We have a very "busy" liturgy this morning because we are taking worship time to make pledges for the annual Archdiocesan "Together in Mission" program. If there were an easier way to do this, we would opt for it, but there doesn't seem to be any. But, that's all paperwork.
It would be a shame to concentrate on the paperwork, if in the process, no matter how successful our sign-up, we missed the message in today's readings. The readings are rich. They touch us "where we are," as the kids in New Orleans used to say.
Isaiah had the curse or the privilege, however one defines it, of living in a time of economic crisis. Right now, we are in one, too, and we can see the "curse" that fear of poverty and a constant worry about money brings to a life. Our parents and grandparents lived through the Great Depression and they, looking back on it, saw it as a privilege. People pulled together, and took care of each other. So, economic crises are merely opportunities for the soul. We can leave the world "blessed" and grateful for our behavior during them, or we can leave the world cursed, it's up to us and the choices we make. Isaiah just reminded people that it is that God is abandoning us when we are in crisis....GOD DOESN'T ABANDON ANYONE! Rather, He'll be with us as we move through it, trying to call forth the best in us.
Jesus, also, lived in a time of economic crisis and hardship. People had next to nothing. And as we read what He said to the people of His time: "Don't worry about tomorrow, even though you are in dire straits! And, don't try to serve both God and money, you can't! So, just do the next right thing for others, and let God take care of you," we can be either cynical, saying, "What did HE know about real life?", or we can say, "Wow! He really DID know about life and suffering, and He's saying something important."
Let's presume the latter, shall we? It makes sense to choose to take an hour to take Him seriously, since we are here, trying to be His disciples! And when we really listen to what He is saying, He is saying that MONEY, WEALTH, and POWER are gifts given by God--sacred trusts, if you will--AND they are tests of our character. Will we use these gifts for the greater good of all the earth, or will we selfishly hoard, and think only of ourselves?
His words are GOD speaking to you. And they are God's words speaking to you IN OUR CURRENT SITUATION, OUR CURRENT CLIMATE OF ECONOMIC INSTABILITY. They are God's words coming to you in a Church that you sometimes wonder if you should trust. In the midst of all the complexities of life, God's Word still comes, and says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be given you besides."
So, it's in THIS context that we have our Together In Mission appeal. It isn't just the Cardinal or the new Archbishop asking your largesse for parishes and schools much less well off than most. It isn't just Fr. Bill and Sr. Karen asking you for more money for St. Agatha's, too. For we are---asking you for more money for St. Agatha's, too. We need you to be generous to Together in Mission because the poorer Catholics in our area deserve a chance to worship and have an education, too. AND, we need you to be more generous to our parish, for our contributions are falling a bit, as well, and we need to make up the short-fall.
This is not a sermon about money, this is a cry for help, that comes from God, Himself. The Church is struggling, right now. We've suffered through scandals of poor judgment that have cost us in credibility. In a week or two, we will have a major sign-up of those interested, to help us create an on-going email campaign for political persuasion, since our bishops no longer have the influence they once did. The toll that the mishandling of sexual abusers by bishops is taking is still being calculated. BUT, in the midst of it all, St. Agatha's needs to survive, and so do other parishes where innocent "little people" merely need places of worship and schools to educate their young.
God's Word tells us, today, that we need to do the next right thing for the least of our brothers and sisters. We need to do the next right thing for ourselves. The spiritual "test" of our time is how we will live with economic pressures and the spiritual depression that has hit all of us in the past nine or ten years of scandal. I, Bill Axe, can't tell you what to do. All I can do is present the Word of God to you, and along with it, the needs of the Church. The choice is yours, as it always is.
On behalf of the poor, I ask you to be generous to our Together in Mission campaign. On behalf of our entire parish family, for our common good and our common future, I ask your generosity in the weeks and months ahead. The patriot, Thomas Paine, once wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls." The Gospel reminds us that "SO ARE THESE!" Let's step up to the challenge, as we can. Some will have the resources to make a great difference, others will only be able to make a small difference, but God is faithful to all of us. The readings assure us that God never abandons us nor forsakes us. Can a mother forget her infant? No more can God forget us! So, let's do our best, and pray for the best, and God's will WILL be done! And may God bless you all.+
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