Homily Notes Fifth Sunday of Easter
5th Sunday of Easter………”Living Church”
The church is to be made up of “living stones.” The very phrase seems like an incongruity. A stone is an inanimate object, but this is what the Epistle from St. Peter says. A stone does change.
Lately, I have become more aware of how much stone changes over the years. A hundred years ago this church was built from New Bedford limestone from Indiana. Surely, when the founders of our parish laid the cornerstone of this church they thought that they were constructing a building that would stand the test of time.
Maybe we noticed when we came in to Mass today that the lifts are back that are taking masons to the highest reaches of our church tower. Why are they here we might ask? Because stones do not remain the same forever. The stone needs to be tuck pointed. Water seeps in. When the church was built, the stones were fastened in place with iron bands. Some bands have rusted and broke over the last 100 years. When they do, a strain is put on the structure. Some stones shift, then break. Cracks develop. Water penetrates, it freezes. So, the stones of this church are not cemented in place for all time, but they are living. The stones even must breath. Some of maintenance must go on if the building is going to remain structurally sound. All and All it is a mistake to see this church as a building that will never change. New methods of preservation must be used. If not, the building will one day collapse.
Some might make a mistake when it comes to the universal church. People have an erroneous notion about how the church came about. We reflect a lot on ecclesiology this time of year. Just what does it mean to be church? Why should we even belong to the church? Is it necessary for faith? Do we show up at church when we need something, but ignore it otherwise?
In the past, the church has been described as an entity that will never change. We get the sense that Jesus got the Apostles together. He handed them an organizational structure. Maybe he outlined there would be bishops, cardinals, sisters, parishes, diocese. But that is not the way things happened at all. To have such a view hinders the development of the church.
No, Jesus gave his apostles general principles about the structure. He did appoint leaders. He did speak of how community life should be lived. He then gave the apostles one most important gift. He breathed on them giving them the Holy Spirit. Jesus trusted in his followers. He also depended on the Spirit to carry the church forward through the ages.
When struggles came up. When new situations arose, the church was going to have to figure out what to do. We see that in the reading from the Acts of Apostles today. The Apostles were overwhelmed with responsibilities. The main duty they had, they believed was to preach the Gospel. After all, they had the intimate knowledge of Jesus for they had been his friends. He had been their mentor. The apostles came up with a solution to their dilemma under inspired by the spirit. A new ministry was developed, the order of deacons, men who were to undertake administration and service to the poor.
In ever age it has been that way. Whenever the church has gone into a new land it has had to adapt. The church has had to take the experiences of the local people into consideration to come up with new ways of spreading the gospel. And it must be that way today. If we do not read the signs of the times and adapt the church will not prosper.
At Baptism, every Christian is told they are a priest, prophet and king. The Latin word for priest is pontifex which means bridge builder. The desire of every baptized believer should be to strengthen the church. In the Document on Missionary Activity from the Second Vatican Council it says the following, “Whenever possible lay people should be ready to carry out the special mission of preaching the Gospel and teaching Christian doctrine so that they might strengthen the church.” The church cannot stand still for it is a leaving breathing structure.
Recently it was stated that in the Arch Diocese of Chicago there are 766 priests. By the year 2030 it is projected there will be 240 priests. We have similar statistics in the Diocese of Peoria. What are we to do? Pray for vocations certainly, but we must adapt as well. New ministries will develop. Either through necessity or through planning. The spirit will lead us. We should not stifle the spirit, for the church is made up of living stones. We must listen like the first Christians, moving forward with determination as the chosen People of God.
Please Note: rough draft-grammar may not be perfect