As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There’s only one group of people whom Jesus cannot stomach:
It isn’t sinners, tax collectors, or prostitutes. He forgave them all.
The only ones Jesus condemns are the religious authorities of his day. Specifically, those who were hard of heart. He calls them everything from hypocrites to “whitewashed tombs,” clean on the outside but filthy within.
They were obsessed with rules, convinced that if they followed all 613 commandments (many of which they made themselves), then they would be pleasing to God.
But what good is it to avoid eating grain on the Sabbath, as we hear in today’s Gospel, if you hate your neighbor and avoid charity?
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Like the Jews in Jesus’ day, Catholics also follow a series of rules.
We attend Mass on Sundays. We say our prayers. We avoid eating meat on Fridays during Lent.
But if we avoid being charitable – or if we hate our neighbors, including people who are different from us or who disagree with us – then following these rules means little.
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This is true religion: loving God by serving your neighbor.
As Saint John tells us, “Whoever does not love a brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
These are some of the most honest, humbling words I’ve read about priesthood in scripture. In our first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews it is written:
“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, because he himself is beset by weakness” (Hebrews 5:1-2).
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He himself is beset by weakness.
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Before a priest is ordained, he makes three promises: prayer, celibacy, and obedience.
Some also make the promise of life-long poverty.
Why don’t priests promise something easily achievable? Or something that requires less sacrifice?
These promises are sown into fields of human weakness.
And that’s precisely the point.
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One of the first lessons learned in the spiritual life is that we cannot become holy – or pleasing to God – on our own. We must depend entirely upon the Lord.
But with God’s grace, every priest can live out his promises faithfully, even joyfully.
And by extension, every Christian can live a joyful life pleasing to God. We can live as devoted spouses, generous servants, faithful friends, and holy intercessors, even though we are beset by weakness.
Faith is not trusting in what we can do on our own; faith is trusting that we can do all things, even what seems impossible, through Christ who strengthens us.
This is the transformation Jesus is talking about in the Gospels – taking old wineskins and transforming them into something new.
So, where am I weak? Or, where do I need to be transformed by the Lord?
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With God’s grace, the newly ordained priest can become a saint by the end of his life. The newly wedded couple will pray together and stay together. The person beset by grief will find peace. The friend whose trust has been lost will learn to trust again.
With the Lord, all things are possible. May this Eucharist – or our own private time spent in prayer – strengthen us to continue loving and serving the Lord.
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” — which translated means Teacher —, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m pretty certain that most of you have pictures hanging on your walls at home.
In my brother’s kitchen, there’s a small espresso colored sign hanging by his coffee maker with the words, “Every day is a good day if you start it the right way!”
There’s nothing like a hot cup of coffee in the morning, especially when you have two young kids!
So, what decorates your walls?
Perhaps it’s a painting of a seascape, a family photo from vacation, or a celebration with friends in the days before COVID.
Being a priest, my favorite wall décor is unsurprisingly a framed picture of Jesus in my living room. It’s the first thing I see when I walk through the front door.
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Pictures tastefully decorate our walls. They inspire us and remind us of beautiful moments in life.
But, have you ever considered the nail behind the frame?
Without nails, our pictures would fall to the ground, shattering the glass. Yet as essential as they are, nails are often taken for granted, going unnoticed by the viewer.
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Nails serve two purposes: they bring two separate objects together – in this case, they attach a picture to a wall.
And they provide enduringsupport for the frame.
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In today’s Gospel, we hear about Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.
Think of Andrew like a nail. He brings two objects together. In this case, he brings people to Jesus, then offers his devoted support.
In fact, Andrew introduces more people to Jesus than any other disciple in the Gospels. Today is the first example when he brings his brother, Simon Peter, to Christ.
Later, Andrew introduces a young boy carrying five loaves and two fish to the Lord.
Jesus takes this boy’s bread, blesses it, and shares it with a crowd of five thousand people, a miracle known as the multiplication of the loaves.
A few chapters later, Andrew connects a curious crowd of people with the Lord. They were soul searching – and Andrew knew exactly whom they should meet.
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One might think because of Andrew’s zeal and relationship building skills that he would’ve been part of Jesus’ tight inner circle.
But he wasn’t.
In fact, during some of Jesus’ most intimate moments in ministry, Andrew wasn’t invited along.
When Jesus went up the Mount of Transfiguration, the place where he spoke with his Father and prophets from the Old Testament, where his body glowed and became dazzling white, Andrew was absent.
Jesus only invited Peter, James, and John. Not Andrew.
Or when Jesus went off to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane during his final night on earth, he brought the same trio of men to keep him company – Peter, James, and John.
Not Andrew.
Perhaps most surprising of all, Jesus chooses Peter, not his brother Andrew, to be the rock upon whom he’ll build his church.
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Like any brother, Andrew could’ve been resentful. He wasn’t the center of attention, he wasn’t the rock of the Church, and he wasn’t present during some of Jesus’ most intimate moments in ministry.
But Andrew didn’t seem to mind at all.
He was perfectly content with going unnoticed, much like the nail behind your favorite picture frame. He was delighted just to know Jesus and to share him with others.
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That’s how I see my mission as a Christian, as a priest, and most especially as the pastor here at Saint Pius X – to introduce people to Jesus and to bolster that relationship, much like a nail supports a picture frame.
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We’re all aware that church attendance has declined steadily over the years, not only here at Saint Pius X, but also within the Church at large.
Our mission is to bring them back. It’s what we’re all called to do as Christians.
Can you think of one person whom you might invite to Mass?
Use the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, “Come and see!”
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Once COVID clears, we’ll offer different opportunities to introduce people to the Lord.
Daily and Sunday Mass are ideal, but we also need to explore adult faith formation, engaging activities for children, and community builders – things that bring people together.
As Jesus says, “Wherever two or three people are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
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Saint Andrew was like the sturdy nail behind your favorite picture frame. He brought two objects together. In this case, he brought people to Jesus; he offered enduring support; and he didn’t mind going unnoticed.
In his humility and zeal for Christ, he provides a model for every Christian to follow.
