Last week we began our Advent homily series on “Keeping Mass in ChristMass” — And if you missed that first homily, basically what we’re doing is taking a tour of the Sacred Liturgy and exploring why we do what we do and why we pray what we pray in the Mass. 

For the first Sunday in Advent, we discussed how necessary our preparation is if we want to fully enter into and appreciate the Mass. We discussed the entrance procession, the introductory rites, the penitential act, and then we finished with the Collect Prayer.

Today, we will spend some time exploring the “Liturgy of the Word.”

The Mass, we all probably know, is broken up into two basic parts — the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The ancient Church fathers frequently spoke about these as being “two tables” from which we are nourished — the Table of the Holy Scriptures… the written, spoken Word… and the Table of the Eucharistic Sacrifice… the Word made flesh.

The Second Vatican Council teaches that the Church “has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord.”

That’s really quite striking isn’t it? While Catholics do NOT ascribe to the protestant doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” — which says that the only source of authority comes from the Bible alone — we DO however venerate and hold sacred each and every syllable, every letter of the Scriptures… as if it were particles of the Holy Eucharist itself!!!

Why?

Because we worship the Word. (Not the Bible… but the Word!)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”

Now, before going any further, a brief word about that little word “Word.”

In Greek, the word for word is “Logos.”

So, John’s prologue is saying: ‘In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.”

The Greek word “Logos” basically means “Order and Intelligibility.” It’s where we get the word “Logic” from. Therefore, the Word — who ultimately became flesh in Jesus Christ — is the source of all “logic” and “order” in the world. …Math, physics, chemistry, biology — all of that stuff is “intelligible” and “coherent” to us, because we have an intelligible God who has placed some of that intelligibility into what He has made.

We were made in the image and likeness of God, which means we have a bit of that intelligibility built into us as well!

The bad news is, however… when we sinned, we actually introduced something irrational and illogical into God’s logical order. We introduced chaos into the logos of the Lord’s creation…

And now — (as we are probably well aware) — we’re sort of out of wack, aren’t we? We tend to do illogical, sinful things that hurt ourselves and people around us. We know we shouldn’t, and yet we still do…. over and over again, expecting different results!… That’s the definition of insanity! Of irrationality, isn’t it?

So what’s the solution?

I propose to you — that the solution is the Sacred Liturgy!

The liturgy is where we encounter the Word — the Logos — Himself. The liturgy is where this Word actually “re-orders” the chaos of our lives! The Mass is where He brings us back into alignment with His original logic and puts us back into communion with Himself!!!

So in a profound way — in this first part of the Mass — the Liturgy of the Word — God is speaking order back into our chaos. He is teaching us right from wrong. Good from evil. Virtue from vice. Truth from falsehood.

As our Second Reading said today: “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

So whenever we sit down to hear the Sacred Scriptures PROCLAIMED to us at Mass… we are supposed to listen to them prayerfully… with holy attention. — Why? 

Because God is about to speak to us! 

He is about to remind us of what is True. He is reordering us!!!! Bringing logos — logic — from out of our chaos!

St. Paul says that “all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 

That word “inspired” literally can be translated as “God-breathed.” So, God breathed His Truth, His Teaching, His Life into the books of the Bible. The Scriptures are “living and effective, sharper than any double-edged sword!” They are His LIVING Word!

I’ve heard it said that we don’t read the Bible… the Bible reads us!

So… if anybody says to me: “Father, I’ve never heard God’s voice before…” I would simply ask them: “But, you’ve been to Mass right?”

If so, then you’ve definitely heard God’s Voice!

He spoke to you through the lector delivering the Scriptures to us. That was God speaking to you… to all of us!

The Scriptures are the Father’s love letter to us!

They are a “lamp unto our feet” showing us the way forward…

They are a delicious feast of TRUTH and GOODNESS!

As the prophet Jeremiah once wrote: “When I found your words, I devoured them. Your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart.”

That’s the invitation for us as we hear the readings at Mass…

We are listening for the Voice of the God who loves us!

And really, it’s just amazing how often the readings of the day directly relate to whatever we might be going through. The Holy Spirit always has perfect timing in lining up the exact readings we need to hear at just the right moment…

There’s the famous story, for instance, of St. Anthony of the Desert.

As the story goes, Anthony entered into the church during Mass, just as the Gospel was being proclaimed. That day’s reading happened to be the story of the Rich Young Man, where Jesus says: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven”

As soon as he heard those words — St. Anthony KNEW in his gut that God was speaking to HIM directly. And so he did just that. He went and sold everything he owned, became a desert hermit, and went on to become the “Father of Western Monasticism.”

That was not a coincidence!

That was Providence!

Today’s mass readings are yet another example: 

In our second reading today from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, we heard that line — “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that… by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

When I decided to kick off this homily series on the parts of the Mass, I didn’t know this was going to be our second reading this weekend…

That was just a providential thing that happened! And it’s awesome. And guess what? It happens all the time…

If only we had ears to hear! 

But of course, the most important reading we hear at Mass every Sunday,— is the Gospel proclamation.

We remain seated for the First and Second Readings, as well as the Psalm… and this is a posture of being taught. Of receiving. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him… but at this point in the Mass, we come to the heart of the Liturgy of the Word — the Gospel.

And what do we do?

We stand!

Why?

Because while all the books of the bible are equally inspired by the Holy Spirit — the Gospel is the lens through which we read everything else. The Gospels are most important! They are the KEY…because they reveal Jesus to us. 

So we stand in honor of the Good News, and lift up the Book of the Gospels containing the story of Jesus’ Life and Teachings! We cover this book with gold plating to show our reverence and awe. We lift it high and process to the ambo with incense while the whole church sings “Alleluia” — an ancient, almost untranslatable Hebrew word for praise, and worship, and exaltation…

Before proclaiming the gospel, the priest bows low to the altar and prays silently: “Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel.”

Then the proclamation itself begins: “The Lord be with you”

—And with your spirit.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to….blank.

And we all reply: “Glory to You, O Lord.” We cross ourselves on our foreheads, on our lips, and on our hearts… basically saying “May the Gospel we are about to hear always be in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.”

At the conclusion, the priest says: “The Gospel of the Lord” and we all say: “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ” — and then he kisses the book of the Gospel…

As he does so, he again prays silently: “Through the words of the Gospel, may our sins be wiped away.” — another testament to the life-transforming power of Christ’s words: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Then… we again take our seats.

But the priest stays up at the ambo, and he does his best to explain what we just heard. That’s what the word “homily” literally means — “explanation.”

Because even though God really is speaking to us through the readings of the day — a lot of the time, they’re not very clear to us.

So we need interpretation and application. A good homily is supposed to explain and apply the meaning of the Mass Readings to our daily life here and now.  — It’s not supposed to be a presentation of the priest’s personal theology or politics. It’s not a chance for the priest to hog the spotlight and get attention. The homily is supposed to be an explication grounded in the Church’s clear and solid teachings.

It’s also meant to be a call — an exhortation to respond to what we just heard. We shouldn’t let the Word of God go in one ear and out the other!!!

No… we’re invited to respond — we’re invited to repent and then change our lives based on what was proclaimed!

This is what John the Baptist is doing in our Gospel this weekend, right?

He “appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’”

That’s the basic function of the homily — the priest or deacon is preaching repentance! They’re saying: “Hey, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand! We need to reorient our lives based on the things we just heard in those readings!”

The homily is like the “voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

It’s supposed to be challenging… just like John the Baptist challenges the Pharisees who came to listen to him. He exhorts them not just to listen and hear the word… but also to “produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” He warns them very sternly: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

If a homily ever offends you, first ask: “Am I offended… by the Truth?”

Because preaching is meant to convict us. Call us up higher. Remind us who God really is, and what His plans and promises are…Give us the hard truths that are not always easy to swallow.

But really — I think the main goal of every homily is this:

It’s meant to stir up our hunger for what is coming next! — Unlike the church-services of some of our Protestant brothers and sisters — the preaching… the homily… is not the main event. It’s not the reason we came to church. The Eucharist is.

Catholic preaching should always point beyond itself — just like John the Baptist points beyond himself and beyond his preaching! He says: “The one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

And so, the homily should basically say explicitly or implicitly: “What’s about to come next is so much better. So much more amazing. Talk is cheap. Words are empty. But JESUS THE WORD MADE FLESH is coming. His REAL PRESENCE in the Eucharist is on the way, and none of us are worthy to carry his sandals.”

And that’s where I’ll leave you today.

What’s about to come next is so much better than anything I or any other preacher — Bishop Barron, Fr Mike Schmitz, Archbishop Fulton Sheen — it’s better than any of them could ever put into inspiring words.

“The one who is coming after me is mightier than I.”