ME TOO, O LORD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 31^st Monday in Ordinary Time  is, “Me Too, O Lord.”

For years when I heard today’s gospel - Luke 14: 12-14 - when it talks about inviting into our lives the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, I have felt guilty - because I have not done this - that is, inviting the poor  inside the rectories I have lived in.

And from time to time I have read about people and places doing this - and I have not been able to say, “Me too, O Lord.”

In my first assignment, living and working on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City  - East 3^rd Street - Most Holy Redeemer Church and Rectory - we didn’t do this - but 2 blocks and less than a mile away - the Catholic Worker place did - with Dorothy Day.

We do it a tiny bit here in the winter for a week. If any of you do that, great and thank you. And the St. Vincent de Paul Society does a lot for the poor - and various parishioners volunteer at the Lighthouse Shelter, and this parish is very, very generous in helping the poor.

Still I feel guilty…. for not doing this - not hobnobbing with the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind - as Jesus tells us to do in today’s gospel and especially in the Gospel of Luke.

THEN ONE DAY

Then one day it struck me - living with other priests - we are the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind - and we live together - and are working at living with one another.

Then another day - some time after that first realization - I realized that I am poor, crippled, lame and blind.

Then I realized that could be a cop out from being with the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.

Then I realized each of us and all of us Christians have to deal with this reality - this challenge - coming from the words of Jesus.

And I’m very aware in all the primaries and in the presidential debates, I don’t remember hearing a sentence or very little about the poor.

And I have heard enough people say the following: “With all the people in the United States, we couldn’t come up with better candidates in the primaries and the presidential debates.”  Notice  how I word that comment. I have problems with politics and the pulpit.

Of course - but we need to say, “Me too, O Lord.”

So that brings me back to my comment: I am poor, crippled, lame and blind.

Hence the title of my homily.

PRIESTS

I have lived with enough priests in the past 50 years to say we are the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.

Look at the priest - kids abuse problem in our church. I’ve heard numbers from 2% to 6%. I’ve heard that the numbers are higher when it comes to sexual abuse in families, etc.,  etc.,  etc.  So there are crippled people in our midst - in all structures of life and society.

I have never forgotten the comment I once heard that came from a little old lady in Jersey City, New Jersey, “The 5 marks of the Catholic Church are. It’s one, holy, Catholic, apostolic and it survives its clergy.”

Being a priest I know about people’s complaints about us priests.

I know the comment about priests, “1/3 like you, 1/3 don’t like you, and 1/3 don’t give a dang about you.”

I’m sure that comment can be made of everyone - every family - every situation.”

SO THE FIRST STEP IS

The first step is to know that each of us is poor, crippled, lame and blind in our own way.

That first step can then lead us into this place, into this banquet, into this meal with Jesus - and to have the great feeling of being at home with Jesus the host - at Mass.

The second step is that like Jesus we then treat other poor, crippled, lame and blind others as he has treated us. In other words we take have begun to take on these wonderful qualities we heard about in today’s first reading: compassion, mercy, joy, love, unity humility, regarding and more interest in others as more important than ourselves. [Cf. Philippians 2:1-4.]

CONCLUSION

Today Halloween is a great feast day. We have in us ghoulishness, monsters, trick or treating others as okay if they sweeten us up - as well as having tomorrow’s qualities - our call to all of us being and becoming saints.