4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Installation of Pastor
Mt. Carmel & St. Clare
January 28, 2024
Introduction
It is a joy to be with you on this special day when I officially install your pastor, Father John Streifel. Father John has been with you now for a quite a while, and in that time you have come to know him as a good and energetic priest, dedicated to leading both Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Clare, devoted to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, and above all, dedicated to serving your pastoral needs. Let’s express our gratitude to Father John!
The Authority of the Prophets
On this installation Sunday, the Scripture readings are about authority. As you know, Father John and indeed all pastors, exercise authority in the fulfillment of their responsibilities to teach, sanctify, and guide the parishes entrusted to their care. Today’s readings are an instruction on what that authority consists in and how it is to be exercised. Let us take a second look at our readings.
… Beginning with the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. Here we meet Moses who, for all his limitations, frustrations, and setbacks, was unparalleled as a leader of the Jewish people. Moses, Scripture says, used to speak directly to God and on one occasion God spoke directly to his people Israel. Hearing the voice of God, the people were afraid and begged God to raise up prophets, like Moses, human beings like themselves who would deliver God’s message.
God granted their request but made it very clear that prophets were authorized to deliver only the word of God – not their own opinions or preferences but the authentic word of God, the words that God himself would put into their mouths. Prophets who spoke for themselves and not for God were to have no authority at all. In Israel’s history, there would be many authentic prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, who would speak the truth of God without counting the cost. But there would also be false prophets who led many astray.
The Authority of Jesus
In the Gospel, we encounter Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum. As was his custom, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. People were spellbound by Jesus’ teaching. His words were powerful because he practiced what he preached. His words penetrated their hearts. He spoke frankly, courageously, and honestly. There was no trace of self-interest, no hidden agenda, no splitting of hairs. It was said that ‘he taught with authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees.’
Later on, when Jesus was teaching in the temple area, some leaders of the people challenged his credentials because he had not studied under any of the noted rabbis of the day. In answer to their challenge, Jesus said simply, “My teaching is not my own but is from [the Father] who sent me” (Jn 7:16). Jesus was and is the living Word of God who perfectly reflected the will of his Father. Thus at his Baptism and again at his Transfiguration, the Father said of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him!”
Jesus manifested his authority, not by lording it over others, but by healing the sick, forgiving sins, and raising the dead. And while Jesus’ authority over sin and death was revealed in his miracles, it was manifested most powerfully on the Cross, that uniquely salvific moment when ‘Christ freely laid down his life for us and freely took it up again’ (cf. Jn 10:18). It was in obeying the Father’s will and making himself the servant of us all that Jesus manifested his true authority over the demonic forces of sin and death. Thus does he claim our undivided allegiance!
The Authority of Your Pastor
Similarly, today’s installation of your pastor speaks to the true nature of his authority. At the door of the Church, I spoke of the mission of the parishes entrusted to his care: they are God’s dwelling on earth, a house of prayer, a true spiritual home. In a moment, I will invite Father John to renew the promises he made on the day of his priestly ordination – to teach the Word of God well and wisely, to pray continually for you, his people, to celebrate the sacraments faithfully, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Urging him to be the good and gentle shepherd that he already is, I will invite him to lead you in the profession of the Catholic faith. And after that, he will make, in your presence and mine, a solemn pledge to teach the faith in accord with all that the Church believes and teaches and to build up the communion of the Church by working in harmony with me and indeed with all of you.
If it sounds to you like he’s signing away his life, you’re right – he is! In a word, he’s pledging to make of himself a gift to the Lord, the Church, and yourselves. In doing so, he is following in the line of the Old Testament prophets who allowed the Spirit of God so to possess them that they authoritatively spoke God’s Word to the people for the sake of their salvation. Above all, your pastor is following in the footsteps of Jesus, the well-beloved Son of God the Father who lived, ‘not on bread alone, but on every word that came from the mouth of God.’ Not only is he to practice what he preaches, but he is to encounter the Lord in the power of the Spirit, giving the Lord permission to work in his own heart and mind, day by day. Doing so, he is no mere functionary but a truly authoritative witness to all that the Lord said and did for our salvation, one in whom and through whom the Lord’s saving work continues in our times, so that God’s light might invade our darkness, his truth conquer the deception of sin, and his love transform our weakness.
A Word of Thanks
We have already thanked Father John for his commitment of love, but before concluding, I want to express my warmest gratitude to each of you. For you also share in the mission and ministry of this pastorate and by your example, you help to lead others to Christ and to the Church. You do this in exercising co-responsibility in your parish, and above all in living your vocation, especially marriage and family, with fidelity and love. May this day of installation be for you a source of encouragement, joy, and renewal as you respond anew to the call to holiness inherent in Baptism and strive to exercise authority in your homes, places of work, and in the Church with the same fidelity and love that your new pastor has pledged today. And may God bless you and keep you always in his love!