a job too: to lead God’s people by building homes, families, and communities that are dedicated to prayer, sacrifice and worship.

We explored, last week, how each Baptized person is a prophet called to lead God’s people by sharing God’s word, his message of love; they’re like God’s voice in the world. When so many false prophets suggest that joy is to be found in wealth, pleasure, honour and power, we need true prophets who set things straight, who remind us that joy is found instead in having a right relationship with God and with others. When so many false prophets urge us to become gods for ourselves, true prophets point out the way to the joy of God’s Kingdom.

God also continues leading his people through kings. I’m sure each of us have expectations of what a king looks like. Here’s a nickel with Charles the third on it. I don’t know why he’s not wearing a crown; in my mind, kings wear crowns. I’m sure each of us also have expectations of what a king does. Maybe some here imagine kings as living in castles and sitting on thrones, bestowing honours on nobles and keeping peasants in check.

God also has expectations for what a king should do. For God, the job of kings is to guide his people by using his gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. It’s perhaps God’s first rule. Even before commanding the first people to avoid eating the forbidden fruit, God instructed them to be stewards of creation, to continue building upon what God started. God wants his people to rule, but to do so in his name and in his ways.

In the Old Testament, the livelihood of God’s people often depended on the faithfulness of the king. Things went very well for God’s people when kings used their position to uphold God’s commandments and when they slipped and became unfaithful, God’s people suffered, sometimes greatly. God leads his people through kings, but kings are often faulty and that’s a true problem.

God has a solution though. In today’s First Reading through the prophet Jeremiah, God reveals his plan to lead his people into a great future through a king, “…I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king… In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.”[i]This new king is Jesus, God himself and a man free of all the failings that have led God’s people astray in the past. Instead of ruling from a throne room, he asks to rule from the heart of every Baptized person. Wanting to be great kings in his name, there’s three things disciples do to allow Jesus to rule from our hearts:

First, disciple know the gifts they’ve received. Nations regularly take a census to understand the gift of people dwelling within. It’s expensive and time consuming but it helps in understanding gifts and it’s necessary for any nation hoping to grow and develop. Disciples can do something similar. They might take a moment regularly to appreciate the gifts they’ve received. Some might appreciate the gift of family and loved ones, while others recognize they been given gifts in their talents or career or position.

Next, the disciples of today, the kings among us, proclaim something greater, God. This is an exercise in honesty, recognizing that we have been made kings, not because any of us have accomplished anything great, not because we’ve earned a kingdom but because God has called us. He’s the one who’s given us a share in the kingship of Jesus: he’s the greater being.

I stand by my earlier statement: kings should wear crowns. Disciples take up their crowns, they take charge and use the gifts they’ve received to build up God’s kingdom. Even when powerless against the clouts of the world, we take up our crowns by starting within. Vices, sin or bad habits have no place in the hearts of those who take up the crown of discipleship. Instead, God hopes we’ll accept crowns of faith, hope and love: crowns that reveal God and leads others towards his Kingdom.

At Baptism we were joined to Jesus, offered a great inheritance and that is some truly great Good News. But we’ve also been given a great responsibility as priests, prophets and kings today. By living that identity out, we not only lead God’s people but make the King of Kings present in the world.

God of love, we praise you for inviting us to share in your work. Through your Spirit, make of us a community of faithful priests, prophets and kings to lead your people after the model of Jesus who rules over all as the Good Shepherd. In his name we offer our prayers. Amen.

[i] Jeremiah 23: 5, 6 (NRSVCE)

In the Old Testament, through a ritual of anointing, certain individuals were set apart as priests, prophets and kings to lead God’s people. The anointing wasn’t just a blessing, but a sign of dedication, indicating how the anointed one was chosen for the special task of sharing in God’s work of gathering the people. Today, we still anoint people for the same reason. Right after the pouring of water, Sacred Chrism, a consecrated oil, is placed on the head of the newly Baptized in the sign of the cross while they’re told they are united to Jesus as priest, prophet and king.

Last weekend, we considered how each Baptized person is an anointed priest. Now, the job of priests has been to lead God’s people through prayer, sacrifice and worship. That’s what the priests did in the temple and it’s what we continue doing in our church. Through participation at Mass, we offer God prayers for the needs of all. Through the collection we present a sacrifice, asking God to transform it into something life-giving; and through our music, gestures and the various ways many contribute here, we offer God worship.

Some, like Fr. Erwin and myself, may be called to live out the priesthood we received at Baptism as ministerial priests, by making sure this place remains a place of prayer, sacrifice and worship, especially through the Sacraments. We probably have it easiest as the various books and rules of our church tell us exactly how to do that and if we slip up, the bishop is sure to correct. Every other Baptized person has a job too though: to lead God’s people by building homes, families, and communities that are dedicated to prayer, sacrifice and worship.

God also leads his people through prophets. A prophet is someone who shares God’s word; they’re like God’s voice in the world. In the first reading we heard about the prophet Amos, a shepherd and fig farmer from the nation of Judah who God called to go to another country, Israel. The land had many false prophets who told the people that happiness was to be found in wealth, pleasure, honour and power. Even the king listened to these false prophets and encouraged the people to abandon their Jewish faith.

So, the people worshipped these false gods, these idols, who made no demands about caring for those in need. Forgetting about the miraculous way God had led his people out of slavery to the Egyptians, indebted slavery became common practice. Those who owed too much on their credit card were sold into slavery until their debt was paid off and this free labour made it easy for some to become very wealthy. Things seemed to be working; so, the false prophets were believed.

False prophets still exist suggesting that happiness is found more in wealth than in God, enslaving many to materialism. The false prophets of today still propose that it’s pleasure and not faith that offers joy, urging many to depend on substances, entertainment and forms of love that aren’t life-giving. False prophets today suggest that honour, not sacrifice is the way to fulfillment, threatening conflict and practices that scatter and divide God’s people instead of uniting them. When the false prophets of today suggest that prayer makes no real difference in our world, those looking for change begin placing more trust in politicians, economic systems, policies and elections than in God’s power.

We need true prophets today to set things straight, prophets like Amos who, at God’s prompting, went to the primary temple of the false gods in Bethel, to revealing how happiness wasn’t to be found in power, honour, pleasure or wealth but in having a right relationship with others and with God. We need true prophets today who reveal God to those looking for answers, hope and happiness and these needed prophets come from among us, the Baptized.

But being a true prophet today is challenging. The words of Amos weren’t well received; many strongly urged the foreign prophet to return home or at least keep his faith to himself because his message also contained an unpopular prophecy of destruction and exile if the people refused to return to their faith; his prophecy did come true about forty years later. Amos is a recognized prophet today not because he was the most knowledgeable or well educated or smartest but because he proclaimed, not his own word, but God’s.

Disciples do the same thing today, they become great prophets when they simply proclaim the Good News and it’s simple: Out of love for us, God entered the world; through his death and resurrection he conquered all that divides us from love and through his Church he units us and empowers us to share in his joyful work. That’s the message of the prophets of today, a message shared in our homes and schools, families, workplaces and beyond. Disciples wanting to go a little deeper might check out the weekly videos, readings and audio recordings listed in the news app each week or even consider coming for some of the adult lessons held here each winter.

Being a true prophet today is challenging, especially when difficult questions and trials obscure God. Jesus has promised, though, that the pure in heart will see God. So, as the true prophets of today, we ask God to purify our hearts.

Maker of all and source of life, we beg you to raise up from among your people dedicated leaders, priests, prophets and kings, who reveal your presence and lead your people who are often scattered and searching for hope. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of the Baptized, so they would never shy away from your call to courageously share your Good News in our families, community and world. We offer these and all our prayers in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.