Appreciating every person we meet daily
03/05/2024
Lk 4:24-30 Jesus said to the
people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is
accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in
Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that
Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again,
there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not
one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the
synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him
out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had
been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them
and went away.
Recently, I was elected by my
brother priests to serve for five years on the Personnel Board for the diocese.
The Personnel Board advises the bishop about possible changes of priests from
one parish to another. So, if there is a priest you don’t like and want to get
rid of, just let me know and I will pass it along to the bishop. Now, there is
an unwritten rule of the Personnel Board that we do not send a priest to be
pastor of the parish where he grew up. For example, Ben Keating is currently a
seminarian for our diocese, but he is from Immaculate Conception. After he is
ordained, therefore, the bishop will probably never assign him as the pastor
here. Why not?
Well, because of what Jesus says
in the gospel today: “no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” And to
be a prophet means to preach the hard truth, tough love, the things people do
not want to hear but desperately need to hear. And that is why the people of
Nazareth – Jesus’ hometown – are ready to throw him off “the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built” because he told them the hard truth about
their lack of faith. In other words, when we grow up with someone- even someone
like Jesus, or Ben – we feel like we already know them and what they have to
say. We don’t feel they have anything new or exciting to teach us, or we don’t
like what they have to teach us.
Every week I receive a phone call
or a visit from parents worried about their children. And invariably they will
ask, “Fr. John, would you talk to Johnny or Susie about his drinking, or
baptizing my grandkids, or going back to Mass, etc.?” Why do these parents want
me to talk to their children? Because they feel like Jesus in the gospel today
and know “no prophet is accepted in his native place,” especially in his or her
own home. Children stop listening to their parents like the people of Nazareth
didn’t listen to Jesus.
I have been pastor here at
Immaculate Conception for over ten years, and you parishioners know me pretty
well by now. You are very familiar with my preaching style, and sometimes, you
even know what I am going to say before I say it. You have read my books, and
you have listened to my homilies on Spotify. You could virtually write my
homilies for me – but you wouldn’t get up at 4:30 a.m. to do it!
But try to recall what it was
like when I first arrived here back in December, 2013. When you first saw this
Indian-looking priest behind the altar, you probably feared the worst: “Oh no,
he’s going to talk in some thick Indian accent and I’ll never understand a word
he says!” But I’ve faithfully done my accent reduction exercises and now almost
talk with a Southern twang, like all a ya’ll. But after ten years here, this
parish now feel almost like “my native place,” and so it’s easy for you to tune
me out when I say something disagreeable. Oh, there goes Fr. John getting on
his soapbox again.
I will never forget when
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “Jewelers get used to handling fine
diamonds.” I believe that comment cuts to the heart of Jesus’ point in the
gospel today. Each person in our lives – children, parents, pastor, etc. – is a
precious diamond – and Jesus is the only flawless Diamond – and we have to take
great care not to get used to them and take them for granted. Try not to tune
them out when they say something we don't like or want to hear.
So, here’s your homework for
today, and really for the rest of your life. Get up every morning and see
yourself as going to work in a jeweler’s shop. Imagine every person you meet as
another priceless jewel and try not to get used to seeing such stunning beauty
every day. Let me leave you with C. S. Lewis’ words in his celebrated essay,
“The Weight of Glory,” “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible
gods and goddess, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you
talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be
strongly tempted to worship.” My friends, look around you, you are in the
jeweler’s shop right now. Don’t get used to these fine diamonds.
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