Good to Great: Easter Vigil Homily 2023

You may know that I like bookstores. Every city I travel to, including New York City, I find that I spend an inordinate amount of time in them with no goal except to look around. I browse the shelves to see what seems to be the newest, the most popular, and the staff picks, but also what are the “good old faithful” ones that keep showing themselves and may even seem to be somewhat timeless.

Recently, on my browse, I came across again, one of those good old faithful ones … one that I read a long time ago, you may have heard of it or even read it yourself … that book entitled Good to Great written by influential management professor Jim Collins. It’s not new, it was released in 2001.

It is the story of how effective leaders can take a business that is already doing well and take it to the next level. I believe that is a dream for most of us.

· To not only do something that is good in quality but to do something that is exceptional.

· To not only be good at something but to be great at something as well.

That is a topic that gets my attention because I happen to believe that if we have the choice of building a good church or a great church, a good business or a great business, a good marriage or a great marriage then we would all choose doing something great, yes?

Reflecting on that book summarizes what we have celebrated here in these last days, and more importantly what we celebrate tonight … learning to move from good to great.

We heard clearly in the Sacred Scriptures from the book of Genesis that God created the heavens and the earth with the capstone of creation being man and woman … and God saw that it was good.

We started at good … but in reflecting on the life of Jesus, we are challenged to become great … to live our best lives … to use what we have been given not only to reach our best potential, but to contribute, a meaningful contribution with our time here on this earth … and not just to coast or float along day after day.

In his research, Collins found that successes resulted from three main factors:

1. disciplined people

2. disciplined thought

3. disciplined action

The word discipline comes from discipulus, the Latin word for pupil, which also provided the source of the word disciple. It seems to me that for us to get from good to great, the challenge is that we need to be all in, pupils of the Lord, A students, who are willing to form our thoughts and direct our actions in conformity to his.

To discipline our thoughts, we might:

1) Lead with questions, not answers – seeking to know more about Jesus whose resurrection we celebrate today, and not presume to have all the answers about God and faith.

2) Engage in dialogue and debate - that is, learn to better talk to and listen to one another with civility, especially those who are different from us.

3) Reflect on issues and failings without blame – that is work harder to respect and care for one another, even those who seem not to measure up to our standards, finding peace in the fact that God created them and sees them as good too.

To discipline our actions, we need to let go the idea that we are “better than everyone else” and fully embrace that every single one of us has been gifted by our God with personal empowerment, not only to get to know the Lord better but with the ability each in our own way to share that faith story with others as well.

While we might be tempted to think that it’s not something we can accomplish, we only must look to the Lord for his example. The Scriptures are filled with guidelines for us to make that big step from good to great:

* if you really want to be something then you must become nothing.

* If you want to go up in life then you must learn to come down.

* If you want more of God then there must be less of you.

This is the model we find in the lifestyle of Jesus. Paul said that Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” The Bible makes it clear that Jesus came “down” into the world and not only did He come down, he came down from the very top.

* He was God, yet he became man and would suffer from much pain on the cross.

* He owned everything, yet while here on earth, He had no place to lay his head

* He was the King of Kings but He became a servant

* He was dead, but now he lives.

And the list goes on and on.

Tonight, our ritual will bring others, our brothers and sisters, our friends, to a deeper knowledge of Christ, in Baptism, in Confirmation and in receiving the Eucharist for the very first time … a ritual that is as old as the Church itself.

While we congratulate them and we encourage them, the greatest gift we can give to them is to be the greatest role models of faith for them inside this Church and outside too.

As we celebrate this night, while basking in the joy of Easter, let’s pledge to our God and to one another, that we will do our best to move from good to great in faith … not only today, but every day we have on this earth.

Happy Easter!

RSM

2023 Lenten Preaching Series 5: Ecological Education

We are now at the fifth week of Lent …

- How successful have you been in your Lenten sacrifices?

- Have you made your Easter confession yet?

- Have you been more prayerful, and generous in giving alms?

- Have you seen any progress in your spiritual growth?

As Lent rapidly departs us, this weekend we are reminded that there is still time … to prepare our hearts and minds and very selves for the feast of Easter … with Jesus, hope is not lost, hope is never lost!

The Old Testament reading today from Ezekiel 37 is a story that helps focus our attention on the mystery and majesty of YHWH who knows no death that cannot be infused with life. This day and these readings are reminders to celebrate that fact that the church is in the business of offering life amid what sometimes seems to be a death-dealing culture.

And that culture, both that of Ezekiel's 6th-century world and our own, has never better been characterized than in this astonishing and well-known passage. For we, like they, are dry bones, once marrow-filled skeletons, created by God, now picked clean by a culture intent on death for many rather than life for all.

The text is both historical and allegorical at the same time. It is assumed that Ezekiel went into a Babylonian exile with the first wave of deportees in 597 BCE, a group that was added to when Nebuchadnezzar ten years later destroyed what remained of Jerusalem in a furious rage, capturing and blinding the king, Zedekiah, and herding the last leaders of a shattered Judah eastward to the huge Babylonian capital.

So, when Ezekiel speaks of dry bones in a valley, he means precisely that — dead soldiers after a slaughter, empty lives after a crashing defeat. When YHWH drops him into this silent and terrifying valley of bones, obviously dead and gone, and asks him, "Can these bones live?" the certain answer must be: "Not a chance!"

Yet, Ezekiel does not answer in that way. He says instead, O YHWH God, you know, a delightfully ambiguous response that could mean God, it is your call, not mine.

God makes no appraisal of Ezekiel's reply, but instead in typical divine fashion calls the prophet to his work. Prophesy to the bones, and say to them, 'Thus says YHWH!'

The prophet is then admonished to proclaim an anatomy lesson to the bones, wherein YHWH will provide breath and sinews and flesh and skin such that the bones will leap to life again, until the valley is filled with a standing host, a vast multitude of living beings.

In short, Israel's exile to Babylon is far from the last work of YHWH; the dry bones of defeat and humiliation will become the healthy host of Israel once again. There will be a future and a hope for the scattered people; dry bones will indeed live again.

We hear that message of coming back to life again in the Gospel this week too. We know the familiar story of the death of Lazarus and the grief of his sisters Mary and Martha. I understand how Mary and Martha felt. They had called for Jesus. He was down near the Jordan where John had been baptizing, very close to Bethany and especially close if your dear friend is dying!

But Jesus, doesn’t seem too concerned. He sees a far bigger perspective than everyone else who is in a panic that Jesus hasn’t arrived. Then suddenly, all too suddenly it is too late … Lazarus is dead. It seems as if all human hope is now superfluous. It seems to be too late.

Jesus knows that Lazarus is dead. He tells his disciples this truth. Only then does he decide to go to nearby Bethany. He arrives on the fourth day. The day that is beyond all hope. All through Scripture the third day is the day that God acts. Jesus arrives on the hopeless day, the fourth.

We heard that Jesus bears the ire of Martha, if you had been here, my brother would not have died! Read in Jersey-ese, Where the hell were you?

… After which we hear Jesus himself weeps at his dead friends’ tomb … And then he calls forth life and liberation from the hopeless hole, on the hopeless day, amidst a hopeless crowd. He calls forth life amid certain confirmed, putrefied and stinking death. Jesus gives Lazarus new life and the people new hope.

We have all been there, no doubt, hopeless, anxious, worrying, concerned, even given up. In the dark of failed relationships, failed programs for happiness, failed dreams of beauty and no happy endings. In the entombed hopeless reality of life’s darkness, Jesus reaches out to us too, in a voice that calls our name to give us new life and a new hope.

Just like the dried bones, just like for Lazarus, just like for the challenges of our life, we can have new hope for our planet … all is not lost, all hope is not gone, but we need to act, we need to fall in love with our planet again!

In these days when so many studies show that the planet is disintegrating and being ruined right before our very eyes, we can still stand up, against all the odds, against the contrary voices, against false statistics, against all politics, armed with facts and information, and with hope … to develop a plan, a sustainable plan that will help future generations.

The first step of the plan must be to educate ourselves on the matter. As mature disciples we are challenged to be honest, open, and willing to admit that we do not know all that there is to know, and further to be humble enough to start to learn more, not only about the condition of the planet, but more importantly, on what we can do to help. The bulletin contains some resources for further reference.

This fifth Sunday of Lent reminds us that it’s not too late …

… to better our spiritual selves …

… to increase our prayer, almsgiving, and sacrifice …

… and to better educate ourselves on what we can do to better sustain our planet.

Let’s commit to do this not only for ourselves but for future generations too!

Blessings!

RSM

Stewards of God's Creation and Protectors of Life

One week left until Easter! On Palm Sunday we listen to the very familiar readings that help us to “get in the mood” for Holy Week … reflecting on the paschal mystery, thinking about all that Christ did for us and the required response for our lives.

On Palm Sunday, and every Sunday, we gather to worship. We usually think of human beings as the ones who shout out praise to God. However, other creatures, each in its own way, often make profound religious statements. There are examples of this in two of today’s readings. The passage describing Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem recalls the standard royal entrance procession of the day when people would gather around and cheer the arriving royalty. However, Jesus does not enter the city on a mighty warhorse, as did so many conquering heroes. He sat on a colt (some translate the Greek word as "donkey"). This animal was meek and unassuming, thus proclaiming the character of its rider. The symbolism is striking, and words of explanation are unnecessary.

Even more striking is the symbolism of the Passover meal. It was already a ceremony that "remembered," or made ritually present, the much earlier event of Israel’s deliverance by God. The meal probably consisted of bread, herbs, lamb, fruit, a vegetable, and wine – whatever Earth brought forth that year. This meal of deliverance with all the symbolism the food might have carried became the setting for Jesus’ own mystical action.

Taking the bread and the wine, Jesus transformed it. The symbolism of binding oneself with others by sharing the same food becomes more than symbolism here. The bread and wine are transformed into Jesus himself. No longer merely symbols, they are now sacrament.

In Lent, we have been thinking about our planet and the climate. The past five homilies are all posted on the parish website and blog in case you want to revisit them. We end our series today noting that there is still much to do.

Climate change has dried up the fruit of the field and the fruit of the vine; it has left animals like the colt to starve in the woods. It cripples our bodies as it destroys our food; it defiles our spirits as it desecrates our religious symbols. There is no religious remembrance where earth is violated.

As stewards of God's creation and protectors of life, we are called to "care for our common home," as Pope Francis so eloquently asks of us in Laudato si'.

As we prepare for Holy Week … take some time to think about the themes presented … and the ways that we can be better lovers of the planet. From the very beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and all that dwell on it and God saw that it was good … let’s respect the good that God created, and to the best of our ability, give a better world to our children than that which we received.

RSM