The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Commissioning of New Lay Directors for Great River Teens Encounter Christ
Dear brothers and sisters,
When we encountered Elijah in the first reading, we find him in a desperate situation in danger of death (cf. I Kings 19:10). How did he get into this state of affairs?
He was a mighty prophet in the ninth century before the Birth of Jesus Christ. Elijah was a strong proponent of the worship of YHWH, of the God who freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt through great signs and wonders as he led them through the prophet Moses. Elijah worked many mighty deeds in the power of the Lord, he multiplied bread, and fiercely fought against the priests of the false god Baal, killing four hundred and fifty of them to eradicate the worship of the false god from among the Israelites (cf. I Kings 18:40). He did so to call the Israelites back to the worship of the one true God, but many of the Israelites preferred worshipping the false god and now sought Elijah to kill him in revenge.
In a certain sense, we are all Elijah because his name means, “My God is YHWH;” the Lord is indeed our God, as well, and we must do what we can to combat the false gods of our own day and call people back to the worship of the Crucified and Risen Lord.
In this regard, it is important for us to note that Elijah was a prophet. A prophet is not so much one who predicts future as much as one who speaks on behalf of God. Elijah was not of the tribe of Levi, nor was he a descendant of Aaron, which is to say he was neither a Levite nor a priest. He was what we would call a layman and yet he was able to powerfully act in the Lord’s name.
To name someone as being a member of the laity is, in one sense, a negative descriptor: “The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Church.”[1]
In another sense, however, to name someone as being a member of the laity is a positive descriptor: “These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.”[2]
When it comes to the distinction of clergy and laity, we must remember that “there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality regarding dignity and action by which they all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ according to each one’s own condition and function.”[3] Clergy and laity are to work together for the building up of the Kingdom of God.
For nearly sixty years, the Church has emphasized the vital role the laity have in the proclamation of the Gospel and the sanctification of the world. She has taught that lay men and women
…seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.[4]
Your involvement in Great River Teens Encounter Christ is one way among many that you seek to fulfill your baptismal calling to carry out the prophetic task of helping everyone experience the merciful love of Christ Jesus.
We face different obstacles today in this mission than Elijah did, but this does not mean the obstacles we face are any less difficult. The primary false gods of this age are self-absorption and autonomy, both of which give way to a variety of other false gods. These are all difficult to tear down, but they must be torn down if you and I and others are to walk upon the stormy waters of this life on our way to Jesus (cf. Matthew 14:29). We must block out the cacophony of the false gods of this age if we are to hear Jesus say, “Take courage, it is; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
Sometimes it seems we may well lose the battle against the false gods our contemporaries – and sometimes ourselves - worship, that we are simply fighting what J.R.R. Tolkien called “the long defeat.”[5] When this seems to be the case, the Lord always provides a sign of “final victory.”[6] We see these signs on TEC weekends in the conversions worked in the hearts of the candidates and team members alike, but such signs are also seen in the world – for those with eyes to see them.
In recent days on the island of Maui wildfires have killed at least 93 people and consumed at least 2,200 buildings; Lahaina town is gone. One building, however, stands in the midst of the charred rubble of the ancient city of chiefs: the church of Maria Lanakila. Its title means Mary of Victory. The Lord gives us these signs of final victory so that the struggle against the long defeat may not depress us; he continually calls out to us, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
As we strive, then, to tear down false idols to help others make their way to Jesus, let us not be afraid to step out of the comfortable boats of our lives. May we stretch out our hands to Jesus in the confidence that he will save us from final defeat and grant us his salvation (cf. Matthew 14:31; Psalm 85:8). Amen.
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