Installation Homily

(I still may make some changes, and I'm sure I'll ad lib a bit, but here is the basic text of my homily for today's installation Mass)

Bishop Cruz, Bishop Marconi, my brother Salesians and the community of St. Anthony’s Church. 

My sisters and brothers, we live in uncertain times, to be sure.  The economic downturn of the last few years has shaken our trust in the private and public institutions that we have always relied on to assure our financial stability.  The ongoing threat of terrorism, while maybe not the overwhelming preoccupation it was a few years ago, is still real, as we have been reminded over the last few days by the various stories of plots by those who seek to do our country harm.  In two days our nation holds elections that have been both highly anticipated and controversial, with rampant speculation over what changes the results will bring.

We have also seen changes on the local level.  St. Anthony’s School, which educated generations of our children here in the Berg has become Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy, a cosponsored school.  In the past year we suffered the loss of Mr. Al Raggani who for years assisted our pastors in the administration of parish resources.  We come together today to celebrate a change of pastorship.  Certainly a joyful time, but one that brings a degree of uncertainty.  The one benefit we have in holding this instillation now, after I’ve been here for a few months, is that we’ve already begun to get to know each other.  It’s not easy stepping in after someone as well loved as Fr. Pat Diver, and I am grateful for his support and we are all blessed by his presence today.  In truth I can say that you have all made me feel at home already.

In these months, talking with many of you, especially the long time parishioners of St. Anthony’s, I’ve heard a great deal about the changes to the neighborhood of Peterstown.  While your love for the Berg is unshakable, many wonder about what the future of both the community and the parish will bring.  None of us can tell the future, least of all me.  But in listening to the Word of God this morning we can hear the Lord speaking to us, telling us not to worry about things we cannot control, but rather to focus ourselves on the high calling we have received as disciples of Christ Jesus.

In the second reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, the Church of Thessalonica  has been shaken by the false preaching of those who say that the Second Coming of Christ is just around the corner.  This worry over the end of the world distracts the Christian community from doing God’s will in the here and now.  Paul tries to convince them that such worrying is useless, and in the end counter productive.  As Jesus tells us in the Gospels, no one knows the time or the hour of his return in glory.  It is for us to be always ready for this event by avoiding sin and being faithful to our baptismal call to holiness, so that the day of his eventual return doesn’t catch us off guard like a thief in the night. 

St. Paul is telling us, just as assuredly as he was the Thessalonians, not to worry about things that we have no control over.  Do not be disturbed by rumor or gossip.  Don’t let headlines distract you, don’t let change shake you.  You have received a calling greater than you can imagine, the call to glorify God by the holiness of your lives.  It’s this that you need to be concerned with, and nothing else.

For ourselves we can add to that list of distractions anxiety caused by change.  We here at St. Anthony’s we have a great heritage.  We think of the Salesians who served here over the years; Fr. Mani, Fr. Zuliani, Br. Jerry Harasym, Fr. John Mazziello and Fr. John Murphy, whose pioneering ministry among the Hispanic community in Elizabeth influenced so many, including our own Bishop Cruz, just to name a few of the dedicated sons of Don Bosco that have served here.  We have a great past that we cherish and inspires us.  It’s tempting to see things changing around us and become anxious about it.  When we are use to things being done in a certain way we can become resistant to altering the routine.  If the changes are radical enough it can seem like the world is ending.  We can be preoccupied with the challenges before us and become discouraged.  But St. Paul is reminding us not to be anxious, but focused; focused on the call to holiness we received at baptism.

But what exactly is this call I’m talking about, what does it mean?  If we turn our attention to the Gospel reading from Luke we will get an idea.

As we pick up the story this morning, Jesus is in the midst of his journey to Jerusalem.  We have been walking with him for several months now by way of the Sunday readings.  As soon as Peter made his profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah of God in Luke chapter 9, our Divine Lord, resolutely determined as the scripture puts it, begins his journey to the Holy City to fulfill the mission given him by His Heavenly Father.  Along the way he heals, preaches, expels demons and reminds his followers of the cross that awaits him in Jerusalem.

At the heart of Jesus’ mission is the call to repentance and the gathering of God’s people into one community.  Three weeks ago we heard to story of the ten lepers being healed.  Let us recall that the one who returned to give thanks to Jesus was a Samaritan; an outsider, one who was not a member of the chosen people.  Here, as in other parts of the scripture, Christ is letting his followers know that God’s promise is not confined to one nation.  It is a universal call, and all people of all nations and languages are to be gathered into His fold.  They are to abandon their limited vision and open their hearts to the great plan God has in store for them and the world.

Today we hear about Jesus passing through Jericho, continuing his journey to Jerusalem.  There is a large crowd gathered, like in every other town he’s visited.  Among the multitudes is a man named Zacchaeus, a member of the house of Israel, but like the leper from a few weeks ago, an outsider nonetheless.  He is a tax collector, someone who works for the Roman occupiers and a makes a profit by extorting his own people.  Luke tells us he is “short of stature,” and so climbs a tree to get a better look at Jesus, whom he was “seeking to see.”  Considering how he made his money it’s not too hard to imagine that he retreated to the tree tops because he would not have been welcome on the street, among the people of Jericho.  But he comes anyway because something in his heart tells him that he’s been living the wrong way.  But he dares not come close, maybe out of practicality, maybe out of fear.  So he climbs the sycamore tree simply hoping to catch a glimpse of this Jesus who he had undoubtedly heard so much about.  

But beyond his expectations Jesus stops looks up and calls Zacchaeus down.  Christ will stay with him today.  This tax collector, a social leper in the eyes of his neighbors, too is a Son of Abraham and needs to take his place once again among the people of God.  For his part Zaccheaus is resolved to reform his life, paying back four times over those he has extorted, the Roman penalty for such a crime, as well as giving half his possessions to the poor.  While the crowd has a hard time accepting this, Jesus doesn’t back down.  Salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house  because the Messiah came to seek and to save what was lost.  He came to gather all people into His Father’s community, gentiles like the Samaritan leper, as well as this lost sheep of the House of Israel.

As a parish our call, our mission if you will, is the same as our Divine Savior’s.  Our call is to be a sign of God’s Kingdom here in Peterstown.  It is a universal Kingdom that welcomes those who are lost, on the outside, and invites them back.  We invite them  back to be reconciled with Christ and His Church through the Sacrament of Penance.  We invite them, as our Lord did with Zacchaeus, to listen to their hearts that are telling them that the passing pleasures of this world will never satisfy, but only leave us hungry for something more.  We need to be the messengers that that “Something More” is communion with Jesus Christ through his community.

It is a community that doesn’t make distinctions, but welcomes people from all places and tongues because they too are children of the Church.  We understand that we are all united by the same Blood, the Blood of the Lamb that was shed for us on the cross.  We share the same waters of baptism that free us from sin and join us to Christ’s Body, the Church.  We share the same Eucharist, the memorial of Christ’s passion, death, and Resurrection.  The Eucharist that is his very presence with us and unites us in charity here on earth and is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet we will all share.

My sisters and brothers, we do live in a time of change, but we are not fearful or anxious.  We indeed have a great heritage.  But we are brave and forward looking.  We don’t seek to recreate the past but to build for the future.  We don’t look back at the good old days in order to bemoan the present.  We see the reality of our neighborhood as it is.  We see the needs of the young people on our streets now.  We see our community as it is, not how we may wish it was, and we know that it is Christ Jesus who is our strength.  It is Christ who is our light.  It is Christ who is our rock.   If we are true to the call He has given us, no challenge will be too great and no obstacle to difficult to overcome.  If we remember that Jesus Christ is our unity there will be no change too radical to distract us.