Homily for Ordinary Time 5 - February 7, 2016

Homily for Ordinary Time 5

February 7, 2016

Today Is the Day

 

            I was assigned in Bethel with a priest named Fr. Jeff Couture who died. And then came back to life.

            He had a rather remarkable conversion story. Although raised in a good Catholic family, during his teen years he chose the rock & roll lifestyle of drugs and women over his faith. He moved from Connecticut to Florida where he was basically a beach bum and partygoer, only working if he needed money for drugs or alcohol.

            One day he was out of money, so he saw an ad for a place that would pay you $20 if you donated your blood. He went there – a sketchy little place – and the worker quickly pricked his arm to draw out a pint of blood. But apparently the worker wasn’t very professional, and he quickly bled to death right there on the table.

            When he had died, he saw Jesus and his guardian angel. He realized that because of his sinful life, he deserved Hell, and he was completely at peace about it, since he had chosen it freely by his choices in this life. But he then saw the Blessed Mother step in front of her Son, asking if Jesus would give him a second chance. Jesus smiled, and the next thing Fr. Jeff knew, he was in the hospital emergency room. Needless to say, this near-death experience changed him completely – he gave up the drugs and the drinking, and became a priest. He now serves as the chaplain at WestConn University in Danbury.

            When he was telling me this story, I have to admit, I was kind of jealous. Man, I wish I could see Jesus! What a great grace that would be! But then I realized, I have received many great graces – God preserved me from the misery of living a drug-addicted life, He gave me two parents who are still together and who taught me the Faith, and He has shown me His love in thousands of different ways. It was better not to need to be knocked off my horse – what a grace that God preserved me from all that!

            However, it does seem like many people wait until a crisis hits before they finally turn to God!

            It happened to Peter in the Gospel. He was just going about his daily business, fishing, making a living, providing for his family (we know that Peter was married because Jesus healed his mother-in-law). He was living a pretty regular life. I’m sure news of this new prophet, Jesus, had been spreading around town. After all, by this time, He had done some miracles, started calling some disciples, and began preaching the Word of God. But Peter wasn’t really interested. He wasn’t yet a disciple – it hadn’t gotten personal yet.

            But here comes Jesus, walking along the shoreline, asking to borrow a boat to preach. He does this because sound carries much better over water than land, so it’s easier to preach when He’s out on a lake.

            The Lord didn’t just pick a random boat – He purposely selected Simon’s, because He knew He had big plans for the man. So, after He was done preaching, He encouraged Simon to put out for a catch.

            Fishermen knew that the time to catch fish was at night. So it would be highly unlikely that they would catch anything at midday, as the Lord had commanded. But hey, Simon figured, we’ve heard good things about this Jesus, so let’s see if He really is as remarkable as the rumors. Besides, what do we have to lose?

            What a shock he got, to see the catch of a lifetime! Such a miracle moved Simon to fall to his knees and confess his sin. Then, encouraged by the Lord’s words, he left everything and followed Him.

            But it took a remarkable occurrence for Peter to finally open his heart to the Lord. Same with Isaiah in the first reading – he had to have a vision which must have been terrifying and awesome at the same time. Then, and only then, did he confess his sin, and promise to follow the Lord’s call to be a prophet.

            God often does use remarkable events to get our attention. Sometimes it’s good events – many parents have told me that they felt closest to God at the birth of their child, for example. Others might be similarly moved by an experience of beauty in music, art, or nature.

            Sometimes, God needs to get our attention and He allows an unfortunate thing to befall us. Perhaps an illness, or a loss of a job, or the death of someone close to us. These events often shake us out of complacency and spur us onto our knees.

            But we don’t have to wait for these extraordinary things to happen, because God’s grace is offered at every moment of every day. Don’t postpone following the Lord! If you keep saying to yourself, “Oh, I’ll get to Confession tomorrow”…you are not guaranteed tomorrow! If you say to yourself, “Well, once I finish school, once my kids are out of the house, once I retire, then I’ll develop a real prayer life,” then we will never do it – we will always find yet one more excuse.

            We forget that most of Jesus’ Apostles didn’t have such a remarkable calling as Peter. He just simply pointed to Matthew, who left everything and followed Him. His other disciples, like Bartholomew or Philip, simply listened to Jesus’ words and became His disciples – their decision to follow the Lord didn’t take a miracle or a crisis! In their hearts, they took seriously His words of truth, and turned their lives over to Him.

            When I see people finally turning to God in times of suffering and crisis, it’s very hard for them because they have not learned how to have a relationship with Him beforehand. If you were learning how to sail, you would probably pick a nice, calm day to learn the art of putting up a sail, tying knots, manning the rudder, all of that knowledge. It wouldn’t be a good idea to learn to sail in the middle of a hurricane. When people turn to God only in times of crisis, it is much harder for them because they haven’t developed the habits of having a relationship with God. But when people develop a real life of prayer and relationship with Christ in everyday life, then when the spiritual hurricane comes, they know how to trust Christ.

            So, what are you waiting for? If you’ve been putting of some aspect of your relationship with God, now is the time! Maybe that means returning to Confession. Maybe that means really starting a daily prayer routine. Maybe it means finally reading the Bible like you’ve been meaning to do for all these years. Maybe it means reconciling with that family member who you’ve held a grudge against for decades, or finally volunteering like you’ve always meant to do.

            Don’t be like Peter, who needed a real kick in the pants to finally follow Christ. Do it now, and don’t wait until your life is turned upside-down. What are you waiting for?