Homily originally presented January 27, 2019

Look to the Head Coach for the winning Game Plan!

How long should the Homily be?       What’s your preference?

I’m aware of two big Parishes in Birmingham where the homilies are very short.

Some people travel there so they can attend the shortest Mass around.

I’m not going to tell you the names of those Parishes ...

you’ll have to find out for yourselves ... maybe they’re on Google!

Scripture gave us an example of how long a homily might be in our First Reading today.           There the Prophet Nehemiah tells us that the Priest Ezra ...

“read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read” and we hear that he did this “from daybreak till midday”!

If daybreak is 6 o’clock  ... and mid-day is noon.    That sounds like about 6 hours!       How would you like that ... a 6-hour homily?

By that standard, my homilies would be considered extremely short!

Notice too from our First Reading that when the book of the law was proclaimed,

Nehemiah wrote: “all the people rose.”

Just as we do at Mass ... standing during the Gospel.

And the people later ”prostrated themselves before the Lord”

 just as we do by kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer.

So again, “How long should the Homily be?”

The guideline of the Church is for weekday homilies to be: 2 – 3 minutes

and Sunday homilies to be: 10 – 12 minutes. 

While a few of you go to Daily Mass ... most people only go to Church on Sunday

... which means you only hear around 10 minutes of preaching in a whole week.

That’s 10 minutes out of 168 hours ... a very small part of your life.

As Priest, I’ve been charged by the Bishop ... and more importantly by God ...

to guide you to the Kingdom of Heaven ... on a road that is very narrow.

10 minutes a week is not very much time ... for such an important journey.

So Priests and Deacons do the best we can ...

    drawing heavily upon  the inspiration of Holy Spirit ...

to give you the wisdom and encouragement to make it  through this life  ...

and win the prize of Eternal Life.

An example of how this process works can be found in the game of Football.

You’ll  see it in the Super Bowl that will be played next Sunday in Atlanta.

We saw it all year in the Games the University of Alabama football team played.

As you know, The University of Alabama has a great Head Coach, Nick Saban, a Catholic man who attends Mass every Sunday at St. Francis of Assisi Church.

And we were fortunate to have two great Quarterbacks,

who could throw the football long and accurate.

Well in every game, the Head Coach stands on the sidelines of the playing field along with his assistant Coaches ... ready and waiting to give guidance to players.

What’s necessary and expected is that the players look to the coaches for guidance.

With 30 seconds left ... it’s 3^rd Down ... you have the ball on the opponents 20 yard

what’s the wisest thing the star quarterback could do?

The wisest thing he could do ... would be to look to the sidelines ...

and get the play from the coach.

The Quarterback’s gift is throwing the football.

The Coach’s gift is orchestrating the game ... to guide the whole team to victory.

It’s not the Quarterback’s game ... it’s the whole team’s game!

So ... the Coach signals  in the play ...  “Delta ... 10 ... 2”.

The Quarterback nods ...

          and he gets the team in a huddle and says,    “Delta ... 10 ... on 2.”

They line up ... Hike, Hike ... and the Quarterback steps back ...

The Offensive Line move back  ... it’s a Screen Play!

The Tight End squirts through  ... the Quarterback throws a pass ...

to the Tight End ... he catches it and runs into the end zone!

Touchdown!         Victory!

How did that happen?

The Coach gave the play to the Leader ...  the Quarterback,

who gave the play to the Players ...  the Team ...

and “together” they ran the play for the winning touchdown.

All of us are Leaders and Players in the Game of Life!

The goal is to cross the line and enter pay dirt, which is Eternal Life in Heaven.

God is our Head Coach and he wants us to be victorious ... to win the game.

Jesus is both the Offensive Coach and the Defensive Coach

He has all the plays to enable us to advance through and overcome our opponents.

And because Jesus is God, He is a Perfect Coach ...

So all of His plays are perfect!

How do we win the Game of Life?

We look to Him and await his signal.

Then we run the play to the best of our ability.

You know there’s one play that works all the time.

It’s the play ... “Delta  -  10   -  2”

Where Delta (the Greek Symbol, the Triangle) is staying in love with the Trinity

Where 10 is following the Guidelines of God .. His 10 Commandments.

And 2 is listening to the Lord Jesus, who has two natures, fully God & fully Man.  

So we can receive His Perfect Plays for our life.

Psalm 19 affirmed this truth with the words ... “the Law of the Lord is perfect.”

Yes, God offers us perfect coaching and inspiration ...

but we need to look at Him and listen to Him.

He’s already given much of the playbook to your Parents, your Teachers,

   your Coaches and your Priests ...

                                                    who have in turn given the plays to you!

Now, you’re absolutely free to follow the plays or not.

But, you can’t do better than to follow perfect coaching ... and yet ...

so often we try to run our own plays ... plays that can be much less than perfect!

What’s important to realize is that all of us are on a Team ... the very same Team.

We, the People of God make up ... the Mystical Body of Christ! 

St. Paul writes: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

      How about that?

We’re all different and yet, we’re all part of the same body ... the Body of Christ!

The Senior Class put it so effectively on their Banner displayed here ...

“Unique and United”

Yes, it’s very important that all of us are united and working together

to form this most beautiful reality ... the Mystical Body of Christ.

In our Second Reading today, St. Paul gives us a powerful analogy to help us see how every human being has an important role of the Body of Christ.

He speaks of the human body and how it’s a composite of many different parts … with each part performing a specific role that is helpful to the whole body. 

He then asks, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?”

And “If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?”

Our human bodies are a marvelous network of greater and smaller body parts,

each performing their own function, for the good of the whole body.

As Paul says, “God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.”

Now since all the big parts & little parts are needed for the good of the body,

the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.”

just as the head cannot say to the feet, “I do not need you.”

All the various parts are needed to make up the human body!

And it’s here that Paul calls us to see that together as human beings,

we also make up a body … the Body of Christ!

He says, “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.”

What great dignity this is that each of us make up a part of the Body of Christ! 

That means that no one has the right to say to another person, “We don’t need you.”

This thing of bullying that’s happening in some schools today ... of kids saying to others, “you’re nothing” ... “you’re not one of us” and “we don’t need you.”

That is absolutely untrue and offensive to God.

No, each person was chosen by God for some role in the Mystical Body of Christ.

 As Paul says, “God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.”

You can see it so well in our Football example.

The School needs a good Coach

The Coach needs a good Quarterback

The Quarterback needs a good Offensive Line and a good Receiver

All the Players need a good field, good Trainers and good Equipment to use.

There are so many people that make up the University of Alabama Football Team.

They all have different roles ... but they’re all a part of one Team.

And look all the people serving in a variety of roles to make our School successful.

St. Paul referred to several of the roles today saying:

Some people God had designated  ... to be, ...

Apostles ... and prophets ( consider Bishop Baker Fr. Tom, Fr. Rick and me)

Teachers (some 50 teachers here in a wide variety of subjects)

Mighty Deeds (many coaches here in a wide variety of sports)

Gifts of Healing (we have an on-campus Nurse)

Administration (we have 2 Principals, a Vice Principal, Dean of Discipline,

Secretaries and Receptionists, etc.)

They’re all in different roles ... but all a part of one School.

That’s one of the reasons why God commanded us to gather together each week in Church … for it’s here that we get to see the other parts of our body …

and we’re reminded that we’re one of a whole community of people ...

who make up the One Body of Christ!

Look around and see how different we are ...

see the variety that God has designed into His Church.

That’s the way God made us, different in size and shape and talents,

but each one with an important role in the mystical body of Christ.

And just as our personal body works best when all the parts of our body ...

are united and working together ...

So too, the Body of Christ works best when all the members ...

are united and are working together.

All people are part of The Body of Christ and all contribute to its wellness.

Paul says, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it!”

Never are we more united than during the reception of Holy Communion

There in the Eucharist we are one ... one in Him ...

and that makes us one with one another!

Experience the oneness as you partake the consecrated bread from the same loaf,

and drink the consecrated wine from the same cup

You know, I’m sure of one thing that will happen after this Mass ...

Mrs. Lisa Corona, our Elementary School Principal, will find me & let me know I didn’t have to spend so much time showcasing the Alabama Football Team.

Like me, Mrs. Corona is an Auburn graduate and an avid supporter of Auburn.

Well, I am too ... but when I was appointed here 2 years ago, one of my former parishioners, Big Jim Jernigan, stood up at my going away party and said,

“Father, when in Rome, do what the Romans do! “

And then he threw me black hat ... with an Alabama A on it!

So, I cheer for the Alabama football team except when they play Auburn.

And when it comes to the National Championship, I’d much rather see Alabama win than any other State. I live here and I’m proud when our state wins.

I know that Mrs. Corona has many good friends from the University of Alabama, even some involved with the Football program ...

coaches like Scott Cochran, the Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Scott is a fine Catholic man and he and his wife Sissy, here today with her kids,

send all their children to Holy Spirit Catholic School.

As a result of her friendship with Scott, Mrs. Corona gets him to come once a year to give a pep talk to the whole school Elementary School.

And she always reminds him to be gentle with these children as their not college kids.

But, Scott just goes at em full force: “when I clap you respond, “Sir, yes Sir!”

And then several times during his talk he’ll clap and sure enough

the students yell out, “Sir, yes Sir!”

Seems like he’s effective with students of all ages!

As we continue in this New Year ...

let’s contemplate Paul’s words:

                   “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.”

So look over to Jesus , the Head Coach, every day

And receive the plays he sends to you

Communicate those plays

And run those plays

They are the perfect plays for you.

When all of us follow the guidance of our Head Coach,

We will win the Game of life ,,, not on our own ... but together ... as one family ...

One Body  .... the Mystical Body of Christ!

So, how long should the homily be?

Well, it’s one way to get the Game Plan for your life.

How bad do you want to win that Game?

If you really want to win the Game of Life ...

then you’ll never miss coming to this one hour Sunday coaching session ...

eager to listen to God, the Head Coach, speak to you ...

through the Prayers prayed, the Songs sung,

the Scriptures proclaimed, and the Homily preached.

Come hungry ... get His plays ... and go home a winner!

And remember the play that works every time ...

“Delta      10      on     2”