Sunday Homily: Who Does the Church Say We Are?

We are prophets, do we understand this?

If we look at the second reading, we see a fascinating instruction by St. Paul. Remember, he is talking to the Ephesian Christians surrounded by a culture in Ephesus that runs on values contrary to the new way they discovered in Christ.

He uses a straightforward description: He says: “The days are evil.” What does this mean?

We are in a time that has existed for two thousand years since the Kingdom of God invaded the Kingdom of the World. He says the days are evil because the Kingdom of World appears to be that which has the greatest power because it is on the defense. Paul exhorts them to live their identity as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

They have a mandate to discern God’s will and to act on it.

How do we define this? Let us look at the words of the Vatican II documents which describe the role of the laity as follows:

Christ, the great Prophet, who proclaimed the Kingdom of His Father both by the testimony of His life and the power of His words, continually fulfills His prophetic office until the complete manifestation of glory. He does this not only through the hierarchy who teach in His name and with His authority, but also through the laity whom He made His witnesses and to whom He gave understanding of the faith (sensu fidei) and an attractiveness in speech²⁰⁰ so that the power of the Gospel might shine forth in their daily social and family life. They conduct themselves as children of the promise, and thus strong in faith and in hope they make the most of the present,²⁰¹ and with patience await the glory that is to come. PRESBYTERORUM ORDINIS #35

This is your vocation—prophets.

During the Old Testament Times, God formed his people to be signs of his message. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, His disciples carried the new message of a new understanding of what it means to be human throughout the world. Now the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

We live in

a time still marked by “distress” and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. (CCC 672)

There is an intense struggle between good and evil until Jesus comes and brings His justice to the world. So we are representatives of His Kingdom.

The Vatican II documents say that Jesus is the great prophet and is doing his work through the hierarchy but more importantly through you. So you are prophets. You prophecy through the way you live your life and I am a prophet similarly but by helping you in your role as prophets.

So like the prophets of the Old Testament and the early members of the Church who were also called prophets, we receive God’s call to know we are his people and act on it.

You know I always call people to prayer, but prayer has to be life changing and life giving so that we can live the prophetic way God calls us to be. That prayer is to transform us to be the prophets Christ called us to be. This is essential. Daily prayer, family prayer, and personal prayer as well as the liturgical prayer we do here. Staying close to the sacraments help us to maintain our role as prophets doing the will of God.

Why, because now more than ever the world needs us to be the prophets the Vatican II council calls us to be.

The catechism says that Paul’s words saying the times are evil is part of this stage of God’s salvation but we have a mission to be that light that shines into darkness. That is the point of why we do what we do.

Notice something else, the latter part of the reading calls us to sing and praise to the Lord in song and celebrate our faith.

I am sure you have heard of or seen the Eucharistic Procession the Brazilians practice on Tuesday continuing until August 27. What do you notice most, singing praiseworthy songs celebrating what the Lord does for them and the glory of the Lord.

Americans tend to sing songs of praise rooted in a Christ-centered community, they are all part of who we are. In either way, Paul says to understand what the Lord does in our hearts and live in celebration of it.

However, too many learned a faith rooted in being in fear of Hell. Where does St.Paul say to the people in this reading they must be afraid of Hell? I don’t see it. He does elsewhere mention certain groups who are on their way to Hell, but that is a call to conversion.

I will be speaking with a group of men online on Wednesday who about living a Catholic life. It pains me greatly to hear how much Catholics live in fear of doing the wrong thing and going to Hell.

That is not our message. Our message is to discern the will of God and celebrate that will so that we live as prophets to the world. We cannot live as prophets if we are spending all our time and energy avoiding Hell.

So let us take to heart the words of St. Paul and live the calling given to us at our Baptism. Let us continue to be rooted in prayer, pray for this parish to live its prophetic mission and to live as the prophets the Vatican II documents show us to be.

Photo: Paha_l via Bigstockphoto.com

Fr. Robert J Carr is pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Allston, MA

The parish podcast is at https://catholicaudiomedia.com