From the Deacon's Desk

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Exodus 19:2-6 / Romans 5:6-11 / Matthew 9:36-10:8

I will be preaching the following homily at all Masses this weekend at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Indianapolis:

In Matthew’s gospel today, we hear that Jesus’ heart was moved with pity at the sight of the crowd, “…because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

He told his apostles, “Do not go into pagan territory…but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

If we believe this gospel message stands the test of time, who are the lost sheep of today and what can we do for them?

Since we were told not to go into pagan territory – at least not right now –our efforts should be focused on our own house.

That said, I think the lost sheep of our own house fall into two categories:

First, some of US could be lost, if only temporarily. Our body may be here, but we are disconnected. We attend Mass out of habit, but we’re not engaged.

This type of disconnect can happen for any number of reasons:

• Perhaps something happened that damaged our relationship with God, such as the loss of a loved one or any number of other challenging life situations, especially in the world we live in today.
• Maybe the disconnect is with the parish itself. Perhaps we don’t appreciate the way liturgy is celebrated, the priests or the deacon or the music, or even the look of the church building itself.
• It could be that we feel alone. The friends we used to have in the parish have passed away or moved out of town or changed parishes.

Regardless of the reason, there is an emptiness; we are lost.

I’m not afraid to admit I have felt lost at times. I think many of us go through a dry spell in our faith at some point. Carol told me that she has experienced it too.

The second category consists of those who have fallen away; those who have stepped away by choice from both the parish and the faith. They may have rejected their faith entirely or they maintained their belief in God, but felt they were capable of connecting with Him on their own. We may hear them say they don’t need a church building or a community to enhance their faith life; they are “fine” on their own.

There are as many reasons for falling away from the faith as there are people who make that choice:

• Residual effects from the clergy sex abuse scandals.
• Decisions made by the leadership of the Catholic Church, past or present.
• Aggravation with the Church’s seemingly immovable stance on a specific issue that is near and dear to a particular person’s heart.
• Making the decision to reject the Church because they cannot accept some of its core teachings such as the Real Presence.

The list goes on, each reason very personal to the one holding on to it. Our role is not to judge their reasons or tell them they are wrong for feeling the way they do, so what is our responsibility?

There is often not an outward sign that would identify such people. How do we help bring home the lost sheep if we can’t identify them?

Simply put, we treat all people as if they are lost.

• We must be hospitable, kind, and welcoming to everyone we encounter.
• We need to engage fully in the Mass, responding in full voice with our prayers and our singing. Such behavior is contagious and encourages those who may be disconnected to do the same.
• We need to wear our love of Jesus Christ on our sleeve, living out our faith joyfully and intentionally. We must be joyful so that people are drawn to us and can make the connection between our joy and our life of faith. We are intentional when we make spreading the message of the gospel a priority. After all, that is our baptismal obligation.
• Finally, regardless of whether the lost sheep are sitting among us or attempting to manage things without a faith community, it is important for us to offer them a personal invitation to join us.

Are you involved in a faith-sharing group, the men’s group, the prayer shawl ministry, monthly Euchre, or some other parish ministry or committee? Pick up the phone and call someone you know who is not involved and invite them to come along.

Take away all their excuses as part of the invitation: offer them a ride, teach them to crochet or to play Euchre. Be persistent, they will likely say yes at some point just so you’ll stop bothering them.

Once they do say yes, when you arrive at the activity, introduce them to as many people as possible. End the evening by asking what other parish activities they might be interested in and help them make connections to those groups.

Even if you’re going beyond the pews of the church to bring home the lost sheep wandering on their own the best bet is still personal invitation.

Perhaps that is an invitation to attend Mass with you and a nice breakfast or lunch afterward. Maybe it’s Mass plus a movie or Mass plus a grandchild’s baseball game or piano recital.

While attending Mass may not be the main draw for them initially, time with you and your family might be.

The goal of course, is to engage or reengage the lost sheep with community. Church is not about the worshipping space itself it is about being part of a community, the power of communal prayer, and the building up and enriching of the Body of Christ.

Not all seeds land on fertile soil, so we need to continue sowing seeds for as long as it takes. Unfortunately, not every seed we plant will produce fruit, but we know for a fact there will be no fruit if no seeds are planted.

Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

There is an abundance of lost sheep looking for connection, seeking relationship with God and others, and searching for signs of hope.

What the Church needs are laborers. WE are those laborers, called to do God’s work.

I led a retreat last weekend and ended it by offering the following food for thought – and I think it is a good way to end this homily as well: What if we are someone else’s only chance of being introduced to Jesus today?

Again, What if we are someone else’s only chance of being introduced to Jesus today?