Homily
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
19 November 2017
AMDG +JMJ +m
Daily Readings
Are you fearless?
You should be. It's the attitude that characterizes a real Christian. Someone who knows a love that casts out all fear.
Are you fearless? You should be. It is really the only way to live your faith.
Thursday night here at St. Lawrence the Jayhawks for Life group hosted a national speaker on the topic of 'Lies Feminists Tell.' It was a provocative title for a talk. I was scared on how it might go. They should have hosted the talk in the Union because the topic and content wasn't dependent upon faith or Catholic moral teaching. Yet because of lack of space they decided to have it here. There were pro-choice protesters. There was tension. It was a risk. Yet it led to the dialogue that is proper to a university. The protesters were welcomed in, served cookies and doughnuts, and invited to ask questions and share views. It was a risk, but it worked. It was a risk, but one that broke through the disintegration, separation and hate that only deepens when real dialogue is stifled.
My favorite students to talk to at KU are actually not conservative orthodox Catholics who do what the Church expects and believe and practice their faith. I never take our core students for granted, and I love them very much, and depend on them. Yet without regarding them any less, I relish conversations with students who don't practice their faith and who are inoculated to Catholicism.
I had such a conversation this Friday who a student who is completely inoculated. He thinks it a total accident that he was born Catholic, and has summarized all religion as mythology that points people toward being nice and generous. Yet because he thinks truth claims of religion are dubious and you can be nice and generous without being religious, there is no point in going to Church. End of story.
Of course I disagree with this student on every point, and would love a chance to talk it all through if God allows. Yet one thing stood out in the conversation. The student did not see me, nor any religious person he has ever met, as the most fearless and generous person he has ever known, nor does he think religion can and does produce such people. He's wrong of course, but that's the inoculation that is his reality.
Which is why Jesus teaches today's parable. There really is only one reason and one way to be a Catholic Christian, and that is to risk everything. To be fearless. Anything else is pointless and unconvincing.
The parable begins in generosity. The man gives his talents away. The talents we receive from God include not only our natural abilities, but most importantly His life, His mercy, His grace. . ultimately, the gift of His very self in the self-sacrificing total love of Jesus on the cross. We have received the talent of a love that has conquered sin and death, a love that casts out all fear
Fearlessness then is the gift we have received from God, a love that did not fear God's will, his plan nor the corss. So fearlessness is the gift we must make with our lives. If you are not taking huge risks to live and and share your faith, what little faith you have will be taken away. The parable is hard to hear. Really hard. Which is why it's so good.
I preach to myself here first. I fear failure everyday. I want to settle and pull back and pull inward all the time. It's a constant demon. I fear sharing the faith with outsiders, instead of sticking with the sure thing of creating a cliq with Catholics who are most like me. I fear asking for the money and resources we need to actualize the most aggressive and fearless evangelization to the souls, minds and hearts that are here at KU, that are God's gift to me. I instead want to settle for what is safe, predictable, controllable, sustainable and realistic. Shame on me. That's so boring, and will never break through any inoculation.
There is no talent that you or I have that is not to be risked. 5 talents, 2 or 1. They must all be risked. The redistribution of talents will go to the biggest risk takers. We think in fairness that God should redistribute his talents from rich to poor. But in matters of faith, the opposite holds sway, and God shows himself very demanding and most unfair. The talent of faith is taken away from the one who has little, and given to the one who has much.
Pathetic then is the Christian who calculates the minimum amount of faith and generosity that they need to poke a toe into heaven. That person has no chance. None. Our faith is a zero sum game. All or nothing. Which is what makes the dare of the Christian faith so unique and exciting. If you live your faith in a miserly and boring way, it will and should be taken from you.
Now this is not to say that we are to throw away the virtue of prudence, which orders our zeal and passion according to right reason, so that our risk-taking bears great fruit. Yet it does mean that within the lines drawn by the Church, and having been made secure in our lives by the gift that is God's providence, mercy and grace, we really have nothing to lose as Christians, except the things that we bury. We're playing with house money, kids, and it's supposed to be exciting and fun. How foolish is it of us to live our faith in fear of punishment, when we have a God who is literally dying to instead forgive us? We have nothing to fear. We can be nothing other than the most fearless and generous people the world has ever seen. Or we should all go home.
This is the only way to wake the sleeping giant that is a Church that was born for only one reason, to set the world on fire, and yet allows herself to be ignored because of her fear.
How mad would we all be in KU played tight, played in fear of their opponent, played not to lose, and buried it's talents rather than laying it all on the court, glorifying God by playing with sheer joy and trust and teamwork rather than fear? If we can get disappointed in a team playing a game the wrong way, so much moreso should we be mad at ourselves, if we are playing not to lose in the only game that is truly for keeps. Amen.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
19 November 2017
AMDG +JMJ +m
Daily Readings
Are you fearless?
You should be. It's the attitude that characterizes a real Christian. Someone who knows a love that casts out all fear.
Are you fearless? You should be. It is really the only way to live your faith.
Thursday night here at St. Lawrence the Jayhawks for Life group hosted a national speaker on the topic of 'Lies Feminists Tell.' It was a provocative title for a talk. I was scared on how it might go. They should have hosted the talk in the Union because the topic and content wasn't dependent upon faith or Catholic moral teaching. Yet because of lack of space they decided to have it here. There were pro-choice protesters. There was tension. It was a risk. Yet it led to the dialogue that is proper to a university. The protesters were welcomed in, served cookies and doughnuts, and invited to ask questions and share views. It was a risk, but it worked. It was a risk, but one that broke through the disintegration, separation and hate that only deepens when real dialogue is stifled.
My favorite students to talk to at KU are actually not conservative orthodox Catholics who do what the Church expects and believe and practice their faith. I never take our core students for granted, and I love them very much, and depend on them. Yet without regarding them any less, I relish conversations with students who don't practice their faith and who are inoculated to Catholicism.
I had such a conversation this Friday who a student who is completely inoculated. He thinks it a total accident that he was born Catholic, and has summarized all religion as mythology that points people toward being nice and generous. Yet because he thinks truth claims of religion are dubious and you can be nice and generous without being religious, there is no point in going to Church. End of story.
Of course I disagree with this student on every point, and would love a chance to talk it all through if God allows. Yet one thing stood out in the conversation. The student did not see me, nor any religious person he has ever met, as the most fearless and generous person he has ever known, nor does he think religion can and does produce such people. He's wrong of course, but that's the inoculation that is his reality.
Which is why Jesus teaches today's parable. There really is only one reason and one way to be a Catholic Christian, and that is to risk everything. To be fearless. Anything else is pointless and unconvincing.
The parable begins in generosity. The man gives his talents away. The talents we receive from God include not only our natural abilities, but most importantly His life, His mercy, His grace. . ultimately, the gift of His very self in the self-sacrificing total love of Jesus on the cross. We have received the talent of a love that has conquered sin and death, a love that casts out all fear
Fearlessness then is the gift we have received from God, a love that did not fear God's will, his plan nor the corss. So fearlessness is the gift we must make with our lives. If you are not taking huge risks to live and and share your faith, what little faith you have will be taken away. The parable is hard to hear. Really hard. Which is why it's so good.
I preach to myself here first. I fear failure everyday. I want to settle and pull back and pull inward all the time. It's a constant demon. I fear sharing the faith with outsiders, instead of sticking with the sure thing of creating a cliq with Catholics who are most like me. I fear asking for the money and resources we need to actualize the most aggressive and fearless evangelization to the souls, minds and hearts that are here at KU, that are God's gift to me. I instead want to settle for what is safe, predictable, controllable, sustainable and realistic. Shame on me. That's so boring, and will never break through any inoculation.
There is no talent that you or I have that is not to be risked. 5 talents, 2 or 1. They must all be risked. The redistribution of talents will go to the biggest risk takers. We think in fairness that God should redistribute his talents from rich to poor. But in matters of faith, the opposite holds sway, and God shows himself very demanding and most unfair. The talent of faith is taken away from the one who has little, and given to the one who has much.
Pathetic then is the Christian who calculates the minimum amount of faith and generosity that they need to poke a toe into heaven. That person has no chance. None. Our faith is a zero sum game. All or nothing. Which is what makes the dare of the Christian faith so unique and exciting. If you live your faith in a miserly and boring way, it will and should be taken from you.
Now this is not to say that we are to throw away the virtue of prudence, which orders our zeal and passion according to right reason, so that our risk-taking bears great fruit. Yet it does mean that within the lines drawn by the Church, and having been made secure in our lives by the gift that is God's providence, mercy and grace, we really have nothing to lose as Christians, except the things that we bury. We're playing with house money, kids, and it's supposed to be exciting and fun. How foolish is it of us to live our faith in fear of punishment, when we have a God who is literally dying to instead forgive us? We have nothing to fear. We can be nothing other than the most fearless and generous people the world has ever seen. Or we should all go home.
This is the only way to wake the sleeping giant that is a Church that was born for only one reason, to set the world on fire, and yet allows herself to be ignored because of her fear.
How mad would we all be in KU played tight, played in fear of their opponent, played not to lose, and buried it's talents rather than laying it all on the court, glorifying God by playing with sheer joy and trust and teamwork rather than fear? If we can get disappointed in a team playing a game the wrong way, so much moreso should we be mad at ourselves, if we are playing not to lose in the only game that is truly for keeps. Amen.
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