Notice what’s going on in the readings…
Saint Peter told us that God is building a very special house:
you and I are “living stones.”
Then, notice Jesus also mentions a house:
the Father’s House, and it has lots and lots of rooms.
And Jesus also told us that the way to get there is he, himself.
He’s the heavenly GPS.
But then notice, with all that hopeful talk, there is a problem.
We heard it in the first reading.
Prejudice and division among the first Christians:
“We! They! They’re different; we don’t like them! It’s unfair!”
Ha! Some things never change!
This makes a point: if the business of turning people into saints,
and making this world the Paradise God wants it to be, were easy,
then the job would have been finished a long, long time ago!
So, for example, maybe Jesus wouldn’t have created the sacraments;
he could have just sent us a membership card.
But he didn’t do that.
And notice, while we only get baptized once,
we don’t only go to confession once;
we don’t take part in Mass only once, and receive the Eucharist once;
at least, that’s not how it is meant to work.
He knew we’d need a lot more than that.
Today some of our children will have their First Holy Communion.
But I want to explain something you may not realize.
In reality, you have already had communion.
I say that because in the full, real sense,
Our communion begins with baptism.
“Communion” isn’t just an event on a calendar;
It isn’t just a special occasion.
“Communion” is actually a simple word that means “union with.”
What we really mean is that “communion”
is that state of fundamentally being together; being one.
The perfect, fullest communion is God himself:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are totally, completely one.
The reason Jesus does all he’s doing is to share that total,
complete oneness of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, with us.
And again, if that were a simple thing, it would be like,
“I’m taking a shower, presto-chango, yay, now I’m a saint!”
But instead, it’s a journey. The seed of faith is planted and grows.
Baptism, confirmation, frequent confession, Sunday Mass,
Our family, our friends, we pray together, we help each other…
And little by little, you and I go from being chunky blocks
with sharp edges that can’t fit together – “ouch!”…
To well-shaped stones that fit; that cooperate.
And the mortar that holds it all together is love.
I don’t just mean the emotion, the feeling; that’s not the whole story.
Love is a choice, a series of choices, that don’t always feel good.
Boys and girls, your parents get up every day,
usually earlier than they want to.
They work hard to make a home and provide what you need.
There are a lot things our parents would love to have;
but what the family needs comes first.
When my mom did the laundry, or my dad paid the bills,
They didn’t feel exactly…”good.”
But those – and a million other choices my parents,
and your parents make – equals love.
It’s hard to become truly loving and truly generous.
And notice, Peter didn’t call us marshmallows – which are soft!
He called us “stones.” They’re hard!
It takes a lot of hammer blows and patience to reshape that stone.
And if a stone has feelings, that would hurt!
So maybe now we can understand better why Jesus did what he did.
He didn’t just send you and me a card;
he didn’t just say, “here are the instructions.”
No. God himself came to us, as one of us.
He said, I’m going to lay down my life for you – and he died!
That’s not love-talk, that’s love-action. The fullest possible.
And now, in the Mass, and the Eucharist,
he continues to lay down his life for you and me.
That’s why this isn’t just bread or wine. What’s the value of that?
No: this truly is Jesus giving us EVERYTHING. His own self!
And the Eucharist is the heavenly food that – if received in faith –
will change us, making us heavenly.
So, dear children, realize that today isn’t about just this day.
This isn’t “one-and-done.” Communion, by it’s very nature,
can’t leave us off on our own, but draws us in, closer and closer…
To heaven!
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