Deacon Greg's Homily 9-10-17

September 11th (16 Years - Monday)

• Remembrance of such milestones are crucial to healing and growth 
• We develop phrases like 9/11 and name storms like Andrew, Fredrick, Donna, Hazel, Camille, Katrina, Harvey, and now Irma because in a weird way, we need them to be personal so as to never forget! 
• But let’s not forget the nameless tragedies like the wildfires out west, earthquakes, tornados, and other natural disasters. 

God doesn’t send natural disasters or use unspeakable tragedies to teach us a lesson! The lessons learned from such random events are seen in our readiness to RESPOND with faith, a faith that is shared and expressed in loving and genuine ways. Last weekend's and today's second collection is the least we can do to simply show our love and support for VICTIMS of flooding and monstrous high winds! Another thing we can do is lift them all up in prayer, so let us pray together in this moment of silence… THANK YOU.

Lydia’s Serenity Prayer: Lord, I'm not sure what the plan is. I know You have one, and it would be nice to be in the loop. However, since I'm not privy to it right this minute, please grant me grace enough for today and fortitude to bear faithfully on in the meantime. (But, if You wanna send a memo, I'll be in my office all day.)

A Story...

In these days and times, we can all relate with the need to find work. Many of us have been through the experience of the interview, and the preparation that goes with trying to land that perfect job! I'm sure some of you had at least one of those interviews this past week, or one coming up in the near future. If that's the case, we're also praying for you!

Recently, I've heard the story of a company that was looking for a third shift security person. They advertised the need for a “Night Watchman”, and interviews were held one day during the lunch hour. At first the boss was overjoyed to see the wonderful turnout, as it surely seemed that they would be filling the position quickly, but it soon became evident that folks weren’t giving very good answers… nobody seemed to be the right fit for the job.

Finally, after the line was gone, and the job still open... There was one person left sitting in the corner. The boss asked if she wanted to interview. She shrugged her shoulders, and agreed. The boss asked her the same first question that as was posed to the others, "What's one of your greatest weaknesses?" She replied, "My insomnia." The boss hired her on the spot!

Keep Watch & Eat!

• Ezekiel followed Jeremiah, and is the only prophet to be called from outside the Holy Land… The people were in exile. 
• Earlier in the Book of Ezekiel, he was given the scroll, The Word of God, to eat and ingest, so that he would share that Word first, allowing it to exude from his every action. 
• In today's reading, he was called to “keep watch” over the law and the tradition knowing that they would somehow find their way out of exile, and back home. But the faith had to remain strong, to bring it back with them! 
• Like a Sentinel stands guard, watching for the threats of an approaching enemy, Ezekiel is charged with the role of providing warning to those who are going astray. It's the classic “Woe to you” or “Turn Away from Evil Ways” part of the Prophet’s job description. 
• It goes without saying that Ezekiel was probably not a very popular guy to be hanging around. 
• Today, we should remember that during our Baptism, we were anointed to be a priestly people, willing to serve, knowing that as God’s children, we are also part of what Peter referred to as royalty… But our first reading today highlights that third element of your anointing… Your call to be a PROPHET remembering that a Prophet is one who speaks, acts, or even writes under the extraordinary influence of god so as to both proclaim and to make the proclamation of God credible.
• So today, let us seriously consider that like Ezekiel, we have been given THIS WORD and are about to be given THIS FOOD so that we might become what we become what we eat, and be strengthened and nourished to take seriously our role as the one who must watche out for any threats to the well being of the the law, the tradition, and the faith that is the Church. But let us also keep watch over one another, making sure there are no threats to our neighbor!

Judge Wisely & Live!

• The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans telling them to “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” An important theme in Paul's Letter to the Romans is an invitation for all to consider that you should simply judge your own actions wisely, choose good over evil, become an example, helping and allowing others to do the same. To owe nothing might be another way of saying to leave it all on the table from the start, and just love them!

Reconcile & Be One Body in Christ!

• Which brings us to the challenge of the Gospel as we are called to help lead others to reconciliation. In the Gospel, we are asked to confront those who have done us wrong, “our bother who has sinned against us.” The Gospel asks that we begin the process of healing by dealing with things one on one, and while it does say to tell them their fault, I would also call upon the spirit of another part of Matthew’s Gospel where we are called first to deal with the plank in our own eye before confronting the splinter in theirs. 
• It’s worth noting, that from the 18th chapter of Matthew, today's reading is sandwiched between two parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, which calls us to go to great lengths to find those who are lost, willing to seek the one out of 100, and the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which tells the story of the one whose debt is forgiven by his his Master, but then turns around and refuses to give the same benefit to those who owe him, helping us to understand the value of paying forward the forgiving spirit given to us.
• So today we are called to keep watch not only over the faith, but especially over our brothers and sisters in need. Remember, our response is the key of the message. We lay it all on the table from the start. We share and serve, and teach and forgive with the genuine love of Christ in our hearts, working through our words and deeds!

KEEP WATCH!

SEEK OUT!

RECONCILE & SHARE THE SPIRIT OF RECONCILIATION, AND JUST LOVE THEM!