Twenty-SixthSunday in Ordinary Time: 9/27/15—all Masses—Stewardship
There are three “landmarks” for this homily: my nephew Jake, our parishioner Melanie Jorgenson, and our parish nametags, all of which relate to the power of example that Jesus describes in today’s Gospel.
First, my nephew Jake. Jake is now thirty years old, but I remember when he was two. Jake, his parents my sister Jean and her husband Matt, my parents, and I were at my parents’ house one Sunday evening for dinner. The five adults sat down for dinner, made the Sign of the Cross, and began grace before meals, the regular “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…” when, all of a sudden, Jake erupted yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs so much so that we had to stop praying. None of us knew what to do, but my sister, Jean, did. She went over to Jake, took his hand, and made the Sign of the Cross on him with his own hand. He then was happy. He had felt left out so he was registering his protest. But, while he was happy, I was floored because it showed me the power of example that, even at two years old, though Jean and Matt didn’t realize it, Jake had learned from their example and wanted to be included.
Second, Melanie Jorgenson. If you were here last weekend, you heard Melanie talk about her upcoming year in Honduras as a missionary with a Catholic group taking care of orphaned children. She began by saying, “I have been a parishioner of St. Cletus for eighteen years. Being part of this community has been a huge blessing. You, my fellow parishioners, have played a pivotal role in making me who I am today. It was you who educated me in my nine years at St. Cletus School. You were responsible for my faith formation as I prepared to receive the sacraments. It was through your support of the Youth Ministry program that the flame of faith you instilled in me as a child continued to burn brightly throughout my teen years. And you made this parish a home and a family for me to return to during college. I cannot thank you enough for shaping my character and strengthening my faith. I come before you today asking for your continued support.” Very touching and also very humbling words.
These two landmarks about Jake and Melanie are very clearly related to Jesus’ words in today’s words about the power of example, but then there is the third, my parish nametag, Father Jim Benz. This is the original going back to 2005 when we first issued them. Recently we’ve been reminding you to wear your parish nametags and helped you today, if you didn’t have formal parish nametag, to wear stick-on nametags in their place. As I mentioned, our intent has been to make it possible for us to offer the Sign of Peace to each other by using first names. Now this might be seen as a simplistic gesture, but I sent the draft of this homily to the Archdiocese’s Director of Stewardship Education. He responded, referring to the idea of the nametags and using first names at the Sign of Peace by writing, I think the topic of “Welcoming” is one that all Catholic churches should seriously address. My experience is that many churches are “friendly” but very few are “welcoming.” Archbishop Thomas Murphy of Seattle said that “belonging leads to believing.”Is there anything that provides more music to our ears than hearing someone call our name? Remember how Mary Magdalen in St. John’s Gospel responds when at that empty tomb on that first Easter Sunday Jesus says to her simply, “Mary.” The use of a name represents the fact that we have meaning, that that meaning is recognized, that we are not worthless insignificant nobodies, but that we are seen as special and significant just as Mary Magdalen realized her worth when Jesus called her by her name.
Today is Stewardship Sunday which begins our three week long time of reflection on God’s goodness to us and how we respond to that goodness. One of the things I tell parents who are having their child baptized is that they are sculptors, that they are shaping that child, even at the moments when they are totally unaware of it, turning that child into a work of art. We are not just sculptors of our children; we are sculptors of each other no matter how old or young we are, no matter how old or young are the people whose lives we touch.
Our parish’s 50th Anniversary this year is a good backdrop to our time of reflection on stewardship now. Because of those who have gone before us, we have these beautiful buildings. Because of those who have gone before us, we have been able to form generation after generation of Melanie Jorgensons in our Catholic faith through our day school and PSR. Because of those who have gone before us, we have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped the poor, proclaimed the Good News of God’s love, have praised our God with joyful hearts, and have shown that our God does care and is with us. Like with my nephew Jake, like with Melanie Jorgenson, like with our trying to use those first names at the Sign of Peace, we are shaping each other even when we have no idea we are doing so.
Please do take some time these next two weeks and these three weekends to appreciate how we have been shaped by many, many others and how we are to shape each other now and in the future through our being good stewards of our time, talent, and treasure.