The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Easter Sunday, March 23rd: Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9)

‘EASTER-ONLY CATHOLICS’ INVITED BACK NEXT WEEK

This homily is addressed specifically to those of you who are known as “Easter-only Catholics.” Easter-only Catholics faithfully come to Mass on Easter Sunday each year and then, well, and then we don’t see you again until next Easter. (Once in a while, however, you do stop by at Christmas.)

I think I know a few reasons why you folks DO come to church on Easter:

1. Easter is the most important holiday on the Church calendar, and you figure if you are going to come to church at all, it might as well be Easter.
    

2. You acknowledge the Church and local parishes are important family and cultural institutions, and you know you ought to pay your respects at least once in a while.
    

3. Attending Mass on Easter brings joy to your spouse, children, and/or parents, so even if you don’t really want to come, you do it for your loved ones.

OK, now let me offer a few reasons why I think Easter-only Catholics do NOT have any intentions of coming to church again until next Easter (or maybe next Christmas):

1. Mass is boring and you don’t get anything out of it.
    

2. The Church only wants your money.
    

3. You tell yourself, “I can be a good Christian without going to Mass every week. God doesn’t mind.”

Let me address these objections one at a time. First, if you think Mass is boring and you don’t get anything out of it, you are not alone. A lot of people, including many who come every week, often think the same thing. But in most of these cases—whether the once-per-year people or the faithfully-every-Sunday crowd—the problem is a serious misunderstanding about the roles of the people at church. It is mistakenly believed that the priest is the main performer, and his job is to put on an informative, inspirational and entertaining show. Next, it is thought that God’s role is the prompter, who, just like at a Broadway show, feeds the next line to the performer. God’s Holy Spirit guides, or prompts, the priest to say the right things at the right time. Finally, many people are convinced that the folks in the pews are the audience. Their role is to sit back and be entertained.

If someone goes to Mass expecting to sit back and be entertained, then he or she is sure to be disappointed because of this misunderstanding about the true roles of the participants at Mass. In reality, the people in the pews are the performers, who have the lead parts in a production of praise and prayer and worship. The priest is the prompter. His role is to guide the performers to speak the right lines at the right time. Finally, God is the audience. The whole production is directed toward Him, for His enjoyment.

When you go to Mass with the understanding that you are there to put on a performance for God, rather than sit back and be entertained by the priest, you stop looking to “get something out of” Mass because you are too busy trying to “put something into” Mass. Paradoxically, as Jesus told us, when you are focused on giving rather than receiving, that’s exactly when you end up receiving the most.

The second objection is the idea that the Church only wants you to go to Mass every week to get your money. Now, I’m not going to deny that the Church needs money to operate. If people do not donate, then the parishes will not be able to pay the bills and eventually will have to close down. But the Church wants something much more than your money: the Church wants you. More than anything else the Church wants your soul and spirit, because the only reason the Church exists in the first place is to get people safely into Heaven for all eternity.

So I’d like to offer a deal to Easter-only Catholics: try going to Mass the week after Easter, and then the week after that (and then the week after that!). On those occasions do not put a single nickel in the collection basket. The Church doesn’t want your money. (Right now every pastor in North America is about to faint.) No, I’m serious. Do not even think about making a donation when you come to Mass. The Church has been around for 2,000 years, and it can survive a little longer without your money. Do not contribute any money at all—until you reach a point where you truly believe in your heart that it’s the right thing to do. In the meantime, don’t even think about it. (By the way, this offer is only for the Easter-only Catholics. You regulars better not get any ideas.)

The third objection is rather interesting. Many people say, “I don’t have to go to church every week. God doesn’t mind.” When I hear that, my first thought is: How do you know God doesn’t mind? Did He specifically speak to you and tell you that?

A lot of people these days have a very confused impression of who God is and what He is like. One of my favorite writers, Dr. Peter Kreeft, is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. Each year on the first day of class he gives a pop quiz to the incoming freshmen. He asks them one simple question: How do you get to Heaven?

Now keep in mind that most of these students are the cream of the crop; they’re from the best Catholic families from across the county. These kids are smart, successful, well-educated, and have received at least ten or twelve years of C.C.D. and religious education training.

Kreeft writes, “Well over three-quarters of all the ‘educated’ Catholic college students I have taught do not know, after twelve years of catechism classes, how to get to heaven! Their answer to that question is usually something like ‘be sincere’ or ‘try your best’ or ‘don’t hurt people’ or ‘work for peace’ or ‘have a nice day’ or some such trumpet blast. They rarely even mention Jesus when asked that question. Why should they? Warm fuzzies are not stronger than death.”

Kreeft explains that despite all the catechism training, most of his students have never been introduced to Jesus, the Word made flesh; Jesus, the One through whom everything was made; Jesus, the Way and the Truth and the Life and the only path to Heaven (according to His own words). Instead, they have been introduced to Jesus, the kind and friendly first-century version of Mr. Rogers; the warm and fuzzy nice guy who can give you a hug but cannot conquer death.

I’d like to suggest that maybe Easter-only Catholics, along with Kreeft’s college freshmen, mistakenly believe the Lord is nothing more than a warm and fuzzy nice guy who asks nothing of you and expects nothing from you. You may think this fuzzy Jesus says to you, “You don’t have to go to church each week. I don’t mind.” But this is actually an imitation of Jesus. The true Jesus, the Jesus clearly portrayed in the Bible, is quite different.

At the Last Supper the true Jesus held up the bread and wine and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (This only can be done at Mass.)

Speaking of that same Eucharist, the true Jesus told a crowd, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (Again, this is done at Mass as a group, not individually at home.)

The true Jesus said, “Where two or three gather in my name, I am there with them.” (Emphasis on the group rather than the individual.)

When asked to teach his disciples how to pray, the true Jesus told them to say, “Our Father…” He did not tell them to say, “My Father…” (Clearly it is a group prayer, and meant for multiple believers to proclaim in unison.)

The early Christian community knew how important it was to gather together as a group each week, as described in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

In the letter to the Hebrews (a text divinely inspired by the Lord, of course), we read in 10:25: “We should not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.”

Twenty centuries after speaking these words to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, the true Jesus speaks them to us today: “Could you not stay with me for one hour?”

Going to church for an hour each week is not a bothersome chore. Rather, it is an opportunity to gather with fellow believers and offer praise and worship to the Almighty God who created us. It is a chance to be in communion with the One Lord who offered His life to pay the price for our sins.

Attending Mass each Sunday can be vibrant and exciting—as long as we know who God is and what He is like, and as long as we know who we are and what God expects from us. In other words, as long as we know the proper roles of everyone present.

I sincerely ask all of you Easter-only Catholics to give this some prayerful thought. Honestly ask yourself what the true Jesus wants you to do. And we’ll see you at church the week after Easter, and then the week after that (and then the week after that!).

©2008