Homily Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

There are some powerful stories in the Gospel, some so strong that just two words will remind us of the whole story ; for example the "Prodigal Son" and in today's Gospel the "Good Samaritan ". Just those two descriptors and we all know the whole story, and already have a sense of the story and the message(s) that arise from each. 

These stories have value even in our secular society and come ,to even the unchurched, with an understood  message or theme. For the churched and unchurched alike we understand readily that the message is that we are called to minister to our neighbours. So today let's drill into that message a little more, but first I am going to ask you to consider this Gospel more reflectively. 

For me that comes through putting myself into the story, finding a character in the story I can relate too, or even sometimes to become an observer in the story , to travel back two thousand years and hear the reading like it's the first time it was ever told. To hear the words of Jesus Fromm Jesus himself.

In today's gospel I can see myself in almost all of the main characters roles .

Most easily I can be the lawyer, asking the self justifying question of "who is my neighbour?" That easy approach of , there must be limits. After all there are some people I should be able to just walk by or ignore. I'd like to believe that I am better than that , but I remember my own life....

Shortly after Jocelyn and I were married we were transferred to Moncton. It was a very special time, we had been married for two years , she was pregnant with our first child and we purchased  our very first home. It was a simple bungalow, but we were happy with everything about it , except for our neighbour. To list all of his faults would take to long, while I am sure I was near perfect at that age . He drove me crazy for the time  that we lived beside him and while we didn't sell our house because of him, I was delighted when we moved away from him.

So like the lawyer in the today's Gospel I was hoping that I could exclude him from that list of people I would have to call my neighbour. I wonder if any of you have shared that same feeling about who we need to care for. The closer we are in relationship with someone, the easier it is to care for them. But think about the unlovable. Do I for example  judge the street people I walk by. Do I fear them as I walk by them. Do I respond to their begging , or do I withhold support because that they are not going to buy a meal with my money , but likely will support whatever their habit is Instead? Do I fear the stranger? 

An acquaintance  and colleague of mine is Dr. Henry Bishop, you likely heard him at the recent christening into service of our new harbour ferry. He was in the background playing traditional African drums at the ceremony. Henry told me a few years ago that one day he was walking to Dalhousie University where he was an adjunct faculty member , late one morning  on a south end Halifax street, when a Police car stopped to talk to him. Apparently they had received a complaint that there was a stranger in the neighbourhood who was suspicious. As he put he was stopped for “walking while black”....It is easy to distrust the stranger.

A friend of mine who teaches at the Atlantic School of Theology, talks about picking up a passed out man along the side of the road one day. He had to struggle with the decision in fear , but finally had the strength to look into his own soul. So he stopped and drove this man to the  hospital to receive proper care. Oh yeah, there was a cost, not only in time but also in the cleaning of the car afterwards. It is easy to fear the stranger.

I also have been the man on the side of the road, needing help. As many of you know it was just a year ago today that my wife Jocelyn was buried from this very church(Saint Benedict) . In the two year battle preceding her joining with Jesus I was overwhelmed by the act of caring for her. It was through the care and support of several of the “connect groups “ (small faith groups that gathered outside of Mass) that provided us with meals and snacks for months. It was in the love and care of the hundreds of you who came to the wake and funeral and the literally hundreds of times that you have asked me how I am over the last year, first to ask about my grief and of late to support me after my recent surgery and weight loss.I was your neighbour and you made me feel loved and cared for. 

I have been a member of St Benedict Parish since 1968, first as a teenager at Our Lady of Perpetual Help , and later as an adult with a young family at Saint Pius X. My children and Jocelyn, other than baptisms , received all their sacraments  at St. Pius  X and it was there that my journey to ordination began. In that case my neighbours helped me  and my family to grow in faith. As a family we have read and or sang at all three parishes and I am pleased to see that tradition being carried on by my oldest Grandchild Hannah.

I was part of the transition team for our new parish , as a member if Pastoral Council for the merging of the three parishes and the construction of Saint Benedict. It was a challenge ,as neighbours , to welcome the three communities and grow this fabulous new community. Not all of this came easily . Even as Christians we did not always readily accept fully the culture of the three communities and we  searched for winners and losers. With the arrival of our new Pastor, Father James Mallon (Founder of Divine Renovation ) , their were more changes. Some I embraced whole-heartedly, some I didn't fully understand, some I resisted, and some have taken me time to appreciate. I expect that others can relate to that same experience , for others it may not apply. I can say that the journey over the last six years  has helped me to grow and be stretched.

So once again I am reflecting on what neighbour really means. Nearly a month ago I received a call from the Archbishop's office asking me if I would be open to being transferred. This call was unexpected and seemed to me to come out of left field. None the less I agreed to be open to it, but was resistant in my heart, to the possibility. As a Deacon one of the vows I took was that of obedience to our ArchBishop.

You see, Saint Benedict has been my home for a long time. Like all homes I have experienced love here and have gotten comfortable with so many of you. You have been with me through good times and bad. In my ministry hundreds of you supported me at my ordination and have welcomed me as a baby deacon. I have celebrated; baptisms, weddings, shared in funeral services, led prayer groups and so much more. You are all my family. And I will leave behind my own family as well as my church family.....But in today's Gospel Jesus has given us this example of a radical YES, He shows radical love in the parable that extends beyond what we are comfortable with, our nuclear family, our extended family and even our neighbours.

At Saint Benedict you are building a new church that has foundation based on joyful missionary disciples . We are divinely renovating our church as a model to the Catholic world. During the recent Divine Renovation conference I struggled with what I had been asked , and my fear of the stranger, in this case of going to new parishes. .... It was during the first evening session and prayer time that I realized that the last six years of my journey that I have been apprenticing, witnessing what might be done and that what the Bishop was calling me to do was the next step in my journey of service in the new-evangelization.  I was moved that Monday evening to tears, in the recognition that when we surrender ourselves to God that we do his work and fulfill in some way our role in the great mission..... You don't need to be a Deacon to do that... God may lead you to surprising places,,,, even to go and care for "new neighbours".... But I have confidence in Him.

As I prayed about this some more I became more convinced that God was calling me to this , even more surprisingly, that He had been preparing me for this for years.  I will start in my two new parishes starting August 1st. I am appointed to St. John the Baptist and to St. Michaels  parishes. While they are geographically near by, they are miles away from the experience of Saint Benedict. I  honestly have no idea what to expect, two parishes , four churches, two pastors and so much work to be done. I am sure that it will not be a walk in the park, but I must trust in Him . 

For me there is a sense of loss, of leaving the familiar, or leaving my family to head out on my own. At the same time I am excited to respond to His call to find out about my new neighbours. A new opportunity to serve this new, to me , community and to aid their  Pastors in the new evangelization .

I am so grateful to Father James for all that I have observed and contributed to,  during my time here. He has prepared me for a journey I did not know I would take. It was and remains his intention to send forward evangelizing disciples.

I hope my thoughts today will help you to reflect on the lawyers questions on "who is my neighbour ", that Christ teaches us that our choice to follow him is a radical choice and that radical choice is to love even the unloveable, even as Christ loves each of us so much. When we trust in Him that radical care to the stranger brings us closer to Christ. Please go home and reflect on this call, are you serving your neighbours, are you open to caring for them, will you be a joyful missionary disciple and provide help even when it makes you uncomfortable.  Take today's Gospel and pray with it, open yourself to what Christ is teaching us and then relate it to your life. What will you do to respond to Christ is calling us to do?

While I will be here until July 31st this will no doubt be the last time I will have a chance to talk to all of you like this. You are more than my neighbours, you have become my family. I thank you for your many kindnesses, your willingness to support me in good time and bad. Some of the best times of my life have happened in this Church, some of them have happened even at the worst times of my life. I told Father James that Saint Benedict will always be my parish, and the reason for this is, simply you. I ask one more gift from you all, that you pray for me during this transition

Like Jocelyn who has left me to be with Jesus, you will often be in my heart and thoughts As I begin this new journey as a joyful missionary disciple....I will miss you all and thank you for the years of joy, happiness and service. You have been a significant part of my and my families life....Thank you and God Bless.