Father Rick Bolte's Homily

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In our first reading the people who hear the Law of God are encouraged to celebrate the gift of that Law. I don’t think many of us rejoice when we think of laws. Though we philosophically realize that law is important and are upset when others don’t follow laws we think they should, we generally are not strict for ourselves in following laws. To be exact in paying taxes, following speed limits, etc. often feel more like an imposition than a gift. Sometimes it seems God’s Laws are also imposed on us and are not what we really want to do.

In today’s gospel Jesus reveals his purpose and the purpose of God’s Law. He reads from Isaiah explaining that his purpose is to “to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” Jesus came to reveal God’s love for his people expressed in his concern for the lowliest. If we look at God’s Law, we see that its purpose is to guide us in that direction. Following the Law is not the goal, but following the Law directs us to love God and one another. Jesus invites us to follow him as he shows us how to love one another. The interesting thing is to recognize how Jesus’ promises are fulfilled when we seek to do that.

As hopefully you have heard, Bishop Foys will spend the weekend with us March 6-8. In preparation for that visit, we have been asked to complete some forms giving information about the parish. I was answering a question about what is special, key, and important that is happening in the parish. As I started answering that question, I realized something. We are a parish that runs the full gambit of opinions about politics, philosophy, and theology. We have strong Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. We have people who are very traditional and people who like to be on the cutting edge of things. But we are not divided along these lines. I think the answer is that we try to be focused on how Jesus showed us to live. Outreach to our own parishioners and to the larger community is a key characteristic of who we are and what we are about. Though we may follow different paths to this objective, we are united by of efforts to care for others. We show this in so many ways. We may be involved with the chicken dinners, fish fries, Oktoberfest, and the dinner dance. We may help at Hosea house, the grant activities, and City Heights. We may care for the upkeep of the church or grounds. We may help out financially. And perhaps most importantly, we may help out with times of prayer. But when we act out of love for others, the differences among us matter little and we find we are united.

This is what Paul is talking about in today’s second reading. He speaks of all the different gifts but how each is important. An eye is not complete without the ear or nose. A hand is not better than a foot. All our gifts, whatever they may be, are from God and need to be directed by God’s Spirit of love. When we do that, we become one Body. We are not all the same and we do not all perceive life the same way; we never will. But we’re not united by politics, philosophies, or theologies. We are united in the Spirit of love. When we seek to love God in our neighbor, we come together to form Christ’s Body, his church, God’s kingdom.

As is its purpose, our experience of our parish helps us to see God’s kingdom in our midst. Within we find the unity, joy, and peace God wants us to share.