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There's a story that you've probably heard before, but it needs to be repeated. It's about a small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing.
At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed.
The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When the boy grew to be a man, he said, "All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that night."
[J. Allan Peterson]
You and I make choices
every day. The list is endless. But there are
three essential matters that none of us can do anything to change: We are born, we will die, and no matter what course our lives takes, God will always love us like the father in the story. At our baptism we became the daughters and sons of God. We were born again, we died to sin and self-centeredness, and we were raised with Christ to new life… new life in and with God. Baptism brings together those three essential matters--birth, death, and God's love, and sets the course for every future choice we will make. Baptism reminds us that we belong to Christ. We belong to Christ! If we believe that, and I hope you do, our lives are not our own. Our lives belong to Jesus Christ -- today, tomorrow and forever. If we belong to Christ, all our decisions and choices are not only about self, but also about the God who refuses to stop loving us and the family of faith that we belong to.
As Catholic Christians, we are always living out our baptism. I believe in God. Yes! I believe in Jesus. Yes! I believe in the Holy Spirit. Yes! I renounce the forces of the Evil One, and all his empty promises. All of our lives we are saying "Yes" to God. Life is much better when we live for the honor and glory of God; when every decision or choice we make has God in mind. As a Christian commu
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nity, we also have the challenge to bring our younger members to God through Jesus Christ. A challenge, yes, but also a partnership with God.
This year we have another large group of high school freshman preparing for Confirmation. It is an important moment in their young lives. They know that they are supposed to be thinking about their relationship with Jesus Christ and the promises that they will make before the bishop next spring. But freshman in high school are also worried about their looks, their hair, zits, peer pressure, and everything else an adolescent worries about. Many of them just want to get it over with. Some think they are too cool to be "wasting time" on Sunday evenings studying their faith.
On the day of our baptism, God said, "Yes" to us. Yes, you are my son, my daughter. God will never abandon or forget us, even if we abandon or forget God. At Confirmation, we say "Yes" to God. Why? As Jesus said, "You did not choose me but I chose you." God always does the choosing, not you or me. For some reason that we may never know in this life, God worked through our parents and the Church, and we find ourselves belonging to God as members of the Catholic church. If God chose us, each and every one of us, we must help each other, especially our teens preparing for Confirmation, to be accountable to God as disciples of Jesus. We promised at Confirmation, as they will, to live with God's faithful people; to listen to God's Word and celebrate the Eucharist; to proclaim the good news of Christ in word and deed; to serve all people, following the example of Jesus; and to strive for justice and peace in this world.
God is inviting these high school freshman to a great life. Will you pray for them, and model a life of Christian Service? Will you? They are the children of God and members of the Church. They need the support of this faith community. We are one with them in Christ Jesus. We are all in this community together. All of us belong to the great God of Jesus, our Savior.
I can't think of anything more exciting. Can you? To be chosen by G-O-D!!
Fr. Bill
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