August 4, 2024 Homily: Fr Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of
2. 0:03mass, we continue to read from John's
3. 0:05chapter 6. We continue our fiveweek
4. 0:09series on this powerful chapter where we
5. 0:13get our theology for the eukarist. Last
6. 0:17week, we read about the multiplication
7. 0:19of the loaves and fishes, the miracle
8. 0:21that began this chapter.
9. 0:25And if you stop and put yourself into
10. 0:27that scene, which that's what I
11. 0:28recommend you to do when you go through
12. 0:31this chapter, is really envision
13. 0:33yourself being there at the moment,
14. 0:38being present for it, having yourself be
15. 0:42filled with the bread and with the
16. 0:45fishes.
17. 0:47If you do that, then there's no surprise
18. 0:49to hear that the people following Jesus
19. 0:52were following him in huge numbers.
20. 0:56But it seems sadly they weren't
21. 0:58following because of his teachings
22. 1:01or even because of his miracles.
23. 1:05They were following because he gave them
24. 1:07food.
25. 1:09He knew this of course and he told them,
26. 1:11"You're not looking for me because you
27. 1:13saw signs, but because you all got the
28. 1:17bread that you wanted."
29. 1:21But it sets a stage for one of the most
30. 1:23fundamental lessons that Jesus is
31. 1:25teaching.
32. 1:28I think what he said here is one of
33. 1:30those teachings that can guide our
34. 1:33lives.
35. 1:35He told them, "Do not work for food that
36. 1:38will perish, but for the food that
37. 1:41endures for eternal life, which I will
38. 1:43give you."
39. 1:46If you want to memorize a few verses
40. 1:48from scripture to help you choose the
41. 1:51right path, I think this is one of the
42. 1:53good ones. John's chapter 6 verse 24. Do
43. 1:58not work for food that perishes, but the
44. 2:01food that endures for eternal life,
45. 2:03which I will give you.
46. 2:07The food that he's speaking about is a
47. 2:09metaphor for the ultimate satisfaction,
48. 2:12the ultimate happiness.
49. 2:15While the people had their minds fixed
50. 2:18on the immediate, the worldly, the
51. 2:21bodily satisfaction, I'm hungry. I need
52. 2:23something now.
53. 2:26Jesus is speaking of something
54. 2:27infinitely greater.
55. 2:30Eternal happiness,
56. 2:33everlasting satisfaction,
57. 2:35and not just for our stomachs in the
58. 2:37here and now, but for our whole being
59. 2:40forever.
60. 2:43And he's declaring himself as the source
61. 2:45and the giver of this gift.
62. 2:50That's what he tells us in this one
63. 2:52verse.
64. 2:55In her long history, the church can
65. 2:57point to a number of holy men and women,
66. 3:01saints, who truly learned this lesson
67. 3:04that Jesus is teaching us today in John
68. 3:07chapter 6. a lesson that they practiced
69. 3:10and a lesson that they were able to
70. 3:12perfect.
71. 3:14St. Thomas Beckett is one of them.
72. 3:17He lived in England in the 1100s and was
73. 3:21best friends with King Henry II, not VI.
74. 3:25That's about 400 years later.
75. 3:28They grew up together wealthy and
76. 3:31entitled. And they were thickest
77. 3:33thieves.
78. 3:35They were both selfish, self-indulgent,
79. 3:38and power hungry.
80. 3:41They drank together. They plotted
81. 3:43together.
82. 3:46King Henry came up with the idea of
83. 3:48appointing Thomas as the Archbishop of
84. 3:50Canterbury.
85. 3:52Of course, this was before the Church of
86. 3:54England existed.
87. 3:57Henry thought, and maybe probably
88. 4:00correctly, that having his best friend
89. 4:03occupy the highest church position in
90. 4:06the land would give him a chance to
91. 4:08control the church, but then also
92. 4:11squeeze the money out of the church for
93. 4:14himself.
94. 4:16But something happened that King Henry
95. 4:18did not anticipate.
96. 4:21When Thomas was ordained, God's grace
97. 4:23touched his heart.
98. 4:26And he began to see the folly of living
99. 4:28just for earthly goals, living just for
100. 4:31worldly pleasures,
101. 4:34working for food that perishes. In other
102. 4:36words,
103. 4:39he sold his considerable property and
104. 4:41gave the money to the poor. He stopped
105. 4:44his loose living and he dedicated
106. 4:47himself to serving Christ and the church
107. 4:49with all of his energy and with all of
108. 4:52his talents.
109. 4:54He became a great preacher, a great man
110. 4:57of the church,
111. 4:59became this tremendous moral leader for
112. 5:02the people.
113. 5:04He famously said, "I served King Henry
114. 5:07well,
115. 5:09but I am no more. I am his no more. I
116. 5:13must serve Christ and his church."
117. 5:18As you can imagine, his relationship
118. 5:19with the king deteriorated.
119. 5:22Instead of controlling the church, Henry
120. 5:24found all his immoral plans ruined by
121. 5:28the very appointment that he made.
122. 5:32While Thomas advanced in holiness and
123. 5:35goodness, King Henry only grew
124. 5:37embittered and vengeful in the face of
125. 5:40his imagined betrayal.
126. 5:44Sometime later, he sent his men to kill
127. 5:47Thomas and they carried out that deed
128. 5:50according to some accounts while Thomas
129. 5:53was celebrating mass.
130. 5:57The point is this.
131. 5:59Thomas learned the lesson from Jesus.
132. 6:02The lesson that Jesus is teaching us
133. 6:04today to work for the food that endures
134. 6:07for eternal life. And he learned that
135. 6:09lesson so well that nothing on earth
136. 6:12could detract him from that goal.
137. 6:16Nothing could get him off of that path.
138. 6:20I know that it's an it's an extreme
139. 6:22example as many of the saints stories
140. 6:25are.
141. 6:26But do you think St. Thomas has any
142. 6:28regrets today?
143. 6:31I said earlier that this teaching is one
144. 6:34that can help guide the course of our
145. 6:36life. And I think it's true.
146. 6:40We all have worldly goals to better
147. 6:42ourselves, earthly duties to perform,
148. 6:45responsibilities,
149. 6:47and all of that is fine.
150. 6:50And we can rightly pursue those
151. 6:52legitimate pleasures that life on earth
152. 6:55offers. There's nothing wrong with that.
153. 6:58But eternal life is our ultimate goal.
154. 7:02Everlasting satisfaction is our greatest
155. 7:05desire to be with Christ in heaven is
156. 7:08the destination for which we should be
157. 7:11working for. We should be striving for.
158. 7:15Nothing should ever distract us from
159. 7:17that goal.
160. 7:20We don't follow Jesus because he
161. 7:22promises us good things on earth. He
162. 7:25doesn't.
163. 7:27We follow him because he promises us
164. 7:29eternal life.
165. 7:32That's infinitely more important than
166. 7:34anything worldly.
167. 7:37And Jesus is the source and giver of
168. 7:39that gift.
169. 7:42All of that is summed up in this little
170. 7:44teaching from John 24 which we have this
171. 7:48morning
172. 7:50which we should all remember and allow
173. 7:53it to guide and shape our decisions.
174. 7:57Our participation in the Eucharist must
175. 7:59result in our ongoing conversion.
176. 8:02A conversion that should occur every
177. 8:05single day.
178. 8:07Listening to the word of God must change
179. 8:10how we think, how we act, how we react,
180. 8:13the way we prioritize things.
181. 8:17Receiving the body and blood of Christ
182. 8:19must strengthen us to lead lives of
183. 8:22radiant truth, to love the gospel, to
184. 8:26defend the gospel
185. 8:28as it comes to us through the church.
186. 8:33What has the Lord done for us lately?
187. 8:37The Lord gives himself to us in
188. 8:39sacrificial love. At every hour, at
189. 8:42every day, at holy mass, celebrated on
190. 8:46altars all throughout the world, Jesus
191. 8:50becomes present.
192. 8:53Come, let us worship him.
193. 8:56So my brothers and sisters, do not work
194. 8:59for food that perishes, but for the food
195. 9:02that endures for eternal life, which I
196. 9:05will give you. Amen.
197. 9:08Amen.