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Fr. Joe Pellegrino, the pastor of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish in
Tarpon Springs, Florida, tells the story of a seven-year-old boy
whose name is David.
David always enjoys being with his grandfather and was spending this
one particular Saturday with him. David was in his “inquisitive
mode” and started asking his grandfather all sorts of questions,
including “Grandpa, what will happen when you die?”
Now, David’s Grandpa was in his late fifties at the time and hadn’t
spent a whole lot of time thinking about his death. But, he
answered David’s question as best he could. He told David that when
people die they go before God, and if they have lived their lives
the best they could, God unites them to himself.
“Does, that mean, Grandpa,” David asked, “that when you die you
won’t be here anymore?”
“Yes,” David’s grandfather responded somberly, “I won’t be here
anymore.”
“Does that mean you won’t be able to play catch with me anymore?”
“Yes, David, I won’t be able to play catch with you.”
“And you won’t be able to fly a kite with me?”
“That’s right, David.”
“And you won’t take me fishing?”
“No, Buddy, I won’t take you fishing.”
Now, before I finish Fr. Pellegrino’s story, I want to ask two
trivia questions and talk a bit about the answers to those questions.
The first question: Throughout the entire world, do you know what
the most frequently purchased but least read book is? Yes, it’s the
bible.
The second question: Did you know that the bible mentions some fifty
different types of birds? Now, can you name the one bird named in
the bible more often than any other? It’s the eagle.
Impressive for its size, strength, speed, and ability to soar
through the skies, the author of today’s first reading from the Book
of Exodus used the image of the eagle to convey his ideas about how
God has always been at work among us going back in this volume as
far as the Israelites. “I bore you on eagle wings and brought you
here….to love you. You are my special possession. You are dearer
to me than all other people.” This is what God instructs Moses to
tell the Israelites.
Now, if any of us isn’t convinced that God does love us—and many
people today don’t believe God loves them or that they need God’s
love—it’s not God’s fault. What’s written in the bible is all about
God’s love for and faithfulness to us. But, when we purchase a
bible and don’t open its cover to read and contemplate its contents,
we never will learn about nor will we ever become convinced about
all of the ways God has loved us and has remained faithful to us.
One of the sure signs that someone hasn’t read or studied the bible
emerges when tragedy strikes, for example, as tragedy struck the
family of Tim Russert on Friday or the misfortune young David is
contemplating in Fr. Pellegrino’s story. In the middle of tragedy
or personal misfortune, it’s so easy to ask, “Why is God doing this
to me?” Casting about for explanations, we want to understand and
explain something that’s
impossible: “Why
God is punishing me?”
Why do I believe that asking this question is a sure sign someone
hasn’t read or studied the bible?
Because the question “Why is God doing this to me?” portrays God not
as loving us but as desiring to punish us, the greatest punishment
being, of course, the death of someone whom we love. In contrast,
the bible teaches that God desires only to love us, to protect us,
and to bear us up “on eagle’s wings” so that we will “shine like the
sun,” and “[God will] hold you in the palm of His hand” (from the
song “On Eagle’s Wings” by Michael Joncas).
Those who buy a bible, open its cover, and then read and contemplate
its contents know that God loves us, so much so that God sends
people into our lives to remind us of His love and fidelity. God
sent Moses to the Israelites. God sent the prophets to the people
of Israel. God sent His only Son who, in today’s gospel, “at the
sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity…because [the
people] were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a
shepherd.” And, seeing how much the people in the crowd were
thirsting for God’s love and needed someone to announce God’s love
for them, Jesus turned and said to his disciples, “The harvest is
abundant but the laborers are few.” God has sent the Holy Spirit
and given us the Church to remind us how much God loves us.
Now let’s get back to the end of Fr. Pellegrino’s story.
“Well, Grandpa” David asked, “who’s going to play catch, fly a kite,
or take me fishing if you can’t?”
His grandfather responded in a serious but cheery tone, “David,
hopefully when that time comes, you will do all those things and
more for someone.”
Let us not deceive ourselves: Look closely at our neighborhoods
because behind all of those carefree and opulent façades and beneath
the roofs of so many homes today, there is so much weariness,
confusion, and quiet desperation on the part of people who believe
that God has abandoned them and is punishing them. These people are
troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. The Kingdom
of God is near to these people—the harvest is plenty but laborers
are few—when our hearts are moved with pity for all of those people
who are feeling troubled and abandoned and as we exercise the
authority and power Jesus has given us through the Holy Spirit and
the Church to communicate God’s love and fidelity to them.
Jesus said to his disciples and says to all of us: “Without cost you
have received; without cost you are to give.” |
HOMILY
