Father Robert's homily for this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time; My friends, Christ did everything backwards, according to the world's standards. Just look at whom he chose to spread his kingdom.
Not the best and the brightest, but poor, ignorant fishermen and a public sinner. None of them were on any "best of" list.
He gave them extraordinary power. The power to raise the dead, heal lepers, cast out demons, and perform miracles. At one time or another in our lives, many of us pray for a miracle. A loved one is dying and suffering from a serious illness. We pray and pray, but nothing happens.
Our faith is tested and we wonder why God does not answer our prayers.
Many years ago, a priest friend of mine experienced a crisis of faith. Within a year, he had lost three family members. He had prayed and prayed, said Mass after Mass, spent hours on his knees, but nothing happened. Desperate, his faith weakened and he began to doubt.
But he continued to fulfill his duties: teaching, preaching, and saying Mass. One of his tasks was to say Mass at a small mission church in the middle of a forest in Canada. On a dark winter day, as he was driving home on a deserted road, he witnessed a terrible accident. A man was dying, trapped in an overturned car.
My friend managed to force open the crumpled car door and pull out the seriously injured man. As he did so, he saw a rosary hanging from the rearview mirror. He laid the old man on the ground and ran to get the holy oils from his car. He anointed the dying man.
He held him in his arms and absolved him of his sins. But nothing happened. There was no change in the world, no change in the disastrous situation. No word from Heaven. No human rescuers came. There was only the silent, cold world.
Through the dying man's rough, choking breath, the priest felt abandoned by God once again. But he began to pray. He recited prayers to Mary, prayers to the Heavenly Father. He felt foolish, but what else could he do or say? He wanted a miracle.
He was surprised by the fury in his own voice when he said:
"God, do something."
But once again, there was silence from heaven. What could he say to this crushed and dying man? But the man suddenly turned. He looks up and sees a priest holding him. He says:
"God sent me a priest. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Here, he sent me a priest."
It was at that moment that the priest was forced to abandon his immature conception of God—who comes with a miracle in hand when we whistle to fix everything—in favor of a God who summons the faithful to be present when a need is felt.
The priest had prayed for a miracle, and he realized he was the miracle. God was there, holding that dying man in the arms of a priest.
In our Gospel, Jesus sent the most unlikely people to do his work. To be other Christs. We may never be able to raise the dead, or heal a leper, a person with cancer or AIDS. But we can be present.
The priest did not perform a miracle. He could not bring the man back to life, nor lift the car. His simple presence was a miracle.
Also read | The Sacraments are Inexhaustible Reservoirs of Grace and Holiness
Saint Teresa of Avila once said:
"Often, we can perform miracles simply by being ourselves. By simply being concerned, loving, and compassionate."
My friends, understand that the word "compassion" is just another word for "Christian."
Homily for this Sunday by Father Robert Warren, Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, Garrison NY