Editor’s note: This is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 5, 2023.
The Living Word
1 I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
2 Though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.
3 The world behind me, the cross before me;
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.
The words of this hymn came to mind as I pondered the Word of God for this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Now I must confess I always assumed that this hymn was part of the 18th century spirituals from the American South, but it’s not! This spiritual is from India within the same era and is based on the last words of a believer and his family before they were put to death for leading others in their village to know Jesus. The words of this hymn became popular in this country because it was used by Rev. Billy Graham in his evangelistic crusades.
Again, on this Lord’s Day, in the final Sundays of the Church’s year, we are invited to an examination of conscience (or as I like to say, an examination of consciousness). Not only of how well you and I have received and listened to the Word of God in our hearts, but even more how you and I have acted upon it?!
I cannot deny that I find today’s Scripture readings particularly personal because they call me to examine my own response to the Word of God in my life. Clinging to terms of importance and power, seizing the public limelight, and attachment to ostentatious religious regalia is not what my life or that of any other religious leader should be about. I give special thanks to Pope Francis who is prophetic in this regard through his own way of life.
Nonetheless, I also believe that we can’t use the temptation to point out the faults of others, especially of persons in leadership, as a means of distraction for our own following of the Word of God in one’s life. In our first reading from the prophet Malachi, we have the call not to break faith with one another — which is viewed as a violation of the covenant. The expression of the human family’s covenant with God was found in last Sunday’s Gospel when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of the law? His response: “You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. … The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:38-40).
This is why this Sunday it so appropriate that we have two special occasions in the Diocese of Syracuse that help us to flesh out for you and me, the meaning of the Word of God in this Sunday’s liturgy:
The first is the observance of the 100th Anniversary of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Syracuse and its establishment by our third bishop, Bishop Daniel Curley. Much in line with this Sunday’s readings, Bishop Curley wrote back in 1923: “What is proposed is the creation of an organization which will be prepared to do all those things in the field of charity which should be done, but which the parishes acting alone cannot perform. It is to the organization suggested by the name — ‘The Bishop’s House of Charity’ — to which the Diocese can confidently turn.”
Such a vision echoes both our responsorial psalm and second reading which use images of being cared for, as a mother cares for her children. In today’s psalm, it is an image of God’s care for us, and in Paul’s Letter to the Church of Thessalonica, it is an image for how the Church is to care for one’s neighbor by letting the Word of God be at work in us. For Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Syracuse, “success” is not only a function of the provision of quality and needed services, but the realization of our “sacra-mentality” — the making real of the presence of Christ for those we meet along the road of life. This organization’s identity … indeed our identity as a Catholic Christian … is important and spurs us on in accepting the call of the Gospel — the mandate of Christ — to help bring the love of God and Christ’s care to those on the margins of our society and the sidelines of life, from conception to natural death.
Pope Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini — The Word of the Lord, states: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. … The Church is built upon the Word of God; she is born from and lives by that word.” This event … this person … this Word of God become flesh that gives humanity a new horizon and a decisive direction — is none other than the One whose coming we will celebrate soon in the days of the Advent and Christmas seasons — Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word! It is this enfleshment of the Word of God that makes Christianity distinct from all other religions. In fact, brothers and sisters, is it any accident that before our ancestors were known as Christians, they were referred to six times in the Acts of the Apostles as “followers of the Way” or simply, “the Way”?
The second occasion that is a reminder for you and me of living our lives in the service of the Gospel — as Icons of Jesus Christ — is the Institution of Lectors and Acolytes for our next class of Permanent Deacons. In fact, in January 2021, with the motu proprio, “Spiritus Domini — The Spirit of the Lord,” Pope Francis opened these lay ministries not just to those receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders, but also to the “members of the People of God … to contribute to the edification of the Church and the proclamation of the Gospel.” Like what happened after the Second Vatican Council, however, there is a bit of a lag in implementation. Nonetheless, these lay ministries are another illustration of the call of each one of us to walk in the way of Jesus as he fulfilled the Law — “to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly” (Micah 6:8).
So, sisters and brothers, this Lord’s Day — as we near the apex of a new year in the life of the Church — we are being asked to consider our decision to follow Jesus and if we have turned back in any way — both as individuals and as Church. Again, I remind you of the words of a simple country preacher: He told his flock that there are two parts to the Gospel — the first is believing … the second is behaving. Amen.
As this edition of the Catholic Sun arrives in your home, we will be celebrating our national feast of Thanksgiving. As members of the Diocesan Staff remind me often, there is always something to be thankful for! I want to thank you for your ongoing support of the mission of our Diocesan Church. It is a blessing for me to serve as your bishop and I am most grateful for the wonderful Diocesan clergy and laity who assist me in my ministry, especially those on our Diocesan staff. Please be assured of my continued prayers and I wish you and your loved ones a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving Day!
