Stealing Sermons

Appreciating the life of St. Ambrose and Woody Shank

12/07/2024

Jn 10:11-16 Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd."

Last week I did something I do not normally do, but I am glad I did, namely, attend a funeral at a Protestant church. I can’t do that often because I’m too busy performing funerals here at I.C. The funeral was for Woody Shank, who has many Catholic family members, but Woody himself was staunchly Baptist.

The interior of the church had semi-circular seating, dim lighting over the congregation, the stage – hard to call it a sanctuary – was decked with four large-screen TV, Christmas trees, columns of blue lights, and a sole pulpit standing in the center illuminated by a spot-light.

Even though the funeral was not as liturgical and ritualistic as I would like – no smells and bells – I heard one of the most moving funeral sermons I have ever heard. It was delivered by Dr. Jeff Crawford, pastor of Grand Avenue Baptist Church. The sermon was a lot longer than what you hear in a Catholic service.

But I was mesmerized by how Dr. Crawford eulogized Woody Shank with humility, humor, and holiness. He shared several funeral jokes which I will save for a Sunday homily. Baptists always give me great homily material. I’ve stolen lots of sermons from Protestant pastors. After 2,000 pretty much everything you hear in church is stolen from someone’s sermon.

But what really grabbed my attention was how much of an impact Woody left on Dr. Crawford’s life. He recalled how Woody was a dedicated youth minister taking boys, like Jeff, on camping trips and snipe hunting. How Woody reached out to kids who started distancing themselves from the Church. How Woody loved to talk about Jesus.

Dr. Crawford repeated what could well be Woody’s life motto: “It was always about Jesus. It was only about Jesus.” Dr. Crawford attributed his own call to ministry as a pastor to Woody’s influence. And he felt his life had somewhat come full circle when Jeff introduced his own children to Woody.

Today is the feast of St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, who lived in the 4th century, from 339 to 394. We often do not hear much about St. Ambrose because his life was overshadowed by his more famous protégé, St. Augustine of Hippo. Just like I probably would never have known about Woody Shank until I heard the preaching of Dr. Crawford, so in some ways, St. Augustine put St. Ambrose on the historical map of the Church.

In other words, St. Augustine both overshadowed him but ironically also shed light on him. How so? Well, it was to St. Ambrose that St. Augustine credited his complete conversion to Christ and his desire to follow in his footsteps. And who knows, maybe St. Augustine stole a few sermons from St. Ambrose as well.

So taking my cue from Dr. Crawford and St. Augustine, I would like to share a few stories about the life of St. Ambrose, the beloved bishop of Milan. The first remarkable thing to note is that Ambrose became the bishop of Milan not initially by the appointment from the pope, which is how all bishops are created today.

Rather, he was chosen as bishop of Milan by the popular acclaim of the people. His reputation as a pastor, a preacher, a theologian, and leader was well known and respected. His ascension to the episcopal see was, as we say today, “a no-brainer”, and spoke highly of his personal character and professional credentials.

A second accomplishment to recognize about Ambrose was he was an accomplished musician. For example, he developed an early form of antiphonal chant for the Mass called the Ambrosian Chant. Think of how we sing or say the Responsorial Psalm by repeating the antiphon, which is usually a verse from that psalm. He helped develop that.

He also composed the hymn called the “Te Deum,” which in Latin means “To You God.” Priests and deacons sing the Te Deum in the Liturgy of the Hours on Sundays and Solemnities. When we sing the Te Deum praising God, we should feel a deep gratitude to St. Ambrose. 

But of course, Ambrose’s lasting claim to fame will be his influence on St. Augustine. Let me allow the Doctor of Grace (Augustine) to speak for himself. He wrote in Book V of his immortal Confessions: “To Milan I came, to Ambrose the bishop…whose eloquent discourse did then plentifully dispense unto Thy people the flower of Thy wheat, the gladness of Thy oil, and the sober inebriation of Thy wine.”

He continued: “To him was I unknowingly led by Thee, that by him I might knowingly be led to Thee. That man of God received me as a father, and showed me an Episcopal kindness on my coming. Thenceforth, I began to love him.” It is hard not to hear how Dr. Crawford could have uttered almost identical words about Woody Shank.

Dr. Crawford could say: “To Woody was I unknowingly led by Jesus, that by Woody I might be knowingly be led to Jesus.” My friends, today think about someone who has influenced you and brought you closer to Christ: a pastor, a parent, a professor, a friend, a family member, or a public figure.

As we gather to sing the praises of God, like priests and deacons sing the Te Deum, whisper a word of thanks in your heart for all the Ambroses in your life. We would not know Christ without them. And we might even steal something from their sermons once in a while.

Praised be Jesus Christ!