Give Yourself--make a difference (Sunday homily)

Today we recall Jesus came to be baptized.
Picture the scene:
Here is John, baptizing;
on the shore, a line of people, waiting;
and here comes the Son of God:
He gets into line with all the sinners!

This is the next chapter of the Christmas Story:
God becomes man; he is revealed to the nations;
and now, the God-man comes to stand with us.

When God—human like us—comes where we are,
It means we humans are invited to be where God is!

As we prayed in the psalm:
“The Lord will bless his people with peace.”

Today, also, we call attention to vocations,
As deacons and priests, as sisters and brothers.
And you might wonder, what’s the connection?

When Jesus came to be baptized,
he accepted the challenge
of what the Father sent him to do.

He had already chosen it before time began;
Now, he chooses it again;
and he will choose it once more, the night before he dies.

We all go through that.
If we were baptized as a child,
we later choose to make the Faith our own.
Some of us drift—but then comes a moment
when our Faith matters more to us.

Maybe in high school or college we have tough questions.
When we think about marriage, or our first child arrives,
and you realize you want your children to have faith;
and you ask yourself, “what do I really believe?”

It’s a funny thing; some people believe
that being a priest, a brother or sister,
is somehow harder than being a husband or a wife.

In many ways, they mirror each other.

A priest can’t be much of a priest
unless he comes and offers himself to the Father,
and to God’s people, just as Jesus did in today’s Gospel.
But a husband is no husband, a wife is no wife,
unless they do just the same.
This dying to self blesses a marriage with peace.

Now, some people can’t get past the celibacy thing.

Our society is messed up on this subject;
we know how it damages the priesthood;
but it also damages marriages.
Any man who enters marriage
thinking he isn’t going to die to self,
particularly in this area of sexuality,
is in for a rude awakening.

When a spouse goes on a business trip;
or is far away in the military,
and there you are—you have to remain faithful,
despite opportunities, and the desire to be with someone.

What do you say, wives and husbands?
“No thank you—I have someone I’m waiting for.”

When you meet a brother, or a priest, and you say,
“why don’t you get a partner, a spouse?”
We answer the same:
“No thank you—I have Someone I’m waiting for.”

Celibacy reminds the world that Heaven is real,
it is where our true hope lies.
And most people get this on an intuitive level.

That’s why something lifts us up simply by meeting
a priest, a sister or a brother.
A little bit of heaven enters our ordinary life,
and we experience hope.

So, during Vocations Week,
I simply want to give the invitation:
Do you want to be that person—
that deacon, that sister,
who lifts this world up to the Father?
Will you bless God’s People with peace?

Parents, grandparents:
do you want your children to be that sister or priest?
I say this because it is family life
where the seeds are planted and nourished…or not.

A moment ago, I said that marriage, and priesthood,
are mirrors of each other.
We see this particularly at Mass.

Mass is when all that Christ did for us,
all that he is for us, is summed up;
it is summed up in the Cross:
everything for you; I give my life for you.

That is what a sister says in her vows;
It is what a priest becomes when he is ordained;
and it is what a couple declares on their wedding day.

Then…you live it, day-by-day!
We all live the Cross…or we’re sterile and empty.

But realize, we can only have the Eucharist,
because he died—he gave everything for us.
And we can only have the Eucharist,
because we have priests who do the same:
who die to self.
We have families because couples do the same.

It's the hardest thing we do,
but if you want to make a difference,
you must do the same!

When we come to share the Eucharist,
This is what we choose:
not just to receive, but to become:
Life-givers; Christ-bearers;
Thus does the Lord bless his people with peace.