Have you seen Jesus?

Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 11.12-12.2 Psalm 145 2 Thessalonians 1.11-2.2 Luke 19.1-10

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Have you seen Jesus today? Here is here, I assure you, but have you seen him? Of course, we aren’t like Zacchaeus, we can’t simply climb a tree to get above the crowd and see Jesus from there; we won’t find Jesus in the flesh walking along our roads, inviting himself to our homes. But he is here – in this church, in the words of Scripture, in the Eucharist, in all of us who have been called and commissioned to follow him. But have you seen him?

You might say that the purpose of the Church is to help people see Jesus in their lives, and once they find him, to learn how to follow him. As a Church, we do this in three main ways – by proclaiming the word of God, by celebrating the sacraments, and by exercising the ministry of charity. First, we proclaim the word of God through the way we interact with one another, the way we speak to one another, they way we respect human dignity. We proclaim the word of God by being people of love and hope, truth and honor. But as a Church we also have more formal ways of proclaiming God’s word – especially in our faith formation programs, our Catholic schools, and our efforts at evangelization. That’s the first way we can help people find Jesus. But it doesn’t stop there. Second, we celebrate the sacraments. None of us can follow Jesus on our own – we need the support of a community, we need the strength of the Eucharist, the forgiveness of Reconciliation, the wisdom of Confirmation. In the sacraments, we encounter Jesus Christ himself, and we receive the gifts – the grace – we need to be a people of faith. That’s the second way we help people find Jesus, through the sacraments. And finally, we help people find Jesus by exercising the ministry of charity, by serving the basic human needs of our brothers and sisters, whether by serving in a soup kitchen, comforting the grieving, or upholding the dignity and value of human life, from conception to natural death. To proclaim the word – to celebrate the sacraments – to exercise the ministry of charity – that is what it means to be Church, to help people find Jesus Christ and follow him.

The thing is, we can’t do it alone – as a priest and pastor, I can’t do it alone. As a parish staff, we can’t do it alone. As our shepherd and leader, Archbishop Daniel can’t do it alone. We need your help. We need the gift of your time to pray for people who are looking for Jesus, to visit those who are sick or dying, and to mentor our young people. We need the gift of your talents to teach in our faith formation programs, to cook for our funeral lunches, and to proclaim the Scriptures at Mass. And we need your treasure to make our Catholic schools affordable, to educate seminarians and deacon candidates, and to provide material resources for single mothers and families in poverty. Some of these things we do here at our parish – like our bereavement programs and our St. Vincent de Paul Society. Other things can only be accomplished at the Archdiocesan or deanery level – like seminary education or the work of St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities. But all of this ministry, we do together – because no one person can do it alone.

This week, you should receive in the mail detailed information about our parish and archdiocesan ministries and how we are inviting you to be involved. It’s called Christ Our Hope: Compassion in Community. Please, take some time to pray with this information and ask God how he is calling you to share your time, talent, and treasure in the coming year with both your parish and Archdiocesan community. Next weekend, we invite you to bring your completed intention card to Mass and place it before the altar. And remember, it’s all about helping people see Jesus – giving them a tree to climb, if they need it – and supporting them along the way as we proclaim God’s word, celebrate the sacraments, and exercise the ministry of charity. Archbishop Daniel and I can’t do it alone. We need your help.