If there is one thing a priest begins to learn rather quickly in his ministry, it is the necessity of self-denial. From the minute the priest places his hands in those of the bishop at ordination, he must be prepared for whatever may come. This is especially true when he is ordered to move to a different church. While most of us are creatures of habit, the priest must be ever prepared to literally pick up his cross and follow the Lord, no matter where it may lead.
I stand before you today as your new priest. At the command of the bishop, I have been placed in charge of caring for your souls, with the ultimate task of bringing you to the one who is at the heart of the Gospel, the one who challenges us in our Gospel today with the most central question of Christianity: “Who do you say that I am?” It is my duty to ensure that you understand the answer to that question and the implications that flow from that answer.
Why do I say that this question of Jesus’ identity is so central to Christianity? It is central because it makes all the difference in how we approach the Church which still lays claim to speak solely and exclusively for Jesus, 2000 years after He left this world. It is central because who we believe Jesus to be defines the response we give to His words and His actions. It is central because it evokes differing responses based on who we believe this Jesus of Nazareth to be.
When He asks the apostles what the crowds say about Him, Jesus seeks to clear the confusion that exists about Himself. The people believe Jesus to be a great prophet, a man like Jeremiah or Isaiah who calls the people back to God. But that is not who Jesus is, and thus He asks the question of His apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” Only by grace does Saint Peter proclaim Jesus to be the Christ of God, or the Christ, the Son of the living God, as Saint Matthew recalls it. Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reveals to the apostles and to us who this Jesus of Nazareth really is: God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, the God who has become incarnate and walks among His own people.
This Jesus whom we have heard about so often in this church is not a mere mortal like you or me. This Jesus who is remembered in the Gospels and the Scriptures is far greater than any human being who has ever lived. This Jesus of Nazareth is not only a man, but is also God Almighty. If this is true, if this is accurate, then it must challenge how we approach this God-man in Himself and in every moment of His life on earth. It means that we must listen to Him not with merely the courtesy and respect due to another person, but with the awe and reverence due to the Omnipotent One. It means that His words are not just the musings of a great mind, but that they are the very instructions of the All-Knowing One. It means that His actions are not just good examples, but are filled with meaning and importance as being carried out by the One who acts without being acted upon.
But why is it that God has become man and come upon earth? Jesus reveals this after Saint Peter’s revelation in telling us how the Son of Man must suffer and die at the hands of those whom He came to save, and that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. The most important point of Jesus’ life and ministry is the Cross, that which had been foretold by the prophets of old, such as we heard from Zechariah in our first reading. By becoming the One who is pierced for our sins and killed, Christ becomes the fountain of mercy and forgiveness to all who look to Him in faith, as Saint Paul tells us. Everything Jesus proclaims and teaches leads up to the Cross, that moment when the whole world was changed for the rest of time, that moment and the message which has been proclaimed by the Church which Jesus founded while He was still personally present here on earth.
But what does all of this have to do with being your new priest? Certainly we know these things, we recall them each time we come to the Mass. Yet the duty of the priest, the duty of the pastor is to recall to our minds the words and actions of Jesus Christ so as to inspire us to live the Christian life more fully and to reject anything and everything which goes against Christ. It is also his duty to provide the sacraments which have been entrusted to his care through his ordination so that the people can receive the grace of God without which we can do nothing. The priest is meant to work for God and for his people. And that is what I hope I will do for you however long I am here in this church and serving you.
I ask a few things out of you as I come into my own here among you. I ask first of all for your prayers for me, that I may serve you and work for you to the best of my ability. I am still quite new at this and still a little inexperienced. I may act slowly or may do things different than you are used to. Please be patient with me as I come to know you all and seek to discover what it is God wants me to do for you. I ask you also to please help me to get to know you. I have already received many warm welcomes, and I hope the welcomes keep coming. Do not be a stranger to me, but give me an opportunity to meet you and hear from you, either here or in your home. I can only serve you best if I know who it is that I am serving.
Let us pray for our parish as my time here begins, that we may be closer than ever to the One whom we thirst after, the One in whom our hearts will find their true rest. Let us pray for the healing of wrongs and the unity of our parish as Saint Paul teaches us, being all united together in Christ. Let us also seek to consider, each in our own individual vocation, how we can follow the command of Christ to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow after Him. But let us pray in particular for the grace to follow Jesus not only in this life, but to follow Him towards the goal of our faith: the glories that await the faithful in the eternal realities of Heaven.
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