Jesus wants us united in His Kingdom on Earth & in Heaven!
Homily preached by Monsignor Michael Deering
on June 26, 2022

So far this year, the attendance at our Sunday Masses has been about half of what it was before the Covid sickness that began 2-1/2 years ago in Jan. 2020.

Where we previously had 600 people attend the 8:45 Sunday Mass ...

          we now have about 350 people attend.

Where we previously had 500 people attend the 11:00 Sunday Mass ...

          we now have about 250 people attend.

We’re not alone in this situation.

My brother Priests tell me they’re experiencing the same thing in their parishes.

   and many Protestants have told me it’s the same in their churches too.

The coming of the Covid Virus isn’t totally responsible for the lower numbers of attendees. It just accelerated something that has been happening for the past several years where people who say they are believers in Jesus ... are choosing not to assemble together so they can celebrate their belief in Jesus ... together.

This situation was powerfully acknowledged and discussed by

renown Catholic Scripture Scholar and Evangelist, Dr. Tim Gray,

in his Presentation

“Religionless Spirituality and Why we need the Church”.

I took copious notes & I’d like to share some of his powerful insights with you today

as they relate to our Gospel passage... just proclaimed ... from Luke 9.

Dr. Gray points out that when people choose to have “Church at home”

they’re actually acting to make the Church ... “invisible”.

Shifting one’s presence from the Parish Church to the Home ... makes the Home become the Church, and then the Individual becomes the Church , and then it all gets reduced down to personal relationship ... which means just me ... alone!

He calls this ... “The Cul-de-sac” of the American Project today ...

where we arrive at a dead end ... alone ...

no community to worship with ...

no community to be accountable to ...

no community!

If we only understood the purpose of our Baptism ... we’d see that our life project  ... is to make the Church visible ... as a witness to Christ and His truth in the world!

One hundred years ago, the Nazi’s in Germany had a project ... they wanted to reshape society completely ... and one way to do this was to get rid of the Church.

They wanted to get rid of the Church’s voice ... which spoke against ...

their many atrocities of ethnic cleansing and enslavement and euthanasia.... so they wanted the Church to become private and insignificant.

And that idea that the Church can be private and insignificant is still with us today.

Dr. Gray tells of a married couple that left the Catholic Church.

And when he asked them why they came back declaring:

“Isn’t Jesus enough?”          They asked: “Why do we need the Church?”

Dr. Gray replied: “Those are great questions.     Let me ask you a question.”

How can you say ... that you are loyal ... faithful ... loving and devoted to the King ...

it’s just His Kingdom you don’t like?

How can you say, that you love the King ...

it’s just His Kingdom you want nothing to do with?

And the guy’s response was ... “Whoa!   I’ve never thought about it like that!”

Dr. Gray suggested: “Well, it’s time you do.”

And this married couple went through Catholic Schools all their life ...

and they had no idea of the relationship of the Church ... to Jesus Christ!

They didn’t really know God’s story ... and that’s why it’s so easy to lose it!

And that is the crisis we face today ... the world has lost its story!

But more than that ... how many in the Church have lost their story!

They don’t know that they’re part of a plan ...

that God has a plan ... a purpose ... for the Church and for them.

Without a plan ... we have no purpose!

So how do we relate to the world if we have no meaning in our own lives ...

           in our own hearts?

Well, the answer is ... we don’t.      And that’s a big problem.

Dr. Gray shared a conversation he had with another guy ...

who left the Catholic Church ... where the guy said:

“It’s just the Church I don’t believe in ... I still believe in Jesus.”

Hear that ... “It’s just the Church I don’t believe in ... I still believe in Jesus.”

You see, culturally ... it’s ok to like Jesus ... it’s just bad to like the Church.

The Nazi’s had no problem with the people having private devotions to Jesus ...

in the 1930’s . It’s when they gathered  together in their assemblies ...

that they became a threat to ... the evil Nazi project.  

So this guy that said, “I still believe in Jesus” added, I’m very devoted to Jesus!”

So, Dr. Gray asked him, “What was the focus of Jesus’ teaching?”

The guy answered: “Well, you know ... love.” ... but he couldn’t give any examples.

Dr. Gray told him, “The main thing Jesus talked about ... was the Kingdom.”

Yes, the main thing Jesus taught about in his parables ... was the Kingdom.

For example, in Matthew 13, Jesus gives 7 parables about the Kingdom of God.

Yes ... the Kingdom ... of the King ... the King that was announced in all the Gospels ... and revered by the Magi as King.

Jesus was born to be King and His mission was to establish the Kingdom of God.

You know, many Protestants and many Catholics are really good at answering

this question:    Why did Jesus die?

We all know the answer ... “To save us.”   “To save us from our sins.”

Great! But we’re not so good at answering the question:    “Why did Jesus live?”

We always reduce the life of Jesus to his death. That’s just half of the Good News!

In Matt. 2 ... right after Jesus was born,

Herod the Great sends out his soldiers to kill that child.

If all Jesus needed to do was die ... it could have happened there!

Mission accomplished... salvation won and done as a babe!

If all we needed was His atoning blood ... it could have happened immediately in Bethlehem.  But no, by God’s plan, Joseph takes Jesus & Mary and flees to Egypt.

Well, maybe Jesus had to be a full grown adult before He died for us ...

and so why didn’t God allow it to happen when after Jesus’ first homily ...

they wanted to throw him off the cliff ?

Jesus could have died then ... mission accomplished with his first homily.

But no, Jesus miraculously escaped through the crowd.

Well, maybe Jesus had to die in Jerusalem ... and  it was there in Jerusalem ...

that he declared:     “Before Abraham was, I AM”

 and it was so blasphemous to the Jews that they picked up stones to stone  Him

but once again ... He slipped away!

Jesus knew that He would die for us ... but He didn’t speak about His death  

until after He accomplished one very important thing.

Matthew records how Jesus took the Apostles up to Ceasarrea Phillipi, and He asked them the question: “Who do people say that I am?”

They report ... some say this and some say that.

and when Jesus asks them: “Who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter speaks up saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

and Jesus says to Peter “You are Rock ... and on this Rock, I will build my Church.”

I ... will build ... my Church ... on you.

Jesus didn’t come simply to teach and then to die.     He came to build something!

In fact, earlier in Matthew, Jesus says that a wise man builds his house on Rock!

 and who is the Wise Man of all Wise Men in the Hebrew tradition?    Solomon.

Solomon was a King ... who was known for his wisdom.  

He’s also known for one other thing ... what was that?

He built the Temple ... the Temple of God!

So the Jews know that Solomon is the Wise Man and

Solomon becomes King ... and what does Solomon do

he builds the Temple.

And now Jesus takes Peter and says ... Peter ... you’re the Rock that I will build on.

Jesus is the True King.     and Kings are builders.  

      and Jesus is going to build His Church on Peter.

Yes, after he tells Peter that he’s going to be the foundation stone ...

he then tells Peter that He’s going to give Him the Keys to the Kingdom!

Notice ... Kingdom and Church ... are Synonymous!

Then, and only then ...

after He’s made Peter the Prime Minister by giving him the Keys ...

now ... for the first time ...

Jesus tells His apostles that He’s going to  go to Jerusalem ...

where He will suffer and be crucified and die!

Luke refers to this in our Gospel today when he writes:

“When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.”

Why did Jesus wait till then?

Because now He had prepared for ... the succession of the Kingdom!

Peter is now the Prime Minister ... and in ancient Israel, the Prime Minister ruled when the King was gone. So now after Jesus died and ascended to the Father ....

Peter would be the one to run and rule the Kingdom of God ... on earth ...

until the return of the King!

That is Jesus’ plan!

and so to know and love Jesus ... we have to know and love His Church!

back to the original question: “Isn’t Jesus enough?”

Hopefully you see, the answer is no!

Jesus is the King. He came to establish His Kingdom on Earth ... and ...

He did that when He established His Church on the Rock foundation of Peter!

As Church we are the mystical body of Christ ... He is the Head, we are the Body

Jesus is the Bridegroom ... we the Church are His Bride.

What does Jesus want? Today in the Gospel, Jesus tells one guy:

“Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

And to another guy, Jesus says, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks back to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Why did Jesus live?   To establish the Church ... the Kingdom of God on Earth.

What does he want us to do?    Preserve and build up the Church ... together!

How many families there are that have members not going to Church.

½ of our people are not here.     Where are they?

Not many are watching on the video.

The statistics show the average view time of the recorded Mass is 9 minutes ...

when the Mass is actually 60 minutes long!

God knows we’re creatures of habit ...  that we could easily slip away from union with Him and others ... and so He made attending Mass a Commandment ...

          a Commandment written in stone ... that is unchanging for all time.

Missing Mass is not part of God’s perfect plan.

Please lovingly call your family and friends back.

Realize ... there’s no loving Jesus without loving His Church.

      There’s no loving the King without loving His Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God on earth is an integral part of God’s plan of redemption.

It’s the way the Faith and the Truth of God is handed on generation to generation

so that all people will come to know and love and serve God ...

and merit to be united with Him forever in Heaven.

Together we’re strong ... by ourselves we are weak.  

Let’s stay strong ... together!

God bless you!