We Have Found The Messiah!
2nd Sunday In Ordinary Time, B
2009-01-18
John 1:35-42Let’s face it…Andrew probably had no idea what he was doing when he brought his brother Simon to Jesus. He was acting on impulse.
After only a short time with Jesus, Andrew was truly MOVED.
You might even say he felt compelled. Driven.
He was so filled with the Holy Spirit that at his first opportunity, he rushed home to his brother, barged through the door, and he shouted, “Simon! We have found the Messiah!”
He just had to share this wonderful discovery with someone. And what better person to start with than his own flesh and blood, his brother?
But, he didn’t know WHAT that simple, yet profound statement would lead to.
After all, how could he have known that his introduction of Simon to Jesus would eventually lead to Simon becoming the Vicar of Christ on earth…the first Pope, the man forever to be known as Petros…Peter…the rock on which THIS very church is built.
Obviously, if he had known, he would have run home to his brother and shouted, “Holy Father! We have found the Messiah!”
But, of course, that’s not what John’s Gospel tells us.
Now, NO ONE can deny the importance of the role that Peter and his apostolic successors would have in leading Mother Church and all her children along the road to salvation.
And, everyone knows that many hundreds, even thousands of ordinary people just like Peter have grown to be pillars of the Church, monuments to her fruitfulness in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
But, on that day, when Andrew burst through the door and informed his brother of the coming of the Messiah, the idea of Pope Peter was probably far from Andrew’s mind.
No…he was simply sharing some GOOD NEWS with his family…and WHO KNEW where it would lead?
Certainly, Andrew had no idea.
But, God did have an idea. In fact, it was always God’s plan to use people just like Andrew – and Peter and Matthew, and John…and Mary, her cousin Elizabeth and Mary Magdalene, and thousands upon thousands of Christians for the next 2000 years – to tell everyone they knew, everyone they encountered that “We have found the Messiah!”
At its very core, our church is a MISSIONARY church. Essential to its growth is the constant telling and re-telling of the story of Jesus…the planting of spiritual seeds…the sharing from one person to another of the love that God has for each us, and His plan that we all come to be with Him in eternity.
And, without this fundamental process…this evangelization of the world…the church would wither and die on the vine.
Since the earliest of times, Christian disciples have made it THEIR mission to further the mission of the Church…in both word and deed. They shared first with those they knew – those in their communities…their families, their friends, and their co-workers.
Some shared with words, while others shared with acts of love and kindness offered freely and rooted in the love of Christ.
They lived for Jesus…and many died for Jesus. And the Church grew as a result.
In fact, it flourished in the early days…spreading to the four corners of the earth. Over the years, millions have come to believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life…that through His willingness to hang upon a tree of death, we might experience the true gift of eternal life.
Yes, indeed, God did have a plan.
But, when we look around at our world today…it might seem like God’s plan has been lost in the shuffle.
Instead of reading about God’s love for us, our morning paper is filled with shady deals and embezzlement…questionable liaisons and scandals…hatred and discrimination.
So many of our children are growing up without fathers, sexual immorality is rampant and abortion takes the lives of millions of babies a year.
Its not politically correct – and sometimes illegal – to publicly express your belief in Jesus as Savior. There’s less and less prayer in schools. Nativity sets are disappearing from town squares. The Ten Commandments are being stripped from courtroom walls. And church bells – both inside and out – are growing ever more silent.
It seems God’s plan has been relegated to the back burner. In fact, some have forgotten about God altogether.
“But,” you say, “What can I do about all that? I’m just…me.”
Well, just think about how it all started…how God purposefully used individuals – people a lot like us – to accomplish His goals. His Church, THIS church, is built solidly on a flesh and bone foundation of countless men and women throughout history.
But, consider this: what if Moses was too tired to carry the 10 commandments down the mountain. What if Peter had said on Pentecost, “I don’t feel like preaching today. Let’s go to the chariot races instead.” Or, what if Mary had said to the angel Gabriel, “Tell God thanks, but no thanks”?
Thank God that didn’t happen.
In fact, everything that’s wrong with the world today CAN be changed for the better – one “yes” at a time, one inspired moment at a time, one kind word at a time, one coat or hot meal at a time, one childbirth at a time, one Holy Mass at a time.
And it starts with individuals, the “Andrews” of the world who burst on the scene and exuberantly announce, “We have found the Messiah!”
We have got to bring Christ to others, not only with words, but actions that serve as examples for others to follow.
We have got to remember we are a mission church.
We have got to evangelize.
We have got to shout the Good News from the highest mountaintop.
And, we have got to stop being afraid of being Christian, and more specifically, we have got to stop being ashamed of being Catholic.
Do we ever mention the name of Jesus to others…I mean really say it OUT LOUD.
Are we embarrassed about not eating meat on Fridays when we’re with our co-workers?
Do we think it’s silly to genuflect in adoration when we pass before the tabernacle?
Do we ignore the 1-hour fast before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?
When was the last time you saw someone in public doing the sign of the cross before eating?
You know, it’s so easy to raise our hands to our mouths when they’re filled with a Big Mac, but try and touch your fingers to your forehead, down to your belly, then to each shoulder…you’d think there was a hundred-pound weight strapped to them.
We’ve got to stop being driven solely by our head, and start listening more to our heart – that very heart with the law of God written upon it.
This is but the second Sunday in ordinary time. We’re still near the beginning of a brand new liturgical year for the Church. And, its yet another opportunity the Church offers us to make an account of our past, and to look forward to playing our part in God’s plan for not only our future, but the future of those we meet along the way.
Andrew had no idea of the role he was to play. He couldn’t have known that his simple action, would eventually lead Simon Peter to become Pope Peter. And in this same way, we must remember, that the suffering soul watching us pray from across the restaurant – or, the wide-eyed and wondering child who sees us humbling ourselves before the Eucharistic Jesus in adoration – might one day be known to the world as Pope John Paul III or Benedict the 17th.
All because we shared this simple message…
“We have found the Messiah!”