People are leaving the church. Why you ask? Too hot in church, no air conditioning, sermons too long, music sounds like a dirge, people in the pew gossip and are grumpy. Too many rules to follow, too much sandal, or simply no time, it’s the start of the football season and the Bills are expected to win the Super Bowl.
Funny, same thing happened to Jesus. People were leaving. It says in the gospel, “they no longer went with him." And so, Jesus looks at his closest disciples, and he asked them, "Will you also go away?" It's a great question for your faith, isn't it?
And it's a great question for your life. When the going gets tough, will you go away? When your relationship is challenged, do you find a way to hang in there? When a bad habit produces a negative result, do you keep grinding it out, or do you give up. Here’s the question of the day for two parishes. When your church is not going the way you want, do you stick it out or do you walk away?
Let’s be perfectly honest, it’s not easy being Catholic. Following Jesus, having faith, and really trying to become the best version of yourself. I mean, we all have bad days, we say stupid things like I heard this weekend, “What kind of nationality is that new priest coming to our church.” We all have moments where we wonder, "God, are you really with me or not?"
So, let me remind you of a forgotten word, a very unpopular word, “faithfulness.” You may know his cousins stick-to-itness and perseverance. Faithfulness, it's not the sexiest word around, is it!
For you and me, being faithful usually means being heroic in ordinary things.
So, let’s skip the grim statistics that show less then 15% of Catholics are attending church. We don’t say it out loud but you might wonder, are we getting ready to close our churches for good?
Not at Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral in Lancaster, not at Holy Family in North Java, because a bishop has made a radicle decision to invite some young, enthusiastic disciples to stir the bushes and knock on doors.
Sounds just like Jesus with his young fellows, walking door to door in the marketplace and preaching the “Good News.”
Next Saturday and Sunday, a young priest and his spouse, Fr. Nadeem and Rebecca will travel from Florida to preach the Good News to the cathedral and Holy Family. They have accepted the mission to knock on doors and invite your neighbors to come and taste the sweetness of the Lord. That’s probably means Fr. Matt will have to make more Snickerdoodle cookies.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to remain faithful, not to be so critical or hesitate to take a chance not knowing the end result, but trusting that Your spirit will guide our churches to continue the saving work of your Son and Our Savior. Give Fr. Nadeem a chance, give Fr. Adam a chance people, they both need your prayers, your love and your support.
