5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mount 2000 Closing Mass
Mount Saint Mary’s University, Emmitsburg
February 4, 2024
That’s “Fire”
It’s a joy to be here at Mount 2000 for this closing Mass. I hope you’ve had a great experience here at the Mount. I know that the seminarians have put in a lot of hard work for this weekend but I also know how happy they are to share with you the excitement and the joy of knowing and following Christ.
Preaching at the close of this wonderful retreat for teens, I might begin with an obvious statement: I am not a teen. I am 72 years old. That makes me old enough to be your grandfather. The difference of several generations also means that you use words and expressions I might not be familiar with.
On Wednesday night, I had Mass and dinner with the men who are in the propaedeutic year (talk about a different word!). These are men who are just starting seminary. After Mass one of the seminarians told me, “Archbishop, that homily was ‘fire’!” At which point Father Tyler leaned over and said to me “Archbishop, that’s a good thing!”.
Jesus never claimed that anything he said “hits”, “slaps”, or “smacks” nor did he claim that his words “hit different”. But Jesus did claim to bring “fire”, as we’re about to see. The readings this weekend offer two paths, two ways of living – one is sad and boring and the other is life on fire – and that choice is here for us today.
A Sad, Boring Life
The first path is seen in the today’s first reading from the Book of Job. The life Job describes is boring, flat, going from one thing to the next. As some people put it in our time, “Life is just one thing after another and then you die.” This vision of life is bleak; this life is a sort of hell. It’s devoid of passion, excitement, and hope.
After an exciting weekend such as this, it might be strange to hear these words but for so many people, these words describe what life is like. For many people, this is their life.
On the surface, it might look like they’re living an exciting life. Seeing them on Instagram or TikTok, or meeting them at a party, we might think they’re living the kind of life we’d want for ourselves. But deep down, no matter how much they try to dress it up to make it seem better, or numb themselves to hide the truth – it doesn’t change reality. Contrary to the image they portray, so many people in our world today are isolated and alone. So many people live without a sense of purpose or direction. So many people live lives that are bleak, boring, and flat.
Life on “Fire”
But, you know, there’s another possibility; there’s a different way to live. In today’s Gospel, Jesus has been hard at work healing the sick. People are coming from everywhere to see him, wanting to be healed. In the midst of this, he takes time away for prayer, and coming back to his closest followers, he makes a proposal and it’s this: “Let’s go.” Let’s go to the other places, to other villages and towns. Let’s go do there what we’ve done here … “for this have I come”.
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. He has come, sent by the Father, to bind up wounds, to gather together a people who have been scattered, to announce God’s favor and God’s closeness. For this has he come. This is his mission. This is his purpose.
But he doesn’t do this on his own; he invites others to share in his mission. The Lord is inviting them to share in his work. Jesus is calling them to embrace a great adventure – Jesus is challenging them to embrace the struggles that will come. Jesus is inviting them to discover a different way of living. Jesus is showing them what kind of life is truly worth living.
So what made the difference? Certainly the life Jesus called his disciples to was difficult and following Jesus then and now does not mean that every day is filled with earth shattering experiences. So what made the difference for Jesus’ disciples, and what makes the difference for us today? What saves us from living the boring, flat, life of drudgery? What makes our life “fire”? It’s this: we have a mission.
Life changes when we know our purpose, when we can look at what we are doing, especially when it is hard, and then we say, “This is why I was sent.” “This is what I was meant to do.” That kind of life is “fire”.
St. Paul lived a life of fire! He was on fire with love of Christ and zeal for the Gospel. That’s why he, like the Lord, went far and wide, preaching and establishing the Church. ‘Woe to me!’ he said, ‘if I do not preach the Gospel.
My young friends, the Lord invites you to that kind of life, he is calling you to follow him, he is inviting you to share in his mission. He is sending you to set the earth on fire with the power of his love. He wants to free you for the sterile boredom of meaninglessness we feel when we live only for ourselves and the things of this world. He is inviting you into a rich and full life, full of meaning and purpose, a life truly worth living.
Listen for his voice, hear him when he calls you, follow where he is leading you. Embrace the life he has in store for you. That life is “fire”.