Little Things Mean A Lot - Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

          Watching my oldest daughter graduate from high school last Tuesday, I realized how blessed I am that both of my daughters are kind, compassionate, successful young women.  I have no idea how that happened.  Most recent polling data based on the number of eye rolls and heavy sighs I receive would suggest that I’m a complete failure at fatherhood.  But I must be doing something right; otherwise Caitlin and Annie would eat like savages, their grammar would be deplorable, and they wouldn’t know the difference between a macaroon and a macaron.  But can little things like those really have contributed to how well my girls have turned out?  Apparently they can, because our readings teach us that little things mean a lot. 

          Our first reading and our Gospel strike an agricultural theme to teach us about the Kingdom of God.  Ezekiel uses the image of a majestic cedar growing from a tender shoot to explain how God will cultivate his Kingdom from just a small remnant of the tribes of Israel.  And in our Gospel, Jesus reminds us that God’s Kingdom is present among us in small and hidden ways and that we have to trust that it will flourish and grow, even though we may have no idea how it happens.

          When we speak of God’s Kingdom, we’re talking about nothing less than the everlasting reign of God’s justice, love and peace.  As Saint Paul tells us in Romans, the Kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14: 17) Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth to enable us to share in God’s own divine life.[1]  In other words, through Christ, we’re called to live God’s Kingdom right now.  That sounds great, but obviously justice, love and peace aren’t reigning eternally in the world today.  Well, both parables confirm that “the kingdom is present in minute, hidden form [like] a ‘seed’, [and] that it will be shown in its full glory in the future.”[2]  The Kingdom of God is in our midst, but there’s a lot more to come.  

So what do we do in the meantime?  We continue to sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom in our broken world, even when our small efforts may seem futile, and we continue to trust that God’s seed will bear abundant fruit.  “Our job is to till and sow and then look on in wonder as God brings it to fruition.”[3]  How do we sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom?  We live as Jesus taught us.  We cultivate God’s Kingdom when we praise, we bless, we adore, we glorify, and we give thanks to God the Almighty Father; we cultivate God’s Kingdom when we profess in word and deed that all lives matter from conception to natural death; we cultivate God’s Kingdom when we donate school supplies, coats, diapers and canned goods for our brothers and sisters who need them; and we especially cultivate God’s Kingdom when we teach our children to do the same through our own good example.  These simple gestures may seem too small to make any difference, but that’s the point of our readings:  Little things mean a lot.  It’s the cumulative effect of all of our small efforts that will, in the end, produce an amazing result.[4]  As one Biblical commentator put it, “God’s kingdom grows surprisingly out of common and ordinary seed.”[5]

 Now, our readings also teach us that God’s Kingdom will come about whether we participate or not.  If that’s the case, then why should we bother doing anything at all if God will bring his Kingdom to fruition anyway?  Allow me to propose two reasons:  First, Saint Paul pulls no punches in our second reading when he tells us that we will be judged for our actions: “[W]e must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”  (2 Corinthians 5: 10)  I’ll bet that got you’re your attention!  Scripture is clear:  we will all be judged at the end of our days based on how well we lived our lives during our time on this planet.  The only way to guarantee our place in heaven is to sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom while we still have time.  

Now, if final judgment isn’t enough to convince you, then how about the simple fact that doing good makes us happy?  When we do good, when we sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom, our lives have purpose and meaning.  Current research in psychology confirms what saints and philosophers have long known: “Living a life of meaning and purpose is the key in the happiness quest.”[6]  As our Psalm tells us, “The just one shall flourish (Psalm 92:13).”  Even if all we can sow is the smallest of seeds, we’ll be much happier for it, because happiness begets more happiness.  Little things mean a lot.  As John Harriman put it, “Happiness held is the seed.  Happiness shared is the flower.”

On the afternoon of the September 11^th attacks, my wife, Jessica, asked me how we could bring our then 13-month old daughter into such a terrible world.  Without hesitation I said, “Maybe she’s the one who’s going to fix it.”  Watching Caitlin graduate from high school last Tuesday, I realized that I was right.  Caitlin, Annie and so many wonderful people like them, young and old, are fixing our broken world every day through generosity, compassion, impeccable grammar and proper table manners.  While they may not know how God will turn their good deeds into abundant fruit, they continue to sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom in their own small ways, and the world is better for it.  Little things mean a lot.

Readings:  Ezekiel 17: 22-24; Psalm 92; 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34

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[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church 541.

[2] C.M. Tuckett, “Mark,” The Oxford Bible Commentary, John Barton and John Muddiman, eds. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001) p. 896 (emphasis added).

[3] Michael Simone, “God Gives the Increase,” America Magazine, vol. 218, no. 3 (June 11, 2018) p. 58.

[4] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001) p. 127.

[5] Marie Noonan Sabin, “The Gospel According to Mark,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary, New Testament, Daniel Durken, ed. (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2009) p. 123.

[6] Nicholas Kardaras, “Keys to Happiness: Feeling Good or Doing Good?” Psychology Today (April 29, 2011), https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-plato-can-save-your-life/201104/keys-happiness-feeling-good-or-doing-good.

Lit! A Homily for Pentecost Sunday, Year B

          I’ve always been somewhat of a language buff, so I was quite intrigued, but a little concerned, when one of our eighth-grade religious education students loudly declared, “Deacon Mike is lit!”  At the time, I only knew two definitions for the word “lit”:  1) illuminated; and 2) drunk.  Now, the lighting in the room seemed pretty normal to me, and my halo was under control, so that eliminated the first definition.  As for the second, while it was 5 o’clock somewhere, and teaching eighth-graders does have its trying moments, I’m generally not one to turn to that type of spirit for comfort and support.  So I quickly deduced that there must be a new, hip definition of “lit” that I was much too old to know.  Well, it turns out that in teen-speak, “lit” means “exciting” and “awesome.”  How fitting for the Feast of Pentecost, when we’re all called to be “lit.” 

    

                Saint Luke’s account of that first Pentecost is filled with energy and excitement.  You might even say it’s “lit.”  When the Spirit descended upon the disciples, they were suddenly on fire with the Gospel message; they were able, even compelled, to proclaim to all who would listen “that Jesus was the good news, God’s most explicit, most insistent, word of love and hope for the world.”[1]  The Holy Spirit did for the disciples exactly what Jesus tells us he would do in our Gospel:  the Spirit told the disciples what to say and how to say it; the Spirit guided them to all truth.  Lit by the Spirit, “[t]hey found themselves united in a communion of hope and dreams, of faith and commitment, with people who literally did not speak their language.”[2]  On that first Pentecost, the Lord sent forth his Spirit and renewed the face of the earth.  

          There’s no greater, more profound or more important influence in our lives than the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit makes God present to us in all that we do and guides and inspires us to live as Jesus taught us to live.  “The work of the Holy Spirit enlightens the mind to penetrate the teachings of Christ and gives us strength and the will to live by those teachings.”[3]  Our readings leave no doubt that the Holy Spirit lit a flame in the hearts of the disciples that gave them the courage and wisdom to carry the awesome and exciting Good News of Christ crucified to the ends of the earth.  Well guess what?  The Holy Spirit is calling each one of us to do the same – we’re all called to be lit!

          God gave every one of us special and unique gifts.  And as Saint Paul tells us in our second reading, this “manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”  (1 Cor. 12:7)  “[G]ifts are given for the common service.  They are not for our own profit.  Each person in the community has been given special gifts that complement the gifts given to others.”[4]  When we share our gifts in loving cooperation with others, we allow God’s work to be accomplished through us, and we function beautifully as the body of Christ here on earth.  Whether our gifts are expressed through a caring nature or expert craftsmanship, in critical thinking or good old common sense, in musicality or . . . eloquent preaching, when we use our gifts for the benefit of others, we’re exciting, we’re awesome, we’re lit; and we renew the face of the earth. 

The question for us, then, is whether we’ll allow ourselves to be lit by the Spirit.  God gave us gifts, but he also gave us the free will to choose whether and how we’re going to use them.  Will we use our hands to serve others, or to change the channel on the remote?  We will use our voice to cry out for justice, or to berate or tear down our neighbor?  Will we use our minds to advance human life and achievement, or to create instruments of destruction, torture or murder?  It’s our choice.  Every moment of our lives offers us the choice to use our God-given gifts for good, for evil, or not at all.  

It’s in those moments of choice that we have to pay attention to the workings of the Spirit in our lives.  “God’s Spirit flows through every heart; and . . . God stirs the Spirit in each person to advance the mission of the Son.”[5]  The Holy Spirit always leads us to use our gifts for good, and when we heed the urgings of the Spirit, we do great things.  

·    It was the Holy Spirit that inspired Mother Teresa to serve the poorest of the poor;

·     It was the Holy Spirit that moved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to tell us about his Dream; 

·     It was the Holy Spirit that gave Saint Maximilian Kolbe the courage to shelter Jews during World War II and offer his own life to save a father condemned to death. 

I don’t think anyone would deny that Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Maximilian Kolbe each changed the world for the better in their own, unique ways.  I don’t think anyone would deny that they were lit!

  You know, the eighth graders in that religious education class were lit, too – and I don’t mean illuminated or drunk!  I was there for a talk on Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, knowing full well that it isn’t a topic that teens love to hear about from an adult.  Though I was prepared for giggles and rowdiness, our young adults were polite, respectful and good-humored the whole time.  But it was when we opened the floor for questions that I saw the Holy Spirit at work in them.  Their thoughtful questions reflected not only a desire to understand our faith, but also profound compassion and empathy for those who struggle with these teachings.   I left that talk with great hope for our future because I knew in my heart that our next generation is awesome and exciting.  They’re lit!  I have no doubt that they’ll use their gifts for the good of others, and, lit by the Spirit they will renew the face of the earth.

Readings:  Acts 2: 1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7; 12-13; John 15: 26-27; 16:12-15

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[1] Mary M. McGlone, “God’s Goad,” National Catholic Reporter, vol.54. no. 15 (May 4-17, 2018), p. 19.

[2] Id.

[3] The Didache Bible (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2014), John 15: 26, note, p. 1443.

[4] Jude Winkler, New St. Joseph Handbook for Proclaimers of the Word, Liturgical Year B, 2018 (New Jersey, Catholic Book Publishing Corp. 2017) p. 251.

[5] Michael Simone, “Spirit of Christ,” America, vol. 218, no. 11 (May 14, 2018) p. 58.